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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2015-05-29]
BTC Price: 237.10, BTC RSI: 50.22
Gold Price: 1189.40, Gold RSI: 45.54
Oil Price: 60.30, Oil RSI: 57.80
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Foundation Accused: Misleading Members: Bitcoin received another blow to its image over the weekend, when newly elected Bitcoin Foundation board member Olivier Janssens announced that the Foundation was " effectively bankrupt " and accused the group's leadership of misleading the public. Janssens' claims have yet to be verified, but the Foundation released a statement on Tuesday denying those claims, though the damage may have already been done. Poor Management The Bitcoin Foundation has been an advocate for the cryptocurrency 's mainstream adoption, but Janssens said that poor decision making and misleading the public has made it a poor example for the community. Related Link: Rand Paul Uses Bitcoin To Boost His Campaign In a blog post titled "The Truth About the Bitcoin Foundation," Janssens detailed how the Foundation nearly ran out of money last year and fired 90 percent of its staff. Janssens also called on current members to organize a vote to replace the entire board or shut down the Foundation completely. Foundation Denies Claims The Foundation responded on Tuesday with an official blog post claiming that Janssens' claims were completely unfounded. The post admitted that the foundation has been struggling with funding due to the sharp decline in bitcoin's value, but claimed it was not bankrupt. The post also said that many of its staff left voluntarily, and although the foundation did "downsize," it did not fire 90 percent of its workers. Difficult To Move Forward Now it will be up to members of the bitcoin advocacy group to determine how this public dispute is settled. The Foundation's head of core developers responded to Janssens' post, saying that it was important to move forward legally and transparently in order to restore the Foundation's image, though many believe the organization has already lost the public's trust. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Investors Look To Iran With An End To Sanctions In Sight Greece Promises To Pay, But With What Cash? Colorado Residents To Decide If The Government Keeps Or Refunds Their Money © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin goes mainstream with Goldman Sachs' backing: Bitcoin is getting a big boost…from Goldman Sachs (GS).
The financial juggernaut and China’s IDG Capital Partners are investing $50 million inCircle Internet Financial, a start-up that provides services to help consumers use the virtual currency. Goldman is the first major Wall Street bank to make such a big bet on bitcoin.
But as Yahoo Finance Technology Reporter Aaron Pressman points out, Goldman isn’t interested in speculating in bitcoins. It’s focusing on how bitcoin operates.
“The technology behind the scenes that enables bitcoin to work, that’s something that venture capitalists and a lot of banks have been looking at,” he says. “And maybe really will be what comes out of this.”
Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App
Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task believes Goldman is just trying to stay one step ahead of the competition.
“Everybody around Wall Street is looking at bitcoin and trying to figure out whether they’re going to wait for the regulations or try to get ahead of the regulations and dip their toe in the water,” he explains. “And that’s what Goldman is doing.”
Task adds Goldman likely feels more and more of us will be using the virtual currency in the future…and wants to get on that bandwagon now.
There’s going to be a greater adoption of bitcoin use as a method of payment,” he says. “I think that’s its promise…and what Goldman is betting on here.”
Task believes Goldman sees bitcoin as being an attractive consumer electronic money alternative.
“Apple Pay (AAPL) doesn’t do anything for me as a consumer,” he argues. “But if I can transfer bitcoins to somebody else around the world and pay for goods and services, I think they want to be part of that process.”
And Yahoo Finance’s Jen Rogers says having Goldman associated with bitcoin is a pretty important milestone for the virtual currency.
“It does seem to add legitimacy because it’s such a big name,” she notes.
Also from Yahoo Finance
Budweiser's 'no' must go: social media
Tyson's chickens just say no
Uber now drops off food, not just people || Gold Investment Letter New Blog Report: Bitcoin Shop -- New Bitcoin ETF's May Drive Demand: CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Apr 7, 2015) - The Gold Investment Letter helps sophisticated investors discover and maximize profits ingold,silver, andmining stocks. In today's blog update we have focused onBitcoin Shop(OTCQB:BTCS).
The post can be read on our blog page:http://www.goldinvestmentletter.com/blog/
About Gold Investment Letter
Gold Investment Letter is aninvestment newsletterthat focuses ongold stocks,mining stocks,and investing inundiscovered companies. We isolate the mostundervalued stocksto position ourselves and our subscribers. In today's blog update we have focused onBitcoin Shop(OTCQB:BTCS)
The editor of Gold Investment Letter,Eric Muschinski, is President and CEO of Phenom Ventures, President of Investor Media Inc, and a Director with Equities.com. || Tether to Offer Free Payment Processing for GoCoin Merchants: HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Apr 14, 2015) - Tether ( www.tether.to ), the first blockchain-enabled platform to allow fiat currency to be used like Bitcoin, today announced its integration with GoCoin, a leading international blockchain payments processor. This partnership not only expands GoCoin's coin portfolio at checkout with Tether, it also enables its merchants transacting with Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin to quickly settle those payments with Tether instead of costly bank wires. For the first time, merchants will be able to transact entirely in cryptocurrencies without the need to settle payments through banks, and without fear of losing value because of market fluctuations or delays from tracing lost wires. Tether is a secure platform that allows deposited US dollars (and soon euros, Japanese yen and other fiat currencies) to be converted into 1-to-1 backed tetherUSD and held in online or offline wallets. "By utilizing Tether's unique business model of linking digital currency to in-hand reserves, we're able to stabilize value fluctuations for our merchants, making digital currency even more appealing to them," said Steve Beauregard, GoCoin's CEO. Currently in private beta, each tether is backed 1-to-1 by its corresponding currency, which can be viewed and verified in real-time via the Tether.to website and on the blockchain. Tether will be fully transparent and audited to demonstrate 100 percent reserves at all times. The near-zero fees for creating and redeeming tethers, and zero-fee transfer ability, incentivizes rapid adoption and widespread use. "We're proud to add such a respected name as GoCoin to our list of partners," said Reeve Collins, co-founder and CEO of Tether. "We know both GoCoin and its customers will find peace of mind now that they can achieve the low transaction costs of digital currency with the stability of dollars." About Tether Tether is disrupting the legacy financial system by offering a more modern approach to money. By introducing fiat currency to the Bitcoin blockchain, Tether has made a significant contribution to a more connected Bitcoin ecosystem and added Bitcoin benefits, such as price stability, to traditional currency. With a commitment to full transparency and compliance, Tether is the most secure, fast and low-cost way to transact with money. For more information, please visit https://tether.to . About GoCoin GoCoin is a global leader in blockchain payments and innovation. GoCoin honors Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Tether at checkout, and merchants can settle accounts in established fiat, including USD, GBP, Euros and now TetherUSD. Founded in July 2013, GoCoin has raised over $2 million in funding led by Cryptocurrency Partners LLP, Bitfury Finance Ltd. and Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ), and maintains offices in Singapore; London; Douglas, Isle of Man; and Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.gocoin.com . || Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) -ImageWare Systems, Inc.(OTCQB:IWSY); Identiv (NASDAQ:INVE)
Cisco
Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software,Cisco, told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At theUniversity of San Francisco(USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff.Dallas Area Rapid Transit(DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles."
For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html
For more information:Connected Safety and Security(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html)Cisco Case Studies(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html)
*****
HP Enterprise Services
Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster."
For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html
For more information:Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector
*****
Identiv
Identiv, Inc.(INVE) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products.
Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI).
"Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visitwww.identiv.com/ciscopartnership.
For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv,please click hereor here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html
And, please also see our interview withMr. Paul Brady, Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director atIdentiv,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html
For more informationwww.Identiv.com
*****
ImageWare Systems, Inc.
ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:IWSY) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced:
Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage(www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/)
Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets(www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/)
ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program(www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/)
ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion(www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/)
For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click hereor here:www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.htmlFor more information:www.iwsinc.com
*****
Bosch Security Systems
Mr. Daniel Murray,Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration,Bosch Security Systems, told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years."
For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray atBosch Security Systems,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html
*****
Nok Nok Labs
Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure.
"The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication."
DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level."
For more information, please clickhereor here:https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido.
WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here, or here:https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true
Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT."
For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please clickhere, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html
*****
TRADE SHOWS
CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015May 5-7, 2015Washington, DCwww.cartes-america.com
-- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees.
Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations.
Tuesday Keynotes:Patrick Murck, Executive Director,Bitcoin FoundationDavid Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv
Wednesday Keynote Panel:Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCardwill moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions.
Thursday Keynotes:Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnoteKaren Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express
*****
Cyber Security Summit
The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense.www.CyberSummitUSA.com
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The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place!Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTCJoin Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/
Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud.
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The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government ConferenceSmart Strategies for Secure IdentityJune 9-10, 2015Walter E. Washington Convention CenterWashington, DC
The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices.
*****
Money20/20October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United Stateshttp://money2020.com/register,http://money2020.com/,Info@Money2020.com, Organizer Email:Rob@Money2020.com
Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016.
*****
TEC 2015| Westminster, CO | May 4-8, 2015 |www.psatec.com
TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry.
TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015.
TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 atwww.psatec.com.
*****
SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID SolutionsQEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UKConference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015
SDW 2015(Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control.
Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at:j.bill@sciencemediapartners.comwww.sdw2015.com
*****
THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE:http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html || Bitcoin brokerage Circle gets $50 million investment: (Reuters) - Bitcoin brokerage Circle Internet Financial Inc said it closed a $50 million (32 million pounds)investment round led by Goldman Sachs and IDG Capital Partners. The company also said it will start giving customers the ability to hold, send, and receive U.S. dollars. Circle, a startup founded in 2013 by Brightcove Inc founder Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville, allows customers to hold, transfer and receive the digital currency, Bitcoin. The company said if its users choose to keep dollars instead of bitcoin in their accounts, they can pay any person or merchant who accepts bitcoin without ever holding bitcoin themselves. Circle will handle instant conversion from dollars to bitcoins and vice-versa. The feature will be initially available to select customers and the company will offer it to more users every week. Goldman Sachs and China-based IDG Capital were joined by all of Circle's existing investors. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru) || Ribbit.me Forms Strategic Alliance With Card Capture International, LLC to Integrate Blockchain-Based RibbitRewards Into Its Expansive Merchant Services Platform: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - April 03, 2015) -
Key Facts
• RibbitRewards™ is the first rewards program based on blockchain technology (patent pending), the same technology Bitcoin uses.
• Card Capture International can now position to seamlessly offer RibbitRewards to both merchants and consumers through its credit and debit processing channels.
• Ribbit.me is set to launch Marketplace.life™, the first-ever p2p marketplace where buyers and sellers earn RibbitRewards for each transaction, with Card Capture International's merchant services accepting major credit cards.
Ribbit.me, the creator of RibbitRewards, the world's first rewards program based on blockchain technologyandwith its own marketplace, today announced a strategic partnership for Card Capture International DBA Cocard to serve as a merchant processor on Marketplace.life and to incorporate Ribbit.me's blockchain-based RibbitRewards program into its payment processing portfolio.
Marketplace.life is an eBay-like, p2p marketplace where merchants and shoppers benefit from the convenience of using one rewards program for all of their purchases, while earning RibbitRewards for each transaction. The marketplace is easy and free for all to use, accepting all major currencies, both fiat and digital. A percentage of RibbitRewards go to buyers, sellers and to charity.
"Card Capture's expansive merchant base is an ideal entry point for mainstreaming our rewards program built on blockchain technology," said Sean Dennis, Ribbit.me CEO. "The RibbitRewards program has the potential to save billions of dollars a year across the rewards industry from operating efficiencies, consolidating rewards onto one platform and taking it off balance sheet. We are excited for Card Capture International to be among the first to realize these benefits."
"We are pleased to embark down this innovative path with Ribbit.me and believe our investment in their success will have long term financial benefits for our merchants," said Elan Bennett, Card Capture International Owner. "The team at Ribbit.me is comprised of progressive and forward thinkers with sound financial backgrounds in payments, banking and technology. Taking this step with them puts us on the forefront of what is now almost certain to become the future underpinning of all rewards programs."
Ribbit.me is developing a retail plug-in and mobile app so that RibbitRewards can be earned on any merchant platform. Watch for signs that say "Earn RibbitRewards Here" to appear in retail shopping outlets soon.
About Ribbit.meRibbit.me! USA is a U.S.-based Delaware C Corp. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 1817, NY, NY 10159. For more information about RibbitRewards, visitwww.ribbit.me. You can also follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/Ribbit.me and facebook.com/Marketplace.life) and Twitter (@RibbitRewards).
Embedded Video Available:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_09gwWKfvk || ECB Meeting Minutes Expose Cracks In Central Bankers' Confidence: The European Central Bank's large scale bond buying plan has done wonders for the region's markets.
With the exception ofGreece, European nations' share markets have been on fire since the roll-out of ECB President Mario Draghi's highly anticipated quantitative easing plans.
The stimulus package was also seen improving the bloc's economic struggles, but many are beginning to question whether or not the bank's investment will pay off.
Minutes Show Concern
At the beginning of March, the European Central Bank predicted that the eurozone would grow 2.1 percent in 2017.
The figure was considered a product of the successful implementation of the ECB's bond buying program coupled with economic reform in struggling eurozone nations and gave investors hope that the region was turning a corner.
However, theminutesfrom that meeting, released last week, show that a strong recovery in the eurozone is anything but certain.
Related Link:Euro/Dollar Parity: What's Next?
Projections Uncertain
That 2.1 percent growth target was based on a number of factors, which ECB members said were far from being set in stone. For one, the bank's assessment of growth depended largely on oil prices remaining low throughout the next two years.
While many analysts believe that oil prices are likely to be persistently weak in the coming years due to an imbalance between supply and demand, several scenarios in which production is reduced are possible as well.
Difficulty Agreeing
Additionally, many worry that the bank's growth forecast was too optimistic regarding the willingness of eurozone nations to carry out the necessary reforms to repair the region's fractured financial system.
If the ongoing battle in Greece is any indication of the bloc's ability to come together and agree on similar fiscal objectives, there is going to be a bumpy road ahead.
See more from Benzinga
• Good Friday Not So Great, Thanks To Data
• BitPay Pulls College Football Sponsorship
• Bitcoin's Jail Stint Creates New Currency Offering
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || CoroWare to Present at RoboUniverse Conference in New York City: CoroWare to Present at RoboUniverse Conference in New York City;CoroBot SparkDemos at RoboUniverse, Austin Maker Faire, and San Mateo Maker Faire
BELLEVUE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / May 7, 2015 /CoroWare, Inc. (COWI), announced today that it will be presenting and exhibiting at the RoboUniverse 2015 Conference and Expo at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.
Lloyd Spencer, CEO of CoroWare, will be participating in a workshop session entitled "Educators Bonanza - Discovering Resources and Getting Started with Robotics Education" with 3 other presenters, discussing a range of programs, organizations, tools and curriculum for all levels to get started in teaching robotics.
"We are delighted to have CoroWare join us as a sponsor and featured speaker at RoboUniverse 2015," said Richard Erb, Executive Director of RoboUniverse Conference & Expo. "As an early pioneer in robotics education with the launch of the CoroBot in 2007 and its adoption of Robot Operating System in 2009, CoroWare continues to lead the way in open robotics platforms with its CoroBot product line."
Mr. Spencer's presentation will include theCoroBot Spark, a low cost educational kit designed for hands on learning and projects that emphasize "learning about robotics through doing." This ground breaking robotics platform will be on demonstration at the CoroBot Booth at RoboUniverse, the Austin Maker Faire and at the San Mateo Maker Faire in Cypress Semiconductor's booth.
For questions about CoroWare investor relations, please contact us atinvestor@coroware.comor 1-800-641-CORO (2676), option 4.
About RoboUniverse and Mecklermedia
For more information and to register for RoboUniverse New York, visitrobouniverse.com/new-york.
MecklerMedia(MECK) is the leading producer of global trade shows, conferences, and digital publications covering 3D printing, robotics, and bitcoin/blockchain. MecklerMedia produces more than 25 conferences annually, including Inside 3D Printing, Inside Bitcoins, RoboUniverse, and the 3D Print Design Show. MecklerMedia's news sites include Inside Bitcoins News and 3D Printing Industry, which provide up-to-date coverage to help drive business forward. All current MecklerMedia press releases can be found online at:mecklermedia.com
About CoroWare
Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington and with its robotics division in Austin, Texas, CoroWare is a solutions integrator with expertise in affordable and open mobile robotics, data analytics, and R&D engineering services.
CoroWare is recognized as an innovative mobile robotics solutions integrator in the research community because of its expertise in Robot Operating System (ROS), robotics simulation, and robotics application development. CoroWare's CoroBot product line has been shipped to over 100 researchers and educators in over 25 countries worldwide.
For more information on CoroWare and its products and services, please visitwww.coroware.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act") (http://www.sec.gov/about/laws/sea34.pdf(Sec.21E p. 223). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act, and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Any statements made in this news release other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance that may be suggested in this release. CoroWare takes no obligation to update or correct forward-looking statements, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Investor Relations:
investor@coroware.com(800) 641-2676, option 3
Marketing Relations:
Madison JostolMarketingEye Seattleinfo@marketingeye.com+1 (206) 369-1950
SOURCE:CoroWare, Inc. || Lucrazon Global Helps Merchants by Integrating Cryptocurrency With Bitcoin Payment Acceptance: IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - May 4, 2015) - California-based Lucrazon Global (http://www.lucrazonglobal.com/), a fully integrated Ecommerce platform and Global Business Network designed specifically for Internet entrepreneurs, Work from Home and Network Marketing professionals, and businesses of any type, reinforces its services offered by accommodating encrypted digital currency Bitcoin payments. The integration of Bitcoins aims at protecting merchants from online fraud and other threats, and comes shortly after Californian Governor, Jerry Brown, passed a bill to approve Bitcoins as a legitimate form of currency for financial transactions in the state (source:http://cointelegraph.com/news/113235/bitcoin-becomes-legal-tender-for-transactions-in-california).
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that is managed and utilized with the help of encryption techniques such as cryptography (source:http://www.investopeia.com/articles/forex/091013/future-cryptocurrency.asp). The technology is increasingly popular among ecommerce vendors who use it to process transactions and verifications with the help of networks. After initial security hiccups, Federal Reserve recently declared it a trustworthy alternative to paper money. The fact that cryptocurrency is irreversible allowsLucrazon Globalto protect paying customers against chargebacks -- a type of fraud that is possible through more conventional transaction methods like credit card payments.
Lucrazon Global's introduction of the encrypted currency comes at a favorable time that holds a lot of potential for international merchants in circumventing certain risks: According to an annual report by LexisNexis merchants incurred a loss of about $3.4 billion in 2011 through online fraud alone (source:http://btctheory.com/2013/10/30/fraud-chargebacks-and-Bitcoin/). Alex Pitt, CEO ofLucrazon Global, knows that chargebacks have been the bane of ecommerce ventures for years. These can be filed against a customer's billing statement on his credit card if a charge is disputed. Since there are no chargebacks in cryptocurrency, Lucrazon Global's incentive is designed to protect merchants from such malicious schemes thereby keeping transactions secure.
Bitcoins are originally bought from exchange companies by investors and traders by using valuable currencies. Online businesses that utilize the technology require customers to store the digital funds in online storage software such as eWallets, on their PCs, or on the web. Payments with the currency are enabled through "Pay with Bitcoin" options on these sites. In 2013, Bitcoins grew exponentially and have become a preferred currency for several types of ecommerce transactions. A number of online stores have adopted the currency as their payments of choice. Brands who have gotten on the Bitcoin trend include Target, Victoria's Secret, the car company Tesla, Zynga, Apple's App Store, Home Depot, Wikipedia, and Subway to name a few (source:http://www.Bitcoinvalues.net/who-accepts-Bitcoins-payment-companies-stores-take-Bitcoins.html). By offering Bitcoins as a payment option, Lucrazon Global now introduces the cryptocurrency to smaller stores and businesses.
A fully integrated e-commerce platform and Global Business Network, Lucrazon Global is designed specifically for Internet Entrepreneurs, Work from Home and Network Marketing professionals, and businesses of any type. Specializing in providing multi functional websites such as ecommerce stores, the company offers solutions like product inventories, integrated shopping carts, drop shipments, access to multiple suppliers, and real time account activation. The company has become a leader in ecommerce solutions by working closely with suppliers, manufactures, fulfillment centers centralizing opportunity making it simple for anyone to become an online business professional.
For more information or to become a Brand Partner, visit:http://www.lucrazonglobal.com/
Lucrazon Global's blog:http://lucrazonglobalnews.com/
Lucrazon Global Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LucrazonGlobal
Lucrazon Global - Twitter:https://twitter.com/lucrazon
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 25 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $808.58 #bitcoin #btc || Bitcoin traded at $240.44 USD on BTC-e at 11:00 PM Pacific Time || Current price: 210.04€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-05 09:00:02 CEST || LIVE: Profit = $1,059.99 (1.23 %). BUY B363.95 @ $237.37 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $238.00 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || Current price: 234.27$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-06 11:00:07 EDT || On 07/04/2015 - 00:00 (UTC) we will set Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin timers to: 3 hours, 4 hours and 5 hours.
#upcoming #updates || current #bitcoin price (bitstamp) is $235.90, last changed Fri, 10 Apr 2015 13:13:00 GMT. queried at: 13:13:14 || Bitcoin traded at $248.7 USD on BTC-e at 01:00 AM Pacific Time || Current price: 225.7€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-03-31 07:00:03 CEST || LIVE: Profit = $843.92 (23.02 %). BUY B15.38 @ $238.12 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $246.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org
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Trend: down || Prices: 233.35, 230.19, 222.93, 225.80, 225.87, 224.32, 224.95, 225.62, 222.88, 228.49
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2020-11-11]
BTC Price: 15701.34, BTC RSI: 73.75
Gold Price: 1860.70, Gold RSI: 43.06
Oil Price: 41.45, Oil RSI: 57.69
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Coinbase to Launch Crypto Debit Card in US for Retail Spending: Coinbase is launching its Visa debit card in the U.S. early next year.
The card will be available in all states except Hawaii and comes with a new rewards feature – 4% back instellaror 1% back inbitcoin.
Coinbase Card has been active inthe U.K. and European Unionsince April 2019 and currently operates in 30 countries. The card’s planned U.S. rollout comes on the heels of PayPal’s entry to the cryptocurrency sector, with the fintech giant opening bitcoin payments to its network of 26 million merchants.
Related:Coinbase Goes Down as Bitcoin Approaches 2019 Highs
American customers will be able to manage their cards directly through their Coinbase accounts. Any cryptocurrencies that Coinbase supports in the U.S. (and that a user holds in their account) can be spent through the debit card.
“Industry trends illustrate increased consumer activity,” Coinbase spokesperson Crystal Yang said in an emailed statement. “Now Coinbase is taking mainstream adoption of crypto one step further by introducing Coinbase Card in the U.S.”
The card is issued by South Dakota-based MetaBank and powered by payments platform Marqeta.
Stepping back, cryptocurrencies in the U.S. aretreated like property, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) taxes their capital gains whenever they’re bought and sold. Coinbase did not respond to questions about how the company would account for U.S. tax laws with the new product.
• Coinbase to Launch Crypto Debit Card in US for Retail Spending
• Coinbase to Launch Crypto Debit Card in US for Retail Spending
• Coinbase to Launch Crypto Debit Card in US for Retail Spending || ‘The Fed Meetings Are a Dead Spectator Sport’ – Best of The Breakdown September 2020: A monthly recap featuring conversations with Luke Gromen, Raoul Pal, Tavi Costa, Sven Henrich, Corey Hoffstein and Michael Saylor.
Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS.
This episode is sponsored byCrypto.com,Nexo.ioandElliptic.co.
Related:Bitcoin News Roundup for Oct. 5, 2020
A recap of September, which NLW calls a transitional month between the post-lockdown excitement of the summer and the growing macro insecurity around second wave fears and election volatility.
Featuring some of the most interesting insights from our guests, including:
• Luke Gromenon the four options for countries that can’t pay their debts
• Tavi Costaon the Fed’s new “mandate” to keep asset prices high
• Raoul Palon why “monetary policy is over”
• Sven Henrichon the ever-weakening economic cycle
• Corey Hoffsteinon the fundamental supply-demand mismatch that exacerbates exogenous shocks
• Michael Sayloron why he moved his company’s cash reserves tobitcoin
See also:‘I Didn’t Buy It to Sell It. Ever.’ MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor on His $425M Bitcoin Bet
Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocketcasts,Google Podcasts,Castbox,Stitcher,RadioPublica,iHeartRadioorRSS.
• ‘The Fed Meetings Are a Dead Spectator Sport’ – Best of The Breakdown September 2020
• ‘The Fed Meetings Are a Dead Spectator Sport’ – Best of The Breakdown September 2020
• ‘The Fed Meetings Are a Dead Spectator Sport’ – Best of The Breakdown September 2020 || Justin Suns BitTorrent to Acquire Esports Platform for New Streaming Ecosystem: BitTorrent is going through another transformation. Announced Thursday, the peer-to-peer platform plans to acquire blockchain-based esports streaming service DLive.tv, which will be migrated along with existing BitTorrent services into a newly formed entity, BitTorrent X. DLive was selected as part of BitTorrents attempt to pivot its core business model into one that offers decentralized storage, data protocols and content distribution, according to a press announcement. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Tests $12K; Ethereum Fees Fall to 3-Month Low The esports streaming service boasts around 7 million active users and over 200,000 active content creators. BitTorrent Xs services will be powered by the platforms native BTT token, which was created shortly after the platform was acquired by Tron founder Justin Sun in 2019. BitTorrent X is the next step in establishing a truly decentralized internet, Sun, also BitTorrents CEO, said in a statement. In one big step, the BitTorrent X ecosystem may drive blockchain-related tools to billions of devices. Read more: BitTorrent Is Launching Its Own Cryptocurrency on the Tron Network Legacy player Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Regains $10.6K; High-Balance Ether Addresses Decline BitTorrent was established in 2001 as a data-transfer protocol and quickly caught the attention of more than 2 billion users globally, as well as pricking the ears of big-tech names such as Twitter, Blizzard and Facebook. Sun said he wants to leverage the platforms brand awareness to position the platform as an ecosystem that may drive blockchain-related tools to billions of devices. However, the acquisition by Tron of BitTorrent has not been without its controversies. Back in August 2018, at least five senior employees of BitTorrent, including its general manager and head of marketing, left the company over concerns relating to the acquisition and the companys direction. Story continues The departures also related to issues of company culture and came but two months after the $120 million cash acquisition by a company registered solely to Sun known as Rainberry Acquisition, Inc. See also: Coronavirus Second Order Effects and Improving on Bitcoin With BitTorrent Creator Bram Cohen Sun and BitTorrent said they would unveil more about the new platform during a live event slated for November. Related Stories Justin Suns BitTorrent to Acquire Esports Platform for New Streaming Ecosystem Justin Suns BitTorrent to Acquire Esports Platform for New Streaming Ecosystem || This Entrepreneur Was SIM Swapped So Often, He Started a Company to Fight It: The first time he was SIM-swapped in 2018, Haseeb Awan took it on the chin and hoped it wouldnt happen again. Then came the second incident. Then the third. Then the fourth. After the last swap, Awan stopped trusting his mobile provider to keep his account safe and took matters into his own hands: He started his own cell service company. It was a major pivot from his former day job running the BitAccess Bitcoin ATM network, a company he co-founded and which, incidentally, made him a prime target for SIM-swapping. His new venture, Efani , is dedicated to stopping a problem that is all-too-prevalent for cryptocurrency users a problem which most mobile carriers, as evidenced by Awans own problems, have failed to adequately address. What is SIM swapping? Related: Most Attacks on Cybersecurity Firms Decoy Servers Aimed at Mining Crypto: Report Sim swapping is a socially engineered hack wherein an attacker ports a victims phone number onto a SIM card they control. To hijack a mobile account, an attacker may impersonate a victim to convince a customer service representative to swap the number to the new SIM card. In more elaborate cases, a SIM swap may occur as an inside job or by way of bribing a customer service rep. These socially engineered attacks have become an all-too-common problem in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency realm, particularly for its higher-profile personalities. Typically, SIM swappers will target cryptocurrency users with the hope of accessing their exchange accounts through text-message, two-factor authentication. Perhaps the most famous example of this attack vector comes from Michael Terpin, who lost some $24 million from a SIM swap, prompting a $220 lawsuit against AT&T . Plenty of other cryptocurrency users have fallen prey to such attacks and subsequently had their exchange accounts drained of funds. The 2020 Twitter hacker was even part of a syndicate that orchestrated SIM swaps. Story continues Read more: Judge Dismisses $200M Damages Claim in AT&T Crypto Hack Lawsuit Efani: A cybersecurity firm that provides telecom services Related: Awan is on the long roster of crypto SIM swap victims, which is why he founded Efani in 2019. The company operates a bit like a mobile virtual network operator. It uses the network infrastructure of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile to service its customers. But it only relies on this infrastructure to provide cell coverage. Everything else for the $99/month plan, from data management to customer service, is managed in house according to Efanis own practices. Our focus is cyber security. Other companies are telecom providers which have other companies provide security for them. We are a cybersecurity firm that provides telecom services. According to Awan, most mobile providers only require a phone and account number to make changes to an existing plan. They also give users the option to set a PIN, but even this layer of protection can be bypassed if the hacker is savvy enough. More difficult to control still are bribes and inside jobs. 11 layers of defense Efanis solution to this problem? Making it so damn difficult to make changes to an account that an attack is virtually impossible. You cannot make a change for your account by calling customer service, Awan told CoinDesk. Even if you call in, they are not authorized to make any changes. For something like changing a SIM card, you may have to go through 11 layers of authentication. Those 11 layers of authentication are the maximum number of verification methods available to Efani users, while every account has a minimum of 7 authentication steps when a user wants to replace their SIM card. These verifications involve providing the last four digits of the credit card on file, phone number, SIM card number, and other information. We have made it so rigorous that it eliminates any chance of SIM swapping. Most people give up after the second or third authentication step, Awan said. Read more: Social Engineering: A Plague on Crypto and Twitter, Unlikely to Stop Perhaps the most important feature and the last step for authorizing a change to an account involves notarizing a letter of intent. Each user must visit a notary public to authorize a change to their service, and this notary is verified by Efanis legal team. Even after this final step, a 7-day cool-off period goes into effect before the new SIM card can be activated. And it cant be any old SIM card bought at your local convenience store, either; Efani sends each account holder two encrypted SIM cards when they sign up with the service, and only the backup is authorized to carry the users number if the old card is lost. Old tricks, new dogs On top of these measures, Efani conducts background checks of all employees, requires multi-employee authorization to make account changes and stores customer information in server silos to keep data segregated. Additionally, customer names and phone numbers are kept separate. Efanis plans are also insured up to $5 million by Lloyds of London for any theft or data breach that may occur through Efanis services. Awan, who bootstrapped the company with his own finances, said that its profitable and on track to hit 7 figures in revenue this year. About a third of its clients are cryptocurrency users, he said, adding that the rest are typically high profile individuals, including professional athletes for the L.A. Lakers and San Francisco Giants, other celebrities and a fair number of lawyers. When asked what can be done to fix the current state of SIM swapping (without starting a competing business), Awan was pessimistic about the capacity for change in legacy providers. Most customer service employees, who are contractors to begin with, are not sophisticated enough to understand the threat level. Moreover, changing something that affects so few customers anyway is probably not on their radar, especially considering it would require a complete overhaul of their processes. I dont think this problem will be solved by any carrier. Changing the current system would require updating the system and processes for every mobile account in America and this is not easy to do, Awan said. The second problem is that the carriers want to believe this is not an issue. It affects probably 1% of the population. Itd be like saying, Ok, every car sold in the U.S. comes with bulletproof glass. Related Stories This Entrepreneur Was SIM Swapped So Often, He Started a Company to Fight It This Entrepreneur Was SIM Swapped So Often, He Started a Company to Fight It || PureStake raises $1.4 million to launch Ethereum-compatible network on Polkadot: Blockchain startup PureStake has raised $1.4 million in seed funding to launch Moonbeam Network — the Ethereum-compatible smart contract platform built on top of Polkadot.
The seed round was led by Hypersphere Ventures, Polkadot co-founder Robert Habermeier’s venture firm, with participation from Arrington XRP Capital, HashKey, and Bitcoin.com Exchange, among others.
Moonbeam is a Polkadot parachain, Katie Butler, director of marketing at PureStake, told The Block, adding that it is focused on making it easy for Ethereum developers to deploy existing smart contracts to a Polkadot-based environment. It means Ethereum developers can use the same developer tools and code they already use and can get access to the Polkadot ecosystem, said Butler.
Moonbeam launched its first testnet earlier this year and expects to deliver a parachain deployment on Polkadot in Q2 2021. Esports betting protocol BetProtocol and cross-chain synthetic asset protocolLinear Financewill be leveraging Moonbeam smart contracts.
© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. || Trump Vs. Biden II: How To Watch The Final Presidential Debate Of 2020: Ahead of the 2020 U.S. election on Nov. 3, the final presidential debate takes place Thursday evening. President Donald Trump and former VIce President Joe Biden will debate for only the second time this year. The 90-minute debate is scheduled to start around 9 p.m. ET. Benzinga will be live streaming the debate from our YouTube account, which you can watch in the video below. The debate will be held at the Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and moderated by NBC News journalist Kristen Welker. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the topics of Thursday's debate include: fighting COVID-19, American families, national security, leadership, climate change and race in America. Following the first contentious debate between the two candidates, the commission said their microphones will be muted during portions of the debate. See Also: How The Stock Market May React To A Contested Election Cannabis Stocks, Cruise Lines Have A Lot To Gain From A Biden Victory Donald Trump's Latest Thoughts On COVID-19 Vaccines, Social Media, China And More See more from Benzinga Options Trades For This Crazy Market: Get Benzinga Options to Follow High-Conviction Trade Ideas Bitcoin Is Once Again Approaching ,000 4 Nordic Stocks That Actually Trade With Volume In The US © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || The stock market has made its final prediction: Joe Biden will win the presidential election: Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism,subscribe today.Even when the polls were wrong in 2016, the stock market’s time-tested “presidential predictor”was rightabout who would win the election: The S&P 500’s 2.2% decline in the three months leading up to November four years ago signaled that the incumbent party in the White House—the Democrats—would be replaced.In other words, the stock market predicted Donald Trump would defeat Hillary Clinton despitepolls to the contrary.Now, the same stock market indicator—which is dependent upon S&P 500 performance for the three months from August through the end of October—has finalized its prediction. With the S&P 500 down slightly (just 0.6%) over that period on the last trading day of October, the stock market’spresidential predictor, as it’s known by market analysts, is officially signaling that Joe Biden will win the election.
Though the dip is minor, the negative S&P 500 performance over those three months indicates that the incumbent party—in other words, President Trump—will be voted out of the White House and replaced with a Democrat.
The pattern has held true for almost a century, since 1928, according to Sam Stovall, the chief investment strategist of CFRA who has long tracked the S&P 500. Since 1944, negative performance by the stock index over the key time frame has correctly predicted a changeover in the presidential party 88% of the time (see chart below). Only once has itbeen wrong, in 1956. (Meanwhile, positive performance by the S&P 500 in that time period has indicated reelection of the party in the White House 82% of the time.)
While there is no proven explanation for why the stock market has such a high batting average when it comes to the winner of the presidential election, analysts theorize that it likely has to do with uncertainty around the future. Investors tend to sell stocks when it’s unclear how events will play out—just see earlier this year when the coronavirus plunged the world into chaos and caused a bear market. Therefore, the thinking goes, the selloff may reveal uncertainty about how a President from a new political party will shape policy in the coming years.
Even though the S&P 500’s decline is small over the relevant prediction period, it can still be right: In the 2000 election when George W. Bush defeated Al Gore (who was then the incumbent party, following Democrat Bill Clinton), the S&P 500 was down just 0.1% from August through October, according to CFRA. Of course, the 2000 election was notoriously close, with a highly contested result that was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court—something that many politicos are already expecting could happen with this year’s election, given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and changed voting protocols.
Still, cautions Stovall, “the presidential predictor implies, but does not guarantee, a Biden victory.”
Whether the predictor will succeed in 2020, investors and voters will have to wait until at least Election Day on Nov. 3 (orlikely longer) to find out. But no matter what happens next week, stocks have officially sealed their prediction.
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This story was originally featured onFortune.com || The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – October 3rd, 2020: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, fell by 0.44% on Friday. Following on from a 1.51% on Thursday, Bitcoin ended the day at $10,586.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning intraday high $10,686.0 before hitting reverse. Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $10,919, Bitcoin slid to a late morning intraday low $10,391.0. Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $10,404 before finding support. A partial recovery saw Bitcoin strike an afternoon high $10,607 before easing back into the red. The near-term bullish trend remained intact, in spite of the latest pullback. For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $6,400 to form a near-term bearish trend. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the majors, it was a bearish day on Friday. Bitcoin Cash SV (-6.04%), Cardano’s ADA (-5.05%), Chainlink (-3.93%), and Polkadot (-4.59%) led the way down. Bitcoin Cash ABC (-3.09%), Crypto.com Coin (-2.26%), Ethereum (-2.02%), Litecoin (-2.79%), and Ripple’s XRP (-1.54%) also struggled. Binance Coin saw a modest 0.26% loss on the day, however. In the current week, the crypto total market rose to a Thursday high $344.75bn before falling to a Friday low $320.05bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $327.54bn. Bitcoin’s dominance fell to a Thursday low 58.78% before rising to a Friday high 60.02%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 59.60%. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.25% to $10,560.0. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin fall from an early morning high $10,592.0 to a low $10,549.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day. Bitcoin Cash SV bucked the trend early on, with a 0.43% gain. It was a bearish start for the rest of the majors, however. At the time of writing, Binance Coin was down by 0.82% to lead the way down. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead Bitcoin would need to avoid a fall back through the pivot level at $10,554 to bring the first major resistance level at $10,718 into play. Story continues Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from Friday’s high $10,686.0. Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely cap any upside. In the event of a crypto breakout, Bitcoin could test the second major resistance level at $10,849 before any pullback. Failure to avoid a fall back through the $10,554 pivot would bring the first major support level at $10,423 into play. Barring another extended crypto sell-off, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$10,200 support levels. The second major support level at $10,259 should limit any downside. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Gold Price Forecast – Gold Markets Throw Up Neutral Candlestick Crude Oil Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Look Vulnerable USD/CAD Daily Forecast – Support At 1.3280 Stays Strong Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Show Resiliency Gold Price Prediction – Prices Ease Following Soft Payroll Report The Weekly Wrap – Data, COVID-19, Brexit, and U.S Politics Drove the Majors || Alteryx Surges Over 20% after Lifting Sales Outlook: Alteryx, Inc. (AYX) shares surged 23.46% inMonday’sextended-hours trading session after the data analytics software company raised its third-quarter (Q3) revenue forecast and announced a new chief executive officer (CEO).
Management now expects sales to come in between $126- and $128 million, up from its previous forecast range of $111- to $115 million. FactSet analysts had tipped a consensus figure of $113.5 million. Meanwhile, the company has appointed Mark Anderson to succeed Dean Stoecker as CEO, effectively immediately. However, Stoecker will continue to serve as the firm’s chairman.
“When I decided to transition from day-to-day operations, it was clear to me that Mark is the ideal candidate to serve as Alteryx’s next CEO given his passion for our company and our newly created Analytic Process Automation category, coupled with his experience in scaling organizations,” said Stoecker,per PR Newswire.
As of Oct. 6, 2020, the stock has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion and is down nearly 35% over the past three months. Year to date (YTD), the shares have gained 13.8%. From a valuation standpoint, investors have factored in plenty of upside into the stock. Currently, it trades at 126 times forward earnings.
The company swung to a profit of 2 cents per share in its latest quarter despite noting higher levels of scrutiny on spending across all sectors, resulting in longer sales cycles and smaller deals. The result came in substantially better than the 14 cent EPS loss analysts had anticipated and improved 100% from the year-ago quarter. Moreover, Alteryx added 271 net customers during the period, taking the firm’s total customer count to 6,714, up almost 30% year-over-year (YoY).
Loop Capital analyst Yun Kim initiated coverage on the stock last month with a ‘Hold’ rating and a $110 price target. Kim argues that the company’s fundamentals remain strong and its business sits well positioned to benefit from a post Covid recovery. However, the analyst believes Alteryx’s exposure to large deals present sales execution risks in the current operating environment. Elsewhere on Wall Street, the sentiment is mostly bullish. The stock receives 10 ‘Buy’ ratings, 4 ‘Hold’ ratings, while just one analyst recommends selling the shares.
Alteryx shares have more or less remained rangebound for the past twelve months, fluctuating between $76 and $185. Despite the recent ominous death cross formation – when the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) crosses below the 50-day SMA – the stock looks like opening up today at $140.60 to partially fill the Aug. 7 earnings gap. Active traders should view an impulse rally to crucial overhead resistance around $185 as a mean reversion shorting opportunity. Those who take a short sale should consider buying to cover on a retrace back down to the 200 SMA around the $129 level.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Sellers Could Return Following Test of .7210 to .7258
• The RBA, Stats, and Powell Put the Aussie Dollar, the EUR, and the U.S Dollar in Focus
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• Exxon Mobil Expects Bigger Q3 Loss, But Recovery in Chemicals Industry Would Benefit; Target Price $43 || AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Short-Covering Upside Target Zone Remains .7132 – .7158: The Australian Dollar is easing lower on Thursday following a nearly 1% gain the previous session. That rally was fueled by a weaker U.S. Dollar, which plunged in reaction to optimism over a possible U.S. fiscal stimulus deal before the U.S. presidential election on November 3.
Gains were capped, however, by expectations of a rate cut and the start of an aggressive bond-buying campaign at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy meeting also on November 3.
At 07:21 GMT, theAUD/USDis trading .7109, down 0.0073 or -0.10%.
Lower demand for riskier assets is also weighing on the Aussie with sellers responding to a more than 0.50% dip in the December E-mini S&P 500 Index in overnight trading.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through .7021 will reaffirm the downtrend. A move through .7243 will change the main trend to up.
The support is a longer-term retracement area at .7095 to .7020.
The minor range is .7243 to .7021. Its retracement zone at .7132 to .7158 is resistance. This zone stopped the buying on Wednesday.
The short-term range is .7414 to .7006. Its retracement zone at .7210 to .7258 is another potential upside target. This zone is controlling the near-term direction of the Forex pair.
The early price action suggests the direction of the AUD/USD on Thursday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the main 50% level at .7095.
A sustained move over .7095 will indicate the presence of aggressive counter-trend buyers. This could trigger a rally into .7132 to .7158. Since the main trend is down, sellers could come in on a test of this area.
Overtaking .7158, however, could trigger an acceleration to the upside with .7210 the next likely upside target.
A sustained move under .7095 will signal the presence of sellers. The first downside target is the pivot at .7079, followed by a support cluster at .7021 – .7020.
https://www.fxempire.com/markets/aud-usd/overview
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 16276.34, 16317.81, 16068.14, 15955.59, 16716.11, 17645.41, 17804.01, 17817.09, 18621.31, 18642.23
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-03-23]
BTC Price: 1038.59, BTC RSI: 42.17
Gold Price: 1246.90, Gold RSI: 63.04
Oil Price: 47.70, Oil RSI: 32.79
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin is tanking after Chinese exchanges block withdrawals: (A bitcoin sign in a window in Toronto.Reuters/Mark Blinch)
Bitcoin was down by 8%, or $85, at $975 a coin as of 4:06 p.m. ET on Thursday after at leasttwoofChina'sbiggest bitcoin exchanges announced they were blocking customers from withdrawing their bitcoins. The announcements followedWednesday's meetingbetween the People's Bank of China and the bitcoin exchanges.
Thursday's announcements are notable becausenearly 100% of all bitcoin transactionstake place on Chinese exchanges. The cryptocurrency has had a wild start to 2017 after gaining 120% in 2016, when it became thetop-performing currencyfor a second straight year.
Bitcoin gained more than 20% in the opening week of 2017 before crashing by 35% on concerns China would startcracking down on trading. China's largest bitcoin exchanges recently announced they would charge a flat fee of 0.2% on all transactions.
Thursday's steep slide has pushed bitcoin to its lowest level since the final trading day of January. It is still higher by 3.6% for the year.
(Investing.com)
NOW WATCH:Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin is zooming higher
• Bitcoin is rallying for an 8th straight day
• Bitcoin is back above $1,000 || Friday Hot Reads: US Jobs, Wages Show Solid Gains In Trump's First Full Month: Compiled by ETF.com Staff
US Jobs, Wages Show Solid Gains In Trump's First Full Month(Bloomberg)U.S. employers added jobs at an above-average pace for a second month on outsized gains in construction and manufacturing.
Names Matter in Bond ETFs As Gundlach Clobbers Gross's Old Fund(Bloomberg)Since losing star bond fund manager Bill Gross to Janus Capital Group in 2014, thePimco Total Return Active ETF (BOND)is sinking, having hemorrhaged more than $1.4 billion in outflows. Compare that to a similar actively managed bond fund that’s retained its star power, Jeffrey Gundlach’sSPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF, TOTL. It’s attracted $3.1 billion over the same period.
From First Filing To Final Decision: Journey Of The Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF(CoinDesk)As the SEC decision looms, take a look back at how this ETF came to be.
Big ETF Sees Epic Bounce & The Best Could Still Be Ahead(CNBC)TheiShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) is up more than 12% year-to-date. This makes it the best performer among all the world's large-cap ETFs.
Building Trust, Fiduciary Rule Or Not(Vanguard)Regardless of the final outcome of the DOL rule, trust is critical to the advisor/client relationship.
The OPEC Deal Is Facing Its Biggest Test(Bloomberg Markets)The producer group is focused on whittling away the crude inventory surplus and driving up oil's depressed prices.
Market Suddenly Having Second Thoughts On Reflation(Bloomberg Markets)Oil prices collapsed, threatening the reflation trend, as energy prices have been a key driver of inflation.
Why Opportunities Abound For Active Bond Investors(BlackRock Blog)The diversity of needs and goals among fixed-income investors means there are opportunities to outperform bond indexes.
US Household Wealth Rose $2.04 Trillion In Fourth Quarter(Bloomberg)Household wealth in the U.S. continued to increase in the fourth quarter as financial assets and real-estate values appreciated.
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Permalink| © Copyright 2017ETF.com.All rights reserved || Bitcoin is now more valuable than gold, but don’t read too much into it: The price of bitcoin(Exchange: BTC=-USS)continues to rise, setting a fresh record high. The price for one bitcoin is now worth more than one ounce of gold(Exchange: XAU=), but this is less significant than it may seem, say experts.
Gold and bitcoin prices crossed overnight. The crypto currency has set a fresh record high of $1,290.13, while a gold ounce currently trades around $1,228.
Part of the reason for the switch is that gold has had a rough week. The price for the precious metal has fallen more than 2 percent this week, due to the strengthening dollar and several indications from members of the Federal Reserve hinting towards a potential interest rate hike in March.
Meanwhile, the price for the digital currency is up more than 7 percent this week. A recentregulatory clamp down by the People's Bank of Chinahas proven beneficial for bitcoin. Speculation around an imminent decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on whether it will approve a bitcoin-based ETF (exchange traded fund) has also created heavy buying pressure.
Looking more broadly, bitcoin has enjoyed a stellar recovery over the past 12 months, climbing more than 214 percent from a low level of $407.98 last March.
In contrast, the price for gold has fallen 1 percent over the past 12 months. Gold prices fell heavily following the result of the U.S. election, but have been recovering steadily since mid-December.
However, while bitcoin prices are climbing, the digital currency has a much lower market cap compared to gold, highlights Fran Strajnar, co-founder & CEO of data and research company Brave New Coin.
"The gold supply is 180,000 tonnes of 'above ground' gold, valued at $7 trillion. The bitcoin market value is $20 billion, so gold vs bitcoin is psychological more than anything," he told CNBC via email.
"The comparison is perhaps a positive signal that bitcoin is being commoditized. But bitcoin is not a commodity, while gold has been a commodity for thousands of years."
The price movement is less significant than it may seem, says Adrian Ash, head of research at Bullion Vault.
"Price is just a number, and overtaking one ounce of gold doesn't in itself mean much. More important is that bitcoin is making new highs. That signals both a growing appetite for alternative assets and also that crypto currency is finding new, perhaps unwary, buyers," he told CNBC via email.
Charles Hayter, founder of digital currency comparison website CryptoCompare, said there is ultimately no significance behind bitcoin prices being higher than gold prices.
"Bitcoin has been linked to gold as a store of value and a flight to safety - the truth is that bitcoin is its own asset class in its own right and does fairly well in times of uncertainty - however it is also subject to its own internal forces too, such as its governance or lack of to be more accurate," he told CNBC via email.
Also, bitcoin prices could be set for a shock if the SEC does not approve a bitcoin ETF. Strajnar predicts it is unlikely to pass.
"This is for a few reasons but mainly because no ETF in the US has the issuer also act as custodian and index provider all in one. We assume this application is still viewed as a qualitative risk to investors by the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)," he said.
"If the ETF is not approved we expect a correction and consolidation period but growing adoption and the deflationary supply of bitcoin suggests a continued uptrend in the medium term."
More From CNBC
• Morgan Stanley and Goldman should ‘hang heads in shame’ over Snap IPO: Analyst
• Samsung to Nokia: The hottest gadgets unveiled this week
• Google Assistant fights back against Amazon Alexa as battle of voice AI heats up || Bitcoin is now more valuable than gold, but dont read too much into it: The price of bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) continues to rise, setting a fresh record high. The price for one bitcoin is now worth more than one ounce of gold (Exchange: XAU=) , but this is less significant than it may seem, say experts. Gold and bitcoin prices crossed overnight. The crypto currency has set a fresh record high of $1,290.13, while a gold ounce currently trades around $1,228. Part of the reason for the switch is that gold has had a rough week. The price for the precious metal has fallen more than 2 percent this week, due to the strengthening dollar and several indications from members of the Federal Reserve hinting towards a potential interest rate hike in March. Meanwhile, the price for the digital currency is up more than 7 percent this week. A recent regulatory clamp down by the People's Bank of China has proven beneficial for bitcoin. Speculation around an imminent decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on whether it will approve a bitcoin-based ETF (exchange traded fund) has also created heavy buying pressure. Looking more broadly, bitcoin has enjoyed a stellar recovery over the past 12 months, climbing more than 214 percent from a low level of $407.98 last March. In contrast, the price for gold has fallen 1 percent over the past 12 months. Gold prices fell heavily following the result of the U.S. election, but have been recovering steadily since mid-December. However, while bitcoin prices are climbing, the digital currency has a much lower market cap compared to gold, highlights Fran Strajnar, co-founder & CEO of data and research company Brave New Coin. "The gold supply is 180,000 tonnes of 'above ground' gold, valued at $7 trillion. The bitcoin market value is $20 billion, so gold vs bitcoin is psychological more than anything," he told CNBC via email. "The comparison is perhaps a positive signal that bitcoin is being commoditized. But bitcoin is not a commodity, while gold has been a commodity for thousands of years." The price movement is less significant than it may seem, says Adrian Ash, head of research at Bullion Vault. "Price is just a number, and overtaking one ounce of gold doesn't in itself mean much. More important is that bitcoin is making new highs. That signals both a growing appetite for alternative assets and also that crypto currency is finding new, perhaps unwary, buyers," he told CNBC via email. Charles Hayter, founder of digital currency comparison website CryptoCompare, said there is ultimately no significance behind bitcoin prices being higher than gold prices. Story continues "Bitcoin has been linked to gold as a store of value and a flight to safety - the truth is that bitcoin is its own asset class in its own right and does fairly well in times of uncertainty - however it is also subject to its own internal forces too, such as its governance or lack of to be more accurate," he told CNBC via email. Also, bitcoin prices could be set for a shock if the SEC does not approve a bitcoin ETF. Strajnar predicts it is unlikely to pass. "This is for a few reasons but mainly because no ETF in the US has the issuer also act as custodian and index provider all in one. We assume this application is still viewed as a qualitative risk to investors by the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)," he said. "If the ETF is not approved we expect a correction and consolidation period but growing adoption and the deflationary supply of bitcoin suggests a continued uptrend in the medium term." More From CNBC Morgan Stanley and Goldman should hang heads in shame over Snap IPO: Analyst Samsung to Nokia: The hottest gadgets unveiled this week Google Assistant fights back against Amazon Alexa as battle of voice AI heats up View comments || Did You Hear About MIT's New Civil Disobedience Award?: Did you hear about theMIT Media Lab'snew proposition? If not, it's simple: win $250,000 by breaking the rules or shaking up the status quo.
Yes, that's right. The MIT Media Lab's "Disobedience Award" will be presented to "a person or group engaged in what we believe is an extraordinary example of disobedience for the benefit of society."
MIT explained that the winner needs to abide to non-violence measures and isn't limited to specific disciplines, such as scientific research, civil rights, freedom of speech, human rights and the freedom to innovate.
Don't Count On A NYSE-Listed Company On Winning
Needless to say, Western corporations follow the law and there are few, if any, companies that are "self-sacrificial" for the common good. Companies may take a stance, such asApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) refusing to comply with an FBI order to assist the government in unlocking an iPhone used by one of the terrorists involved in theSan Bernardino attack.
Bitcoin?
It would be reasonable to assume a Bitcoin company could be considered for the award.
The anonymous digital currency offers individuals across the world the ability to move money without government surveillance. This is especially true in heavily restricted countries like China where individuals aren't permitted to move $50,000 outside of the country.
Are there any companies you think could or should be up for the award?
See Also:
Tim Cook: FBI Is Asking Apple For Something Too Dangerous To Create
Brave New Coin Is The Bloomberg Of Blockchain
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• Attention Detroit Entrepreneurs: Google Demo Day Is Right Around The Corner
• McDonald's Mobile Ordering Is Now A Reality
• Goldman Highlights Positive iPhone Data Out of China, Taiwan
© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Friday Hot Reads: US Jobs, Wages Show Solid Gains In Trump's First Full Month: Compiled by ETF.com Staff US Jobs, Wages Show Solid Gains In Trump's First Full Month (Bloomberg) U.S. employers added jobs at an above-average pace for a second month on outsized gains in construction and manufacturing. Names Matter in Bond ETFs As Gundlach Clobbers Gross's Old Fund (Bloomberg) Since losing star bond fund manager Bill Gross to Janus Capital Group in 2014, the Pimco Total Return Active ETF (BOND) is sinking, having hemorrhaged more than $1.4 billion in outflows. Compare that to a similar actively managed bond fund that’s retained its star power, Jeffrey Gundlach’s SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF, TOTL . It’s attracted $3.1 billion over the same period. From First Filing To Final Decision: Journey Of The Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF (CoinDesk) As the SEC decision looms, take a look back at how this ETF came to be. Big ETF Sees Epic Bounce & The Best Could Still Be Ahead (CNBC) The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB ) is up more than 12% year-to-date. This makes it the best performer among all the world's large-cap ETFs. Building Trust, Fiduciary Rule Or Not (Vanguard) Regardless of the final outcome of the DOL rule, trust is critical to the advisor/client relationship. The OPEC Deal Is Facing Its Biggest Test (Bloomberg Markets) The producer group is focused on whittling away the crude inventory surplus and driving up oil's depressed prices. Market Suddenly Having Second Thoughts On Reflation (Bloomberg Markets) Oil prices collapsed, threatening the reflation trend, as energy prices have been a key driver of inflation. Why Opportunities Abound For Active Bond Investors (BlackRock Blog) The diversity of needs and goals among fixed-income investors means there are opportunities to outperform bond indexes. US Household Wealth Rose $2.04 Trillion In Fourth Quarter (Bloomberg) Household wealth in the U.S. continued to increase in the fourth quarter as financial assets and real-estate values appreciated. Story continues Recommended Stories Gundlach On Why Interest Rates Are Falling ETFs With The Largest Premiums & Discounts Friday Hot Reads: This India ETF Is Soaring Funds Of Funds Make Sense For ETF Investors BlackRock’s Rieder: Emerging Markets Top Junk Bonds Permalink | © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved || Maple syrup water tapped from trees is the next coconut water: san francisco fancy food show 2186 (Melia Robinson/Business Insider) In 2016, coconut water generated $2.3 billion in sales worldwide. The makers of a new designer brew — a subtly sweet water tapped from maple trees — want to ride the coattails of coconut water's success all the way to the bank. Maple water has captured a modest following since it debuted in 2013. While coconut water still commands 98% of the global "alternative waters" market (which includes water harvested from bamboo, cactus, and artichokes) , maple water has made gains. A recent report from food and drink market researcher Zenith predicts the maple water market will triple in size by 2020. It's unclear how much revenue the category currently drives. "It's not coconut water, yet, from a category-size. We all like to hope that it gets to be that big at some point in time," Mike Roberts, vice president of sales at Sap on Tap , tells Business Insider. The company, founded in 2015, sources water tapped from maple trees on farms across the Northeast. Arbeau , a luxury line of maple waters available in tap and sparkling, launched in 2016 in Canada. The brand's creator, Leanne Pawluk, likens the product to wine. Each batch will take on a slightly different flavor profile, just as wines change season to season. san francisco fancy food show 2197 ("We wanted it to be the champagne of waters," Leanne Pawluk, creator of Arbeau, told Business Insider.Melia Robinson/Business Insider) When I first tried maple water, I expected to taste a sugary syrup similar to what I pour over pancakes. Instead, sipping from a Dixie cup of Sap on Tap water was refreshing. The clear liquid tasted like normal water with a spot of honey — sweet, but not as sugary as a Coca Cola. Each spring, maple tree farmers tap their trees to catch the maple water, which is also known as sap. That liquid — made up of about 98% water and 2% sugar — gets boiled down until it becomes the sticky-sweet staple of breakfast foods, according to Michael Farrell, a maple specialist at Cornell University. It takes 40 gallons of sap to yield one gallon of maple syrup. Maple water may be a more sustainable commercial product than syrup. The trees only give about three gallons of sap per year, and farmers could stretch that supply further in its raw form. In order to be sold, the sap must be filtered to separate out bugs and bacteria. Most products have a shelf life of less than one year. Maple tree sap syrup barn new hampshire (A Parker's Maple Barn employee pours maple tree sap into a larger bucket in Brookline, New Hampshire.Elise Amendola/AP) The future of maple water is ambiguous, however, as climate change threatens sap production . Some predict that fewer freeze-thaw cycles during the late winter and early spring could throw the brakes on sap production. Others worry maple trees will die out due to climate change. Story continues Farrell, who directs a maple syrup research station in Lake Placid, New York, has a more optimistic view. In his book, " The Sugarmaker's Companion ," he outlines several workarounds, including moving up the harvest as temperatures rise and relocating the industry to mid-Atlantic states. And if a warm winter leads to a low sap yield, the product becomes more exclusive. "It's sustainable, it's renewable," Pawluk says. "And it's super cool because it's water from a tree." NOW WATCH: Here's why maple syrup jugs have teeny tiny handles More From Business Insider A Swedish town could give employees paid time off to have sex CEOs love the corner office, but research says it's overrated Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it View comments || The biggest bitcoin news site bought the best bitcoin data app: It was one year ago thatDigital Currency Group, the leading investment firm in digital currency startups, bought CoinDesk, the leading trade publication that covers digital currency news. Now CoinDesk is making its own acquisition, its first ever: CoinDesk has bought Lawnmower, for an undisclosed price.
Lawnmower first launched in 2015 as a roundup app (apopular format these days for finance-related apps) for buying bitcoin. You would connect the app to a credit card, and it would round up the spare change on your transactions and use it to buy bitcoin. The purchases were made through a plug-in toCoinbase, the No. 1 US bitcoin wallet.
Last summer, Lawnmower shifted its buying model, ditching the roundup structure and instead allowing users to buy bitcoin any time they wish, and to have the app make a monthly purchase of a pre-set amount. “We viewed the spare change roundups as more of a limitation,” said cofounder and CFO Alex Sunnarborg at the time. “If you want a serious investment platform, spare change is going to be inherently low-volume.”
But the real value of Lawnmower was its data.
As the app evolved, its bitcoin price chart got better and better for users: visually clean, easy to adjust, updating in real time. (In my opinion, as a reporter who has covered bitcoin and blockchain since 2011, Lawnmower is the best mobile app for price data, while CoinDesk has the best desktop price charts.) Along the way, Lawnmower added price charts and data for additional digital currencies Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin. It also created its own Lawnmower Blockchain Index, a fund with different digital currencies, weighted by market cap. Tracking the performance of Lawnmower’s index provided a useful gauge of how these assets were performing overall.
Lawnmower’s data (on each coin’s price fluctuation, market cap, total supply, and trading volume) is why CoinDesk came calling. CoinDesk will roll Lawnmower’s data into its own desktop site and mobile app, and into its paid research reports, a business it is looking to expand. “Pretty much everything CoinDesk is doing is right in our skill set,” says Sunnarborg. (Lawnmower had even added news headlines to its app, so a sale to a news outlet makes some sense.)Lawnmower cofounders Pieter Gorsira and Patrick Archambeau will lead CoinDesk’s engineering team, while Sunnarborg will join CoinDesk’s research team as an analyst.
“While we were excited about Lawnmower’s buy/sell functionality and the traction they had made, we were much more intrigued by the data and market research elements,” says Ryan Selkis, who moved over from DCG to run CoinDesk’s business after DCG acquired it last year. DCG, led byBarry Silbert (who founded SecondMarket in 2004 and sold it to Nasdaq in 2015), has invested in 80 digital currency startups.
Lawnmower’s app will shut down soon, and CoinDesk will take the data elements, butnotthe bitcoin-buying functionality—specifically to avoid any ethical conflicts. “Since we did ultimately see a conflict with owning an app that facilitated the purchase of digital currencies, buy/sell functionality will not be included in the new CoinDesk app,” says Selkis.
Indeed, it would raise ethical red flags if a web site objectively covering bitcoin companies also offered users the ability to buy bitcoin. CoinDesk being owned by a bitcoin startup investment firm also might raise similar alarms, but at the time of purchase, DCG vowed to assemble strict walls between the CoinDesk editorial team and the CoinDesk business side. At the CoinDesk office, there is aliteral wall between the editorial team and the business team.
“I think the divide with the new research department will be about figuring out where the research product makes sense,” says Sunnarborg, “and what the wall is between a long editorial feature piece, versus a paid research piece. It’s exciting stuff but definitely there’s a divide we will navigate.”
Selkis says that while the CoinDesk editorial team will remain strictly separate from the business side, “There may be some overlap with the product and research teams, none of which we view as detrimental to our [editorial] team given the removal of buy/sell functionality.”
Customers with bitcoin balances in Lawnmower will not need to transfer funds over, since all Lawnmower accounts exist through Coinbase accounts.
The bitcoin industry has seen a fair amount of consolidation in the past two years, especially among bitcoin exchange sites and particularly among non-US companies. To name a few: last year Kraken, which is US-based but does most of its trading volume in euros,bought New York-based exchange Coinsetter, afterCoinsetter had previously bought Canadian exchange Cavirtex. Kraken alsobought Dutch exchange CleverCoin. In 2015, Mexican exchangeBitso bought Mexican exchange Unisend.
Lawnmower had raised $200,000 in funding from firms including Draper Associates and Boost VC; it won’t share how many users it had amassed, but Sunnarborg says that once it shifted its bitcoin-buying model to automatic trading in a set amount,80% of users chose the automatic trades. “What that says to me is this market moves so fast, a lot of people want a passive strategy so that they can just sit back and they don’t have to pay such close attention to the ups and downs each week. It’s a responsible strategy.”
In addition, once Lawnmower added price data for additional coins like Ripple and Litecoin, users took to them frequently. That has a lesson for bitcoin media like CoinDesk: “I think everyone is realizing they can’t just cover bitcoin and blockchain, they also need to cover Ethereum, Ripple, and so on. It’s proof that this is an interesting asset class.”
—
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite.
Read more:
Bitcoin is becoming the new gold
Expect more blockchain hype in 2017
Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain
Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now
Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever || No Bitcoin ETF Says SEC: What's Next?: Bitcoin may be hogging limelight in the investing world, but its ETF form was not that attractive to the SEC. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust has filed for one to make bets on this soaring digital currency easy. Investors were hoping for a YES from the SEC, but the opposite happened. The SEC declined the proposal apprehending chances of fraud (read: Will Bitcoin ETF See the Light of Day in March?).
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoins are ‘mined’ by using a greater amount of computer processing power. However, since there is a fixed amount of bitcoins, as the limit is reached, it becomes hard to ‘mine’ for the coins. The best part of this system is that it is beyond the reach of central banks.
SEC Version
The committee did not “find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest.”
The news hit the cryptocurrency hard on the March 10 judgement day when its price fell about 15% to $1,050. Bitcoin pricings had been firing on all cylinders since the beginning of 2017, which drove it past the $1,100 mark on February 21, 2017 – the highest in more than three years. Notably, its value beat the $900 mark in late December for the first time since February 2014. In mid-2015, the currency was at around $200 (read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency).
The tussle between the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and Winklevoss over the launch has been going on for about three years. In fact, the issuer has restructured the proposals for the Bitcoin ETF multiple times.
What Next?
While the first ETF did not gain approval, other issuers filed for their products on this currency. SolidX Partners sought SEC approval last July for its bitcoin ETF, SolidX Bitcoin Trust, which also would be listed on the NYSE. In January 2017, Grayscale Investments filed to list its own Bitcoin Investment Trust on the NYSE. The SEC’s rigidity could also make the situation tough for these two products.
However, after an initial dip, the bitcoin bounced back all over again. It has gained about 13% since the SEC’s decision. This could be because of the fact “bitcoin isn’t regulated by any government and has been used by consumers worldwide to shelter assets from inflation or political upheavals in their home countries.”
Bloomberg noted that bitcoin topped all key foreign-exchange trades, stock indexes, currencies and commodity contracts last year, which can be a proof of its sturdiness.
As per CNBC, “bitcoin is a very volatile asset” but doesn’t have a strong correlation with other asset classes. Bourgeoning trading volumes in China, bitcoin’s largest market, has favored the price. As Chinese investors wanted to shield their portfolio from a depreciating yuan, they bet big on bitcoin, driving the currency to double in 2016.
Moreover, trading volumes in China have been solid with the government taking proactive measures against illegal money transfer. As per an article published on CNBC, Bitcoin is emerging as a safe haven asset like gold.
WithSPDR Gold SharesGLD coming under pressure due to rising rate prospects in the U.S. and a higher greenback, one can possibly find safety in seemingly safe or alternative assets like bitcoin.
Other digital currencies like Ethereum, Dash and Monero have also been gaining considerable attention these days. Since SEC’s bitcoin ETF decision on March 10, 2017, these three currencies have gained about 60%, 59% and 40%, respectively.
Bottom Line
The prospect may be strengthening for bitcoin, but the SEC needs more proof of the safety in bitcoin trading. Only then can we expect a bitcoin ETF. As of now, investors have to be happy with traditional safe-haven assets and gold and silver bullion ETFs like GLD andiShares Silver TrustSLV (read: 3 Safe-Haven ETFs to Watch on Market Correction).
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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-SLVR TR (SLV): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report || Bitcoin dives below $1,000: Bitcoinis back below $1,000. Overnight selling has pushed the cryptocurrency down 1.10%, or $11, to $989 a coin, and below the psychologically important level for the first time since February 3 as sellers remain in control following the decision by some of China's largest exchanges toblock withdrawals.
Last Thursday, following a meeting with the People's Bank of China,HuobiandOK Coinannounced customers would be blocked from withdrawing their bitcoins.
The announcement comes following a wild start to 2017 for bitcoin. It rallied more than 20% in the opening week of the year before crashing 35% on fears China would crack down on trading.
Last week's announcement wasn't the first action China's exchanges have taken this year to curb trading. Earlier, they announced they would begincharging a flat feeof 0.2% per transaction.
(Markets Insider)
NOW WATCH:Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin dropped sharply and suddenly on more news out of China
• Bitcoin is zooming higher
• DEUTSCHE BANK: Trump could name China a 'currency manipulator' in the coming weeks
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Финтех-сражение - http://www.finversia.ru #Bitcoin #cryptochan http://bit.ly/2lRlgs5 || Show´s OVER...(!) #Bitcoin || Current price of Bitcoin is $1192.00 via Chain || Finally trained husky to watch the price for me.: http://ift.tt/2m04JRU #bitcoin #btc || Get Paid Automatic Bitcoin Income - Earn $25/Hr Straight To Your Bitcoin Wallet https://autobitcoinbuilder.com/?ref=karodd65#.WKV8t9A5huQ.twitter … || Si le Proof of Work est très énergivore, le Proof of Stake apporte une révolution en la matière sur la #blockchain #ethereum #EDCON #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/h9uvsomvNd || A #blockchain map... which companies are doing what? http://bit.ly/2lgdLgB via @tealdit {#fintech #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #dlt}pic.twitter.com/ozK6GDIwLU || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$1235.01/$1236.97 #Bitstamp
$1220.00/$1223.99 #BTCe
⇢$-16.97/$-11.02
$1237.67/$1250.21 #Coinbase
⇢$0.70/$15.20 || Precio del #bitcoin al momento se aprecia 2.33% y se cotiza a USD $1,032.65 vía @MundoVideopic.twitter.com/znfE4gWqmF || [http://blockchainster.com ] Bitcoin Is Rising, And So Will BITCOIN SERVICES I COM USD0.001 (OTCMKTS:BTSC) http://dlvr.it/NPgM14 #blockchain
|
Trend: up || Prices: 937.52, 972.78, 966.72, 1045.77, 1047.15, 1039.97, 1026.43, 1071.79, 1080.50, 1102.17
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Graphic: The best first half for financial markets ever: By Marc Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - What a six months for financial markets. Global equities have piled on $8 trillion, bonds are on fire, oil prices have surged by almost a quarter and a Greek bank is one of the world's best performing stocks.
Everything added together it may well be the best first half of a year ever and one that not even the most wily investor would have predicted after the dire end to 2018 and what has happened since.
The world's two top economies are slugging it out in a full-blown trade war and the recession warning klaxons are blaring, but still the performance numbers and milestones are astonishing.
The $8 trillion surge in global stocks is the result of a near 15% leap in MSCI's world index. That is challenging the dot.com boom days of 1997 as the best H1 in its near 40-year history.
Wall Street is up 18%, Europe 13% and China has jumped 20%, which is a lot of what it lost year even factoring in it has given back 5% since the trade tensions erupted again in early May.
Oil has raced almost 25% higher following its best first quarter since 2009. That has helped Russia's rouble top the currency charts and though industrial metals have buckled badly in Q2, safe-haven gold is now scaling a six-year high.
"It has been really impressive," said Swiss fund managers Pictet's chief strategist Luca Paolini about the rebound from last year's beating. "All sectors, all markets, all asset classes are in positive territory and that is rather unusual."
A mirror image of 2018 when almost everything fell? Perhaps. But there have been two important drivers.
One was China showing it was serious about monetary and fiscal stimulus for its $14 trillion economy. The second of course has been the screeching change of direction by the Federal Reserve which suddenly looks set to cut U.S. interest rates for the first time since the financial crisis.
It has lit a fire under bond markets which have gone off like a rocket.
U.S. Treasuries, the world's benchmark government IOUs, have made a whopping 7 percent as their yields have fallen almost 70 basis points this year. That followed a 37 basis point fall the last quarter of 2018, whereas in the five quarters prior to that they had consistently risen.
German Bunds - Europe's go-to safe asset - have had their best H1 in two years, making roughly 5.5% as the European Central Bank has reversed course too. The yield on 10-year debt dropped below zero percent for the first time since 2016 in March and has since scored record lows.
MY BIG FAT GREEK RALLY
A statistic likely to make most jaws drop is that Greek banks -- remember all that euro debt crisis and capital controls stuff a few years back -- have been some of the world's best performing stocks this year.
The country's biggest lender Piraeus Bank is up 250% and the smaller Attica Bank is up 343%. Athens has also been Europe's best bourse this year, though it all trails the 550% gain vegan darling Beyond Meat has cooked up since its May stock market floatation.
Cryptoassets are back in vogue too with Bitcoin up 220% after its 2018 fall from grace and despite almost daily Brexit chaos and the loss of another prime minister, UK Gilts have returned 4.5%.
More risky high-yield debt, local-currency emerging market bonds and corporate debt have all brought in between 8%-9% and currency markets have been on the turn too.
"It is very unusual to see this breadth of strength," said HSBC Asset Management's chief global strategist, Joseph Little. "The question is, has it been too fast and too furious. It's a very good question."
The Fed's pirouette means the dollar index is about to experience its first quarterly loss in over a year, with the yen up over 2.5% and the euro now back in the black having had its weakest Q1 since 2015.
The oil rally means the Canadian dollar -- up 4% -- and Norwegian crown -- up 1.5% -- have also done well, but as usual the wilder swings have been in emerging markets.
Argentina's peso and Turkey's lira, 2018's punchbags, have taken another beating though it was mainly earlier in the year when worries about both countries' political and economic trajectories started to bite again.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Russian rouble, another big petrocurrency, is up 10.5%. Egypt's pound and the Thai baht are 7.2% and 5.2% higher, while Mexico's peso is now only 2% better off having been sapped by the recent run in with Donald Trump over migrants breaking the border.
FANGS VERY MUCH
Wall Street's rally has left the S&P 500 and Nasdaq enjoying the view at record highs with the so-called FANG tech stocks providing much of the altitude again.
Facebook has surged 44%, Amazon 27 percent, and streaming giant Netflix has soared more than 38%.
Despite the fierce tensions with China over Huawei, the tech sector still tops the S&P 500 too and Microsoft and Cisco are the top two performers on the Dow Jones having both leapt over 30%.
In contrast, China's tech sector is now up 28% year-to-date compared to 46% at the end of Q1 while online behemoth Alibaba has handed back 5% of the 30% it had made.
"The next couple of weeks will set the tone for the second half. If trade talks momentum is gained, it would be hugely positive for risk assets," Stefan Hofer, chief investment officer, LGT Bank Asia said.
"This is the most important (period) since the Global Financial Crisis. I can't emphasise that enough."
Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Graphic: World stocks enjoy vintage H1 https://tmsnrt.rs/2FE0mYC
Graphic: Global markets in H1 https://tmsnrt.rs/2FEK8yw
(Additional reporting by Thyagaraju Adinarayan and Helen Reid in London, April Joyner in New York and Noah Sin in Hong Kong; Editing by Toby Chopra) || 2 Analysts Weigh In On Exxon Mobil's Q2 Earnings: Exxon Mobil Corporation(NYSE:XOM) reportedsecond-quarter resultsto mixed reaction from analysts.
The Analysts
Credit Suisse'sWilliam Featherstonmaintains a Neutral rating on Exxon with a $74 price target.
Bank of America'sDoug Leggatemaintains at Buy, $100 price target.
Credit Suisse: Risks To 2020 EPS
Exxon earned 61 cents per share in the quarter, which fell short of the Street's estimate of 66 cents per share due to weaker performance across all major segments, Featherston wrote in a note. Upstream earnings of $2.8 billion fell 9% from last year, Downstream earnings of $460 million was down 36% year-over-year and Chemicals net income dropped 9% to $186 million.
The company's challenges in the second quarter appear to have carried over to the third quarter as management guided itsUpstream production to be unchanged from the second quarter. Management also indicated it expects to see ongoing weakness in Chemical and R&M margins.
Featherston said Exxon's earnings report marks the second consecutive EPS miss and even if earnings improve in the back half there is risk to the Street's current full-year EPS estimate of $5.07.
BofA: Top Major Oil Pick
Exxon clearly faced headwinds throughout the first half of 2019 but it "has nothing to hide," Leggate wrote in a note. In fact, the company has much to boast, including improved transparency in communicating its strategy.
View more earnings on XOM
The case for naming Exxon as a top pick within the major oil group is threefold, including attractive valuation versus the stock's fair value of $100 per share, a dividend yield of 4.5% affords investors to "wait" and a growth story that's now starting to play out.
Price Action
Shares of Exxon traded lower by 2.6% at $70.10 Monday afternoon.
Related Links:
What The OPEC, OPEC+ Deal Means For Oil Investors
The Bearish Case On A Big Energy ETF
Latest Ratings for XOM
[{"Aug 2019": "Jul 2019", "": "", "Upgrades": "Downgrades", "Sell": "Outperform", "Hold": "Sector Perform"}, {"Aug 2019": "Jul 2019", "": "", "Upgrades": "Maintains", "Sell": "", "Hold": "Equal-Weight"}]
View More Analyst Ratings for XOMView the Latest Analyst Ratings
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || After Hours Action: Alphabet Rises on Earnings Beat, Amazon Stuggles After Earnings Miss: U.S. equity markets were quite busy after the cash market close on Thursday following the release of earnings reports from Google parent company Alphabet and Amazon. The mixed results helped soften the blow from yesterdays sharp sell-off in the major U.S. stock indexes that was fueled by a jump in global yields after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told reporters at a press conference the chances of a recession in the Euro Zone is still pretty low. Alphabet Announces Earnings Beat, Share Repurchase Shares of Google parent company Alphabet initially rose more than 9% after the company reported second-quarter earnings that beat estimates Thursday. Additionally, the companys board of directors approved a repurchase of up to an additional $25 billion of its Class C capital stock. On a call with analysts, CFO Ruth Porat said the capital would be used to support growth and acquisitions and investments. Here are the highlights: Earnings per share: $14.21 per share, ex-items, vs $11.30 per share expected, per Refinitiv survey of analysts. Revenue: $38.94 billion, vs. $38.15 billion expected, per Refinitiv Traffic acquisition costs: $7.24 billion, vs. $7.27 billion, according to StreetAccount Paid clicks on Google properties from Q2 2018 to Q2 2019: +28% Cost-per-click on Google properties from Q2 2018 to Q2 2019: -11% Amazon Beat on Sales, Missed on Earnings Amazon shares fell 2% after the close after reporting mixed results in its second-quarter earnings release on Thursday. The numbers failed to meet profit expectations while exceeding revenue forecasts. The good news for investors is Amazons renewed investments into the company are paying off, driving sales growth at the expense of lower profit margins. On the negative side, the company gave third-quarter profit guidance that fell well-below street estimates. Here are the highlights: Earnings per share: $5.22 vs. $5.57, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv Revenue: $63.4 billion vs. $62.5 billion, according to Refinitiv Story continues Amazon Web Service: $8.38 billion vs $8.5 billion, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Amazons revenue jumped 20% from the year-ago period, a rebound from 16.8% in the first quarter, which was the slowest in four years. After-Hours Performance At 03:52 GMT, Alphabet Inc. Class A shares are trading $1225.00, up $89.06 or +7.84% and Amazon.com, Inc. shares are trading $1941.15, down $32.67 or -1.66%. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Asian Shares Follow U.S. Markets Lower Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 26/07/19 GBP/USD Daily Forecast Sterling at Weekly Lows Ahead of US GDP Rate Swings Fuel Whip-Saw Action Across Several Asset Classes Despite the anticipated Central Bank Policy Panacea equity Investors are getting increasingly Uncomfortable U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis July 26, 2019 Forecast || Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 28/07/19: Bitcoin Cash ABC Holds onto $300 Bitcoin Cash ABC slid by 4.48% on Saturday. Reversing a 4.7% gain from Friday, Bitcoin Cash ABC ended the day at $306. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rise to an early morning intraday high $325 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $327.94, Bitcoin Cash ABC slid to an early afternoon intraday low $298.67. Finding support at the first major support level at $298.54, Bitcoin Cash ABC recovered to $300 levels late in the day. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was down by 0.33% to $305. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rise to a morning high $306.19 before falling to a low $302.10. Steering clear of the major support and resistance levels, Bitcoin Cash ABC recovered to $305 levels. For the day ahead, a move through to $310 levels would bring $320 levels back into play. Bitcoin Cash ABC would need the support of the broader market, however, to take a run at the first major resistance level at $321.11. Barring a broad-based crypto rebound, the first major resistance level and Saturdays high $325 would limit any upside. Failure to move through to $310 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC give up more ground on the day. A fall back through the morning low $302.10 would bring the first major support level at $298.78 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Bitcoin Cash ABC would likely steer clear of sub-$290 support levels on the day. Litecoin Struggles at $90 Litecoin slid by 5.75% on Saturday. Reversing a 1.1% gain from Friday, Litecoin ended the day at $88.87. A bullish start to the day saw Litecoin strike an early intraday high 96.53 before hitting reverse. Litecoin broke through the first major resistance level at $95.94 before sliding to an early afternoon intraday low $86.57. The sell-off saw Litecoin fall through the first major support level at $91.46 and second major support level at $88.58. Finding support late in the day, Litecoin managed to move back to $88 levels to reduce the deficit on the day. Story continues At the time of writing, Litecoin was up by 0.6% to $89.40. A bearish start to the day saw Litecoin fall to an early morning low $87.5 before finding support. Steering clear of the first major support level at $84.78, Litecoin recovered to a morning high $90.14 before easing back. Litecoin left the major resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through to $90.70 levels would support a run at the first major resistance level at $94.74. Litecoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to break out from $91 levels. Barring a crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Saturdays high $96.53 would likely pin Litecoin back from the 38.2% FIB of $99. Failure to move through to $90.70 levels could see Litecoin slide back into the red. A fall back through the morning low $87.5 would bring the first major support level at $84.78 into play. Barring another crypto meltdown, Litecoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $80.70. Ripples XRP Back at $0.31 Levels Ripples XRP fell by 4.31% on Saturday. Reversing a 3.14% gain from Friday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.30945. Tracking the broader market, Ripples XRP struck an early intraday high $0.32836 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the major resistance levels, Ripples XRP slid to a mid-afternoon intraday low $0.30398. Ripples XRP fell through the first major support level at $0.3122 before finding support. A brief return to $0.31 levels was short-lived, with Ripples XRP ending the day at sub-$0.31 levels for the first time since Tuesday. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up by 0.37% to $0.31058. Recovering from an early morning low $0.30772, Ripples XRP hit a morning high $0.31260 before easing back. Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through the morning high $0.3126 to $0.3140 levels would support recovery from Saturdays losses. A move through to $0.3140 levels would bring the first major resistance level at $0.3239 into play. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level, and Saturdays high would leave $0.33 levels out of reach. Failure to move through to $0.3140 levels would see Ripples XRP hit reverse. A fall through the morning low $0.30772 would bring the first major support level at $0.2995 into play before any recovery. Please let us know what you think in the comments below Thanks, Bob This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: GDP Slows, but Consumer Spending Dashes Fears of Recession S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast Stock markets continue sideways grind Weekly Wrap The U.S Dollar Rally. Will the FED Hit Pause on a Rate Cut? Crypto Investors Focus on a Fewer Big Players Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis Price Action Suggests Specs Still Betting on Aggressive Fed Gold Price Prediction -Gold Edges Higher Despite Solid GDP || Facebook Crypto Plans in Doubt, Blockchain ETFs in Focus: After having the best one-month rally in May since the token’s monumental jump in 2017, bitcoin again came under pressure. In the past five days (as of Jul 17, 2019), the cryptocurrency lost about 17.7%, while it is up 153.5% this year. What Led to The Recent Plunge? Bitcoin fell below $10,000 after the U.S. lawmakers interrogated Facebook (FB) on its cryptocurrency plans, especially on privacy- and trust-related issues. Traders said the reason for selling was not immediately clear, but severe political and regulatory scrutiny of digital coins probably led to a downslide in shares. Even President Doland Trump seems to be against the project, as he said Facebook’s digital currency “will have little standing or dependability.” The social media giant is striving to get Washington’s support on its crypto plan. In fact, Facebook startled the investing world, regulators and lawmakers on Jun 18 with its announcement of launching its own digital coin called Libra in 2020, per Reuters. It is now being believed that Facebook will have a tough time to get Senate’s approval. “During the hearing, a U.S. senator said Facebook was “delusional” to believe people will trust it with their money,” was quoted on Reuters. Facebook’s announcement contributed to a meaningful crypto rally in late June when bitcoin prices touched the $13,800-mark. Such pressure from regulators is not new to bitcoin. The SEC hasn’t said yes to any ETF launch proposal on bitcoins so far. SEC is worried about its extreme price volatility in cryptocurrencies and liquidity in bitcoin-related funds. Per Reuters, the virtual currency can be deployed to quickly move money anywhere in the world without any central authority’s intervention, such as a bank or government. The market is pretty unregulated at the current level (read: Yet Another SEC Disapproval for Bitcoin ETF: What Next?). Several central banks issued warnings against it. A number of global central banks are worried that Facebook’s proposed Libra’s entrance could weaken their sovereign currencies. Story continues What Lies Ahead? Though Facebook’s crypto plans could be tossed aside by regulators, the sheer discussion about cryptocurrencies in Congress would give the currency more recognition, which in turn could prove to be a positive for the industry, per some market watchers. CEO at Crypto.com noted that Facebook would resort to some other way to seize this incredible opportunity in an acceptable way. If Libra fails to make it to the market, some forms of investments and M&A could be in the cards for Facebook. Any ETF Alternatives to Play Bitcoin? If you are not sure about the imminent move in bitcoins, you can always tap blockchain ETFs to tap the booming prospects in the space. Blockchains are related but more stable investing options. Per a source, “the blockchain in Bitcoin literally acts a ledger; it keeps track of the balances for all users and updates them as money changes hands.” So, if investors cannot lay their hands on a bitcoin ETF now, they can definitely familiarize themselves with the concept through blockchain ETFs like Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF BLCN, Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF BLOK and First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF LEGR. Unlike bitcoin’s massive losses, these three funds lost in the range of 0.6% to 1% in the past five days (as of Jul 17, 2019). Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK): ETF Research Reports First Trust Indxx Innovative Transaction & Process ETF (LEGR): ETF Research Reports Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (BLCN): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report || Great sign for the ecosystem: Crypto devs are as bullish as ever: Never mind last year’s crushing bear market in crypto. Developers are undaunted, continuing to write code at roughly the same pace as they did during the height of the bull market, according to asurprising new analysisreleased today.
The analysis comes viaElectric Capital, a digital-asset management firm that invests in programmable money and blockchain tech. Its team “fingerprinted” more than 27,000 code repositories and 22 million code commits in Github, to create a report that looks at the health of crypto development.
The analysis showed that though there has certainly been attrition among developers, much of it can be attributed to part-time devs who may have just been dabbling with Web3 technology during the boom.
“Understanding where developers are spending their time is a good way to understand where long-term value may accrue," Avichal Garg, co-founder of Electric Capital told Decrypt.
He pointed out that everything in the new ecosystem depends on devs: Coders create the wallets, dapps, exchanges and infrastructure that’s driving the Web3 ecosystem. “This onboards more users and brings liquidity into the market, he added, ” which, in turn creates a virtuous circle, driving “more developers to want to build more things in that ecosystem.”
Some highlights of the 104-page analysis:
• The biggest developer communities continue to be Ethereum, with more than 1,200, and Bitcoin, with more than 300.
• 1 in five open soruce developers working in crypto are working on Ethereum-related projects.
• Among smaller networks, with less than $50 million in value, Grin has the most devs—33.
• The largest crypto ecosystems are starting to become “meaningful” and share similarities with some of the big open source projects such as Apache and Linux.
“I think the most surprising part is that while prices have gone down 80% from all time highs, code commits are flat,” Garg said.
“This means long-term-minded developers are continuing to write code. Interestingly, the graphs at the end also show that full time developers who do most of the work in the space keep coming in to crypto—even in a bear market. They come in more during a bull market, but they are continuing to enter in a bear market as well, which is great.” || Australia Central Bank Argues Bitcoin Unlikely To Become Mainstream: Australias central bank said bitcoin ( BTC ) and cryptocurrencies would remain outside mainstream payments in a dedicated article issued on June 20. Titled Cryptocurrency: Ten Years On, the document from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) appears to commemorate the past decade of bitcoins existence while admitting zero faith in its future beyond a niche asset. Despite achieving some name recognition, cryptocurrencies are not widely used for payments, its abstract summarizes. This article examines why Bitcoin is unlikely to become a ubiquitous payment method in Australia, and summarises how subsequent cryptocurrencies have sought to address some of the shortcomings of Bitcoin such as its volatility and scalability problems. Australias government remains highly risk-averse on cryptocurrency in general, choosing to warn consumers about perceived risks while adopting an aggressive taxation and data collection policy. As Cointelegraph reported , in April, the countrys tax agency, the Australian Tax Office (ATO), said it would seek to gain records from exchanges in order to conduct individual audits on users as and when necessary. Earlier this month, it emerged investigators were conducting 12 cross-border operations focusing on tax avoidance related to cryptocurrencies. At the Australian level, there is definitely legitimate use for investment in cryptocurrencies, but we're also seeing the use of them to facilitate tax crimes, ATO deputy commissioner, Will Day, commented at the time. The RBA article nonetheless appears to paint a less optimistic picture, championing the Australian dollar as a preferable alternative to cryptocurrency. The researchers concluded: As long as the Australian dollar continues to provide a reliable, low-inflation store of value, and the payments industry continues to work on the efficiency, functionality and resilience of the Australian payments system, it is difficult to envisage cryptocurrencies presenting a compelling proposition that would lead to their widespread use in Australia. Related Articles: 4 Big Reasons Bitcoins Price Will Probably Not Stop at $20K This Time Fidelity-Backed Crypto Analytics Firm to Integrate Twitter-Based Crypto Sentiment Feed Craig Wright Ordered to Personally Appear at Bitcoin Theft Mediation Former Wall Street Exec Tone Vays: There Is No Evidence That the Crypto Winter Is Now Over View comments || John McAfee slams stone age Peter Brandt over altcoin comments: Cyber security pioneer and crypto advocate John McAfee has called out Bitcoin bull Peter Brandt on Twitter after the latter made some disparaging comments about altcoins. @ PeterLBrandt says altcoins are done. His knowledge is stone age, he tweeted. Bitcoin will forever be a store of value, but each transaction allows both parties to see inside their wallets ever after. If banks did this you would scream. Privacy coins dont have this flaw. Just one example. Earlier this week, Brandt encouraged investors not to panic as Bitcoins price dropped. Just because we had a one or two-day correction, that really doesnt mean anything. You can go back in the Bitcoin history and find out all kinds of 30 to 50% corrections within a bull trend. So I think this thing will work itself out, he said. Were dealing with a market like no other, he added. If you cant ride what you own to zero, then you own too much. He also compared the altcoin market to the dotcom bubble and argued that Bitcoins recent strong rallies wont be replicated by other cryptocurrencies. Altcoins will rebound When one of McAfees Twitter followers said that he had a lot of respect for Brandt and noted that not all alts are gone but most have lost 95%+, the former replied: Of course they have. They suffered the same bear market as Bitcoin. They were just hit harder. When they rebound they will increase manifold faster than Bitcoin. The post John McAfee slams stone age Peter Brandt over altcoin comments appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 28/06/19: Bitcoin Cash ABC Sinks Bitcoin Cash ABC tumbled by 14.9% on Thursday. Reversing a 1.9% gain from Wednesday, Bitcoin Cash ABC ended the day at $408.5. It was bearish all the way. Bitcoin Cash ABC slid from a start of a day intraday high $486.35 to a late afternoon intraday low $381.8. Falling well short of the major resistance levels, Bitcoin Cash ABC fell through the first major support level at $450.62 and second major support level at $417.31. Of greater significance on the day was a fall through the 23.6% FIB of $418. Finding support late in the day, Bitcoin Cash ABC managed to recover to $400 levels. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was up by 1.52% to $414.72. Late support from Thursday continued into this morning, with Bitcoin Cash ABC rising from a morning low $408.5 to a high $414.72. Bitcoin Cash ABC left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through to $425 levels would signal a run at $450 levels on the day. Bitcoin Cash ABC would need support from the broader market, however, to take a run at the first major resistance level at $469.30. We would expect Bitcoin Cash ABC to come up short of Thursdays high $486.35, however, in the event of a rebound. Failure to move through to $425 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC take another hit. A fall through to sub-$400 levels would bring the first major support level at $364.75 into play. Litecoin Tracked the Pack Litecoin tumbled by 12.61% on Thursday. Following on from a 3.6% fall from Wednesday, Litecoin ended the day at $114.16. A particularly bearish morning saw Litecoin slide from an intraday high $132.11 to a late morning low $110.12. Litecoin fell through the first major support level at $122.66 and second major support level at $114.69. The start of the day high fell well short of the major resistance levels. The reversal also saw Litecoin slide through the 23.6% FIB of $117. Support through the afternoon led to a brief recovery to $122 levels before sliding back to an intraday low $109.09. Story continues At the time of writing, Litecoin was up by 1.53% to $115.91. A bullish start to the day saw Litecoin rise from a morning low $112.82 to a high $116.62 before easing back. Litecoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through the 23.6% FIB of $117 levels would support a return to $120 levels later in the day. Litecoin would need support from the broader market, however, to take a run at the first major resistance level at $127.82. Barring a broad-based crypto rebound, Litecoin would likely come up short of $130 levels on the day. Failure to move through the 23.6% FIB could see Litecoin slide back into the red. A fall through the morning low $112.82 would bring the first major support level at $104.8 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Litecoin should steer clear of sub-$100 support levels. Ripples XRP Visits sub-$0.40 Ripples XRP slid by 11.69% on Thursday. Following on from a 1.27% fall from Wednesday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.40589. Tracking the broader market, Ripples XRP slid from an intraday high $0.46433 to a mid-morning low $0.40450. The reversal saw Ripples XRP fall through the first major support level at $0.4376 and second major support level at $0.4158. Of greater significance was a fall through the 23.6% FIB of $0.4164. A recovery to $0.43 levels was short-lived, with Ripples XRP sliding to a late afternoon intraday low $0.3900. The only positive on the day was a recovery to $0.40 levels. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up by 0.78% to $0.40904. A positive start to the day saw Ripples XRP rise from a morning low $0.40304 to a high $0.41234. Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through to $0.4200 levels would be needed to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.4495. Ripples XRP would need support from the broader market, however, to break out from $0.42 levels on the day. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Ripples XRP would likely come up short of $0.43 levels. Failure to move through to $0.42 levels could see Ripples XRP hit reverse. A fall through the morning low $0.40304 would bring sub-$0.40 levels into play before any recovery. Barring another crypto meltdown, Ripples XRP should steer well clear of the first major support level at $0.3762. Please let us know what you think in the comments below Thanks, Bob This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 29/06/19 S&P 500 Price Forecast Slow grind higher on Friday E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis Straddling Price Cluster at 26601 to 26602 S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast S&P 500 struggling at the highs E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis Inside Move Indicates Investor Indecision Crude Oil Price Forecast Crude oil markets quiet on Friday || Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 16/08/19: Bitcoin Cash ABC rose by 1.01% on Thursday. Partially reversing a 9.56% tumble on Wednesday, Bitcoin Cash ABC ended the day at $314.45.
A particularly bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC slide to a mid-morning intraday low $265.0.
The sell-off saw Bitcoin Cash ABC slide through the first major support level at $291.53 and second major support level at $271.76.
In spite of the sell-off, Bitcoin Cash ABC managed to hold above the 62% FIB of $262 to avoid a bearish trend formation.
Finding support through the afternoon, Bitcoin Cash ABC managed to strike an intraday high $322.47 before easing back.
Bitcoin Cash ABC came up short of the first major resistance level at $344.66 in spite of the bounce back.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was up by 0.21% to $315.10. Range-bound through the first hour, Bitcoin Cash ABC managed to avoid an early pullback, in spite of a choppy day across the majors.
The lack of movement left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.
For the day ahead, a move through Thursday’s high $322.47 would support a run at the first major resistance level at $336.28.
Bitcoin Cash ABC would need to steer well clear of sub-$300 levels, however, to support upside on the day.
Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Bitcoin Cash ABC would likely fall short of recovery to $358 levels struck on Wednesday.
Failure to move through to $322 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC struggle on the day. A fall through to sub-$300 levels would bring the first major support level at $278.81 into play.
Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin Cash ABC should steer clear of Thursday’s low $265 and the 62% FIB of $262.
Litecoin rose by 0.63% on Thursday. Partially reversing Wednesday’s 10.27% sell-off, Litecoin ended the day at $76.25.
Tracking the broader market, Litecoin slid to a mid-morning intraday low $70.66 before finding support.
The reversal saw Litecoin fall through the first major support level at $71.18 to test support at the 62% FIB of $70.
Finding support from the broader market, Litecoin struck a late afternoon intraday high $77.89 before easing back. Litecoin fell well short of the major resistance levels on the day.
At the time of writing, Litecoin was down by 0.59% to $75.8. A bearish start to the day saw Litecoin fall from a morning high $76.39 to a low $75.33 before finding support.
Litecoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.
For the day ahead, a hold onto $75 levels would support a run at Thursday’s high $77.89 before any pullback.
Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Litecoin would likely fall short of $80 levels for a 2ndconsecutive day. The first major resistance level at $79.21 would likely limit any upside in the event of a break out from $77 levels.
Failure to hold onto $75 levels could see Litecoin test the first major support level at $71.98 before any recovery.
Barring another crypto meltdown, Litecoin should steer clear of the 62% FIB of $70 and sub-$70 support levels on the day.
Ripple’s XRP gained 0.37% on Thursday. Partially reversing an 11.55% slump on Wednesday, Ripple’s XRP ended the day at $0.26470.
A bearish start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP slide to a mid-morning intraday low $0.24920 before finding support.
Steering clear of the first major support level at $0.2339, Ripple’s XRP recovered to a late intraday high $0.26917.
In spite of the recovery, Ripple’s XRP fell well short of the first major resistance level at $0.2964.
At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was down by 0.12% to $0.26438. A mixed start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP fall from a morning high $0.26567 to a low $0.26315 before steadying.
Ripple’s XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.
For the day ahead, holding above $0.2610 levels would support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.2728.
Ripple’s XRP would need the support of the broader market, however, to break out from Thursday’s high $0.26917.
Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Ripple’s XRP would likely come up short of the second major resistance level at $0.2810.
Failure to hold above $0.2610 levels could see Ripple’s XRP slide through the first major support level at $0.2529.
Barring another crypto meltdown, however, Ripple’s XRP should steer clear of the second major support level at $0.2411.
Please let us know what you think in the comments below
Thanks, Bob
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Scarcity Is Not Natural – It Is Created – There might be a Digital Crypto Rupee read more at: https://t.co/hnuyXk4Y1x
#cryptonews https://t.co/MW60g6iclH || anyone got $30 BTC ill give you pp or cashapp || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket || İran, Bitcoin’i yasakladı .. https://t.co/5W42MMMRt7 || ⬇️ Sell BTC/USD - Bitcoin US Dollar on 4H time frame
Current price: 11,019.8
Bulls↗️ Power 0%
Bears↘️ Power 83%
#BTCUSD #invest #Tradecopier #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #finance #DailyFx || $btc $xbt 1 pos count, brought up by other devils members, would be epic IF this plays out🤓...SUPER rare to see one of these out in the wild, did not deep dive the subwaves TBH...drew this up, cuz ive never drewn one up befur!..🍿 #Elliottwave #Crypto #bitcoin #EDubNerd https://t.co/aFNoBihxbk || $Ashforcashh || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket || One can almost tell how well #Bitcoin is doing before you look at price by first looking at the #faces of #FloorTraders on @cnbc https://t.co/S4KkCnw0fp || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10345.81, 10916.05, 10763.23, 10138.05, 10131.06, 10407.96, 10159.96, 10138.52, 10370.82, 10185.50
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-03-12]
BTC Price: 294.35, BTC RSI: 69.17
Gold Price: 1152.10, Gold RSI: 26.09
Oil Price: 47.05, Oil RSI: 41.50
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Exchange itBit says it won part of bitcoin auction: NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Bitcoin exchange itBit on Tuesday said it had won part of the U.S. government's third auction of bitcoins seized from Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted last month of operating black market website Silk Road. The company said it won 3,000 of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned last week by the U.S. Marshals Service. The Marshals Service said earlier on Tuesday there are two other unidentified winners, which took 27,000 and 20,000 coins respectively. In late trading on Tuesday, bitcoin was up 1.8 percent at $292.19. That put the value of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned at $14.6 million. ItBit was founded in 2012 as a global exchange for institutional and retail investors. It has offices in New York and Singapore. Last week's auction attracted 34 bids from 14 registered bidders. That was more than the last bitcoin auction in December when just 11 buyers submitted 27 bids. The first auction in June attracted 45 bidders and 63 bids. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Andrew Hay) || Bitcoin just getting started and its potential is "almost unimaginably broad": Bitcoin is an "exciting new technology" but Bill Gates doesn't think it's a proper tool for the world's roughly 2.5 billion 'unbanked' poor."We don't use bitcoin specifically for two reasons,"Gates said Wednesdayduring a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' session. "One is that the poor shouldn't have a currency whose value goes up and down a lot compared to their local currency. Second is that if a mistake is made in who you pay then you need to be able to reverse it so anonymity wouldn't work."Those are "valid criticisms," according to Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Vigna, but should not detract from bitcoin's huge potential to fundamentally change the world of finance.Bitcoin is "one of the most powerful innovations in finance in the past 500 years," Vigna and co-author Michael Casey argue in their new book:The Age of Cryptocurrency. (Coincidentaily, the authors did their own Redditt AMA today which can be foundhere.)In the accompanying video, Vigna compares bitcoin to the "horseless carriage" in the late 19th century. "This thing was just invented," he says of the digital currency. "We are just figuring out what can be done with this. They are just starting to build it."Indeed, bitcoin has come a long way since its launch in late 2008: More than 82,000 merchants currently accept bitcoin, including Microsoft, and global usage of the currency averaged $50 million a day in 2014,The WSJ reports. Coinbase, the first U.S.-based bitcoin exchange, just launched this month after receiving $75 million in backing from investors including the NYSE and Spain's Banco Bilbao. And the Winkelvoss twins have committed to launch their own exchange, Gemini, which they claim will be'the Nasdaq of Bitcoin'."What most excites these" -- and other investors like tech legends Marc Andreesen and Reid Hoffman -- "is bitcoin's promise as a platform whose future applications are almost unimaginably broad," Casey and Vigna write. "Already, hundreds of specialized apps are being built on top of the digital-currency blockchain software, which is seen in this context as a kind of base operating system."Bitcoin's benefits -- including transaction speed and anonymity -- and its potential to disrupt the current system where banks serve as financial intermediaries, aka middle men -- have been widely discussed and debated.But what aboutthe price?Bitcoin fell over 60% vs. the dollar in 2014, which also saw the bankruptcy of one of its biggest exchanges, Mt. Gox. This year didn't start much better in terms of price; an early drop to start the year left bitcoin, at its recent nadir, more than 80% below its 2013 high."The market is volatile because it is very thin and it is still being built," Vigna explains. "If [bitcoin] keeps growing, if it keeps building the price will smooth itself out. It will become a more stable currency as more people use it. And you’ll see that [volatility] go away and then they will build the rest of the products around it. The biggest thing is these are very early days for this. This is a very, in my mind, it’s a very exciting technology."On that, at least, Vigna and Gates are in agreement.
What do you think? Is bitcoin a scam? A flash in the pan? A profound advance in currency? Something in between? Let us know in the comments section below or reach out to me on Twitter:@aarontask || Shazam Is Now A Billion-Dollar Company: Ryoichi Tanaka/Flickr (CC)
Shazam just joined the billion-dollar club.
The music discovery startup has closed a new round of funding for $30 million, the Wall Street Journal is reporting, with a valuation of around $1 billion. It's double what the company was valued at a year ago.
The investors now own 3% of the company — but their identities haven't been disclosed. We do know they haven't invested before, however.
Shazam is an app that identifies music for its users through their smartphone's microphone. Since the company's 2002 launch it's grown to have more than 100 million monthly users across the globe. But despite this, it hasn't turned a profit since 2006.
Shazam is "intentionally not profitable," investing whatever it makes,CEO Rich Riley told the Wall Street Journal. And the company is highly ambitious, looking to move beyond just music identification. "Our vision is to connect people to the world around them," Riley said. "It is still early days. People aren't yet used to 'Shazaming' print ads and soda cans and that kind of stuff, but we think that is where the world's going."
It's a strategy that could take it on a collision course with other tech companies. It's similar to Google's less-used Google Goggles optical recognition software, discovery apps are likely to grow in the coming years. But it's also necessary, as other products begin to encroach on Shazam's turf. Google now offers its own rival,Sound Search, which has been downloaded more than 10 million times.
Less than a year ago,a funding round for $20 million pegged the company's total valuation at $500 million, half what it is today. Previous investors haveincluded billionaire Carlos Slim, as well as Institutional Venture Partners, DN Capital, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
More From Business Insider
• A Bitcoin Startup Just Set A Massive New Record For VC Funding in The Industry
• Palantir, Already Valued At $15 Billion, Is Looking For More
• China Just Announced A Massive New $6.5 Billion Venture Capital Fund || What The World's Richest Person Thinks Of Bitcoin: Bill Gates on Wednesday gave his thoughts on bitcoin and digital currencies in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session Gates commented that “Bitcoin is an exciting new technology” and that digital currencies are a part of his Foundation’s work in connecting banking services to the poor. Bill Gates’ Foundation, however, does not utilize bitcoin for two reasons. “One is that the poor shouldn't have a currency whose value goes up and down a lot compared to their local currency. Second is that if a mistake is made in who you pay then you need to be able to reverse it so anonymity wouldn't work.” Related Link: Bill Gates On Microsoft: 'More Progress Than Ever In Next 30 Years' The billionaire philanthropist did note that financial transactions will become cheaper using digital currencies and “Bitcoin related approaches” although ensuring “that it doesn't help terrorists is a challenge for all new technology.” Progress is being made in getting digital currencies adopted in poor countries, according to Gates, and he is “hoping to have India and Nigeria going in the next 2 years if things go well." Kenya, Tanzania and Bangladesh still need improvements but “have grown a lot,” said Gates. See more from Benzinga General Growth Properties Beats On Q4 Revenue Vertex Pharmaceuticals Beats Q4 Revenue Expectations How 3 Technical Experts Are Preparing For Facebook Earnings © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin Exchange itBit says it won part of bitcoin auction: NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Bitcoin exchange itBit on Tuesday said it had won part of the U.S. government's third auction of bitcoins seized from Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted last month of operating black market website Silk Road. The company said it won 3,000 of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned last week by the U.S. Marshals Service. The Marshals Service said earlier on Tuesday there are two other unidentified winners, which took 27,000 and 20,000 coins respectively. In late trading on Tuesday, bitcoin was up 1.8 percent at $292.19 (BTC=BTSP). That put the value of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned at $14.6 million. ItBit was founded in 2012 as a global exchange for institutional and retail investors. It has offices in New York and Singapore. Last week's auction attracted 34 bids from 14 registered bidders. That was more than the last bitcoin auction in December when just 11 buyers submitted 27 bids. The first auction in June attracted 45 bidders and 63 bids. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Andrew Hay) || Is Bitcoin The Next Internet?: The Bank of England is comparing digital currencies like bitcoin to the technological revolution that the internet provided decades ago, suggesting that bitcoin’s fall from grace could be temporary.
In itsOne Bank Research Agenda, the Bank of England touted the benefits that digital currencies could provide and even suggested the possibility of a BOE created cryptocurrency pegged against the pound.
A New Way To Bank
The research noted that a switch toward mobile technology was likely to continue promoting the idea of digital currency, and that it could be in the bank’s best interest to investigate how the introduction of cryptocurrencies would affect traditional banking.
While the BOE is still skeptical bout the security risks associated with developing a digital currency, banking officials have not ruled out the possibility, saying that digital currencies could become the new norm for banking much like the internet replaced the way the world accessed information.
Related Link:Bitcoin Gets A Makeover
England Isn’t The Only Nation Looking In To Digital Currencies
The BOE is not the first major central bank to discuss the use of a digital currency. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has mentioned that the technology behind bitcoin could be effectively applied to the eurozone as a weapon against deflation.
In Ecuador, the government has already introduced its own digital currency pegged to the dollar in an effort to help citizens who don’t have access to traditional banking.
Economists in the U.S. have also discussed the possibility of rolling out a government-backed digital currency as online payments become more popular.
See more from Benzinga
• Pinterest To Prove Quality Trumps Quantity
• Despite Veto, Keystone Battle Isn't Over Yet
• Housing Data Presents Conflicting Information
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin Alternative DNotes Launches Long Term Saving Plans With Potential To Aid The Unbanked And Retirees Worldwide: Stable cryptocurrency DNotes launches new Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plans (CR.I.S.P) for Retirement. Long term saving plans will receive up to 12% yearly interest bonus on their deposit with a 1 million DNotes limit on the bonus interest offered and 100% deposit guarantee
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / February 18, 2015 /Stable cryptocurrency Dnotes, after the successful launch of Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan (CR.I.S.P) for Kids, is pleased to announce their latest long term savings plan for Retirement.CR.I.S.P. allows people worldwide from all financial backgrounds to set up savings accounts with the potential of high returns. Individuals that commit to long term DNotes deposit of 5, 10, 15, or 20 year duration will receive up to 12% yearly interest bonus on their deposit with a 1 million DNotes limit on the bonus interest offered and 100% deposit guarantee.
DNotes is a Bitcoin alternative cryptographically created digital currency based on a novel decentralized peer to peer model, where trust is replaced by mathematical algorithms, eliminating the need of an intermediary such as a bank or an automatic clearing house. Assets of value such as Bitcoin, DNotes, and other cryptocurrencies can be sent and received in minutes anytime, anywhere, worldwide without the oversight of any central authority. It takes as little as two simple cell phones, or computers with an internet connection to send and receive funds.
CR.I.S.P. rests on the web wallet and secure coin storage platform DnotesVault.com; a secure and a strategic vehicle of DNotes to become the digital currency of the future with lasting value.Its mission is to encourage and assist everyone, worldwide, to support and participate in the high potential returns of digital currency savings. The DNotes' team has gone to great lengths to ensure that the user interface is simple to use and easy to understand. The technology and process control, while complex, make it so secure that a 100% guarantee matching fund, always in excess of the total amount in deposited, exists with the guaranteed fund being displayed with addresses and amounts verifiable on the blockchain.
Bitcoin as a digital currency and the associated blockchain technologies are viewed by many highly regarded industry leaders as the greatest technology innovation since the Internet. The distributed and consensus technologies coupled with the blockchain protocols have significant and positive world changing implications.
DNotes co-founder and experienced computer entrepreneur Alan Yong has been quoted saying, "We never had and never will have a better opportunity to help the financially disadvantaged and the enormous population of the unbanked who have little means of rising from poverty."
Unlike the costly credit and debit card payment network systems, where personal information is always at risk of being stolen with huge identity theft liabilities, DNotes transactions are only identified by a string of numbers, valuable for reference and tracking only. All transactions are posted in the blockchain public ledger and available for public inspection and verification. The complexities built in the hash functions make the successfully confirmed transactions impossible to reverse; thereby avoiding potential fraud and huge cost burdens to merchants who often have been exposed to such risk when accepting credit and debit card payments.
Mr. Yong explains that for mass consumer and mass merchant participation to take place, there must be a stable trustworthy digital currency like DNotes to deliver the true cost advantages of an alternative form of payment, beyond just the lower cost of transactions.
As reported, the richest 1% of the world's population will own more than the other 99% put together by next year and according to a 2012 World Bank published report there are over 2.5 billion people worldwide who are under-served or not served by banks and financial service companies. These groups, collectively known as the unbanked have limited opportunities to emerge from poverty.DNotes digital currency is the future of money with growth and appreciation potential for early adopters and long term investors. It also has the potential to change the wealth of nations and their citizens, when supported with favorable regulations. Under the right political leadership that has a deep knowledge and appreciation of this powerful technology, massive job creation could be the much needed impetus to propel the next global economic bloom that can benefit more than just the rich.
With DNotes long term Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plans for Retirement, with up to 12% yearly interest bonus with a 1 million DNotes limit on the bonus interest offered following the well-received launch of CR.I.S.P. for Kids - DNotes may very well be a game-changer in terms of long term cryptocurrencies and their impact on personal wealth on a global scale.
Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
For more information about us, please visithttp://dnotesvault.com/crisp-for-retirement.php.
Contact Info:
Name: Alan YongEmail: Contact@DNotescoin.comOrganization: DNotes
SOURCE:DNotes || Bitstamp Launches Trading From the Chart Powered by ChartIQ: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2015) - Bitstamp, one of the world's leading Bitcoin exchanges, has launched its new TradeView web-based trading platform, based on ChartIQ's advanced charting and trade-from-chart technology.
The new platform allows traders to take their technical analysis directly in to action, executing orders from the chart itself. Both long and short limit orders can be placed with a click, including conditional "add if" orders to take profit at a specified level.
"As a leader Bitcoin trading, we're committed to providing our traders a best-in-class experience," said Nejc Kodric, CEO of Bitstamp. "By partnering with ChartIQ, we were able to deliver a complete trading interface, including technical charting and trade execution, all built in HTML5. The ChartIQ technology was easy to customize and integrate in to our user experience."
The new responsiveHTML5 trading interfaceworks seamlessly across desktop and touch devices, allowing traders to stay connected to the markets wherever they go.
"Bitstamp is pushing the envelope of user experience in trading systems, bringing sleek, modern design and advanced functionality to the world of Bitcoin," Dan Schleifer, co-founder and CEO of ChartIQ said. "The new TradeView platform is a perfect example of what customers are building with ourHTML5 charting technology."
The new trading platform is available immediately to all Bitstamp clients. New clients can register at bitstamp.com.
About ChartIQAn extraordinary transformation in trading technology is underway. Mobile and social trading are overturning old models just as the Internet did over a decade ago. ChartIQ has developed charting software with mobile optimization, trading from the chart, and an advanced toolset geared towards technical traders. ChartIQ's products are available directly to investors, as well as being offered via white labeled solutions.
About BitstampBitstamp provides secure platform for exchanging bitcoins. Bitstamp has been serving Europe and the world since August 2011. The service continues be actively developed and improved. Bitstamp.net is service of Bitstamp d.o.o., established in Slovenia, EU. || PRESS DIGEST- New York Times business news - Jan 21: Jan 21 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. * President Obama claimed credit on Tuesday for an improving economy and defiantly told his Republican adversaries in Congress to "turn the page" by supporting an expensive domestic agenda aimed at improving the fortunes of the middle class. ( http://nyti.ms/157n5qP ) * Google Inc, along with Fidelity, has invested $1 billion in Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), the private rocketry company founded by Elon Musk. The move could help Google achieve its aim of bringing satellite Internet to remote corners of the world while giving SpaceX more money for its founder to pursue dreams of going to Mars. ( http://nyti.ms/1xUEaLo ) * Netflix Inc is hoping that it will define Internet TV in Swahili, Spanish, Vietnamese, Filipino and dozens more languages within just two years. ( http://nyti.ms/1BCPgfJ ) * A week after the nation's top auto regulator warned automakers that he would be more vigilant on safety, his agency has taken the unusual move of revisiting the 2013 recall of Ford Motor Corp's biggest pickup trucks. ( http://nyti.ms/1EpdN6i ) * In Wal-Mart Stores Inc's latest move to offer financial services, it will make customers' tax refunds available in cash at about 3,000 stores. Walmart, the world's largest retailer, will not charge a fee for the cash pickup, but does charge for cashing checks. It acknowledged that it could get a boost by helping to put cash in customers' wallets at a time of sluggish sales and customer traffic declines. ( http://nyti.ms/1xw7Mjp ) * Work crews burrowed through thick ice and set up containment booms Tuesday in a struggle to vacuum up 50,000 gallons of oil that spilled into the Yellowstone River from a ruptured pipeline, contaminating drinking water. The 12-inch steel pipeline, which burst Saturday morning near Glendive, Montana, about 400 miles east of here, sent light crude oil flowing downstream as far as the confluence with the Missouri River, 60 miles away in North Dakota. ( http://nyti.ms/1xUEZ77 ) Story continues * Moving a potential market debut further along the line, the premium burger chain Shake Shack on Tuesday priced the range of its initial public offering at $14 to $16 a share. ( http://nyti.ms/1zvyChc ) * The Verge, a technology website owned by the online media company Vox, said on Tuesday that it would be airing a Super Bowl advertisement, before revealing that it would in fact be spending just $700 on a regional spot in Helena, Montana. ( http://nyti.ms/1ultDJ5 ) * Standard & Poor's, the giant credit ratings agency, is closing in on a series of settlements with the government that will erode its profit and may damage its credibility as a major player on Wall Street. ( http://nyti.ms/1J6hfVX ) * On Thursday, Family Dollar Stores Inc shareholders will finally vote on a proposed $8.5 billion acquisition by Dollar Tree Inc, which is offering about $76 a share. If they vote yes, as it appears they are leaning, it will be the death knell for a competing bid by Dollar General Corp that is about $4 a share higher. ( http://nyti.ms/1CfDExO ) * BGC Partners Inc has increased its offer for the GFI Group Inc, the New York brokerage firm and clearinghouse, in an effort to wrest the company from the arms of its chosen suitor, the operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. ( http://nyti.ms/1xUFPkf ) * The prominent activist investment firm Starboard Value is still trying to push Staples into buying one of its best-known rivals in the office supplies world. The hedge fund plans to release a public letter urging the company to pursue a takeover of Office Depot Inc, people briefed on the matter said on Tuesday. If Staples does not make a move to do so, Starboard will threaten to seek a fight for representation on the board. ( http://nyti.ms/1yHgtvx ) * Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, has added a major passenger train provider in Britain to his vast empire of corporate holdings, which includes ports, utilities and retail stores. ( http://nyti.ms/1JbAjjK ) * The private equity firm Sycamore Partners has given up a monthslong effort to acquire Express Inc, the clothing retailer focused on young adults, after failing to secure financing. ( http://nyti.ms/1J6jFE1 ) * Twitter Inc said on Tuesday that it had acquired ZipDial, a nearly five-year-old Indian start-up that aims to help businesses connect with customers in emerging markets who may not have access to the Internet. ( http://nyti.ms/1CNymbn ) * Coinbase, one of the most popular Bitcoin wallet providers, announced on Tuesday that it had closed a $75 million financing round, the biggest yet for a virtual currency start-up. ( http://nyti.ms/1woqzM1 ) (Compiled by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru) || Why QR codes are the blinking VCR clock of the 21st century: There has always been a polarization among the users of the internet of things: those that understand and can manage the internet of things, and those who cannot. This phenomenon can in part be defined by those among us that can scan a QR Code and those of us who have tried and failed. The modern-day equivalent of a blinking clock on a VCR, QR codes elude the majority of us. Just as we all recognized what the clock was for on a VCR, we all have the notion that a QR code contains information, a link perhaps, that can be used on the internet to gain access to even more information. But knowing what it is used for does not mean you know how to use it. How to scan it. QR Codes are Dead, long Live QR Codes But wait, aren’t QR codes dead ? There are still those that feel that if used right, QR codes can be an effective means of communication. Back in 2011 comScore’s MobiLens service published a report showing that 1 in 3 individuals that scanned QR codes had a household income greater than $100,000 . Looking to attract such a demographic, Taco Bell ran a successful campaign on ESPN where more than 225,000 QR codes were scanned . SnapChat has recently invested close to $51 million in QR code technology, according to Business Insider, in an effort to help increase those that use their service. Even music identification service Shazam is looking a using QR codes to increase the universe of what is Shazamable . The problem with QR codes is not that they don’t work. They are very identifiable and just about everyone knows that you need to scan them. More and more we will see how QR codes can be used to do more than just provide a link to a web site as part of an advertising campaign. The problem that remains is that not everyone knows how to get them to work: how to scan or even create them. And that is just where the following apps can help: Traditional Uses of QR Codes RedLaser – Focused more on being a shopping assistant, RedLaser (Free, iPhone ) is an app that will take a scanned QR code and search an online database to see what the QR code could possibly mean. Utilizing a collection of millions of products, RedLaser specializes in helping you compare prices of the products you are looking for, search for coupons leading you to the best deals online, and often times providing access to comments are reviews related to the product. It will even help you create shopping lists from your scan history that you can easily share with others. Story continues QR Reader – With the ability to actually create a wide variety of different QR Codes directly on the device, QR Reader (Free, iPhone ) is a full featured QR code app. More of a utility knife when it comes to creating and scanning QR codes, QR Reader also has the ability to scan words you see in the camera in addition to QR codes. Simply point the scanner at the word you are interested, swipe your finger across the word and it will convert the image of the word to text. It can also scan QR codes from images you have stored in your camera roll. The free version of the app is ad-based, but you can remove the ads through a $0.99 in-app purpose. Scan – With more of an online business focused presence, Scan ($1.99, Universal ) helps you track the usage of all of the QR codes you create. One of the best new features that it has to offer is its ability to create a QR code for your local Wi-Fi network. Simply go to the scan.me web site, review the list of QR codes that are best for you, and choose the Wi-Fi option . You can then create a QR code that makes it easier to share your public WiFi settings with family and friends that come over to visit. It also does a decent job of scanning and keeping a history of the QR codes you do scan. In fact, it’s simplified interface makes scanning and using QR codes about as easy as it can possibly be. Unique Uses of QR Codes Coke Freestyle Flavors – You may have noticed that your choice in beverage flavors at your favorite fast food restaurant has increased dramatically. The Coca-Cola company has been rolling out a new era in soda fountains. If you look a little closer, you will see that many of Coca-Cola’s new FreeStyle soda machines also have a little QR code on them (bottom right corner of the machine if it is there). Using their Coca-Cola Freestyle (Free, iPhone ) app, you can customize your drink options even further by creating your own mix of flavors. You can add up to three different flavors and choose the proportions to create your own unique flavor; for example, ten percent Sprite, twenty percent Fanta zero raspberry, and seventy percent Hi-C orange (don’t judge me). Hive Bitcoin Wallet – Bitcoin is a person to person way to exchange money at a very low cost. If you use bitcoin to exchange money, you will have what is referred to as a Bitcoin wallet. QR codes have been one of the primary means of identifying and sharing the identity of your Bitcoin wallet. Hive (Free, Universal ) is a Bitcoin wallet app that uses QR codes to share your wallet identity with others. You display your wallet’s QR code on one screen, and the camera on your friend’s phone can bet used to scan it. No need to write an IOU anymore. Snapchat Snaptags – While it has the spirit of the original QR codes, Snapchat’s (Free, iPhone ) new Snaptags feature allows you to quickly add family, friends and colleagues to your contact list with ease. It has a unique style to the way that the code is created looking more like a generic avatar than something you would see on the assembly like in an automobile factory . You can even post your Snaptag online and share your contact information. Print it out on your business card or flyer when you are going to a trade show or event to quickly grow your contact list. Related research and analysis from Gigaom Research: Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial . What the mobile commerce market looks like in 2014 Are apps safe? Digital security and the B2C app How the tablet will create better productivity in the enterprise More From paidContent.org BMW pushes security patch to hackable connected cars
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
@sentoracp, @de_altosvuelos has just sent you a bitcoin tip for 3,427 bits ($1.00)! Pick it up here ➔ http://changetip.com/c/tjED?m=12 || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 16 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $57.18 #bitcoin #btc || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$292.16/$292.98 #Bitstamp
$288.92/$289.00 #BTCe
⇢$-4.06/$-3.16
$296.06/$296.23 #Coinbase
⇢$3.08/$4.07 || 2015年2月11日 00:40:02
BTC_MONA
買[bid]:2848.00000000MONA
売[ask]:3080.00000000MONA
API by もなとれ || 1 #bitcoin = $3488.24 MXN | $239.03 USD #BitAPeso Precio: http://www.bitapeso.com - Wednesday 28th of January 2015 01:00 PM || LIVE: Profit = $62.40 (0.43 %). BUY B68.29 @ $210.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $211.31 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || LIVE: Profit = $185.13 (1.81 %). BUY B44.89 @ $227.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $228.58 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || BTCTurk 559.59 TL Koinim 578 TL CampBx 225.00 $ BTCe 219.508 $ BitStamp 222.82 $ SCounter #Bitcoin #btc http://bitcoindunyasi.com || Bitstamp Prices
LAST: $207.00
BID: $206.70
ASK: $207.00
VOL: 50356.02 BTC
http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks || 1 #bitcoin = $14.86 MXN | $1 USD #BitAPeso Precio: http://www.bitapeso.com - Friday 20th of February 2015 06:00 AM
|
Trend: down || Prices: 285.34, 281.89, 286.39, 290.59, 285.51, 256.30, 260.93, 261.75, 260.02, 267.96
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-12-10]
BTC Price: 415.48, BTC RSI: 72.54
Gold Price: 1073.10, Gold RSI: 43.53
Oil Price: 36.76, Oil RSI: 29.87
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
One statistic perfectly encapsulates the impact of technology on Wall Street jobs: empty trading floor ( MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty) In 2000, Goldman Sachs had 600 traders in New York City making markets in US stocks. Today, that number is down to fewer than 10. The statistic is one of several nuggets from a Credit Suisse report on how the bank uses technology, following a conversation with chief information officer Marty Chavez . The analysts estimate that Goldman spends $2.5 billion to $3.2 billion on technology each year, or about 7% to 9% of revenue. This has big implications for the bank's staff. In some ways, technology can make their lives easier. Last month, the bank announced an initiative designed to make the lives of junior investment bankers easier — by letting technology do more of the grunt work for them. But technology might also soon replace more workers. The note said (emphasis added): Embrace Disruption—management of Goldman is very much of the belief—and we can't argue with this—that there will be far more value ascribed to those who embrace new, albeit disruptive, technologies. This disruption can be people "destructive" at times, but it can be far more destructive to be left behind in a business poised for profound change . Importantly, these changes may be disruptive, but also both relationship and profit margin enhancing, through delivery of a better product to Goldman's clients. There are ways for Goldman to be more efficient with its tech spending. About 30% of the annual expense goes to maintenance, which covers things like communications, market-data expenses, and software licensing. The bank wants to get that down to 10%, which is more comparable with software companies. That would free up $600 million to $800 million, which could either go back to the bottom line, or be reinvested strategically, Credit Suisse estimates. These strategic investments could include things like investing in blockchain technology that underpins the use of bitcoin, with the Credit Suisse analysts noting that Goldman Sachs is "very interested in the use of Blockchain/distributed ledger technology." Story continues Other investments include Symphony, the instant-communications platform out to displace Bloomberg's terminal, and Goldman's Marquee app, which delivers data and analytics to staff and is being rolled out to clients. NOW WATCH: 'The Art Of War' holds the keys to success on Wall Street More From Business Insider GOLDMAN: 'Bitcoin was just the opening act, with the Blockchain ready to take centre stage' There are 2 clear winners on Wall Street — and they're pulling away from the competition Morgan Stanley has some answering to do || Global Arena Holding Demonstrates Continued Growth: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Dec 2, 2015) - Global Arena Holding, Inc. (OTC PINK:GAHC), (the "Company") announced today that it has released its quarterly report for the period ending September 30, 2015. During this quarter the Company's subsidiary, Global Election Services, Inc. ("GES"), continued to show strong revenue growth while the Company has taken first steps toward acquiring Blockchain Technologies Corporation.
Read the full 10Q:http://biz.yahoo.com/e/151123/gahc10-q.html
For the nine months ended September 30, 2014, the Company recognized sales revenue of approximately $619,633, contributing to total sales of $887,016. The increase in recognized revenue -- $565,646 compared to revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 -- is principally due to the new business services of GES, which provides comprehensive technology-enabled election services primarily for organized labor associations. Overall however, the Company recorded a loss.
The Company CEO, John Matthews, said; "The losses in the third quarter are mainly due to the development of the Company through its subsidiaries. GES is currently the only operating company and it alone, at this time at least, cannot possibly support the current infrastructure. Higher than normal cost however, are attributed to professional fees concerning the due diligence and acquisition review of Blockchain Technologies Corporation."
Mr. Matthews continued; "Going forward, the elections company, GES, is on a pace to grow by over 50% and with the acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation ("BTC"), it is our belief we will generate income from BTC's elections blockchain software, and that will give us the opportunity to increase profits further. The Company also will benefit from revenue generated from BTC when it provides technology to GES, which GES currently pays to 3rd party providers."
The Company is still in the process of completing its acquisition of Blockchain Technologies Corporation, which will bring with it several revenue producing companies and high potential patents. The losses this quarter are viewed as a temporary setback.
About Global Arena HoldingThe Company trades on the OTC Pink Sheets under the ticker symbol GAHC. The Company has been publicly traded since 2011 and holds a number of interests, including Global Elections Services, Inc., GAHI Acquisition Corp and Blockchain Technologies Corporation Inc. The Company focuses on acquiring technologies, patents and companies having the ability to leverage the blockchain crypto technology.
For more information visit:http://globalarenaholding.com
Twitter:www.twitter.com/GlobalArenaGAHCFacebook:www.facebook.com/GlobalArenaHoldingGAHCLinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/pub/global-arena-holding/107/86a/a7Google+:http://tinyurl.com/GlobalArenaHolding
Safe Harbor StatementThe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements related to the future anticipated direction of the industry, plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned or required capital expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales growth, and potential contracts. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the company. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to development and expansion activities, dependence on existing management, financing activities, domestic and global economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. || SEC Charges Bitcoin Mining Firm in Ponzi Scheme: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two Bitcoin mining companies and their founder with conducting a Ponzi scheme that used the lure of quick riches from virtual currency to defraud investors. The complaint was filed in federal court in Connecticut. “Mining” for Bitcoin or other virtual currencies can be described as applying computer power to try to solve complex equations that verify a group of transactions in that virtual currency. The first computer or collection of computers to solve an equation is awarded new units of that virtual currency. The SEC alleges that Homero Joshua Garza perpetrated the fraud through his Connecticut-based companies GAW Miners and ZenMiner by purporting to offer shares of a digital Bitcoin mining operation. ALSO READ: Is Best Buy Making an Offer That Consumers Can't Refuse? However, GAW Miners and ZenMiner actually did not own enough computing power for the mining it promised to conduct, so most investors paid for a share of computing power that never existed. Returns paid to some investors came from proceeds generated from sales to other investors. Paul G. Levenson, director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office, said: As alleged in our complaint, Garza and his companies cloaked their scheme in technological sophistication and jargon, but the fraud was simple at its core: they sold what they did not own, misrepresented what they were selling, and robbed one investor to pay another. ALSO READ: Jefferies Has 4 Blue Chip High-Dividend Franchise Picks to Buy Now According to the SEC’s complaint: From August 2014 to December 2014, Garza and his companies sold $20 million worth of purported shares in a digital mining contract they called a Hashlet. More than 10,000 investors purchased Hashlets, which were touted as always profitable and never obsolete. Although Hashlets were depicted in GAW Miners’ marketing materials as a physical product or piece of mining hardware, the promised contract purportedly entitled the investor to control a share of computing power that GAW Miners claimed to own and operate. Investors were misled to believe they would share in returns earned by the Bitcoin mining activities when in reality GAW Miners directed little or no computing power toward any mining activity. Because Garza and his companies sold far more computing power than they owned, they owed investors a daily return that was larger than any actual return they were making on their limited mining operations. Therefore, investors were simply paid back gradually over time under the mantra of “returns” out of funds that Garza and his companies collected from other investors. Most Hashlet investors never recovered the full amount of their investments, and few made a profit. Related Articles Costco Refreshes Cyber Monday Offers Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Fitbit, GE, Lockheed Martin, Lululemon, Marriott, Microsoft, Philip Morris, SLM and More America's Best and Worst States to Live In || Ben Bernanke Sees Serious Problems With Bitcoin: Speaking to Quartz, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that Bitcoin "has some serious problems." Bitcoin's value peaked at $1,147.25 on December 4 and crashed to a low of $177.28 just a few months later. Bernanke suggested that Bitcoin has yet to establish itself as a "widely accepted transactions medium." Ben Bernanke has had plenty of time to reflect on his career and personal political views since removing himself as head of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke, speaking to Quartz, discussed his time as leading the Federal Reserve, why he no longer considers himself a Republican, and why Bitcoin has "serious" problems. According to Bernanke, we have entered an era where the payments system is "evolving quickly" with new approaches to payments "proliferating." However, Bitcoin itself may be flawed for two reasons: 1) the digital currency hasn't proven itself to be a "stable source of value," and 2) Bitcoin hasn't established itself as a "widely accepted transactions medium." "But the real serious problem that it has is it's anonymity, which is a feature, and is also a bug, in that it has become in some cases a vehicle for illicit transactions, drug selling or terrorist financing or whatever," Bernanke added. "And you know, governments are not happy to let that activity happen, so I suspect that there will be oversight of transactions done in bitcoin or similar currencies and that will reduce the appeal." Other Problems Facing Bitcoin MIT Technology Review's Tom Simonite reported on August 28 that Bitcoin "will start to malfunction" as soon as early next year. Simonite spoke with Gavin Andresen, known in circles as Bitcoin's "chief caretaker" -- he says the currency can't process more than seven transactions per second. Visa processes thousands times that amount. "Transactions will get unreliable and it'll get worse and worse over time," Andersen warned over the dangers of not addressing Bitcoin's issues. "My fear is there'll be no critical event that causes people to react—Bitcoin just kind of has a long slow death. I'm trying to set off alarm bells for ‘You know, guys, if we don't do this, Bitcoin will be dead in four years.'" Story continues Benzinga's Jake Mann offered Trading Academy another issue. Writing in 2013, Mann warned that a lack of central bank doesn't indicate there's a fool-proof supply control mechanism in place. "While the sheer difficulty of [bitcoin] mining assures Bitcoin users that there won't ever be a massive supply shock in the digital market, the way that Bitcoins are created causes one enormous problem," Mann explained. "Primarily, it incentivizes miners to hoard the currency upon receiving it. This is one of the main causes of Bitcoin's price volatility." At that time, consensus opinion at the time was that up to 25 percent of all Bitcoins mined have never entered the marketplace. Mann suggested that miners should be mandated to exchange all newly-mined Bitcoins for another currency of their choice. Failure to do so could result in the currency experiencing additional volatility that would end up "killing" its potential, as a group of miners could essentially control the supply. "Is that really any better than a central bank?" he questioned. See more from Benzinga Watch Out Below? Vetr Crowd Downgrades Alphabet To Sell Apple Won't Buy Tesla, CLSA Says At A New All-Time High, Salesforce's Outlook Is Exciting Wall Street Analysts © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || No one seems to want to be New York’s top banking regulator: (Thomson Reuters)New York Governor Andrew Cuomo addresses the media before participating as an honorary grand marshall in the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, New York
The regime change at the New York Department of Financial Services is far from over.
Acting DFS superintendent Anthony Albanese is quitting, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
His departure comes as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's search to replace Benjamin Lawsky drags on.Lawsky quit earlier this year, relinquishing his role to Albanese temporarily.
The Journal report says Cuomo’s staff has sought to exert more control over DFS in the months since Lawsky departed. Albanese downplayed that speaking with the Journal, saying his role and tenure “was always intended to be a temporary position to help smooth the transition process.”
With his exit, and no new superintendent known, it’s not clear how the transition process is working.
Throughout Lawsky's tenure as head of DFS, he aggressively pursued cases on Wall Street and earned a reputation for cracking down on illegal behavior.
By the time Lawsky left, the DFS had issued a staggering$6 billion in finesto financial services firms over a four-year span.
Business Insider reached out to the governor's office and to the DFS; neither provided comment by publication time.
NOW WATCH:The CEO who raised the price of a life-saving pill by 5000% has totally caved
More From Business Insider
• New York Just Released Its Bitcoin License, And They're Going To Change The Face Of Digital Currencies In The US
• Wall Street will be surprised to hear what New York's ex-banking regulator just said about regulators
• Former NY financial watchdog counters criticism on bitcoin work || Trading Bitcoin Binary Options: Bitcoin. This may be something you wish you knew more about. You may have heard about trading Bitcoin and wondered how you could do it. It may seem unreal since it does not involve anything tangible. A visit to the web page informs the visitor, Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money. It further notifies the public, Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system. Bitcoin was invented in 2008. In early 2010, each Bitcoin was worth only $0.04. Just last week, on October 29, it was reported that Bitcoin was trading above $314, near the highest since December 2014. This rise in price was thought to be related to the Fed statement that had been released the day before, but also strongly tied to China easing which appears to go straight to Bitcoin. Today, reported Bitcoin trading at more than $410, a price jump of more than 70 percent in one month. According to an article on , after the price jump, there was a massive sell off causing the digital currency to drop by nearly $50. This article attributes the volatility to the influx of new Chinese buyers who have caused this surge in order to bypass Chinas tightened capital controls. As you can see from the news reports above, Bitcoin can be insanely volatile. It can move 40 percent in one day. In checking current charts, Bitcoin has rebounded and is currently trading around $470. In order to illustrate different ways Bitcoin can be traded, lets look at how Bitcoin was trading on October 29. Look at the chart below. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image4.png This is a Nadex Bitcoin daily chart, which can be accessed from their trading platform. You can see that Bitcoin has surged up through 314. There was some long-term resistance at 314. The market had tested that level in January, February, June and July before breaking through on October 29. When this happens, you can usually expect that it will meet a little more resistance and then pullback. Story continues There are a couple of different ways you can play this. You could expect it to expire below the high of the day at 319. If so, you could check out available strikes that you could sell. When you check for a contract, sometimes there may not be many contracts left, because of the surge in the market. Nadex offers bitcoin binary options with 21 strike prices for the 3:00 PM ET daily expiration, except on Fridays, which lists 15 strike levels. The interval width between each strike level is 1.5. The next image shows the different strike prices that were available at the time. When you look for the sell strike, you see that there is a 315.5 available for around $21. Choosing this trade would allow you to make a little bit of premium if you wanted to go short. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image3.png If you believe the market will stay above 314, you can look at buying a contract. Again, checking the strike prices, there is one available at 314 for about 65, with the profit potential of $35. For October 29, it appears that 314 is the magic number, the resistance level right now. By knowing this information, you can have a better understanding of the expectations of the market. Here is another image taken a short time after the other image, which showed strike prices. You may notice that both the buy and sell prices have increased as has the indicative index. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image2.png However, for this example, with the strike 314 at 70.75, it is $0.76 above the strike. There is a high expectation of the market staying above 314. Remember, the first chart was a daily chart. For a better analysis on either of these trades, it would be wise to look at a smaller time frame chart in order to see what you could actually do. When you look at a five-minute chart, it shows how the market popped up and then promptly turned around and went down. Here is a five-minute chart: To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image5.png Further analysis using the five-minute chart shows that if there was a shark in the waters and they wanted to push the market a little farther, it is possible they could have caused the big green bar that broke through the 314 resistance. The next green bars are other traders coming in thinking there is a big rally. Take note here, all of a sudden at the short red bar, they start getting rid of their trades. Next, they dump off the rest and everybody bails. This is how it usually goes in trading. This is how you learn to follow the sharks without getting eaten by them and staying out of their way. The sharks will go in, pump up the market and then sell it off. You get your one warning shot, the short red bar, and then BAM! It is over. With any trade, but especially one with high volatility, make sure that you define your risk when you trade. Risk management is essential to being a profitable trader. To further your trading education, visit , a service of Darrell Martin. See more from Benzinga An Evening For A Scheduled News Trade With The USD/CHF Reports Of The Aussies Employed And Unemployed Provide After Work Trade Opportunity For US Record Highs Reported By Nadex For Three Consecutive Quarters © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Cryptocurrency Trader Launches Super Deal for Bitcoin Sellers: WILMINGTON, DE--(Marketwired - October 28, 2015) -Miners Center Inc. (www.minerscenter.com) is now offering 12% to 13% above the market value for Bitcoin, and now is the time to take advantage. With the rise in popularity of Bitcoin commerce, many online firms are finding creative new ways to take advantage of this valuable virtual resource. However, none are more market-savvy than Miners Center, an up-and-coming financial world star that is taking e-commerce by storm.
For those not in the know, Bitcoin is the premier virtual currency that is being used online for a variety of purposes, including electronics purchases, travel, and a growing number of online businesses. It allows spenders to take advantage of the convenience and flexibility of online currency, invest, and grow their finances in a totally new way. Miners Center is offering unprecedented returns on user investments with their new offer.
Emilian Tourey, the CEO of Miners Center, commented: "We are happy that with this promotional offer we will be able to help the Bitcoin community. By riding on this next wave of digital technology, we hope to become a major leader of the Bitcoin community, and offer exceptional deals for all Bitcoin purchases. It's about staying in-step with the times, and we know that Bitcoin is a wise investment and are confident that it can take us to the top."
A visit towww.minerscenter.comreveals a cleanly-designed website that is easy to use, making Bitcoin transactions quick and easy. Users only need to enter their email address, and bank or PayPal information and they will be ready to take advantage of this new promotional offer.
Aside from the main page, they also offer a news section and frequently asked questions, which can help new users discover the relevance and importance of Bitcoin, and the subtleties of the trading process. Any further questions on the website can be answered in real time by staff.
Rates are updated constantly, following current market trends, for the most accurate information. Combined with knowledgeable staff and a regularly updated news page, this gives Miners Center the edge over competitors in the field by offering a depth of market knowledge that is unrivaled.
Miners Center is currently purchasing Bitcoins so any interested sellers should visit their website as soon as possible for the best deals. For more information, visit,www.minerscenter.com.
Image Available:http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/10/28/11G069537/Images/Bitcoin-648633992982.jpg || Cryptocurrency Trader Launches Super Deal for Bitcoin Sellers: WILMINGTON, DE --(Marketwired - October 28, 2015) - Miners Center Inc. ( www.minerscenter.com ) is now offering 12% to 13% above the market value for Bitcoin, and now is the time to take advantage. With the rise in popularity of Bitcoin commerce, many online firms are finding creative new ways to take advantage of this valuable virtual resource. However, none are more market-savvy than Miners Center, an up-and-coming financial world star that is taking e-commerce by storm. For those not in the know, Bitcoin is the premier virtual currency that is being used online for a variety of purposes, including electronics purchases, travel, and a growing number of online businesses. It allows spenders to take advantage of the convenience and flexibility of online currency, invest, and grow their finances in a totally new way. Miners Center is offering unprecedented returns on user investments with their new offer. Emilian Tourey, the CEO of Miners Center, commented: "We are happy that with this promotional offer we will be able to help the Bitcoin community. By riding on this next wave of digital technology, we hope to become a major leader of the Bitcoin community, and offer exceptional deals for all Bitcoin purchases. It's about staying in-step with the times, and we know that Bitcoin is a wise investment and are confident that it can take us to the top." A visit to www.minerscenter.com reveals a cleanly-designed website that is easy to use, making Bitcoin transactions quick and easy. Users only need to enter their email address, and bank or PayPal information and they will be ready to take advantage of this new promotional offer. Aside from the main page, they also offer a news section and frequently asked questions, which can help new users discover the relevance and importance of Bitcoin, and the subtleties of the trading process. Any further questions on the website can be answered in real time by staff. Rates are updated constantly, following current market trends, for the most accurate information. Combined with knowledgeable staff and a regularly updated news page, this gives Miners Center the edge over competitors in the field by offering a depth of market knowledge that is unrivaled. Miners Center is currently purchasing Bitcoins so any interested sellers should visit their website as soon as possible for the best deals. For more information, visit, www.minerscenter.com . Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/10/28/11G069537/Images/Bitcoin-648633992982.jpg || Jamie Dimon thinks bitcoin is doomed—but here’s what he does like about it: Jamie Dimon doesn't think highly of this whole bitcoin thing. Bitcoin might be the hottest topic in financial technology, but Jamie Dimon isn’t impressed. “It’s just not going to happen…there is no government that is going to put up with it for long,” the CEO of JPMorgan Chase said about virtual currency at the Fortune Global Forum yesterday (Nov. 4), adding: “It’s kind of cute now, a lot of senators and congressmen will say ‘I support Silicon Valley innovation,’ But there will be no currency that gets around government controls.” ExxonMobil faces a New York investigation into whether it hid the risks of climate change The “blockchain” technology that makes bitcoin possible, on the other hand, could be a potential game changer, Dimon admitted. JPMorgan and 22 other major banks have recently partnered with R3, a blockchain startup, to study blockchain technology and possibility of idea of a shared, private ledger. Blockchain is essentially a shared database where people can exchange information—as well as virtual currencies like bitcoin, stock certificates, contract agreements, and even securities. For something like sending money across borders, using blockchain technology can make the process much faster and cheaper. “If it is cheaper, effective, works, and secure, then we are going to use it,” said Dimon. The IRS and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) both consider bitcoin a commodity , instead of a currency—essentially a piece of property you pay taxes on. Yet, more recently, government agencies outside the US have been more receptive of bitcoin as a currency, and not taxable. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: A nuclear war between India and Pakistan is a very real possibility Explore the complicated network of allies and enemies in Syria’s civil war || Patriots, Not Panthers, Are Super Bowl 50 Favorites: What do the Carolina Panthers have to do to get some respect around here? The New England Patriots are still favorites to win Super Bowl 50, despite their loss to the Denver Broncos last Sunday and the Panthers’ status as the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team entering Week 13, according to a popular online sportsbook.
Led by starting quarterback Cam Newton, the Panthers trounced the Dallas Cowboys 33-14 on Thanksgiving to improve to 11-0. The Patriots fell to 10-1 and lost superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski to an injury in a 30-24 overtime loss to the Broncos. Even with that loss, the Patriots have 10/3 odds to win Super Bowl 50, according to leading online sportsbook Bovada. Despite their unblemished record, the upstart Panthers are ranked second, with 4/1 odds to win the big game next February.
The defending champion Patriots have won four Super Bowls with head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady at the helm, developing an aura of invincibility in the process. Gamblers have bet “probably double the amount of money” on the Patriots to win Super Bowl 50 than any other NFL team this season, according to Kevin Bradley, Bovada’s sportsbook manager.
“People still like the Patriots. They like Tom Brady, he’s been there before, he’s won before. I think they just feel he’s proven. If it came down to them playing the Panthers in the Super Bowl, the Patriots would be favorites,” Bradley said.
It’s rare for an NFL team that’s still undefeated at this point in the season to not be the favorite to win the Super Bowl. But the Panthers’ dubious distinction has more to do with the public’s trust in the Patriots than any lack of confidence in Carolina’s roster.
“I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but the one reason is because it’s the Patriots. If it was any other team, if the Patriots didn’t only have one loss, the Panthers probably would be the favorite,” Bradley said.
Bettors are still placing a significant amount of money on the Patriots to win it all despite their Week 12 loss, injuries to Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman and the relatively small payout afforded by 10/3 odds. But Bovada has taken more bets for historic NFL powerhouses such as the Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and the Dallas Cowboys to win this year’s Super Bowl than the Panthers, despite their strong performance.
Traditionally, the Panthers have lacked the brand recognition and the nationwide popularity to attract a high volume of wagers, Bradley said.
“The Panthers, up until now, no one was betting on them. Every year, no one really bets on them. They’re not a popular team, there’s not a base of Panthers fans around the US,” Bradley said.
Still, the Panthers have a chance to join the 2007 Patriots and the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams in NFL history to finish the regular-season undefeated. Carolina has 4/1 odds to go 16-0 this season and 10/1 odds to win the Super Bowl with a perfect 19-0 record, according to Bovada.
Not even the Patriots have done that.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
$323.04 #coinbase;
$322.08 #bitfinex;
$322.00 #bitstamp;
$320.00 #btce;
#bitcoin #btc || Current price: 308.54€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-11-18 12:00:08 CET || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 6 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $186.78 #bitcoin #btc || $361.35 #bitfinex;
$359.62 #bitstamp;
$359.45 #coinbase;
$352.00 #btce;
#bitcoin #btc || 1 #bitcoin 1102.06 TL, 369.171 $, 356.9 €, GBP, 24560.00 RUR, 50000 ¥, CNH, 520 CAD #btc || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 11 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $46.62 #bitcoin #btc || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 7 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $463.37 #bitcoin #btc || @Crypto_Boost I made a deposit of BTC 0.1 for 36 hours, oprazo expired 00:30 I have not received my BTC 's much less income I want my BTC 's || Current price: 268.2€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-28 00:20:03 CET || #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges: Cryptsy: 0.00000004 Bittrex: 0.00000003 Average $1.1E-5 per #reddcoin 14:00:03 via #p…pic.twitter.com/P7staW9K82
|
Trend: down || Prices: 451.94, 435.00, 433.76, 444.18, 465.32, 454.93, 456.08, 463.62, 462.32, 442.68
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2018-01-30]
BTC Price: 10106.30, BTC RSI: 36.01
Gold Price: 1335.40, Gold RSI: 57.99
Oil Price: 64.50, Oil RSI: 62.07
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Why You Should Work at Least 35 Years Before Retiring: For around a quarter of married couples and almost half of unmarried persons, Social Security provides more than 90% of income during retirement, according to theSocial Security Administration. Social Security benefits are a primary source of income becauseAmericans don't invest enough for retirementand because few employers in the private sector offer guaranteed pension income in today's world.
Since Social Security may be a key source of support during your golden years, it's important to understand how the program works. In particular, you should understand how your benefits are calculated -- and why it's a good idea to work for at least 35 years before you retire.
Image source: Getty Images.
Social Security benefits are earned benefits, which means you don't get them until you pay into the system. You need to earn at least 40 work credits to become eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and, as of 2018, you earn one credit for each $1,320 in earnings up to a maximum of four credits annually.
While earning work credits is a prerequisite to qualifying for benefits on your own, working the minimum number of years isn't enough to maximize your benefits. In fact, if you work less than 35 years, your benefits may be much lower than they would be if you worked longer. That's because of the way Social Security benefits are calculated.
When benefits are calculated, the Social Security Administration calculates averaged indexed monthly earnings during the 35 years when your salary is highest. The Social Security Administration adjusts for wage growth, and applies a formula to determine your basic benefit amount, which is the amount you'd get if you retired atfull retirement age.
This means if you don't work for a full 35 years, you'll have some years of $0 benefits factored into your calculation. Consider the impact this would have if you earned the equivalent of an inflation adjusted salary of $50,000 throughout a 35-year career versus if you earned the same salary but worked for just 25 years. If your career ended 10 years early, your average wages would drop down to $35,714 instead of $50,000. In that case, because of the progressive nature of the formula that determines your monthly benefit, what you'd get from Social Security would drop by only around 20%.
While working less than 35 years can make a big impact on the income you receive from Social Security, it's not always feasible to continue working for this long. It's always worth looking into whether your benefits may be higher if you claim on a spouse's work record, but it's especially important if you have to leave the workforce before putting in a full 35 years of work.
If you're at least 62 years old and your spouse is receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, you could be eligible to claim your benefits based on your spouse's work history. If you qualify for and apply for benefits on your own work record but are eligible for higher spousal benefits, the Social Security Administration pays a combination of benefits equal to the higher spousal benefit.
Your spousal benefit could equal between 32.5% to 50% of your spouse's benefits depending upon whether you retire at or before your full retirement age, which is 67 if you were born after 1960 butearlier if you were born sooner. This chart shows the maximum percentage of your spouse's benefits you could be eligible for if you claim on his or her work record, assuming your full retirement age is 67.
[{"Your Age at Retirement": "62", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "32.5%"}, {"Your Age at Retirement": "63", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "35%"}, {"Your Age at Retirement": "64", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "37.5%"}, {"Your Age at Retirement": "65", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "41.66%"}, {"Your Age at Retirement": "66", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "45.83%"}, {"Your Age at Retirement": "67", "% of Your Spouse's Primary Insurance Amount You're Eligible for": "50%"}]
Source:Social Security Administration
If you're divorced after a marriage of at least 10 years and haven't remarried, you can still qualify for these spousal benefits based on your ex's work record.
If you want to maximize your Social Security benefits, making sure you get 35 years of work in -- or claim on your spouse's record if necessary -- can be essential. If your income is a lot higher at the end of your career than at the start, working even longer than your 35 years could benefit you because the Social Security calculation is based on your highest 35 years of earnings. Dropping that year when you made $2,000 at a summer job in favor of another year of earning $100,000 at the end of your career makes an impact.
Working longer may also make it possible to delay claiming Social Security benefits, which makes a big difference. If you claim Social Security benefits before full retirement age, your benefits are reduced while if you wait longer than full retirement age, your benefits amount will keep rising until age 70. Find outhow to do the mathto see whether it makes sense for you to wait to claim benefits.
This increase or decrease based on your age when you claim benefits applies whether you claim on your own work record or a spouse's, so delaying is often the smart move if you want your Social Security benefit to be as high as possible so you'll have more income to live on as a senior.
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The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Prices Could Break as Iran Unrest is not Likely to Impact Supply: U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures settled lower on Tuesday after buyers backed away from an early session surge fueled by a reaction to anti-government protests in Iran.
On Tuesday,February WTI crude oilsettled at $60.37, down $0.05 or -0.08% andMarch Brent crude oilfinished at $66.57, down $0.30 or -0.45%.
Prices dipped into the close on the news that the major pipelines in Libya and the U.K. restarted. The 450,000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity Forties pipeline system in the North Sea returned to full operations on December 30 after an unplanned shutdown. Repairs were also completed on a Libyan oil pipeline which was damaged in a suspected terrorist attack last week.
Volume is low and the range is tight early Wednesday, leading to a mixed trading session. At 0705 GMT, February WTI crude oil is trading $60.38, up $0.01 or +0.01% and March Brent crude oil is at $66.56, down $0.01 or -0.02%.
Oil prices are stable, but still within striking distance of their mid-2015 highs reached on Tuesday. The market remains underpinned by strong demand and optimism over the ongoing efforts by OPEC and Russia to curb output, trim the global supply and stabilize prices. Pressure, however, could come from rising U.S. production and doubts about whether demand growth can continue at current levels.
With the pipeline issues in the North Sea and Libya resolved and the protests in Iran showing no signs of impacting its oil production, prices could slide this week especially if this week’s U.S. government reports show another rise in production.
U.S. oil production has risen by almost 16 percent since mid-2016, hitting 9.75 million bpd at the end of last year. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before U.S. production hits 10 million bpd.
WTI prices could retreat to the former tops at $58.99 to $58.60 now that the Libyan pipeline explosion and the Forties pipeline outage are history.
Brent crude oil posted a higher-high, lower-close on Tuesday. If the selling pressure continues then look for a possible break back to its former top at $64.92.
On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventories report is expected to show a draw of about 5.2 million barrels.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 03/01/18 || Guess How Many Gen Xers and Baby Boomers Have No Retirement Savings: We're all told time and time again how crucial it is to save for the future. But unfortunately, a large chunk of workers in their late 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s continue to put their retirement at risk. In fact, 41% of Gen Xers and 42% of baby boomers have yet to start building their nest eggs, according to data compiled by Comet . And that's obviously a lot scarier for the latter group, since they're the ones with the least amount of time to play catch-up. No matter your age, if you've been in the workforce a while and still have nothing set aside for retirement, it's time to start changing your ways. Otherwise, you risk running out of money later in life, or never getting to retire at all. Serious middle-aged man IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Social Security just won't cut it Many folks who hold off saving money for the future do so because their living expenses eat up their paychecks. Others, however, make more of a conscious decision not to save, thinking they can fall back on Social Security instead. But contrary to what you may have heard, Social Security won't provide enough income for you to live off in retirement. In fact, it won't even come close. If you're like the typical recipient, your benefits will cover roughly 40% of your previous income, assuming the program isn't required to slash payments in the future. But even if we're optimistic and assume we can rely on that 40% replacement income threshold, that's still only about half of what the average senior will need in retirement. Not only do most people need around 80% of their previous earnings to live comfortably as seniors, but a large chunk of retirees also end up spending more money , not less, once their careers come to a close. How can that be? For one thing, your healthcare costs will probably rise in retirement, and not by a small margin. The average healthy 65-year-old couple today is expected to spend a whopping $400,000 or more on medical care in retirement, and that figure is projected to rise even more for future retirees. Throw in the fact that retirees tend to have the most free time on their hands, and therefore need money to fill it, and it's no wonder so many seniors see their living costs climb. What all of this means is that you really need to start saving immediately if you want a shot at a secure retirement. The good news, however, is that if you begin setting aside a decent chunk of money each month, and continue doing so consistently for the remainder of your career, you have more than enough opportunity to catch up. Story continues Check out the following table, which shows how much you could retire with if you begin saving $500 a month at various ages: 37 $567,000 42 $379,000 47 $246,000 52 $151,000 57 $83,000 Data source: author. You'll retire with a decent nest egg if you begin saving $500 at month in your late 30s, or even in your early to mid-40s. But the older you get, the less those totals amount to. On the other hand, if you're in your 50s or 60s but commit to making up for lost time by maxing out a 401(k), you actually stand to retire with quite a bit of money. These days, anyone 50 and over can contribute up to $24,500 to an employer-sponsored plan. Is that a lot of money to part with each year? Absolutely. But watch what it'll do for your retirement: 50 $1 million 55 $616,000 60 $338,000 65 $141,000 Data source: author. So there you have it: It's not too late to salvage your retirement if you're well into your career and have yet to begin to saving, but you also can't afford to lose any more time at this point. So start cutting expenses, budgeting more carefully, and doing whatever it takes to free up money to save. You'll be thankful for it down the line. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments || Factbox - Bitcoin may be king, but Ripple dark horse in crypto race: (Reuters) - Bitcoin was the star of the white-knuckle ride that cryptocurrencies offered in 2017 but lesser-known names, such as Ripple and Ethereum, are seen gaining prominence in 2018. While bitcoin jumped more than 1,200 percent last year, Ripple, created by the founder of bitcoin exchange Mt Gox, surged 35,000 percent in the same period. That means $100 invested in Ripple in January 2017 would have grown to about $35,000 at the start of this year. To be sure, bitcoin is still the biggest cryptocurrency by far - with market value exceeding $250 billion - and is expected to keep that mantle in the months to come. Here is a list of the top 10 cryptocurrencies - including bitcoin - and how they performed in 2017: Ripple (XRP): Launched in 2012, Ripple had a market cap of $91.79 billion as of Tuesday, second after Bitcoin. It is used by companies such as UBS and Santander as payment technology. In November 2017, American Express Co also launched an instant blockchain-based payment system using Ripple. Percentage gain in 2017: About 35,000 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $2.73 NEM (XEM): Launched in 2015, NEM is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency platform. It is used in a commercial blockchain called Mijin, tested mainly in Japan, by financial institutions and private companies. Percentage gain in 2017: About 29,000 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $1.27 Stellar (XLM): Released in early 2014, Stellar comes in at number three in terms of percentage growth in 2017. In October 2017, Stellar and IBM entered into a deal aimed at improving the speed of global payments. Percentage gain in 2017: Close to 14,000 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: About $0.76 Dash (DASH): Originally launched as XCoin in early 2014, Dash got its name in March 2015. It offers instant transactions. Transactions done with Dash get confirmed in seconds, whereas Bitcoin transaction can take up to 10 minutes to confirm. Percentage gain in 2017: About 9,300 percent Story continues Trading price as of Wednesday: $1,162.84 Ethereum (ETH): Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum's main aim is to operate 'smart contacts', instead of acting as a form of money. Smart contracts are scripts of code that can be deployed in Ethereum blockchain. Percentage gain in 2017: About 9,200 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $879.91 Litecoin (LTC): Introduced in October 2011, Litecoin is very similar to bitcoin. It is number six in terms of market cap, according to coinmarketcap. Percentage gain in 2017: About 4,800 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $250.31 Cardano (ADA): Cardano was founded in 2014 and began trading on Bittrex exchange in October 2017. Within three months, it has garnered a market cap of over $18.6 billion, to secure itself at the fifth position (in terms of market cap). Percentage gain in 2017: Close to 3,000 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: About $0.99 Bitcoin (BTC): Invented by an unknown person/group called Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was released in January 2009. Bitcoins are created by mining and was the first decentralised cryptocurency. Percentage gain in 2017: Over 1,200 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $15,003.90 Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Born from bitcoin itself, Bitcoin Cash is a segregated version of bitcoin that was released on Aug. 1, 2017. Bitcoin Cash was branched out to increase the blocksize limit to 8 MB and allow faster transactions. Percentage gain in 2017: Over 500 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $2,748.33 IOTA (MIOTA): IOTA was introduced in June 2016 and started trading on Bitfinex in June 2017. With a market cap of about $11.19 billion, it is ranked ninth, according to coinmarketcap. Percentage gain in 2017: Over 450 percent Trading price as of Wednesday: $4.03 (Graphic - Cryptomania: http://reut.rs/2CLOAJk ) (Information compiled from Thomson Reuters data, company websites, Coinmarketcap.com) (Compiled by Pallavi Dewan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) || A Parody Cryptocurrency Based On A Dog Meme Just Hit An All-Time High: The cryptocurrency craze continues—this time, for a coin that was created as a joke.
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after anInternet meme, hit an all-time high of more than $2 billion in overall value this weekend.
The currency, launched in 2013, was inspired by an online craze for pictures of Shiba Inus, a Japanese dog breed. With people around the world itching to get in on the cryptocurrency trend, the parody coin has been steadily gaining in recent months, hitting $1 billion in overall value in late December, and then doubling to $2 billion on Jan. 7.
Read:Cryptocurrency Markets Tank After Signs China Could Push Out Miners
While the market value hit a peak over the weekend, each coin is worth less than two cents, because unlike Bitcoin, there is no limit on the number of Dogecoins that can be produced. According toBBC, there are already 100 billion of the coins in existence. And they’re easy to get your hands on because Dogecoins can be purchased at online exchanges or be mined in the same way as Bitcoins.
Read:Here’s Why Your Bitcoin Investment Just Plummeted 14%
Despite the impressive growth Dogecoin and other altcoins like it have experienced in recent months, some are expressing concern that their rise is driven purely by FOMO, the fear of missing out experienced by investors who missed their chance to get in on the Bitcoin craze before it exploded. Jackson Palmer, the founder of Dogecoin (who has since left the company), toldCoinDeskthat “it says a lot about the state of the cryptocurrency space in general that a currency with a dog on it which hasn’t released a software update in over 2 years has a $1B+ market cap.” || What you need to know on Wall Street today: Coinbase offline Coinbase Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox. Bitcoin soared above $19,500 a coin on Coinbase's GDAX exchange around 11 a.m. ET Thursday, just three hours after it blew past $16,000. The massive tear upwards seems to have put pressure on Coinbase's infrastructure, with the exchange saying on Twitter that users were experiencing issues logging into their accounts because of record traffic . Some users trying to log in were met with a message reading "AN ERROR HAS OCCURED." Different exchanges were printing significantly different prices . The immaturity of the bitcoin market has often created price discrepancies, which would be unheard of elsewhere on Wall Street. But on Thursday, some exchanges were more than $1,000 apart. Elsewhere in crypto news: Thieves stole potentially millions of dollars of bitcoin in a hacking attack on a cryptocurrency company There's an argument brewing over the launch of bitcoin futures The CIO of a crypto hedge fund reveals why you should be cautious of the ICO bubble Blockchain developers are earning $180,000 a year as the Swiss crypto industry booms In Wall Street news, banks could take a $4.4 billion hit from new reforms — and traders will bear the brunt of it . In markets news, retail stocks have been crushing the market against all odds — and traders are betting on more gains . And the next stock market crash will look a lot different than the financial crisis . In tax news, experts are starting to find massive errors in the GOP tax bill after it went through Congress at lightning speed . And Amazon, Facebook and Google could save billions thanks to the GOP tax bill . Elsewhere in DC news, a new Fed nominee could be key to setting rates — but his views make him a wildcard . Lastly, here are the 10 most luxurious first class cabins in the world . Story continues NOW WATCH: This is one of the best responses to Jamie Dimon calling bitcoin a fraud that we have heard so far See Also: What you need to know on Wall Street today What you need to know on Wall Street today What you need to know on Wall Street today || ETH/USD Forecast for the Week of December 18, 2017, Technical Analysis: Ethereumrallied significantly during the trading week, reaching almost as high as $800 on Coinbase. However, the exchange has had several problems over the week, closing down due to the inability to facilitate the trading volume. Because of this, the real value in Ethereum is going to be difficult to determine, as it appears the institutional money flooding into space is overwhelming the infrastructure. Eventually, this causes a major problem.
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In the meantime, it looks to me as if the market is trying to break above the $800 level, but it’s difficult to justify buying at these prices based upon the weekly chart. I think if you can look to shorter-term charts, perhaps a buy on the dips strategy will be the best way to play this market. I also believe that $400 will be a bit of a hard floor, so I would be very surprised if we managed to break below that level. Ultimately, this is a market that I think continues to be very noisy, offering a lot of trading opportunities for short-term traders, but difficult to hang on to the longer-term move based upon technical analysis. At this point, if you are buying Ethereum on a longer-term chart, you are simply basing your trade on faith of value more than anything else. It is almost impossible to do any technical analysis on moves like this other than to say we are far too overbought. However, that typically will give us an opportunity to pick up a value trade underneath, so perhaps if you are patient enough you may get the opportunity.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Silver Price forecast for the week of December 18, 2017, Technical Analysis || 15 Retirement Stats That Will Blow You Away: Do you have any idea what the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit is? It was recently $1,375, which amounts to just $16,500 per year. Clearly, you're probably not going to live comfortably in retirement solely on Social Security income.
It's important to know what to expect from retirement, so that you can best plan and prepare for it. Here are 15 rather important or impressive things to know.
Image source: Getty Images.
More than half of workers are planning to keep working part-time in retirement, at least for a while. That's a reasonable goal, given how underprepared most people are, financially, for retirement.
Only 44% of single people are saving for retirement, compared with 63% for married folks, according to a TD Ameritrade survey. The disparity makes sense because two-income households can find it easier to save, but both percentages are lower than they should be.
According to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey, about a quarter of workers surveyed -- as opposed to retirees -- said they had less than $1,000 saved for retirement, not including pension or home values. About two-thirds of them had saved less than $100,000. The following table shows more detail:
[{"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "Less than $1,000", "Percentage of Respondents": "24%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$1,000 to $9,999", "Percentage of Respondents": "14%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$10,000 to $24,999", "Percentage of Respondents": "9%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$25,000 to $49,999", "Percentage of Respondents": "8%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$50,000 to $99,999", "Percentage of Respondents": "10%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$100,000 to $249,999", "Percentage of Respondents": "15%"}, {"Amount Saved for Retirement*": "$250,000 or more", "Percentage of Respondents": "20%"}]
Data source: 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey.
Image source: Getty Images.
Even if you have $250,000 socked away for retirement, it's not likely to be enough. If you use the flawed-but-still-useful "4% rule" for drawing down your nest egg in retirement, a $250,000 nest egg will give you just $10,000 of income in your first year.
Sohow much retirement income do you need? Well, there's no one-size-fits-all number, but some experts suggest aiming for 80% of your income at the time you retire. So if you retire earning $75,000, you'll want to aim for $60,000.
One way to get a rough idea of how much you need to save is to invert the 4% rule and multiply your desired annual income from your nest egg by 25. So, for example, if you want to be able to draw $20,000 from your nest egg in your first year of retirement, you'd multiply that by 25, getting $500,000. You'd need to retire with $500,000 saved.
Here's an interesting retirement detail: Many people assume that retirement generally starts at age 65. But only 26% of workers know what their "full" retirement age is -- the age at which they can start collecting Social Security. It's actually 67 for many of us:
[{"Birth Year": "1943 to 1954", "Full Retirement Age": "66"}, {"Birth Year": "1955", "Full Retirement Age": "66 and 2 months"}, {"Birth Year": "1956", "Full Retirement Age": "66 and 4 months"}, {"Birth Year": "1957", "Full Retirement Age": "66 and 6 months"}, {"Birth Year": "1958", "Full Retirement Age": "66 and 8 months"}, {"Birth Year": "1959", "Full Retirement Age": "66 and 10 months"}, {"Birth Year": "1960 or later", "Full Retirement Age": "67"}]
Data source: Social Security Administration.
Regardless of full retirement ages, the average retirement age was recently 63.
The earliest age at which you can start collecting Social Security retirement benefits is 62 -- and it's also the most common age at which people do start collecting. That means they get smaller checks, though -- but they'll get many more of them.
The longer you delay starting to collect Social Security, up to age 70, the bigger your ultimate checks will be. They increase by about 8% for every year beyond your full retirement age that you delay.
Image source: Getty Images.
Don't assume that you can retire at 70 or any particular age, because many people end up retiring earlier than planned. Fully 46% of retirees left the workforce earlier than planned, with 55% citing health problems or a disability as the reason and 24% citing changes at work such as a downsizing or workplace closure, according to the 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey.
Be sure to factor healthcare costs into your retirement plans. A 65-year-old couple retiring today will spend, on average, a total of $275,000 out of pocket on healthcare, according to Fidelity Investments.
Speaking of healthcare, don't be late enrolling for Medicare, becauseit can cost you. Your Part B premiums -- which cover medical services, but not hospital services -- can rise by 10% for each year that you were eligible for Medicare but didn't enroll. The no-penalty enrollment period for most people is anytime within the three months leading up to your 65th birthday, during the month of your birthday, or within the three months that follow.
Most elderly beneficiaries get 50% or more of their income from Social Security, while 23% of married ones and 43% of unmarried ones get fully90%or more of their income from it, according to the Social Security Administration.
Here's a last stat that should drive home the importance of planning and saving for retirement: 30% of 50-year-old women and 19% of 50-year-old men will live to 90, according to the Social Security Administration. So even if you retire as late as 70, you stand a decent chance of needing to live off your savings for 20 more years.
The better prepared you are, and the more you have socked away for retirement, the better your retirement is likely to be.
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The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Here’s Why Your Bitcoin Investment Just Plummeted 14%: Bitcoin slumped as much as 14 percent as the world’s largest cryptocurrency continues to be whipsawed by concerns about regulation and demand from Asia.
“The fuss about regulators tightening screws in South Korea is pushing the price of bitcoin,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at TF Global Markets in London. “This and the Chinese news is going to bring a blip in the price.”
China plans to limit power use by some bitcoin miners, people familiar with the matter said last week, a potential challenge to an industry whose energy-intensive computer networks enable transactions in the cryptocurrency.
The People’s Bank of China outlined the plan Jan. 3 at a closed-door meeting, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because it wasn’t public. They didn’t detail how authorities plan to enact the curbs.
South Korea said last month that it will restrictively allow cryptocurrency trading on only qualified exchanges and review a possible capital gains tax on crypto trading as a way to restrain the nation’s frenzied speculation.
“We need regulators to look into the space more closely, the Korean exchanges have become crazy in terms of price differences so these regulatory actions would help the price stability,” Aslam said. “As for the mining operations, China is making the process more difficult for miners, but opportunist have started to focus on Canada which is more regulatory friendly and cheap on the energy front.” || Stock market outlook, December 29: Friday is the final trading day of 2017. And what a year it has been. The earnings calendar will bring investors no action to end the year and an empty economic calendar. And with volume on Thursday coming in at about a third of the average day over the last few months, Friday should be a very quiet day on the Street. As the year comes to a close, investors in the U.S. are currently looking at gains of right at 20% for the benchmark S&P 500, over 25% for the Dow, and 29% for the tech-heavy Nasdaq. All in, this will be the strongest year for U.S. stocks since 2013 . During a year in which tax reform hopes, a lack of volatility , and a year-end bitcoin craze were the defining features of the market, stocks went up all but one month and there were just eight trading days wherein the S&P 500 moved more than 1%. This was the fewest since 1965, according to Bespoke Investment Group . 2017 has been one of the least-volatile years for the U.S. stock market since World War II. (Source: Bespoke Investment Group) For investors, then, 2017 will be a year to remember and Wall Street analysts are calling for another strong year in 2018. But as the old axiom goes, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Chicago is a city of bulls right now Economic activity in the Midwest is booming. On Thursday, the Chicago business barometer from the Institute for Supply Management came in at a reading of 67.6, topping expectations and best reading for the index since March 2011. For the fourth quarter of the year, the index hit 65.9, the best quarterly performance since the first quarter of 2011 and just the third time in the reading’s history there has been a three-month stretch with readings over 60. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion in business activity in the Midwest. Perhaps the most standout part of the report was the production measure, which hit a 34-year high, while new orders also rose though employment moderated. Neil Dutta, an economist at Renaissance Macro, said Thursday that, “the strong growth in production relative to employment indicates faster productivity growth.” Story continues Economic indicators from the Midwest point to improving productivity in 2018, according to Neil Dutta at Renaissance Macro. (Source: Renaissance Macro) Productivity growth has been sluggish since the financial crisis and many economists see lagging productivity as a factor holding back wage gains despite the 17-year low in unemployment. “Sentiment among businesses started 2017 in good shape and only impressed more as the year progressed,” said Jamie Satchi, economist at MNI Indicators. Satchi added that, “December’s result secured the MNI Chicago Business Barometer’s first full year of expansion since 2014 and with new orders ending the quarter in fine shape there is every chance this form could be carried over into 2018.” — Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland Read more from Myles here: The markets story of 2017 — real returns, fake news Evidence shows corporate tax cuts don’t work Walmart’s strong quarter shows why Amazon had to buy Whole Foods Foreign investors might be the key to forecasting a U.S. recession It’s been 17 years since U.S. consumers felt this good about the economy TOM LEE: Bitcoin is an important asset for investors to own
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Price: 10850.00 (+/- 0.5)
Close: 10856.67 (+/- 0.5)
Stop: 10847.00 (+/- 0.5)
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#最新価格 #BTC #ビットコイン #Bitcoin || #Potcoin was used by 'chemists as payment for #medical #marijuana
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Trend: down || Prices: 10221.10, 9170.54, 8830.75, 9174.91, 8277.01, 6955.27, 7754.00, 7621.30, 8265.59, 8736.98
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2018-06-04]
BTC Price: 7514.47, BTC RSI: 40.49
Gold Price: 1293.10, Gold RSI: 40.38
Oil Price: 64.75, Oil RSI: 33.98
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Is CONSOL Energy a Buy?: Timing can be everything. It certainly made a difference when CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CEIX) completed its spin-off from CNX Resources , which was confusingly previously named CONSOL Energy. The new spin-off is flying under the same flag, but it took all of the former parent company's coal assets. With the American coal industry experiencing an awakening of sorts, the stock has jumped nearly 50% since relisting. The sudden appreciation in value could mean any number of things. Perhaps CONSOL Energy was undervalued at the time of its spin-off. Perhaps it earned a higher valuation, or has convinced Wall Street that the business is poised to thrive in the near future. Or perhaps this is the latest example of an irrational market, and the coal company is overvalued. What do the numbers indicate? Is CONSOL Energy a buy? An overhead view of a coal mining operation loading product onto freight cars. Image source: Getty Images. The business CONSOL Energy owns three primary assets: the low-cost Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC) with 735 million metric tons (MT) of reserves, a coal export terminal, and an estimated 1.6 billion MT of untapped reserves spread across three major American coal basins. Coal sales comprise the overwhelming majority of the business, but the company has also worked to increase revenue generated from freight and terminal throughput to more fully leverage its Appalachian asset base. While freight and terminal sales combined to represent just 9.5% of overall revenue in 2017, that was up from a 6.3% share in 2016. It was made possible by record throughput of 14.3 million MT at its export terminal, an increase of 77% from the prior year. That wasn't the only part of the business cooking for the coal miner last year. CONSOL Energy turned in record coal production of 26.1 million metric tons in 2017 from the three mines comprising the PAMC. When combined with higher selling prices than the year before, it's easy to see how the company turned in a solid year-over-year performance. Metric 2017 2016 % Change Coal revenue $1.19 billion $1.06 billion 12.3% Terminal revenue $60.1 million $31.5 million 90.8% Freight revenue $73.7 million $46.5 million 58.5% Total revenue $1.41 billion $1.23 billion 14.6% Net income attributable to shareholders $67.6 million $41.5 million 62.9% EPS $2.40 $1.48 62.1% Total long-term debt $865.3 million $313.6 milion 176% Tons of coal sold 26.1 million 24.6 million 6.1% Average selling price, coal $45.52 per ton $43.31 per ton 5.1% Data source: SEC filing. Story continues Last year was pretty good to CONSOL Energy, thanks in large part to a stabilizing coal market in the United States and increased appetite for American coal overseas. In 2015 and 2016, the company's coal exports averaged 5.5 million MT per year, or about 23% of sales volumes. In 2017, that jumped to 8.3 million MT, representing 32% of sales volumes. The good news is management expects the relatively good times to continue in 2018: Coal production is expected to set another annual record with 27 million MT. The bad news is there's no denying that the American coal industry is a shell of its former self. Annual net income of $68 million in 2017 is a far cry from the $300 million levels the business averaged from 2013 to 2015. Unfortunately, the obstacles facing coal producers aren't limited to the American market, despite a recent uptick in exports. A conveyor system adding coal to a large pile. Image source: Getty Images. Can coal maintain its momentum? The Appalachian coal leader runs a profitable business that is adapting to industry trends, namely increased exports from the United States and healthy demand for metallurgical coal (the kind used for industrial processes, not electricity generation). But there's no denying that coal-fired power plants and industrial processes are increasingly being replaced by other, cleaner sources of power. For example, changing market dynamics in the American power sector continue to disproportionately affect coal-fired power plants . The United States is set to retire an astounding 13 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity in 2018 alone -- the second-highest annual total of the last decade. Considering coal producers are being largely carried by exports right now, there are more worrisome risks brewing internationally. The overnight emergence of a robust global market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) poses a significant risk to coal's future, especially considering the two countries growing LNG imports the fastest are China and India , the world's two largest consumers of coal. It's no secret they're racing to substitute natural gas for coal in both industry and power generation. In fact, industrial processes were responsible for over half of China's year-over-year increase in natural gas demand. Domestic and international factors don't bode well for the long-term future of coal, even if the next several years provide a glimmer of (likely false) hope. Neither do the current valuation metrics compared to peers. While CONSOL Energy stock has nearly doubled the gains of Arch Coal and Peabody Energy since relisting in late 2017, it now trades roughly in line with its larger competitors on several metrics. In fact, it trades at a premium on certain metrics. Metric CONSOL Energy Arch Coal Peabody Market cap $934 million $2.06 billion $4.83 billion Forward P/E 13.9 10.5 20.0 Price to sales 0.68 0.91 0.88 Price to book 4.6 3.1 1.3 EV to EBITDA 4.8 4.7 3.9 Data source: Yahoo! Finance. Unless Mr. Market finds unique value differentiators in the business of CONSOL Energy compared to its peers, and still thinks those aren't properly accounted for after the 50% run-up since relisting, shares should not continue to outpace Arch Coal or Peabody in the near future. Do you want to own a coal stock? The fact that CONSOL Energy owns a major export terminal should allow it to piggyback on growing international shipments relatively easily, which will be a boon in the near term. However, it's important to remember that coal production and sales will continue to make or break the business, and that international demand for American coal is being pressured by (mostly American) LNG. Therefore, even though this coal producer is profitable and generally healthy, I would encourage forward-thinking investors to not own a coal stock in their portfolios. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Maxx Chatsko has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Better Buy: Amazon vs. Facebook: There's a considerable shift in people's behavior these days: More and more shopping and entertainment are taking place online. And as people spend more time and money online, advertisers are quickly following them there. Two companies seeing substantial benefits from that shift -- or perhaps causing it in the first place -- are Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) . Both have grown to become giants in their spaces: Amazon in online retail and cloud computing, Facebook in digital advertising. Investors would do well with either company in their portfolios. (In fact, I own shares of both.) But if you had to choose just one, which makes the better buy: Amazon or Facebook? Amazon packages being loaded onto an Amazon airplane Image source: Amazon. The everything store...er, company After humble beginnings as a bookstore, Amazon quickly expanded to different verticals, and now you can buy just about anything on Amazon's marketplace. There are over 100 million items eligible for two-day shipping to the company's 100 million Prime members . But Amazon's no longer just a retail company . In fact, more than half the stuff sold on Amazon comes from third-party merchants simply using Amazon's marketplace to reach an audience. Amazon's third-party seller services climbed 39% year over year to $9.3 billion in the first quarter; Amazon's own online sales increased just 13%, by comparison. Amazon also has a number of services that are rapidly growing. Subscription services revenue climbed 56% year over year in the first quarter. The segment encompasses Prime, Prime Video, Music Unlimited, Audible, and several other subscription offerings. The "other" revenue segment, which mostly consists of Amazon's advertising business , climbed 73% year over year on an adjusted basis. And don't forget about Amazon Web Services, Amazon's cloud computing division. AWS accelerated its growth in the first quarter, up 49% year over year. Amazon also breaks out its operating profits from the segment, which climbed 57% year over year, as the company saw improved leverage with its growing scale. Story continues While Amazon's retail business isn't growing as fast as it once was, its services businesses are booming. And Amazon's services are where the profits are. AWS, for example, produces an operating profit margin of 26%. Amazon's ad business could generate an operating profit margin of over 50%, based on results from Facebook. Considering Amazon's core operating margin is so slim -- less than 4% -- these fast-growing services will have a major impact on Amazon's bottom line. The entrance to Facebook's campus Image source: Facebook. The social network Just like Amazon, Facebook is exhibiting significant growth at scale. Over the last five quarters, Facebook's namesake service has added more daily active users than Snap 's Snapchat has in its over-six-year existence, and it added the same number of monthly active users as Twitter just reported in its first-quarter results -- 336 million. Facebook's user base is growing faster than it has any business growing, considering there are now about 2.2 billion users on its platform. Facebook CFO Dave Wehner has been warning of a significant slowdown in advertising revenue since 2016, due to supply constraints in Facebook's News Feed. But when it came time for that slowdown in the second half of 2017 , it never showed up. Facebook found that its advertisers were willing to spend more on its ads, even as it faced short supply. Facebook's average ad price increased 39% year over year in the first quarter on top of an 8% increase in impressions. Overall, ad sales increased 50% year over year in the first quarter, an acceleration from the fourth quarter. Not to mention that Facebook still has a lot of levers to pull. Instagram is still growing, and while ads in that feed now represent a significant portion of revenue , there are 300 million people using Instagram Stories every day -- and Facebook is only just starting to monetize the product. WhatsApp Status (the WhatsApp Stories product) has even more users than Instagram Stories, and it remains completely unmonetized. And Facebook just released WhatsApp for Business in January, and already has 3 million users signed up. The company is on the verge of generating significant revenue from WhatsApp and its 1.5 billion users. There's also Messenger, which has about 1.3 billion users of its own that Facebook has yet to fully monetize. With a core business that's expected to produce around $55 billion in high-margin revenue and growing 50% year over year, plus a portfolio of some of the most popular social apps in the world, Facebook is also well-positioned to grow earnings for investors for a long time. Which is a better buy? Most "better buy" articles include a look at valuation to determine which stock offers better value to investors right now. That's great for comparing most companies, especially those that operate in similar industries. But here, it's not as useful. Not only do Amazon and Facebook operate in different industries, but Amazon's focus on driving scale instead of profits makes the stock practically impossible to value using traditional ratios like price to earnings, enterprise value to EBITDA , price to free cash flow , or even price to sales. Amazon is currently plowing more cash than it generates into technology to support AWS, building out new fulfillment centers and acquiring assets to support its logistics network, and paying for content to support its subscription services. Over the last 12 months, Amazon's free cash flow, less finance lease principal repayments and assets acquired under capital leases, was negative $3 billion. And Amazon even says its long-term goal is to optimize for free cash flow. Still, it's hard to argue with the results on Amazon's top line and across all of its various segments. And so long as Amazon continues delivering results like it did in the first quarter, investors should be happy to see it burning through cash and eating into profits. So, it's easy to see how traditional valuation metrics don't apply to Amazon. And comparing Amazon to Facebook stock in terms of valuation won't get us anywhere. Perhaps the best way to determine which is the better buy is to consider the businesses themselves. Facebook is one of the best pure plays in the growth of digital advertising, with a strong moat and a handful of extremely popular platforms. Amazon, by comparison, has its hands in several growing industries: online retail, cloud computing, streaming media, and even a bit of digital advertising itself. And it's got a pretty good competitive advantage in all of those areas. For an investor looking for a more diversified company that still has a ton of growth potential, Amazon stock looks like a better buy. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon and Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || The Simple Credit Card Trick That Could Save Money and Boost Your FICO Score: If I were to tell you that there's a trick that gets credit card customers a lower interest rate more than half of the time or reduces or eliminates their annual fee 70% of the time, would you be interested? According to a new report, not only does such a trick exist, but it's remarkably easy to use.
What if there was an easy way to get your credit card company to waive your annual fee or to lower your interest rate? There is -- just ask for it!
Image Source: Getty Images.
Many people don't even know this is an option. However, a new CreditCards.comreportsays that not only is it an option, but your chances of success are quite high.
Consider this:
• 70% of credit card customers were successful in getting an annual fee lowered or eliminated.
• 85% received a higher credit limit just for asking.
• 84% got their card issuer to waive a late fee.
• 56% got a lower interest rate orAPR.
In all, 60% of respondents have made at least one of these requests. Of this group, 89% were successful in getting a positive outcome.
However, many Americans don't even know that it's possible to get these things just for asking. Forty percent haven't made any of these requests at all, and some are rarer than others. For example, only 18% of cardholders say they've asked for an annual fee waiver. The most common reasons for not asking? "I didn't know I could ask this," or "I didn't think I'd be successful."
If you're successful with any of these requests, it could save you lots of money and even help boost your credit score. Lower interest rates can be an especially big help, and it's important not to underestimate the power of a seemingly small reduction.
According to CreditCards.com senior industry analyst Matt Schulz:
If you have $5000 in card debt on a card with a 20% APR and you pay $100 on that card, it'll take you 109 months and $5840 in interest to pay the balance off. Drop that APR by just 1 percentage point and keep the balance and monthly payment the same and it'll take you just 100 months and $4985 in interest to pay it off. That's 9 months faster and more than $800 cheaper. That's a big deal.
If you need more motivation to call your credit card issuers, you can use CreditCards.compayoff calculatortool to see how much a lower interest could potentially save you.
Additionally, waiving a one-time late fee could save you as much as $27. "Of course, you can't pay late every month and expect to avoid fees every time, but once in a while you can absolutely get out of a fee just by asking nicely," Schulz says.
Finally, while a higher credit limit won't directly save you money, it's one of my favorite tricks that can boost your credit score. Specifically, your credit utilization is a big factor inyour FICO score, and a higher limit with the same balance means that you're using less of your available credit, percentagewise.
For example, if you have a $2,000 credit card balance with an $8,000 limit, you're using 25% of your available credit. On the other hand, if that limit rises to $10,000, your utilization immediately drops to 20% and could positively impact your credit score.
The bottom line is that, with such a high rate of success, it doesn't make sensenotto try asking your credit card issuer for some of these things. This is especially true if you have a higher-than-average interest rate, a big annual fee, or are actively trying to add a few points to your credit score. After all, the worst thing that can happen is that they'll say no.
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The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Report: Intel Corp. to Win 70% of Apple Inc. iPhone Modem Shipments This Cycle: Later this year,Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL)is expected to launch new iPhones. They're expected to include, among many other features, an upgraded cellular subsystem that's capable of peak download speeds of 1,000 megabits per second (1 gigabit) -- a 66% increase from the 600 megabits per second that the current iPhone 8 series and iPhone X smartphones are capable of handling.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with KGI Securities, Apple was set to use gigabit LTE modems from chip giantIntel(NASDAQ: INTC)across its product lineup, cutting out longtime Apple modem supplierQualcomm(NASDAQ: QCOM)entirely.
Image source: Intel.
However, according to a new report fromFast Company, citing "a source with knowledge of Apple's plans," Intel won't win the entirety of Apple's iPhone modem orders this year -- it'll win just 70%.
The good news for Qualcomm is that its share of the iPhone modem spots won't go to zero and the good news for Intel is that while it won't have the entirety of the iPhone modem orders this year, it's set to have the majority (up from what was likely a minority position). That'll help drive solid year-over-year growth in Intel's modem business.
That said, the long-term prospects for Qualcomm at Apple don't look good while the prospects look increasingly bright for Intel. Here's why.
Fast Companyclaims that Intel "had hoped to provide an even higher percentage of the modems in this fall's new iPhones," but since this year is the first year that Intel is building the modems that it's selling to Apple inside its own factories (previous modems were manufactured elsewhere), Apple is reportedly taking a wait-and-see approach.
Fast Company, however, seems to hedge its bets by claiming that if Intel falls short, Qualcomm could supply more than 30% of the modems in the upcoming iPhones, but that if Intel "can produce enough chips on time and on budget it could get more than the planned 70%."
What's interesting is that Apple's apparent hesitance to use Intel for more of the upcoming iPhones doesn't seem to be due to modem quality (an area where Intel has trailed Qualcomm in the past), but instead due to manufacturing yield rates.
Fast Company's source claims that the yield rates on Intel's modem chips -- that is, the percentage of the chips that are actually usable -- are very low at around 50%. This is quite troubling considering that the underlying manufacturing technology that these modems will be built on has been in volume production for around four years and is quite mature.
Intel's reported manufacturing woes could be due to a flaw in the design of the chip rather than an issue in the underlying manufacturing technology, particularly since this is the first time Intel's modem team has used an Intel manufacturing technology, which is typically harder to design chips for than third-party technologies.
On the bright side,Fast Companyclaims that Intel's engineers are "confident they can work out the bugs and push up the yield rates before production ramps into high gear in June and July."
Fast Companyclaims that if "all goes well" with this year's iPhones, Apple could rely on Intel for 100% of the modems that it buys for the iPhones that it launches in the second half of 2019. In that case, Qualcomm would see another reduction in iPhone-related revenue while Intel's modem business would get yet-another boost.
One thing that gives me pause, though, is that the follow-on to this year's XMM 7560 modem, theXMM 7660, is reportedly set to be manufactured using Intel's10-nanometer technology, the successor to the 14-nanometer technology that's being used to build the XMM 7560.
If Intel is struggling to build the XMM 7560 at good yield rates using an extremely mature technology, then it seems a little tough to believe that the XMM 7660 will fare any better, as it'll be manufactured on a technology that'sapparently proving quite problematic.
We'll just have to see how it all shakes out.
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Ashraf Eassaowns shares of Intel and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || EURUSD Hits New Low Post Powell’s Speech: EUR/USD extended losses on Tuesday and has declined to a new 2018 low. The pair has been under pressure over the past three weeks on the back of a stronger dollar and has dropped nearly 4% to 6% during that time. Europe’s single currency now trades at a 2018 year-to-date loss against the Dollar after a crushing onslaught by the greenback drove the world’s most widely traded currency pair down more than 3% during the month to May 08. EURUSD Suffers The pair hit fresh low of 1.18362 early today morning despite hawkish German trade balance and industrial production data. Macro data for various European countries released yesterday was either hawkish or remained neutral, but the pair was unable to capitalize on this trigger owing to increase in bet in favor of exceptionally strong US dollar. The US dollar got a boost earlier in the day by strong hawkish comments from Fed’s chairman Jerome Powell but bears are trying to erase the gains. EURUSD Hourly US President Trump’s speech on Iran deal was in line with public expectations. Trump announced that USA is pulling out of the deal with Iran while other allies involved in the agreement such as Germany, France and U.K have decided to continue abiding by the agreement. However Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “fully supports” Trump’s decision. Even if announcement has been made, based on comments from US officials it is expected that it would take time for U.S to pull out of deal and investors believe that it will not affect value of US dollar in long term even if it results in some volatility in short term. The pair is expected to see further decline during today’s trading session as European calendar is very light for the day with no major news that could help offset existing trend. Investors are on look out for core PPI YoY & MoM data from US to be released later today. A better than expected US macro data could push the price as low as 1.17650 within today’s trading session. Expected support and resistance for the pair are at 1.1809 / 1.1785 and 1.1890 / 1.1910 respectively. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Oil Moves Higher as Trump Withdraws from Iran Deal Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – BTC Prices Under Pressure Ethereum – Commodity or Security: What’s the Difference? DAX Index On a Roll Daily Market Forecast – Oil Prices Jump on Trump’s Decision Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Bearish Bias On Sustained Move Under $2.769 View comments || Today In Cryptocurrency: Largest Korean Exchange Raided, Economist Rips Cryptos: The cryptocurrency market closed out a lackluster week with a day of heavy selling on Friday, with most major currencies trading down more than than 6 percent. Here’s a look at some of the headlines that were moving the cryptocurrency market today — and which currencies were on the move. Headlines Korean authorities raided the offices of cryptocurrency exchange UpBit on Thursday and Friday. UpBit, which is the largest Korean cryptocurrency exchange and the fourth largest in the world, said on its website it's “under investigation by prosecutors and is cooperating.” According to a report by Cheddar, Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB ) is seriously considering developing its own cryptocurrency. Earlier in the week, Facebook launched a new blockchain team led by former Messenger head and Paypal Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: PYPL ) executive David Marcus but didn't provide details on the goals of the team. Economist Nouriel Roubini, who gained notoriety for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, blasted cryptocurrencies at the Fluidity Summit in Brooklyn. Roubini said cryptocurrencies create “chaos” in the payments business and are “totally inefficient” and “never going to work.” Price Action The Bitcoin Investment Trust GBTC (OTC: GBTC ) traded at $13.88, down 4.8 percent. Here’s how several top crypto investments fared Friday. Prices are as of 3:30 p.m. ET and reflect the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin declined 5 percent to $8,671; Ethereum declined 6.7percent to $691; Ripple declined 9.7 percent to 70 cents; Bitcoin Cash declined 9.9 percent to $1,418; EOS declined 14.4 percent to $15.34. The three cryptocurrencies with at least $1-million market caps that have made the biggest gains over the past 24 hours are: BunnyCoin: $2.4-million market cap, 122.9-percent gain. InflationCoin: $1.1-million market cap, 38.4-percent gain. BitTokens: $1.0-million market cap, 26.7-percent gain. The three cryptocurrencies hit hardest in the past 24 hours were: LiteDoge: $1.6-million market cap, 35.7-percent decline. PeepCoin: $2.2-million market cap, 32.5-percent decline. Rubycoin: $15.1-million market cap, 30.5-percent decline. Story continues Related Links: Today In Cryptocurrency: Bank Of America Calls Cryptos 'Troubling,' Fundstrat Predicts ,000 Bitcoin Price Despite Riot Blockchain's Risks, HC Wainwright Emerges As A Bull See more from Benzinga Today In Cryptocurrency: Bank Of America Calls Cryptos 'Troubling,' Fundstrat Predicts ,000 Bitcoin Price Today In Cryptocurrency: Bloomberg Crypto Index, Facebook Explores Blockchain Today In Cryptocurrency: Former Goldman Exec Rips Bitcoin, Fed Report Shows Futures Dented Crypto Valuations © 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin investors fall into one of these 3 categories: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters
• Barclays analysts took a deep dive into thebitcoinandcryptocurrencycraze as part of its annual Equity Gilt Report.
• The team says all bitcoin investors fall into one of three categories.
• They also said the spread of crypto is analogous to how an infectious virus spreads through populations.
Bitcoininvestors can all be categorized into three distinct groups, Barclays says.
As part of the bank's comparison between the crypto craze and the spread of infectious disease, a team of analysts led by Joseph Abate says both viral phenomenons lump people into three unique categories:
1. The susceptible
2. The infected
3. The immune
"Like the infection analogy, the population divides into three groups: 'susceptible' individuals who are vulnerable but not yet infected; 'infected' individuals; and those who are 'immune.,'" the report said. "Also like infection, transmission – especially to those with 'fear of missing out' – is by word-of-month, via blogs, news reports and personal anecdotes."
Barclays estimates that awareness of bitcoin is nearing a peak, and that 90% of people who reside in developed economies are familiar with the cryptocurrency, "indicating increased immunity."
Continuing their comparison, as more and more non-infected people become exposed to the bitcoin virus, the chances of another price surge are fleeting, Barclays says.
"Most potential 'hosts' (Bitcoin investors) in developed economies already are aware of Bitcoin (have been exposed to the 'virus'); 2) only a small share of developed populations are susceptible to speculation ('infection'); and 3) the falling ratio of current to prior holders suggests a rising 'recovered' share of the population," the bank said.
"As a result, we believe the speculative froth phase of crypto currency investment – and perhaps peak prices – may have passed."
More from Barclay's 2018 Equity Gilt Report:
• Bitcoin mania has 'clear parallels' to the spread of infectious diseases
• Crypto is facing 4 huge hurdles before it can be truly mainstream
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SEE ALSO:Bitcoin mania has 'clear parallels' to the spread of infectious diseases || JetBlue Is Cutting Its Losses in Long Beach, California: For years,JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ: JBLU)has vacillated in its commitment to Long Beach, California: its smallest focus city. JetBlue began building a mini-hub in Long Beach in late 2001, just a year and a half after it started service. However, while it has tried a number of strategies there, none have been terribly successful in recent years.
As a result, JetBlue recently decided to implement big cutbacks in Long Beach. This fall, it will eliminate about a third of its flights at Long Beach Airport. The carrier plans to redeploy this capacity to more profitable opportunities, mainly in the transcontinental market.
From 2001 to 2009, JetBlue used Long Beach Airport as a low-cost alternative to the crowded Los Angeles International Airport, which is less than 20 miles away. At one point, it offered eight daily roundtrips to New York. It also operated several other long-haul flights from Long Beach at various times.
Around 2006, with high oil prices pressuring the profitability of its transcontinental flights from Long Beach, JetBlue began to shift its focus to short-haul routes. However, these routes weren't much more successful, due in part to the growing presence ofother low-cost carriers-- particularly Virgin America -- in the Los Angeles area.
JetBlue's Long Beach focus city has underperformed for many years. Image source: JetBlue Airways.
As of 2016, JetBlue was only using about two-thirds of its 32 slot pairs in Long Beach. Nevertheless, when more slots became available that year, JetBlue tried to get as many as possible. (It was assigned another three.) The carrier used this opportunity to add extra flights on several routes from Long Beach, largely to preventSouthwest Airlines(NYSE: LUV)from taking over its slots and adding competing service.
Since JetBlue expanded its Long Beach schedule in 2016, it has offered ample short-haul service, including four daily roundtrips to each of the three Bay Area airports and up to six daily roundtrips to Las Vegas. Part of the goal was to increase JetBlue's appeal to business travelers.
However, JetBlue clearly didn't plan to maintain its entire short-haul schedule in Long Beach forever. The carrier lobbied aggressively for several years to have a customs facility added, to enable international flights from Long Beach Airport. In this sense, some of its flights were placeholders toensure that it didn't lose any slots. Unfortunately, the Long Beach city council voted in early 2017 against pursuing a customs facility at the airport, nixing this long-term plan.
Furthermore, competition in the California short-haul market has been brutal lately. Southwest Airlines in particular hasaggressively added flightsto protect its market share in California. This includes six daily intra-California flights from Long Beach: four to Oakland and two to Sacramento.
Southwest Airlines is a formidable competitor on intra-California routes. Image source: Southwest Airlines.
JetBlue hinted during its earnings call on Tuesday that big changes were coming to its West Coast route network. Sure enough, on Wednesday, it announced a slew of new routes -- along with big cuts to its Long Beach flight schedule that will go into effect after Labor Day.
Indeed, JetBlue plans to cut half of its flights on its routes to several key West Coast markets. It will go from four daily roundtrips to two daily roundtrips on its routes from Long Beach to Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. It will fly three times a day to Las Vegas (down from six trips today), and it will drop one of its two daily roundtrips on the Long Beach-Portland and Long Beach-Seattle routes. JetBlue will also make smaller cuts to its Long Beach-Salt Lake City route.
The net result is that JetBlue will operate up to 23 daily flights in Long Beach going forward, which is roughly where it was before its 2016 expansion. Southwest Airlines is likely to seize this opportunity to gain additional slots in Long Beach and expand its offerings there.
Cutting back in the short-haul market from Long Beach makes sense. Fares are extremely low on these routes, mainly due to competition between Southwest Airlines,Alaska Air, and the three legacy carriers. JetBlue will use the capacity freed up from its Long Beach cutbacks to add a variety of additional long-haul flights from the Los Angeles area in September.
In Long Beach itself, JetBlue plans to add a second daily roundtrip to Boston. The carrier will also boost service at Hollywood Burbank Airport, adding a second daily roundtrip to New York and introducing a daily roundtrip to Boston. Finally, the carrier will return to Ontario International Airport, launching daily service from New York.
Additional new service will start in December. JetBlue will add a second daily flight between New York and Salt Lake City. It will also begin seasonal service to two ski destinations: Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Bozeman, Montana. JetBlue will fly twice a week from Long Beach to Bozeman. In Steamboat Springs, it will offer two weekly flights from Long Beach, two weekly flights from Boston, and one weekly flight from Fort Lauderdale. Lastly, JetBlue will add frequencies on its seasonal New York-Palm Springs route this fall.
These route network changes are likely to pay off for JetBlue in 2019. The carrier has a strong presence in New York and Boston and a loyal customer base there. Centering more flights on those key focus cities should improve JetBlue's profitability.
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Adam Levine-Weinbergowns shares of Alaska Air Group and JetBlue Airways and is long January 2019 $10 calls on JetBlue Airways. The Motley Fool recommends JetBlue Airways. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin Falls as 'Consensus Pump' Fails to Materialise: Investing.com – Bitcoin fell on Wednesday as the annual Blockchain conference Consensus failed to spark the wave of buying pressure that some analysts had anticipated.
Bitcoin fell 3.25% to $8,255.2 on the Bitfinex exchange and remained close to session lows of $8,100.0.
New insights into the current crypto environment from market participants attending the conference were few and far between, providing little reason for investors to pile into bitcoin.
Some participants claimed the general takeaway from the conference was "Blockchain continues to be in an embryonic phase, with speculators eager to cash in."
In the run up to the conference, some had claimed it would act as the touch-paper for a rally in bitcoin but the "consensus pump" failed to materialize as sentiment on cryptocurrencies remained negative following renewed regulatory fears.
“Bottom line: We expect BTC and cryptocurrencies to behave similarly to prior years and rally during Consensus,” Tom Lee of Fundstrat Global Advisors said prior to this week’s Consensus conference in New York.
The topic of regulation was hotly debated at the conference, media reports suggested, but it lacked fresh perspective drawing a muted a reaction from cryptos.
The drop in total crypto market cap further below $400 billion signalled the lack of the demand for cryptos amid widespread selling.
Ripple XRP fell 2.78% to $0.67836 on the Poloniex exchange, while Ethereum fell 2.32% to $695.77.
Bitcoin Cash fell 6.48% to $1,263.60, while Litecoin fell 1.57% to $138.19.
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Telefónica Partners with Rivetz to Develop Blockchain-Based Security Solution for Mobile || BitPay Confirms Bitcoin Cash Retail Payments as Prices Jump: Cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay hasannouncedthat it will allow brick-and-mortar businesses to use Bitcoin Cash for payments. Already available for Bitcoin, the new service will give customers the option to choose between paying in BTC or BCH.
BitPay Checkout, used by restaurants and other retail businesses, is currently being used in Atlanta, Toronto, St. Petersburg, Madeira Beach and Paris. BitPay has been serving these entities since Nov. 2014, which is why the company has decided to include more options for crypto payments. With 1% processing fee and integration with companies such as Shopify, 3DCart and Bitmonet, BCH users will find the new update favorable.
“When customers go to pay, they can select their currency of choice, select the option to give a tip, then scan a BitPay Checkout QR code with their mobile wallets,” BitPay wrote. “Payments take just a swipe or a tap, and the receiving merchant gets a local currency bank settlement within one business day. Merchants get every dollar or euro they charge, minus BitPay’s 1% processing fee.”
Last month, BitPay upgraded their system so that buyers using the platform could accept online payments in Bitcoin Cash as well as Bitcoin. After joining the crypto community in 2011, this was the first time an altcoin was included by the company. The press release stated that merchants integrating BitPay for small-scale transactions including video games and app downloads would find it easier “since Bitcoin Cash costs only pennies (or less) for customers to send”.
Last year, BitPay co-founder, Stephen Pair, said that after careful observation, they found out that no bitcoin alternative was innovative or “compelling”. Despite scaling issues, Pair concluded that Bitcoin was the best cryptocurrency till date. However, following Bitcoin Cash’s launch in August, BitPay allowed users to store and spend BCH in its open source wallet,Copay. This announcement was considered as one of the reasons behind the increase in BCH’s price from $313 to $431 within 24 hours in Sep. 2017. The next month, BitPayconfirmedthat it would begin accepting “additional blockchain payment methods” starting with BCH. Once again, the news caused BCH to break records by crossing the $2,000 mark.
Bitcoin Cash, currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, has once again increased by almost 19% after BitPay’s announcement today. However, the price was already rising upwards – it is now up 100% in one week. The market cap has also doubled within these seven days, climbing from $12 billion to $24 billion.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The postBitPay Confirms Bitcoin Cash Retail Payments as Prices Jumpappeared first onCCN.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
2018年05月02日 03:00
[DOGE建]
1XP=0.0198514円
24時間の最高値 0.0222273円
24時間の最安値 0.018713円
[BTC建]
1XP=0.0197598円
24時間の最高値 0.0305768円
24時間の最安値 0.0097252円
時価総額ランキング: 261 位 / 全 889 中
#XP $XP || BTC Price: 6552.58$,
BTC Today High : 6847.59$,
BTC All Time High : 19903.44$
ETH Price: 366.00$ #bitcoin #BTC $BTC #ETH $ETH #cryptopic.twitter.com/YBWcd3RLlI || 05/25 00:00 Crypto currency sentiment analysis.
BTC : Neutral
BCC : Neutral
ETH : Neutral
ETC : Neutral
https://goo.gl/5hp6Cz #BTC || LFE is airdropping 3 LFE tokens for signing up on site and joining Telegram. Airdrop is open until Telegram group reaches 11,5K members. 1 LFE = $0.20
http://telegram.me/LFE_Bountybot/?start=mctjin …
$BTC $ETH $LFE #airdrop #crypto #currency || Bitcoin Cash: $1,180.00
-7.82% (-$100.09)
High: $1,290
Low: $1,160
Volume: 1518
$BCC #BCC #bitcoincash || Bitcoin Forks And More Bitcoin Forks!: Fully Comprehensive Guide #whatittakes https://app.quuu.co/s/nyplbl #Bitcoin #Cryptopic.twitter.com/ozNsJishA0 || La minería de bitcóin en este país pronto consumirá más electricidad que sus residentes https://goo.gl/f6Vg7K || QuarkChain Token ( $QKC ) will be listed on IDEX. #cryptocurrency #blockchain #bitcoin #crypto #btc #ico #eth #xrp #trading #CryptoNews || 2018/04/10 01:00
#Binance 格安コイン
1位 #NCASH 0.00000405 BTC(2.93円)
2位 #POE 0.00000409 BTC(2.96円)
3位 #STORM 0.00000410 BTC(2.97円)
4位 #TNB 0.00000414 BTC(3円)
5位 #FUN 0.00000429 BTC(3.11円)
#仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン || Total Market Cap: $437,272,808,153
1 BTC: $9,269.81
BTC Dominance: 36.09%
Update Time: 08-05-2018 - 23:00:02 (GMT+3)
|
Trend: down || Prices: 7633.76, 7653.98, 7678.24, 7624.92, 7531.98, 6786.02, 6906.92, 6582.36, 6349.90, 6675.35
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2019-02-08]
BTC Price: 3666.78, BTC RSI: 55.90
Gold Price: 1313.70, Gold RSI: 66.40
Oil Price: 52.72, Oil RSI: 50.88
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Huobi-Backed BHEX Launches Blue Helix Token (BHT): CCN spoke to James Ju , the CEO of the new Blue Helix Exchange (BHEX) and former CTO of Huobi Global. Blue Helix is an exchange which is pushing toward a decentralized topology in a regulator-friendly manner. They raised $15 million from institutional investors including Huobi and OKEx by selling equity about six months ago, and last week they launched the beta of their exchange product, along with the BHT token. Currently in Beta, the Blue Helix exchange offers OTC sales (for CNY) of Bitcoin, as well as a handful of trading pairs including EOS/USDT and ETH/BTC. Not An ICO Token or ICO-Backed Exchange The BHT token is not a typical fund-raising option in that people cannot simply make an investment in the network and receive a set number of tokens. Instead, BHT are rewards for buying “points” on the BHEX exchange. These points are then used to secure discounts on trading fees. It’s similar to the Binance BNB token, where for the first few years of the token’s existence, users get trading fee discounts if they choose to pay in BNB. BHEX sells two types of virtual point cards. One is pegged to USDT and the other is pegged to BTC. The BTC card has each point pegged at .0001 BTC, but since Bitcoin is volatile, the points are first redeemed for that amount of BTC and then used against the trading fees due. This means that at various times points held in the BTC points card could be worth more than they were when they were secured. When the BTC Point Card is used to offset the trading fee, the trading fee will be converted into BTC according to market price of the assets and then deducted from the corresponding Point Card. The maximum points that can be purchased during the current period is 27,000 – don’t worry, it’s unlikely you’ll need that many, as that would cost you 2.7 BTC. The reward for buying points is BHT, 800 of the 2.1 billion issued for every 10 points (.01 BTC) you buy. The reward is roughly equal if you use the USDT version. Story continues Tokens Generate Revenue Actual BHT that circulate in the free world, free of lock-ups or other delegated purposes, is limited. The company has a full explanation of BHT here . The tokens you would earn buying points cards today come out of the following allocation: 15% of the total issuance, or 315 million BHT, is used to motivate seed users who support the platform. 315 million BHT will be rewarded through platform activities with no lock-up period, while stocks last. The BHT tokens are issued 80% of fee revenues from the BHEX exchange. Users receive these dividends based on how many tokens they own. Other benefits are associated with holding the BHT token. All of them are predicated on the success of the exchange, which may be why the only way to obtain them directly at present time is through the purchase of point cards, which necessitate a need of such. James Ju told us that in the future, the platform will be totally decentralized, using technology that BHEX has been developing since its inception. Everything that centralized exchanges have, we also have it. But we are a decentralized exchange in the sense that – in the future, our assets will be stored and cleared through a decentralized technology. The version that’s currently running isn’t fully decentralized, but BHEX is working hard toward this goal. They believe that a decentralized exchange will provide more security for users. In furtherance of this belief they also have BHOP – the Blue Helix Open Platform, which is a Software-as-a-Service product that other exchanges can use. This element speaks to why they’ve received investment interest from major exchanges like Huobi and OkEx. BHEX Working Toward Fully Decentralized Exchange and Custodial Services The advantage of decentralized exchanges for users is that they eliminate counterparty risk. Rather than the EtherDelta model, where the user simply connected his wallet to the exchange, the BHEX model will work as a staff member explained to this reporter: We still adopt a username/password system, considering that if a user loses his private key, it is not retrievable. Decentralization comes into play in our “asset custody:” users store their assets not in their own wallets nor in BHEX wallets. Instead, users deposit their assets on the Blue Helix decentralized asset custody and clearing platform, which is the bottom layer beneath the BHEX exchange. This bottom layer is decentralized and not owned by BHEX exchange. The other interesting aspect of BHEX is their social trading feature, called Super Guilds . Investors will be able to join a guild if they are invited to do so, and then they can optionally allow the guild to invest their funds for them. This is another way of building interest in the exchange, as it is a relatively unique feature. It formalizes trading groups. To motivate participation in super guilds, BHEX has set aside 3 million BHT which will be used to reward groups that are created. BHEX is very new and thus its overall volume is negligible. However, the crypto exchange world is fast-changing. Binance was just an idea not so very long ago, and now it’s the dominant exchange in the world. There is a growing demand for decentralized exchanges for multiple reasons , and when BHEX launches their fully decentralized product, it would seem that users who have grievances with the existing system of exchanges will want to take advantage of it. The post Huobi-Backed BHEX Launches Blue Helix Token (BHT) appeared first on CCN . || Former $1M+ Allen & Overy Partner Gets Trump Nod to Lead Commodities Agency: U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / NLJA former topAllen & Overyregulatory partner who had represented some of the world's largest banks and financial institutions is the Trump administration's nominee to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.Heath Tarbert, who joined Allen & Overy in 2014, had been the head of the U.S. bank regulatory group and a leader in the firm's global financial services regulatory practice. He wasconfirmedin October 2017 as assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, international markets and development, a position where he served as policy chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.Tarbert's clients at Allen & Overy included Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings, Morgan Stanley & Co., Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Danske Bank and Bank of America Corp., according to a financial disclosure. Tarbert joined Allen & Overy fromWeil, Gotshal & Manges, where he had been a partner in Washington.Tarbert reported receiving $1.36 million in partnership share on thefinancial disclosure he filedin May. The amount comprised $1,085,169 in partnership income for calendar year 2017 in addition to $278,280 in income tied to his retirement from the partnership. Tarbertearlier disclosedabout $1 million in partner share on the form he filed in March 2017 after his nomination to Treasury.
Heath Tarbert
The financial disclosures, mandatory public filings for many senior-level nominees, also showed Tarbert provided legal services to J. Christopher Giancarlo, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Tarbert was nominated Tuesday to succeed Giancarlo, whose term expires in April.Giancarlo was first appointed to the agency during the Obama administration. Trump nominated Giancarlo as chairman last year. Giancarlo's legal career has included stints as a corporate partner in the New York law firm Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner. In 1992, Giancarlo founded the firm Giancarlo & Gleiberman. Earlier, he worked for several years in London at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle.“The White House has made a superb choice in Heath Tarbert as the intended nominee to be the next Chairman for the Commission,” Giancarlo said in a statement Tuesday. “If confirmed by the US Senate, he will be an effective chairman and will be well suited to continue the work of transitioning the CFTC into a Twenty-First Century digital regulator that balances concerns over systemic stability with market vibrancy to support strong economic growth and American prosperity.”Tarbert’s nomination comes as the CFTC, along with the Securities and Exchange Commission, works to oversee burgeoning digital currencies. Giancarlo earned the nickname “CrytpoDad” for cautioning lawmakers to not dismiss cryptocurrencies. In recent remarks, Giancarlo has said digital currencies are “here to stay” and advocated for a “do no harm” regulatory approach, while also staying vigilant against fraud and market manipulation.The CFTC on Tuesdayannouncedit was seeking public comment on "crypto-asset mechanics and markets" to "better inform the Commission’s understanding of the technology, mechanics, and markets for virtual currencies beyond Bitcoin, namely Ether and its use on the Ethereum Network."Tarbert's legal career has included posts on Capitol Hill, where he was special counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee before joining Weil Gotshal, and as associate counsel to then-President George W. Bush in 2008 and 2009.Tarbert formerlyclerkedfor Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas at the U.S. Supreme Court during the 2007-2008 term. His Thomas co-clerks that term includedSidley Austinpartner Eric McArthur and Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director at the Judicial Crisis Network.Tarbert's wife also formerly clerked for Ginsburg—the Tarberts met during their D.C. Circuit clerkship—and later for Chief Justice John Roberts in the 2010-2011 term. Tarbert's wife formerly worked atO'Melveny & Myers.
Read more:Former SCOTUS Clerks Dominate the Ranks of Trump’s Judicial NomineesEx-O'Melveny Chair Culvahouse Reports $1.7M Income in Ambassador Nominee FilingFormer Kirkland Partner Robert Khuzami Banked $11M Partnership ShareWhat's in Geoffrey Berman's US Attorney Financial Disclosure? Now We Know.Wilmer Partner Dan Berkovitz, Up for CFTC Seat, Reveals Big Law Income, Client ListJay Clayton, SEC Chair Nominee, Pulled in $7M From Sullivan & Cromwell Last Year || Here’s Why Bitcoin’s Future is so Bright: Digital Currency Group Exec: cryptocurrency bitcoin future bright travis scher digital currency group Bitcoin tanked in 2018, but the future of cryptocurrencies remains bright because you can’t stop progress. That’s the assessment of Travis Scher, a vice president at crypto investment firm Digital Currency Group . “2019 will be volatile, entertaining, and full of surprises,” Scher wrote in a Medium post. “But I am confident that the stress caused by the 2018 crash will lead to more growth.” Scher admitted that 2018 was a challenging year for cryptocurrencies. Accordingly, “there are good reasons for pessimism and disillusionment as 2019 begins,” he conceded. However, Scher — an attorney who previously worked at the white-shoe law firm Skadden Arps — said the crypto community is addressing key underlying issues that have held it back. Scher outlined the steps the industry must take to bolster its credibility and move toward mainstream adoption. (1) The Industry Must Engage with Regulators First, it is critical for the industry to work with lawmakers to adopt appropriate regulation, Scher said. Doing so will promote the industry’s legitimacy and therefore, advance mainstream adoption. “Regulation is the most important topic in crypto today,” Scher said. “How regulators decide to treat cryptoassets and crypto companies will be a huge determinant of this industry’s success.” washington dc As CCN reported, this is why Digital Currency Group, Coinbase, and Circle launched a pro-crypto lobbying group in September 2018. This shows that the industry is serious about working with legislators to protect consumers, and thereby, earn mainstream acceptance. The industry needs to proactively and effectively make the case that this industry can be a powerful force for good. Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder of Circle — a crypto unicorn with a $3 billion valuation — agreed. “We have been very active with Congress, with policymakers,” Allaire said . (2) Prepare for More Layoffs and Shutdowns Travis Scher said we should also expect to see more layoffs , company closures, and bankruptcies in 2019. Story continues “Crypto companies need to tighten their belts and prepare for a long winter,” Scher warned. “Token sales will be hard to execute not just because of uncertain regulation, but because liquidity has dried up.” The crypto funds that raised hundreds of millions at the peak of a bubble suffered horrific losses in 2018, and many will shutter this year. Scher said this consolidation is inevitable because the industry grew too fast amid the market hysteria, so a period of normalization is here. And that’s not a bad thing. (3) Industry Needs a ‘Darwinian Evolution’ While some companies will shutter, the good ones will get even better, Scher projected. “A little Darwinian evolution is just what the industry needs,” Scher observed. “The easy money in 2017 and early 2018 bred a lack of discipline and…straight-up arrogance.” Companies with shaky foundations will get washed out in 2019. But those that are well-run and mission-driven will end up even stronger. One example of a high-flying company that was forced to downsize was blockchain startup ConsenSys. After doubling its workforce in 2018, the company abruptly laid off as much as 60% of its staff in December 2018. ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin, the co-founder of Ethereum , said ConsenSys had to eliminate underperforming projects to cut costs after the group got too big and unwieldy. ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin on Layoffs: ‘Sky’s Not Falling, Future Is Very Bright’ #ethereum https://t.co/Hc3SQjYH7V — Ethereum Insider (@InsiderEthereum) December 23, 2018 (4) Prepare for Entry of Institutional Money Scher said the media hype surrounding the expected influx of institutional investors is not a lie. “This is very real — companies like Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and ICE are publicly making big moves in the space,” Scher said. Beyond high-finance, Square and Robinhood have made aggressive inroads into crypto, and now Facebook is rumored to be launching a stablecoin . Scher said a sea change looms on the horizon for the crypto market, which is why the current (and temporary) Crypto Winter does not faze him. Scher said one of the best parts of crypto’s watershed 2019 will be laughing in the faces of the gloating naysayers when they’re forced to eat their words. “The change-averse corporate executives who have derided crypto will be embarrassed when their dismissive quotes resurface down the line,” Scher promised. Dedicated to Crypto’s #1 Troll pic.twitter.com/Y64t5VRjr7 — Brekkie von Bitcoin [GIVING AWAY LÖLZ] (@CryptoBrekkie) October 19, 2018 Featured Image from Shutterstock The post Here’s Why Bitcoin’s Future is so Bright: Digital Currency Group Exec appeared first on CCN . || Trying to Build a ‘Better Bitcoin’ is as Pointless as Creating a ‘Better’ Google Search: ByCCN.com: MIT researchers have designed a new cryptocurrency, Vault, to make it easier for new users to join the network by reducing the bandwidth for starting a new node by 99% over Bitcoin.
Derek Leung, co-author of the Vault paper and a graduate student in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT,says:
Currently there are a lot of cryptocurrencies, but they’re hitting bottlenecks related to joining the system as a new user and to storage […] The broad goal here is to enable cryptocurrencies to scale well for more and more users.
But the bottleneck to joining the network that maintains Bitcoin’s blockchain is there on purpose by design. It’s a feature, not a bug. It keeps your money and savings in a more secure network by making it too costly for anyone to create nodes to steal from or sabotage the network.
Read the full story onCCN.com. || Top Officials at Two Korean Cryptocurrency Exchanges Face Fraud Indictments: Several of South Korea’s top crypto exchanges have found themselves in hot water, with executives at a couple of exchanges facing criminal charges and jail time.
According to a newsreporton the Korean website Blockinpress, the CEO of Komid, a Korean crypto exchange, has received a three-year prison sentence for committing fraud against investors by artificially inflating the exchange’s actual trading volume. Another company executive also received a sentence of two years for his role in these crimes.
The report claims that Komid fabricated over 5 million accounts to falsify trade orders and drum up fake volume. The scam allowed the executives to net roughly $44M (50 billion won) in fees from trades that were executed against the fake orders. This figure doesn’t take into account the business the exchange might have generated from extra, legitimate customers they might have attracted by posting these fraudulent figures.
The judge stated that CEO Hyunsuk Choi “has repeatedly committed fraud for many unspecified number of victims for a long period of time,” and expressed concern about possible ramifications on public confidence in the industry.
Komid is not the only Korean company to have been involved in scandal recently, as UPbit also saw its executives arrested on similar charges of artificial inflation.
Asreportedin theKorea Times, these arrests involved not only the direct operators of the exchange itself, but also its parent company, Dunamu.
According to theKorea Times,“two top-level officers and one employee of UPbit, including Dunamu’s board director chairman surnamed Song” were indicted on these charges, as these falsified exchange numbers allowed UPbit to rake in more than 120 billion won ($106.8 million).
The prosecutors have evidently discovered two severe instances of this volume falsification, dating from October to December of 2017, and then again on December 18, 2018. Allegedly, the executives of UPbit used a bot program to falsify some 254 trillion won ($225 billion) worth of trades.
Officials at UPbit, for their part, have completelydeniedthese allegations. In their public statement, they claimed that they “have provided liquidity to [their] corporate account and have not benefited or traded in this process,” adding that during the period of October to December 2017, “the company provided liquidity to the company’s corporate account in order to stabilize the trading market at the beginning of the service opening.”
TheKorea Timesindicated that none of the accused parties at UPbit has been taken into police custody yet.
Prosecutors in South Korea are well-accustomed to dealing with all manner of scams and fraudulent activities in their nation’s crypto space. Not only is their closest neighbor, North Korea, a directsponsorof some of the most ambitious crypto-hacking groups, but it has also been scant weeks since the last time a South Korean exchange madeheadlinesfor defrauding its millions of customers.
This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. || Two Investment Firms Launch ETF Tracking Cloud Computing and Blockchain Companies: United States-based Investment management firm AdvisorShares and investments advisory company Sabretooth Advisors will jointly launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks tech companies, including those involved withblockchainand cloud computing, MarketWatchreportedon Feb. 6.
ETFs are marketable securities that track a basket of assets proportionately represented in the fund’s shares. ETFs are offered on all asset classes, including traditional investments and alternative assets like commodities or currencies, also enabling investors to short markets or to gain leverage.
The idea of the new AdvisorShares Sabretooth ETF (ticker: BKCH) — which is set to come to market on Feb. 7 — is that entities deploying cloud computing and involved with emerging technologies like blockchain could reach increased profitability and rises in share prices within a reasonable time.
Many see the emergence of cryptocurrency and blockchain ETFs, among other derivatives, as a sign that those markets are maturing.
In February 2018,Canadianregulatorsapprovedthe country’s first blockchain-based ETF focused on both large and small-scale blockchain corporations. By that time, the ETF issuer Harvest Portfolios already had their Harvest Blockchain Technologies Index, which was designed to track the performance of issuers in both the large-cap and emerging blockchain segments.
In the end of January, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE), along with investment firm VanEck and financial services company SolidX,re-appliedwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a rule change to list a Bitcoin (BTC) ETF. While the firms firstfiledwith the SEC to list a Bitcoin-based ETF on June 6, 2018, the application process has since experienced severaldelays, as the SEC pushed back its decision on multiple occasions.
• Blockchain Lending Firm Dharma Raises $7 Million From Coinbase Ventures, Others
• Smart Contracts Are No Problem for the World’s Legal Systems, so Long as They Behave Like Legal Contracts
• UAE to Discuss Blockchain and Digital Assets at 7th World Government Summit
• Blockchain-Based Digital ID Systems Are Increasingly Finding Real-World Use || Former Fed Chairs Speak: Greenspan Sees Economy Slowing, Yellen Worried About High Corporate Debt: In case you missed it, the Ghosts of Christmas Past returned last week, or should I say the Ghosts of Fed Chairs Past returned last week to offer their takes on risks to the economy. Of course I’m speaking about former Fed Chairs Alan Greenspan and Janet Yellen.
Speaking to FOX Business on December 13, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the U.S. economy is poised to slow down very soon.
“Just wait until the fourth quarter number comes out, it is going to be down around 2.5 percent,” Greenspan said during an exclusive interview with Maria Bartiromo. The number he was speaking about was fourth quarter gross domestic product.
Greenspan went on to say, “We have monthly data which suggests that we are slowing down, we are not going negative, but we are definitely slowing down – the rate of growth as we go into 2019 probably at a 2 to 2.5 percent pace maximum.”
At the end of the third quarter, U.S. GDP was a relatively strong 3.5 percent, according to a revised estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. However, Greenspan indicated he wasn’t concerned about total GDP, but rather gross domestic savings, which consists of savings of the household, private corporate and public sectors. This is the critical factor driving his outlook for the economy.
“Gross domestic savings is the key funding to capital investment in the United States, and as a result we are seeing capital investments slowing down,” he said.
Although in Greenspan’s opinion, a recession is unlikely, he does think the U.S. has entered a period of stagflation with the blame being placed on runaway spending and entitlement programs.
“We are not funding our entitlements and as a result we have this huge deficit – [a] trillion dollar budget deficit,” he said. “You can’t exist with that sort of phenomenon without inflation re-emerging itself.”
Last week, Janet Yellen, speaking at a small event in Washington, said she is worried about the next financial crisis and that her biggest concerns were the potential for reversal of financial safeguards put in place after the last major crisis nearly 10 years ago. Furthermore, she is also worried about growing corporate debt.
“I am worried that we are in a deregulatory mode and I see a lot of pressures building in the system to go further to really weaken fundamental safeguards that were created in Dodd-Frank. We are a decade after the financial crisis so that would be worrisome and wrong to do.”
Yellen’s main concern about a financial crisis is that monetary policy’s traditional short-term interest rate lever is not available to address a new downturn in the economy. She is worried that the Fed may not have the monetary policy tools necessary to fight the next economic crisis.
Yellen expressed concerns over the high levels of corporate debt, saying that the issue is similar to what triggered the financial crisis.
“You had investors that were reaching for yield and wanted to hold securities that they thought were safe, but that had reasonably high yields. There are a lot of investors in this low interest rate environment who are reaching for yield.”
Although Yellen did not see a threat to the banking system, she does think corporations face risks.
“If the economy experiences any kind of negative shock where rates go up more than expected there will be a lot of corporate bankruptcies, a lot of distressed credit crunch a lot of downgrading of loans, a lot of investor losses,” said Yellen.
She went on to say that she is “disturbed” that she does not see regulators having the tools to address this risky form of lending.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Bitcoin – The Meltdown Continues
• Crude Oil Price Forecast – crude oil continues to struggle
• With Saudi Arabia Preparing to Slash Shipments to U.S. Refiners, Crude May Be One Big Inventory Draw Away from Sparking Rally
• GBP/USD Weekly Price Forecast – British pound breaks major support
• GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British pound continues to grind lower
• Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets fail at major resistance || 'Bitcoin will go to zero': Davos talks up the future of blockchain tech: • The price of bitcoin could nosedive to zero, Jeff Schumacher, founder of BCG Digital Ventures, said during a CNBC-hosted panel at the Sanctuary in Davos.
• The other panelists including Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, 500 Startups Partner Edith Yeung and Silver Lake Partners Co-Founder Glenn Hutchins, discussed the future of blockchain technology.
• All agreed that the value of tokens will be derived from how useful the underlying protocol is.
The price of bitcoin could nosedive to zero, a top investor in the crypto space told CNBC during a debate, which focused on the future of the underlying technology known as blockchain.
Cryptocurrencies had a wild year in 2018, with over $480 billion of value wiped off the entire market, according to data from Coinmarketcap. After hitting a record high in 2017, bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell dramatically. It was trading at $3,571 at around 11.15 a.m. London time Wednesday.
Some experts believe it could go even lower.
"I do believe it will go to zero. I think it's a great technology but I don't believe it's a currency. It's not based on anything," Jeff Schumacher, founder of BCG Digital Ventures, said during a CNBC-hosted panel in Davos, Switzerland.
Schumacher is a big investor in blockchain-focused companies. During the debate, Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of Silver Lake Partners, said bitcoin's role in the future may be focused on being a store of value.
"It might be that the role of bitcoin in the system could be to bring value back, to hold your value there while you have tokens that have other use cases that you aren't using at the moment," Hutchins said.
He added, as did the other panelists, including 500 Startups Partner Edith Yeung, and Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, that the focus for him as an investor is on the underlying technology known as blockchain.
"I am much less interested in investing around bitcoin as a currency unit or a currency equivalent, or even the blockchain as an accounting ledger. I am thinking much more about the protocols. In other words, what is the underlying protocol going to do as a consequence of which, which tokens are valuable or not," Hutchins said.
In the case of bitcoin, the blockchain is a decentralized public ledger of activity, that is not owned by any individual. Instead, it is maintained by a network of people running specialized computers to solve complex cryptographic problems. But bitcoin has many issues including slow transaction times with a high cost.
Schumacher said the industry is now trying to create "open decentralized systems." These would essentially be next generation protocols or infrastructure that businesses could run on, similar to cloud computing today.
Blockchain adoption
The next generation of blockchain technology is currently being developed. Yeung said that she sees blockchain adoption happening quickly in the area of payments, particularly in Asia.
"Many developing countries, where just to start with they don't even have credit cards, there's no particular infrastructure, it's almost easier to see sort of blockchain-enabled payments, to see in Asia, you will see more action happening in Asia more than U.S. and Europe," Yeung told CNBC.
Ripple CEO Garlinghouse said he expects more widespread adoption of blockchain in about five years, while Schumacher said that it is three years off. However, Hutchins said that ultimately, consumers will not be talking about what blockchain is being used, they will just care how good the use case of a product is.
"When you send an email out today, you don't think about the underlying technology you are using … So you can hear us talk about … what protocol, what token, what technology solutions, how many transactions per second, but eventually what's going to happen is you are going to put something of value in, something of value will come out the other side and you are not going to care what the underlying technology is," Hutchins said.
"And that's when you know we're successful," he added.
WATCH: The crypto craze ended 2018 with a whimper — Here's what nine experts say to expect in 2019
More From CNBC
• Jamie Dimon says US economy should keep growing steadily for 'a while' despite political noise
• Coca-Cola CEO: More uncertainty is the 'biggest issue'
• Billionaire Ray Dalio says big changes to US tax laws are coming || Abrupt Recovery: Bitcoin up 7% in Minutes, Ethereum Rises 13% from Day’s Low: Within nine minutes, theBitcoin pricesurged from $3,625 to $3,900, by 7.5 percent. Other crypto assets likeEthereum (ETH)followed, recording a 13 percent upswing from the day’s low.
AlthoughBitcoinand the rest of the crypto market only recovered to Thursday levels, the unforeseen turnaround of the short-term trend of crypto assets led traders to regain confidence in the market.
In the grand scheme of things, the increase in the Bitcoin price from mid-$3,000 to $4,000 will realistically have little to no impact on the short-term trend of the dominant cryptocurrency. But, in a period of uncertainty and doubt, minor rallies can ignite the declining confidence of investors.
Many analysts have said throughout the past week that until Bitcoin breaks out ofmajor resistance levelsin the $5,000 to $6,000 range, a mid-term trend reversal cannot be confirmed.
Mark Dow, a trader who shorted Bitcoin from its all-time high at $19,500 all the way down to $3,500, went as far to say that the inability of the asset to recover beyond $6,000 could result in a further drop of BTC below $3,120, its yearly low.
Wild volatility in a low price range is expected until the cryptocurrency establishes a strong bottom and undergoes gradual recovery throughout the months to come.
But, the abrupt recovery from low levels below the $4,000 mark suggests that investors generally consider the $3,000 to $3,500 range to be the bottom of the asset and are placing big buy walls around $3,500 to accumulate the asset.
Su Zhu, the CEO of an FX hedge fund, previously noted that a big buy wall was set at $3,300 by Bitcoin investors on major fiat-to-crypto exchanges in the likes ofCoinbaseandBitstamp.
The investor said on December 13:
10% down from here ($3,300), buy walls on @Coinbase are now the largest (in BTC notional ) since mid-2015. Similar for Bitstamp. To break lower will require filling these fiat-backed bids. Either 1) more BTC borrow to come online 2) KYC-able off-ramp selling. Derivatives selling will just lead to funding becoming very negative as it has been.
The buy wall at $3,300 prevented the asset from falling to its yearly low once again, setting up a strong support level in the low range of the $3,000 region.
The possibility of Bitcoin establishing a new yearly low certainly exists, and some analysts havesuggesteda potential drop of the asset to $2,000.
But, in the short-term, ahigh volatility ratein the range of $3,500 to $4,500 is expected, as long as the asset does not break out of resistance levels in the high $5,000 region, which could result in a proper trend reversal.
Currently, the volume of the cryptocurrency market remains relatively low, which may prevent a promising rally above $5,000 for Bitcoin. The volume of the crypto market is hovering at around $15 billion, down $5 billion from mid-December.
Featured Image from Shutterstock. Price Charts fromTradingView.
The postAbrupt Recovery: Bitcoin up 7% in Minutes, Ethereum Rises 13% from Day’s Lowappeared first onCCN. || Taiwan Indicts Seven Allegedly Fraudulent Bitcoin Investment Managers: Seven people who allegedly managed a fraudulent crypto investment scheme have been indicted in Taiwan , according to a report by English-language local media FocusTaiwan on Jan. 18. According to the report, citing local prosecutors, the defendants were charged with the violation of Taiwan's Banking and Multi-Level Marketing Supervision acts. The group was reportedly arrested on June 13 last year for allegedly operating a fraudulent Bitcoin ( BTC ) investment scheme. According to FocusTaiwan, the scheme promised investors yearly returns of up to 355 percent. Because of this promise — which reportedly has not been upheld since returns dwindled after April 24 — the allegedly responsible people have also been charged with additional violations. FocusTaiwan reports that the group attracted about $51 million in investments. According to the Investigation Bureau under the country’s Ministry of Justice (MJIB), more than 1,000 people were defrauded in the scheme. As Cointelegraph reported in December last year, Italy 's securities regulator suspended two projects for allegedly offering fraudulent crypto investment schemes. In the same month, research conducted by the Wall Street Journal revealed that hundreds of cryptocurrency offerings showed signs of fraudulent activity, improbable returns and plagiarism. Related Articles: Chip Making Giant TSMC Reports Significant Drop in Crypto Mining Revenue Swiss Multi-Billion Dollar Bank Vontobel Launches Regulated Crypto Custody Blockchain.com Seeks Undisclosed Stablecoin Partnership by End of 2019: Report Swiss Bank Falcon Launches Crypto Wallet With Withdrawals to Fiat
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#xrp #xrpcommunity #cnbc #xlm #btc #bitoin #ltc #etc #cryptocurrency #BBCNewsroomLive #skynews #financialtimes #WallStreethttps://twitter.com/danmorgan1/status/1088468225292189697 … || ((WOW)) Turn $20 Into $30K/mo. With 1OnlineBusiness & Bitcoin! http://1onlinebusiness.com/share/kaperazo&p=signup … || 10k naa?? 20k naa??
bitcoin address cheppu...naa wallet adress isthaa...we will first do Proof of funds....then I will write smart contract on ethereum...ok?? || Hi, I'm Casey, I'm almost 22 years old and I think my biggest regret in life is not buying $100 worth of Bitcoin when I first learned about it in 2013. || Korea price
Time: 01/27 10:38:59
BTC: 3,948,625 KRW
ETH: 126,700 KRW
XRP: 341 KRW
#Bitcoin #Ethereum #Ripple || follow everyone that retweets this. || ツイート数の多かった仮想通貨
1位 $BTC 326 Tweets
2位 $TRX 87 Tweets
3位 $XRP 72 Tweets
4位 $ETH 39 Tweets
5位 $C20 33 Tweets
2019-01-29 10:00 ～ 2019-01-29 10:59
COINTREND いまTwitterで話題の仮想通貨を探せ！
https://cointrend.jp/ || ビットコインも時間の問題
#btc || May not seem like news to existing followers of crypto but thousands of Bitcoin ATM's could help to on-board newbies.....https://thebitcoinmag.com/coinstar-kiosks-across-the-u-s-to-sell-bitcoin/3299/ … #coinme #coinstar #bitcoin #crypto || START BITCOIN MINING http://keita2016.jp
|
Trend: up || Prices: 3671.20, 3690.19, 3648.43, 3653.53, 3632.07, 3616.88, 3620.81, 3629.79, 3673.84, 3915.71
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2022-06-16]
BTC Price: 20381.65, BTC RSI: 21.94
Gold Price: 1845.70, Gold RSI: 49.07
Oil Price: 117.59, Oil RSI: 55.69
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
New York State Assembly votes to pause crypto mining: The New York State Assembly said it passed a cryptocurrency mining moratorium bill on Tuesday, blocking new permits and expansion for proof-of-work (PoW) mining facilities using carbon-based energy sources. See related article: New Yorks Bitcoin mining showdown sets stage for battles elsewhere Fast facts The bill needs approval by the New York State Senate. Existing PoW crypto mining facilities using renewable energy will remain unaffected by the bill. The bill will block crypto mining facilities that run on non-renewable energy from securing an expansion permit for the next two years. Crypto industry proponents cautioned that the bill could spark an exodus of Bitcoin mining operations and related jobs. The bill has tasked the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to study PoW mining facilities in the state and release a General Environmental Impact Statement within a year. According to Democrat Anna Kelles, who sponsored the bill, it will help New York reach the goals set by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in 2019. See related article: EU votes against de facto Bitcoin mining ban || FOREX-Dollar dips as stocks advance; hits 2-decade high vs yen: (Adds details, updates prices; changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar index retreated from earlier highs and fell on Tuesday as U.S. equities shook off an early risk-off mood and turned positive, but the greenback managed to hit its highest level in 20 years against the Japanese yen.
Stocks on Wall Street advanced in the early portion of trading, reversing course after each of the major indexes on Wall Street opened with sharp losses and the Nasdaq lost more than 1%, dampening the appetite for the safe haven dollar.
The dollar index fell 0.117% at 102.340, with the euro up 0.07% to $1.0702.
The yen weakened to touch 132.99 per dollar, its lowest since April 3, 2002. The greenback has been strengthening against the yen as the policy paths of their countries' respective central banks diverge.
"The reason why the dollar is doing so well is the Fed kicking and screaming and saying they are going to raise rates 50 basis points and 50 basis points and 50 basis points and all that," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Then particularly with the yen, Japan is saying no, inflation not going to be a problem, we are not getting it, so we are not raising rates, so we are not backing off our quantitative easing."
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Tuesday repeated his view that a weak yen benefited the economy if its moves were not too sharp, a comment that followed the currency's fall to a fresh two-decade low.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.44% versus the greenback at 132.45 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2575, up 0.36% on the day.
After touching a near 20-year high of 105.01 on May 13, the dollar index has eased back to around the 102 level, although Friday's strong payrolls report helped the dollar notch its first weekly gain in three.
The pound gained against the dollar, rebounding after falling to a three-week low against the greenback on the heels of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson escaping a confidence vote that left him politically wounded.
The Australian dollar rose 0.35% versus the greenback to $0.722 after the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted its cash rate by 50 basis points to 0.85%, the most in 22 years, and flagged more tightening to come as it battles to restrain surging inflation.
Investors will hear from the European Central Bank on Thursday at its next policy announcement, with the U.S. Federal Reserve set to announce policy next week.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin last fell 5.06% to $29,850.00.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak Editing by Bernadette Baum) || CrossTower Takes Aim At NFTs, Lending And Institutional Asset Management In Crypto: Benzinga, a media and data provider bridging the gap between retail and institutional investors, will be bringing back its annualGlobal Fintech Awardsevent toNew York CityonDec. 8, 2022.
Ahead of this recognition of disruptive innovators in finance and technology, Benzinga will periodically publish articles on those brands that it thinks are making a measurable impact.
Today’s conversation is withPriya Suhag, head of the strategy atCrossTower, a Web3 and financial ecosystem. The following text was edited for clarity and concision.
Benzinga: Hey Priya, nice to speak with you. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Priya Suhag:I started in private equity withKKR & Co Inc(NYSE:KKR) and then went to work for Ernst and Young, where I was a management consultant.
I was focused on very traditional asset managers, as well as product strategy and distribution for off-the-shelf products to high net worth clients.
Tell me about your foray into crypto.
In 2017 EY started a crypto campaign, and it turned into one of its most thriving businesses.
Some of my clients includeCoinbaseGlobal Inc(NASDAQ:COIN), Gemini, Genesis, Kraken, eToro, andCboe Global Markets Inc-owned (BATS:CBOE) ErisX.
In working with them, I saw a lot of types of projects from a risk and regulatory perspective.
Eventually, I was approached by a smaller firm – Capco – and they basically wanted me to lead their practice. It was about 10,000 people strong and used to be owned byFidelity National Information Services Inc(NYSE:FIS).
There, I led a team of 23 which then grew to 40. I was the only girl on the team. And we did everything digital asset. So, tokenization, as well as bond issuance over distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), for instance.
So, in the past few years, there has been more interest in crypto from the higher net worth individuals and institutions. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
At Capco, I was trying to help CrossTower ascertain its target operating model for lending.
CrossTower said I was expensive, and so, eventually, they brought me in-house, where I became the head of strategy.
We have four pillars of business – exchange, lending, asset management, andNFT– with our exchanges focused on institutional in the U.S. and retail in India.
We’ve acquired half a million customers after going live in September.
Tell me some of the things you’re focused on at CrossTower? Lending and asset management. What’s that all about?
After China booted out the miners, there’s been a gap. So, we’re going after miners in places like Texas, Wyoming, New York, and Pennsylvania. We basically provide them with asset-backed loans.
For the asset management business, we have algorithmic and artificial intelligence and machine learning trading models.
We’ve got delta-neutral and momentum trading strategies that provide our clients exposure toBitcoin(CRYPTO:BTC),Ethereum(CRYPTO:ETH),Solana(CRYPTO:SOL), and DeFI.
We have leveraged a proprietary Algo trading model designed by our portfolio managers such that we can capture upward and downward momentum and hedge that exposure.
What’s the biggest business you have at CrossTower?
Lending and asset management. They’re doing well.
However, we see the biggest opportunity in India, among retail, with NFTs. We’re a marketplace that’s uniquely positioned because we’re not giving everybody access to mint and just dropping their stuff. We’re selective in what we list, so we actually are one of the few people, maybe the only ones, that take anything from ideation to actualization.
It’s a white-glove service, and we offer an advisory arm that takes whatever you have and turns it into entire NFT projects that have a whole metaverse and token economics component.
We’re partnering with multiple blockchains and building a whole developer community, too.
What are you most excited about?
Metaverse and the huge lending component that exists with the collateralization of artifacts. For example, a lot of the art dealers like Christie’s and Sotheby’s want to collateralize the digital form of a Picasso, and they want to be able to take loans out against it.
NFTs are a gateway into these metaverses, and it remains unfazed for us. We’ve done about $16 billion in sales in 2022, and our compounded annual growth rate is, for Web3, 40.3%.
What are your thoughts on this pullback in markets?
When it comes to exchanges, you’ll see consolidation because many are not built for longevity. They aren’t built to stand the test of time from a regulatory process and control standpoint.
There’ll be some that survive. Those who survive will thrive.
In terms of VC, the money has slowed, too. In crypto, you need that money to build.
Who is on your team?
One of our co-founders actually created what is BATS Global Markets and is an ex-Nasdaq Inc(NASDAQ:NDAQ) guy. The other one is an ex-CFTC and Guggenheim person. So, we have the expertise in-house.
Any last remarks before we close?
The way people consume and why they consume is different.
Celebrity-based NFTs are highly sought after in India. That’s not the case in the U.S., where people want to support the artists at a grassroots level.
A huge play we’re starting to see is around NFTs, and MFTs (music fungible tokens) securitized to artists’ intellectual property, also.
See more from Benzinga
• Option Alpha Founder And CEO On 'Giving People The Tools To Automate Their Trading'
• Abra CEO Talks Consumer-Facing Crypto, Problems To Solve And UST Stablecoin
Don't miss real-time alerts on your stocks - joinBenzinga Profor free!Try the tool that will help you invest smarter, faster, and better.
© 2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Nomura offers its first bitcoin derivatives, just as crypto markets tumble: HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nomura has begun offering bitcoin over-the-counter derivatives to clients, it said Friday, the latest move by a traditional financial institution into the cryptocurrency industry, even as markets are in turmoil.
The trades, executed on the CME by crypto asset trading firm Cumberland DRW this week, were the Japanese investment bank's first digital asset trades, said Nomura's head of markets, Asia ex-Japan, Rig Karkhanis in a statement.
"Working with institutional-grade counterparties will allow us to scale into the increasing demand from our clients," he said.
Many global investment banks have been looking to offer clients more crypto related services, responding they say to demand from institutional investors and private clients for access to what had been a fast growing sector.
However, crypto markets have tumbled this week as a meltdown in TerraUSD, one of the world's largest stablecoins, sent digital tokens, already swept up in a sell-off of riskier assets, into meltdown.
Bitcoin hit a 16-month low of around $25,400 on Thursday.
(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Kim Coghill) || Who’s Surprised by the SEC’s ‘Power Grab?’: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Something like $200 million in various cryptos were stolen, exploited or just plain burned over the past eight days. Given that, is it any wonder that regulators like Gary Gensler want closer oversight of the crypto sector?
You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at the intersection of cryptocurrency and government.Click hereto sign up for future editions.
Crypto investors lost nearly $300 million to hacks and stratosphericgas feescaused by a project minting a “digital land sale” over the past week. No friggin’ wonder regulators are worried about consumer protections.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seems to be approaching crypto with an “enforcement-first” view. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has said he’s concerned with investor protection, and it’s not hard to see why he may feel justified in giving the agency greater oversight over the sector. The crypto industry may want to look into best practices and a formal system targeted at protecting its users if people want to head off the regulatory agency.
Here’s a look at some prominent headlines over the past seven days:
One of the common refrains we’ve heard from Gensler, as well as his predecessor Jay Clayton, is that the SEC is interested inprotecting consumersfrom risky situations. The industryhas expresseditsoppositionto recent moves by the SEC to (possibly) establish oversight of the digital currency sector,particularly decentralized finance(DeFi) platforms and projects.
Here’s the thing, though: It’s hard to argue Gensler doesn’t have a point. Crypto users lost millions over the past seven days for various reasons, and they don’t have much recourse beyond hoping the platforms can either recover their lost funds or will otherwise make them whole.
It’s worth asking whether the SEC would be as forward about regulating crypto if these concerns were mitigated through other means. I’ve reported on Gensler for the past year and change, and several individuals I’ve spoken to say he’s sincere when he says he’s solely interested in protecting consumers (as opposed to him just conducting a “power grab” over the cryptocurrency industry for its own sake).
In fairness, the $100 million to $200 million lost in the last week may not seem like that much when compared with crypto’s current $1.8 trillion market cap. But that’s still someone’s money that is now irrevocably gone.
Here’s the playbook: A project launches. Sometimes the code is audited. Sometimesit isn’t. On occasion the project is exploited. A rogue programmer findsan accessible endpoint in the wildor a savvy huckster somehowacquires admin accesskeys orusers are fooledinto sending millions of dollars' worth of crypto to a shady address.
At any rate, you now have users who are out some money. For those who have funds in excess (*cough* they’re rich enough that the loss of a few thousand or even million dollars is no big deal), this may be at most an inconvenience. For everyone else, though, this could be catastrophic, and certainly harmful.
There's no consistency in how companies respond right now, either. Some companies offer refunds or find ways of making users whole. If we dig through the archives, exchanges likeBitfinex created their own tokensthat they distributed to users. The tokens from Bitfinex were redeemable for equity (or $1 apiece). Othersraise fundsto distribute to users.
Other companies take completely different routes. Yuga Labs, the force behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, for example, offered an apology for clogging up the Ethereum blockchain and contributing to high gas prices, and suggested it would simply build its own layer 1 blockchain to support future BAYC-related efforts (some believe the tweet and the network congestion that prompted it were deliberate).
That brings its own risks, as Sky Mavis recently demonstrated with itsRonin hack, in which the company lost over $600 million toNorth Korean hackers.
The question seems to me to be, “Is anyone actually protecting users?”
Right now, the answer seems to be “people on Twitter,” a good intuition and the rare actual audit. But again, there's no consistency here.
Bringing this back to Gensler and the SEC, the industry’s taken issue with proposals that seem like they would bring decentralized exchanges and other similar projects under the regulator’s purview.
Lots of projects don’t suffer multimillion-dollar exploits. But the projects that do tend to get the headlines. And I’m sure that concern is front and center on Gensler’s plate.
There's also a growing movement among some lawmakers and industry participants to have the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) act as the primary regulator for crypto, but it doesn’t have a consumer protection mandate in the same way the SEC does (the SEC’s mandate is focused on disclosures). Further, waiting for Congress to take some action here will probably take a while.
The SEC is now nearlydoublingthe size of its crypto enforcement team, opening 20 new roles. There's been some backlash from the crypto world given that these are specifically enforcement roles, rather than roles for individuals who could write guidance letters.
No new nominees over the past week.
• US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Give CFTC Crypto Spot Market Oversight:Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) and Darren Soto (D-Fla.) have reintroduced the Digital Commodity Exchange Act, which would give the CFTC greater oversight of spot crypto markets that list digital commodities (so bitcoin, ether, things like that) while leaving security token exchanges under the SEC’s purview. Money services businesses would also remain under state regulatory purviews.
• Ohio's Senate Candidates Stake Out Crypto Positions:Crypto isn't a huge voting issue in Ohio's Senate primary race this year, but several leading candidates have staked out positions on it anyway.
• What a Mining Moratorium Could Really Mean for New York’s Crypto Industry:The New York state Senate is considering a bill that would impose a two-year moratorium on newproof-of-workcrypto mining operations powered by nonrenewable sources. Here's what that could mean for the state's industry.
• (Politico)The Supreme Court of the United States is poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that enshrined the right to an abortion into federal law, according to a leaked draft ruling obtained by Politico. The ruling as currently framed would appear to have implications for other rights currently thought to be protected, including a right to contraceptives, same-sex marriage and even privacy.
• (Vice)Facebook has a ton of user data. And the company can’t really keep track of who else can access that information or how it gets there.
• (The Verge)The Verge’s Elizabeth Lopatto recaps Bitcoin 2022 in Miami last month, where she observed something interesting: There seems to be more interest in “crypto” than in “bitcoin” right now.
• (Bloomberg)Crypto mortgage lenders are letting borrowers put nothing down to buy property.
If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me atnik@coindesk.comor find me on Twitter@nikhileshde.
You can also join the group conversation onTelegram.
See ya’ll next week! || British Pound Pulls Back Against Yen: TheBritish poundinitially rallied during the trading session on Wednesday to break above the ¥168 level, before pulling back to form a less than attractive candlestick. By doing so, it looks as if we are starting to see a bit of hesitation finally. That being said, I think there is plenty of support underneath, especially near the ¥165 level. The ¥165 level has been important in the past, and therefore it would make quite a bit of sense that it could offer support based upon “market memory.”
The market is a little of her stretched, but quite frankly you cannot go against the overall bullish attitude, so you need to be very cautious and simply wait for an opportunity to get long again. Pullbacks should offer plenty of value, and therefore I think stepping to the side for a short while might make quite a bit of sense, as you can simply join the overall long-term uptrend. After all, the Japanese yen has been broken on multiple fronts, so there is no reason to think that it will be any different here.
The Bank of Japan continues to fight higher yields in the bond market, essentially “printing unlimited yen.” They are stuck in a situation where they will either have higher yields or have to save their currency, as things stand at the moment, they cannot do both and it appears that they are more interested in bond yields than the yen itself. There will come a time when they have to go the other way, but as things stand at the moment, it seems like we are a long way from that being a major concern in Tokyo.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Blockchain Games Raise $2.5B As Dapps Lose $1.2B to Hacks in Q1 ’22
• British Pound Pulls Back Against Yen
• Silver Declines As Pullback Continues
• Bitcoin and ETH Target Additional Gains, AAVE Eyes Crucial Bullish Break
• Gold Prices Rebound as the Dollar Takes a Breather
• The US Dollar Pulls Back Against the Japanese Yen || Crypto Funds Saw Year's Highest Inflows as Terra Crisis Crashed Markets: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Digital-asset funds last week netted their highest inflows since late 2021 as investors bought into market panic caused byTerra's implosion.
Crypto funds racked up $274 million in inflows in the week through May 13, when the terraUSDstablecoin(UST) – a cryptocurrency that's supposed to trade at a fixed price of $1 –droppedto a few cents, wiping out most of its $18 billion market capitalization and also making the blockchain's native tokenLUNA, once a top-10 cryptocurrency, virtuallyworthless.
James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares,saidit was a "strong signal that investors saw the recent UST stablecoin depeg and its associated broad sell-off as a buying opportunity."
Bitcoin-focused funds were the clear winners, netting $299 million in inflows, the highest weekly inflow since the last week of October 2021. The data suggests that "investors were flocking to the relative safety of the largest digital asset," Butterfill said.
The flurry of investment came as bitcoin (BTC)dippedto as low as $25,892 on Thursday amid fears Luna Foundation Guard, the organization that was supposed to support UST in a crisis, mightpanic-sell its reserveof roughly 80,000 bitcoin. The price of bitcoin recovered most if its losses late last week to change hands around $30,000, a significant psychological level.
Investors were polarized geographically because funds listed in North American saw $312 million of inflows, while $32 million flowed out of European funds.
Purpose, the provider of the largest bitcoin exchange-traded fund listed in Canada, booked $284 million in inflows, dwarfing flows of competitors.
Non-bitcoin funds struggled in the market sell-off, as some $26.7 million flowed out of funds managing ether (ETH), while vehicles focused on solana (SOL) recorded $5 million of outflows.
Investors in blockchain-related stocks apparently panicked, with some $51 million leaving funds that manage blockchain and crypto-focused equities.
In contrast, multi-asset funds, which manage more than one cryptocurrency, recorded $8.6 million in inflows, suggesting that some investors preferred a diversified approach. || Bitcoin Sees 7 Straight Weeks of Losses for First Time: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Bitcoin (BTC) has had seven straight weeks of losses for the time first in its history amid a downturn in broader markets,stricter crypto regulations,waning retail interestandsystemic risksin the crypto sector, data shows.
Bitcoin neared the $47,000 level in mid-March in a run that lasted a couple of weeks after a fall to $37,000 from November’s lifetime highs of nearly $69,000. The asset has since slid every week and could fall to as low as $20,000 if current market conditions continue.
Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been long positioned as a hedge against inflation, or an investment that is supposed to protect against the decreased purchasing power of currencies or other assets.
That has failed to happen so far, however, as bitcoin is highly correlated with global markets and has traded similar to arisky technology stocksin the past few months. Meanwhile, some analysts say investors are selling bitcoin as it advances.
"In our view, the trend of selling cryptocurrency on upside movements remains. Adding to the downside is the bleak outlook for U.S. monetary policy, where no light at the end of the tunnel with rate hikes can be seen yet," FxPro market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich wrote in an email.
"We expect the bears not to loosen their grip in the coming weeks. In our opinion, a turnaround in sentiment may not come until the approach of the 2018 highs area near $19,600," Kuptsikevich added.
Bitcoin fell toas low as $24,000 last weekas stablecoin tether (USDT) briefly lost its peg to the U.S. dollar. Sentiment among investors was already reeling from the implosion of Terra’sLUNAand its stablecoin terraUSD (UST).
Inflation concerns have contributed to bitcoin’s fall in the past several weeks. Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Reservehiked ratesby the largest amount since 2000 as it seeks to tighten monetary policy following $2 trillion in stimulus in the past few years.
In April, Goldman Sachs analystssaid in a notethat the Fed's aggressive measures to control inflation could result in a recession. The investment bank put the odds of an economic contraction – a phase of the business cycle in which the economy as a whole is in decline – at about 35% over the next two years.
Former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein reiterated that sentiment over the weekend, stating the U.S. economy was at a “very, very high risk.” Such an environment could cause a drawdown in U.S. equities, which may spread to bitcoin and cause further sell-offs in the coming weeks if the current correlation continues.
The risks of a sell-off could already be starting to show. Last week, the $18.3 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the world's largest bitcoin fund, saw its market discount widen to anall-time low of 30.79%, as reported. The discount could be taken as a bearish indicator because it might mean a waning interest in bitcoin among traders. Grayscale and CoinDesk are both owned by Digital Currency Group.
GBTC is one of the only ways for traders in the U.S. to gain exposure to the price movements of bitcoin without the need to purchase the actual cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin was hoveringunder the pivotal support level of $30,000at the time of this writing, CoinGecko data shows. || Nomura M&A Banker Chung Joins Crypto Firm Riot Blockchain: (Bloomberg) -- Riot Blockchain Inc., a Bitcoin infrastructure company, has hired investment banker Jason Chung from Nomura Holdings Inc. as its head of corporate development. Most Read from Bloomberg Amazons Stock Split Delivers More Than Bargained For Elon Musk Says Twitters Lack of Info on Bots Breaches Merger Deal Stocks Rise as Higher Yields Keep Check on Rally: Markets Wrap Why Peak Inflation Is Near, According to Experts Who Bet on Short-Lived Price Rises Fed Delivers Fuzzier Rate Message as It Gauges Impact of Hikes Chung, until recently a Hong Kong-based managing director at Nomura, has joined Castle Rock, Colorado-based Riot Blockchain, the crypto firm said in a statement on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. He will also help on financing strategy. The former banker has been working on mergers and acquisitions at the Japanese lender since 2014, first based in New York and then in Hong Kong, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, he spent about eight years with Societe Generale SA. Riot Blockchain has the largest Bitcoin mining and hosting facility in North America through its subsidiary Whinstone U.S., according to its website. The company was a biotech testing equipment maker until it renamed itself in 2017 to reflect a new focus on buying cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses. It reported a net loss of $7.9 million in 2021, narrowing from $12.7 million net loss a year earlier. Shares of Riot Blockchain have plunged about 68% this year in New York as Bitcoin prices slid. The company has a market value of about $913 million. The departure of Chung follows that of other investment bankers and lawyers who are leaving Wall Street to join fast-growing crypto companies. In February, Binance Holdings Ltd. tapped Vishal Sacheendran, a former Bank of New York Mellon Corp. banker, as its director of Middle East and Africa. Robbie Nakarmi, the crypto firms senior counsel in Dubai, joined late last year after almost a decade as a M&A lawyer. Citigroup Inc.s Lee Smallwood, chief operating officer for markets in North America, left after six years with the bank to join Hivemind Capital Partners, the crypto investment firm founded by former Citi executive Matt Zhang. Story continues (Updates throughout with Riot Blockchains confirmation) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Ukraines Tactics Are Showing Smaller Countries How to Fight Back Oz Won by Ditching the Oprahverse for Trump and Planet Hannity Sheryl Sandbergs Lean In Missed What Most Women Needed An Industrial Stalwart Goes All-In on Specialty Software In Seattles Burning Hot Real Estate Market, Its A.I. or Bust ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. || GLOBAL MARKETS-Yields slip, stocks struggle as economic fears grow: (Adds U.S. market open, byline; changes dateline, previous LONDON)
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - American and European equity markets wobbled and U.S. Treasury yields fell on Monday after unexpectedly weak economic data from China and a big slide in New York state's factory activity painted a bleak picture for economic growth across the world.
Chinese retail and factory activity fell sharply in April as COVID-19 lockdowns severely disrupted supply chains while New York factory output slumped in May for the third time this year amid a collapse in new orders and shipments.
The Chinese data cast a long shadow over the outlook for the world's second-largest economy while the steep drop in New York factory output could be an early signal of the impact on manufacturing of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary policy posture.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.37% and Treasury yields fell, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury note down 7.1 basis points at 2.862%.
China continues to be an issue, as does Europe, especially eastern Europe and Putin's threats toward Finland and Sweden's plans to join NATO, said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder.
"When you see big up days, I'm not surprised to see some profit-taking on the subsequent day," Ghriskey said, referring to Friday's rally on Wall Street. "We're simply seeing a reaction to recent strength. There are various factors driving the market, but in general, none of them are very positive."
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.16% and emerging market stocks rose 0.22%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, the S&P 500 lost 0.64% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.22%.
The dollar was down slightly after hitting a 20-year peak last week.
The dollar index fell 0.048%, with the euro down 0.09% to $1.0403 and the Japanese yen up 0.09% at 129.09 per dollar.
The dollar is likely to strengthen because of the macro economic outlook, whose fundamentals don't look good, said Bipan Rai, North America head of FX Strategy at CIBC Capital Markets.
"From a risk-off perspective, that should still support the dollar against most currencies," Rai said.
But the dollar is consolidating after recent strength and could see more range-bound trading sessions, he said.
The euro was near its lowest since 2017. European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said the euro's weakness could threaten the central bank's efforts to steer inflation toward its target.
Gold slightly rose as a retreat in U.S. Treasury yields offset headwinds from a relatively firm dollar.
Spot gold added 0.1% to $1,813.01 an ounce.
Oil prices rose as the European Union stepped closer to an import ban on Russian crude, while the uptrend was offset by the widespread lockdowns and week economic data in China fueled concerns of a global slowdown.
U.S. crude futures recently rose 0.72% to $111.29 per barrel and Brent was at $111.77, up 0.2% on the day.
Bitcoin last fell 5.23% to $29,656.97.
European government bond yields rose, with Germany's 10-year yield down 0.9 basis points at 0.943% - below the roughly eight-year high of 1.19% it reached last Monday.
The ECB will likely decide at its next meeting to end its stimulus program in July and raise interest rates "very soon" after that, ECB policymaker Pablo Hernandez de Cos said on Saturday.
(Reporting by Herbert Lash; additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London; editing by Ed Osmond, Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 20471.48, 19017.64, 20553.27, 20599.54, 20710.60, 19987.03, 21085.88, 21231.66, 21502.34, 21027.29
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-06-15]
BTC Price: 22572.84, BTC RSI: 25.71
Gold Price: 1815.30, Gold RSI: 40.33
Oil Price: 115.31, Oil RSI: 51.53
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
7 Blue-Chips Stocks to Buy at an All-Time Low: This article covers the Best Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy,, trading close to their all-time lows..
• CarnivalCorporation(CCL): Bookings are rising at a robust pace setting up for a strong summer season
• Amazon(AMZN): The crème de la crème of the stock market at a substantial discount
• Mastercard(MA): Should continue growing at a rapid clip despite the headwinds
• General Motors(GM): Strong lineup of EVs and investments in autonomous vehicles will pay off in the long-run
• Intel(INTC): Mouthwatering product lineup this year,, propelling it back to where it belongs at the top
• Bank of America(BAC): Should benefit immensely from rising interest rates
• UiPath(PATH): Fast-growing business with massive upside potential
Source: Shutterstock
This year, multiple headwinds have ravaged stock markets, pushing even the most reliable stocks to multi-year lows. Nevertheless, it presents an interesting time to consolidate and focus on preserving capital by investing in the best blue-chip stocks to buy.
Blue-chip companies have had a long track record of proving themselves in good times and bad. These stocks belong to enterprises with a history of sound financial performance and shareholder rewards.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
Unfortunately, these stocks have been trading at all-time lows with the current downturn. As these stocks are remarkably stable compared to smaller market cap equities, it would be tough to find many blue chips that trade at their lowest-ever prices.
• 7 Large-Cap Stocks to Buy Right Now
Nonetheless, I have curated a list of blue-chip investments trading at beaten-down valuations and their all-time low prices within touching distance within touching distance.
[{"CCL": "AMZN", "Carnival": "Amazon", "$11.92": "$2,008.98"}, {"CCL": "MA", "Carnival": "Mastercard", "$11.92": "$339.28"}, {"CCL": "GM", "Carnival": "General Motors", "$11.92": "$35.10"}, {"CCL": "INTC", "Carnival": "Intel", "$11.92": "$41.61"}, {"CCL": "BAC", "Carnival": "Bank of America", "$11.92": "$35.37"}, {"CCL": "PATH", "Carnival": "Uipath", "$11.92": "$16.50"}]
Source:Flickr
Cruise operatorCarnival Corporation(NYSE:CCL) has had a tough outing in the stock market,, as had the rest of the sector. CCL stock has shed over 45% of its value in the past year and currently trades near its lowest stock price of $11.92. However, with the pandemic fade and an all-important summer season approaching, things are looking upward for the company.
Its most recent quarterly update reported a disappointingnet loss of $1.9 billionwith revenues of $1.62 billion. Analysts expected revenues to be roughly 42% higher than the actual result. CCL told its investors that it was facing increasing uncertainty due to the invasion of Ukraine and the resultant effects on fuel prices.
However, oil prices have been dropping late amidst peace talks between Russia and Ukraine held in Turkey. Moreover, the company stated that its booking deposits are rising and expect its entire fleet to be in operation for the summer season.
Hence, Carnival could mount a comeback soon, kickstarting a bull-run.
Source: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com
Amazon(NASDAQ:AMZN) was in the news in the past couple of weeks for thesteepest drop in its stock pricesince 2006. The massive price drop is a testament to how rough things have been in the equity market. Amazon is seeing a slowdown in growth rates due to tough comps, but does that mean it’s a sell?
It’s true that Amazon’s core business is in flux, and investors are wondering how much upside remains with its mammoth retail business. However, Amazon has had a penchant for proving its naysayers wrong, with incredible performances year-in and year-out.
• 7 REITs to Buy for the Second Half of 2022
Moreover, we see the amazing results it posted with its non-core segments, including Amazon Web Services, virtual healthcare solutions, Prime service, and others. Hence, wagering on the business during the current investing environment could be an excellent long-term move.
Source: David Cardinez / Shutterstock.com
Payments processing giantMastercard(NYSE:MA) has been a steady performer over the past several years. Its fundamentals are firmly in the green, boasting double-digit growth across metrics that matter the most.
The past couple of years have been outliers for the business, with the surge in online buying. Nevertheless, MA stock isn’t shielded from the current challenging macro-environment, trading close to its lowest stock price.
There’s plenty to like about Mastercard. It operates a business with remarkably low overheads and no credit risk, which is why it boasts an average EBITDA margin of over 55% in the past five years. The company’s recent results weren’t too shabby either.
Its first-quarter resultsshowed 24% growth in sales, with adjusted margins growing to 57.50% from 52.90% in the prior-year period. Hence, it’s an attractive opportunity to load up on Mastercard.
Source: Katherine Welles / Shutterstock.com
A couple of months ago,General Motors(NYSE:GM) reported stellar final quarter results despite supply chain constraints. The automotive giant delivered record-adjusted earnings and operating profits for the full year.
Additionally, the management was upbeat about its 2022 prospects. Despite the positive outlook though, its stock has taken a massive hammering since the earnings release.
Semi-conductor shortage is likely to impact production this year, but it should only increase pent-up demand and support strong sales in the coming years. Moreover, the company is investing its profits aggressively in its EV lineup.
• 7 Dividend Stocks to Boost Your Retirement Savings
That should keep the automotive giant relevant as the sector transitions away from gas-powered cars. Additionally,it has also investedin robotaxi maker Cruise, which could potentially pay many dividends down the line for the business.
Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com
Intel(NASDAQ:INTC) is a juggernaut in the server and client CPU markets holding over 75% market share in both sectors.
Over the past few years, it has ceded market share to its peers in Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) but is likely to bounce back in the long run with the launch of its cutting-edge new chips. The company has an impressive product roadmap which includes the launch of new processors, including the Raptor and Meteor Lake lines.
Moreover, it’s also looking to take the CPU market by storm withSapphire Rapids processors, based on a 7-nanometer process. This will pit it againstAMD’s Epyc processors based on a 5-nm process.
Therefore, there’s much to like about the company’s long-term position, and it should recapture its market share within the next few years. It expects topost 10% to 12% revenue growthby 2026, significantly above its 5-year average of 6.40%.
Source: Tero Vesalainen / Shutterstock.com
Bank of America(NYSE:BAC) is one of the largest banks in the United States, one of the more rewarding investments in its sector.
It has returned over 300% to shareholders and grown its dividends for the past eight years in the past decade. Its business transformation has been spectacular under CEO Brian Moynihan’s effective leadership. It went from an institution whose viability came into question to a much leaner business focusing on asset quality.
• 7 Undervalued Stocks to Buy Before Investors Catch On
With the rising interest rates, the company is poised to benefit immensely with a massive increase in net interest income. Itsrecent results have been tremendous, including its first-quarter results, where loan and deposit growth increased substantially. Therefore, it’s an excellent investment trading under three times forward sales.
Source: dennizn / Shutterstock.com
UiPath(NYSE:PATH) is an established workplace automation enterprise growing rapidly. It saw its revenues rise39% year-over-year to $289.7 million, beating consensus estimates by $6.5 million during the fourth quarter.
Moreover, despite the drop in adjusted net income to $27.2 million, it still exceeded analyst expectations by a couple of cents. Additionally, its total customers have grown by 28% from the prior-year period in the fourth quarter to 10,100, with a revenue retention rate of over 140%.
Next year the company expects sales to be in the$1.075 billion to $1.085 billion rangeabove the $1.09 billion consensus estimate. Moreover, average recurring revenues will surpass the $1 billion mark, falling in the $1.2 billion to $1.21 billion range.
Hence, the company has an incredible growth runway ahead while trading 80% below its 52-week highs.
On the publication date, Muslim Farooque did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.
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The post7 Blue-Chips Stocks to Buy at an All-Time Lowappeared first onInvestorPlace. || Coinbase Global plans to cut 1,100 jobs, or 18% of staff: Coinbase Global says it plans to cut about 1,100 jobs, or approximately 18% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring in order to help manage its operating expenses in response to current market conditions. The cryptocurrency trading platform said in a regulatory filing that it expects to have about 5,000 total employees at the end of its current fiscal quarter on June 30. The company reported last month that active monthly users fell by 19% in the first quarter amid the decline in crypto values. Cryptocurrencies soared early in the pandemic as ultralow rates encouraged some investors to pile into the riskiest investments. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has tumbled and briefly fell below $21,000 in Asia on Tuesday, down from a peak of $68,990 late last year. Coinbase estimates that it will incur about $40 million to $45 million in total restructuring expenses, mostly related to employee severance and other termination benefits. The restructuring plan is anticipated to be substantially complete in the second quarter. The remote-first company was founded in 2012 and has no headquarters. It went public just over a year ago, in April 2021, by listing its stock directly and skipping the traditional process of hiring underwriters. Shares closed on the first day at around $328. In premarket trading Tuesday, the stock lost 7% to $48.40. || Does the cryptocurrency crash pose a threat to the financial system?: By Hannah Lang WASHINGTON (Reuters) - On Tuesday, bitcoin fell briefly below $30,000 for the first time in 10 months, while cryptocurrencies overall have lost nearly $800 billion in market value in the past month, according to data site CoinMarketCap, as investors fret about tightening monetary policy. Compared with the Fed's last tightening cycle which began in 2016 crypto is a much bigger market, raising concerns about its interconnectivity with the rest of the financial system. HOW BIG IS THE CRYPTOCURRENCY MARKET? In November, the most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit an all-time high of more than $68,000, pushing the value of the crypto market to $3 trillion, according to CoinGecko. That figure was $1.51 trillion on Tuesday. Bitcoin accounts for nearly $600 billion of that value, followed by ethereum, with a $285 billion market cap. Although cryptocurrencies have enjoyed explosive growth, the market is still relatively small. The U.S. equity markets, for example, are worth $49 trillion while the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has pegged the outstanding value of U.S. fixed income markets at $52.9 trillion as of the end of 2021. WHO OWNS AND TRADES CRYPTOCURRENCIES? Cryptocurrency started out as a retail phenomenon, but institutional interest from exchanges, companies, banks, hedge funds and mutual funds is growing fast. While data on the proportion of retail versus institutional investors in the crypto market is hard to come by, Coinbase, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said institutional and retail investors each accounted for about 50% of the assets on its platform in the fourth quarter. Its institutional clients traded $1.14 trillion in crypto in 2021, up from just $120 billion in 2020, Coinbase said. Most of the bitcoin and ethereum in circulation is held by a select few. An October report from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that 10,000 bitcoin investors, both individuals and entities, control about one-third of the bitcoin market, and 1,000 investors own approximately 3 million bitcoin tokens. Story continues Approximately 14% of Americans were invested in digital assets as of 2021, according to University of Chicago research. COULD A CRYPTO CRASH HURT THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM? While the overall crypto market is relatively small, the U.S. Federal Reserve, Treasury Department and the international Financial Stability Board have flagged stablecoins - digital tokens pegged to the value of traditional assets - as a potential threat to financial stability. Stablecoins are mostly used to facilitate trading in other digital assets. They are backed by assets that can lose value or become illiquid in times of market stress, while the rules and disclosures surrounding those assets and investors' redemption rights are murky. That could make stablecoins susceptible to a loss of investor confidence, particularly in times of market stress, regulators have said. That happened on Monday, when TerraUSD, a major stablecoin, broke its 1:1 peg to the dollar and fell as low as $0.67, according to CoinGecko. That move partly contributed to bitcoin's fall. Although TerraUSD maintains its tie to the dollar through an algorithm, investor runs on stablecoins that maintain reserves in assets like cash or commercial paper could spill over into the traditional financial system, causing stress in those underlying asset classes, say regulators. With more companies' fortunes tied to the performance of crypto assets and traditional financial institutions dabbling more in the asset class, other risks are emerging, say regulators. In March, for example, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency warned that banks could be tripped up by crypto derivatives and unhedged crypto exposures, given they are working with little historical price data. Still, regulators overall are divided on the size of the threat a crypto crash poses to the financial system and broader economy. (Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Matthew Lewis) || The Decentralized Mystique: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Today a team of data scientists release , and the New York Times reports on what may be the most important piece of academic research yet on Web 3. We expect headlines to focus on the more explosive potential implications of linking together many pseudonymous Bitcoin addresses. Yet the real import of the paper cuts deeper and reveals more: We read it as showing that decentralization was more an ideology than a property of the Bitcoin technology in its early years. Jaron Lanier is a technologist, artist and composer and is widely considered the father of virtual reality. He will appear at Consensus 2022 this week. E. Glen Weyl is a founder of the RadicalxChange Foundation and co-author of Radical Markets and “ Decentralized Society .” While both work for Microsoft, neither speaks for the company. The paper combines a variety of clever address-linking techniques similar to those offered commercially by firms like Chainalysis and Crystal Blockchain, together with approaches focused on identifying miners, to link more than 99% of Bitcoin addresses from the network’s inception in 2009 through 2011 back to unique individuals (and in some cases their legal names). While the study does not focus on identifying such names (except in two cases where they were already known), it shows enough about methods used that we suspect these will eventually be used to bring significantly greater transparency to the previously obscure founding figures in the community. More deeply, they reveal several important properties of the early Bitcoin network, such as the finding that 64 agents (fewer than a thousandth of previous estimates based on counting addresses) mined a majority of BTC in this early period and that 51% of attacks could typically have been conducted by small groups of individuals (usually around five), including a single individual for significant periods. (In such attacks, a miner or group of miners obtains control of a majority of the network’s computing power and uses it to reorder, reverse or block transactions on the public ledger, usually to defraud other participants.) Story continues Furthermore, in contrast to the self-image of Bitcoin as a global, open protocol, usage appears to have flowed through social networks connected to these initial pioneers in a manner like other nascent networks, from the early internet to Facebook. Following the money The immediate implications for the ecosystem should be obvious. The researchers find that nearly all transactions through the end of 2017 can be traced to Bitcoin addresses associated with this initial group of 64 agents by a small number of hops (four to six). It is well-known that identified seeds can usually be traced over such short chains, and so we expect the researchers’ findings to quickly undermine much of the pseudonymity of Bitcoin if their methods are replicated and widely applied. Furthermore, it seems unlikely that the researchers are the first to achieve this conclusion about the small number of early miners; it is plausible that organizations like the National Security Agency, China’s Ministry of State Security and Israel’s Unit 8200 have long had access to this information and chosen not to reveal this capability to preserve the mystique of pseudonymity and the assumed-private financial records it gives them access to. The new findings have the potential not only to undermine the (limited) remaining privacy reputation in the Bitcoin network but more broadly, to have reputational spillovers to many cryptographic protocols used in Web 3. Yet the paper’s most important implications are more profound, if less sensational. Web 3 and the academy First and perhaps most importantly, it is one of the first papers emerging from the mainstream of academic research to directly speak to issues at the core of Web 3. While protocols like Algorand, Avalanche and Stellar and techniques like quadratic voting have emerged from academic work, the relationship between academia and Web 3 has been much more distant than in other fields of technology, such as the original internet and artificial intelligence, where the academy was central to the development. We hope that this paper will help usher in a new era of serious academic work on and engagement with Web 3, which we believe is critical to achieving the promises and avoiding the perils of the space, in ways partially highlighted by the paper. It is disappointing how long it took for the paper to be published; the primary findings of the piece were shown to us more than two years ago, and the academic review process slowed their reaching the public. In such a fast-moving space, academia must learn to keep up or become irrelevant in a way that is dangerous in that it allows technology to run far ahead of scientific understanding. We figured that out with COVID-19 and must port the lesson to rapidly emerging technologies that pose just as great, even if less obvious, threats. Technology is not enough Second, we take from the paper that many, spurred by overblown rhetoric in the space, have dramatically overestimated the power of technical solutions on their own to ensure the security and privacy of sociotechnical systems. While cryptography and consensus mechanisms have an important role in complementing other protections, they are usually quite fragile on their own, untethered from laws, social norms, institutional reputations, etc. In this instance, Bitcoin seems to have, in sharp contrast to its common reputation, become something of a perfect tool of state surveillance, revealing activities that many users believed to be protected by pseudonymity to sophisticated state security agencies while hiding transactions from communities of peers such as other developers, friends or community credit unions that would have been better placed to monitor them in context. More broadly, we are generally suspicious of approaches that attempt to remove the need for intermediate institutions and forms of organization by relying on global protocols: “Global states” are usually entry points for nation-states. Bitcoin’s mythical decentralization Third, the paper undermines not only the mystique of pseudonymity around Bitcoin but also the mystique of (technical) decentralization. It was not technical decentralization that sustained Bitcoin, but rather the decision of a small number of people, who seem to have known each other (through cryptography conferences and online forums) and their roles, not to attack the system. What motivated this “altruistic” behavior? We believe that two interrelated causes are likely: the potential of financial gain in the future if the system was seen as never failing and a vision of technical decentralization that the early leaders wanted to see tried at scale. We thus believe decentralization functioned not as a technical property of the system but as an ideological inspiration and foundation of power. Such (often false) myths have long been the foundation of a range of social movements. Many dispute the historical existence of a man named Moses or his capacity to part seas, but few doubt the power of his story to ensure the survival of the Jewish people through thousands of years of tribulation. Yet what is supremely ironic is that as a myth, “decentralization” aimed precisely to avoid traditional institutional ties and to provide, instead, guarantees; as we see it, the myth of decentralization instead provided a perfect foundation to replicate what it meant to supplant. The way forward Finally, the paper points the way to what may be necessary to make decentralization work in technical design and practical application rather than mythic imagination. Bitcoin, like other technological platforms, exhibits network effects. Network effects spread through … networks. They are not the global open systems they purport to be. Thus, if they are engineered to privilege early adopters they will replicate the vast, arbitrary and oppressive inequalities of other technological systems that gave outsized power to early participants. Other approaches to decentralization, such as the original internet, “webs of trust” and recent manifestations such as the Spritely Project , have attended to and directly tried to offset the power concentrations that come with network-based spread of uses. Meaningful decentralization requires awareness of and deliberate countering of “ network power ,” not an assumption that simplistic “openness” will achieve it. Decentralization has long been the central dream of the internet. It was at the core of the pitch that computer scientist and psychologist J. C. R. Licklider made to the leaders of the Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to avoid disruption from Soviet nuclear attack when he founded the ARPANET, which evolved into the internet. At various, often fleeting, moments decentralization has been achieved by concerted and often centralized efforts to invest in it. But lasting decentralization won’t spring from brilliant lone hackers and financial speculation; it will come from broad public interest, awareness and a range of legitimate institutions working to make it happen, even at the expense of some of their power, to avoid outcomes (such as cyberattacks parallel to the Soviet nuclear attacks of yesteryear) they fear. Our fondest hope is that the hype around Web 3 can combine with academic work like this paper and public concern about the concentration of power in technology and authoritarian governments to make decentralization a more stable reality. Further reading Even Giants Started Out Small: Cooperation and the Early Days of Bitcoin What the new Baylor Bitcoin study really says (and what it really doesn’t) about Satoshi & Co. New Research Unearths Insights Into Satoshi and Bitcoin’s Early Days The paper makes no claims about the Bitcoin network today, more than a decade after the end of the period analyzed. But it underscores well-known and longstanding privacy challenges. UPDATE (June 7, 13:47 UTC): Strikes "new" from description of address-linking technique focused on identifying miners; Sergio Demian Lerner discovered the "extranonce" method in 2013 . || Chipotle now accepts cryptocurrency payments: You can now reportedly pay for your burritos and tacos with Bitcoin and other digital currencies, in case you don't mind spending your coins directly instead of going through exchanges first. Flexa hasannouncedthat the Mexican fast food chain can now accept digital payments through its platform. The option is apparently available at all Chipotle locations in the US, and you can use it so long as you have a Flexa-enabled wallet app, such as Gemini and SPEDN. You simply have to fire up your app, choose Chipotle and show your phone at the cashier.
With this update, Chipotle joins the list of famous food chains that accept cryptocurrency as payment, including Starbucks and Subway. Other retailers and stores, such as Nordstrom have also started taking digital coin payments in recent years. For a while, you could evenbuy a Tesla with Bitcoinin the US, though the automaker ended upsuspendingthe method, citing environmental concerns. One of the biggest issues surrounding digital currencies is how much energy they consume and how big their impact is on the environment.
Chipotle has yet to issue an official statement about the payment option — we've reached out to the company for confirmation — but Flexa says it's giving everyone 10 percent off their next purchase at the restaurant until June 30th. There's a one transaction limit, though, and the max discount you can get is $10.
Update: Jun 2nd, 9:33am ET. Chipotle sent over a statement from Curt Garner, Chief Technology Officer, which says that the chain is "constantly exploring innovation that will enhance our guest experience, and that includes now accepting digital currency payments with Flexa in Chipotle's U.S. restaurants." || Morning Crypto Briefing: Bitcoin Price Under Pressure Pre-Fed, Bears Eye Break Below $20K: • Despite stabilization in traditional assets classes ahead of key risk events, crypto prices remain under heavy selling pressure.
• The Bitcoin price was last in the mid-$20Ks and the Ethereum price in the mid-$1,000s.
• Both could break lower if Wednesday’s US data triggers recession fears and the Fed is hawkish.
Stabilization is being seen in global equity, bond and currency markets in wake of recent risk-off moves/bond yield upside. Investors keeping their powder dry as they wait to hear from the European Central Bank, for the release of May US Retail Sales data and then the Fed’s policy announcement later in the evening. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates by 75 bps, after data last Friday showed price pressures unexpectedly building once again in the US in May.
Despite the more consolidative macro feel, cryptocurrency markets remain under heavy selling pressure. Total cryptocurrency market capitalization has now slid to just above $880 billion, down a further near 4.0% on the day, taking its losses in the last six days to over $330 billion or just shy of 27.5%.
Traders are warnings that further downside might well be instore for crypto if 1) the ECB’s ad-hoc meeting results in a hawkish intra-day change in policy, 2) US Retail Sales data signals rising US recession risk and 3) the Fed surprises markets with a more hawkish than expected rate outlook.Bitcoinwas last trading just above $21,000, down a further nearly 5.0% on the day and taking its losses in the past six days to just under 30%, during which time it has fallen to fresh annual lows from above $30,000 and shed $170 billion in market cap.
Alternative.me’s Bitcoin Fear & Greed Index is currently sitting just above record lows at 7. It has only been lower in August of 2019 and there is increased chatter amongst crypto market participants of HODLer capitulation. According to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the number of Bitcoin whales just hit a 22-month low of just 1,734.
Turning to major altcoins,Ethereumwas last trading lower by more than 10% on Wednesday and recently printed fresh lows since January 2021 in the mid-$1,000s. ETH/USD has lost 40% of its value in the last six days, with the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency having shed over $85 billion in market cap during that time. A break below $1,000 would open the door to a run towards the next area of support (the May 2018 highs) in the low $800s.
Binance’sBNB, meanwhile, was last down by around 6% in the last 24 hours according to CoinMarketCap, with BNB/USD briefly dipping $200 for the first time since February 2021. Cardano’sADAwas last down around 4% over the same time period, and trading just under $0.50, while RipplesXRPcontinues to trade close to $0.30 and Solana’sSOLa tad lower on the day just under $30 per token.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platform Lido’s Ethereum derivative “staked ether” discount to actual ETH hit record highs on Monday above 8.0%, data from Dune Analytics showed. According to crypto market commentators, this is because big DeFi players including beleaguered crypto lending platform Celsius Network and struggling crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital are dumping holdings.
Speaking of Celsius Network, withdrawals from the platform have now been frozen for more than 48 hours. Reportedly the firm has hired lawyers who specialize in business restructuring to help it navigate its current financial difficulties. The firm’sCELtoken, which offers holders the benefit of improved lending/borrowing rates on the platform, has been all ove the place in recent days. In what traders called a short-squeeze, CEL/USD surged by as much as 800% on Tuesday, from under $0.30 to intra-day highs above $2.50, but has since fall back 80% to trade just above the $0.50 mark.
Regarding Three Arrows Capital, the Dubai-based crypto hedge fund is rumored to be facing insolvency, various crypto media outlets have reported this week, having incurred seen positions worth at least $400 million liquidated. Much of this has likely happened in the last few days. According to crypto derivative analytics website CoinGlass, crypto future position liquidations have spiked this week. Total liquidations rose to at least three-month highs on Monday above $1.1 billion.
Elsewhere, one of the last remaining major algorithmic stablecoins, the Tron blockchain’s Decentralised US dollar (USDD) continues to fall further from its 1:1 peg to the US dollar. USDD maintains its peg with a mint-burn mechanism tied to Tron’s native crypto tokenTRX, much how ill-fated TerraUST (USTC) did with the Terra blockchain’s native LUNA token. As a result, many have been predicting a crash. In an apparent and somewhat strange reference to USTs demise back in May, Tron founder Justin Sun tweeted “Deploying more capital – steady lads”, exactly the same tweet that Terra founder Do Kwon put out in the initial stages of UST’s depeg from 1:1 with the US dollar.
Despite USDD’s troubles, with the stablecoin currently trading around $0.969, and further sharp losses in TRX/USD, which is trading around $0.05 and down over 30% this week, Sun said that Tron would be increasing its ecosystem workforce by a further 50%. That very much cuts against the grain, with most other firms in the crypto industry downsizing their workforces.
The latest company to announce layoffs was US crypto exchange giant Coinbase, which announced plans on Tuesday to lay off around 18% of its workforce, amounting to 1,000 employees. Back in May, it froze new hires. In a note to employees published on Tuesday, the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong said that “we appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom” and that the company had grown too quickly during the crypto bull market in 2021.
JP Morgan issued a bearish note on the company’s stock, cutting its rating from overweight to neutral and slashing its price target to $68 from $171. It will be challenging for Coinbase to generate near-term profit amid the deepening crypto bear market and following a recent ramp-up in investments, the US investment banking giant noted.
Back to the stablecoin landscape; Singapore-based Tether, the issuer ofUSDT, has been under scrutiny once again amid allegations that its commercial paper portfolio is 85% backed by Chinese or Asia paper. These rumors are “completely false and likely spread to induce further panic in order to generate additional profits from an already stressed market,” Tether said in an announcement on Wednesday. The stablecoin issuer also denied rumours that it had loaned capital to struggling crypto hedge fund three Arrows Capital.
USDT was last trading about 0.2% below its 1:1 peg to the US dollar in the $0.998 area, having at one point dipped as low as $0.995 on Wednesday. That might not be as bad as it seems given US-based Circle Internet Financial’s US dollar stablecoin USDC, seen as a safer bet by many given the company’s greater levels of transparency about the assets it holds to back USDC, is also trading about 0.2% below its 1:1 peg against the dollar. The two stablecoins currently have a market cap of around $70 billion and $54 billion respectively.
US Securiturities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler, speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network Summit on Tuesday, gave wide-ranging remarks on issues related to crypto. He warned that the broad bipartisan crypto regulation bill recently unveiled by US Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand could inadvertently “undermine” market protections for investors. Gensler added that the SEC wants to protect its role of overseeing how companies can raise money from the general public. Gensler warned that the majority of tokens currently in the crypto market fall under the purview of SEC regulation and should therefore be required to offer the same disclosures as traditional securities.
Moreover, the SEC Chair observed that many crypto companies are already engaging in behaviors that are typically overseen by his agency, including, for example, offering yield for staking. Separately, Gensler also issued a warning to would-be crypto investors to avoid crypto lending platforms offering returns that seem “too good to be true”. “We’ve seen again that lending platforms… (are) operating a little like banks,” he noted, adding that “they’re saying: Give us your crypto. We’ll give you a big return”. New York’s Attorney General Letitia James also issued a warning to investors about crypto this week, cautioning them that investors have lost hundreds of billions in recent weeks.
Separately, reports broke on Tuesday that the SEC is investigating crypto exchanges over insider trading. The agency has reportedly sent letters to several exchanges inquiring as to their lack of insider trading safeguards.
Meanwhile, in further news related to crypto regulation in the US, the House of Representatives is preparing to hear testimony on digital asset regulation sometime later this month, the Block reported on Wednesday. The House Agriculture Committee’s subcommittee on commodity exchanges, energy, and credit is getting ready to conduct a hearing on the “Future of Digital Assets Regulation” that is currently scheduled for 23 June.
Outside of the US, South Korea is reportedly mulling new laws for blockchain platforms that would better regulate crypto and protect investors. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Federal Deputy Paulo Martins has introduced a bill to legalize crypto payments in the country. Elsewhere, France’s Olympic committee is recommending that the country adopt blockchain ticketing technology for the Paris 2024 games.
Meanwhile, the EU’s Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness on Tuesday urged EU lawmakers to find a political compromise to speed the passage of the EU’s proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. MiCA is currently stuck in the final stage of the EU legislative process. McGuinness said that, if passed, MiCA could facilitate the implementation of fresh sanctions against Russia.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Nord Stream 1 gas supply cut aimed at sowing uncertainty, Germany warns || 7 Undervalued Dividend Stocks to Buy Now: Down markets have investors looking for income from dividend stocks. All the better if those names also offer growth potential. Lowes ( LOW ) The home improvement market continues to grow as does this companys dividend. Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) An attractive price-to-earnings ratio and reliable dividend is a prescription for income-minded investors. Target ( TGT ) A loyal customer base and strong fundamentals makes this companys dividend a rock-solid choice. Microsoft ( MSFT ) With a dividend to go along with solid growth, this company shows that some tech stocks can still offer good value. 3M Corp ( MMM ) This industrial stock also gives investors exposure to disruptive technology. Chevron ( CVX ) One of the best-in-class energy stocks gives your portfolio growth and income. Cummins ( CMI ) An industrial stock thats showing slow, but steady growth. stock market ticker screen with the word "dividends" appearing in large text Source: iQoncept/shutterstock.com Im writing this as investors are digesting the April CPI numbers. Needless to say, volatility will be the norm for some time to come. Theres one group of equities that have always rewarded investors in down markets. That would be dividend stocks. And in this market, were looking at undervalued dividend stocks. Dividend stocks are worthy of a place in investors portfolios at any time. Yet, at times when investors are seeking growth stocks, these stocks can get overlooked. Theres a reason for that. These companies make it a point to set aside a portion of their earnings to pay a cash dividend to investors. Generally, the return on growth stocks will outpace the dividend. 7 Safe Small-Cap Stocks to Buy Now But when the market is correcting, as it is now, dividend stocks give investors the opportunity for passive income regardless of how the stock is performing. If investors reinvest those dividends, it can help to offset losses without having to put additional capital at risk. Here are seven undervalued dividend stocks. This means you may get a little growth to go along with a nice dividend. Story continues InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips LOW Lowes Companies, Inc. $194.00 WBA Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. $43.55 TGT Target Corporation $219.73 MSFT Microsoft Corporation $261.12 MMM 3M Company $149.30 CVX Chevron Corporation $167.87 CMI Cummins Inc. $201.12 Lowes (LOW) the front of a Lowe's store Source: Helen89 / Shutterstock.com The first of my undervalued dividend stock is Lowes (NYSE: LOW ). If you think the best days for home improvement stocks are behind them, I have a statistic for you. According to Global Market Insights, the U.S. home improvement market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 4% through 2027 . Part of that reason is because the average U.S. home is 37 years old. That leaves plenty of meat on the bone. But to be fair, LOW stock is down 27% in 2022. That puts it near a 52-week low. However, the reason why youll want to consider the stock is because of the dividend which currently pays out $3.20 a share per year. The dividend yield itself is around 1.7% which by itself is not overwhelming. But the company has paid a dividend in each of the last 46 years. That kind of reliability is music to dividend investors ears. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) Walgreens (WBA) store exterior and sign in Pompano Beach, Florida Source: saaton / Shutterstock.com Growth investors abandoned Walgreens Boots Alliance (NYSE: WBA ) a long time ago. But investors with a long position in WBA stock have been rewarded with a dividend that has gone up for the last 46 years. The retail pharmacy chain has been making significant changes to capture market share in a highly competitive market. One of the key improvements is the installation of full-service health clinics in select locations. The companys transition to becoming an integrated healthcare provider couldnt have come at a better time as the pandemic gave consumers an in-person alternative to their doctors office. 7 of the Most Undervalued Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy Now Some analysts are concerned about the growth of the business in a post-vaccination world. But much of that concern is already priced into the stock which hasnt done a whole lot since the onset of the pandemic. However, with a P/E ratio right around 6, WBA stock has an attractive valuation to go along with that reliable dividend. Target (TGT) Image of the Target (TGT) logo on a storefront. Source: jejim / Shutterstock.com With a P/E ratio of 15.6, Target (NYSE: TGT ) is trading right around its sector average. TGT stock is a dividend king. Its increased its dividend in each of the last 51 years. And rock-solid fundamentals means the dividend is in no danger. For example, in the last quarter alone, the company generated nearly $2 billion in free cash flow (FCF). Target remains a cult brand to its loyal customers. This allows the company to avoid getting into the price wars that can bedevil this sector. And the companys early pivot to the omnichannel model turned out to be a savvy move during the pandemic. The company is showing strong growth in its digital business that will help the company stay top-of-mind for those everyday items that consumers will still need to purchase. Microsoft (MSFT) Image of corporate building with Microsoft (MSFT) logo above the entrance. Source: NYCStock / Shutterstock.com The next company on my list of undervalued dividend stocks proves that you dont have to stay away from the tech sector to find a reliable dividend. In fact, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ) gives investors elements of both growth and value stocks. On the growth front, Microsoft was a pandemic winner with its Teams collaboration software. And the company is continuing to grow its cloud business as the pandemic moves into the endemic phase. Plus, the company, which is already a player in the gaming sector with its Xbox, will become an even larger player if its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI ) gets approved. 7 Safe Small-Cap Stocks to Buy Now However, the company also delivers great value for income-oriented investors. The dividend is $2.48 per share, which calculates to a yield of only 0.95%. However, the company has increased its dividend in each of the last 20 years. Plus, among tech stocks a 27-plus P/E ratio gives MSFT stock an appropriate valuation. 3M Corp (MMM) More Pain Ahead is Likely For 3M Stock Investors Despite Dividend Allure Source: Shutterstock 3M Corp (NYSE: MMM ) has taken investors on a roller coaster ride since it reported earnings on April 26. The company continues to expect supply chain disruptions. And those disruptions are likely to weigh down earnings for the remainder of the year. Thats all the bearish sentiment that analysts have needed to initiate a sell-off. However, like many stocks on this list, MMM stock is appropriately valued at around 15x earnings and it has a rock-solid dividend. Not only does the stock have an impressive dividend yield of about 4%, the annual dividend is $5.96 per share and has been increasing for 65 years. With dividend performance like that, its well worth their while for investors to buy and hold shares of 3M while the market finds its footing. Analysts give MMM stock a consensus price target that gives it about 16% growth. That seems achievable and even if the stock lands somewhere in the high-single digits it would likely outpace the market. Chevron (CVX) chevron stock Source: tishomir / Shutterstock.com Cyclical stocks typically pay dividends to reward investors at times when the stock is underperforming the market. Some good examples of this come from the energy sector. And that brings me to Chevron (NYSE: CVX ) which is a best-in-class play among oil and gas stocks. CVX stock is up 39% in 2022. The company posted a double beat when it reported earnings on April 29. In that report, the company announced it had increased production by 10% and expected to be producing between 700,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil by the end of the year. 7 of the Most Undervalued Mid-Cap Stocks to Buy Now And Chevron is also a play on renewable fuels. The company is heavily investing in renewable natural gas, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. As for its dividend, Chevron pays an annual dividend of $5.68 which calculates to a 3.38% dividend yield. The company has also increased its dividend for 35 consecutive years. Cummins (CMI) A Cummins (CMI) sign in bright red. Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com Last on my list of undervalued dividend stocks is Cummins (NYSE: CMI ). The company designs and manufactures power systems for trains, heavy machinery, buses, heavy-duty trucks and more. Like many industrial stocks, there isnt a lot happening with Cummins. However, the company has been reinvesting its capital and getting a decent rate of return. The stock is currently trading at an appropriate valuation and it has a consensus buy rating from the analysts covering the stock. The price target gives CMI stock a 32% upside from its current level. And the dividend yield was briefly over 3% and sits at 2.88% at the time of this writing. The company has increased its dividend for the last 17 years. On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2
Says Buy THIS It doesnt matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 Forever Battery Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade On Air The post 7 Undervalued Dividend Stocks to Buy Now appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Market Wrap: Bitcoin and Stocks Drop; Analysts See Risk of Further Downside: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Global markets were in risk-off mode on Friday, sending stocks and cryptos lower. The U.S. consumer price index (CPI), the most widely tracked benchmark for inflation, rose 8.6% on a year-over-year basis in May, topping expectations that it would decline to 8.2% from April's 8.3%. That triggered a $500 price drop in BTC earlier in the New York trading day. Typically, investors reduce their exposure to risk during times of rising inflation, which is not just a U.S. issue. The median global inflation rate is now 7.9% year over year, versus 3.05% last June, according to Deutsche Bank. "The shock value from U.S. inflation has lessened even if today's print was pretty shocking in itself," the bank wrote in a research note. The S&P 500 also declined on Friday, while gold, a traditional safe haven ticked higher. The 10-year Treasury yield returned above 3% as investors continued to position themselves for rising interest rates. Bitcoin ( BTC ) was down by 4% over the past 24 hours, compared with a 6% drop in ether ( ETH ) over the same period. Most alternative cryptos (altcoins), which are deemed to be riskier, underperformed bitcoin on Friday. That suggests a lower appetite for risk among crypto traders. Latest prices ● Bitcoin (BTC): $29,080, −3.08% ● Ether (ETH): $1,677, −6.08% ● S&P 500 daily close: 3,901, −2.91% ● Gold: $1,876 per troy ounce, +1.46% ● Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 3.16% Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found at coindesk.com/indices. The bitcoin Fear & Greed Index returned to "extreme fear" territory, reversing a slight uptick over the past few days. Bearish sentiment has been a persistent theme over the past few months, which has kept some crypto buyers on the sidelines. Story continues For now, technical indicators show short-term deterioration in bitcoin's price action, similar to equities. "For bitcoin, risk now appears heightened of a retest of long-term support around $27,200, noting intermediate and long-term momentum gauges point to more downside," Katie Stockton, managing partner at Fairlead Strategies , wrote in an email. Bitcoin faces lower support at $25K-$27K Bitcoin declined from the $33,000 resistance level last week, which indicates a loss of upside momentum. That lowers the chance of a prolonged relief rally. BTC is roughly flat over the past week and has been confined to a choppy trading range. Initial support is seen at $25,000, which is near the May 12 price low. Momentum on the daily chart has weakened over the past few weeks, suggesting BTC's downtrend from November of last year could continue over the short term. A downtrend is defined by lower price highs and lower price lows. Secondary support is at the 200-week moving average, currently at $22,294. Still, a sharp price decline could eventually stabilize at $17,673, which is a 78% retracement of BTC's prior uptrend from March 2020 to November 2021. The relative strength index ( RSI ) on the weekly chart is oversold , which means selling pressure could subside over the next few weeks. Oversold readings do not indicate a definitive price low, however, especially within the context of a downtrend. Rather, adding a short-term momentum overlay to the 14-week RSI can help determine when oversold signals give way to a potential trend reversal, similar to what occurred in April 2020 and August of last year. The chart below shows when the RSI's downside momentum reverses to the upside, or when the red shaded areas turn gray. At this point, a majority of momentum indicators remain bearish. Bitcoin weekly chart shows support/resistance, with RSI on bottom. (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Altcoin roundup Altcoins nosedive after CPI data: Major altcoins fell sharply in tandem with bitcoin as the consumer price index (CPI), the most widely tracked benchmark for inflation, rose 8.6% on a year-over-year basis in May to a new 40-year high, topping expectations that it would decline. Ether ( ETH ) dipped by 6.3% over the past 24 hours, while SOL and ADA fell 5.5% and 8.3%, respectively. Read more here . Optimism attacker returns tokens: The attacker behind the recent theft of 20 million Optimism (OP) tokens returned 17 million of them on Friday. Optimism is a layer 2 rollup chain for Ethereum that helps scale the network. It launched the OP governance token last month in a bid to shift towards greater community control. The attacker managed to get a hold of OP tokens that were supposed to go to Wintermute, a crypto market maker that partnered with Optimism in the run-up to the token’s introduction. Read more here . USDC-issuer buys Web 3 developer: Payments company Circle agreed to buy Cybavo, a digital asset infrastructure platform that focuses on custody and blockchain application development. Circle is the issuer of USDC , the second-biggest stablecoin , behind tether ( USDT ). Circle will invest in research and development related to the Taiwan-based Cybavo as well as support its products and services. Read more here . Relevant insight Fidelity’s Abby Johnson Reaffirms Crypto Commitment in Bear Market : The CEO sees opportunities to buy on a dip. Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi Is Still Optimistic in the Crypto Bear Market : Crypto’s most successful projects have historically been built during down cycles, he says. Digital Payments Firm Flexa to Buy Drop Party to Engage With Customers : Drop Party uses merchandise drops to connect brands and consumers. Terra’s Luna, Luna Classic Tokens See Volatile Trading Amid New Developments : Futures tracking the two tokens racked up nearly $18 million in liquidations over the past day in a higher-than-usual move. Grayscale, Bitwise Confident a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Be Approved Soon : Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan pointed to a progression of approval decisions by the SEC that “ends in a spot bitcoin ETF.” Marathon Digital Bitcoin Production Weaker Than Hoped in May : The company continues to HODL all of its mined bitcoin, with 9,941 coins worth $315.1 million on its balance sheet as of June 1. Other markets Most digital assets in the CoinDesk 20 ended the day lower. Biggest Gainers There are no gainers in CoinDesk 20 today. Biggest Losers Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Chainlink LINK −8.6% Computing Cardano ADA −8.5% Smart Contract Platform Algorand ALGO −7.3% Smart Contract Platform Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) , developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. || Bitcoin (BTC) Finds Support at $30,000 After a Monday Meltdown: • Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 11.63% on Monday, following on from last week’s 11.6% reversal.
• Despite crypto market panic setting in, the Fear & Greed Index dropped just 1 point to sit at 10/100.
• Bitcoin’s technical indicators continue to flash red, with Bitcoin sitting well below the 50-day EMA.
On Monday, bitcoin (BTC) fell for a fifth consecutive day, with risk aversion from the global financial markets causing crypto investors to jump ship.
Following a 4.05% decline on Sunday, bitcoin tumbled by 11.63% to end the day at $30,077.
A day-long sell-off saw bitcoin fall to a final hour intraday low of $30,068 to test support at $30,000 before ending the day at $30,077.
The reversal saw bitcoin slide through January’s previous current year low of $32,991 with ease.
This morning, the Fear & Greed Index fell deeper into the “Extreme Fear” zone. The Index fell from 11/100 to 10/100, suggesting a possible bottom at $30,000. This is the lowest level since January 8, when the Index also sat at 10/100.
The modest decline came despite bitcoin’s 11.63% loss.
The “Extreme Fear” zone, however, reflects investor expectations of further price deterioration, which is aligned with the technical indicators.
In late March, the Index hit a current year high of 60/100, recovering from a January-8 current year low of 10/100.
With the Index sitting at a current year low, downside risk remains. Bitcoin now needs to hold above a June 22, 2021 low of $28,908 to avoid the risk of a fall back to sub-$25,000 levels.
On Monday, the NASDAQ 100 tumbled by 4.29% to end the day at 11,623.25. The last time the NASDAQ was at current levels (Nov-2020), bitcoin was at sub-$20,000.
At the time of writing, the NASDAQ 100 Mini was down by a modest 15.75 points ahead of tomorrow’s US inflation figures.
This morning’s movements across the crypto market suggest a bottom for riskier assets. A dead cat bounce could be in play, however, with no market event unfolding to support a rebound.
At the time of writing, BTC was up by 3.68% to $31,185. A bearish start to the day saw bitcoin fall to a morning low of $29,836 before finding support.
Through the early morning, a hold above a July 20, 2021 low of $29,320 was key.
BTC will need to move through the day’s $31,461pivotto target the First Major Resistance Level at $32,844. BTC would need broader market support to break out from $31,500.
In the event of an extended rally, BTC could test the Second Major Resistance Level at $35,623. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $39,782.
Failure to move through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $28,683 into play. Barring another extended sell-off, BTC should avoid the Second Major Support Level at $27,300.
Looking at theEMAsand the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it is a bearish signal. BTC sits below the 50-day EMA, currently at $35,731. This morning, we saw the 50-day EMA pull back from the 100-day EMA, delivering downside pressure. The 100-day EMA also fell back from the 200-day EMA, BTC negative.
A move through the 50-day EMA would support a look at $37,000.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Leading the way In Financial Content Marketing – Contentworks Agency Celebrates 5 Years || First Mover Asia: Traders See Bitcoin Falling to 2017 Levels Amid Ongoing Inflation, Economic Concerns; Cryptos Struggle: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices: Bitcoin and Ether continue to struggle. Insights: Crypto traders are pessimistic about bitcoin's future pricing. Technician's take: In place of the Technician's Take, First Mover Asia is republishing a Consensus 2022-related column by columnist Daniel Kuhn on Pussy Riot founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. And sign up for First Mover , our daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $21,985 -1.8% Ether ( ETH ): $1,201 -0.4% Biggest Gainers Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Chainlink LINK +14.4% Computing Solana SOL +7.1% Smart Contract Platform Stellar XLM +6.1% Smart Contract Platform Biggest Losers Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Polygon MATIC −3.4% Smart Contract Platform Cosmos ATOM −2.7% Smart Contract Platform Bitcoin BTC −1.5% Currency Bitcoin and Ether Continue to Struggle The day after the biggest crypto crash in two years brought little relief. Digital assets continued to flounder Tuesday in a whirlwind of inflation fears and economic uncertainty with bitcoin and ether in a red muck for much of the day, and other cryptos struggling to regain ground they lost in Monday's dramatic sell-off. Bitcoin was recently trading below $22,000 down roughly 2% during the last 24 hours. The decline was bitcoin's eighth consecutive day of losses. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has now dropped nearly 30% of its value over the past month and is threatening to test the not-long-ago unthinkable idea of support below $20,000, roughly where it stood in 2017. Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap, was changing hands at roughly $1,200, about flat from Monday when it hit a more than 18-month low. Among altcoins, SOL and XLM were recently up more than 5% after plunging on Monday, but WBTC and TRX continued to suffer with the latter off by over 13% at one point. Story continues Crypto investors are nervously awaiting the U.S. central bank latest interest rate increase, which many observers now believe will be 75 basis points, harsh, inflationary medicine that seemed unlikely until the Consumer Price Index showed inflation continuing at four-year highs. Whether hawkish policy can tame inflation without sparking a recession remains uncertain. "Bitcoin traders better be buckled up heading into the FOMC decision," Oanda senior analyst Americas Edward Moya wrote in an email. Bitcoin is still holding the $20,000 level and if Wall Street gets a very hawkish decision and press conference, Treasury yields and the dollar could surge once again and that would test the line in the sand many crypto traders have drawn." Stocks were calmer on Tuesday after the previous day's battering with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all about flat. Gold, a traditional safe haven asset, was also down, however, a reminder of the degree of skittishness among investors. "Wall Street was quick to fade the morning rebound that stemmed a modest improvement with producer prices, possibly providing some hope that core inflation continues to ease for businesses," Moya wrote. Meanwhile, bad news and disturbing trends continued to plague crypto markets, with exchange giant Coinbase announcing the layoff of about 18% of its workforce – some 1,100 jobs. The cuts were the latest among major exchanges, following those in recent days by Winklevoss twins-led Gemini, Middle Eastern-based Rain Financial and Latin America-based Bitso and Buenbit. Data on Tuesday also showed that crypto-tracked futures had lost over $1 billion over a 24-hour period, a victim of the fraught investment environment. Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open). Also late Tuesday, Fox Business reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating whether crypto exchanges have sufficient protections against insider trading. The SEC has sent a letter to a major crypto exchange inquiring about its safeguards and comes amid increasing scrutiny of the terraUSD stablecoin implosion and more widely, according to the report. Oanda's Moya was pessimistic about crypto's prospects going forward. "If bitcoin breaks below the $20,000 level, support might not emerge until the $17,000 level," he wrote. "Another crypto plunge might not see major support until the 2019 summer high around the $14,000 level." Markets S&P 500: 3,735 -0.3% DJIA: 30,364 -0.5% Nasdaq: 10,828 +0.1% Gold: $1,808 -0.6% Insights Traders See Bitcoin Dropping Below $20,000 Bitcoin stabilized Tuesday at about $22,000 after crumbling Monday amid inflation fears and wider macroeconomic weakness. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization had followed major Asian indices which continued their own recent spiral, closing at least 1% lower. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.32% as the yen tumbled to its lowest level against the dollar since 1998. The currency has declined 15% this year, becoming one of the worst-performing major currencies. Meanwhile, stocks in Tokyo slid the most since March and bond yields hit ceiling values, the Japan Times reported. The decline came after the U.S. released poorer-than-expected inflation data for May in a report last week, which saw inflation increase by 8.6% compared to last year. Traders are now pricing in rate hikes of over 175 basis points through September, which is expected to bring down company revenues and slow down consumer spending. “The crux of the concern plaguing investors is how harshly the [U.S. Federal Reserve] plans to tackle rising inflation in the face of stark new [consumer price index] data,” said Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, in an email. “Getting the balance wrong and hiking interest rates too aggressively could see recession fears become a reality.” Crypto traders and analysts are remaining similarly bearish. FxPro senior market analyst Alex Kuptsikevich said in a note Tuesday that market sentiment remained in “extreme fear” mode as bitcoin saw its biggest decline since early 2020. Kuptsikevich added that bitcoin prices could tumble to 2017 highs under $20,000 before long-term buyers return to the market, and provided macroeconomic sentiment improves. Bradley Duke, co-CEO at crypto exchange-traded product provider ETC Group, also stated bitcoin could retest 2017’s levels with the “next major support” at “$20,000.” “Crypto markets are in extreme fear mode, with the only recent comparable period of extended low sentiment stretching back to March 2020,” he said. Meanwhile, some investors said a decline in bitcoin prices was tied to a rout in global stocks. “The global economic environment is becoming extremely tough to navigate for investors involved in all kinds of markets, so it is no surprise that bitcoin is also facing increased downward pressure,” said Mikkel Morch, executive director at crypto/digital asset hedge fund ARK36. He added: “Over the past couple of years, cryptocurrencies have become a global macro asset and so it is to be expected that they will react negatively now when investors realize that central banks haven’t reacted nearly as aggressively as they will need to in order to get inflation under control.” Technician's take Pussy Riot, Political Action and the Future of DAOs Growing up, Nadya Tolokonnikova, one of the founders of protest collective Pussy Riot, wanted to be a feminist. That’s what the 32-year-old artist and punk rocker told CoinDesk at Consensus 2022 in Austin, Texas. Pussy Riot, Tolokonnikova explained while sitting on the floor of the Austin Convention Center, is often mistakenly thought of as just a punk-rock outfit – one that first made headlines in 2012 for its anti-Putin anthems. But the group, which operates like an off-chain decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), is so much more. This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk's daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here . “Anyone can join Pussy Riot,” Tolokonnikova said on the Big Ideas stage on Saturday. “We're open source, we write our own code … We’re decentralized, we’re autonomous and we’re an organization.” The artistic, political collective – which counts over 100 members, of which a punk band is just a small part – is working toward a more equal world. Over the past decade, Pussy Riot has founded media companies, published books and staged protests on and offline to further their “global feminist protest art movement.” See also: Crypto: The Gift That Keeps On Giving (to Charity) | Opinion Lately, the group has been using the censorship-resistant tools enabled by crypto. Tolokonnikova was a co-founder of women and LGBTQ+ activist group Unicorn DAO. She also helped found Ukraine DAO, which auctioned an image of the Ukrainian flag in March for 2,258 ETH (approximately $6.75 million at the time) to support people affected by the Russian invasion. “My goal is for future generations that are going to be onboarding into Web 3 … will have gender equality,” Tolokonnikova said. “This is how I see my role in crypto.” Last week, as the Consensus event was unfolding a few blocks to the south, members of Pussy Riot, UnicornDAO and the Lakota Indigenous group Ikiya Collective charged into the Texas State Capitol building to stage a protest. They unfurled a 45-foot banner reading “MATRIARCHY NOW!” from the third floor and then rushed out of the building. The moment of “domination” was minted as a non-fungible token (NFT) using auction platform Party Bid. To date, the group has raised 2.38980764 ETH – worth just shy of $3,000 – from 23 contributors to fund reproductive rights. John Caldwell, a founder of Unicorn, said the group was “surprised” by how little attention and support this protest action has received. Texas, a U.S. state known for supporting the ideals of autonomy, personal freedom and limited state intervention, has been at the forefront of the conservative-led charge to roll back abortion rights, he said. “I didn’t come here for the conference, I came here to protest,” Tolokonnikova said, adding that the crowdfunding model allows anyone who’s so inclined to contribute dollars or cents to their cause. Decrypt reported “mixed reactions,” with some Capitol building visitors snapping pictures and others hurrying out of the way. Though she’s similarly taken aback by how little buzz the Capitol publicity stunt generated, Tolokonnikova said crypto is full of energy. “A lot of people here are visionaries. They want to build a better world,” she said. Perhaps no one knows better than Tolokonnikova how much work goes on behind the scenes at activist causes. She said she splits her time doing logistical work for the DAO – answering emails, participating in her Discord channels, speaking to artists and auction houses – and planning showstopping events. As co-founder of independent media outlet Mediazona, she has spoken before the U.S. Congress, British Parliament, European Parliament and performed at Banksy's Dismaland exhibition. See also: DAOs and the Coming InDAOstrial Revolution | Opinion At an earlier Consensus event on the Big Ideas stage, Ellie Rennie, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) professor and head of the Australian university’s Blockchain Innovation Hub, said DAOs are a new type of organization that will require a new mix of interpersonal and technological skills to get right. She noted that we should also not vilify DAOs that experiment and fail. “To be transient is OK,” she said. “We need to find what makes communities resilient.” Perhaps the hardest task for DAO managers, faced with a tool that adds elements of financialization and speculation to social causes, is creating ways to “align” everyone’s needs. Economic incentives may encourage participation, but perhaps not commitment. Others come to crypto precisely because it is apolitical – a space that seems insulated from the dramas, inconsistencies and superficialities of modern-day politics. Crypto, by creating tools that anyone can use, has a plausible case for being “credibly neutral.” Of course, some would disagree. Perhaps crypto will only rebound from the unfolding bear market if it finds a way to meaningfully engage with the world. In politics, perhaps that means crypto becoming an effective tool for change. “Being apolitical there is no such thing,” Tolokonnikova said. “Apolitical just means supporting players that are already in power.” Important events U.S. Federal Reserve meeting Australia House Price Index (Q1/QoQ/YoY) 10 a.m. HKT/SGT(2 a.m. UTC): China industrial production (May/YoY CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "First Mover" on CoinDesk TV : Deep Crypto Sell-Off, Coinbase Layoffs, Celsius Pausing Withdrawals, All Eyes on Fed as Investors Fear What’s Next Crypto market capitalization fell by some 12% in the last 24 hours to nearly $970 billion on Monday morning amid fears over aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes. Sean Farrell of Fundstrat Global Advisors and Gritt Trakulhoon of Titan Investment provided markets analysis. Plus, Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten discussed the potential risks associated with crypto lending service Celsius. Headlines Coinbase Lays Off Around 1,100 Employees: The exchange is reducing its workforce by roughly 18%. CEO Brian Armstrong admits the company "grew too quickly." Cryptos See Over $1B in Liquidations as Bitcoin, Ether Lose Major Support Levels: Bitcoin lost the $25,000 level, while ether briefly slid to nearly $1,200. Morgan Stanley Says Ether Underperformance Echoes Crypto Downturn of 2018: Expectations of higher Federal Reserve interest rates are weighing on crypto prices, the bank's analysts said. Celsius’s CEL Token Jumps 8-Fold in Intraday Spike: The lender’s token reached a high of $2.57 in what appears to be a short squeeze. MicroStrategy Defended at BTIG; Saylor Not Expecting Imminent Margin Call: Shares of the technology company have tumbled alongside bitcoin, down 35% over the past few days and nearly 75% so far this year. Longer reads Wanna Bet? Crypto Prediction Markets Could Be a New ‘Source of Truth’: Andrew Eaddy and Clay Graubard made the case for empowering individuals through technology as trust in institutions declines. Today's crypto explainer: What Are Liquidity Pools? Other voices: The crypto industry just had one of its worst days ever — Here’s what happened (CNBC) Said and heard "Economic conditions are changing rapidly: We appear to be entering a recession after a 10+ year economic boom. A recession could lead to another crypto winter, and could last for an extended period. In past crypto winters, trading revenue (our largest revenue source) has declined significantly. While it’s hard to predict the economy or the markets, we always plan for the worst so we can operate the business through any environment." ( Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong in blog post announcing layoffs ) ... ".@CelsiusNetwork is working around the clock for our community. It’s all hands on deck, so there will be no Twitter Spaces this week." ( Crypto lending platform Celsius/Twitter ) ... "There has been continuing volatility and further significant movements of the stETH:ETH exchange rate again today. While the discount on stETH on secondary markets is ~5% at the time of writing, Lido continues to operate normally." ( Liquid staking platform Lido/Twitter ) ... For the current market extreme condition, @trondaoreserve has received another 500 million USDC to defend #USDD peg. Now USDD collateralization rate is 310%. ( Tron ) ... "Like the man said, single digit hashprice comes at you fast...In response to yesterday's brutal market action, Bitcoin's hashprice has dipped to $0.0950/TH/dayHashprice has not traded below $0.10/TH/day since October 2020." ( Hashrate Index, bitcoin mining data analytics by Luxor Mining, on Twitter )
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 20381.65, 20471.48, 19017.64, 20553.27, 20599.54, 20710.60, 19987.03, 21085.88, 21231.66, 21502.34
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-03-18]
BTC Price: 41801.16, BTC RSI: 55.39
Gold Price: 1928.20, Gold RSI: 51.17
Oil Price: 104.70, Oil RSI: 54.09
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Phil Hanson: British sportscar driver: Phil Hanson is still relatively unknown to the wider British public – despite his impressive racing CV After opting to race sports cars over single seater in 2016, Britain's Phil Hanson, still only 22, is now a veteran of five Le Mans 24 Hours and a multiple championship-winning driver. The Berkshire-born driver is the youngest ever to win a World Endurance Championship title and the youngest Briton to win the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) race. He became the first driver to win the championship, European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours in the same year. He has re-signed for Yorkshire-based United Autosports, co-owned by former British driver Richard Dean and McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown. Richard Dean is the only person I have met in my life who is able to stand up for 24 hours straight. There is so much going on and so many hours put into motorsport that it's difficult to watch all the live timing, results and sessions. Yet, it’s amazing how little gets missed by Richard, especially in a 24-hour race. Read more: My first boss: Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling Bank At United, he may have both LMP2s cars in one ear and both LMP3s in another, with all the engineers and drivers’ feedback. At one point, you could have four people talking over each other. That’s how much information Richard is absorbing with a radio headset on. He is very hands on and is at every test session and race event. If you make a mistake and come on the radio and say ‘I had a huge lock up on that lap’, you will bump into Richard, who will say ‘I heard it was good, apart from that lock up.’ Britain's Phil Hanson is already a championship-winning star at 22. Photo: Phil Hanson It sounds like an exaggeration but he really will stand straight in one place for that length of time. It’s like seeing an artifact in a museum! There are so many emotions flowing around your body, especially at Le Mans, that it’s impossible to sit down or look away from the screen, less something went wrong. Richard is usually the first person you see getting out of the car as he is always in the garage watching. As the frontman of United Autosports, it sort of puts pressure on you knowing that he is that committed and he is looking at you. In turn, you have to be as invested, if not more. Story continues It’s also comforting to know that there is a huge amount of work going in from the very top of the food chain. It sets a culture for everyone to work incredibly hard. When things go wrong or a car crashes, the team will rebuild it overnight. People won’t leave until well into the night, even if a mechanic is not involved in that car. The Yorkshire-based team is co-owned by former British driver Richard Dean. Photo: United Autosports (David Lord) If your boss was someone who sat back and was lethargic, you wouldn’t be as motivated. Richard is different. Everyone knows his presence; he’s focused, intense and committed but it never feels like you should be looking as if you are doing something important. He’s an observer and can spot anything that happens from the corner of his eyes. He’s seeing the driver changes, getting feedback and if there is a strategy call he will give the engineer space and time. He will have his say if it will impact the team. Richard and I have a good relationship. United is one of the biggest teams in Europe in terms of sports car racing. They are now a powerhouse in the UK and I have been lucky to be part of the accolades. Both our interests are aligned where we want the chance to get the recognition our success deserves - a manufacturer to come along and set up a programme with United. Read more: My first boss: Reggae Reggae Sauce entrepreneur Levi Roots My main character quality is that I am analytical about my performances, win or lose. I use every weekend as a learning opportunity. Even though I have won many things and done five Le Mans, I feel like I am still a sponge and able to pick great brains at United. I would be silly not to learn. Phil Hanson is the youngest ever to win a World Endurance Championship title The team is Wakefield based and very much British. There is no shortage of Yorkshire Tea bags around the paddock and we never go without a Sunday roast at every race. It feels like I have been around for their successes over the last four years and being part of the family. To be back on board this year, we want to continue to replicate the success. I just love a competitive environment where everyone is committed to winning - and that’s what Richard brings. Phil Hanson will race for United Autosports in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship Watch: What is the value of Bitcoin? || Marathon Digital Holdings Appoints Ashu Swami to Chief Technology Officer: LAS VEGAS, Jan. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc.(NASDAQ:MARA) ("Marathon" or "Company"), one of the largest enterprise Bitcoin self-mining companies in North America, today announced that the Company has appointed Ashu Swami as chief technology officer. Swami will be responsible for overseeing and expanding the Company’s technical operations, ensuring rigorous security measures are met across the organization, and providing technical guidance.
Swami is an experienced chip designer and crypto and DeFi expert, who brings to Marathon deep technical, regulatory, and market expertise. Swami joins Marathon Digital Holdings from Core Scientific, where he served as the chief product officer, leading the company’s foray into DeFi and heading mining hardware and software optimization. Prior to that, he was the CTO of Apifiny, a hybrid CEX and DEX crypto exchange. Previously, Swami headed an SPV of Quadeye Securities, which pioneered and traded mining swaps, operated cloud mining data centers, and served as the chief advisor to Fortune 50 companies, including Intel Corp, on blockchain initiatives. He also founded LocalPad, a peer-to-peer marketplace and payments plugin that provided “ebay-in-a-box” like functionality to large blogs to monetize their user base. Prior to that, Swami was a portfolio manager and led the high frequency market-making business at Morgan Stanley Program Trading to become a top five market maker in US ETFs. Additionally, he spent over four years as a senior component designer and then tech lead in Intel’s Enterprise Platforms Group. Swami holds three patents in blockchain and trading, an MBA from the Fuqua School of Management at Duke University, and a BTech in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
“Although Marathon is already established as one of the leading bitcoin miners in the world, we believe it is critical to add technical leaders to our team who can help propel Marathon to the next level through consistent innovation,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “Over the course of his career, Ashu has developed diverse expertise that are uniquely pertinent to Marathon’s current and future growth plans, and we believe that his proven track record of helping organizations stay on the cutting edge of bitcoin mining technology will prove valuable to our organization. On behalf of our entire team, I would like to officially welcome him to Marathon.”
Swami commented, “Marathon’s position reflects the team’s ability to think ahead and implement creative strategies that have not only helped scale the business but that have set the tone for the rest of the bitcoin mining industry. I look forward to continuing that trend to help Marathon expand its position as one of the leading companies in our field.”
Investor NoticeInvesting in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of Bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of January 2022. The total network’s hash rate data is calculated from a third-party source, which is available here:https://www.blockchain.com/charts/hash-rate. Data from third-party sources has not been independently verified. See "Safe Harbor" below.
Forward-Looking StatementsStatements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.About Marathon Digital HoldingsMarathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.
Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact:Charlie SchumacherTelephone: 800-804-1690Email:charlie@marathondh.com || Bitcoin crashes 10% to a six-month low below $38,000, as cryptocurrencies follow tech stocks lower: • Bitcoin tumbled to a six-month low below $38,000 on Friday, as a broad crypto sell-off intensified.
• Investors have dumped both cryptocurrencies and tech stocks as they prepare for the Fed to hike interest rates in 2022.
• Ethereum fell below $3,000 while binance coin, cardano and solana were all deep in the red.
Bitcoinplunged as much as 10% to a six-month low below $38,000 on Friday as cryptocurrencies dropped across the board, following tech stocks lower.
Bitcoin was down 9% to $38,274 on the Coinbase exchange as of 9.05 a.m. ET. It had earlier fallen to $37,704, the lowest price since late July and early August 2021, before paring some of its losses.
The biggest and oldest cryptocurrency has slumped more than 20% over the last month to stand far below November's record high of close to $69,000.
Meanwhile,ethereumwas down 12.4% to $2,788 Friday. It has fallen 30% over the last month, down sharply from a record high of close to $5,000 in November.
Investors have been rapidly selling both cryptocurrencies and speculative technology stocks in anticipation of the Fed withdrawing its support for markets and the economy in 2022. Traders think the central bank willraise rates four timesthis year, an expectation that has rapidly pushed upbond yields.
Higher bond yields have in turn made crypto and unprofitable tech companieslook unattractive, given that neither offer yields of their own. Instead, investors have pivoted towards so-called value stocks in sectors such as energy and finance that are more closely linked to the health of the economy.
"Bitcoin is getting pummeled, hit by another wave of risk aversion in the markets," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at trading platform Oanda. "It doesn't look good for the cryptocurrency."
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said: "From the technical price perspective, the bitcoin price has violated the key support level of $40,000, which was already tested a few times before.
"Now all eyes are on the next two important price levels: $35,000 and the most important one is $30,000."
Read more:A 21-year veteran trader breaks down an options trade designed to help investors 'sustain risks long enough to see the light of profitability' — and explains why bitcoin could continue to move in tandem with tech stocks
Thursday's proposal by Russia's central bankto outlawthe mining and trading of cryptocurrencies was another factor weighing on prices, analysts said.
The broad cryptocurrency complex was a sea of red Friday. Binance coin, the third-biggest token, was down 11%; cardano was 13% lower; and solana had dropped 15%.
Even bitcoin bulls have become concerned about the impact of Fed policy and bond yields on the crypto market.
Galaxy Digital founder and crypto billionaire Mike Novogratzsaid this week: "As long as rates go higher, we will see pressure on Nasdaq and crypto." SkyBridge Capital boss Anthony Scaramucci has said his investment firmis not buying the dipthis time around, despite recommending it in the past.
However, Aslam said investors are likely to buy into the weakness at some point, with many seeing digital assets as the currencies of the future.
"Smart money and other institutions are certainly going to take advantage of the current price action, and they are likely to bag some great bargain."
Read the original article onBusiness Insider || Gold Prices Rally as Yields Drop Following Disappointing Payroll Print: Gold prices moved higher for a third consecutive trading session. The dollar eased, and yields dropped in the wake of the disappointing jobs report released by ADP. The 10-year yield dropped more than the 2-year yield. The decline in the U.S. was counter to the increase in European yields after a stronger than expected EU inflation report. Inflation increased by 5.1% year over year in the EU compared to expectations that it would decelerate to 4.4% from 5% in December.
Gold pricesrallied for a third consecutive trading session. Prices recaptured resistance which is now supported near the 200-day moving average at 1,805. Resistance is seen near the 10-day moving average at 1,818. Short-term momentum has turned positive as the fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal. Medium-term momentum is negative as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index has generated a crossover sell signal. This situation occurs as the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses below the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram prints in negative territory with a downward sloping trajectory pointing to lower prices.
ADP reported on Wednesday that private payrolls for January unexpectedly declined by 301,000 for the month, well below forecasts that there would be an increase of 200,000. Some believe that the unset of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus hampered. December’s numbers were revised down to 776,000 gain in December. It was the first time ADP reported negative job growth since December 2020. The pandemic-sensitive leisure and hospitality industry was responsible for more than half of the decline, as companies reported a drop of 154,000.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Why Alphabet Stock Is Up By 6% Today
• EUR/USD Reaction to 1.1303 – 1.1345 Sets Short-Term Tone
• Gold Prices Rally as Yields Drop Following Disappointing Payroll Print
• A Bullish Case for Bitcoin as Lebanon Targets Depositors’ Fiat? || DOGE Ends Four Day Losing Streak but Gives Up Musk Gains: Key Insights: It was a bullish start to the week for DOGE and SHIB, with DOGE ending a four-day losing streak. Market reaction to the MiCA vote delivered broad-based crypto support. Key technical indicators remain bearish, with DOGE and SHIB sitting below the 50-day EMAs. It was a bullish day for DOGE and SHIB on Monday. Risk-on sentiment early in the day and the vote on the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulatory framework delivered support. Partially reversing a 2.87% loss from Sunday, DOGE rose by 2.51% to end the day at $0.1144. SHIB partially reversed Sunday’s 2.76% loss with a 1.72% gain to end the day at $0.0000219. EU Vote on MiCA and Elon Musk Deliver Price Support On Monday, EU lawmakers voted against banning Proof-of-Work mining that would have banned Bitcoin ( BTC ). The markets reacted favorably to the vote. The crypto majors gave up some of the gains, with the U.S equity markets weighing on the crypto markets later in the day. On Monday, the NASDAQ 100 slid by 2.04%. Tech stocks struggled ahead of the FED’s monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with the markets expecting a rate hike and more to come amidst the current inflation climate. For DOGE, Elon Musk provided early support, announcing that he has no intentions to sell his crypto holdings. DOGE struck a day high of $0.1210 before ending the day at $0.114 levels. DOGE Price Action At the time of writing, DOGE was down by 0.70% to $0.1136. Technical Indicators DOGE will need to move through the day’s $0.1152 pivot to make a run on the First Major Resistance Level at $0.1202. DOGE would need the broader crypto market to support a move back through to $0.12 levels. An extended rally would test the Second Major Resistance Level at $0.1259 and resistance at $0.13. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $0.1366. Failure to move through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $0.1095 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, DOGE should steer clear of the Second Major Support Level at $0.1045. Story continues Looking at the EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it is a bearish signal. DOGE remains below the 50-day EMA, currently at $0.1175. This morning, the 50-day EMA has fallen back from the 100-day and the 200-day EMAs. The 100-day EMA has pulled back from the 200-day EMA, another bearish signal. A move through the 100-day EMA, currently at $0.1217 would support a run at $0.13. SHIB Price Action At the time of writing, SHIB was up by 0.23% to $0.00002195. Technical Indicators SHIB will need to avoid the day’s $0.0000219 pivot to make a run on the First Major Resistance Level at $0.0000225. SHIB would need the broader crypto market to support a break out from Monday’s high of $0.00002244. An extended rally would test the Second Major Resistance Level at $0.0000230. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $0.0000242. A fall through the pivot would bring the First Major Support Level at $0.0000213 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, SHIB should steer clear of sub-$0.0000200. The Second Major Support Level at $0.0000207 should limit the downside. Looking at the EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it is a bearish signal. SHIB currently sits below the 50-day EMA at $0.0000227. This morning, the 50-day EMA has pulled back from the 100-day EMA. The 100-day EMA has also pulled back from the 200-day EMA, another bearish signal. A move through the 50-day EMA would support a run at $0.000023 levels. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crypto Firm Gauntlet Valued at $1B Following Latest Funding Round USD/CAD Remains in Pre-Weekend Range amid Easing Geopolitical Tensions USD/CAD Gains Ground As WTI Oil Gets Back To The $100 Level E-mini Dow Weakens Under 32903, Strenghtens Over 33118 Natural Gas Prices Consolidate on Warm Weather Forecast EU Lawmakers Vote No to Proof-of-Work Ban || Bitcoin price prediction panel lowers forecast but still predicts record-breaking 2022: Bitcoin price predictions have been more muted in 2022 following the worst ever start to a year for the cryptocurrency (Getty Images) A panel of crypto market experts and academics have revised their bitcoin price predictions following the recent price crash, though still predict record highs for the cryptocurrency in 2022. A weeks-long downtrend has seen bitcoin fall to its lowest price in six months, with it currently trading at roughly 50 per cent of the all-time high it experienced in November. After reaching as low as $33,000 at the start of the week, BTC has recovered slightly and is now worth around $37,000. Follow our live coverage of the crypto market When asked whether the dip meant it was a good time to buy, sell or hold the cryptocurrency , more than half of the analysts polled by price comparison site Finder.com said they believed that it was a good buying opportunity. By contrast, only 10 per cent said they thought investors should sell, while 29 per cent said that people should neither buy nor sell. The average price peak predicted in 2022 by the 33 fintech specialists is $93,717 more than $20,000 higher than the $68,000 record before slipping back to $76,360 by the end of the year. By the end of 2025, the panel predicts BTC will be worth $192,800 and climb to $406,400 by the end of 2030. While high, both these predictions are significantly down from the average predictions made in July 202, when a similar panel of experts predicted a price of $265,000 and $706,321 respectively. Cryptocurrencies are proving to be a staple competitor to the traditional financial infrastructure of the world, and many projects are now well beyond the theoretical realm of potential value, said Fred Schebesta, co-founder of Finder. Dr Iwa Salami, an associate professor in law at the University of East London, added: Increased interest from retail and institutional investors cannot be overlooked, and yes, whilst there are still huge regulatory gaps, it is important that the potential of this emerging industry to transform business and finance and to facilitate financial inclusion is not overlooked or undermined. Other respondents to the survey warned that the recent bear market may not yet be over, with the threat of interest rate hikes and broader economic uncertainty. Bitcoin seems to be bracing for a large fall, said Lee Smales, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia. A double top seems to have formed and the price could easily give up all of the 2021 gains. Ultimately, I would not be surprised if the price is less than $1,000 in the long term particularly as there are more useful/ efficient alternatives available. View comments || Bitcoin Stabilizes After Dipping to 2-Week Low of $37K: Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, dipped to a two-week low of $37,300 early Monday amid rising tensions in eastern Europe, before stabilizing around $39,000. Analysts arent convinced the rebound will last. The Kremlin has ruled out the prospect of a dialogue soon between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart, President Joe Biden, an idea proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday. Ukraine, meantime, has reported shelling from Russia-backed separatists . It seems like a full de-risk across the board, presumably a flight to cash as it's hard to find an asset that is actually performing against the current uncertainty, said Jason Deane, an analyst at Quantum Economics. Markets could be very messy if military action actually does transpire. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has lost 6.8% over the last seven days, struggling to stay above $2,700. In contrast, metaverse and gaming-related tokens are mostly higher on the day. Axie infinity (AXS), the leader in cryptos still-nascent play-to-earn sector, is trading up 5% in the last 24 hours. The advance comes as the game surpassed $4 billion in lifetime sales of non-fungible tokens (NFT), according to data from DappRadar. The game was launched in 2018 and now has a market capitalization of $3.2 billion. Decentraland games (MANA) is also positive, with a 3% increase. Yield guild games (YGG) has added 2.5%. || The NFT Accounts Of The Couple Who Allegedly Tried To Launder $4.5 Billion In Stolen Crypto Have Disappeared: The OpenSea accounts seemingly belonging to Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein, the husband and wife arrested by the Department of Justice on Tuesday for attempting to launder $4.5 billion in stolen cryptocurrency , have suddenly disappeared, BuzzFeed News discovered on Wednesday. OpenSea is a marketplace used to buy, sell, and trade NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. A DOJ complaint stated that between 2016 and the present, Morgan and Lichtenstein “engaged in a diverse array of virtual currency transactions, including transacting in numerous altcoins, liquidating BTC through a BTC ATM, and purchasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs).” The document implies the couple may have attempted to launder crypto stolen during a 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange, through NFTs. Morgan’s online footprint was easily discoverable due to her influencer alias “Razzlekhan,” a persona under which she ran a YouTube channel, Facebook page, and apparently an OpenSea account where she both sold and bought NFTs. Permissions on most of the videos posted to Morgan’s YouTube account have also been changed to “private” since yesterday, BuzzFeed News found. Lichtenstein’s alias, “Dutch,” similarly led to an OpenSea account . Both profiles were linked to the pair’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. But it appears that between their arrest and today, those pages have disappeared, eliciting a 404 error message. A spokesperson for OpenSea did not respond to three emails from BuzzFeed News requesting comment on the accounts and Wednesday’s takedowns. Morgan and Lichtenstein did not respond to a request for comment via Twitter DM. When attempting to view NFTs minted by Morgan, a popup states: “The item you tried to visit is no longer available on OpenSea. It will not be visible or accessible to anyone browsing the marketplace.” The message cites the platform’s help center , which explains that an NFT is delisted when the company determines it to “infringe on protected intellectual property, promote suicide or self-harm, incite hate or violence against others, degrade or dox another individual, [or] otherwise violate our terms of service.” Story continues OpenSea’s terms of service also state that people may not “use the Service to buy, sell, or transfer stolen items, fraudulently obtained items, items taken without authorization, and/or any other illegally obtained items.” While Lichtenstein was not especially active on OpenSea, Morgan minted and sold NFTs of her own album covers. (Twitter users noticed that prices for her NFTs, originally listed for several hundred dollars, were hitting six figures yesterday.) Some information could also be gleaned from their transaction logs prior to their removal. It’s clear that Morgan, through her Ether wallet, was moving money into Gemini, USDT, and Wrapped Ether. One NFT that Morgan purchased was even transferred to her account mere hours after her arrest. NFTs created by Morgan are no longer viewable on OpenSea, and it’s unclear what happened to them. Ironically, Lichtenstein posed the same question on Twitter last year, asking another user : “But the NFTs are still on chain, right? @opensea can only remove the visual representation of them in their interface.” A Twitter user claiming to have purchased two NFTs minted by Morgan tweeted on Tuesday evening that OpenSea removed the image and its associated metadata (for example, its name and description), “essentially making the NFT a worthless token id.” The individual asked OpenSea if the company intends to refund the Ether and fees used to buy the items. OpenSea does not appear to have responded to them. Court documents do not specify which NFTs the couple purchased or where those transactions occurred. OpenSea is not the only NFT marketplace, but BuzzFeed News was unable to identify accounts belonging to Morgan and Lichtenstein on other platforms. It’s unclear whether the company has been contacted by the DOJ in connection to the criminal investigation. When contacted by BuzzFeed News, a DOJ spokesperson declined to comment. Katie Notopoulos and John Templon contributed reporting to this story. UPDATE Feb. 09, 2022, at 21:28 PM || Why Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Is Up By 9% Today: Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Rallies After Strong Earnings Report Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill gained strong upside momentum after the company released its fourth-quarter results . The company reported revenue of $2 billion and adjusted earnings of $5.58 per share, beating analyst estimates on both earnings and revenue. On a year-over-year basis, total revenue grew by 22% while comparable restaurant sales increased by 15.2%. Importantly, the operating margin grew from 7.3% to 8.1% on a year-over-year basis, so inflation failed to put pressure on the company’s margins. The company stated that it could grow the number of its restaurants to at least 7,000 in North America, up from the previous target of 6,000 restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill added: “Given the healthy and improving cash on cash returns, we are building a real estate pipeline that will allow us to accelerate unit growth to be in the range of 8% to 10% per year, with greater than 80% of new restaurants having a Chipotlane”. What’s Next For Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock? Analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill will report earnings of $33.02 per share in the current year, so the stock is trading at 48 forward P/E which is not cheap. However, it should be noted that analyst estimates will likely move higher in the upcoming weeks after the strong quarterly report. Back in 2021, Chipotle Mexican Grill stock made an attempt to settle above the $1,900 level, while the recent pullback pushed it towards the $1,300 level. Currently, the stock is trying to get above the $1,600 level as the market is optimistic about the company’s ambitious development plans. At this point, the key question is whether the market’s optimism towards high-PE stocks will be sustainable. If worries about the impact of higher yields on high-PE stocks decline, Chipotle Mexican Grill stock will have a good chance to gain additional upside momentum and get closer to all-time high levels after the encouraging earnings report. Story continues For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: These Are the 3 Biggest Differences Between a Cryptocurrency and a CBDC Kellogg’s Q4 Earnings to Decline, Labor Strike to Hurt Chinese Tech Giant Baidu’s Earnings to Decline in Q4 Gold Prices Rise Ahead of Thursday’s CPI Report Crude Oil Markets Find a Bid How Does The US Government HODL More Bitcoin Than Tesla? || ARGI Investment Services, LLC Buys BTC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF, Hartford ...: Louisville, KY, based Investment company ARGI Investment Services, LLC ( Current Portfolio ) buys BTC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF, Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF, SPDR Semiconductors ETF, iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund, First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Idx Fd, sells BTC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Min Vol Factor E, Invesco Solar ETF, ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF, Comerica Inc during the 3-months ended 2021Q4, according to the most recent filings of the investment company, ARGI Investment Services, LLC. As of 2021Q4, ARGI Investment Services, LLC owns 418 stocks with a total value of $3.4 billion. These are the details of the buys and sells. New Purchases: EMGF, QCLN, LEG, ARCB, ADUS, SMP, MTH, HWKN, MYE, REZ, SMH, COMT, JNK, KRE, LIT, DGRW, BSV, BSCN, AMD, RIVN, VYMI, AVGO, TREX, O, LIN, PKI, MMC, GSK, FCX, FDX, EL, DTE, COP, CL, BXMT, Added Positions: RODM, SPAB, SPTS, IEF, IEI, SKOR, SOXX, XSD, HYLB, ETR, WBA, PCY, SWAN, VEA, CPB, FE, PG, DOW, SPEM, ANGL, STIP, VOO, MSFT, ISWN, BF.B, MED, ISCF, VBR, VSS, CAH, NWL, UFPI, ZUMZ, LGIH, ADP, LUMN, IBM, IP, HZO, MLI, PNW, VZ, WU, MYRG, LYB, ABBV, KHC, IAGG, JPEM, VXF, AEP, AAPL, DUK, EIX, ENB, PLUS, BEN, GILD, GOOGL, JPM, K, NI, OMC, PNC, PBCT, PRFT, PFE, PFG, PRU, SO, ANTM, BF.A, FB, AGG, GLDM, SPDW, VT, XLE, MMM, PLD, ACN, ADBE, AB, MO, AMZN, AXP, AMT, AMGN, AMAT, BAC, BDX, BKH, BLK, BMY, BG, CSX, CVS, CAT, CNP, SCHW, CI, CSCO, KO, CAG, INGR, COST, DHR, DE, D, LLY, EPD, EXC, XOM, NEE, FITB, FLO, F, HD, HRL, HUM, HBAN, TT, INTC, ICE, IPG, SJM, KMB, MDLZ, KR, LRCX, LMT, LOW, MDU, MAR, MCD, MCK, MRK, MS, NVDA, NFLX, NKE, NUS, OGE, ORCL, OMI, PPL, PEP, BKNG, QCOM, DGX, SJI, SWX, SBUX, TJX, TGT, TXN, TMO, TSN, UGI, USB, UNP, RTX, UHS, UNM, WPC, WMT, DIS, WFC, XRX, DNP, MA, HBI, TMUS, V, PM, DG, CHTR, SHOP, PYPL, HPE, VST, CTVA, AOA, ARKK, BNDX, BSCM, DVY, EMB, ESGD, ESGU, FDMO, HYD, IDV, INTF, IRBO, ITM, MUB, ONEQ, PDBC, PFF, SIZE, SPXL, SPY, TIP, VB, VDC, VOT, VPU, VTV, XLF, Reduced Positions: EEMV, QUAL, CMA, CFG, EVRG, KEY, USMV, GIS, JPME, USVM, MTUM, LQD, IJH, VLUE, VGT, IVV, IJR, SHY, ITOT, XLK, RSP, VNQ, IEMG, IJS, IUSV, JPIN, SMLF, FTEC, PRFZ, YUM, SPLG, IYW, NVAX, MDT, SPGI, HPQ, GS, QQQ, GE, ETN, RWJ, DLTR, SNGX, IYR, SPLV, SPMD, SPTM, CRK, CMCSA, VCIT, C, VHT, VIG, BA, ADM, VO, IVZ, GLD, GOOG, MPC, ENR, AOR, DGRO, DLS, EEM, TSLA, EFA, FALN, FQAL, ABT, PSX, GRX, IGV, IJJ, IJK, VLO, UPS, IJT, TMP, STX, CRM, IVW, IWM, Sold Out: TAN, ARKW, PBW, PEG, SPSC, FORM, FLGT, ATNI, PSJ, NX, MGPI, BSCL, VOOG, IHI, CARR, HEI, IWS, HRC, KD, SLVM, MRNA, ROKU, BABA, TAP, IRBT, OSUR, BTG, VTRS, Story continues Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with ET. Click here to check it out. RODM 15-Year Financial Data The intrinsic value of RODM Peter Lynch Chart of RODM For the details of ARGI Investment Services, LLC's stock buys and sells, go to https://www.gurufocus.com/guru/argi+investment+services%2C+llc/current-portfolio/portfolio These are the top 5 holdings of ARGI Investment Services, LLC SPDR Portfolio Aggregate Bond ETF ( SPAB ) - 6,695,631 shares, 5.79% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 8.94% Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF ( RODM ) - 6,124,701 shares, 5.38% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 22.21% BTC iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF ( QUAL ) - 1,241,533 shares, 5.28% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 7.33% BTC iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF (MTUM) - 941,503 shares, 5.00% of the total portfolio. Shares reduced by 1.18% iShares 3-7 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEI) - 1,245,958 shares, 4.68% of the total portfolio. Shares added by 6.61% New Purchase: BTC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF (EMGF) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in BTC iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF. The purchase prices were between $48.94 and $52.23, with an estimated average price of $50.72. The stock is now traded at around $49.327800. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 2.66%. The holding were 1,781,671 shares as of 2021-12-31. New Purchase: First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Idx Fd (QCLN) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Idx Fd. The purchase prices were between $60.81 and $81.69, with an estimated average price of $72.22. The stock is now traded at around $51.400000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.21%. The holding were 105,646 shares as of 2021-12-31. New Purchase: Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in Leggett & Platt Inc. The purchase prices were between $38 and $48.1, with an estimated average price of $43.32. The stock is now traded at around $37.700000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.1%. The holding were 85,933 shares as of 2021-12-31. New Purchase: ArcBest Corp (ARCB) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in ArcBest Corp. The purchase prices were between $82.13 and $121.82, with an estimated average price of $102.32. The stock is now traded at around $83.530000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.08%. The holding were 23,804 shares as of 2021-12-31. New Purchase: Standard Motor Products Inc (SMP) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in Standard Motor Products Inc. The purchase prices were between $45.2 and $54.56, with an estimated average price of $50.33. The stock is now traded at around $45.310000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.07%. The holding were 46,502 shares as of 2021-12-31. New Purchase: Meritage Homes Corp (MTH) ARGI Investment Services, LLC initiated holding in Meritage Homes Corp. The purchase prices were between $96.96 and $122.06, with an estimated average price of $112.01. The stock is now traded at around $97.000000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.07%. The holding were 20,923 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF (RODM) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in Hartford Multifactor Developed Markets (ex-US) ETF by 22.21%. The purchase prices were between $28.5 and $30.33, with an estimated average price of $29.7. The stock is now traded at around $28.735000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.98%. The holding were 6,124,701 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: SPDR Semiconductors ETF (XSD) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in SPDR Semiconductors ETF by 331.41%. The purchase prices were between $193.63 and $248.75, with an estimated average price of $227.9. The stock is now traded at around $187.490000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.21%. The holding were 37,753 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (SOXX) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund by 373.29%. The purchase prices were between $433.84 and $555.47, with an estimated average price of $503.22. The stock is now traded at around $445.720000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.21%. The holding were 16,849 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 47.81%. The purchase prices were between $38.9 and $39.95, with an estimated average price of $39.49. The stock is now traded at around $38.625000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.16%. The holding were 433,423 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: Entergy Corp (ETR) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in Entergy Corp by 221.98%. The purchase prices were between $100.34 and $112.65, with an estimated average price of $105.22. The stock is now traded at around $109.880000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.13%. The holding were 57,167 shares as of 2021-12-31. Added: Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA) ARGI Investment Services, LLC added to a holding in Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc by 278.44%. The purchase prices were between $43.72 and $52.25, with an estimated average price of $48.45. The stock is now traded at around $49.760000. The impact to a portfolio due to this purchase was 0.13%. The holding were 117,350 shares as of 2021-12-31. Sold Out: Invesco Solar ETF (TAN) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in Invesco Solar ETF. The sale prices were between $73.76 and $100.53, with an estimated average price of $87.74. Sold Out: ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in ARK Next Generation Internet ETF. The sale prices were between $114.71 and $156.93, with an estimated average price of $137.79. Sold Out: Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF. The sale prices were between $68.87 and $94.84, with an estimated average price of $81.29. Sold Out: Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (PEG) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. The sale prices were between $59.28 and $66.73, with an estimated average price of $63.36. Sold Out: SPS Commerce Inc (SPSC) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in SPS Commerce Inc. The sale prices were between $132.75 and $173.12, with an estimated average price of $149.45. Sold Out: Fulgent Genetics Inc (FLGT) ARGI Investment Services, LLC sold out a holding in Fulgent Genetics Inc. The sale prices were between $77.3 and $105, with an estimated average price of $88.16. Here is the complete portfolio of ARGI Investment Services, LLC. Also check out: 1. ARGI Investment Services, LLC's Undervalued Stocks 2. ARGI Investment Services, LLC's Top Growth Companies, and 3. ARGI Investment Services, LLC's High Yield stocks 4. Stocks that ARGI Investment Services, LLC keeps buyingThis article first appeared on GuruFocus .
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
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Trend: up || Prices: 42190.65, 41247.82, 41078.00, 42358.81, 42892.96, 43960.93, 44348.73, 44500.83, 46820.49, 47128.00
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Cryptocurrency market cap falls by $8 billion in light of Bitfinex’s Tether scandal: The entire cryptocurrency market cap fell by $8 billion overnight in light of the ongoing Tether and Bitfinex scandal. In a press-release published by the New York Attorney General’s office, it was alleged that Bitfinex had “engaged in a cover-up to hide the loss of $850 million in client and corporate funds”. “Our investigation has determined that the operators of the ‘Bitfinex’ trading platform, who also control the ‘tether’ virtual currency, have engaged in a cover-up to hide the apparent loss of $850 million dollars of co-mingled client and corporate funds,” said Attorney General Lelita James. “New York state has led the way in requiring virtual currency businesses to operate according to the law. And we will continue to stand-up for investors and seek justice on their behalf when misled or cheated by any of these companies.” Bitfinex Respond to New York Attorney General's Actions https://t.co/snxHU2yeb5 — Bitfinex (@bitfinex) April 26, 2019 Bitfinex issued a response to the court order, claiming that the filings were “written in bad faith and riddled with false assertions”. The exchange wrote in an official statement: “On the contrary, we have been informed that these Crypto Capital amounts are not lost but have been, in fact, seized and safeguarded. We are and have been actively working to exercise our rights and remedies and get those funds released. Sadly, the New York Attorney General’s office seems to be intent on undermining those efforts to the detriment of our customers”. $215 million longs #rekt #BitMEX pic.twitter.com/6954siepod — Nawaz Sulemanji (@coinrivetnawaz) April 25, 2019 The markets reacted impulsively to the news, with Bitcoin falling from $5,500 to $4,950 before finding a level of support, while Ethereum went from $165 to $150. Story continues The move to the downside comes on the back of a bullish month for the cryptocurrency asset class. Bitcoin tested new yearly high in April by rising to $5,650, but the latest price-action to the downside will have negative implications on the potential of entering the first phase of a bull market reversal. More than $215 million in long positions were liquidated on derivatives exchange, BitMEX, during last night’s fall from grace, with several analysts suggesting that this could be a catalyst for further downside action over the coming weeks and months. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Cryptocurrency market cap falls by $8 billion in light of Bitfinex’s Tether scandal appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Cyber Saturday—Marcus Hutchins' Guilty Plea, Google Nest Camera Security, '768k Day' Is the New 'Y2K': What justice should be served to Marcus Hutchins?
The twenty-something British security researcher, better known by his online alias “MalwareTech,” gained international acclaim when he accidentally stopped aglobe-circling, business-crippling, North Korean-sprung cyberattackin 2017. Later that year, the United Statesarrested Hutchinsat a Las Vegas airport and charged him with years earlier conspiring to create and sell login credential-stealing malware, dubbedKronos, aimed at draining people’s bank accounts. Suddenly, the white hat hacker’s sterling reputation turned a shade of grey.
This week Hutchinspleaded guiltyto two counts under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Wiretap Act, both of which carry maximum penalties of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. (The government said it would dismiss other counts against Hutchins in exchange for his guilty plea.) In astatement posted to his blog, Hutchins wrote that he regretted his actions and accepted full responsibility for his mistakes. “Having grown up, I’ve since been using the same skills that I misused several years ago for constructive purposes,” he said. “I will continue to devote my time to keeping people safe from malware attacks.”
Now as Hutchins faces sentencing, some commentators argue that he should be let off the hook. TheNew York Times‘ Sarah Jeong contends that Hutchins should begranted a pardon, given his apparently newfound moral sense and his role (temporarily) halting the so-called WannaCry cyberattack. “His conviction sends the wrong message about whether or not it pays to mend your ways and, when the moment comes, to do the right thing,” she writes.
I agree with this sentiment, but not with the conclusion. Hutchins’ good deed was, by his own admission,accidental. While investigating WannaCry’s code, he registered a web domain that, by a stroke of luck, sinkholed the attack. (Of course, had he not done so, it’s possible he would have continued to fly under the radar of law enforcement.)
While it’s true that Hutchinsappeared to have turned over a new leafby the time he inadvertently helped combat WannaCry, he should not get off scot-free. Hutchins’ transgressions causedrealharmtoinnocentpeople. As my colleague Jeff John Robertswrote in this newslettertwo years ago, “just because he stopped WannaCry doesn’t give him a free pass to commit bank fraud (if that’s what he did) any more than a heroic deed will excuse a gunman from robbing a convenience store.”
What’s fair then? The judge should, in my view, deliver a lenient sentencing that offers ample opportunity to earn reduced time through public service. There is a troubling shortage of cybersecurity expertise in the global workforce, and this researcher’s skills could be put to good use fighting crime. Hutchins, a smart person with unusual talents, did some exceedingly stupid things in his youth; if he has indeed changed his ways, let him prove his sincerity.
Robert Hackett
@rhhackett
robert.hackett@fortune.com
Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet,Fortune’s daily tech newsletter.Fortunereporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach Robert Hackett viaTwitter,Cryptocat,Jabber(see OTR fingerprint on myabout.me), PGP encrypted email (see public key on myKeybase.io),Wickr,Signal, or however you (securely) prefer. Feedback welcome.
1. THREATSStop callin’, stop callin’, I don’t wanna talk anymore.The National Security Agency has recommended that the White House abandon a controversial surveillance program that collected U.S. phone and text metadata, arguing that the costs—and associated public relations headaches—outweigh the benefits,reports theWallStreet Journal. This is a 180-degree-turn for the agency, which previously argued the once-secret program was essential to fighting terrorism. Legal authority for the program, which got its start following the attacks on September 11th, 2001, will expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews it.Throw the (Face)book at them.Facebook said it is expecting to be slapped with a (big, but small) fine from the Federal Trade Commissiontotaling between $3 billion and $5 billionfor data privacy violations. Other countries’ regulatorsare circling too. Meanwhile, the companyhired a new general counsel, Jennifer Newstead, a Trump-appointed State Department official who, earlier in her career, helped write the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation that greatly expanded the government’s authority to conduct electronic surveillance.Apple vs. FBI.At aTimemagazine event, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the Federal Bureau of Investigation acted in a “very dishonest manner” when it tried to force the company to unlock a terrorist’s iPhone in 2016. He described the legal case the bureau brought against Apple as “very rigged.” Speaking of the FBI,some furor has eruptedover the agency’s decision not to reveal which cybersecurity experts informed its view of encryption.Show me the Huawei.The Chinese telecom giant sought to tamp down concerns over itsopaque ownership structure—which some people believe may conceal government ties��in a press conference this week. The Central Intelligence Agency counts itself a skeptic, warning other nations’ spy chiefs that Huawei does indeed bear close ties to the Chinese government,reports Britain’sThe Times. Meanwhile, a group of cybersecurity experts is warning the public that if U.S. and allied nations allow Huawei to provide gear for next generation 5G networks, “the risks are incalculable” and “mitigation is impossible.”See? Aye, eh.Share today’s Cyber Saturday with a friend:http://fortune.com/newsletter/cybersaturday/Looking for previous Data Sheets? Clickhere
2. ACCESS GRANTEDThe calls are coming from inside the house.Hackers are subverting home security cameras, a technology designed to keep intruders out, for the purposes of virtual breaking and entering.The Washington Post’sReed Albergottihighlights the repercussions of so-called credential stuffing, a technique hackers use to hijack accounts and devices by testing out passwords leaked in online data dumps. The article raises a skin-prickling question: Are Internet-connected hardware-makers, such as Google’s Nest division, sacrificing security for the sake of user experience?undefined
3. FORTUNE RECONWhy You Should Use a Password Managerby Lance WhitneyKamala Harris: Cyber Attacks Will Become a ‘War Without Blood’by Renae ReintsBitcoin Accounts for 95% of Cryptocurrency Crimeby Jen WiecznerThe U.S. Is Losing Its Crusade Against Huaweiby David MeyerTrump’s Requests for Clinton Emails Led to Dark Web and Hackersby Erik LarsonLaw Enforcement Shouldn’t Rely Entirely on A.I. to Decide Whether to Detain Suspects, Report Saysby Jonathan Vanian
4. ONE MORE THINGThe new Y2K bug.Some recent news reports haveraised an alarmabout an upcoming event, expected to transpire within a month, called “768k day.” The name derives from the limited memory available on outdated networking gear that is needed to store necessary Internet routing directions. If the limit is exceeded on many machines, the event could cause Internet outages—as happened across the Internet on August 12, 2014, or “512k day.”But before you get too concerned, experts are pushing back, calling the threatoverhyped. Remember the Y2K bug, anyone? || Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett Offers Fresh Metaphor for Bitcoin as a ‘Seashell’: Outspoken crypto critic and Berkshire Hathaway CEOWarren Buffetthas again deridedbitcoin(BTC) for its purported lack of real use value, likening the coin to a seashell that “just sits there.”
Buffett used this latest cryptocurrency metaphor during a press meeting ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, CNBCreportedon May 4.
The CEO — who also serves as chairman of the~$248 billion revenuemultinational holding conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway — is well-known for his scathing stance toward cryptocurrencies, memorablycharacterizingbitcoin as "probably rat poison squared" during last year’s shareholders’ meeting. In his latest remarks, Buffett claimed:
“It doesn’t do anything. It just sits there. It’s like a seashell or something, and that is not an investment to me.”
To further illustrate his view of the coin as a merely speculative asset, Buffett reportedly stated:
“I’ll tear off a button here. What I’ll have here is a little token...I’ll offer it to you for $1000, and I’ll see if I can get the price up to $2000 by the end of the day...But the button has one use and it’s a very limited use.”
While reserving his ritual opprobrium toward bitcoin, Buffett — who has earned the moniker of the “Oracle of Ohama” for his ostensibly astute investment picks — did offer more positive remarks forblockchaintechnology. He is reported to have acknowledged its promise, stating that:
“Blockchain...is very big, but it didn’t need bitcoin. J.P. Morgan of course came out with their own cryptocurrency.”
In a further report on Buffett’s latest remarks, Bloombergcitesthe business magnate as saying that the speculative fervor around bitcoin reminds him of watching gamblers at Vegas. Buffett reportedly professed that the phenomenon broadly reassures him that he can make a profit in a society where people continue to speculate despite knowing they are likely to lose.
While Buffet’s vice chairman Charlie Munger has echoed the CEO’s opinion with his own asides — dismissing the bitcoin market and purported FOMO that drives it as being akin totrading turds— their self-proclaimed disciple Chamath Palihapitiya has disparaged their hardline stance.
Palihapitiya — the founder and CEO of VC firm Social Capital Palihapitiya —arguedin May 2018 that “technology is not in his circle of competence” in reference to Buffett, and that both chairmen are mistaken in their aversion to cryptocurrency innovation.
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• Grayscale to Launch Pro-Bitcoin Ads ‘Drop Gold’ on Social Media, Linear TV || Bitcoin congestion is increasing: What’s going on?: Bitcoin’s price action over the past few days has come at a slight cost. As we saw during the height of the 2017-2018 bull run, whenever Bitcoin becomes popular, its transaction fees skyrocket. Not only that, but the mempool – or the memory pool where unconfirmed transactions are stored – is also getting bigger. BTC transaction fees have soared to a new 11-month high. At the time of writing, the average Bitcoin transaction fee is about $2.50. That’s up from $0.75 earlier in May – which itself is still some way above the yearly low of $0.17. Bitcoin transaction fee movement The chart above shows Bitcoin’s transaction fees for the past six months. Now compare that to the Bitcoin price trajectory over the same time period (which you can find here ) and we see a clear correlation. The peak transaction fee of $2.50 was recorded on May 12. The median transaction fee also peaked on the same day. Those fees apply to an average transaction value of just $409, according to Bitinfocharts. That may only equate to fees of 0.36% of the amount presented, but anyone looking to send a substantially lower sum would still have to pay roughly the same transaction fee. Bitcoin transaction fees are not dependent on the amount sent, but on the total number of transactions happening in that moment. In other words, fees rise when the blocks on the blockchain get too full. Only so many transactions can fit into Bitcoin’s 1MB blocks. Full blocks result in higher transaction fees, as holders must now compete to get their transactions through in time. Not only that, but the number of transactions not being approved begins to increase. Are Bitcoin blocks full? According to data from Bitinfocharts, the BTC block size has been pushed close to its limits for the past three months. We can see in the chart above that the number of unconfirmed transactions keeps rising, as it clearly mimics surges in Bitcoin’s price action. This means any time there’s a BTC price surge, we should expect transaction fees and the number of unconfirmed transactions to rise. At the moment, blocks seem quite close to being full, which is another trigger for an increase in unconfirmed transactions and fees. Meanwhile, the number of Bitcoiners using SegWit to move money is perched above 40%, and there are little signs of more addresses joining in the meantime – which is a total shame if you ask me. SegWit adoption SegWit refers to nodes on the Bitcoin blockchain that strip out certain data from transactions in order to reduce their size. This in turn allows for more transactions to fit in a single block. SegWit blocks can expand to 4MB, and according to optimists, they will be able to handle millions of transactions per second when paired with the Lightning Network. Story continues However, SegWit has drawn plenty of controversy. Many question its security due to the fact that it doesn’t operate fully on the blockchain. Rather, SegWit nodes – or ‘channels’ – are opened up, allowing nodes to validate certain data without sending it to the blockchain. In essence, you can use a hash to validate bits of information without committing said data to be fully verified on the blockchain. What’s interesting is that, looking above, we seem to be stalling in terms of adoption. Could it be due to the ongoing block size debate? Right now, the Bitcoin community is divided between ‘big-blockers’ who want to scale Bitcoin on-chain and ‘small-blockers’ who want to move everything over to SegWit and the Lightning Network (off-chain solutions). Two of the most influential proponents of the first solution are Roger Ver and Craig Wright, while key supporters of the second solution lie within the Bitcoin core community and core programmers like Greg Maxwell and Jimmy Song. The legacy of this debate, which started around 2015, can still be felt to this day. The entire Bitcoin Cash hard fork saga was based around the same contentions. And as some of you remember, Bitcoin’s adoption of SegWit was the reason that Bitcoin Cash (BCH) split off and became its own coin in the first place. Bringing this back to very recent events, there’s even a feasible idea circulating that SegWit was inadvertently responsible for the latest Binance hack. Interestingly, over 99% of the stolen BTC was sent to a SegWit address on Binance. Since Binance has not yet adopted SegWit, there’s a strong possibility that its security safeguards weren’t able to register the transaction. You can see more below as discussed by Ivan on Tech. Don’t forget the most important advice out there: “Not your keys, not your coins.” Safe trades! The post Bitcoin congestion is increasing: What’s going on? appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments || Investors: Stick With Tech ETFs This Summer: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
Like other cyclical sectors, the technology sector has recently been stung by the flareup in trade tensions between the U.S. and China. While that is an obvious headwind for exchange traded funds, such as theiShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) , some market observers are recommending investors stick with tech this summer.
IYW reflects the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Information Technology Index, which includes all tech sector picks in the Dow Jones U.S. Index. Due to the Dow Jones’ classification of information tech names, healthcare technology stocks may be included while payment technology stocks are excluded.
“'Sell in May and go away' is an old maxim for investors. Evidence is mixed on its validity, but given this year’s rally, the temptation now is understandable, particularly given the recent volatility driven by renewed trade conflicts with China,” said BlackRockin a recent note. “Our take: sure, consider taking some profits and rotating into exposures that offer more resilience if volatility returns. Think of it as the investor version of a 'staycation' an opportunity to catch up on chores. But overall, we would not abandon equities.”
Time To Tap Tech?
When considering a sector pick, investors should still do their due diligence. For example, one should survey macro economic environment and analyze business cycles, position according to changes in certain macroeconomic variables, identify secular industry trends, harness long-term growth rends within a particular segment, evaluate sector fundamentals, position towards areas that show attractive valuations and overweight or underweight sectors based on recent performance.
For the companies that have reported first-quarter earnings thus far in the technology sector, 78.9% have beaten EPS estimates and 71.1% beat revenue estimates. For investors who aren’t already allocated into the tech sector, there are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to take advantage of–all with their own spin on allocation.
“We remain overweight U.S. equities, and one of our favored sectors is technology. Even with strong performance this year, we believe the sector remains appealing,” according to BlackRock. “Technology firms tend to have strong balance sheets and healthy earnings trends, as well as enjoying support from longer-term trends. These are all attractive qualities in a late economic cycle. Furthermore, tech stocks have historically fared well through various yield curve regimes.”
For more market trends, visitETF Trends.
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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || South Korean Post Teams Up With Crypto Exchange to Apply Blockchain: South Koreas national postal service Korea Post is planning to apply blockchain technology to its billing system, local news agency News1 Korea reports on June 5. The initiative is a collaboration between the South Korean government and local private companies including cryptocurrency exchange Coinplug and global IT company NHN . According to the report, South Korean authorities will grant project participants 800 million won ($677,000) in order to support the initiative. Operating under the authority of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Post will build a blockchain-powered payment method incorporated in its postal service, using the blockchain expertise of Coinplug and NHN's payment technology. The pilot project will reportedly launch in the city of Naju , which received the title of "Innovative City" and has attracted a number of public offices to move from Seoul . The postal service is also considering to apply blockchain technology to overseas remittances, the report notes. Coinplug is a South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in June 2013. The exchange offers bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange and wallet services, as well as a bitcoin prepaid card okBitcard. The exchange was reportedly set up by South Korean and Silicon Valley engineers, and targets the Korean and Asian market. Recently, the South Korean Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the agency will conduct a follow-up study on blockchain regulations. Entitled Blockchain Regulation Improvement Study Group, the study intends to find out how regulations can be improved in order to embrace the benefits of the technology and to bring it to mass adoption. Related Articles: Marshall Islands Form Dedicated Fund to Support Implementation of Its National Crypto Top South Korean Utility to Co-Develop Blockchain System for Renewable Energy Certificates Brazilian State-Owned Bank Funds Documentary via Its Own Ethereum-Based Token US Congressmen Urge Presidential Economic Advisor to Hold Blockchain Forum || E-cash inventor David Chaum on making a comeback, pre-empting bitcoin, and keeping Satoshi anonymous: David Chaum occupies a peculiar position in the peculiar world of crypto. He isn't one of the teen-genius cryptographers or a 20-something blockchain CEO. He moves among the upper echelons of "insiders," but also seems to remain staunchly on the periphery. He's an OG, but also a novelty.
But regardless of the 63-year-old's status today, his place in crypto history is undisputed. Having founded DigiCash in 1989, the world's first electronic money system, he is known as the forethinker of digital currencies. He holds that crown tightly, withDigiCash having made him a temporary icon. "People recognised me in the 90's because of all the media attention ... I was clearly way ahead of anyone else doing it," he tells The Block in Paris.He's not exaggerating; Chaum's invention of adigital bearer instrument (DBI) offered individuals the right to transfer virtual assets without having to share personal information (as with physical cash; there are no records of whose hands it passes through).
While DigiCash never gained traction with users - a victim of the pre-internet era - Chaum has now returned to the limelight with his own bitcoin competitor, Elixxir - a DBI-based blockchain.
"I get this feeling like I really should have been more active in this space earlier. But the truth is, we built Elixxir privately and then only started talking about it once it was really working," he says. "I guess I’m a little bit old fashioned," a nod to the fact the crypto space has seen much preemptive hype.
He describes Elixxir as 'WeChat with blockchain inside'; using the China-based payments & social media app as the central inspiration. Elixxir then brings the added benefits of offering secure dApps over normal apps "that are [] limited by their inability to keep secrets" and sell people's metadata; a powerful combination Chaum believes his peers have neglected.
“It’s been essentially proven that in order to achieve [crypto adoption] you need a messaging system that allows payments...That's why all the major messaging platforms are fanatically trying to integrate payments," he says. But Elixxir wants to go further by offering privacy too. "Facebook raised the notion of metadata to a level where the public were aware of it... I think it’s struck a nerve with the general public.”
The Elixxir blockchain is yet to launch, with no fixed timeline in sight beyond an upcoming BetaNet. It promises significantly fast and more energy-efficiency transactions,reducing the competition among nodes by treating them equally rather than a mining system.
"We’ve found a superior way to do all the key things: consensus, integration of messaging and payments," he says, arguing modern blockchains' abandonment of DBI-enabled solutions is a "step backwards" for privacy andinformation-ownership.
In fairness, he has a sizeable foot to stand on with his claims; academics who unearthed his 1982 dissertation at Berkeley found key similarities with Satoshi's Bitcoin 2009 whitepaper. "All the elements were anticipated in that [unpublished] 1982 thesis, except proof of work."
But there's a big difference - Chaum is a public figure of sorts, while Satoshi is not. His identity at least hasn't been confirmed (though several claim to be the brains behind the name). But Chaum says it's better to keep it that way.
"I live in LA and the LA motto is it’s all about telling a good story. Satoshi - it’s part of the story. It’s helpful to galvanise people."
"The whitepaper was responsible for creating a community," he said.
Chaum also adds that the story is a long way from being complete, noting the extraordinary amount of work still to be done. And, he notes, Satoshi's vision is a long way off being realised, with Bitcoin having become more of a "store of value."
"The instinct was right, the first ten words of creating a peer-to-peer consumer cash. But it didn't turn out that way."
While we may never know who Satoshi is, there is something reassuring about being able to speak to his (or her) precursor. Chaum is a rarity among interviewees, delivering long, pensive pauses before answering, and openly admitting when he feels ill-equipped to answer a question outside of his expertise. For what it's worth, he also says he's still in the space out of "pure altruism", having endured personal sacrifice to commit his career to his the concept of a usable digital currency.
He may be outside the main hub of crypto elite, but something seems to suggest that Chaum has chosen it that way; at least in part. || Market Crash Warning - The Trap Door Has Opened: I love reading about all the good news in the market. This past week, we saw U.S. jobless claims dip to 211,000, and they are now near half-century lows. We also saw U.S. consumer sentiment reach a 15-year high. So, what could go wrong? Well, as Professor Hernan Cortes Douglas, former Luksic Scholar at Harvard University, former Deputy Research Administrator at the World Bank, and former Senior Economist at the IMF, noted: . . . financial markets never collapse when things look bad. In fact, quite the contrary is true. Before contractions begin, macroeconomic flows always look fine. That is why the vast majority of economists always proclaim the economy to be in excellent health just before it swoons. Moreover, the fact that consumer sentiment is hitting major highs is often a warning to the financial markets. As Alan Greenspan also noted: "The cause of economic despair, however, is human nature’s propensity to sway from fear to euphoria and back, a condition that no economic paradigm has proved capable of suppressing without severe hardship. Regulation, the alleged effective solution to today’s crisis, has never been able to eliminate history’s crises." And, when the market made a new all-time high in April, and some of the major banks and analysts were still calling for a “melt-up” to begin at that time, it seemed quite clear we were hitting euphoric levels, especially with the market rallying non-stop off the December 2018 lows. In fact, when Apple , Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL ) hit the 215 region on the first day of May, many thought me crazy for shorting it at that time, especially when it was hitting those highs after what was supposedly a phenomenal earnings announcement. But, that has been one heck of a profitable trade for which I was supposedly crazy to enter. Indeed, we were seeing points of euphoria throughout the market. I have also seen many note that one cannot foresee a black swan event which “causes” significant market declines. While they may be correct in suggesting that one may not be able to foresee an “event” before it occurs, but markets do not crash without warning. Rather, one needs to have a set up in place before that occurs. As Ralph Nelson Elliott correctly explained: Story continues "At best, news is the tardy recognition of forces that have already been at work for some time and is startling only to those unaware of the trend." And, currently, the market is setting up in a manner which can shave off hundreds of points in a very short period of time. While I cannot guarantee this will happen, as life offers no guarantees, I can alert you to the fact that the set up for such a decline is now in place. And, should some news event hit the wires to seemingly “cause” the market to drop precipitously over the coming weeks, please do not tell me this was a “black swan” event which was unforeseeable. The set up is currently in place. Moreover, we constantly track the market in our service, and will be following the market down in order to make sure the impending drop follows through as expected. Should we see any counter indications, we will adjust accordingly in real time. That is the beauty of our Fibonacci Pinball methodology, as it keeps us on the correct side of the trend the significant majority of the time, and provides us early warning as to when we may be wrong so that we can adjust rather quickly. While the micro structure can still push us higher towards the 2855/60 region, and maybe even stretch us as high as the 2900/20SPX region over the coming week, the next time we break down below the lows we struck this past week will suggest that the market is falling through an opened trap door. And, assuming we follow through immediately below 2770SPX, that can present us with a waterfall event similar to what was seen in the fall of 2018, in January of 2016, in August of 2015, and in August of 2011. The same set up is now in place. But, as I have said before – fret not. This drop will be a major buying opportunity to load up on the long side, as it will set us up for our trip to 3500SPX+ that I expect as we look towards the 2022/23 time frame. I would like to take this moment to recognize all those that gave their lives in the service of our country. It is due to your and your families’ sacrifice that we are blessed to live in peace and comfort, while enjoying the freedoms provided by the framers of our Constitution. To you, we owe a debt of gratitude which we will never be able to repay. So, the least I can do is salute you this weekend, and also show appreciation to all those who have served and who currently serve in the armed forces. And, yes, I include my own beloved father who served in both the Israeli and American armies, as well as one of my sons who currently serves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. View charts illustrating Avi's wave counts on the S&P 500. Avi Gilburt is a widely followed Elliott Wave analyst and founder of ElliottWaveTrader.net , a live trading room featuring his analysis on the S&P 500, precious metals, oil & USD, plus a team of analysts covering a range of other markets. He recently founded FATRADER.com , a live forum featuring some of the top fundamental analysts online today to showcase research and elevate discussion for traders & investors interested in fundamental rather than technical analysis. Image sourced from Pixabay See more from Benzinga The Fed Is Caught Behind The Curve Bitcoin's Strong Extensions Warn The Bear May Try To Come Back Are You Being Tossed Around By The China News? © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Politics Weigh On Health Care ETFs: In a year in which U.S. stocks have been roaring higher, it’s been hard to find pockets of the market that are doing poorly. The S&P 500 has surged 16.7% so far in 2019, sitting close to record highs, and each of the 11 stock market sectors is up—except one. The exception is health care. Measured by the Health Care Select Sector SDPR Fund (XLV) , health care slipped 0.26% in the year-to-date period through April 22, lagging far behind each of the other sectors. Utilities, the second-worst-performing sector, gained 9% in the same period, while every other sector was up double digits, including top-performing technology, with a 26.3% return. Sector Returns Ticker Fund YTD Return (%) XLK Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund 26.25 XLI Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund 21.91 XLE Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund 20.57 XLY Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund 20.42 XLC Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund 19.81 SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 16.65 XLF Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund 15.02 XLB Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund 14.17 XLRE Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund 14.01 XLP Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund 12.64 XLU Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund 8.96 XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund -0.26 Data measures total returns for the year-to-date period through April 22. Political Overhang Health care’s stark underperformance compared with the broader stock market is the worst since 1993, according to Bloomberg. That was the year in which President Clinton tried to push a sweeping health care reform bill through Congress. The bill never became law, but at the time, it raised worries that profits for the health care industry could take a hit. A similar thing happened in 2010, when the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, actually became law thanks to Democrats’ control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress. Health care lagged the S&P 500 by 5.3% that year. Story continues Then again in 2016, during a bitter election year in which both leading candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, bashed the industry for keeping drug costs too high, health care returned 4.4% less than the market. Election Cycle Volatility Clearly, as history suggests, volatility in health-care stocks and ETFs is not unusual in periods around major elections, or when far-reaching health care legislation has the potential to pass. “Volatility picks up for health care stocks around election cycles as sentiment moves around in reaction to different candidates’ plans for changing the health care sector, especially since health care benefits have been the key topic for voters since 2007,” said Brian Tanquilut, health care analyst at Jefferies. This year, that volatility has picked up early—more than a year and a half ahead of the U.S. elections— and vigorously, as certain candidates throw their support behind legislation that could completely transform the industry at the expense of health care firms. Medicare For All At the forefront of the movement to upend the health care status quo is Senator Bernie Sanders, who unveiled a “Medicare-for-All” bill earlier this month that is also being backed by several other Democratic presidential candidates. Medicare, in its current form, is a national health insurance program for the elderly. “This proposed piece of legislation would establish a national health insurance program to provide comprehensive protection against the cost of health care and health-related services,” explained Chris Meekins and Joseph Yanchunis, analysts at Raymond James. In other words, Medicare for all would establish a single-payer, government-run program that would eliminate most private insurance, say the analysts. End Of Private Insurance? If the Sanders bill were to pass, the effect on the health care industry would be profound. Medicare “is the low-cost payer to hospitals,” wrote Raj Denhoy and Anthony Petrone, medical device analysts at Jefferies. “If it becomes a bigger portion of the overall payor mix, hospitals will be under a lot of pressure to lower costs.” If “Medicare-for All” becomes the law of the land, the hospital industry could lose $800 billion over a decade; drug prices might be reduced by 30%; and the private insurance industry would be outlawed overnight, according to analysis by Raymond James’ Meekins and Yanchunis. It goes without saying that Medicare for all would be devastating for many health care stocks, and by extension, health care ETFs. Less Than 1% Chance The prospect of big changes to the health care industry might be scary for investors. But before you sell all your health care funds, understand that nothing is a done deal. The election is many months away, and there is no telling which presidential candidate will grab the Democratic nomination, let alone who will win the general election. That’s why Raymond James analysts believe there is less than 1% chance that Medicare for all actually becomes the law of the land in the next five years. If that’s the case, health care ETFs could end up being a bargain once the political dust settles. Long-Term Value Short-term movements aside, most analysts tend to agree that, barring sweeping changes to health care law in the U.S., the sector is a good long-term value after this year’s underperformance. For investors interested in potentially capturing that value, the aforementioned XLV is the obvious choice. The $17.4 billion ETF is the largest, most liquid health care fund on the market. However, for investors looking to take bolder bets on the segment, XLV may not be the best option. The actively managed $417 million ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) has trounced XLV so far this year, delivering a gain of 35.7% thanks to big bets on gene-related companies like Illumina, Invitae and Intellia Therapeutics. (Use our stock finder tool to find an ETF’s allocation to a certain stock.) Stocks of insurance companies—poised to be the biggest losers if Medicare for all becomes law—aren’t found in ARKG. Similarly, biotech funds like the ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO) , the Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF (BCC) and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) have done well, with double-digit returns. For a full list of the available health care ETFs and their year-to-date returns, see the table below: Health Care ETF YTD Returns Ticker Fund YTD Return (%) LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares 45.75 ARKG ARK Genomic Revolution ETF 35.70 KURE KraneShares MSCI All China Health Care Index ETF 31.71 CHIH Global X MSCI China Health Care ETF 29.36 CHNA Loncar China BioPharma ETF 25.44 SBIO ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF 19.69 BBP Virtus LifeSci Biotech Products ETF 18.51 UBIO ProShares UltraPro Nasdaq Biotechnology 18.40 BBC Virtus LifeSci Biotech Clinical Trials ETF 18.36 XBI SPDR S&P Biotech ETF 17.80 BTEC Principal Healthcare Innovators Index ETF 16.52 BIB ProShares Ultra NASDAQ Biotechnology 14.56 KMED KraneShares Emerging Markets Healthcare Index ETF 12.26 FBT First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund 9.88 PBE Invesco Dynamic Biotechnology & Genome ETF 9.60 IBB iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology ETF 8.46 BBH VanEck Vectors Biotech ETF 8.33 IHI iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF 7.65 XPH SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF 6.51 XHE SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF 6.21 CNCR Loncar Cancer Immunotherapy ETF 5.09 RYH Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF 4.95 FTXH First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF 4.55 PPH VanEck Vectors Pharmaceutical ETF 3.91 IEIH iShares Evolved U.S. Innovative Healthcare ETF 3.86 PTH Invesco DWA Healthcare Momentum ETF 3.84 IHE iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF 3.57 FXH First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX Fund 3.11 PSCH Invesco S&P SmallCap Health Care ETF 1.95 JHMH John Hancock Multifactor Healthcare ETF 1.59 IXJ iShares Global Healthcare ETF 1.47 FHLC Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF 1.35 VHT Vanguard Health Care ETF 1.31 IEHS iShares Evolved U.S. Healthcare Staples ETF 0.74 IYH iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF 0.48 RXL ProShares Ultra Health Care 0.37 XLV Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund -0.26 SLIM The Obesity ETF -0.60 PJP Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF -1.82 RXD ProShares UltraShort Health Care -1.90 XHS SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF -3.08 CURE Direxion Daily Healthcare Bull 3x Shares -4.58 IHF iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF -6.18 PILL Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X Shares -8.51 BIS ProShares UltraShort Nasdaq Biotechnology -17.65 ZBIO ProShares UltraPro Short Nasdaq Biotechnology -27.54 LABD Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares -48.06 Data measures total returns for the year-to-date period through April 22. Email Sumit Roy at sroy@etf.com or follow him on Twitter sumitroy2 Recommended Stories Swedroe: Active Mgmt Whiff On Factors Smart Beta Comes Full Circle ETF Prime Podcast: Bitcoin Back In Spotlight New Active ETFs Run With AI Permalink | © Copyright 2019 ETF.com. All rights reserved || Goxtrade Advertises Unaffiliated Staff and Misleading Contact Information: Purported bitcoin ( BTC ) exchange Goxtrade has been accused of being a scam , technology news publication TechCrunch reported on May 17. Chief among the reports revelations is that Goxtrade takes photos of unaffiliated people from social media sites and compiles them to make its online staff gallery. Goxtrade reportedly even retains some of their real names. Amber Baldet, co-founder of blockchain startup Clovyr, is one person whose name and picture were featured on Goxtrades staff roster. She responded to the appearance on Twitter : Fraud alert: I am not a developer at Goxtrade and probably their entire business is a lie. In addition to the fraudulent photos, TechCrunch reports that the company is not registered at its advertised address and it is absent from the United Kingdom s registry of companies and businesses. Moreover, some of Goxtrades contact information leads to unrelated entities. The advertised phone number of the company, for instance, directs to a now-defunct Birmingham clothing company. Its listed email address is associated with Russian internet company Yandex . As Cointelegraph reported , Hard Fork published a piece yesterday, May 16, alleging that blockchain startups RepuX and JoyToken conducted joint initial coin offering ( ICO ) exit scams . The two companies have reportedly disappeared with roughly $8 million in investment funds after refusing to pay promoters who helped market their ICOs. Related Articles: Blockchain Sister Startups Allegedly Pull $8 Million Exit Scam Hodlers Digest, May 1319: Top Stories, Price Movements, Quotes and FUD of the Week In for the Long Haul How the New Long-Term Stock Exchange Can Help the Crypto Industry Cryptocurrency Project OneCoin Denies Ponzi and Pyramid Scheme Claims
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Precio: $149,300.00
Fuente: @Bitso #Bitso #BTCMXN $btc
Hora: 2019-05-23 15:00:01 (GMT-6) || Never understood the lagging line (chinkou span) with ichimoku charts, but APPARENTLY it's used in conjunction with candles, meaning
Above candles: Bullish
Below candles: Bearish
$zec as an example, bullish (yellow line)
I thought that was really cool
#Zcash #bitcoin https://t.co/CrM9gyk7PW || You Suffer . . . But why !? Bitcoin just hit $7,937.86, time to remotely toggle your rig at home... #bitcoin || The current bitcoin price is 7914.13. || This team offers conditions at a first-class level. Best product I've ever experienced! #Shato || Long/Short Bitcoin movements with up to 100x Leverage at PrimeXBT! 🤩🤑
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$BIX - $DOGE - $BEAM - $STORJ - $XBT - $ABBC - $LINK - $AE - https://t.co/QUUqigxW8u || @LomaCrypto Alts dominance is increasing and looking to break resistance.
$BTC dominance down week on week.
Dollar cost Average into Alts whilst BTC is shaky || #BTC #BCH #DTA Blockchain will be used in collecting urban and administrative data around Seoul, which will be useful to figure out where to provide new services for the ...Read more: https://t.co/odj8KEZ8nM || One Bitcoin now worth $7924.402. Market Cap $140.368 Billion. Based on #coindesk BPI #bitcoin || @LitecoinTips @Crypto_Bitlord Just buy Bitcoin
|
Trend: up || Prices: 9320.35, 9081.76, 9273.52, 9527.16, 10144.56, 10701.69, 10855.37, 11011.10, 11790.92, 13016.23
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2021-11-12]
BTC Price: 64155.94, BTC RSI: 57.06
Gold Price: 1867.90, Gold RSI: 69.83
Oil Price: 80.79, Oil RSI: 49.69
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Support At 1.1690 In Sight: Euro Is Losing Ground At The Start Of The Week EUR/USD is currently trying to get below 1.1700 while the U.S. dollar is moving higher a broad basket of currencies. The U.S. Dollar Index is trying to get to the test of the nearest resistance level which is located at 93.40. A move above 93.40 will push the U.S. Dollar Index towards the resistance at 93.75 which will be bearish for EUR/USD. Today, foreign exchange market traders will have a chance to take a look at Durable Goods Orders report from U.S. which is expected to show that Durable Goods Orders increased by 0.7% month-over-month in August. Traders will also focus on general market sentiment. The U.S. dollar is trading near yearly highs, while Treasury yields are at multi-week high levels. Demand for the American currency is growing as traders prepare for the upcoming reduction of Fed’s asset purchase program which could be announced in early November. If Treasury yields gain additional upside momentum at the start of this week, U.S. dollar may get more support. Technical Analysis EUR/USD settled below the support at 1.1720 and is trying to get to the test of the next support level at 1.1690. In case EUR/USD manages to settle below the support at 1.1690, it will head towards the next support level which is located at 1.1660. A successful test of the support at 1.1660 will open the way to the test of the next support at 1.1630. If EUR/USD settles below this level, it will continue its downside move and head towards the next support level which is located at 1.1610. On the upside, the previous support level at 1.1720 will serve as the first resistance level for EUR/USD. A move above this level will push EUR/USD towards the next resistance which is located at the 20 EMA at 1.1750. In case EUR/USD gets above the 20 EMA, it will head towards the resistance at 1.1775. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Rangebound; Strengthens Over .7292, Weakens Under .7248 Oil Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Supply Driven Rally so API, EIA Numbers Take on Greater Importance Bitcoin Continues To Rebound At The Start Of The Week Daily Gold News: Monday, Sep. 27 – Gold Remains Close to $1,750 Price Level Price of Gold Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Tapering, Higher Rates are Coming; Don’t Fight the Federal Reserve Crude Oil Price Update – Strong Upside Momentum but Bulls Facing Wall of Resistance from $74.77 to $76.98 || Bitcoin $100,000 may be conservative, analyst says: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said recently bitcoin is worthless . Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said Thursday crypto isn't a fad, but isn't sure on the outlook for prices. Jurrien Timmer , Fidelity's director of global macro, is more clear-minded on the direction for bitcoin: $100,000 by 2023. "So this move up [in bitcoin] has come without the help of momentum chasers, which I think is a good sign because it means there is something else making bitcoin go up. And, that is fundamental demand for bitcoin and its network. When I come up with $100,000 [for bitcoin prices], that's a conservative estimate based on the intersections of my supply model and my demand model," Timmer said on Yahoo Finance Live . Many bitcoin bulls would argue $100,000 prices could be in the cards before year-end, judging by the recent trading activity in the benchmark crypto. Bitcoin prices have rallied back to levels not seen since May of this year amid hopes for greater institutional adoption and the potential for the SEC to sign off on new bitcoin ETFs soon. At $57,000, bitcoin prices have surged about 80% from the late July lows that were fueled by regulatory fears globally. Bitcoin prices are up nearly 18% in October alone. Bullish moves are being seen in other cryptos, too. Shiba Inu and ethereum are up 328% and 12%, respectively, over the past month. Timmer warns that just because the bulls have reclaimed crypto of late, it doesn't mean prices will go up every single day. There could still be volatile swings in crypto as it remains a very headline driven market, especially around likely regulation. "I think it will be resolved [regulation] over time, and will be a positive because it will legitimize the space. But there is volatility, which I don't think is going to go away because it's a feature of price inelasticity," Timmer added. Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance . Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn . Story continues Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , YouTube , and reddit || Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – EIA Reports 1M Inventory Build, Smaller than Expectations: U.S. West Texas Intermediate and international-benchmark Brent crude oil futures are trading flat shortly before the release of the government’s weekly inventories report. Traders are bracing for a reported draw in crude oil stocks after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an unexpected drop in supply late Tuesday. At 14:32 GMT, December WTI crude oil is trading $83.30, down $0.77 or -0.92%. Oil Prices Surge on Surprise Crude Draw The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported its first crude oil inventory draw in six weeks. The API estimated for the week-ending November 5, a crude oil draw of 2.485 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a build of 1.90-million barrels for the week. Despite six weeks of builds, U.S. crude inventories are still 60 million barrels below where they were at the beginning of the year – and low enough to continue to keep the upward pressure on the market. The API also reported a draw in gasoline inventories as well, of 552,000 barrels for the week ending November 5 – compared to the previous week’s 552,000-barrel draw. Distillate stocks saw an increase in inventories of 573,000 barrels for the week, on top of last week’s 573,000-barrel increase. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) official oil inventory data is expected to show a small build of 1.6 million barrels. Market Remains Tight Further underpinning the view the market remains tight, trading giant Vitol Group’s CEO, Russell Hardy, said on Tuesday that oil demand had returned to pre-pandemic levels and demand in the first quarter of 2022 could exceed 2019 levels. “The possibility of a spike to $100 per barrel is clearly there,” Hardy told the Reuters Commodities Summit. Daily Forecast In breaking news, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 1.0 million build in crude inventories for the week-ending November 5. While not as bullish as the API numbers, it should be enough to support the market although there could be some giveback of yesterday’s gains. Story continues There are two wildcards in the works. One is bullish and one is potentially bearish. On the bullish side, the EIA is reporting that crude oil demand is rebounding faster than supply, pushing prices higher. On the potentially bearish side, the market is still waiting to see if the Biden Administration releases crude and gasoline from the U.S. Strategic Reserve. If they do then the market could feel some short-term pressure. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT) Could Reach $300 After Recent Rally Big Money Loves Walking the Datadog! Bitcoin (BTC) Poised To Crack Above $70K After Refreshing ATHs Why Rivian Automotive Stock Is Set To Rally Today Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Looking for Buyers Alphabet Inc.’s Google Remains a Big Money Favorite || Industrial Automation Market to Hit USD 355.44 Billion by 2028; Increasing Adoption Discrete Automation to Augment Market Growth: Fortune Business Insights™: Companies Profiled in the Market: ABB Ltd. (Zürich, Switzerland), Emerson Electric Co. (Missouri, U.S.), General Electric Company (Massachusetts, U.S.), Honeywell International Inc. (North Carolina,U.S.), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Tokyo, Japan), Omron Corporation (Kyoto, Japan), Rockwell Automation Inc. (Wisconsin,U.S.), Schneider Electric SE (Rueil-Malmaison, France), Siemens AG (Munich, Germany), Yokogawa Electric Corporation
Pune, India, Oct. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global industrial automation market size is expected to gain momentum by reaching USD 355.44 billion by 2028 while exhibiting a CAGR of 9.2% between 2021 to 2028. In its report titled “Industrial Automation MarketSize, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Hardware (Sensors; PLC; HMI; Servo; Motor; Drive; Laser Markers; Safety Light Curtain; Robots), and Software), By Industry (Discrete Industry (Automotive; Electronics; Heavy Manufacturing; Packaging), and Process Industry (Oil & Gas; Chemicals; Pulp & Paper; Mining and Metals; Health Care), and Regional Forecast, 2021-2028”.Fortune Business Insights mentions that the market stood at USD 179.74 billion in 2020.
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With the advent of 5G wireless technology the demand for automation solutions across industries has increased dramatically. Moreover, due demand for Augmented Reality (AR), Digital Twin, and Industrial IoT is further boosting the market growth. Moreover, amid pandemic the purchasing manager index (PMI) indicated a decline in the manufacturing industry.
COVID-19 Impact
The outbreak of the coronavirus has affected the global economy adversely. The outbreak of the coronavirus is hastening the introduction of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), propelling businesses across sectors to a higher level of internet of things (IoT) technology and workflow In March 2020, the European Commission proposed a temporary framework that promoted the growth of advanced industry 4.0 solutions among small and medium-sized businesses.
List of Key Players Profiled in the Report
• ABB Ltd. (Zürich, Switzerland)
• Emerson Electric Co. (Missouri, U.S.)
• General Electric Company (Massachusetts, U.S.)
• Honeywell International Inc. (North Carolina,U.S.)
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Tokyo, Japan)
• Omron Corporation (Kyoto, Japan)
• Rockwell Automation Inc. (Wisconsin,U.S.)
• Schneider Electric SE (Rueil-Malmaison, France)
• Siemens AG (Munich, Germany)
• Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Tokyo, Japan)
Market Segmentation:
By component, the market is segmented into hardware, and software. By industry, the market is segmented into discrete industry, and process industry.
Lastly, in terms of geography, the market is divided into North America, Europe, South America Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.
What does the Report Provide?
The market report offers a comprehensive analysis of various factors such as the key drivers, and restraints which are likely to impact the market growth in upcoming years. The report also provides insights of different regions that are contributing to the growth of the market. It includes the competitive landscape that involves the leading companies and the adoption of strategies to introduce new products, announce partnerships, and collaboration to contribute to the market growth.
Click here to get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market. Please visit:
https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/industrial-automation-market-101589
Report Scope and Segmentation:
[{"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period", "Details": "2021 to 2028"}, {"Report Coverage": "Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR", "Details": "9.2 %"}, {"Report Coverage": "2028 Value Projectio4n", "Details": "USD 355.44 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Base Year", "Details": "2020"}, {"Report Coverage": "Market Size in 2020", "Details": "USD 179.74 Billion"}, {"Report Coverage": "Historical Data for", "Details": "2017 to 2019"}, {"Report Coverage": "No. of Pages", "Details": "160"}, {"Report Coverage": "Segments covered", "Details": "By Component, By Industry, By Geography, By Region."}, {"Report Coverage": "Growth Drivers", "Details": "Fourth Industrial Revolution to Embrace Partnerships and Collaborations in Global Market"}, ["Market Players Taking Active Initiative to Mitigate the Impact of Pandemic COVID-19 on Businesses"], ["Increasing Implementation of Digital Twins and AR Technology in Manufacturing to Favor the Market Growth"], {"Report Coverage": "Pitfalls & Challenges", "Details": "High Initial Capital Investments to Impede Market Growth"}]
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Driving Factor
Fourth Industrial Revolution to Drive Market Growth
With the increasing technology evolution, techno-savvy companies are coming up with new advanced technologies. For instance, in February 2020, Honeywell International Inc. and Tech Mahindra Limited made a partnership to come up with “Factories of the Future”. With this collaboration company aims, to accelerate the digital transformation journey by empowering manufacturers. Similarly, Siemens collaborated with SAP SE to offer industry4.0-enabled business processes to enterprises. These processes will allow building a digital thread for the complete product lifecycle, and such strategies are expected to drive the industrial automation market growth.
Regional Insights
Europe to Dominate Backed by Presence Highest Number of Robot Density
Europe is expected to remain at the forefront and hold the largest position in the market during the forecast period because, in European region, in Jan 2021, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) report mentioned that the Western Europe has 225 automated units per 10,000 employees and Nordic European Countries had 204 automated units per 10,000 employees, which is a maximum robot density worldwide. The region’s market stood at USD 57.85 billion in 2020.
North America is expected to showcase significant industrial automation market share in upcoming years, owing to the presence of advanced production and manufacturing capabilities by manufacturers in the region.
Competitive Landscape
Key Players to Focus on Acquisitions to Strengthen their Market Prospects
The market is consolidated by major companies striving to maintain their position by focusing on new launches, collaborations & partnerships and acquisitions. Such strategies taken up by key players are expected to strengthen its market prospects. Below is the industry development:
• June 2021-Rockwell Automation Inc. announced the acquisition of Plex Systems for USD 2.22 billion. Through this acquisition the company aims to expand industrial cloud offerings with Plex Systems’.
Quick Buy - Industrial Automation Market:https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101589
Table of Content:
• IntroductionDefinition, By SegmentResearch Methodology/ApproachData Sources
• Key Takeaways
• Market DynamicsMacro and Micro Economic IndicatorsDrivers, Restraints, Opportunities and TrendsImpact of COVID-19Short-term ImpactLong-term Impact
• Competition LandscapeBusiness Strategies Adopted by Key PlayersConsolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players
• Global Industrial Automation Key Players Market Share Insights and Analysis, 2020
• Key Market Insights and Strategic Recommendations
• Companies Profiled(Covered for key 10 players only)OverviewKey ManagementHeadquarters etc.Offerings/Business SegmentsKey Details(Subjected to data availability in public domain and/or on paid databases)Employee SizeKey FinancialsPast and Current RevenueGeographical ShareBusiness Segment ShareRecent Developments
• Annexure / AppendixGlobal Industrial Automation Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2017-2028By Component (USD)HardwareSensorsPhotoelectricLaserInductiveOthersPLCHMIServoMotorA.C.D.C.DriveLaser MarkersSafety Light CurtainRobotsSoftwareBy Industry (USD)Discrete AutomationAutomotiveElectronicsHeavy ManufacturingPackagingOthersProcess AutomationOil & GasChemicalsPulp & PaperMining & MetalsHealthcareOthersBy Region (USD)North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle East & AfricaLatin America
TOC Continued.
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Press Release -https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/industrial-automation-market-9329 || NFL teams up with Dapper Labs: Dapper Labs, creators of NBA Top Shot, is to launch a similar project for the National Football League where users will be able to buy and sell NFTs of NFL sports highlights. After funding $250m this past week, launching an NFT market for the NFL was a key move in funding further NFT projects across sports. In what is a shrewd business move, the NFL and the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA) will possess an equity stake in Dapper Labs per the agreement. The marketplace for the NFL-based NFTs is set to launch before the end of the current football season in January 2022. Dapper Labs also own the crypto derivative exchange FTX who signed an endorsement deal with Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones. Jones is one of a number of athletes to have partnered with FTX with NBA star Steph Curry and NFL great Tom Brady acting as brand ambassadors with the exchange. The deal with the NFL makes Dapper Labs the NFLPA’s second-largest source of digital licensing revenue , second only to the EA Sports ‘Madden’ video game series. Athletes entering crypto market With the cryptocurrency market constantly increasing in popularity, we’ve seen countless athletes invest in the industry and in a few cases, attempt to get paid in crypto. In May 2021, then-Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie attempted to tokenise his $34m contract but he was unsuccessful in his attempt but has since launched an app called Calaxy – aimed at content creators who wish to create personal crypto tokens. NFL veteran Russell Okung, a proud crypto-head, led a Bitcoin meetup for beginners back in 2019 and was vocal about the potential of Bitcoin in sports. View comments || AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Counter-Trend Buyers Defending .7363-.7317 Retracement Zone: The Australian Dollar is inching lower on Monday in a choppy, low-volume trade. The currency is being propped up by some technical buying after touching support on Friday. However, the Aussie is still nursing last week’s losses as global central bankers vowed to keep rates low defying pressure from markets’ interest rate projections amid surging inflation.
At 07:12 GMT, theAUD/USDis trading .7401, down 0.0002 or -0.02%
“The market continues to adjust to the RBA’s relatively dovish message, and there is likely to be a further shift in that direction given the global central bank messaging,” said Westpac’s strategist in a client note.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through .7360 will signal a resumption of the downtrend. A move through .7556 will change the main trend to up.
The minor trend is also down. A trade through .7471 will change the minor trend to up. This will also shift momentum to the upside.
The main range is .7170 to .7556. Its retracement zone at .7363 to .7317 is support. This area stopped the selling at .7360 on Friday.
The minor range is .7556 to .7360. Its 50% level at .7458 is the nearest resistance. Since the main trend is down, look for sellers on a test of this level.
The AUD/USD is also trading inside a long-term retracement zone at .7379 to .7499.
The direction of the AUD/USD on Monday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to .7379.
A sustained move over .7379 will indicate the presence of buyers. If this move is able to generate enough upside momentum then look for a surge into .7458. Look for sellers on the first test of this level. Taking it out could trigger a further move into the minor top at .7471.
A sustained move under .7379 will signal the presence of sellers. The first downside target is the support cluster at .7363-.7360.
If .7360 fails to hold then look for the selling to possibly accelerate into .7317. Counter-trend buyers could come in on a test of this level, but it’s also the trigger point for an acceleration to the downside.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Bitcoin Refreshes Monthly Highs Above $65K, Ether (ETH) Hits New ATH || Walmart Starts Bitcoin Pilot Through In-Store Coinstar ATMs — Report: By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com — Retail giant Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) has begun hosting bitcoin ATMs in dozens of its U.S. stores, according to a report from Coindesk.
The article on the Coindesk website stated that Walmart customers can purchase bitcoin from the Coinstar machines inside the company's large stores. Coindesk said it has verified that the machines work by buying a small amount of BTC.
Walmart's communications director Molly Blakeman said it was a pilot program with Coinme, which calls itself the largest cryptocurrency network.
Blakeman added that there are 200 Coinstar booths positioned inside Walmart stores in the U.S.
Coinstar is an American company that operates coin-cashing machines where you can exchange coins for notes. Through the partnership with crypto firm Coinme, they have built the ability for users to purchase bitcoin through the ATMs.
Users select the bitcoin option on the Coinstar machine, enter paper money, and receive a voucher with a bitcoin redemption code. They can then visit the Coinme site, create an account and redeem the BTC.
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Analysis-Investors denied their Ever-grande finale...for now || Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: Which Is a Better Buy?: It's no surprise that investors are interested in cryptocurrencies . They're among the best performing asset classes this year. And the crypto community has rallied around the emerging asset class, stirring hype that cryptocurrencies are the next big thing in finance. Bitcoin was first traded in 2009. Back then, you could buy one of the new digital tokens for less than 1 cent. Prices rose and rose -- albeit with a great deal of volatility over the years -- and as of Oct. 19, Bitcoin was near its all-time high of above $60,000. Ethereum debuted in 2015 at less than $3 and soared to more than $1,400 by 2018. At the time of this writing, Ethereum traded at more than $3,800. By comparison, General Electric Co. (ticker: GE ) shares were just under $3 in 1995, adjusting for dividends and stock splits since then. Today, it goes for about $104. Although they're the two biggest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, similarities more or less end there. Bitcoin and Ethereum are totally different animals, developed for different reasons and with different internal dynamics. But enough history -- investors want to know which is the better buy: Bitcoin or Ethereum? Here's a quick rundown of some of the biggest considerations regarding the investment outlook for each cryptocurrency. [ READ: Sign up for stock news with our Invested newsletter. ] Bitcoin The de facto cryptocurrency leader, no other coin even comes close to Bitcoin, which trades under BTC. Bitcoin's market cap now exceeds $1 trillion. The total market cap for all cryptocurrencies is roughly $2.5 trillion, and the second-most valuable digital currency is Ethereum, with a market value in the neighborhood of $450 billion. Here are some key things investors should know about BTC in the Bitcoin versus Ethereum investment debate: 1. It has the highest attention from large investors. The Winklevoss twins, the famous Harvard alumni who claim Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook Inc. ( FB ), famously tried to start a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund , but they were rebuffed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Story continues Crypto has been expanding as a widely accepted asset in the investing community. There has been a growing appetite for crypto investments from individual and institutional investors alike. This interest is only set to increase, as the SEC recently approved the first Bitcoin futures ETFs to go to market. 2. It has relative stability, simplicity and acceptance. A decentralized currency, beyond the grasp of the Federal Reserve or any other central bank and with a predefined maximum supply, is an attractive concept with which people worldwide can resonate. And in the case of Bitcoin, the market's high opinions of that concept have been thoroughly tested and validated over time. "Bitcoin is a scarce digital currency and store of value. While still volatile, it tends to be one of the most stable cryptocurrencies, with the longest history, and has been the most consistent and best performing investment asset year after year for the last 10 years," says Steve Ehrlich, CEO and co-founder at Voyager Digital, a cryptoasset broker. Alex Adelman, CEO and co-founder of Lolli, the first Bitcoin rewards application allowing people to earn bitcoin while shopping online, emphasizes the one-of-a-kind role the coin plays. "We believe that Bitcoin is a revolutionary currency that's digitally scarce, that anyone in the world can participate in, which is unique to anything else," Adelman says. 3. There is limited supply. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins. That known limit to global supply is a core reason some investors consider the cryptocurrency akin to digital gold. Unlike gold, however, newly discovered reserves aren't possible, and nearly 90% of bitcoins, or 18.6 million, have already been mined. The rate of new BTC creation also gets slower over time through a process known as bitcoin halving , which cuts the pace of bitcoin creation in half every 210,000 block transactions. The last bitcoin halving was in May 2020; at the current pace, the next halving will be sometime in 2024. [ SEE: Investing in Moonshots: 7 Emerging Technologies to Watch. ] Ethereum Before asking yourself " Should I buy Bitcoin or Ethereum ?" you should understand the different motivations behind Bitcoin and Ethereum, or ETH. 1. Ethereum has a different goal than Bitcoin. The two leading cryptocurrencies have drastically different use cases and goals, with Ethereum operating as a decentralized network on top of which applications can be built. Many cryptocurrency tokens are actually issued over the Ethereum network. "When people compare Bitcoin and Ethereum, it's a bit like comparing gold with electricity. They are both valuable but have very different uses," Adelman says. "Ethereum is infrastructure. It is a blockchain that is in the early days but has the potential to revolutionize finance and technology." The ability to use the Ethereum platform to change the way mortgage transfers, securities trading and many other fields work has helped bring about its next characteristic. 2. There is more development. Naturally, because Ethereum's utility is limited only by the ingenuity of the world's developers, there's more activity surrounding the platform. Technically, the cryptocurrency used to facilitate Ethereum transactions is called "ether," but it's popularly referred to as ethereum. Either way, the number of Ethereum-related repositories on the developer platform Github is 263, to Bitcoin's four. Repositories are similar to project folders where developers collaborating through Github can access project information. 3. There's a fundamental change in how blocks are created. Instead of miners with the most computing power having the greatest advantage in successfully creating new tokens, those with the largest ownership stakes are now granted that right. "Ethereum has been updated to mint new ETH through a process called proof of stake (PoS)," says Daniel Polotsky, CEO and founder of CoinFlip, a Bitcoin ATM operator. "With PoS, users are required to put up collateral, or a 'stake' in the form of ETH to become a validator on the network. So the more ETH that is staked, the higher the value because there are fewer ETH in circulation," Polotsky explains. "In addition, proof of stake removes the costs associated with mining such as electricity and hardware costs, meaning that fewer ETH will be sold by miners. Instead, these ETH will be staked, driving up the value even further," Polotsky says. The growth of decentralized finance, or DeFi, is another bullish catalyst for Ethereum. The concept is that traditional financial intermediaries like brokerages and exchanges are eliminated. This idea has enjoyed newfound mainstream relevance as some brokerages such as Robinhood prohibited investors from buying stocks like GameStop Corp. ( GME ) and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. ( AMC ) earlier during the meme stock frenzy in early 2021. [ Read: How Blockchain Can Transform the Financial Services Industry. ] Should You Buy Bitcoin or Ethereum? The ultimate debate between Bitcoin and Ethereum as investments comes down to an investor's risk profile. Both have bull catalysts in the foreseeable future as the world becomes more digital and cryptocurrency's acceptance grows. Bitcoin is the more mainstream and more stable of the two, although the bullish sentiment among experts in the field appears to have only grown over the last year for Ethereum. As with most investments, it's possible Ethereum's higher risk brings with it potential for higher rewards. In either case, it's not 2009 anymore: Both currencies have sprinted past the proof-of-concept phase; it's now time for investors who haven't considered this asset class in the past to start taking both BTC and ETH seriously. || GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares advance on earnings optimism, yen slips to 4-yr low: * Asian shares up, led by gains in Hong Kong
* Yen slips to 4-year low as risk sentiment improves
* European shares seen steady to slightly lower
* Bitcoin near all-time high
* Oil prices near multi-year peak, China coal tumbles
By Hideyuki Sano
TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares advanced on Wednesday and U.S. long-dated bond yields edged up to a five-month high on rising optimism about the global economy and corporate earnings, while the yen slipped to a four-year low on the dollar.
European stocks are expected to trade steady to slightly lower. Euro Stoxx futures were down 0.2% and Britain's FTSE futures was almost flat.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan arose 0.65%, led by 1.3% gains in Hong Kong , while Japan's Nikkei was almost flat and so were mainland Chinese shares, weighed down by more weak data on the property sector.
"Earlier this month, stagflation was the buzzword on Wall Street. But now excessive pessimism is receding, especially after strong U.S. retail sales data on Friday," said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
In New York, the benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.74% to finish just 0.4% below its early September record close while the CBOE market volatility index fell 0.6 point after earlier hitting 15.57, its lowest level since mid-August.
"Tech shares and other high-growth shares that would have been sold on rising bond yields are rallying, which clearly shows that there is now strong optimism on upcoming earnings," Fujito said.
Earning reports will be in full swings in many countries over coming weeks. Dutch chip-making machine maker ASML Holdings and Tesla are among those that will release results later on Wednesday.
The positive mood saw U.S. bond yields rising further, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield climbing to as high as 1.673% , a level last seen in May, at one point. It last stood at 1.650%.
Shorter yields dipped, however, with the two-year yield slipping to 0.395% from Monday's peak of 0.448% as traders took profits for now from bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will turn hawkish at its upcoming policy meeting in early November.
Investors expect the Fed to announce tapering of its bond buying and money markets futures are pricing in one rate hike later next year.
"The Fed is likely to become more hawkish, probably tweaking its language on its assessment that inflation will be transient. While the Fed will maintain tapering is not linked to a future rate hike, the market will likely try to price in rate hikes and flatten the yield curve," said Naokazu Koshimizu, senior strategist at Nomura Securities.
In the currency market, rising U.S. yields helped to boost the U.S. dollar to a four-year high against the yen of 114.695.
In addition to U.S. yields, the yen was dented by expectations of a wider trade deficit in Japan due to rising oil prices and on views the Bank of Japan will stick to loose monetary policy even as other central banks move to tighten their policies.
The Chinese yuan held firm, trading at 6.3760 per dollar in the offshore trade, near Tuesday's 4-1/2-month high of 6.3685.
The currency was helped by improving sentiment after China's central bank said spillover effects from China Evergrande Group's debt woes were controllable.
Risk-sensitive currencies held firm, with the euro ticking up 0.1% to $1.1643.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin stood at $63,699, near its all-time peak of $64,895 as the first U.S. bitcoin futures-based exchange-traded fund began trading on Tuesday.
Oil prices eased slightly in Asia but held near multi-year peaks as an energy supply crunch persisted across the globe.
U.S. crude futures traded at $82.59 per barrel, down 0.45% on the day but near Monday's peak of $83.18, its highest level since 2014. North Sea Brent was off 0.4% at $84.71.
China's coal futures slumped 8% in early Wednesday trade, a day after they fell 8% to their downward limit in night trading, as the state planner said it was looking at ways to intervene and bring record high prices of the fuel back down to a "reasonable range".
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kim Coghill) || Bitcoin and ethereum rally as China crypto ban fails to deter investors: Cryptocurrencies rallied on Monday. Photo: Yuriko Nakao/Getty (Yuriko Nakao via Getty Images) Cryptocurrencies rallied on Monday after tumbling on Friday afternoon as the People's Bank of China said all cryptocurrency-related transactions were illegal. Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) was up 4.8% to trade at $43,842 (£32,045). However, it continues to stay below a key $50,000 mark, and is far off from its all-time high of more than $63,000, which it hit in April this year Ethereum ( ETH-USD ) broke above the level seen last week before the ban at $3,100, up 10.4%. Over the weekend sessions, Bitcoin has shown some resilience and has now recovered the majority of those losses, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda Corporation, in a note Monday. It may well be that Chinas previously announced crackdowns had already been built into prices. Bitcoin was up 4.8% on Monday morning. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK (Yahoo Finance UK) Crypto markets were unsettled on Friday when the People's Bank of China vowed to crack down on illegal activities of cryptocurrency trading and banned overseas exchanges from providing services to mainland investors. It also said it would stop all companies from facilitating cryptocurrency trading and will strengthen monitoring of risks from such activities. Two of the worlds largest Bitcoin exchanges have halted new registrations for Chinese users and one will retire current accounts, taking actions to comply with Beijings latest ban. Read more: Employers also need to embrace right to request flexible working Exchange operators Huobi and Binance have stopped letting traders use mainland China mobile numbers to register new accounts, after the central bank's announcement on Friday that all crypto-related transactions will be considered illicit financial activity. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Huobi ( 1611.HK ) were down 19.8% on Monday morning, after dropping as much as 33%. The Huobi Token was off about 10% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko pricing. Watch: What is Bitcoin?
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 64469.53, 65466.84, 63557.87, 60161.25, 60368.01, 56942.14, 58119.58, 59697.20, 58730.48, 56289.29
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
VanEck, SolidX Withdraw Bitcoin ETF Proposal From SEC Review: Cboe BZX Exchange withdrew its VanEck/SolidX bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal on Tuesday.
According to a filingdated Sept. 17, a proposed rule change to publicly list shares of theVanEckSolidXBitcoin Trust was withdrawn on Sept. 13. A decision on the proposal had already been delayed a number of times, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) faced a final deadline of Oct. 18 to determine whether to approve or reject what could have been one of the firstbitcoin ETFsin the country.
The news comes just weeks after VanEck and SolidX began offering shares of the Trust to qualified institutional buyers (entities with at least $100 million in assets owned or invested) under a Rule 144A exemption. In the nearly three weeks since first announcing the product, one “basket” of four bitcoin (worth around $40,000) was traded.
Related:Bitwise Taps BNY Mellon as Transfer Agent for Proposed Bitcoin ETF
VanEck appears to have changed near-term plans very recently.
In an interview on Sept. 4, VanEck head of ETF product Ed Lopez told CoinDesk that the company would continue to pursue an exchange-traded product, explaining:
“We still strongly believe the marketplace and many investors would be better served to have a regulated product out there and this is just one small step towards that and right now it happens to be only available to institutions.”
Tuesday’s filing marks the second time VanEck and SolidX withdrew the proposed ETF. The companies withdrew the same ETF proposal in January, after a prolonged government shutdown threatened to force a rejection.
Related:VanEck, SolidX to Offer Bitcoin ETF-Like Product to Institutions
The SEC is still reviewing two other bitcoin ETF proposals. One, filed byWilshire Phoenix, would include both bitcoin and U.S. Treasury bonds in the Trust, and faces an initial deadline at the end of September, while the other, filed byBitwise Asset Managementwith NYSE Arca, will be approved or rejected on Oct. 13.
Bitwise most recently announced that BNY Mellon wouldact as the transfer agentfor its ETF.
After this article was published, VanEck director of digital asset strategies Gabor Gurbacstweeted“We are committed to support Bitcoin and Bitcoin-focused financial innovation. Bringing to market a physical, liquid and insured ETF remains a top priority. We continue to work closely with regulators & market participants to get one step closer every day.”
VanEck director of digital asset strategies Gabor Gurbacs image via CoinDesk archives
• SEC Delays Decisions on 3 Bitcoin ETF Proposals
• SEC Begins Accepting Public Comments on ETF Backed by Bitcoin and T-Bills || Bitcoin Is 2019’s Best-Performing Asset, Even After Recent Price Downturn: The Takeaway
• Bitcoin prices have more than doubled in 2019, far outpacing the 31 percent return for U.S. tech stocks, which Goldman Sachs deems the best-performing asset class year-to-date.
• Outsize returns could attract interest from big investors in the yield-starved traditional financial markets.
• Executives at data firm Messari say bitcoin prices, currently around $8,200, could rally to a new high in the year’s remaining months, topping the $12,902 level reached in June.
Investors would be hard-pressed to name a better-performing asset class so far in 2019 than bitcoin.
Gold? Up 17 percent since Dec. 31. Stocks? The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index returned 21 percent through Sept. 30. Bonds? The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond is yielding just 1.6 percent, close to historic lows.
Related:Bitcoin May Be Headed for a Stronger Price Bounce
And bitcoin? Prices for the cryptocurrency finished the third quarter around $8,308 each, according to data provider Messari, up 114 percent on the year. Investors who bought on the last day of 2018 would have doubled their money, and then some.
On Wall Street, one of the chief criticisms of bitcoin is that it was invented only a decade ago (a baby by old-world standards) by a computer programmer (or programmers, nobody really knows), with no real fundamental, underlying value. It’s just a made-up thing, as they say, with a volatile price that only derives from what the next buyer is willing to pay.
But with the global economy slowing and trillions of dollars of government bonds from Europe and Japan trading with negative yields, bitcoin’s price gains this year could conceivably attract a new wave of investors who previously wouldn’t even take a look.
Already there are signs they are. Pantera Capital, one of the earliest cryptocurrency funds, recently scheduled an event in San Francisco for its existing investors featuring cryptographer and digital currency pioneer Nick Szabo. As word trickled out, a number of investors who had never touched the asset class contacted the firm requesting invites, said Paul Brodsky, a partner at Pantera.
Related:Singapore Exchange–Backed iSTOX Raises Series A for Tokenized Securities Trading
“There’s a lot of drama around it all, there’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of press,” Brodsky said. “We’re getting interest from significant institutional investors of all types.”
The year’s price gains might entice big institutional investors like pension funds and endowments, struggling to hit return targets so they can meet obligations to retirees and other beneficiaries, according to executives at the cryptocurrency-focused investment firm KR1.
“Bitcoin’s been around long enough now where people are more familiar with it,” said Keld van Schreven, a director at the London-based firm, adding:
“Yep, it swings wildly, but they might know other people who have bitcoin, and say to themselves, ‘Hey, they’ve done pretty well this year.’ It’s always down to fear of missing out.”
In a report this week, analysts for the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs ranked information-technology stocks as the best-performing sector year-to-date with a 31 percent return, noting the out-performance versus other asset classes like bonds and gold.
Bitcoin wasn’t mentioned in the report, a reminder that the market remains in its infancy; big Wall Street firms aren’t yet trading digital assets in any significant scale. But year-to-date, bitcoin’s price gains are nearly four times the level of those hottest-of-hot tech stocks.
Many investors first noticed bitcoin in 2017 as prices famously rose more than 20-fold, reaching an all-time high of $20,089 in December of that year. After an abysmal 2018, bitcoin is now 59 percent off that peak, according to Messari, a New York-based provider of data on the crypto markets.
But at the current price, the digital currency is still up more than 10-fold from its level at the start of 2017’s rally.
One of the long-term arguments for bitcoin is that, unlike stocks and bonds whose prices are often highly sensitive to the decisions of central banks and governments, the cryptocurrency is independent of sovereign authorities. Instead, it’s governed by fixed policies that are hard-coded into the underlying network, and therefore difficult to change.
Under those rules, the supply of bitcoin is capped at 21 million, so it won’t be prone to inflation like developed-market currencies such as the U.S. dollar, euro and yen might be if their respective central banks resorted to more money-printing as a way of stimulating their economies.
Indeed, President Donald Trump, running for reelection in 2020, has repeatedly called for steeper interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while accusing China of artificially pushing down the value its currency, the yuan, to get an unfair advantage in international trade.
Many cryptocurrency proponents characterize bitcoin as Gold 2.0 – essentially a newer, technologically improved and more portable form of the precious metal, viewed since ancient times as a reliable store of value.
“Bitcoin is slowly becoming digital gold, but it’s not there yet,” said Qiao Wang, New York-based Messari’s head of product.
For now, though, even professionals in the space acknowledge that bitcoin is highly speculative; many traders are just betting on whether the next series of price ticks will be up or down.
“At the end of the day, bitcoin is still a very speculative asset,” says David Martin, chief investment officer at the cryptocurrency investment firm Blockforce Capital in San Diego. Because of the dramatic price swings in recent years, or even on a daily basis, he says, “it’s not asafe-haven asset.”
Martin noted that prices for bitcoin have declined in recent months, from a 2019 high of about $12,900 on June 26, partly because of waning enthusiasm in the industry over the near-term prospects of a wave of institutional money coming into the market.
Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange,debuted a new bitcoin-futures contractlast month that was tailored to meet the needs of institutional investors. Yet volume in the new contractstotaled just $5 millionon the week.
Compare that with the $26.5 billion of corporate bonds that changed hands each day in the U.S. market during the third quarter, and it’s clear institutions have yet to meaningfully invest in bitcoin.
Some of bitcoin’s internal gauges, though, reveal a healthy and growing market.
For example, bitcoin’s so-calledhash rate, a gauge of processing power, has increased this year to about 90 exahashes per second (an exahash is a quintillion hashes), from about 40 exahashes at the start of the year.
And some industry executives think bitcoin prices might be setting up for a rally. Catalysts could include an escalation of Trump’s trade war with China.
Wang says he took an informal poll among his coworkers, and the average forecast for the year-end 2019 price was $13,252.
“The number is totally within the realm of possibility,” he said.
There are risks, too, of course, such as the prospect of a regulatory clampdown. “Obviously it could go a lot lower,” Wang said.
Bull image via Shutterstock
• Gold, Not Bitcoin, Is Drawing Haven Demand on US Recession Fears
• Bitcoin Price Risks Further Decline After Recovery Rally Stalls || Overstock’s Patrick Byrne: the rise and fall of a blockchain pioneer: Patrick Byrne this week resigned as CEO of US online retailer Overstock. The move closely followed the announcement of disappointing Q2 2019 financial results . In a letter, he said it was impossible to continue due to distraction and fallout related to his involvement in a Federal Bureau of Investigation Russian espionage probe . “While I believe that I did what was necessary for the good of the USA, for the good of the firm, I am in the sad position of having to sever ties with Overstock, both as CEO and board member,” Byrne wrote. “It has been an honour to serve you through thick and thin, threats grand and arcane, for the past 20 years.” He also confirmed media reports that he had a personal relationship with Maria Butina, a convicted Russian agent currently in a US prison. Overstock veteran Jonathan Johnson will assume the role of CEO on an interim basis, while Kamelia Aryafar will take his place as board member and Executive Vice President of Overstock Retail. “Patrick has successfully created and moulded Overstock over the years by pioneering the marriage of tried and proven competitive business principles with cutting edge data analytics and technology; a true visionary,” said Aryafar. “I am excited to join the board and I look forward to continuing the company’s trajectory and contributing to its future success.” Blockchain revolution Under the watch of Byrne, Overstock had in recent years shifted much of its focus from selling stuff to blockchain technology. As Bitcoin soared, the company’s share price hit an all-time high of $84 and then, as the cryptocurrency ran into troubled times, plunged to below $10. Overstock was one of the first traditional retailers to embrace Bitcoin, accepting it for payments in 2014. And it has also developed a cryptocurrency trading platform called tZero and a digital token of the same name. This officially launched in 2018 through its blockchain subsidiary, Medici Ventures, raising over $130 million in an initial coin offering last summer. Despite an ongoing SEC investigation, Overstock is set to make tZero trading available to non-accredited investors this month. Story continues In his resignation letter, Byrne said that he didn’t want Overstock’s business and its blockchain initiatives to be affected by his ties with the Russians and Washington. “I think the blockchain revolution will reshape key social institutions,” he wrote. “We have designed and breathed life into perhaps the most significant blockchain keiretsu in the world, a network of blockchain firms seeking to revolutionise identity, land governance (= rule of law = potential = capital), central banking, capital markets, supply chains, and voting.” “In three of those fields (land governance, central banking, and capital markets)… our blockchain progeny (Medici Land Governance, Bitt, and tZERO, respectively) are arguably the leading blockchain disruptors in existence.” The post Overstock’s Patrick Byrne: the rise and fall of a blockchain pioneer appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Judge Blasts Craig Wrights Evidence, Inconsistent Testimony in Kleiman Trial: US Judge Beth Bloom has denied a request by Craig Wright to scuttle a lawsuit filed against him because of his past testimony and his credibility before the court, according to a court filing from August 15. On April 15, Wright filed a motion challenging the Southern District of Floridas jurisdiction over an ongoing lawsuit pursued by the estate of Wrights former business partner, the late Dave Kleiman. Kleimans brother Ira alleges Wright has transferred 1.1 million bitcoin, approximately $11 billion at press time, under his control through fraudulent contracts, emails, and business relationships. The lawsuit, first filed in 2018, has resulted in back-and-forth claims between the two sides and a combative court appearance by Wright himself. Related: Messages Proving Wright Created Bitcoin Likely Faked, Developer Testifies Wright has claimed in the past to have invented bitcoin through the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, a claim that has been attacked by numerous critics. Wright, in turn, has pursued legal action against such critics, though in recent days a court tossed out a suit filed against investor Roger Ver. Wright argues that the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the proceedings, because an entity oversight was granted on Florida-based W&K Info Defense Research, a now defunct firm, had a foreign national as director. Specifically, Wright cites Uyen Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, as outside the jurisdiction of the court. Wright previously claimed not to have had contact with Nguyen since 2016. Blooms denial In her motion, Judge Bloom states that Wright failed to provide any credible evidence showing a lack of diversity. She continued to explicate contradictory evidence Wright put forth showing Nguyens relationship to W&K. Related: Coinbase Must Face Negligence Suit Over Bitcoin Cash Listing, Judge Rules Bloom provides five statements where Wright obfuscates the ownership structure of W&K. At varying points he said that only Kleiman owned W&K, that he and Kleiman split ownership, and that he has no idea who the owners
were. Story continues She calls Wrights argument for dismissal novel, as he seems to argue that even though his numerous conflicting statements are the very reason confusion has been created
the Court should nonetheless use these statements as a basis to challenge the Courts subject matter jurisdiction. In weighing the evidence, the Court simply does not find the Defendants testimony to be credible, Bloom wrote. Tangled web Now, Bloom said, Wright insists that three additional parties may be members of W&K, and these persons and entities destroy jurisdiction. After a careful review, Bloom found Wrights evidence for supporting this claim that Nyugen, his ex-wife Lynn Wright, and the liquidated firm Coin-Exch were party to W&K as insufficient. In particular she found emails, purportedly between Wright and Kleiman, as well as business registrations submitted as evidence, as extremely speculative. In paragraph break, Bloom notably quotes Sir Walter Scotts Marmion: Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Further, Bloom states that that federal district courts in fact have subject matter jurisdiction over civil actions where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000.00 and the suit is between citizens of different states. 3244f635-07da-40e1-b8f0-fb87c478df11 by CoinDesk on Scribd Image via CoinGeek YouTube Related Stories Craig Wrights Counsel Rebuts Forgery Evidence in Ongoing Lawsuit Cryptocurrency in China: Over the Counter, Under the Table || Coinbase’s WalletLink to add functionality with decentralised exchange IDEX: San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has added WalletLink functionality to allow customers to use dApps within the firm’s wallet app. One of the most intriguing dApps that will undoubtedly entice users is IDEX, which is currently the world’s largest decentralised exchange (DEX). IDEX currently facilities around $1 million of daily trade volume with a focus on new projects that have only recently moved past the ICO stage. WalletLink will be available to desktop browser users as well as mobile users. Aside from IDEX, customers will also be able to access Compound – an on-chain borrowing and lending platform – as well as margin trading platform dYdX and the Maker stablecoin. We’re thrilled to announce WalletLink! Now you can use dapps on any desktop browser while keeping your funds safe in your mobile wallet. https://t.co/hKkV8DBEb9 — Coinbase Wallet (@CoinbaseWallet) August 22, 2019 While it certainly seems like a positive step for Coinbase and its user base, it will be interesting to see how the company combats the strict regulatory frameworks in terms of decentralised and margin exchanges. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) famously clamped down on EtherDelta, which at the time was a market-leading DEX, while margin exchange BitMEX has found a safe haven for itself in the Seychelles – far away from the watchful eyes of US regulators. Coinbase’s recent gung-ho approach is a far cry from 2017, when the exchange listed just Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin for users to purchase before adding Bitcoin Cash after the hard fork. The exchange has also listed a variety of altcoins over the past year, suggesting that regulatory scrutiny of the industry is not as prevalent as it once was. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Coinbase’s WalletLink to add functionality with decentralised exchange IDEX appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Sequoia-Backed Startup Enters DeFi Market With Bitcoin Binary Options: Another participant is entering the decentralized finance (DeFi) fray. The Sequoia-backed data management startup, Band Protocol, announced Monday the mainnet of its decentralized trading app. The dapp functions as a brokerage – without a centralized authority to confirm prices or collect fees – for ether-denominated binary options. Dubbed BitSwing, users can take long or short positions on bitcoin’s price within a one-minute time horizon. In time, additional cryptocurrencies and financial products will be added to the platform. Related: Ripple’s Xpring Looks to Build XRP DeFi Products With New Acquisition With binary options, traders purchase an option contract to bet on whether the price of an underlying asset will either increase (“call option”) or decrease (“put option”). BitSwing works similarly, providing users with a BTC/USD spot price to bet against. True to binary options’ sometimes “all-or-nothing” epithet, if BitSwing traders are correct in their predictions they will double their staked ETH, or lose it all. The dapp has seen 300 unique users, putting it in top 15 active dapps according to dAppRadar’s stats. The tool uses data oracles to provide real-time price feeds for the market. Information is sourced from CoinGecko, Binance and Upbit, among other sites. These data providers receive rewards for providing trustworthy information from users in the form of collateralized “band” tokens. With BitSwing, there are two price queries for every transaction: one at the initial put or call to receive the starting price and one at the resolve for the final result. Each query currently costs 0.02 ETH so total of 0.04 ETH is being paid to data provider in every transaction. They are only paid per transaction. Related: WATCH: Chainlink CEO Talks Data Oracles Prior to going live, BitSwing garnered $12,000 in ETH from data query fees in its first two weeks. At that rate, “Band Protocol expects to generate over $300,000 in value per annum for its ecosystem via BitSwing alone,” the company said in a statement. Story continues Founded in 2017, Band Protocol provides a platform for decentralized data governance on public blockchains such as ethereum, EOS and Cosmos. In February, venture capital firm Sequoia India led a $3 million seed round for the startup. Team photo via Band Protocol Related Stories What the Holy Land Reveals About Bitcoin ConsenSys Announces Codefi Project to Boost DeFi Adoption || Former PayPal executive joins crypto lending startup Cred as CFO: Cryptocurrency lending and borrowing startup Cred has hired former PayPal executive as its chief financial officer (CFO), according to an announcement Monday. The executive, Joe Podulka, worked as head of finance for PayPal Europe and PayPal New Ventures during 2010-2014, according to his LinkedIn profile . Podulka also had a stint at eBay in his 20+ years of experience. “Cred is solving concrete problems for individuals, companies, and governments,” said Podulka, adding that it is also “insured, licensed, and compliant.” The startup has also hired Dan Wheeler, a former partner at the international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, as its general counsel. Founded by former PayPal veterans - Dan Schatt and Lu Hua, Cred offers two products “Borrow” and “Earn.” The former allows users to borrow fiat currencies such as U.S. dollars and euros with cryptocurrencies as collateral, while the latter offers interest-earning opportunities on cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and XRP, as well as on fiat currencies. Backed by notable investors including Binance Labs and Arrington XRP Capital, Cred claims to have raised over $300 million of lending capital. Earlier this year, crypto exchange Binance also partnered with Cred to offer lending and borrowing services across its ecosystem. || Largest Bitcoin ATM Network Coinme Raises New Funding from Ripple’s Xpring: Coinme, which provides kiosks and ATMs for digital currencies, raised $1.5 million in a Series A-1 financing round that included Ripple’s subsidiary Xpring and Blockchain Finance Fund, the company said.
Proceeds from the fundingwill be used for additional licensing to expand its U.S. and international coverage.
Co-founder and CEO Neil Bergquist told CoinDesk that Coinme is licensed to operate bitcoin ATMs in 29 states and will apply for further state licenses in the near future. As for international markets, Coinme has set its eyes on Europe, Central and South America given the high popularity of cryptocurrencies in these countries, Bergquist added.
Related:Police in Spain Say Bitcoin ATMs Expose Problems in Europe’s AML Laws
Xpring is Ripple’s developer initiativethat focuses its investments in blockchain technology companies and is the firm’s first investment in the bitcoin kiosk industry.
Bergquist said Coinme raised $4.5 million in total in its previous financing, including $3.5 million in convertible debt, partly from Coinstar over the last few years, and $1.5 million from a venture fund in early 2017.
With more than 2,500 locations, Coinme currently services the largest bitcoin kiosk network in the world. Coinme began as a bitcoin exchange in 2014 and integrated its services with the coin-to-cash Coinstar machines in January.
The Coinstar kiosks allow customers to exchange bills and coins for a code sent to their mobile device that can be used to redeem up to $2,500 of crypto. The partnership was announced earlier this year with the kiosks mainly placed in public venues such as supermarkets.
Related:Coinstar Expands Bitcoin Buying Service to Cover 21 US States
Crypto kiosks and Bitcoin ATMs have quickly grown in popularity as coin use proliferates.
Data from Coin ATM Radar shows a nearly five-fold increase in the number of active crypto ATM installations since 2017. Earlier this summer, bitcoin ATMLibertyXsurpassed 1,000 kiosks under service.
Outside of the kiosks, Coinme provides concierge trading, high-volume transactions for institutional investors, and cryptocurrency retirement options such as a self-directed IRA and 401(k). Bergquist said one of the services provides white-gloved transaction services to high-net-worth individuals with a minimum investment of $5,000.
The new funding will also go towards developing online wallets for retail investors to help them use cryptocurrencies for payments and remittance.
ATM image via CoinDesk archives
• 2,000 More US Grocery Stores Enable Bitcoin Buying at Coinstar Machines
• NYDFS Grants BitLicense to Third Bitcoin ATM Operator || Ethereum on the rise, as Bitcoin consolidates: Ethereum is fast approaching $200, as the number two cryptocurrency saw gains of over 7% in the last three days, to reach its current price of just under $194. After the asset broke through its $180 resistance thanks to a 4% price rally last FridayEthereum continued its momentum by gaining another 3% in the last 24 hours. A factor in the decentralized asset's recent uptick in price has been the positive remarks shared by Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterinat this past weekend's Ethereal conference in Tel Aviv. At the conference that was covered by Decrypt, the 25-year-old told the audience about Ethereum's strong progress in privacy, DeFi (decentralized finance) and the network's eventual move to a proof of stake consensus algorithmdubbed Ethereum 2.0. In comparison to Ethereum's 7.5% rise, Bitcoin registered modest weekly gains of only 1%as the number one cryptocurrency by market cap found support above its critical $10,000 valuation. Market cap dominance for Bitcoin also fell to 68.5%after breaking above 70% for the first time in two years at the start of September. With Ethereum now back above a $21 billion market capwith strong trading volumes of more than $7 billion a day its looks to be potentially leading the recent fightback in crypto markets. With Bitcoin itself on the apex of a mammoth 5-month, symmetrical triangle the recent breakout for the second-largest cryptocurrency could well be a sign of things to come for Bitcoin, and the crypto market overall. || U.S. government’s blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses is just getting started: The U.S. government is paying close attention toillegal activity associated withBitcoinand other cryptocurrencies.
And the government’s “blacklisting” ofblockchainaddresses associated with digital currencies linked to crimes is sure to escalate, cryptocurrency compliance experts say.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Departmentissued sanctionsagainst three alleged Chinese “drug kingpins” who the government claims used Bitcoin to launder their ill-gotten gains. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) subsequently added 11 Bitcoin addresses and 1 Litecoin address to its list ofSpecially Designated Nationals, ensuring that no U.S. person can conduct business with any of the associated addresses.
It was the second such blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses that the OFAC has taken within the last year—the firstagainst two Iranian citizenslast November. But these actions are only the beginning, according toChainalysisGlobal Head of Policy Jesse Spiro.
“We anticipate further action by OFAC to include additional cryptocurrency addresses attributed to these individuals and others that are involved in narcotics trafficking going forward,” Spiro toldDecrypt. He said cases such as these further demonstrate the need for “strict cryptocurrency compliance programs to immediately identify high-risk behavior and activity.”
Juan Llanos, a compliance expert and advisor to several cryptocurrency firms, agreed that we can expect to see more blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses in the future. And that’s largely due to “the nature of open blockchains,” he said.
The ability to quickly detect and manage questionable transactions can make a major difference in preventing and reducing the amount of cryptocurrency lost in security breaches, according to Chainalysis. The firm specializes in providing compliance tools to government agencies and private companies, such as cryptocurrency exchanges.
“As lawmakers and regulators focus their attention on the industry, it is more critical than ever that cryptocurrency businesses demonstrate compliance best practices,” Chainalysis VP John Dempsey said in a statement. “Every minute counts when managing exposure to sanctioned entities, hacked funds, darknet markets, and other illicit activities.”
Exchanges and other financial institutions subject to U.S. jurisdiction are obligated to screen for “blocked persons,” Llanos explained. Anyone who violates these sanctions can facecivil penaltiesup to $10 million as well as criminal charges.
Publicly blacklisting cryptocurrency addresses forms part of a larger effort by OFAC and FinCEN to exert financial pressure on criminals and criminal organizations.
"By having such procedures in place, institutions and exchanges can work with governments and law enforcement in detecting and preventing such illicit activities,” said Spiro.
Additional reporting by Guillermo Jimenez.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
The #BitcoinPizza would be worth US$0.00 right now (down % in the last 24 hours): #Bitcoin || @BobLoukas Bob where do you think the cost of production/ mining for bitcoin will be after the halving, approximately? || ¡El último Crypto News! https://t.co/KIg2I5VDWK Gracias a @LH_ChevCorvette @fahim_touhid @jwage2 #bitcoin #cryptocurrency || 不換紙幣にはどちらもあてはまらないよ。
BTCは、アートでありSoV
流通の容易さから通貨としての機能も持ち、良貨として…
続きは質問箱へ (残り 38字)
#peing #質問箱 https://t.co/RKSHRM83tq || @pngmemobile
quite a unique project. Pngme is a global alternative lending platform that allows institutional investors access to an alternative type of loan asset. Join this project. # Pngme #Pngcoin #PNG #Payments #Blockchain #Crypto #MSME #BTC #fintech #mobilebanking #Banking || #Bitcoin Social Sentiment is currently MIXED (0%). Visit https://t.co/BCZzlVBhQH to find out why. $BTC $BTCUSD
Monday, 23 September 2019 02:00AM || Moon Signal In here
https://t.co/2NuQB72yfM
#BITMEX #BTC #ADA #XRP #BCH #EOS #X10 #X20 $BTS $MTH $WPR $GAS $OST $NULS $LSK $STEEM $ENJ $BTG $CMT $POA $BCD $LINK $AE $SNGLS $GXS $POWR $PPT $NAV $KMD $XZC $SKY $REP || @SynchroBit https://t.co/IvPzDmpQ6p
0x8d4C69Ba3B4B27Ffb383C7b19f578054420ba570 || Done Buy. $XTZ-BTC priced at 0.000100 #CoinbasePro || $btc rising wedge on 4 hour timeframe
|
Trend: down || Prices: 8374.69, 8205.37, 8047.53, 8103.91, 7973.21, 7988.56, 8222.08, 8243.72, 8078.20, 7514.67
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-06-29]
BTC Price: 2539.32, BTC RSI: 49.65
Gold Price: 1244.20, Gold RSI: 43.21
Oil Price: 44.93, Oil RSI: 45.48
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Security Researchers Release Free Data Recovery Tools for Ransomware Attack Victims: Victims of last weekend’s massive worldwide ransomware attack are getting some late relief: Security researchers have published two tools capable of unlocking the data held ransom on at least some of the affected Windows PCs. However, for many, these tools may come too late. A week ago, hackers were able to infect more than 200,000 computers across the globe, and encrypt data stored on the affected machines. The ransomware, dubbed WannaCry , would then ask users to send hackers money with the crypto-currency Bitcoin in order to get access to their data again. WannaCry primarily targeted older versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, and led to outages at U.K. health care facilities, public transit providers across Europe and even the Russian Interior Ministry. Now, art least some of the affected users may be getting some help. The newly-released tools, dubbed WannaKey and WannaKiwi , make use of another security flaw in older versions of Windows to recover the prime numbers used to encrypt the data from an affected computer’s memory. If those numbers are found, the software can recreate the encryption key — essentially the secret pass phrase — and decrypt the data. However, the two tools only work if the infected computers haven’t been turned off, or rebooted. Running a lot of other apps that take up memory could also have erased the prime numbers. All of this means that only a few users are going to benefit from the relief — but the technology behind it could likely be used to help other ransomware victims in the future. Get more from Variety and Variety411 : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter || PayPal has a new weapon in the P2P payments battle: Venmo's Share of Paypal (BI Intelligence) This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Payments Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . PayPal began piloting an instant cash-out offering for its peer-to-peer (P2P) payment offerings, including Venmo, according to TechCrunch . The service, which is currently in a limited beta, will allow the majority of Visa or MasterCard debit cardholders to opt to cash out their wallet balance to their bank account via their debit card in real time, ranging from a few minutes to a half hour, for a 25-cent fee. Currently, transfers are free, but take up to 24 hours. The service should be arriving to all users, who can choose between the free or paid option, in the “coming weeks and months.” This provides two core benefits to PayPal. Monetization: P2P services are some of PayPal’s fastest growing segments — Venmo grew by 114% annually in Q1 2017, compared with just 25% for PayPal overall. But they’re tough to monetize, because PayPal must pay banks or issuers a fee that they can’t pass onto consumers, meaning that the firm takes the service at a loss. As P2P continues to comprise a larger share of overall volume, losses will magnify, making monetization a key priority, and one the firm is already working on through initiatives like Venmo’s buy button. The trade-off between the nominal fee and the benefits instant transfer could provide might prove popular among consumers that value convenience above all for P2P payments. Competitive positioning: Venmo likely is the market leader in the P2P space, where competition is heating up — a network of banks recently launched the Zelle network, which will serve up to 86 million consumers and might attract or convert a subset of users based on convenience and security. Bank-based Zelle offers free instant cash-out, and so PayPal launching a feature across its properties could help it stay up to par with what might be its largest competitor moving forward, ultimately helping it maintain its current stance. Story continues Jaime Toplin, research analyst for BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on mobile P2P payments that: Forecasts the growth of the P2P market, and what portion of that will come from mobile channels, through 2021. Explains the factors driving that growth and details why it will come from increased usage, not increased spend per user. Evaluates why mobile P2P isn’t profitable for companies, and details several cases of attempts to monetize. Assesses which of these strategies could be most successful, and what companies need to leverage to succeed in the space. Provides context from other markets to explain shifting trends. To get the full report, subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now You can also purchase and download the full report from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT More From Business Insider Venmo makes moves to monetize Venmo's monetization will be worth watching Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined || 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: Brazil protests (Police officers in riot gear clashing with demonstrators during a protest against President Michel Temer and the latest corruption scandal to hit the country, in Brasilia, Brazil.Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino) Here is what you need to know. The Fed talks balance-sheet reduction . Minutes from the May Federal Open Market Committee meeting released Wednesday show the Federal Reserve plans to unwind its massive balance sheet by gradually increasing limits on the dollar amounts of Treasurys and other securities that will be allowed to run off into maturity each month. The CBO score for the GOP healthcare bill is out. The American Health Care Act would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured than projected under the Affordable Care Act and undermine protections for people with preexisting conditions, according to an updated estimate from the Congressional Budget Office. OPEC reportedly agrees to extend production cuts . OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna agreed to extend production cuts by nine months, Bloomberg says. UK GDP disappoints . The UK's economy grew at a 0.2% clip in the first quarter, according to a second estimate provided by the Office for National Statistics. That was slower than the initial reading of 0.3% growth. The Chinese yuan hits a 2-month high . Offshore yuan climbed to 6.8651 per dollar, its best since March 28. Korea's central bank turns optimistic on its economy . The Bank of Korea held its key interest rate at a record-low 1.25% and said, "The Board judges that consumption will likely continue its modest trend of growth, but that the trends of improvement in exports and investment should expand compared to the April forecasts." Bitcoin is on fire. The cryptocurrency trades up by 10.6% at $2,692 a coin. It has gained 178% in 2017. Stock markets around the world are up . China's Shanghai Composite (+1.4%) led the overnight surge, while France's CAC (+0.4%) paces the gains in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open higher by 0.3% near 2,412. Story continues Earnings reports keep coming. Best Buy, Burlington Stores, Dollar Tree, and Sears report ahead of the opening bell, while Costco, Deckers Outdoor, and GameStop will release their quarterly results after markets close. US economic data is limited. Initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.25%. More From Business Insider If a nuclear bomb explodes nearby, here's why you should never, ever get in a car Fan Twitter account says Ariana Grande has offered to pay for the funerals of Manchester attack victims 10 things you need to know today || If You Bought $5 of Bitcoin 7 Years Ago, You’d Be $4.4 Million Richer: Seven years ago, the value of a single bitcoin was worth a quarter-of-a-cent. Today, that single bitcoin isworth upwards of $2,200.
Monday marked the seventh anniversary of what is said to be the first recorded instance of bitcoin used in a real world transaction. Over the course of seven years, bitcoin’s value has multiplied 879,999 times over since 2010. If an investor had decided to spend five dollars back then on about 2,000 bitcoins, that stake would be worth $4.4 million today. With $1,200 spent on some 480,000 bitcoins, the investor would be worth at least $1.1 billion today.
The early months of 2017 have been particularly heady days for bitcoin. Since the beginning of the year, the value of the cryptocurrencyhas surged as it gains legitimacy in countries like Japan. Investors have also come to see the currency as something of a safe haven asset amid geopolitical turmoil -- and there’s been plenty of that in recent months, in both Europe and the United States.
And that first transaction? A software programmer on “Bitcoin Talk” known as Lazlo Hanyecz offered to 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas. For a least three days, no one took bite of the offer, with Hanyecz writing: “So nobody wants to buy me pizza? Is the bitcoin amount I’m offering too low?”
A user eventually paid about$25 for two pizzas. In today’s bitcoins, those pizzas cost Hanyecz $22 million.
See original article on Fortune.com
More from Fortune.com
• IRS Probe of Bitcoin Goes Too Far, GOP Warns
• Meet EternalRocks, WannaCry's Scarier Successor
• 3 Reasons Why Bitcoin Broke $2,000
• Bitcoin Hit Another Record and It's Gained Almost $4 Billion Just This Week
• Bitcoin's Murkier Rivals Line Up to Displace it as Cybercriminals' Favorite || Bitcoin soars past $1,700 for the first time: Bitcoinseems unstoppable, topping $1,700 for the first time on Tuesday.
The cryptocurrency is up 5.71% at $1,758.45 a coin, as trade grinds higher for the 16th time in 18 sessions. It has gained nearly 50% during its run.
Tuesday's gain comes without any obvious catalyst as traders await the US Securities and Exchange Commission's ruling on whether it willreverse its decision to reject the Winklevoss twins' exchange-traded fund.
The SEC rejected two bitcoin ETFs back in March, saying it "is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest."
Bitcoin recently has shrugged offChina restricting trade, the SEC's rejecting of the two bitcoin ETFs, and threats from developers to create a "hard fork" that would split the cryptocurrency in two.
But there has also been some good news for bitcoin, which has posted an 85% gain this year.
At the beginning of April, Japan's financial regulators saidbitcoin would be considered a legal payment methodin the country, and days later Russia said it would consider bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in 2018.
Aside from 2014, bitcoin has been the top-performing currency every year since 2010.
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• Bitcoin just soared to a new $1,600 high — but the first investor in Snapchat thinks it could hit $500,000 by 2030
• The price of Bitcoin just hit an all new high — here's how easy it is to buy your first one
• Bitcoin is closing in on $1,500 || AMD rallies as cryptocurrency miners snap up graphics chips: By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Shares of Advanced Micro Devices surged nearly 9 percent on Tuesday boosted by strong demand for its chips from cryptocurrency miners, leaving short sellers at a loss for the year. A rally in cryptocurrency Ethereum has boosted demand for graphics chips used by people to "mine" it and other digital currencies, with some of AMD's processors sold out on Amazon.com and other retail websites. Mining for cryptocurrency involves using networks of computers to validate transactions and prevent counterfeit by solving complex mathematical problems. New currency is generated as a reward to the computer operators. The emergence of Bitcoin in 2009 made cryptocurrency mining popular. Recent rallies in the price of Bitcoin and newer digital currency Ethereum have rekindled interest. Ethereum miners spending as little as $2,000 to build mining computers using graphics processing units, or GPUs, from AMD or its rival Nvidia could break even within three or four months, estimated RBC analyst Mitch Steves in a note to clients on Tuesday. "We think economics suggests that GPUs continue to be sold out," Steves wrote. "We think GPU demand will remain robust as long as the return is under (about) one year." As of Monday, AMD short sellers had been up about $15 million for 2017. But Tuesday’s share surge left them at a loss of $125 million on paper for the year, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm. That follows losses of over $700 million for AMD short sellers last year, when the stock tripled. The stock last traded up 7.3 percent at $12.06. "There are going to be a lot of traders saying, 'This is the last straw. I'm out,'" said Ihor Dusaniwsky, S3's managing director of research. AMD spokesman Drew Prairie acknowledged that interest from cryptocurrency miners was contributing to demand for the company's chips, but he stressed that game enthusiasts are the core market. JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and more than two dozen other companies have teamed up to develop standards to make it easier for enterprises to use technology related to Ethereum. Adding to support for AMD's stock, Apple on Monday refreshed its lineup of Mac personal computers, including upgraded graphics chips from AMD. || A.I. is in a ‘golden age’ and solving problems that were once sci-fi, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says: Artificial intelligence development has seen an "amazing renaissance" and is beginning to solve problems that were once seen as science fiction, according to Amazon ( AMZN ) CEO Jeff Bezos. Machine learning, machine vision, and natural language processing are all strands of AI that are being developed by technology giants such as Amazon, Alphabet's ( GOOGL ) Google and Facebook ( FB ) for various uses. For example, Amazon's voice assistant Alexa, which is in its Echo speaker, relies on natural language processing – the ability for computers to understand human speech. These AI developments were praised by the Amazon founder. "It is a renaissance, it is a golden age," Bezos told an audience at the Internet Association's annual gala last week. "We are now solving problems with machine learning and artificial intelligence that were … in the realm of science fiction for the last several decades. And natural language understanding, machine vision problems, it really is an amazing renaissance." Bezos called AI an "enabling layer" that will "improve every business." At Amazon, Bezos said that "cool" developments like Alexa and its Prime Air delivery drones use "tremendous amounts" of AI. But machine learning is being deployed across the company. "I would say, a lot of the value that we're getting from machine learning is actually happening kind of beneath the surface. It is things like improved search results, improved product recommendations for customers, improved forecasting for inventory management, and literally hundreds of other things beneath the surface," Bezos said. The Amazon CEO also said that the company is making AI techniques available to enterprise customers through its cloud division, Amazon Web Services. Bezos is the latest tech chief executive to address the topic of AI. He did not go into some of the dangers of the technology as many of his counterparts have. For example, Jack Ma, CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba ( BABA ) , warned that society could face decades of "pain" due to technological advancements. More From CNBC Bitcoin hits another record high and could rally to $4,000, investor says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has a good idea of quarterly results 3 years before they happen Stephen Hawking says humans must colonize another planet in 100 years or face extinction || Bitcoin is making a big comeback: Bitcoinis making a big comeback, trading up by 9.8% at $2,563 a coin on Friday.
Friday's gain follows awild day Thursday, which saw the cryptocurrency ultimately put in its 27th gain in the past 30 sessions. Bitcoin climbed above $2,500 and ultimately put in a record high of $2,799. But then the bottom dropped out, and bitcoin plunged to a low of $2,200 before recouping some of those losses and finishing the day with a small gain.
The cryptocurrency climbed had climbed by much as 26% following Wednesday's announcement that the Digital Currency Group, representing 56 companies in 21 countries, reached ascaling agreementat the Consensus 2017 conference in New York.
It has been on fire in the past two months, gaining nearly 140% since the beginning of April, when Japan announced bitcoin had become alegal payment methodin the country. Trade has also been boosted by news that Russia's largest online retailer,Ulmart, had begun accepting bitcoindespite Russia's saying it wouldn't consider the use of the cryptocurrency until 2018.
But the market is still waiting on a ruling by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on whether it will overturn itsdecision on the Winklevoss twins' bitcoin-exchange-traded fund. The SEC was accepting public comment on that decision until May 15, but it hasn't announced whether it will overturn its rejection of the ETF.
Bitcoin is up 169% this year.
(Investing.com)
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• Bitcoin blows past $2,000, $2,100, and $2,200 for the first time || Online lenders haven't been verifying income and employment on their loans, and that should set alarm bells ringing: (Lending Club at its IPO.Lending Club)
Online lenders may be lowering their standards and taking greater risks on borrowers as they chase higher profits.
Prosper Marketplace andLending Club, two of the largest players in the online personal loan business, don't always verify key borrower information like income and employment, according to areport from Bloomberg's Matt Scully.
Bloomberg found that the two companies frequently take the customer's word on key loan information, and they don't necessarily nix a loan if it has errors, such as overstating income.
Here's Scully:
"Prosper Marketplace Inc. doesn’t verify key information like income and employment for around a quarter of the loans it makes, according to documents tied to bonds that Prosper sold last month. LendingClub Corp. said it only verified income about a third of the time for one of the most popular loans it made in 2016, according to company data seen by Bloomberg. If either lender finds mistakes in a borrower’s application, such as overstated income, they may still go ahead with the loan, according to disclosures linked to bond sales from the companies, including documents for securities that LendingClub is offering now."
The companies defended their practices, citing advanced risk-control procedures that help root out fraud.
Prosper told Bloomberg that it verifies identities and bank accounts for all of its loans, and that it has “developed some of the industry’s leading risk-mitigation controls.”
A Lending Club representative told Bloomberg that the company uses “machine learning and other techniques to build robust models that segment which borrower applications need verification and which do not.”
Despite a relatively robust economy, online lenders have seen loans falter quicker than expected, Bloomberg noted, citing data from Morgan Stanley.
They aren't the only lenders hitting bumps and coming under scrutiny. Moody's revealed last month that Santander Consumer USA, one of the country's largest subprime auto lenders, checked incomeon just 8% of borrowersas part of a $1 billion bond offering.
Meanwhile, credit card companies have seencustomer defaults spike, suggesting that they've also started to loosen their standards and issue credit more aggressively.
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• This site offers high-end watch brands at some of the most competitive prices you’ll find
• Goldman Sachs found a way to automate dealmaking tasks usually managed by investment bankers
• One of the world's largest hedge funds is returning $8 billion to its investors || What you need to know on Wall Street today: bezos tablets (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos holds up the new Kindle Fire HD 7" and Kindle Fire HD 8.9" (L) during Amazon's Kindle Fire event in Santa Monica, California September 6, 2012.Gus Ruelas/Reuters) Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. A battle is brewing over the best-performing stock since last year's US election . The company in question is Nvidia , which has enjoyed a particularly charmed existence since November 8. The graphics-chip maker's stock price has exploded 95% higher since then, the biggest gain in the S&P 500 by almost 30 percentage points. On one hand, the company has been targeted by large speculators as a stock likely to decline, as reflected by the roughly $3 billion in short positions held by hedge funds. But it's also one of the favorite stocks for millennial investors . Elsewhere in markets news, global stocks are at record highs . Amazon is on the verge of hitting $1,000 a share for the first time . And c orporate America investing in itself is going to be what powers stocks higher , according to Business Insider's Joe Ciolli. On Wall Street, a nother senior executive is set to leave Deutsche Bank . The biggest players in the foreign exchange markets are losing influence . UBS is going head-to-head with JPMorgan and American Express b y dropping a new luxury travel rewards credit card . And Aviva, the 321-year-old British insurance giant, wants to become a financial technology company . The Fed says it'll be appropriate to raise interest rates again "soon." It also warned the auto glut could get worse . There's one big problem with the Fed's plan to unwind its gigantic balance sheet , according to Business Insider's Pedro da Costa. The bitcoin rally may be running out of steam. Thursday's action saw Bitcoin blow past its record and soar to $2,800 in just a few hours, but now it's plunging . H ere's what the cryptocurrency is all about . Oil is getting whacked even after OPEC agreed to extend production cuts . In deal news, a bunch of cycling enthusiasts just helped Peloton Cycle raise $325 million — betting it could be "the Apple of fitness ." Everyone is missing a critical point about Sears' first quarter profit . Ford's new CEO just named some key execs on his team . Tesla is pushing the insurance industry to prepare for massive disruption . In related news, Morgan Stanley's latest prediction about the future of self-driving cars should terrify automakers . A Swiss watchmaker just created a $26,900 timepiece that looks exactly like an Apple Watch . Lastly, a Montauk estate is on the market for $48 million — 7,600% more than what its owners paid for it . Story continues NOW WATCH: SCOTT GALLOWAY: Stop blaming Amazon for killing retail More From Business Insider What you need to know on Wall Street today What you need to know on Wall Street today What you need to know on Wall Street today View comments
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Vrij val voor de crypto’s? #BTC #ETH || The head of Moscow's lower house of parliament has condemned Western sanctions against Russia and neighboring... http://fb.me/UO9vhBPD || Tôi đã thêm video vào danh sách phát http://youtu.be/TmmTAxI5k0o?a Bitcoin tại sao lại hấp dẫn các nhà đầu tư - Ảnh || Is #blockchain in danger of being the next #Dotcom ? http://bit.ly/2tgISZT #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/t2aLcymxq2 || soooooooo basically BTC being BTC? || Japanese Exchanges Say Volumes are Real Pushing Bitcoin Price Up https://oal.lu/lcTtC #business #technologypic.twitter.com/CPoYfpZtCX || One Bitcoin now worth $2515.01@bitstamp. High $2567.01. Low $2291.00. Market Cap $41.283 Billion #bitcoin || $1642.73 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $1560.00 - $1653.97 Volume: 19335 BTC] || BitCoinで複利で資産を増やす方法があります。日利で毎日増えていく資産運用→http://bit.ly/2oh8dkb || #btc pic.twitter.com/AZSpMdFMZ4
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Trend: up || Prices: 2480.84, 2434.55, 2506.47, 2564.06, 2601.64, 2601.99, 2608.56, 2518.66, 2571.34, 2518.44
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2021-03-16]
BTC Price: 56804.90, BTC RSI: 59.77
Gold Price: 1730.60, Gold RSI: 42.38
Oil Price: 64.80, Oil RSI: 62.56
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Kura Sushi USA (TICKER) is Overbought: Is A Drop Coming?: Kura Sushi USA, Inc.KRUS has moved higher as of late, but there could definitely be trouble on the horizon for this company. That is because KRUS is now in overbought territory with an RSI value of 78.44.
RSI stands for ‘Relative Strength Index’ and it is a popular indicator used by technically focused investors. It compares the average of gains in days that closed up to the average of losses in days that closed down; readings above 70 suggest an asset is overbought, while an RSI below 30 suggests undervalued conditions are present.
Yet KRUS’s high RSI value isn’t the only reason for investors to be concerned, as there has been some decidedly negative earnings estimate revisions Kura Sushi USA’s stock as of late. This is especially true when investors dive into some of these revisions in order to get a better picture of KRUS’s prospects for the near term.
Over the past one month, investors have witnessed 1 earnings estimate revision lower compared to none higher for the current year. The consensus estimate for KRUS’s has also been on a downward trend over the same time period too, as the estimates have fallen 7.5% over the last two months.
If this wasn’t enough, Kura Sushi USA also has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) which puts it into unfortunate company among its peers. So, given all of these factors, investors may want to consider exiting this stock now before it falls back to Earth. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportKura Sushi USA, Inc. (KRUS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin Steady as Analysts Say Getting Back to $40,000 Is Key: (Bloomberg) --
Bitcoin hovered near $36,000 on Monday, below a level that strategists at JPMorgan Chase & Co. see as an inflection point for the digital coin.
The cryptocurrency could be hurt by an exodus of trend-following investors unless it can “break out” above $40,000 soon, a team including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said. The pattern of demand for Bitcoin futures and the $22.9 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust will help determine the outlook, they added.
“The flow into the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust would likely need to sustain its $100 million per day pace over the coming days and weeks for such a breakout to occur,” the strategists wrote in a note on Friday.
Traders seeking clues about investor appetite for risk have been gripped by Bitcoin’s stunning rally and turbulent 10% slide from a record of almost $42,000 on Jan. 8. The cryptocurrency boom since March has reflected the ebullience of financial markets awash in stimulus -- as well as concern over whether gains will ultimately prove fleeting.
The JPMorgan strategists said Bitcoin was in a similar position in late November, except with $20,000 as the test. Flows of institutional investment into the Grayscale trust helped the world’s largest cryptocurrency extend its rally, they wrote.
Trend-following traders “could propagate the past week’s correction” and “momentum signals will naturally decay from here up till the end of March” if Bitcoin’s price fails to break above $40,000, they said.
Bitcoin fell 1.4% to $36,014 as of 3:25 p.m. in London on Monday.
Exactly what’s driven the yearlong near-quadrupling in Bitcoin’s price remains murky. Commentators have cited day traders, wealthy buyers, hedge funds, companies and even signs of interest from long-term investors like insurers.
‘Dread to Think’
Some, like Chris Iggo, remain skeptical of Bitcoin’s appeal to large institutions.
“I dread to think what most risk officers would think about that being in a core investment portfolio,” the chief investment officer of core investments at Axa Investment Managers wrote in a note. “For assets to be considered in a long-term investment portfolio one should be able to attach some fundamental intrinsic value to them.”
Bitcoin’s proponents argue it’s maturing as a hedge for dollar weakness and the possibility of faster inflation in a recovering global economy. Others say its defining characteristic remains speculative booms followed by busts.
Read more: Does Bitcoin Boom Mean ‘Better Gold’ or Bigger Bubble? QuickTake
For more articles like this, please visit us atbloomberg.com
Subscribe nowto stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P. || Overstock Partners with Pelion Venture Partners to Oversee Medici Ventures’ Blockchain Assets: Overstock to be limited partner in blockchain fund Investor call scheduled for January 26, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. ET SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK ), today announces it will be converting Medici Ventures , Inc. , its wholly owned blockchain-focused subsidiary, to a limited partnership (the “Fund”). An entity within Pelion Venture Partners , a third-party venture capital firm with a proven track record of successfully investing in early stage companies, will act as the general partner of the Fund. “Blockchain technology represents a leap forward in fundamentally changing the way we interact and transact with each other. Since 2014, we have made investments in and advocated on behalf of companies advancing blockchain technology,” said Overstock chief executive officer Jonathan Johnson. “We remain bullish on blockchain technology but are changing the way we interact with these assets. As we evaluated how to create the highest return for our shareholders, we determined it is time to partner with a seasoned venture capital firm to oversee the portfolio and make follow-on investment decisions. Pelion is the perfect firm to do this. It has blockchain and technology expertise with early stage companies and has helped guide many companies to economic success.” “We are honored Overstock selected us to maximize the value of its blockchain assets,” said Pelion Ventures founder and general partner Blake Modersitzki. “Many of these companies have real potential. We believe our team knows how to help them reach that potential.” Under the arrangement, which will close after obtaining necessary legal and regulatory approvals, Medici Ventures will be converted into a limited partnership. Overstock will be a limited partner in the Fund. After closing, the Pelion entity will have sole authority and responsibility regarding investing decisions, appointing board members of the portfolio companies, and exercising all shareholder rights for assets Medici Ventures currently holds. The Fund will have an eight-year life and a total capital commitment of $45 million. The Fund will return invested capital to Overstock first and then split profits on successful exits as set forth in the Fund’s Limited Partnership Agreement. The Fund will hold a significant minority ownership stake in tZERO Group, Inc. (“tZERO”) and Overstock will retain a direct minority equity interest in tZERO. “We have been looking for the right solution to help us maximize the value of these assets, and we are delighted to have found a skilled and knowledgeable partner in Pelion,” continued Johnson. “We believe this structure offers the best opportunity for Medici Ventures’ companies to have meaningful exits and allows Overstock executives to focus on its core ecommerce business, which realized tremendous revenue, profit, and market share growth in 2020.” Story continues Medici Ventures will discontinue providing software development and design services to its portfolio companies. As an on-going advocate of blockchain technology, Overstock will continue to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment for products purchased on its website. Investor Call The company has scheduled a conference call and webcast for 8:30am ET on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, to discuss this announcement and take questions from participants. Questions may also be submitted to ir@overstock.com in advance. Webcast Information To access the live webcast and presentation slides, visit http://investors.overstock.com . To listen to the conference call via telephone, dial (877) 673-5346 and enter conference ID number 2918945 when prompted. Participants outside the U.S. or Canada who do not have internet access should dial +1 (724) 498-4326 and enter the conference ID provided above when prompted. Replay A replay of the conference call will be available at http://investors.overstock.com two hours after the live call has ended. An audio replay of the webcast will be available via telephone starting at 11:30am ET on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, through 11:30am ET on Tuesday, February 9, 2021. To listen to the recorded webcast by phone, dial (855) 859-2056 and enter the conference ID provided above. Outside the U.S. or Canada, dial +1 (404) 537-3406 and enter the conference ID provided above. About Overstock Overstock.com, Inc Common Stock (NASDAQ: OSTK ) / Series A-1 Preferred Stock (tZERO ATS:OSTKO) / Series B Preferred Stock (OTCQX:OSTBP) is an online retailer and technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Its leading e-commerce website sells a broad range of new home products at low prices, including furniture, décor, rugs, bedding, home improvement, and more. The online shopping site, which is visited by tens of millions of customers a month, also features a marketplace providing customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. Overstock was the first major retailer to accept cryptocurrency in 2014, and in the same year founded Medici Ventures, its wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to the development and acceleration of blockchain technologies to democratize capital, eliminate middlemen, and re-humanize commerce. Overstock regularly posts information about the Company and other related matters on the Newsroom and Investor Relations pages on its website, Overstock.com. O, Overstock.com, O.com, Club O, and Worldstock are registered trademarks of Overstock.com, Inc. Other service marks, trademarks and trade names which may be referred to herein are the property of their respective owners. About Medici Ventures Launched in 2014, Medici Ventures has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock.com, Inc. created to leverage blockchain technology to solve real-world problems with transparent, efficient, and secure solutions. Medici Ventures had interests in a global keiretsu of groundbreaking blockchain-focused companies focused on building the foundation of a technology stack for civilization. Medici Ventures’ companies are introducing blockchain technology to industries including identity, land governance, money and banking, capital markets, supply chain, and voting. The company’s majority-owned financial technology company, tZERO, executed the world’s first blockchain-based stock offering in December 2016. About Pelion Ventures Partners Pelion is an early stage technology venture capital firm with a national track record of investing in software-based businesses that manage the exponential growth in the movement of information, or “bits,” across wired and wireless networks. Founded in 1986, Pelion has been a partner to leading technology innovators CloudFlare, Fusion-io, MX Logic, RedHat, and Riverbed. More at www.pelionvp.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include all statements other than statements of historical fact, including but not limited to statements regarding the closing of the arrangement with Pelion and expectations with respect to the performance of Pelion and the Fund. No assurance can be given that regulatory approval will be granted and the arrangements with Pelion will be consummated. Additional information regarding factors that could materially affect results and the accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained herein may be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the SEC on March 13, 2020, in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on May 7, 2020, in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on August 6, 2020, in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, which was filed with the SEC on November 5, 2020, and in our subsequent filings with the SEC. Contacts Investor Relations: Alexis Callahan 801-947-5126 ir@overstock.com Media Relations: Megan Herrick 801-947-3564 pr@overstock.com Method Communications 801-461-9781 medici@methodcommunications.com View comments || Bitcoin rises 6.6% to $61,074: (Reuters) - Bitcoin, the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, rose 6.64% to $61,073.71 on Saturday, adding $3,802.67 to its previous close. Bitcoin is up 120.2% from the year's low of $27,734 on Jan. 4. (Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang) || Co2Bitcoin (Co2B) - Innovators Announce the Launch of New Crypto Coin to Combat Global Warming: A decentralized group of innovators and visionaries, focused on mitigating the causes and potentially cataclysmic effects of climate change, has introduced a new cryptocurrency known as Co2Bitcoin.
New York City,, Jan. 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- - The new currency which will be available to the public from January 28th, 2021 is focused on helping countries finance local projects to combat global warming's negative effects on our environment and inhabitants.
The availability of the currency to the public will go a long way in increasing the efforts of combating climate change. Co2Bitcoins have already been used to acquire and protect over 100 million trees in the Brazilian Rainforest, saving them from fires by clearing and maintaining the underbrush and using controlled burns to ensure that they are preserved. Co2Bit which developed the currency has already signed partnerships with the Governments ofMadagascar, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Niger, Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Congo Brazzaville, Mali, Comores, Gambia, Guinee, Gabon, Ivory Coast, the Edo Province of Nigeria, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and individually the provinces of Kwango, Maniema, Bas Uele, Kwilu, and Equateur and Lebanon, Center for Energy Conservation.It also reports that more than 30 countries are expected to be signed before the end of February 2021 in line with its goal of partnering with more than one hundred countries by the end of 2021.
The cryptocurrency has also been backed up by international figures with International Statesman and Ten-Time World Chess Champion, Anatoly Karpov terming it as climate solution;
"Co2Bitcoin is a real, practical step to try and solve the problem of Global Warming which disturbs the whole world."
The liquidity of the currency will be supported organically by the growing investor demand for cryptocurrencies, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and the rising appetite for Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) impact investing. The Co2Bitcoin currency, like any other, depends on its utility, and of course supply and demand, to determine its exchange rate.
Co2Bit is also the first cryptocurrency that has the formal support of many nations. With the government being the main token holders, it will be more secure. Its objective of protecting the planet through the financing of projects aimed at reducing the impacts of global warming in the near term and long term offers a very promising message for public and institutional funds where the Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) vision is becoming important.
While the price of carbon credit certificates has been steadily increasing over the past 4 years, the market remains a specialist market making it inaccessible to private investors. With the many polluting actors that are obliged (legally, or more often by market forces) to offset their carbon footprint, Co2Bitcoin could become a new financial instrument used by companies as a voluntary carbon credit. It can be mentioned in the environmental annual reports of companies to raise their ESG rating. This will ultimately result in this currency being used more and more, increasing its liquidity and utility. For speculators, this natural demand could have a positive impact on the appreciation of the price of Co2Bitcoin.
Co2Bit cryptocurrency when injected into climate mitigation project financing, would facilitate technological innovations in solar, wind, and hydroelectric power stations, new technologies for making steel and plastics, advancing agricultural yields, and other projects impacting deforestation and reforestation globally.
Given that private and institutional players in cryptocurrencies are multiplying across the entire asset class, Co2Bit currency will also benefit from strong overlapping trends. On the Ethereum blockchain and in its Smart Contract, one (1) Co2Bitcoin has a value of 1/13th an ETH. Based on a January 25, 2021 price of USD 1404 per ETH, this would result in a price of USD 108 per Co2Bitcoin.
For additional information go to, Co2Bit.com. Co2B coins will be available on January 28th, 2021 on the highly respected, Award-Winning Coinsbit Exchange (https://coinsbit.io/)for both individual and institutional investors. This Exchange is centralized and recently launched its Decentralized Exchange (DEX). It is renowned for its reliability and convenience for traders of all experience levels. Coinsbit Exchange offers superior security protocols for the safety of each transaction. It includes the world's first online store for buying goods with cryptocurrency. Register for free at athttps://coinsbit.io/
For the original news story, please visithttps://www.prdistribution.com/news/co2bitcoin-co2b-combatting-global-warming-available-january-28-2021-on-the-www-coinsbit-io-exchange-2.html
CONTACT: Name: Ron Henley, IGM Email: support@co2bit.com Phone: +1 (917) 612-7416 (GMT -5) Web Contact Form: www.Co2bit.com/contact || FOREX-Dollar retreats on U.S. recovery doubts; bitcoin tops $47,000 for first time: * Dollar still nursing wounds from disappointing U.S. jobsfigures * Bitcoin soars most since 2017 after Tesla backs digitalcurrency * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By Kevin Buckland TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The dollar slumped to its lowest ina week on Tuesday as investors began entertaining doubts aboutthe scale of a recent rally driven by expectations of a fasterpandemic recovery in the United States than elsewhere. The spotlight remained on bitcoin as it reached arecord above $47,000, building on a nearly 20% surge overnightthat was the biggest since 2017, after Tesla Incannounced a $1.5 billion investment in the digital asset. The dollar index weakened 0.2% to 90.75 in the Asiansession, and dipped to 90.963 for the first time since Feb. 1. The U.S. currency has been in retreat since Friday, whendisappointing jobs data knocked the wind out of a two-week runthat had lifted it to a more than two-month high of 91.6. Investors had pushed up the greenback thanks to a fasterU.S. vaccine rollout relative to most other countries, and asDemocrats moved to fast-track President Joe Biden's $1.9trillion COVID-19 relief package. Many analysts, though, see that massive fiscal spendingcoupled with continued ultra-easy Federal Reserve monetarypolicy dragging down the dollar in the longer term. "The bottom line is a large stimulus is highly likely topass soon, exacerbating the widening in the U.S. current accountdeficit, and weighing on the USD," Commonwealth Bank ofAustralia currency analyst Joseph Capurso said in a client note. Europe's "lagging" vaccination program will cap the euronear-term but the continent should catch up by the summer, afterwhich the single currency could rally to $1.28 for the firsttime since 2014, he said. The euro rose 0.2% to $1.20775 on Tuesday, up from thetwo-month low of $1.9520 touched Friday. The British pound renewed its highs since May 2018 byclimbing to $1.3784 in Asia. It last traded up 0.3% at $1.3774. The dollar slipped 0.3% to 104.925 yen, after strengtheningto 105.765 at the end of last week for the first time sinceOctober. Elsewhere, Tesla sent bitcoin surging by saying in its 2020annual report on Monday that it had bought $1.5 billion of theworld's most popular cryptocurrency as part of its broadinvestment policy, and that it expected to begin accepting thedigital asset as payment for its products "in the near future." "This is a turning point for how we view digitalcurrencies," said Junichi Ishikawa, a foreign-exchangestrategist at IG Securities in Tokyo. "From here on, bitcoin will be genuinely considered as anasset available for selection by asset managers in theirportfolios." Bitcoin traded at $46,400 after pushing to a new recordat$47,565.86 on Tuesday. Rival virtual currency ethereum changed hands at $1,733.14after reaching an unprecedented $1,784.85 on Monday. Riskier fiat currencies also received a boost as risingstock markets buoyed sentiment. The Australian dollar gained 0.3% to 77.252 U.S. cents,while its New Zealand peer added 0.4% to 72.47 U.S. cents. Westpac is targeting an advance to 75 U.S. cents for NewZealand's currency, strategist Imre Speizer wrote in a clientnote published Tuesday. "Markets have acknowledged NZ’s successful Covid managementand ensuing economic recovery, but recent economic data hassurprised even the most optimistic pundits," the note said. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 1:15PM (415 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar $1.2077 $1.2050 +0.23% -1.15% +1.2082 +1.2049 Dollar/Yen 104.8870 105.2100 -0.25% +1.61% +105.2470 +104.9500 Euro/Yen 126.69 126.78 -0.07% -0.18% +126.8400 +126.7000 Dollar/Swiss 0.8965 0.8989 -0.27% +1.33% +0.8990 +0.8960 Sterling/Dollar 1.3774 1.3742 +0.25% +0.83% +1.3782 +1.3739 Dollar/Canadian 1.2723 1.2740 -0.11% -0.06% +1.2740 +1.2720 Aussie/Dollar 0.7724 0.7704 +0.28% +0.43% +0.7730 +0.7701 NZ 0.7247 0.7220 +0.40% +0.95% +0.7252 +0.7219 Dollar/Dollar All spotsTokyo spotsEurope spots Volatilities Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ (Reporting by Kevin Buckland; additional reporting by StanleyWhiteEditing by Shri Navaratnam) || Grayscale Investments® Announces Exploration of New Investment Products: New potential products reflect company’s continued commitment to improving investment community’s access to digital currency asset class
New York, Feb. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Grayscale Investments®, the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, is announcing its consideration of several new digital assets for potential new product offerings. The firm, which currently offers accredited investors eight single-asset investment trusts and one diversified fund, continues to seek ways to better meet growing investor demand for exposure to digital assets through familiar, secure, and regulated investment products.
The digital assets currently under consideration include:
• Aave (AAVE)
• Basic Attention Token (BAT)
• Cardano (ADA)
• Chainlink (LINK)
• Compound (COMP)
• Cosmos (ATOM)
• Decentraland (MANA)
• EOS (EOS)
• Filecoin (FIL)
• Flow (Dapper Labs) (FLOW)
• Livepeer (LPT)
• MakerDao (MKR)
• Monero (XMR)
• Numeraire (NMR)
• Polkadot (DOT)
• Reserve Rights (RSR)
• Stacks (STX)
• Sushiswap (SUSHI)
• Synthetix (SNX)
• Tezos (XTZ)
• The Graph (GRT)
• Uniswap (UNI)
• Yearn Finance (YFI)
“We're eager to expand our product offerings to better serve our investors,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein. “The digital currency universe is constantly evolving and we seek to identify bold, interesting, and innovative opportunities that satisfy our investors’ demand for differentiated exposure to this burgeoning asset class.”
“We may not turn each of these assets into one of our landmark investment products,” continued Sonnenshein. “But as a firm that has been on the vanguard of connecting the legacy financial system with the new, digital currency-driven financial system, we view it as our responsibility to introduce investors to more diversity in this space.”
The process of creating an investment product structured similarly to those Grayscale already offers requires significant review and consideration, and is subject to substantial internal controls, sufficiently secure custody arrangements, and regulatory considerations. As such, there is no guarantee that assets named in the above list will receive a corresponding investment product.
Any newly-created products from Grayscale will be announced separately upon launch.
Investors can access Grayscale’s existing suite of products, as well as research, resources, and more, atgrayscale.co.
--
Grayscale’s single-asset investment products provide exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Horizen (ZEN), Litecoin (LTC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Zcash (ZEC). Additionally, Grayscale’s diversified investment product, Grayscale® Digital Large Cap Fund, provides exposure to top digital currencies by market capitalization.
Grayscale's investment products are available to institutional and individual accredited investors through their respective periodic and ongoing private placements.
Additionally, secondary markets exist for six of Grayscale’s products as Grayscale® Bitcoin Trust (OTCQX:GBTC), Grayscale® Bitcoin Cash Trust (OTCQX:BCHG), Grayscale® Ethereum Trust (OTCQX:ETHE), Grayscale® Ethereum Classic Trust (OTCQX:ETCG), Grayscale® Litecoin Trust (OTCQX:LTCN) and Grayscale® Digital Large Cap Fund (OTCQX:GDLC) are publicly-quoted and available to all individual and institutional investors on the OTCQX® Best Market and other OTC Markets.*
*Each Product offers a private placement to accredited investors. The investment objective of each Product is for its Shares (based on digital assets per Share) to reflect the value of digital assets held by such Product, less such Product’s expenses and other liabilities.
Because each Product does not currently operate a redemption program, there can be no assurance that the value of such Product’s Shares will reflect the value of the assets held by such Product, less such Product’s expenses and other liabilities, and the Shares of such Product, if traded on any secondary market, may trade at a substantial premium over, or a substantial discount to, the value of the assets held by such Product, less such Product’s expenses and other liabilities, and such Product may be unable to meet its investment objective.
This press release is not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be illegal, nor shall there be any sale of any security in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.
About Grayscale Investments®
Grayscale Investments is the world’s largest digital currency asset manager, with more than $39.1B in assets under management as of February 25, 2021. Through its family of investment products, Grayscale provides access and exposure to the digital currency asset class in the form of a traditional security without the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping digital currencies directly. With a proven track record and unrivaled experience, Grayscale’s products operate within existing regulatory frameworks, creating secure and compliant exposure for investors. Grayscale products are distributed by Genesis Global Trading, Inc. (Member FINRA/SIPC, MSRB Registered). For more information, please visitgrayscale.coand follow@Grayscale.
CONTACT: press@grayscale.co || GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks dip as rotation continues; yields, dollar rise: * MSCI World down 0.2%, pressured by bond yields * Oil, gold also lower; dollar gains * Biden signs $1.9 trillion stimulus into law (Updates throughout, changes dateline from previous LONDON) By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK, March 12 (Reuters) - An index of stocks across the world fell on Friday but was set to post its strongest weekly gain in five, while benchmark Treasury yields climbed to 13-month highs partly on optimism after a $1.9 trillion recovery package was signed into law. Gains in Shanghai and Tokyo stock markets proved tough to match in Europe and on Wall Street, where banks were the silver lining and the Nasdaq underperformed as the rotation from growth to value continued. The Dow Industrials hit a record high. The spike in Treasury yields gave support to the dollar while the sell-off in stocks shone a light on the greenback's safe haven appeal. Against a backdrop of super-loose monetary policy, some analysts expect inflation to pick up as vaccine rollouts lead to economies reopening, leading to worries that the stimulus package could overheat the American economy. U.S. President Joe Biden signed the stimulus legislation before giving a televised address in which he pledged aggressive action to speed vaccinations and move the country closer to normality by July 4. "The risks of inflation picking up have increased significantly due to a jump in money supply through stimulus and the anticipated demand that we might see as the economy slowly unlocks," said Jonathan Bell, chief investment officer at Stanhope Capital in London. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 141.83 points, or 0.44%, to 32,627.42, the S&P 500 lost 11.89 points, or 0.30%, to 3,927.45 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 152.25 points, or 1.14%, to 13,246.42. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.28% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.31%. Emerging market stocks lost 0.75%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.68% lower, while Japan's Nikkei rose 1.73%. Story continues U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose above 1.6% and were on track to rise for the seventh straight week. Bond selling "is more likely to be an expression of conviction about the economy," said in a note Jim Vogel, senior rates strategist at FHN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 27/32 in price to yield 1.6194%, from 1.527% late on Thursday. The recent, sharp, market moves give even more importance to next week's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve for clues to its views on rising yields and the threat of inflation. In currency markets, the dollar index rose 0.242%, with the euro down 0.29% to $1.1949. The Japanese yen weakened 0.39% versus the greenback at 108.92 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3915, down 0.54% on the day. Markets are likely to remain volatile in the second quarter, particularly for the dollar, which was much stronger than expected at the start of the year, said Cliff Zhao, chief strategist at China Construction Bank International. "The strong U.S. dollar may weigh on some liquidity conditions in the emerging markets," he said. The Institute of International Finance on Thursday urged the Fed to give guidance on its managing of higher yields to avoid even more outflows from emerging markets. Oil prices were little changed, with both Brent and WTI struggling to keep the weekly performance in positive territory. On Friday, U.S. crude rose 0.09% to $66.08 per barrel and Brent was at $69.60, down 0.04% on the day. Spot gold dropped 0.1% to $1,719.01 an ounce. Silver fell 1.14% to $25.78. Bitcoin last fell 0.64% to $57,405.18. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Shashank Nayar and Medha Singh in Bengaluru, John McCrank and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York, and Shadia Nasralla in London Editing by Nick Zieminski) || Value Investor Bill Miller’s Top 10 Stock Picks: In this article, we will discuss value investor Bill Miller's stock portfolio strategies that helped his hedge fund Miller Value Partners in generating significant gains in the last two years. We will also closely examine how the legendary investor is seeking to beat the market trend in 2021. For that, we will review value investor Bill Miller's top 10 stock picks. Click to skip ahead and seeValue Investor Bill Miller's Top 5 Stock Picks.
Bill Miller is an American investor and hedge fund manager, known for his legendary stock-picking strategies and investing perspective. Miller worked for the now-defunct investment management firm Legg Mason — famous for beating the S&P 500 for 15 straight years — before starting his hedge fundMiller Value Partners. The 71-year-old, born in North Carolina, loves philosophy and pursued a Ph.D. program at Johns Hopkins University Department of Philosophy after completing his military service.
Miller’s investment philosophy is to brutally scrutinize a stock to gauge its core value, ignoring all kinds of hypes and factors that may add up artificial weight to the stock price. Miller Value Partners loves free cash flows, and analyzes fundamentals, strategy, peers, management and capital allocation to determine the actual worth of a business.
Value investing legend Bill Miller’s strategy of investing in high growth stocks from information technology, consumer discretionary, and communications sectors worked for his hedge fund Miller Value Partners in the past two years. The firm has generated a 120% return in 2019 and a 35% return in the latest quarter. Bill Miller's portfolio diversification strategies and a keen eye on profit-making opportunities have also helped his hedge fund bounce back after posting a 33% loss in 2018. Miller has spread investments across nine sectors. He believes in buying stocks that are trading at discounts and holding them for longer period of time. His hedge fund values businesses based on their strong fundamentals and competitive advantage instead of PE ratios.
Bill Miller is optimistic about the stock market performance in 2021, expecting stronger-than-expected growth in economic conditions and profits for corporations.
“I think the consensus may be wrong is that 2021’s economic and profit growth could be considerably higher than is now priced into stocks and bonds, leading some groups that have trailed the market for years, such as banks and energy, to move from laggards to leaders. If growth is stronger than believed, the scarcity value of high growth companies will diminish and the rotation to value continues. This does not mean I think many of 2020’s market winners will become losers, rather than the market’s gains will be much more broadly distributed than in recent years.” Bill Miller said in his Q4letterto investors.
His predictions are certainly prescient. The 2020 laggards like energy and banking stocks are leading gains this year while 2020 winners like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) are struggling to trade in green in 2021. The energy sector is up more than 25% since the beginning of this year while the financial sector remains the second-best performer among the 11 S&P 500 sectors.
It also appears that the investing legend has significantly increased his stake in the energy and financial sectors during the past two quarters. The energy sector accounted for 2.72% of the overall 13F portfolio of the hedge fund at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 1.06% at the end of the September quarter. Bill Miller initiated a position in two energy stocks including Diamondback Energy (NYSE:FANG) and Alliance Resource Partners (NYSE:ARLP) and added to his existing Energy Transfer Equity LP (NYSE:ET) position.
Meanwhile, the investing legend looks exceptionally bullish on financial stocks. Financial stocks on his portfolio grew from 12% of the overall portfolio in the second quarter of 2020 to 21% by the end of the year. His hedge fund has initiated positions in several new financial stocks during the past two quarters. These positions include a big stake in Desktop Metal (NYSE:DM) and Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT).
To capitalize on profit-making opportunities in 2021, value investor Bill Miller has initiated positions in 27 stocks and increased his stake in 29 stocks. On the other hand, his firm sold out 15 stocks during the fourth quarter and most of them were smaller positions.
Bill Miller of Miller Value Partners
Bill Miller is bullish on Bitcoin. In a recentinterviewwith CNBC, he said that it’s becoming less risky to invest in Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency gains value and traction.
“I think that Bitcoin ... should probably be up 50% to 100% from here in the next 12 to 18 months. And if you were to ask me the over or under, I would definitely say it would be much more likely to be higher than lower.”
While Bill Miller's reputation remains intact, the same can’t be said of the hedge fund industry as a whole, as its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 78 percentage points since March 2017 (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.
Let’s start reviewing value investor Bill Miller’s top 10 stock picks to see how the legendary investor is seeking to outperform the market trends in 2021.
The value investing master Bill Miller has bought more shares of the largest Chines e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) on the dip during the fourth quarter. The 7% shares addition increased Miller Value Partners' overall stake to 394,186 shares valued at around $91.7 million, according to the latest filings. Miller Value Partners has benefited from its Alibaba stake as shares of the Chinese online platform increased more than 200% since the firm first initiated a stake in 2017.
In its Q4 investor letter, Bill Miller highlighted aspects that negatively impacted BABA’s performance in 2020. Here is what Bill Millerstated:
“Alibaba (BABA) had quite the quarter rising up to a high of $317 in October only to end the quarter down 20% after the delay of the Ant IPO and the announced investigations by the Chinese government into monopolistic practices at the firm. There was additional pressure on the stock as the US House of Representatives passed a bill that threatens to delist Chinese companies from US exchanges unless US regulators are able to inspect their financial audits within three years. During the quarter, the company increased their share buyback program from $6B to $10B. The company report second quarter FY21 results that were largely in-line with expectations. The company reported revs of Rmb155.1B (USD 23.9B) slightly beating consensus of Rmb 153.9B (USD 23.7B) and adjusted EBITDA of Rmb 47.5B (USD 7.3B) versus 41.3B (USD 6.3B). The company maintained full year guidance for revenues of Rmb 650B (USD 100.3B).”
The social media giant Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has also been a permanent member of value investor Bill Miller’s portfolio since 2017. Shares of Facebook outperformed the broader market trend in 2020 but the social media giant is struggling to post some gains in 2021. The selloff is blamed on investors' shift towards value stocks from growth stocks.
Kinsman Oak Capital Partners Inc., an independent Toronto-based boutique investment firm, highlighted few stocks including Facebook in an investor letter. Here’s what Kinsman Oak Capital Partnersstated:
“Our view on Facebook (FB) may be somewhat controversial. The bear case for FB boils down to antitrust risk and valuation. Facebook, although to a lesser degree, is a relative value bargain as well. We believe the company possesses an element of platform risk that Alphabet does not but, compared to the rest of the market, the stock still seems undervalued. We compared Facebook to the Russell 2000, an index full of cyclical businesses that are considered no-brainers at the beginning of a recovery and popular re-opening stocks that are poised to go higher after the vaccine is distributed (Appendix E). Facebook is significantly cheaper, growing faster, has a larger economic moat, superior margin profile, and requires less capex.
The security, automation, and smart home solutions provider ADT Inc. (NYSE: ADT) is among the value investor Bill Miller’s top 10 picks for 2021. After a strong performance in 2020, shares of ADT are underperforming in 2021. Despite that, investors are still likely to benefit from ADT’s strong dividends. The company currently offers a dividend yield of almost 1.8%.
In a Q4 investor letter, Miller Value Partners also highlighted ADT’s performance. Here is what Miller Value Partnerssaid:
“ADT Inc. (ADT) declined 3.5% during the quarter. The company reported strong 3Q results, which showed continued net subscriber growth with record customer retention (attrition of 12.9% versus 13.5% last year). The company reported revenue of $1.30B versus consensus of $1.25B with EBITDA of $564M versus $524M expected. The company updated full year guidance to revenue of $5.20-5.35B versus consensus of $5.24B and EBITDA of $2.15-2.225B versus $2.144B expected and free cash flow (FCF) guidance of $650-725M (raising the lower end by $25m from previous guidance). The company has set 2H21 as the time frame to launch their professionally installed and co-branded offering with Google (ahead of the mid-2022 guide) and they announced that they are developing an ADT-owned, next-gen, residential technology platform allowing them to use their own proprietary software.”
The financial services holding company OneMain Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: OMF) has been a member of Bill Miller’s stock portfolio over the past five years. Shares of OneMain Holdings helped the hedge fund in generating robust returns in the past two quarters. This is because shares of OMF rallied almost 60% in the last six months. Besides past performance, OneMain Holdings' stock price is struggling to outperform the broader market trends in 2021.
Miller Value Partners stated in its Q4 investor letter that OneMain Holdings contributed strongly to their quarterly performance. Here’s what Miller Value Partnersstated:
“OneMain Holdings (OMF) was the top contributor over the quarter, advancing 56.0% after reporting Q3 Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.19, well above consensus of $1.26 and the quarterly dividend, which was increased 36% to $0.45/share (3.5% annualized yield and 11.5% Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) yield). Net interest income of $836M beat estimates of $778M, implying a 24.3% asset yield and 18.7% net interest margin. Origination volumes increased 41% sequentially to $2.9Bn on continued strength in digital while end-of-period net receivables were flat at $17.8Bn. Credit quality remains excellent with net charge-offs of 5.2%, the lowest level since 3Q 2015. Management guided to year-end receivables of $18.1Bn, net charge-offs of 5.6% (from 5.8%-6.0%), and net leverage of 4.3x-4.5x.”
The online seller of apparel, shoes, and accessories Stitch Fix, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFIX) is among the value investor Bill Miller’s top 10 stock picks for 2021. Shares of Stitch Fix grew 38% so far in 2021, extending the twelve-month gains to 240%. The firm has been holding a position in Stitch Fix since the fourth quarter of 2017.
Miller Value Partners stated in the Q4 investor letter that Stich Fix's strategy of moving online helped it in generating strong returns for investors. Here is what the firmsaid:
“Stitch Fix, Inc. (SFIX) climbed an impressive 116% in the quarter following the release of their Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 first quarter results. Revenue for the first quarter came in at $490M, beating estimates of $481M. Gross margins were higher than anticipated at 44.7% versus expectations of 43.6% and adjusted net income coming in at $9.54M versus expectations for a -$18.5M decline. The company provided stronger than expected full-year guidance, with revenues of $2.05-$2.14B, relative to $2.01B estimates. Stitch Fix finally announced their new CFO, Dan Jedda, who joins the company from Amazon.com. The company is beginning to see uptake in their “direct buy” offering which is allowing them to expand their products to customers that are not current Fix members allowing them to expand their total addressable market. The shift to online purchasing has also further supported the company’s strong momentum.”
Click to continue reading and seeValue Investor Bill Miller's Top 5 Stock Picks.
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Disclosure: None.Value Investor Bill Miller's Top 10 Stock Picksis originally published on Insider Monkey. || FOREX-Dollar pares gains before Fed's Powell speaks: * Graphic: World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E By Karen Brettell NEW YORK, March 4, (Reuters) - The dollar pared earlier gains on Thursday before an appearance by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that will be watched for any sign the Fed is uncomfortable with U.S. Treasury yield increases. The dollar has gained along with U.S. government bond yields as impending U.S. fiscal stimulus adds fuel to expectations of higher inflation and the rollout of vaccines against COVID-19 heightens optimism that the economy headed for recovery. "The U.S. is assuming the leadership position on growth matters, fiscal dominance and certainly vaccinations," said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York. The dollar index was little changed on the day at 91.094, after earlier rising to 91.223. The euro dipped 0.19% to $1.2039. Investors want to see whether Powell expresses concern about a recent sell-off in Treasuries and if there is any change in his assessment of the economy before the Fed's next meeting, ending March 17. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were last 1.47% after earlier rising as high as 1.49%. "Comments that he (Powell) is monitoring events in the Treasury market might be enough to calm things down, encourage a return to high-yield FX and a softer dollar, but no such concern would suggest the Fed is happy for U.S. Treasury yields to ‘find the right level’ … potentially triggering another spike in U.S. yields and more dollar short-covering," ING said in a note to clients. The Swiss franc and the Japanese yen continued their recent weakness. They have been hurt expectations the U.S. will lead global growth, which some analysts are calling U.S. exceptionalism. "The traditional (funding currencies) like euro, yen and Swiss, look to be particular laggers in that environment under a higher U.S. yield backdrop," said TD’s Issa. The franc weakened as far as 0.9253, the lowest since Sept. 28. The yen reached 107.48, its weakest since July 20. Higher risk currencies, including the Australian dollar, by contrast, are positioned to outperform. The Aussie was last up 0.22% on the day at $0.7792, holding below three-year highs of $0.8007 reached last week. In the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin fell 1.23% to $49,775. Ether gained 1.06% to $1,583. Bitcoin has surged 78% so far this year as it gains more acceptance in the financial services industry, but the U.S. financial regulator is likely to start working on guidelines for digital assets, which could increase scrutiny of cryptocurrencies. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:42AM (1442 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index 91.0940 91.0970 +0.01% 1.237% +91.2230 +90.9700 Euro/Dollar $1.2039 $1.2062 -0.19% -1.46% +$1.2065 +$1.2026 Dollar/Yen 107.3850 106.9600 +0.45% +4.02% +107.4850 +106.9900 Euro/Yen 129.29 129.08 +0.16% +1.86% +129.3800 +128.9200 Dollar/Swiss 0.9242 0.9200 +0.44% +4.45% +0.9253 +0.9190 Sterling/Dollar $1.3979 $1.3950 +0.22% +2.33% +$1.3980 +$1.3920 Dollar/Canadian 1.2627 1.2656 -0.22% -0.83% +1.2674 +1.2617 Aussie/Dollar $0.7792 $0.7775 +0.22% +1.29% +$0.7814 +$0.7753 Euro/Swiss 1.1127 1.1094 +0.30% +2.96% +1.1141 +1.1077 Euro/Sterling 0.8612 0.8642 -0.35% -3.64% +0.8655 +0.8611 NZ $0.7251 $0.7246 +0.11% +1.02% +$0.7272 +$0.7227 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway 8.4835 8.4915 -0.03% -1.14% +8.5485 +8.4840 Euro/Norway 10.2155 10.2459 -0.30% -2.40% +10.2879 +10.2143 Dollar/Sweden 8.4319 8.4217 -0.02% +2.87% +8.4555 +8.4105 Euro/Sweden 10.1520 10.1544 -0.02% +0.75% +10.1755 +10.1500 (Additional reporting by Ritvik Carvalho in London, editing by Larry King)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 58870.89, 57858.92, 58346.65, 58313.64, 57523.42, 54529.14, 54738.95, 52774.27, 51704.16, 55137.31
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin cash is already the 3rd largest cryptocurrency: (Bitcoin cash has cemented its position as a top player in cryptocurrency spaceThomson Reuters)
Bitcoin cash has already secured its place as a top cryptocurrency, just a day after it entered the marketplace.
According toCoinmarketcap.com, the cryptocurrency is trading at about $490 per coin and its marketcap now stands above $8 billion. As such, it is the third largest cryptocurrency by marketcap, surpassing big name coins such as Ripple ($6.7 billion) and Litecoin ($2.2 billion).
Bitcoin cash came to fruition Tuesday afterit split from the original network that powers its crypto-cousin,bitcoin. To recap, the split was preceded by ayears-long war between power brokers in the bitcoin space over the rules that guide the digital currency's network.
Supporters of the newly formed bitcoin cash believe the currency will "breath new life into" the nearly 10-year-old bitcoin by addressing some of the issues facing bitcoin of late, such as slow transaction speeds.
And it looks like investors are singing the same tune. Bitcoin cash is up about 80% since its inception. That's a higher appreciation than any of the other top 10 cryptocurrencies.
Because bitcoin cash will initially draw its value from bitcoin's market cap, according to Charles Morris, the chief investment officer of NextBlock Global, an investment firm with digital assets, it will most likely cause bitcoin's value to drop by an amount proportional to its adoption.
Bitcoinis currently down 3.7% at $2,690.
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• Billionaire investor Howard Marks says cryptocurrencies 'aren't real' || Bitcoin Services Inc. Launches www.bitcoinservicescorp.com and Provides Corporate Update: DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / August 10, 2017 /Bitcoin Services Inc. (OTC PINK: BTSC) announced today that it launched a new corporate websitewww.bitcoinservicescorp.com. The company is also pleased to announce their earnings on August 14, 2017. Bitcoin Services Inc began the mining of Dash in the 1stquarter of 17. Dash is Digital Cash You Can Spend Anywhere. Dash can be used to make instant, private payments online or in-store using our secure open-source platform hosted by thousands of users around the world. In addition, Bitcoin Services Inc. has created a new subsidiary Crypto Capital Corp (www.cryptocapitalcorp.com) that will develop a new Crypto currency wallet. The wallet will let users safely store multiple digital currencies in one wallet. Bitcoin Services Inc. would also like to congratulate all Bitcoin users for reaching a historic all-time high on August of 2017.
About Bitcoin Services Inc.:
Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of two separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin mining, and (2) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet.
Safe Harbor Statement:
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief, or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers, and effectively compete against similar companies.
CONTACT:
info@bitcoinservicescorp.com
SOURCE:Bitcoin Services Inc. || Bitcoin is tumbling: It's a rough start to the week forbitcoin. The cryptocurrency trades down 10.11% on Monday, at $2,275 a coin, a one-week low.
The action seems to be a continuation of the selling that developed on Wednesday, when rivalEthereum flash-crashedfrom $296 to 10 cents before recovering its losses.
Bitcoin is down about 16.6% since Wednesday's opening print.
The recent weakness in bitcoin follows a run-up of more than 200% to start the year. Bitcoin's 2017 gains have been propelled byheavy buying from China and Japan.
Recent strength has come on the heels of China's three biggest exchangesresuming withdrawalsfor the first time since February, and Japan naming bitcoina legal payment methodin early April. Additionally, Russia's largest online retailerbegan accepting bitcoin, even though Russia has said it wouldn't consider the use of the cryptocurrency until 2018.
But the gains have created some skepticism as of late. The billionaire Mark Cubancalled bitcoin a "bubble"as the cryptocurrency hit its then-all-time high on June 6.
"I think it's in a bubble. I just don't know when or how much it corrects,"Cuban tweeted. "When everyone is bragging about how easy they are making $=bubble."
About a week later, Goldman Sachs' head of technical strategy, Sheba Jafari, said bitcoin waslooking "heavy"and could drop as low as $1,915 before seeing a rally. It put in a low of $2,076 before rallying to almost $2,800.
There remains one big unknown. In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commissionrejected two bitcoin exchange-traded funds. It has since taken public comment on its decision about an ETF proposed by the Winklevoss twins, but it has not made an additional ruling.
Bitcoin is up 136% in 2017.
(Investing.com)
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• John McAfee's latest gambit is mining Ethereum — the cryptocurrency that's up nearly 4,000% this year || Most banks expect legal bills to fall — except Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo (WFC) has had a rocky 11 months. First, news broke that the third largest bank by assets had beencreating millions of accounts without customers’ permission, resulting in $185 million in fines. But that’s not all. The bank has been hounded by more scandals involvingmortgagesandoverdraft charges. Just this month, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), began looking into whether the bank duped borrowersinto buying expensive car insurance.
All of this has opened the San Francisco-based bank up to some serious litigation risks, and the bank has continuously had to update how much it may have to pony up to square things with consumers it has wronged.
There are many legal balls in the air, and many of them are class-actions. A class-action suit regarding the fake accounts is in the process of being settled; a judge granted preliminary approval to a$142 millionsettlement of that case in July. A proposed class-actionaccusing the bank of “racketeering violations and fraud”was filed recently after the bank admitted to providing unnecessary auto insurance.Multiple lawsuitsare ongoing in regards to unauthorized changes to mortgages.
And on Friday, Wells Fargo was hit witha proposed class-action lawsuitalleging the bank’s merchant services overcharged for credit-card processing, thus ripping off small businesses.
According to Moody’s, Wells Fargo’s revisions of possible losses from litigation come at a time when “most other banks’ reasonably possible litigation losses are declining.”
Wells Fargo is doing very well financially, postingreasonably strong earnings, so the effects of these potential losses may not be a particularly material factor for the health of the company.
But compared to other banks, Wells Fargo’s potential legal liabilities in the past two years are stark as the chart from Moody’s shows above. While Wells Fargo’s upper bound of possible legal losses shot up 150%, they went down between 25% and 50% for Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Citigroup (C).Banks have been paying for the way they made, marketed and sold residential mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis. That litigation is finally starting to wind down.
Because of all this legal exposure, it’s not a surprise that the bankis looking closelyat the CFPB’s new arbitration rule that bans banks from forcing arbitration instead of allowing consumers to band together in a class-action suit, which is more costly for the companies. The rule has been challenged by Congress and the House voted to repeal it.
Ethan Wolff-Mannis a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, tech, and personal finance. Follow him on Twitter@ewolffmann. Got a tip? Send it totips@yahoo-inc.com.
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How ringless spam voicemails became a partisan issue || NetworkNewsWire Announces Publication on Rising Interests in Bitcoin and Hydroponic Applications to the Cannabis Market: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jun 29, 2017) -NetworkNewsWire("NNW"), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company, today announces the publication of an editorial featuring SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC:SING), a client of NNW focused on strengthening its position in the marijuana industry through the acquisition of, or investment in, small to mid-sized cannabis companies.
The publication is entitled "Bitcoin and Hydroponics Present Prime Investment Opportunities in the Legal Cannabis Space." The article discusses specific areas of interest and growth in the burgeoning marijuana sector, and several key publicly traded companies participating in the market.
To view the full publication, visit:https://www.networknewswire.com/bitcoin-hydroponics-present-prime-investment-opportunities-legal-cannabis-space/
"An ongoing roadblock for legal marijuana enterprises has been a lack of banking options, which forces these businesses to conduct cash transactions. SinglePoint has identified bitcoin digital currency as an ideal solution to the numerous challenges of the "unbankable" marijuana industry (http://nnw.fm/8fk1B) and is creating a proprietary bitcoin payment solution that can be implemented in any point-of-sale machine through a simple download, enabling cannabis dispensaries and other marijuana businesses to conduct debit and credit card transactions independent of banks and the FDIC.
"SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) also participates in another high-interest area of the marijuana industry through its acquisition and 90 percent ownership of DIGS Hydro. Through DIGS Hydro, SinglePoint is now able to offer soil and supplies, including hydroponics products, to legal cannabis growers. It also offers consulting services relating to indoor growing and hydroponics. This acquisition has positioned SinglePoint to become a leader in online products, retail stores, cannabis consulting and equipment in California, which is home to thousands of marijuana-related businesses.
"SinglePoint also describes its strategy to increase revenues through the remainder of the year, leveraging the strength of its acquisition-based growth strategy. Such acquisitions are part of SinglePoint's diversified approach to operating within the marijuana industry without ever touching the plant. Earlier this year, the company began funding Convectium, which is a provider of equipment, branding and packaging solutions to the marijuana industry and is the developer of the very first cartridge and vape pen oil-filling machines for wholesale distribution to cannabis dispensaries."
About SinglePoint, Inc.
SinglePoint, Inc. (SING) has grown from a full-service mobile technology provider to a publicly traded holding company. Through diversification into horizontal markets, SinglePoint is building its portfolio by acquiring an interest in undervalued subsidiaries, thereby providing a rich, diversified holding base. Through its subsidiary companySingleSeedthe company is providing products and services to the cannabis industry.
Connect on social media at:https://www.facebook.com/SinglePointMobile,https://www.twitter.com/_SinglePoint_,http://www.linkedin.com/company/SinglePointandhttp://www.youtube.com/user/SinglePointMobile
For more information, visithttp://www.SinglePoint.comorhttp://www.SingleSeed.com
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Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. || Raytheon among stocks that may benefit from bigger missile defense spending because of North Korea: Jefferies is optimistic toward companies such as Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) , Orbital ATK (: OA'WI) , and Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE: AJRD) as tensions with North Korea escalate, leading to greater missile defense spending. "The aggressive nature of the North Korean acts may cause Japan, South Korea, the U.S. Congress and the Administration to fund missile defense at an above average rate," wrote Jefferies equity analyst Howard Rubel in Wednesday's note. The U.S. confirmed that a missile launched by the North Korean government on Tuesday was an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, which has the potential to reach the United States. After numerous attempts to goad the Chinese government into applying more economic pressure against Pyongyang, President Donald Trump is running out of diplomatic options. While the U.S. continues to build its immature Ground Based Missile Defense system, radar and rocket manufacturers such as Raytheon are poised for federal funding, with geospatial imagery companies like DigitalGlobe also positioned for bumps, according to the Jefferies report. "The Japanese have considered another program which would help defend their territory. If we go forward with some form of defense of Hawaii, that's a multi-billion dollar program," added Rubel on CNBC's "Power Lunch" earlier today. "The answer is: it's undecided how large the opportunity is for these contractors." "Language in the House Armed Services Report for the FY18 DoD budget calls out the need for a plan to enhance the sharing of commercial imagery and national technical means with South Korea and Japan," added Rubel. The increased expenditure on weapons and defense, as well as the potential for further international partnership would bode well for American arms manufacturers. On Wednesday afternoon, Raytheon traded approximately 1.60 percent higher while Orbital ATK was up 2.14 percent. Story continues Earlier today, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea Christopher Hill told CNBC that he believes Americans will pay close attention to the U.S. response following this latest North Korean missile launch. "In the short run, what they're very concerned about is the possibility that North Korea could have an ICBM that could hit the U.S. with a nuclear weapon," Hill told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "I think the American people will indeed ask the question you're asking, which is what is [Trump] going to do about it?" Thus far, China has regarded the uptick in U.S. missile defense activity with disdain. Plans for new modern defense weapons sales to Taiwan angered China last week as the U.S. State Department announced the $1.42 billion agreement. Prior to the arms sale, the U.S. shocked both South Korea and China by secretly deploying four more THAAD rocket launchers in South Korea. More From CNBC Bitcoin could nearly double and reach $5,000 soon, says Standpoint Research TipRanks: Here are the favorite tech stocks of top analysts for the second half Some recent tech IPOs are cratering || Top Wall Street strategist expects bitcoin to be the best asset through year-end: Bitcoin(Exchange: BTC=-USS)will likely outperform stocks and bonds the rest of the year, according to the first major Wall Street strategist to issue a report on the digital currency.
"I think bitcoin is an underowned asset with potential for huge institutional sponsorship coming," Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee said Wednesday on CNBC's "Fast Money."
"It has a lot of characteristics that are very similar to gold that I think will make it ultimately attractive as an alternate currency," he said. "It's a good store of value."
Here's Lee's outlook on bitcoin given on the show into year-end:
Gold or bitcoin? Bitcoin?
Bitcoin leaped to record highs this week above $3,500, more than tripling in value for the year despite a split in the currency last week into bitcoin and bitcoin cash, an alternative version supported by a minority of developers.
Bitcoin traded 1.5 percent higher near $3,428 Thursday morning, according to CoinDesk. Bitcoin cash steadied after wild swings in its first week, trading near $303, according to CoinMarketCap.
Another digital currency, ethereum(Exchange: ETH=), rose 1 percent to just under $300, according to CoinDesk.
Bitcoin three-month performance
Source: CoinDesk
Lee published a report in early July outlining thepotential for bitcoin to rise above $20,000 and potentially reach $55,000 by 2022.Formerly the top stock strategist at JPMorgan and a perennial favorite of big institutional investors, Lee was also one of the few on Wall Street to predict that a Donald Trump win in last year's election would cause stocks to rally, not fall like most had seen.
Lee sees another reason for optimism about bitcoin.
"Institutions have to directly buy the coin today through a broker, but both theCBOEand theCFTChave opened up options futures trading, so I think it's going to grow in holdings," he told CNBC.
In the last month, the Chicago Board Options Exchange said it plans to offer bitcoin futures by early next year, while the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a digital currency trading firm called LedgerX to clear derivatives.
Market strategists have noted there are few highly attractive investment opportunities with U.S. stocks at all-time highs and bonds steady as the Federal Reserve remains on a gradual pace of monetary policy tightening and gold in a trading range.
The median S&P 500 target ofstrategists surveyed by CNBCis 2,475, just a point above where the stock index closed Wednesday. Lee happens to bethe most bearishamong those strategists with a year-end target of 2,275, or 8 percent below Wednesday's close.
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• North Korea concerns set the stage on Wall Street, stock futures fall || Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – Prices Continue to Crash: It has been a large, broad-based drop across all the cryptocurrencies as we believe that the market is undergoing an important stage in its maturing process. Every market goes through such a process for a variety of reasons and it is the same in this market as well. Due to the specific nature of different markets, there are no set rules on how the maturity happens and why it happens as well. That is why trading in such new undeveloped and unregulated markets is not for the faint hearted.
We saw the bitcoin prices crash below $2000 and the ethereum prices crash below $140 over the weekend in a broad based correction. Though the ethereum prices have since recovered to come back towards the $160, the bitcoin prices continue to trade below $2000 as of this writing.
There has been a variety of reasons attributed to the fall. It includes the enw software upgrade in bitcoin which is due to release on August 1 and this has unnerved some of the investors who want to sell off as they are uncertain about the consequences of this upgrade. Some point towards the rumors of a split in bitcoin. Some also point to general profit taking and correction after bitcoin and ethereum have risen so much over the last few months. Then there are the ICOs where various crypto based startups collect funds in ethereum and with several million collected by them over the last few weeks, they need to convert some part of them into USD and hence they are probably dumping them into the market.
To us, we believe the last reason, that of ICOs dumping their crytos seem to be the most plausible and we believe that this is all part of the maturing process. It remains to be seen how the prices cope with all this volatility and how they begin to stabilise but what this fall will do is that it will shake off all speculators in this market who are in this purely for the short term gains and will ensure that only long term investors stay behind, which is good for any market.
Looking ahead for the day, we expect the $170 price region to act as a strong resistance for the further upmove for ethereum and we expect the prices to continue to trade in a weak manner. We expect the $2000 round figure to play a similar role as far as bitcoin prices are concerned and retail traders would be advised to stay well away from these markets for now and wait for all the dust to settle down.
Get Into Bitcoin Trading Today
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• DAX Index Daily Fundamental Forecast – July 17, 2017
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• Gold Prices Move Higher on Dollar Weakness
• Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – Prices Continue to Crash
• GBP/USD Daily Fundamental Forecast – July 17, 2017
• EUR/USD Daily Fundamental Forecast – July 17, 2017 || The big business revolution: why the future is blockchain: The value of onebitcoinrecently hit a record high of US$3,025, a staggering rise of over 200% in value this year alone.
Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at the New York University, known as Wall Street’s “dean of valuation”, has said that among the younger generation, digital currencies havereplaced goldas a choice of investment and that, sooner or later, currencies such as bitcoin andethereumwill compete against nation-state paper currencies.
So could bitcoin become a popular currency and decrease the popularity of euros, dollars, pounds, roubles and others? For anything to be seen as “money” it needs to meet three functions – astore of value, ameasure of valueand amedium of exchange. Bitcoin’svolatilityshows that it is an infant in meeting these three criteria, but has the potential to do so.
However, digital currencies like bitcoin are just one application of the blockchain technology that makes them possible. Blockchain, as the BBCexplains, is:
a method of recording data – a digital ledger of transactions, agreements, contracts – anything that needs to be independently recorded and verified as having happened. The big difference is that this ledger isn’t stored in one place, it’s distributed across several, hundreds or even thousands of computers around the world. And everyone in the network can have access to an up-to-date version of the ledger, so it’s very transparent.
Blockchain combines the security ofcryptography, the storage and transmission of data in coded form, withpeer-to-peer networksto create a shared database of transactions that is trusted, yet controlled by no one.
If blockchain finds uses in various industries we could see a more digitally integrated global economy, something that could enhance economic growth and decrease poverty.
In business today, we still require trusted administrators to manage and record the numbers and databases – auditors, supervisory boards and so on. The potential of blockchain is that it offers the chance to “distribute” these digital ledgers to others through a network of computers across the world. It could actuallydispensewith those businesses that are based on trusted relationships – such as banking, auditing, solicitors, even aspects of government. For example in Sweden, Georgia and Ukraineproperty registersare being moved on to the blockchain.
In finance, people rarely lend directly to each other, hence the need for banks as trusted go-betweens. The beauty ofcryptocurrenciessuch as bitcoin or ethereum is that they remove the need for the trusted third party, using instead an encrypted, secure database. This has huge implications for any business that requires the verification of payments and performance of contracts – that is, most businesses.
The beauty of blockchain is that something can be unique and stored digitally with ease, without needing an equivalent in the real world. For example, things like contracts, wills, deeds and share certificates might only require a piece of code stored on the blockchain that represents the exchange. Instead of a trusted intermediary verifying transactions, the computers of the shared network of bitcoin users themselves perform the verification at no cost to those involved in the transaction.
This verification process holds the seeds of change across huge numbers of industries. The distributed ledger – the blockchain – offers the chance to enhance truth and trust in every system to which it is applied. It can prove who owns what at any given moment. Anything that currently exists to verify contracts, ownership, payments and even performance can beshifted to the blockchain.
This would transfer power away from those who currently manage or verify transactions – a seismic change to the way the world currently operates. As with any power shift, those holding power are reluctant to surrender it. The “winners” in this scenario will come from existing companies rather than start-ups, given that for this new system to work, it requires buy-in and trust – existing brands already have this advantage.
So what are blockchain’s main advantages? By performing the functions of record keepers and managers it wouldenhance decentralisation, reduce the amount of intermediaries involved and provide an alternative to how value can be stored. Physical as well as digital assets could be uniquely verified online to prove ownership.
As transactions stored on the blockchain could be independently verified and traced, it would be easier to fight crime, counterfeiting and fraud, reducing systemic risk in the financial system. A distributed digital ledger would make it near impossible to change or falsify data, because data would have to be altered across all the related “blocks” in the digital chain, so any tampering would be exposed. Consequently associated costs would fall, enhancing economic growth and prosperity.
A dramatic disruption is happening already in the financial industry: the world’s largest custodian bank, BNY Mellon, is using a blockchain based platform forgovernment bond settlement. And one of the Bank of England’sresearch focus areasis based around financial technology or “fintech” and how it affects the way markets and society function.
Another benefit would be to makemicropaymentspossible digitally. A country such as India, where huge number of people still do not have access to banking, could experience profound economic change if brought within their reach, helping them save, borrow and plan for their future.
The online marketing and advertising industry has feasted on data generated by internet users, and social media platforms such as Facebook – with more than two billion users – Google and Amazon collect considerable amounts of individualised data on us to target adverts at us. Blockchain could enhance our online privacy, by allowing us to store our digital footprint on our own unique blockchain and control who has access to it. Rather than these massive organisations building up records of our tastes and preferences, this data would be decentralised and within our own control.
Blockchain could enhance entrepreneurship in developed and developing countries, breaking down barriers built from embedded bureaucracy and corruption by providing a means to bypass existing power structures. For example, the digital ledgerEverledgeris tracking a real-life object – diamonds – to prove their provenance and ownership. As a result, trust in the system is enhanced.
When the internet came into being, it was a disruptive, game-changing force for many industries – blockchain technology holds the same potential. In moving trust from the current “verifiers” to a distributed blockchain system, the world could see a massive shift in power to the masses – a truly revolutionary idea.
This article was originally published onThe Conversation. Read theoriginal article.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above. || S&P 500; US Indexes Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Earnings and Fed on Tap This Week: After several weeks of consolidation in June and early July, U.S. equity markets have posted solid gains the last two weeks. All major cash and futures indexes have even reached new all-time highs.
In the cash market, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled last week at 2,473, up 0.50%. It is up 10.4% for the year. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 21,580, down 0.3%. It is up 9.2% in 2017. The technology-based NASDAQ Composite closed at 6,388, up 1.2%. The index has gained 18.7% this year.
Last week’s strength was primarily related to lower Treasury yields, a weaker U.S. Dollar and strong earnings.
Treasury yields continued to erode as the odds of a third Fed interest rate hike later this year diminished.
The dollar was crushed by speculators betting on sooner-than-expected rate hikes by the European Central Bank and the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Earnings continued to impress investors. According to FactSet, calendar second-quarter earnings have mostly exceeded expectations this far. With 20 percent of S&P 500 companies having reported, 73 percent have beaten expectations and 77 percent have beaten on sales.
This week, investors will have to deal with a plethora of earnings and a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate decision and monetary policy decision. Near the end of the week, investors will get the opportunity to react to the latest U.S. Durable Goods and Advance GDP.
Over the next two weeks, nearly 200 companies will be releasing their financial statements for the second quarter.
The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at <1.25%. However, investors will be looking for clues in its monetary policy statement as to the timing of the next interest rate hike.
A dovish Fed is likely to greenlight another stock market rally. A hawkish Fed will be a surprise, but investors may not believe them. However, I don’t think there will be a major sell-off.
Finally, last week, officials increased the scope of the investigation regarding the Trump campaign’s involvement with the Russians in influencing last November’s elections. Additionally, Republican senators canceled plans to repeal Obamacare and replace it with their own healthcare plan. The inability to pass this key piece of legislation raises doubts about the Trump administration’s ability to pass tax reform and infrastructure spending bills.
These issues are likely to continue to be monitored by stock investors.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Aug 04, 2017 00:30:00 UTC | 2,818.40$ | 2,371.90€ | 2,144.30£ | #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/7nyGbpS3is || $3365.00 at 17:00 UTC [24h Range: $3300.00 - $3490.00 Volume: 16592 BTC] || $2715.00 at 07:45 UTC [24h Range: $2526.11 - $2731.72 Volume: 11793 BTC] || Try fatguyslim at https://LocalBitcoins.com/ad/165494?ch=w7m … only £2,046.00 per BTC. (BPI +2.66%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans || Another typical day in Bitcoin: http://ift.tt/2rknJNI #bitcoin #btc || 1 EGC Price: Bittrex 0.00003800 BTC #EGC #EverGreenCoin http://bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=BTC-EGC … 2017-08-08 09:00 (EST) pic.twitter.com/NUuI2ZQ9yp || General Predictions http://ift.tt/2sco6LB (via /r/btc) || and at a point of sheer humility after watching bitcoin go from $20 to $2000, you say to yourself, "damn, maybe I'm wrong..." || Bitwala introduces Businesses Accounts with unlimited transfers http://ift.tt/2ryB58s #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit || Has Bitcoin Bottomed Out? | Evening Broadcast https://youtu.be/SnC5Y___MB8 via @YouTube LIVE #eth
#btc
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 4073.26, 4325.13, 4181.93, 4376.63, 4331.69, 4160.62, 4193.70, 4087.66, 4001.74, 4100.52
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO, June 30 (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. "Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants," a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) || Bid for SolarCity may mean Elon Musk doesn't see Tesla as an auto company: "Fast Money" trader Brian Kelly said that Tesla Motors(NASDAQ: TSLA)'bidfor SolarCity(NASDAQ: SCTY)indicates that "Elon Muskdoesn't view Tesla as an auto company."
He explained that while Tesla is selling electric vehicles at the moment, there have been signs that its CEO, Musk, has been intending to do more.
"If you look at what he's doing with the Gigafactory, you look at this acquisition, he's clearly going after the decarbonization of the electric grid in the U.S. To me, that's the bigger play in all of this," Kelly said.
Trader Karen Finerman said that Tesla's offer, valued up to $28.50 per share, "doesn't seem like a gigantic price for a company that was trading significantly higher not that long ago."
SolarCity shares closed at $21.19 on Tuesday, which is more than 75 percent below its all-time closing high of $86.14.
Trader Tim Seymour said that the timing of the deal seems "distracting," citing Tesla's struggles to meet sky-high expectations for deliveries and its mass-market car.
"They just had a capital raise. They probably need more capital. I mean, why now? ... This deal makes no sense," he said, adding that he's always found Tesla's valuation tough to justify.
Wall Street will surely be watching the aftermath of Tuesday's announcement closely. Famed short seller Jim Chanos has been outspoken about hisshort positions in both companies.
In September,Chanos told CNBC's "Squawk Box"that SolarCity is the most problematic of companies led by Musk because it's "burning $300 million to $500 million a quarter putting up solar panels that may not be worth anything in 20 years."
Disclosures:
Karen Finerman
Karen is long BAC, C, DRII, DRII calls, FB, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS, KORS puts, WIFI long call spreads, M, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, URI. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, DRII, DRII calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, WIFI. Her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International.
Steve Grasso
BA CC EVGN KBH MJNA MU OLN PFE PHM T TWTR UA GDX KIDS own EFA EFG EWJ IJR SPY NO SHORTS Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its partners: DAL LUV AAPL UAL LDP WDR AVP CVX FCX IBM ICE KDUS KO MAT MCD MJNA NE NEM OLN OXY RIG STAG TAXI TEX TITXF URI VALE WDR WYNN ZNGA CUBA HSPO ICE AMZN MJNA TITXF NXTD
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, GLD, SFK, SLV, TLT, US Dollar UUP. He is short CS, DB, UBS
Tim Seymour
Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, EDC, EWZ, F, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, WYNN, XRT. Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM
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• Personal Finance || As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining: Looking back to the first half of 2016, exchange traded funds that track precious metals miners have been the top performers so far this year, and the metal producers group may continue to shine through the second half.
Year-to-date, the S&P 500 rose 2.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.9% and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 3.9%.
In contrast, among the top ETFs of the year, the PureFunds ISE Junior Silver ETF (SILJ) surged 181.1%, Global X Gold Explorers ETF (GLDX) jumped 137.4%, iShares MSCI Global Silver Miners Fund ETF (SLVP) advanced 129.5%, Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) increased 127.8% andVanEckVectors Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) rose 118.9%.
SILJ tries to reflect the performance of the ISE Junior Silver (Small Cap Miners/Explorers) Index, which is comprised of silver exploration and mining exposure of small-cap companies, such as 16.5% Coeur Mining (CDE), 14.2% Pan American Silver (PAAS) and 14.1% First Majestic Silver (AG). The junior silver miner ETF has a large 67.8% tilt toward Canadian names, followed by 33.9% U.S. exposure.
Related:Playing It Safe With Gold Miners ETFs
GLDX tracks the Solactive Global Gold Explorers Total Return Index, which includes global gold miners, with heavy 81.8% emphasis on Canadian miners, along with 16.6% Australian companies.
SLVP follows the MSCI ACWI Select Silver Miners Investable Market Index, which includes global silver mining stocks, and also has a large 63.7% tilt toward Canadian companies, along with 12.7% U.S., 12.0% U.K. and 5.4% Mexico. The silver miner ETF also holds a large 22.1% position in Silver Wheaton Corp (SLW).
SIL, the largest silver miner-related ETF, tries to mirror the Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, which is also comprised of global silver miners. However, SIL has a lower 50.5% country tilt toward Canada, but a much larger 22.0% position in the U.S. and 21.0% in Mexico. Additionally, SIL is slightly more diversified, with only a 11.6% weight in SLW.
Related:Another Rally Looms for Gold ETFs
Lastly, GDXJ, the largest junior gold miner ETF, tries to reflect the performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index, which includes micro- and small-cap gold miners. The fund has a large 65.0% country weight toward Canada, along with 12.4% U.S., 8.8% Australia and 5.0% U.K.
Precious metals miners have been the hot spot for most of the year as gold bullion strengthened on safe-haven demand and a more dovish Federal Reserve outlook.
Gold prices have jumped 25% to $1,325.5 per ounce as of the end of June.
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During the start of the year when the equities markets saw two-digit percentage point declines, investors shifted into the gold hard asset as a safe store of wealth. In addition, once equities started rebounding, traders maintained their gold positions on the depreciating U.S. dollar and the extended low rate outlook from the Federal Reserve, betting that precious metals will continue to be a good store of wealth and also help hedge against a more volatile outlook, such as the United Kingdom’s recent referendum vote on breaking away from the European Union, or Brexit.
Meanwhile, gold miners, which have been among the worst performing assets over recent years, staged a rally on the sudden improvement in gold prices.
Looking ahead, gold bullion and miners could continue to shine as a safe-haven play in a post-Brexit world.
Related:A New Leg up Could be Coming for Gold ETFs
The Fed has signaled it would slow the pace of interest rate normalization this year – higher interest rates typically weigh on gold prices since the hard asset provide no yield and would become less attractive to higher-yielding conservative debt assets in a rising rate environment. Moreover, futures traders are even pricing in a chance that the Fed is more likely to cut interest rates than raise them.
Robust demand is also supporting the gold market. For instance, ETF flows into gold have expanded at their fastest pace since 2009. Physically backed gold ETF holdings are still one-third below the December 2012 peak, which suggest that prices can hold at about $1,200 per ounce. The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) , the largest gold-related ETF by assets, has been the most popular ETF play of 2016, attracting $12.2 billion in net inflows as of the end of June.
We might still see more out of the emerging markets as demand has not been as robust in the developing world. For instance, China has shown little demand, with the Shanghai Gold Exchange seeing muted growth in volume. While the higher prices may have deterred Asian buyers, demand could pick up if people expect prices to remain elevated.
For more information on the Gold ETFs, visit ourGold category.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product. || Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn
SAN FRANCISCO, June 30 (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday.
In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say.
Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation.
According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere.
"Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants," a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said.
The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment.
In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence.
(Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) || Your first trade for Wednesday, June 22: The "Fast Money" traders shared which trades they'd make when the market opens for business Wednesday.
Tim Seymour was a buyer of the MSCI South Korea Capped ETF(NYSE Arca: EWY).
Karen Finerman was a buyer of Citigroup(NYSE: C).
Brian Kelly was a seller of the iShares US Home Construction ETF(NYSE Arca: ITB).
Steve Grasso was a buyer of J.C. Penney(NYSE: JCP).
Trader disclosure: On June 21, 2016 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Karen Finerman islong BAC, C, DRII, DRII calls, FB, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS, KORS puts, WIFI long call spreads, M, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, URI. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, DRII, DRII calls, FB, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, JPM calls, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, PLCE, SPY puts, URI, WIFI, her firm is short IWM, MDY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Steve Grasso is long BA, CC, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, UA, GDX, KIDS own EFA ,EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY, NO SHORTS Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners: DAL, LUV, AAPL, UAL, LDP, WDR, AVP, CVX, FCX, IBM, IC,E KDUS, KO, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, AMZN, MJNA, TITXF, NXTD. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, GLD, SFK, SLV, TLT, US Dollar UUP; he is short CS, DB, UBS. Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, EDC, EWZ, F, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, WYNN, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM.
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• Personal Finance || Your first trade for Thursday, May 26: The " Fast Money " traders shared which moves they'd make at the U.S. market open. Tim Seymour was a buyer of Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) . Steve Grasso was a buyer of the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDX) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of the iShares Silver Trust. (NYSE Arca: SLV) Guy Adami was a buyer of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) . Trader disclosure: On May 25, 2016 , the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. Steve Grasso is long BA, CC, DD, DIS, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm long AAPL, CVX, OXY, RIG Steve's kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, US Dollar; he is short Australian Dollar, Euro, EWA, EWH, FRC, Hong Kong Dollar, IWM, Yuan Short: SPY and S&P 500 Futures. Tim Seymour is long AAPL, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, EDC, EWZ, F, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, GLNCY, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM, WYNN, XRT More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance || New York approves Ripple Lab's application for bitcoin license: By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator on Monday approved a license for bitcoin company Ripple Labs Inc, allowing it to offer digital currency services in the state. The New York State Department of Financial Services said the company had cleared a review of anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection, and cyber-security standards. "DFS is pleased to continue to foster the growth of the New York virtual currency marketplace," Acting Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo said in a statement. Bitcoin is a Web-based "cryptocurrency" that enables users to move money around the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification. Despite being championed by some as the digital money of the future, it is often dismissed as a currency that is too volatile to invest in. Ripple's service and currency, known as XRP, is for financial institutions and companies, such as banks, that provide liquidity for foreign exchanges. Last year, New York became the first U.S. state to issue extensive rules for virtual currency companies. The guidelines, aimed at consumer protection and prevention of money laundering, require companies to obtain what is known in the state as a "BitLicense." Ripple filed for the license under its corporate name, XRP II LLC, a venture backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures and IDG Capital Partners. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker and Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Alan Crosby) || Brexit Weighs on Big Oil ETFs: The United States Oil Fund ( USO ) , which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund ( BNO ) , which tracks Brent crude oil futures, are among the various commodities exchange traded products that have been stung by the Brexit result. A stronger dollar coupled with downward revisions to U.K. economic growth forecast are among the factors pressuring crude in Brexits wake and there could be more near-term pain for oil because some market observers see Brexit also affecting Chinese economic growth. Related: The Worst Could be Over for Oil ETFs The Brexit also likely has a negative impact for China by strengthening the Japanese Yen and triggering a sell-off in the Yuan. The future of EU Oil imports is also brought into question, given the risk of other countries following Englands lead in exiting the Union. Despite the risks, inventory levels are expected to inch lower over the summer months, which may underpin Oil prices. US production is expected to decrease over the coming months, which may offset decreased UK/EU demand, according to OptionsExpress. Brexits subsequent volatility could drag on riskier assets like commodities and add to concerns over a global slowdown in energy demand. Moreover, commodities may find pressure from a strengthening U.S. dollar as many expect the British pound to depreciate following a break. Trending on ETF Trends 11 Surging Silver ETFs as Two-Year High Looms A Gold Boon for these Glistening ETFs As Bank of England Mulls Rate Cuts, More Pound Punishment Likely As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Elevated levels of production remain an issue for oil as well. OPEC has kept up production to pressure high-cost rivals, such as the developing U.S. shale oil producers. The International Energy Agency expects it will take several years before OPEC can effectively price out high-cost producers. Saudi Arabia previously said it would join a production freeze deal if Iran agreed to curb output. However, Iran has maintained that it should be allowed to raise production to previous levels before the introduction of Western sanctions over Irans nuclear program, instead arguing for individual-country production quotas. Story continues Related: Oil ETFs at 7 Month High on Falling U.S. Inventories Turning to the chart, we see the August Crude Oil contract forming what could become a double top formation. If confirmed, the measure of the double top could result in a test of the $40 level. The recent closes below the 20-day moving average (MA) suggest that a near-term high may be in place, adds Options Express. For more information on the oil market, visit our oil category . United States Brent Oil Fund bno || How to Hedge Market Turns with Inverse ETFs: With the equities market exhibiting greater bouts of volatility, exchange traded fund investors can utilize inverse or bearish strategies to help protect against the turns and limit the negative effects of any further drawdowns. On a recent webcast, Managing Market Pullbacks with Inverse ETFs , Sylvia Jablonski, Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets & Institutional Strategy Team at Direxion, explained that inverse ETFs typically replicate the inverse returns of a benchmark on a daily basis, allowing investors to easily gain short or bearish exposure to various areas of the market. Jablonski pointed out that traders have typically used inverse ETFs to maintain momentum strategies, capitalize on short-term opportunities or hedge against unforeseen risks. “Inverse ETFs can provide an easy means of short-term hedging for long-term investors,” Jablonski said. However, potential investors should be aware of the risks associated with these inverse products. Specifically, Jablonski reminded advisors that these ETFs rebalance on a daily basis, so the inverse funds may not perfectly reflect their intended strategies over long periods due to compounding issues as a result of the daily rebalancing. In Trending markets that move consistently in a single direction, compounding may benefit inverse ETFs. However, in more volatile markets when securities experience greater oscillations, an inverse ETF may underperform its intended -1x, -2x or -3x multiples compared to a benchmark.. Related: VIX, Bearish S&P 500 ETFs to Hedge Uncertainty Jablonski also pointed to a number inverse ETF strategies that could help traders hedge against potential market risks ahead. For instance, the he Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1x Shares ( CHAD ) , Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 1X Shares ( LABS ) , Direxion Daily Financial Bear 1x Shares ( FAZZ ) , Direxion Daily Energy Bear 1x Shares ( ERYY ) , Direxion Dialy Technology Bear 1x Shares ( TECZ ) and Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 1x Shares ETF ( SPDN ) provide inverse or -100% exposure to some of the more volatile areas this year. Story continues On a survey of financial advisors who attended the webcast, 26.9% of respondents pointed to oil & gas as the area that could offer the most tactical opportunities in the next 6 months, followed by 16.4% pointing to Europe, 15.8% looking to gold related and 14.0% watching financials. Trending on ETF Trends 11 Surging Silver ETFs as Two-Year High Looms A Gold Boon for these Glistening ETFs As Bank of England Mulls Rate Cuts, More Pound Punishment Likely As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Tom Dorsey, Co-Founder of Dorsey, Wright & Associates, pointed to the relative strength technical indicator to help financial advisor and investors to gauge a securities’ momentum in the market. “This reading is plotted on a point and figure chart, which then tells us whether we can expect that stock or ETF to outperform or outperform the base index,” Dorsey said. Relative strength is a type of momentum investment technique that compares the performance of a security to that of the overall market. The indicator calculates which investments are the strongest performers compared to the overall market and suggests further investments for purchase. Related: Navigating Risks of Leveraged, Inverse ETF Play Along with the momentum indicator, investors can also utilize other trend following techniques. Jablonski pointed to a simple trend following strategy around the 200-day moving average indicator. For example, if the S&P 500 is trading above its 200-day, go long the S&P 500. On the other hand, if the index dips below its 200-day, go short or inverse S&P 500. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about hedging strategies for a volatile market ahead can watch the webcast here on demand . || Bitcoin exchange Coinbase to add ether currency to trading platform: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin exchange Coinbase said on Thursday it will add digital currency ether on its trading platform next Tuesday.
The addition of ether comes given the surge in interest in the digital asset among major financial institutions such as Barclays [BARCR.UL] and UBS [UBSAG.UL] as well as other enterprises worldwide like IBM, which are trying to explore the Ethereum network.
Ether is the digital currency for the Ethereum platform, a blockchain, or public ledger that can create decentralized applications. Ethereum, which uses ether to execute peer-to-peer contracts automatically without the need for intermediaries, was co-founded and invented by 22-year old Russian Canadian programer Vitalik Buterin.
"We're very excited about Ethereum. There has been a ton of progress made in the last six to nine months," said Adam White, vice president of business development at Coinbase in an interview with Reuters. "We have seen hundreds of emerging decentralized apps (applications) launched on Ethereum."
He added that bitcoin cannot mirror Ethereum's "scripting language," so both bitcoin and ether can co-exist and will not necessarily compete with each other.
Coinbase also plans to change the name of its platform to GDAX (Global Digital Asset Exchange), said White. The name Coinbase, however, will be retained for its retail service such as exchanging dollars for bitcoin or ether, he added.
Coinbase, widely believed to be the largest bitcoin-focused company in terms of investment, will offer ether/dollar and ether/bitcoin currency pairs on GDAX. The name change was made because the company will add more digital assets for trading on its exchange, White said.
According to coinmarketcap.com, ether is trading at $14.28 late on Thursday, with a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion, the second largest behind bitcoin. Bitcoin currently has a market cap of $6.9 billion. Daily volume for ether is around $48 million, while average daily volume for bitcoin is $87.2 million.
At the beginning of the year, ether traded at just $1 per token and it is the fastest-rising digital currency.
White said ether will be available on GDAX in most states except New York because Coinbase is still in the process of applying for a license in the state.
Coinbase's move to add ether trading to its currency exchange platform came after New York approved the application of Gemini Trust Company, founded by investors Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to trade ether on its exchange.
"What's powerful about ethereum is that I can write self-executing contracts and I can run them on Ethereum and it's not on any central server or computer," said White.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Bernard Orr)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
LIVE: Profit = $737.73 (9.40 %). BUY B18.96 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $453.24 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00000857 BTC YoBit 0.00000752 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000853 BTC #BTAprice 2016-07-02 10:00 pic.twitter.com/VeGLS0rXvQ || $442.30 at 08:45 UTC [24h Range: $435.03 - $453.00 Volume: 6665 BTC] || #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000005 (1.82 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) || BTCTurk 1325.5 TL BTCe 448.601 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 449.00 $ Cavirtex $ CEXIO 451.21 $ Bitcoin.de 399.69 € #Bitcoin #btc || Excellent but on $WRIT down here in .70's... I'd say excellent buy even at. $1.00... If you like $MGT or #bitcoin take a look at this one! || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00000900 BTC YoBit 0.00001000 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000850 BTC #BTAprice 2016-06-24 16:00 pic.twitter.com/wt6S1TXd9X || $453.00 at 14:15 UTC [24h Range: $448.88 - $453.99 Volume: 3079 BTC] || #Anoncoin/#ANC price now: $ 0.195811, that's -0.00 % change in 1hour. 1.51 % past day, and 9.09 % in the past week! #Bitcoin is $ 686.10 || 1 KOBO = 0.00001000 BTC
= 0.0045 USD
= 0.8957 NGN
= 0.0677 ZAR
= 0.4532 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-05-13 01:00 pic.twitter.com/Go5FiceM7C
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Trend: up || Prices: 649.36, 647.66, 664.55, 654.47, 658.08, 663.26, 660.77, 679.46, 673.11, 672.86
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2021-06-22]
BTC Price: 32505.66, BTC RSI: 37.26
Gold Price: 1776.30, Gold RSI: 31.59
Oil Price: 73.06, Oil RSI: 68.90
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Top Ranked Growth Stocks to Buy for June 14th: Here are three stocks with buy ranks and strong growth characteristics for investors to consider today, June 14th:
AutoNation, Inc.(AN): This company that through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 35.7% over the last 60 days.
AutoNation, Inc. price-consensus-chart | AutoNation, Inc. Quote
AutoNation has a PEG ratio of 0.48 compared with 0.78 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of B.
AutoNation, Inc. peg-ratio-ttm | AutoNation, Inc. Quote
Alphabet Inc.(GOOGL): This company that is engaged in technology business carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 27.3% over the last 60 days.
Alphabet Inc. price-consensus-chart | Alphabet Inc. Quote
Alphabet has a PEG ratio of 1.50 compared with 3.95 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of B.
Alphabet Inc. peg-ratio-ttm | Alphabet Inc. Quote
Tennant Company(TNC): This company that together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment carries a Zacks Rank #1, and has witnessed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings increasing 19.2% over the last 60 days.
Tennant Company price-consensus-chart | Tennant Company Quote
Tennant has a PEG ratio of 1.88 compared with 3.06 for the industry. The company possesses a Growth Score of B.
Tennant Company peg-ratio-ttm | Tennant Company Quote
See the full list of top ranked stocks here.
Learn more about the Growth score and how it is calculated here.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportTennant Company (TNC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAlphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAutoNation, Inc. (AN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin plunges: A bust or a buy?: By Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Cryptocurrencies that seemed to be defying gravity just weeks ago came back down to earth with a bump on Wednesday after a roller-coaster ride which could undermine their potential as mainstream investments.
The two main digital currencies, bitcoin and ether, fell as much as 30% and 45% respectively, but significantly pared losses after two of their biggest backers - Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk and Ark Invest's Chief Executive Cathie Wood - indicated their support for bitcoin.
While many analysts thought the explosion in crypto interest this year was not sustainable, the trigger for the shake-out was China's move on Tuesday to ban financial and payment institutions from providing cryptocurrency services. It also warned investors against speculative crypto trading.
At one point on Wednesday nearly $1 trillion was wiped off the market capitalization of the entire crypto sector. In early afternoon trading, their market cap was $1.8 trillion, according to data tracker CoinGecko.com.
"It's not just a small segment of the world that is affected by cryptocurrencies; it's now mainstream," said Tom Plumb, portfolio manager of the Plumb Balanced Fund.
In other markets, a move into safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities initially knocked yields lower, although yields rose after the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting, while U.S. stock indexes logged losses.
"There's a lot of leverage embedded into crypto stocks so there will be a spillover effect into equity markets in the short term and there is also quite the inflation fear as the market thinks the Fed might have to hike rates abruptly if prices keep rising," said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member at hedge fund Great Hill Capital LLC.
Federal Reserve officials played down any risk to the wider financial system.
"By itself I don't see that as a systemic concern at this point," St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard said. "We are all quite aware that crypto can be very volatile."
Bitcoin, the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, had already been under pressure from a series of tweets from Tesla's Musk.
Cryptocurrency price declines last week were sparked by Musk's reversal on Tesla accepting bitcoin as payment, citing the heavy environmental toll of "mining" bitcoin, which requires a lot of electricity to power the computers that create bitcoin.
Amid Wednesday's crypto sell-off, Musk tweeted a 'diamond hands' emoji https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1395027147161489412?s=20, used in social media to signal a position is worth holding on to.
"His tweet definitely helped the recovery," said Mike Venuto, founder and chief investment officer at Toroso Investments, which oversees $7 billion in assets. "Would it have recovered some without it? Yes. But would it have recovered nicely? Maybe not."
Bitcoin has dropped some 40% from a record high of $64,895 hit on April 14. On Wednesday, it hit a low of $30,066 and was last down 13% at $37,323. Tesla shares fell 2.5%.
"Bitcoin's sharp price drop should come as no shock to the market," said Gavin Smith, CEO of crypto consortium Panxora.
"Any asset which has risen as much as bitcoin over the past year can be expected to have pullbacks as some investors withdraw profits, like we're currently seeing."
Bitcoin's decline whacked other crypto assets, with ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, last down 22.5% at $2,620.
Meme-based dogecoin also tumbled, losing nearly 26%, at 35 cents, according to Coingecko.
Amid the volatility, cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Binance said they were investigating or experiencing some service issues. Shares in Coinbase dropped 5.9% on Wednesday.
Technical factors were also said to be at play as bitcoin appeared to accelerate once it fell below its 200-day moving average, a chart position which traders follow.
"The crypto markets are currently processing a cascade of news that fuel the bear case for price development," said Ulrik Lykke, executive director at crypto hedge fund ARK36.
Some crypto-watchers predicted more losses ahead, noting the fall below $40,000 represented a breach of a key technical barrier.
ARK CEO Wood, on the other hand, said in an interview with Bloomberg that she was still sticking to her $500,000 forecast for bitcoin.
Investors could also be exiting bitcoin for gold, analysts at JPMorgan said, citing data on open interest in CME bitcoin futures contracts.
That the crypto asset is tumbling at a time when inflation fears are rising undermines the case for investing in the asset class to hedge against inflation, analysts said.
(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes, Sujata Rao in Londo; Additional reporting by Shashank Nayar, Medha Singh; Writing by Alden Bentley, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Lewis Krauskopf in New York; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Andrew Cawthorne, Elaine Hardcastle and Richard Chang) || GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks recover from 4-week lows as focus switches back to post-pandemic growth: * Asian equities supported by Dow rally; Tokyo leads winners
* European stocks look set for firm opening
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Anshuman Daga
SINGAPORE, June 22 (Reuters) - Global shares extended their recovery on Tuesday from four week lows, as investors focused on prospects for post-pandemic economic growth, rather than fret more over the hawkish stance taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve at a policy meeting last week.
European stocks looked set to build on gains in Asian markets as EuroSTOXX 50 futures rose 0.4% and FTSE futures were up 0.3%.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.4%, moving above Monday's four-week lows and notching a 4% gain so far this year.
Japanese shares led the way in Asia, with the Nikkei rallying 3.1%. South Korea stocks rose 0.7%, Australia put on 1.6% and Chinese stocks up 0.8%.
"Last week's FOMC meeting was a hawkish surprise, but does not change our market outlook. The reflation trade experienced a sharp technically driven pullback, but we expect the trade to resume and see this move as an opportunity to add exposure to cyclical equities and commodities," JPMorgan strategists said in a note.
Investors are keenly focused on the U.S. labour market as its performance is likely to have an influence on the Fed's policy stance. In the immediate hours ahead, all eyes are on Fed chief Jerome Powell who appears before Congress from 1800 GMT.
The U.S. Federal Reserve sent global stock markets skidding last week by signalling it would raise interest rates at a faster pace than previously expected, and also flagged its intention to consider withdrawing its monetary stimulus moving forward. Most Fed officials moved their projections for the first rate increases from 2024 to 2023, though some saw rates moving higher next year.
The Fed's pivot toward starting policy normalisation was driven by rapidly rising inflation, a dynamic that has kept financial markets on edge in the past few months.
Tuesday's momentum in Asian equities was underpinned by a rally on Wall Street, with the Dow registering its strongest session in more than three months.
On Monday, Fed officials including as St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan toned down their hawkish rhetoric.
In currency markets, the dollar paused for breath after gaining sharply in the wake of the Fed's policy surprise.
"The whole world was mega short the U.S. dollar, and that's in good part has probably been cleaned out already, and now we take a wee breath before the next move up," said Westpac currency analyst Imre Speizer.
Against the euro, the dollar nursed overnight losses of about 0.4% to hold steady around $1.1905. It held at 110.26 yen, and the dollar index was little changed at 91.96 after giving up about 0.5% on Monday.
Bitcoin stabilised in Asian trading and was last up 4.1% at $32,941. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies had come in for heavy selling on Monday, hurt by a tightening crackdown on trading and mining in China.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes last fell 3/32 in price to yield 1.4954%.
U.S. crude was flat at $73.7 per barrel and Brent edged up 0.32% to $75.1, after ring on Monday in reaction the a pause in talks to end U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude. Oil market sentiment was helped by hopes for a quick recovery in oil demand in the Unitedd States and Europe. Spot gold added 0.3% to $1,787.61 an ounce.
(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) || Shiba Inu Remains Under Pressure: Shiba Inumoved back below $0.000008 and is heading towards the support at $0.000007 while the crypto market remains under pressure after Bitcoin’s failure to settle above the key resistance level at $40,000.
Bitcoinhas recently made an attempt to settle above the key resistance at $40,000 but lost momentum and pulled back towards the support at $37,000. This move put pressure on other cryptocurrencies.Ethereumdeclined towards the support level at $2,300.
Dogecoin, which has a material impact on Shiba Inu dynamics, moved to the support level at $0.30. Dogecoin’s RSI remains in the moderate territory, and there is plenty of room to gain additional downside momentum. If Dogecoin settles below $0.30, it will head towards the support at $0.28 which will be bearish for Shiba Inu.
Shiba Inu has recently managed to settle below the support at $0.000008 and is trying to get to the test of the next support level at $0.000007. In case Shiba Inu manages to settle below this level, it will head towards the support at $0.0000063. A move below $0.0000063 will open the way to the test of the support at $0.0000055.
On the upside, Shiba Inu needs to get back above $0.000008 to have a chance to gain upside momentum in the near term. The next resistance level is located at $0.000010. This resistance level has already been tested several times in June and proved its strength.
In case Shiba Inu settles above $0.000010, it will gain additional upside momentum and head towards the next resistance which is located at $0.000012.
From a big picture point of view, the recent attempt to gain upside momentum faced significant resistance at $0.000010, which is a worrisome development for the bulls. The technical picture for Dogecoin does not look good, which is another bearish factor for Shiba Inu. At this point, it looks that Shiba Inu will need additional upside catalysts to get back to the upside mode.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• The Bank of Japan and UK Retail Sales Put the Yen and the Pound in Focus
• Shiba Inu Remains Under Pressure
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• Daily Gold News: Friday, June 18 – Gold’s Rebound Following $100 Decline || Cardano Expands Further Into Africa to Streamline Vital Services: Cardano (ADA) parent company Input Output has partnered with World Mobile Group, to provide vital services to Tanzania and Ethiopia. First, the companies aim to bring sustainable internet connectivity to Tanzania, via renewable, solar-powered energy. Together, they will provide affordable network nodes based on the Cardano blockchain infrastructure. These network nodes will act as local relays for internet connectivity. Then, subscribers to these networks will ostensibly be able to access Input Output’s digital identity solution, Atala PRISM. This will allow them to use services such as digital banking, healthcare, and education. Control over personal data Input Output’s Atala PRISM solution is a user-controlled identity platform. It provides a digital equivalent for physical official documents such as passports or degree certificates. This will also enable citizens to control their personal data when interacting with businesses and governments. In partnership with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, Atala PRISM is currently being deployed to five million users. Student IDs will be paired with data from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education’s learning management systems . Once linked, these student IDs will drive personalized teaching and, in the long term, data-driven education policies. Leading global adoption of blockchain tech Cardano founder and Input Output CEO Charles Hoskinson says it will also allow citizens to provide backup copies of important documents like qualifications or property ownership documents. This could allow returning refugees to reclaim their homes. Hoskinson also highlighted how developing nations would lead global adoption of blockchain technology. He said that a lack of infrastructure has often impeded their development. However, in this case it could work to their benefit. Hoskinson’s perspective has inspired the likes of FD7 Managing Partner and AskTheDoctor co-founder Prakash Chand. His investment firm divested its bitcoin (BTC) holdings to invest in Cardano and Polkadot (DOT). Meanwhile, AskTheDoctor also decided to migrate its AskToken to Cardano, due to the blockchain’s presence on the continent. || PwC on Bitcoin Outlook, Institutional Adoption, Regulatory Environment: U.S. stocks exposed to blockchain and cryptocurrencies have outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by about 34 percentage points for the year to date, according to Goldman Sachs. It is a reminder of how the fast-growing technologies’ appeal extends to investors in traditional markets. The Wall Street firm identified 19 stocks with a market capitalization of at least $1 billion and high exposure to blockchain technology or cryptocurrencies. On average, the stocks have climbed 46% year to date, versus 12% for the S&P 500, according to the Goldman report dated April 26. Notably, the average lagged behind a direct bet on bitcoin ( BTC ), which gained 89% over the period. Related: PwC on Bitcoin Outlook, Institutional Adoption, Regulatory Environment Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT), and Microstrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) were included in Goldman’s blockchain exposed stock list. Also included were traditional financial companies like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Visa (NYSE: V). Goldman selected stocks included in blockchain indexes and ETFs, calculated the sensitivity of stock prices to bitcoin during the past 12 months and then scanned company filings to identify 19 stocks with blockchain exposure. “An equal-weighted portfolio of the stocks has demonstrated roughly 60% correlations with bitcoin and the Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index during the last several months, compared with 20% correlations for the S&P 500,” according to Goldman. 11 of the 19 blockchain stocks are in the software and services industry and trade at twice the price-to-earnings valuation as the median U.S. stock. The basket of blockchain stocks underperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 10% over the past two weeks as cryptocurrency prices dipped but outperformed by about 2% on Monday as bitcoin retraced nearly 30% of the prior sell-off. Related Stories Iran Central Bank to Allow Money Changers, Banks to Pay for Imports Using Mined Crypto Tesla Sold Some Bitcoin for Big Profit in Q1 and Crypto Critics Pounce US Bank Quietly Emerges as a Crypto Player || Reddit: The Best Thing Since Sarbanes Oxley: Time to come clean. Reddit Wallstreetbets Source: Shutterstock / TY Lim When GameStop (NYSE: GME ) hit $480 back in January, I found it funny watching Wall Street analysts trying to make sense of it all on CNBC . How could a money-losing mall retailer be worth as much as profitable firms like Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY ) or Clorox (NYSE: CLX )? Yet, the saga highlighted a deficiency of Wall Street. Though Wall Streeters can earn millions, they’re rarely company owners. Instead, they only represent the interests of ultimate investors — usually folks like you and me who own stock through 401(k)s, pension plans and directed investments. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Then came Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets. BAM! Retail investors are representing themselves again. And from mall retailers to high-tech firms, they’re breathing new life into companies that Wall Street had left for dead. Well done, Reddit , Twitter (NYSE: TWTR ) and Discord users. You’re proving to Wall Street that visionary companies matter again. And in today’s big read, we’ll consider 1) how we got here and 2) why some Reddit names aren’t as crazy as they seem. The Weekly Moonshot Wrapup: r/WallStreetBets to the Moon! Five attention-seeking thoughts from the week: 5) Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) gave up on r/WSB stocks. Not only did America’s second-largest bank cease coverage of GameStop. They (along with Goldman and Citi) made it significantly harder for hedge funds to short retail-heavy stocks. 4) Geo Group (NYSE: GEO ) surged 80% on short-squeeze speculation. “Security officers … engage in romantic relationships with inmates,” one staff member wrote about GEO on a job review board . Management, on the other hand, might soon find themselves busy courting Reddit investors instead. 3) Wish saw shares spike 50% after the discount e-commerce found fans on r/WallStreetBets. For investors without $11 to spend on WISH shares, perhaps $2 to buy a watch with the hands painted on will do the trick. Story continues 2) Bitcoin (CCC: BTC-USD ) hosted a possible Covid-19 superspreader in Miami. The conference, which attracted at least 12,000 attendees, may have sickened hundreds. “Everyone who I hung out with in Miami got covid” wrote one attendee . Perhaps Bitcoin-themed masks should feature at the next event. 1) Workhorse (NASDAQ: WKHS ) is now up 100% since last month after posting stronger-than-expected Q2 results selling six vehicles this year and getting picked up by Reddit. Perhaps they’ll consider rehiring ex-founder Steve Burns once his latest venture, Lordstown Motors (NASDAQ: RIDE ), goes under. Sponsor: Millennial Millionaire: The Best Way to Invest $500 Right Now Got $500? Because that’s all it takes to ride the powerful wealth-creation force this 25-year-old stock whiz is calling the most important financial trend in 70 years. He would know. He was named a #1 stock picker in 2020 by TipRanks. To prove it, he’s revealing one of his top stock recommendations to BUY now, for free. Click here to see what it is. Reddit: The Best Thing Since Sarbanes Oxley Consider this. Imagine you and I owned a movie theater downtown. Come Saturday night, we’d walk in with some friends and enjoy some free popcorn and a show. “Don’t worry about paying, Mr. Moonshot!” the concession stand attendant would smile. “You own the theater, after all.” Doesn’t that sound nice? Sixty years ago, I bet we could have done that. Fast forward to the 2020s, and good luck trying to get anything beyond a GEICO discount as a company shareholder. But Reddit is changing all that. When AMC (NYSE: AMC ) CEO Adam Aron announced his theaters would give free popcorn to all retail shareholders, it served as a reminder to Wall Street: companies are ultimately run for the benefit of stakeholders. And those that respect retail investors as stakeholders stand to gain handsomely. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA ) both realized this early on — raising enough cheap capital in 1999 and 2016, respectively, to fund their expansion and enrich shareholders many times over. Social media has now given firms like GameStop and Lucid Motors the same opportunity to succeed (and embarrass some CNBC talking heads in the process). Plenty of Moonshots will crash to earth, whether by bad luck, timing or management. But those that thrive will show one thing: many of you Reddit investors are more intelligent than you know. FIFTY YEARS OF WALL STREET RULE According to a study by BNY Mellon , c-suite executives spend two-thirds of their investor relations efforts meeting current and prospective institutional investors. Less than 5% of their IR time gets spent with retail investors. Historians might point to the ERISA Act of 1974 — the Congressional legislation that standardized 401(k) plans. In a single stroke, Congress would crown corporations as the new pension fund kings. The culture soon followed. With so much investor money bundled into pension funds and mutual funds, even the language would come to reflect Wall Street desires. “We expect COGS of $11.55 billion to $11.75 billion and operating expense of $11.8 billion to $11.9 billion…we expect our Q4 effective tax rate to be approximately 18%, slightly higher than our full-year tax rate of 17% due to the geographic mix of the revenue.” MSFT Q3 2020 EARNINGS CALL Such snoozefests aren’t particularly good at predicting the next Amazon.com. But it does help analysts fill their discounted cash flow models with estimates stretching decades into the future. And while there’s zero chance these forecasts will prove accurate, the precision helps analysts confidently announce targets down to the penny, no matter how wrong they are. Who can blame corporate managers? In 2015, I stopped by the annual meeting of First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC ). The famously down-to-earth CEO James H. Herbert II had flown his team to New York City and invited all individual shareholders to join him for coffee and bagels. Three people showed up. Just me and an elderly couple. The entire management team was staring at poor Mr. Herbert, who was clearly wondering, “where are all our shareholders?” Perhaps institutional investors were holding out for a steak and lobster party instead. REDDIT CHANGES THE INVESTOR EQUATION Then came Reddit. In a quest for profits, retail investors have sent prices of meme stocks “to the moon.” AMC’s $50 price tag puts the theater chain at a 2.5x premium to competitors Imax and Cinemark. GameStop at $300+ makes it six times pricier than Best Buy on a revenue-to-revenue basis. “These individual investors likely own a majority of our shares,” AMC CEO Aron said during last Thursday’s call. “They own AMC. We work for them. I work for them.” Occasionally, these high share prices can have positive effects beyond enriching early shareholders. Cheap capital allows startups to build scale without having to concentrate on short-term profitability. Turnaround companies can also gain a second life with capital injections, a fact Mr. Aron appreciates. So, how can you pick these new winners? Think of the firms you would like to own. Companies with natural-born CEO-salespeople like Tesla will find it easier to connect with people like you and me to raise cheap capital. Meanwhile, laggards like Fiat Chrysler (now Stellanis) will struggle to capture investor imagination and get relegated to tapping bond markets for cash. Investors looking for the next GameStop need to keep that fact in mind. Wendys (NASDAQ: WEN ). Their social media team has long lived in a parallel universe. Its 3.8 million followers enjoy self-deprecating quips such as “Every time I eat the Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger I say “Time to get my Bourb-ON!… And then everybody laughs because I’m the only one at the table.” Clover Health (NASDAQ: CLOV ). Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya has used Twitter to promote his investments before, leading the New Yorker Magazine to label him as the “Pied Piper of SPACs.” As Clover Health’s stock recovers, you can be sure the piper will continue playing his tune. Dogecoin (CCC: DOGE-USD ). The cryptocurrency counts Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Snoop Dogg as backers. It’s hard to resist a community that can create a #DogeDay holiday on a single meme. THE DARK SIDE OD RETAIL INVESTING Some CEOs will doubtlessly abuse their newfound power. Nikola (NASDAQ: NKLA ) founder Trevor Milton found himself in hot water last year after accusations of gross misrepresentation surfaced. The allegations ranged from the major (faking a video by rolling a truck down a hill) to the cringeworthy (appointing his brother, who only had experience pouring concrete, as a company director). Retail investors can also incentivize CEOs to create far-fetched targets with little hope of success. Lucid and Fisker (NYSE: FSR ), two electric vehicle startups, expect 500,000 annual deliveries within four years, a feat that took Tesla over a decade to achieve. Reddit investors can also become their own worst enemy. Stocks like GEO Group can spike 70% in a day when driven up by unscrupulous investors . These stocks will quickly fall back to earth. Yet, the Reddit crowd has shown wisdom beyond Wall Street’s imagination. Price discovery might take longer, but they eventually get it right. Closing Thoughts: The Neverending Hype Cycle UPENDING WALL STREET, AGAIN In 1998, Forbes Magazine ran a cover stating, “A bunch of kids are tormenting Wall Street.” These younger tech-driven traders had discovered that they could use online chatrooms to share ideas and crowd into trades. At the time, these day traders stayed true to their name — people would buy at the open and sell out by 2 pm the same day . Nothing is new. 1998 . Source Today’s generation of Reddit and Twitter investors take a longer view. Why invest for short-term profits alone when community also matters? To them, sending shares of a GameStop to the moon can feel like a mission, especially when short-leaning hedge funds get involved. The change is badly needed. “In our experience, quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability,” investor Warren Buffett and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon wrote in a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed . “Short-term-oriented capital markets have discouraged companies with a longer term view from going public at all.” Redditors are now giving Mr. Buffett and Mr. Dimon their wish. As retail investors pile into the stock market, we’re seeing a wave of people who care more about corporate plans for the future than next quarter’s $2.5335113 earnings per share. Many of Wall Street’s brightest won’t like it. To them, these younger investors are foolish speculators looking for trouble. But those who have seen this story before fully recognize the occasional wisdom of the crowd. When capable managers meet trusting investors, both can often defy the greatest expectations of Wall Street’s short-term views. FREE REPORT: 17 Reddit Penny Stocks to Buy Now Thomas Yeung is an expert when it comes to finding fast-paced growth opportunities on Reddit. He recommended Dogecoin before it skyrocketed over 8,000%, Ripple before it flew up more than 480% and Cardano before it soared 460%. Now, in a new report, he’s naming 17 of his favorite Reddit penny stocks. Claim your FREE COPY here! On the date of publication, Tom Yeung did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Tom Yeung, CFA, is a registered investment advisor on a mission to bring simplicity to the world of investing. More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS Now It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential 500% Winner The post Reddit: The Best Thing Since Sarbanes Oxley appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Why It’s Tough to Send Aid Money to Palestine During the Latest Israel-Hamas Conflict: People around the world looking for ways to send relief funds to Palestinians after 11 straight days of violence are finding that sending money to Gaza can be quite difficult.
The past week of strife between Israel and Palestine has claimed over 200 lives, amajorityof them Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Those looking to donate funds to local aid groups largely can’t because of long standing restrictions, by the U.S., Israel and other countries, on transferring money to bank accounts in the territories. Israel and Hamasagreed to a ceasefireearlier this week.
“We’re not aware of this phenomenon changing or getting worse in recent weeks or during the military attack on the Strip. It could just be that people are trying now and discovering they can’t make transfers,” said Miriam Marmur, international media coordinator at Israeli human rights organizationGisha, in an email.
Related:Staff at Biggest Dutch Domino’s Pizza Franchise Can Now Be Paid in Bitcoin
Banks in Israel and around the world are restricting business relationships with what they consider to be risky clients, along with Israel’s ongoing, severe controls on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza, undermine Palestine’s economy and hinder development, according to Marmur.
“They also impact humanitarian and human rights organizations working in the region as well as businesses who have employees in Gaza, and block families from sending remittances to the Strip,” Marmur said.
The use of sanctions as a geopolitical tool can violate human rights and halt entire populations from accessing financial services. Earlier this year, the U.N. called on the U.S. and European Union toease sanctionson Venezuela as the restrictions – imposed with the goal of removingcontroversial PresidentNicolas Maduro from power– were exacerbating a humanitarian crisis. People in sanctioned countries likeVenezuelaandIranare increasingly looking to alternatives like cryptocurrencies, that are relatively resistant to government censorship and other restrictions, to be able to conduct day-to-day transactions.
Gaza is controlled by the militant group Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Israel. Organizations linked to Hamas are flagged on the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC)list of sanctioned entities.
Related:Greenpeace Stops Accepting Bitcoin Donations, Cites High Energy Use
On Tuesday, tech publication Rest of Worldreportedthe U.S. payment service Venmo, a subsidiary of PayPal,was delaying transactionsthat contained the words “Palestine” or “Palestinian” along with terms including “emergency fund.”
“In tests conducted by Rest of World, transactions designated for ‘free palestine,’ ‘Free Palestinian,’ ‘Palestinian emergency’ and ‘Palestinian fund,’ were all completed without any issue,” the report said.
A spokesperson for Venmo told the publication the transaction reviews were OFAC-related. OFAC did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
One Venmo user who goes by Rami for privacy reasons that appeared in the Rest of World report, was attempting to pool money for a donation to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), an American organization that has provided medical relief in Gaza since 1992. Venmo eventually released the funds to Rami.
“I sent Venmo an email detailing the fundraiser for the PCRF and asked a pointed question about whether or not the word ‘Palestinian’ was what triggered their system to report the transaction. They ignored the question and released the funds,” Rami told CoinDesk.
Steve Sosebee, president of PCRF, said Venmo was not blocking funds connected to PCRF but was targeting a different organization.
“This is not related to PCRF. Specifically, it’s related to the inability of Venmo to properly vet organizations,” Sosebee said.
On May 17, the same day Rami posted about Venmo’s review onTwitter, PCRF’s main office in Gaza wasdamagedby an Israeli airstrike. After the attack, some users beganspeculatingthat PCRF was a front for Hamas.
“How is it that an American organization registered with the U.S. government as a tax-exempt501(c)(3) organizationwould be considered a front for a terrorist organization that the U.S. government considers illegal and any support would be an act supporting terrorism? The two don’t go together,” Sosebee said.
Sosebee added that PCRF had not encountered any problems with receiving funds so far.
PayPal’s flagship service also does not do business in Gaza or West Bank, although in 2016, TechCrunchreportedthat it “does work for Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal by international law.”
According to Marmur, in addition to PayPal and similar payment services, all banks in Israel bar direct transfers to Gaza, while some banks globally have limits on transfers to the area.
In 2006, the U.S. Treasury Departmentprohibitedmost financial dealings with the Palestinian Authority (the interim government that exerts partial control over Gaza and some areas of the West Bank) because of suspicions that it was supported by Hamas. In 2015,Al-Monitor reportedthat banks in Gaza halted incoming international transfers to charitable organizations and, in some cases, froze accounts tied to charities.
In 2019, the Times of Israel reported the U.S. government had asked international banks to stop transfers to the Palestinian Authority to “pressure the Palestinian leaders to accept the Trump administration’speace plan.”
“Banks around the world sometimes take individual decisions to limit transfers to Gaza based on risk assessment, even if there is no formal advice to do so or a block on transfers by their central bank,” Marmur said.
Organizations in Gaza sometimes have workarounds, Marmur added.
According to Marmur, some organizations hold accounts in Ramallah, a city in the West Bank region just north of Jerusalem. Even though no Western Union agents can be found in the Gaza Strip, anumber of themare located in Ramallah, giving the impression that international transfers make it into the West Bank in a number of ways.
“Some [organizations] just have local accounts and hope for the best,” Marmur said.
Although governments of heavily sanctioned states likeIranandNorth Koreaadvocate the use of cryptocurrencies to skirt sanctions, it is unclear if that is the case in Palestinian regions.
However, in 2019, CoinDeskreportedlocal civilians were increasingly usingbitcoinfor international transfers and “to bypass Israeli control,” totaling millions of dollars worth of transactions, while some Hamas members reportedly used much smaller amounts ofbitcoinfor their own purposes.
In the first quarter of 2021, peer-to-peer crypto trading platform LocalBitcoins recorded monthly trade volumes twice as large as those in any of the previous three quarters in Palestine, according to Jukka Blomberg, chief marketing officer at LocalBitcoins. He also said that trading volumes in Palestine and Israel combined are fairly small, roughly $1 million per year.
“Drawing bigger conclusions from those numbers and trends should be taken with a grain of salt,” Blomberg said.
A spokesperson for peer-to-peer exchange Paxful also said that it has not seen big enough spikes in its trading volume in Palestine or Israel over the past few weeks to indicate a trend.
• Venmo’s Censorship of Gaza Payments Makes Case for Neutral Platforms
• Crypto Card Provider Simplex Being Acquired by Canadian Firm for $250M || Thousands will descend on Miami for the worlds largest crypto conference. Is the hype real?: Miami is about to play host to what may be the largest cryptocurrency conference the world has ever seen. Thanks to a confluence of calendar, COVID and Miamis soaring reputation as a tech hub, organizers are expecting as many as 50,000 to descend on the county for Bitcoin 2021. Headliners include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, legendary pro skater Tony Hawk and a cavalcade of crypto gurus. Kicking off Thursday, the event is already sold out. For Miami, the conference may also signal its emergence as a center for crypto and blockchain technology. As Axios and LinkedIn recently reported , Miami has experienced faster growth in its tech workforce in the past year than any other major metro (though the absolute size of that workforce remains small). Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has also been at the forefront of pushing Miami as a crypto hub, announcing initiatives to turn some parts of the citys finances over to Bitcoin. Yet some also believe that both crypto and Miami are experiencing coincident hype cycles ones that may yet pay off, but which nevertheless likely carry some froth. I think it is real, said Adam B. Levine, a managing editor at online crypto publication CoinDesk, of Miamis emerging profile. On the other hand, the Miami thing is happening not only because of its party status, but simply because you guys are open compared to other places that are still locked down. Crypto, too, is also experiencing a short-term bull run that may already be winding down. After rising to more than $60,000 in April, the price of a single Bitcoin has now sunk below $40,000. Crypto goes through this every couple of years, Levine said. There are signs this cycle may be different but its not so different because you have a lot of opportunities coming out of the woodwork, and while some of those are good, a lot are bad and turn out to be scams. And in the past, Miami has been associated with that, too, he added. Waiting on disruption Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and their underlying technology, the blockchain, may still mystify many. The key, according to Daniel Stabile, a Miami-based partner at law firm Shutts and Bowen, is that blockchain removes the need for a trusted third party to carry out transactions. Story continues For someone in Miami, that could mean using Bitcoin as a means for transferring funds to someone in Latin America at a fraction of the cost compared with a traditional provider. But while crypto remittances have taken off elsewhere, they remain a tiny percentage of inter-American remittance volumes. Stabile acknowledged that consumer-facing or consumer-accessible use cases of the Blockchain remain limited, for now. In the future, I think that blockchain technology will play an increasingly important role in our lives maybe not in the foreground but in the background, Stabile said. For years, blockchain has been talked about as a disruptive force in financial services and supply chains. Even art, which is seeing a proliferation of digital works authenticated with non-fungible tokens or NFTs. But despite much discussion, theres been no widespread shift to digital currencies, let alone blockchain technologies. That still lies in the future, Stabile said. Well have to wait and see what the dominant use cases are in five, 10, 15 years, Stabile said, but Im very confident that blockchain technology will feature increasingly prominently in our everyday lives as time goes on. Even before Miamis current tech moment, there was already a fledgling crypto community here among those buying into the promise of cryptocurrency. In 2014 an eon ago in Bitcoin years the city served as the launch point for Ethereum, today the second-largest cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Miamis long been a hotspot for crypto developers and investors, so for this conference to be here only makes sense, said Refresh Miami director Brian Breslin. One of those is Jorge Cortes. In 2018, he and several other techies helped launch the Blockchain Center in downtown Miami to advance cryptocurrency causes and adoption. The pandemic forced its closure, but its spirit is being carried on through Cortes newest venture, Bit Basel. Its an arts-focused group launched amid the mania for NFTs, which now represent a multibillion-dollar market for artists, creators, traders and collectors. Among other services, Bit Basel provides crypto wallets to NFT users. The group is also an official local partner of this weeks conference, and will be creating a giant mural in Wynwood to support local artists. Cortes is emphatic about the conferences significance. Its the biggest tech event ever to happen in South Florida, he said. For now, it is players like Cortes that represent the heart of Miamis crypto community. CoinDesks Levine says that at the moment, he is not aware of any major crypto businesses that plan to be based out of Miami though many now say they maintain a digital-first profile. Instead, it may be mostly individuals that continue to comprise Miamis crypto scene. Im not convinced were going to see much in the way of migration for companies, Levine said. But to the extent that people are moving, Miami has a lot going for it that people in this space are interested in. Suarez play Originally slated for Los Angeles, Bitcoin 2021 organizers announced they would be moving the conference to Miami in March amid concerns about Californias pandemic restrictions and to capitalize on the citys gathering momentum in the tech industry. John Riggins, international operations head for conference organizer BTC Media, said Mayor Suarez immediately jumped on the idea of playing host and was able to convince developer Moishe Mana to host it at his Mana Wynwood space. The reception to the move was immediately great from the U.S. and around the world we started selling tickets like hotcakes, Riggins said. Everyone was excited about having the opportunity to do something in person again. As Suarez and the conference organizers began corresponding about the idea to move the conference to Miami, Suarez soon made his own announcement about turning more of the citys finances over to crypto: In February, the city agreed to explore allowing residents to pay municipal fees with Bitcoin and city employees to receive all or part of their salaries in it. The Miami Herald reported in April that administrators are still studying the concept, along with the feasibility of investing some of the citys treasury in cryptocurrency. An April 20 draft memo from the city attorneys office outlines a way the city can hire a vendor, through competitive bidding, to handle cryptocurrency transactions with the public and employees. Already, Miami is dotted with Bitcoin ATMs put there by multiple vendors including Bitcoin of America. Mayor Suarez kicked it off, said Bitcoin of America CEO Sonny Meraban. My schedule is being filled with other mayors as well, but going back, what he did is genius because every government is going to have to become crypto friendly. Whales Besides various talks, Bitcoin 2021 is likely to simply be a party celebrating the eye-popping fortunes cryptocurrency has minted. Special events for so-called crypto whales millionaires and billionaires are slated, including a performance by DJ Diplo and an auction that includes a meet-and-greet with skateboarder Hawk. Even for non-whales, satellite events around the city include a host of happy hours, a nighttime cruise and pop-up art exhibitions. In one very specific instance, the rise of the whales is already paying dividends for Miami. Just as the conference was announcing its arrival, the city further solidified its status as a crypto center when the Miami Herald confirmed that Sam Bankman-Fried, a Bitcoin billionaire, and his crypto group FTX had purchased the successor naming rights to American AirlinesArena, home of the Miami Heat, in a $135 million deal. Im looking at what role I can be playing in the world, Bankman-Fried told CoinDesk upon the announcement . Frankly, I hope we did a lot of good with some of the money thats going to be spent there on this, and help a lot of residents in the county. Maria Derchi Russo, executive director of local tech group Refresh Miami, said she is already aware of some big announcements being prepped for the conference announcements that could make Miami a center for crypto events. Its exciting to see next weeks Bitcoin 2021 conference take place right here in our backyard, she said in an email. It serves as further validation of the incredible energy and enthusiasm around Miamis tech and innovation sector and the welcoming nature of our city. Miamis status as a low-tax, business friendly, international city is drawing many to a city that, because of other long-standing cultural connotations, may have been off the radar. For Stabile, the conference whatever else may be true of it is a sign of the citys growing significance in the tech world. I think its a very big deal, Stabile said. Its a signifier of the fact that the industry is recognizing Miami as an epicenter for blockchain technology. While the city has hosted other blockchain-related conferences in past, he said, the fact that (Bitcoin 2021) is here is giving the industry imprimatur that Miami is being taken more seriously in the space. || Cheniere (LNG) Stock Up on Q1 Earnings Beat, Positive Outlook: Cheniere Energy Inc.’s LNG stock has gained around 3.7% since its first-quarter 2021 earnings announcement on May 4. The company’s better-than-expected bottom-line performance, its increased adjusted EBITDA and a solid Distributable Cash Flow (DCF) guidance for 2021, prompted this uptick.
This largest U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.54 in the first quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 75 cents as well as the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.43, attributable to year-over-year rise in LNG revenues.
Moreover, revenues from LNG came in at $2,999 million, increasing 16.8% from the year-ago number of $2,568 million. However, the same missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,046 million.
Meanwhile, quarterly revenues rose 14% to $3.09 billion from $2.71 billion a year ago. Nonetheless, the top line fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.13 billion in the quarter under review due to lower-than-expected LNG revenues.
The company posted adjusted EBITDA of $1.45 billion with DCF of around $750 million. During the quarter, Cheniere Energy shipped 133 cargoes, compared with 128 in the year-earlier figure. Total volumes of LNG exported were 476 trillion British thermal units (TBtu) compared with 455 TBtu in the prior year.
Overall costs and expenses rose 48.7% from the corresponding quarter of last year to $2,026 million. This rise is mainly attributed to higher cost of sales expenses that climbed 91.4% from the year-ago quarter to $1,386 million.
As of Mar 31, 2021, Cheniere Energy had approximately $1,667 million in cash and cash equivalents. Its net long-term debt was $29,465 million.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Cheniere Energy, Inc. Quote
Per Jack Fusco, Cheniere Energy’s president and CEO, “We placed Corpus Christi Train 3 into service ahead of schedule and within budget and commenced our 25-year SPA with CPC Corporation, further reinforcing our reputation for delivering on our promises to our customers.”
He further added that Cheniere's outlook for the rest of the year improved as a result of continued betterment in its global LNG business dynamics as well as a solid first-quarter performance, which allowed it to raise its 2021 financial guidance for the second quarter in a row.
Cheniere Energy revised and raised its outlook for the current year. It anticipates adjusted EBITDA within $4.3-$4.6 billion with distributable cash flow between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion.
Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project (SPL):Sabine Pass is North America’s first large-scale liquefied gas export facility. Cheniere Energy intends to construct up to six trains at the Sabine Pass with each train’s expected capacity to be 4.5 million tons per annum (Mtpa). Notably, the run-rate of LNG production is projected within 4.7-5 Mtpa. While Trains 1 to 5 are functional, Train 6 is currently under construction with completion estimated within the second half of 2022.
Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project (CCL):Under this project, the company built three trains, each with a nominal production capacity predicted to be 4.5 Mtpa of LNG. Notably, Train 1, 2 and 3 are functional. In June 2019, the first commissioned cargo from Train 2 was dispatched. Train 3 came online in March this year, ahead of schedule.
Corpus Christi Expansion Project:Cheniere Energy looks to develop seven midscale liquefaction trains adjacent to the CCL Project. Total production capacity of these trains is assumed to be 10 Mtpa.
Cheniere Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in theenergyspace areWhiting Petroleum Corp.WLL,Matador Resources Co.MTDR andContinental Resources, Inc.CLR, each presently flaunting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCheniere Energy, Inc. (LNG) : Free Stock Analysis ReportContinental Resources, Inc. (CLR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMatador Resources Company (MTDR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportWhiting Petroleum Corporation (WLL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: no change || Prices: 33723.03, 34662.44, 31637.78, 32186.28, 34649.64, 34434.34, 35867.78, 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2020-01-16]
BTC Price: 8723.79, BTC RSI: 68.83
Gold Price: 1549.00, Gold RSI: 63.48
Oil Price: 58.52, Oil RSI: 43.29
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Why Bitcoin has value despite its volatility: Bitcoin has such a volatile and unpredictable nature that many people wonder whether there is any value in investing in the digital asset. Investing in Bitcoin is certainly not for the faint-hearted, but it’s an appealing option for those who believe in its long-term potential, who want to diversify their portfolio, and who have a high level of risk tolerance. Why is Bitcoin so volatile? The price of Bitcoin has been on a roller-coaster ride over the past few years and, so far, the trend shows no signs of abating. Just last weekend, Bitcoin fell by 4.6%, and on Monday it was hovering around $6,600 – a far cry from the summer when it broke through the $13,000 mark. The price of Bitcoin can swing wildly in a matter of minutes. One of the reasons why Bitcoin is so volatile is it is still a relatively new asset, having been launched just a decade ago. As we’ve seen from the dot-com boom and bust, people tend to get very excited about new technologies, invest huge sums of money, and then reality sets in. The total market capitalisation of Bitcoin, and indeed all digital currencies combined, is fairly small when you compare it with more traditional assets like stocks. Small markets are more vulnerable to manipulation and fluctuations in supply and demand. If a major investor decides to sell their holdings, it can cause a sharp drop in price. The Bitcoin price is also incredibly sensitive to news events and regulation, which can impact investors’ views of Bitcoin and result in mass sell-offs. Bitcoin’s appeal Despite Bitcoin’s volatility, it remains an attractive asset for lots of investors around the world. Many people who invested in Bitcoin from its early days have become “Bitcoin millionaires”, so it’s no surprise that other people want to replicate their success. Bitcoin’s decentralised nature is one of its many appealing characteristics. Because it is decentralised and not controlled by a single government, it isn’t subject to the impulses of a central bank or political party. Story continues Likewise, whereas central banks can print more traditional currencies over time, which drives inflation and reduces the currency’s buying power, there is a cap on the total number of Bitcoins that can ever be mined. Bitcoin was designed to be a currency that holds its value – in other words, it has anti-inflationary properties. Investment opportunity Perhaps the biggest reason why lots of people are interested in investing in Bitcoin is it offers bigger returns than pretty much any other asset. For experienced traders, Bitcoin’s volatility is actually the reason why it’s possible to earn such huge profits – although it goes without saying that successfully buying low and selling high is incredibly difficult. Something that has really confounded Bitcoin sceptics is the growing appeal of the cryptocurrency as a safe-haven asset. Earlier this year, people flocked to Bitcoin as global stock markets and fiat currencies were hurt by trade tensions and geopolitical forces. Again, the coin’s decentralised nature means it is insulated from political forces. What’s more, whereas many people around the world don’t have access to traditional investment markets, Bitcoin is available to pretty much anyone. It’s possible to invest either small or large amounts, which opens up investing to those from underdeveloped countries. At the same time, the anonymous nature of decentralised transactions means investing in Bitcoin has a high level of privacy. Bitcoin’s value Bitcoin’s value is closely linked to how favourably people view the cryptocurrency, which is something that even the most knowledgeable traders find hard to predict. Having said that, many Bitcoin enthusiasts are of the view that its value will inevitably rise in the long term. Bitcoin’s adoption rate is growing worldwide, with more businesses now accepting it as a form of payment. The cryptocurrency’s use cases are growing all the time, and it’s predicted Bitcoin will be serving a whole host of new functions in the future. This will only serve to reinforce Bitcoin’s value. Conclusion Bitcoin’s volatility doesn’t detract from its value, but it does mean investors need to have their wits about them before investing in the digital asset. Volatility can reap rewards, but it can also result in huge losses. So experience, knowledge, and an appetite for high risk are a must. The post Why Bitcoin has value despite its volatility appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Roger Ver: I’m not involved with BitClub Network ‘scam’: Crypto entrepreneur Roger Ver has distanced himself from the unfolding fraud allegations surrounding the BitClub Network. Four members of the suspected Ponzi scheme were this week arrested by US authorities as prosecutors investigate what they allege is a $722m global scam. However, Bitcoin Cash evangelist Ver has been unwittingly caught up in the furore surrounding the arrests after pictures emerged of him having dinner with senior BitClub figures, with suggestions that he had advised the New York-based scheme. But in an exclusive interview with Coin Rivet, the 40-year-old vehemently denies any involvement with the alleged scam and speaks of his anger at how BitClub attempted to use his image to promote a product he had nothing to do with. “I’ve never been involved with BitClub’s business in any way,” he said. “I’ve had dinner with them on three occasions that I can recall – twice in Tokyo, and the third I think was in Korea. “Two of those dinners were part of a big group of people.” Referring to images of him with BitClub’s Russ Medlin and Bitmain’s ‘Yoshie’, which are currently being circulated with veiled accusations of heavy involvement in the scheme, he says he was merely keen to promote Bitcoin Cash “to anyone who would listen”. Russ Medlin, BitClub Network's chief, Roger Ver, Yoshie from Bitmain. Russ Medlin – BitClub Network’s chief – with Roger Ver (centre) and ‘Yoshie’ from Bitmain “Yoshie ran their mining pool and is a Bitcoin maximalist who hates Bitcoin Cash,” he explained. “Russ actually was trying to use BTC for payments for BitClub but was having understandable network congestion issues, so like everyone else I can get to listen to me, I was urging BitClub to switch everything over to BCH. “I obviously didn’t have much success with that.” Becoming suspicious Asked why he was even having dinner with Russ Medlin, Ver says he was innocently offering a helping hand to a start-up – an act of goodwill before quickly becoming suspicious of the project. Story continues He said: “I think I likely reached out to them first during the scaling war urging them to support bigger blocks with their hash rate, and then later BCH after the split had already happened.” Soon after that meeting, the libertarian grew wary of the way BitClub was being operated, and furiously slammed them for using his image in promotional material. “Some other BitClub fan named Ryan set up a whole fake website with my photos and fake quotes saying ‘I’m a proud BitClub member and I earn extra residual income doing Bitcoin mining with Bitclub’, or some quote like that,” he said. “I was really angry because they were using my name and image to promote their product that I had nothing to do with.” In an effort to separate himself from the scheme, he tweeted about BitClub earlier in the year, stating: “I’m not involved with #bitclub in any way. I think it’s likely an MLM pyramid scheme that’s going to end badly for almost everyone involved.” Roger Ver's tweet about BitClub Roger Ver’s tweet about BitClub “When I looked into it more, I noticed they didn’t even tell their customers how much hash rate they were buying,” he recalled. “That fake website was what inspired me to send the tweet letting the world know I have nothing to do with BitClub.” Awkward One bone of contention that Ver’s critics are currently latching on to is the fact he later deleted the tweet. Several have pointed fingers of suspicion over an awkward video showing the tweet’s removal in the presence of Russ Medlin as an implication of actually endorsing what is now facing allegations of being a multi-million dollar worldwide fraud. “I wonder how many of the people criticising me tweeted anything negative about BitClub as early as I did? I bet none,” questioned Ver. “A significant time after I had made that tweet, the BitClub guys contacted me saying they wanted to talk about big blocks or BCH – I don’t recall if it was before or after the split. “They really wanted me to delete the tweet and argued that it was hurting their business. “In the course of our meeting, I agreed to delete the tweet for them, and it was implied that they would do more to support Big Block Bitcoin. “Deleting a tweet shouldn’t be seen as an endorsement in any way, and I’ve never done any business with BitClub in any way.” Meanwhile, FBI agents are hunting a fifth person – whose name they have withheld – following the arrest of four BitClub Network chiefs. The arrested men are 37-year-old Matthew Brent Goettsche of Lafayette, Colorado; Jobadiah Sinclair Weeks, 38, of Arvada, Colorado; and 49-year-old Joseph Frank Abel, of Camarillo, California. A fourth – Silviu Catalin Balaci – was arrested in Germany two days ago. It is believed the whereabouts of the fifth suspect are unknown. Goettsche and Weeks were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Abel and Weeks were charged with conspiracy to offer and sell unregistered securities. Balaci, it is understood, is facing similar charges. Lured victims The Justice Department has branded the ‘BitClub Network’ as a “high-tech Ponzi scheme” that lured victims with fake Bitcoin mining profits while taking money from investors who were rewarded for recruiting new members. Apparently preying on people across the globe, the scheme is understood to have operated from April 2014 until recent days from offices in New Jersey, according to an indictment signed by US Attorney Craig Carpenito. FBI officers spearheading the investigation claim the gang were using an array of complex methods to hoodwink victims into believing they were part of a get-rich-quick club. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of the alleged BitClub fraud is asked to visit www.justice.gov/usao-nj/bitclub or the Department of Justice’s large case website www.justice.gov/largecases . There, victims can find more information about the case, including a questionnaire for victims to fill out and submit. OneCoin victim makes plea to Ruja Ignatova: “Hand yourself in!” By Darren Parkin – December 13, 2019 The post Roger Ver: I’m not involved with BitClub Network ‘scam’ appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Top Fintech Trends Entrepreneurs Must Watch in 2020: Financial technology (fintech), for all of its faults, helps us get more things done more efficiently. Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes it even further, allowing us to conduct business and have conversations when there isn’t even another human involved. We can have onlinechats with bots, for example,to accomplish or learn myriad things. Innovation is always on the horizon, though, especially in the fintech realm.
Asmore fintech optionsbecome commonplace, every industry must either adapt or be phased out. With the turn of the new year, 2020 promises big changes in how we manage, spend and access our money, so you'll want to keep an eye on some of these emerging trends as you make financial decisions regarding partnerships and investments.
Several types of financial business elements that have been handled manually or by standard institutions, like payroll, insurance and securities, are becoming automated. We’re seeing online-only banking that eliminates the cost of brick-and-mortar buildings, and the best of them will be sharing the benefits with their customers in the form of higher returns and lower fees.
Related:Why Fintech Is Potentially Big for New Entrepreneurs
Companies adapting quickly to fintech and automation should also work to uphold compliance and maintain good standing with the governing agencies. As regulation and risk-management for fraud, money-laundering and identity theft are becoming big business, regulation technology (regtech) companies are utilizing AI to combat these crimes faster and more efficiently than humans can. The growth of fintech is causing a wave of startups and the opportunity for investment in the regtech realm.
Black box trading is a proprietary, fully automated option for your investments that has been talked up and down for its attributes. It’s legal since it’s not expressly illegal, and relies on algorithmic and low-latency technologies. Computers and data-mining are not infallible, though, so you might want to consider a more personal approach.
Copy trading is basically crowd-sourcing applied to your portfolio. You can choose your favorite investors to follow and mirror their investment moves based on whatever percentage you want to allocate. Not only can it open you up to investments you might not know about, but you’ll also be able to interact with and gain insight from other members and influencers in real-time.
In the digital world, financial assets can be used and exchanged with cryptocurrency, which isn’t tied to standard currency systems. Its online, open-source administration doesn’t require banks or governments for regulation or exchanges, allowing anyone to participate in the system from anywhere in the world. However, since there is so little regulation, the cryptocurrency market isextremely volatile. Several companies are trying to be competitive with Bitcoin as the space continues to evolve.
Smart contracts represent one such innovation by allowing people to enter into business contracts online with the terms managed by the system automatically as the parties verify that they’ve held up their end of the deal. This could berevolutionary for the real estatemarket.
While blockchain transactions normally take place on public ledgers, many people don’t want their financial transactions to be public knowledge for a multitude of valid (or shady) reasons. There are companies out there offering a type of cryptography that makes transactions anonymous and untraceable without damaging the blockchains. This can create interesting options for investors and further regtech developments as well.
Related:3 Trends Happening to Fintech That You Should Know About
Although converting your cryptocurrency to real-world currency is possible with Bitcoin ATMs in many major cities, it’s not easily accessible. There are a few online-conversion services and crypto debit cards. These methods often have fees, taxes and delays that hinder access to your money, which means it’s a wide-open avenue for innovation and new technology to emerge.
Finally, as you watch for opportunities to invest or invent, I predict you’ll continue to find that banks are trying to create partnerships with fintech and regtech companies as a means to stay relevant. Don’t be surprised if these are unsuccessful at saving the traditional institutions, because most of them are still trying to operate under the same old standards. They need new strategies for marketing and product offerings, not just new accounts on their books. As you move into 2020, keep that in mind for your own business decisions as well. || XRP Is Used in Crime, But Far Less Often Than Bitcoin, Elliptic Says: Criminals have used XRP to carry out their illicit activities, though hardly to the same degree as bitcoin, according to a new report from blockchain sleuthing firm Elliptic. Some $400 million worth of XRP can be traced back to a variety of Ponzi schemes and darknet activities, Elliptic said in a report released Wednesday. While that may sound like a lot, it represents just 0.2 percent of XRP transactions. By comparison, $829 million of bitcoin, or 0.5 percent of that networks transactions , have been spent on the dark web, the analytics vendor said. Regardless of the amount, it just demonstrates that there is illicit activity going on in this coin, said Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of Elliptic. Therefore, if you are a business handling some of these transactions then you need to be checking for it because you dont want to be the organization thats being used to launder those proceeds. Related: Investor Lawsuit Argues Ripple Still Has to Answer Over Ongoing XRP Sales Such concerns are especially acute for XRPs target market, regulated financial institutions. Ripple, the distributed ledger technology (DLT) startup that owns an estimated 60 percent of the XRP supply and periodically sells the tokens to fund operations, has been pitching banks software that utilizes XRP for the last few years. A Ripple spokesperson said: Like other cryptocurrencies, XRP is open source and decentralized its available to anyone to use. Ripple enabled XRP transactions are secure and through regulated institutions. Blockchain forensic firms like Elliptic tackle crypto involvement in things like drugs, weapons, child sexual abuse material and ransomware-as-a-service. In the case of XRP, much of the transactions related to scams and Ponzi schemes, said Robinson. For instance, a large chunk was accounted for by the Plus Token investment scheme. Earlier this year, Chinese authorities arrested six Chinese nationals on the Pacific island of Vanuatu suspected of orchestrating the scam, which collected billions in crypto from people in China and South Korea. Story continues Related: Whats Next in the Securities Case Against Ripple Over XRP There has been an increase in the use of crypto to purchase things like stolen credit card numbers on the dark web and Elliptic had detected a number of those sites accepting XRP alongside other cryptos. But Robinson said the relatively small amount of illicit use of XRP might be down its association with traditional finance, compared to other cryptocurrencies. The fact that the Ripple network itself has been targeted at large traditional banks maybe doesnt resonate with criminals trying to use it, he said. Ripple set out to provide a cheap and efficient cryptocurrency bridge to connect correspondent banks and so provide near-instant cross-border payments. Back in 2015, it was among the first crypto companies to receive a fine from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for AML failings. But this was viewed as a positive among a fledgling crypto industry because it meant Ripple was closer to being regulated than other crypto firms at that time. The same could be said for XRP in the context of having its tires kicked by Elliptic, said Robinson, since highlighting illicit XRP activity will only improve the networks credibility. Wherever you have any kind of value transfer mechanism there is going to be potentially some illicit use, said Robinson. I think having clarity of that and being able to know where its happening should give banks comfort rather than a cause for concern. To be clear, Elliptic was dealing with XRP, the crypto asset only. We havent had any interaction with the Ripple company, said Robinson. Another large investor in XRP is Japans SBI Holdings (previously known as Softbank Investment), which also led a $23 million investment round in Elliptic earlier this year. Tomoyuki Nii, executive officer for overseas investment at SBI Investment, said in an interview at the time that the bank was attracted to Elliptic because it was the best blockchain sleuthing firm when it comes to XRP. Related Stories XRP Price Exits Downtrend to Hit Three-Week High Ripple Invests $750,000 to Bring XRP to Crypto Wallet BRD || Craig Wright private key delivered, claims to prove Bitcoin holdings: Craig Wright’s lawyers have informed the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida that a third party has provided the necessary private key to unlock the encrypted file that contains a list of his Bitcoin holdings. The file has been presented to the court via a notice of compliance from Wright’s lawyers. The proof of Wright’s holdings has also been delivered to the plaintiff, Ira Kleiman, who is representing the Kleiman estate. Kleiman vs Wright Dr Wright, an Australian cybersecurity researcher living in London, is the defendant in a lengthy legal dispute with representatives of the late Dave Kleiman. The pair are thought to have jointly played a significant role in the early creation of the Bitcoin protocol. Acting on behalf of Kleiman’s estate, the plaintiffs allege that a significant sum of BTC was misappropriated by Wright after Kleiman’s death . Wright claimed that he could only access the disputed funds once the ‘Tulip Trust’ that protected them had expired – which happened at the beginning of 2020. However, he has so far only produced the encryption key which unlocks a list of total Bitcoin holdings and has not provided the private keys necessary to access the funds themselves. As a result, the pressure is still on Wright to deliver the final private keys, which he claims will arrive by “bonded courier” before February 3. February 3 deadline Wright has until February 3 to prove he has access to the Bitcoin wallets. Court filings from January 10 show that Wright was given an extension to an earlier ruling which would have seen him forfeit 500,000 Bitcoin, worth around $4 billion, to the Kleiman estate. Wright claims that if he can prove he has the private keys, then his pivotal role in creating the original Bitcoin protocol will be proven beyond reasonable doubt. Kleiman worked alongside Wright in the early days of the Bitcoin protocol’s creation, and many industry experts believe that Kleiman was in fact the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto. Story continues However, Kleiman’s death in 2013 saw Wright claim to be the creator of the protocol. Kleiman’s surviving family claim that Wright misappropriated funds from his late business partner, and now seek restitution of the full 1.1 million BTC. You can read more about the Kleiman vs Wright case here . The post Craig Wright private key delivered, claims to prove Bitcoin holdings appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 30/11/19: Bitcoin Cash ABC Bucks the Trend Early Bitcoin Cash ABC rose by 1.49% on Friday. Partially reversing a 2.28% decline from Thursday, Bitcoin Cash ABC ended the day at $223.43. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rise from an early morning intraday low $220.16 to a mid-morning high $225.60. Steering clear of the major support levels, Bitcoin Cash ABC broke through the first major resistance level at $220.79. Coming up against the second major resistance level at $225.17, Bitcoin Cash ABC fell back to $221 levels before an afternoon recovery. In the recovery, Bitcoin Cash ABC rallied to a mid-afternoon intraday high $226.44. Bitcoin Cash ABC broke back through the second major resistance level at$225.17 before easing back to $223 levels. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was up by 0.34% to $224.19. Bitcoin Cash ABC rose from an end of Sunday $223.43 to an early morning high $224.19. The major support and resistance levels were left untested early on. For the day ahead, Bitcoin Cash ABC would need to steer clear of sub-$224 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $226.53. Bitcoin Cash ABC would need the support of the broader market, however, to break back through to $225 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Fridays high $226.44 and first major resistance level would likely limit any upside. Failure to steer clear of sub-$224 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC see red for a 2 nd time this week. A fall through to $223.30 levels would bring the first major support level at $220.25 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin Cash ABC should steer clear of sub-$220 levels on the day. Litecoin Struggles at $48 Litecoin rallied by 3.88% on Friday. Reversing a 1.86% fall from Thursday, Litecoin ended the day at $48.68. A bullish start to the day saw Litecoin rally from an early morning intraday low $46.84 to an early afternoon intraday high $49.36. Steering clear of the major support levels, Litecoin broke through the first major resistance level at $47.93 and second major resistance level at $48.96. Story continues Through the late afternoon, Litecoin slipped back to $48 levels before an early evening return to $49.3 levels. Resistance at $49 weighed, however, with Litecoin sliding back through the second major resistance level at $48.96. At the time of writing, Litecoin was down by 0.82% to $48.28. A mixed start to the day saw Litecoin rise to an early morning high $48.83 before falling to a low $47.93. Litecoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a move through to $49 levels would bring the first major resistance level at $49.75 into play. Litecoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to break out from Fridays high $49.36. Barring a broad-based crypto rally on the day, resistance at $49 would likely limit any upside on the day. In the event of a market rebound, Litecoin could visit $50 levels for the 1 st time since 22 nd November
Failure to move through to $49 levels could see Litecoin slide deeper into the red. A fall through the morning low $47.93 would bring the first major support level at $47.23 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, however, Litecoin should steer clear of sub-$47 support levels on the day. Ripples XRP Holds onto $23 Ripples XRP rallied by 3.23% on Friday. Reversing a 0.43% fall from Thursday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.23150. A bullish start to the day saw Ripples XRP rally from an early intraday low $0.22365 to a mid-afternoon intraday high $0.23400. Steering clear of the major support levels, Ripples XRP broke through the first major resistance level at $0.2286. Coming up against the second major resistance level at $0.2332, Ripples XRP fell back to sub-$0.23 levels in the late afternoon. Late in the day, Ripples XRP found support to close out the day at $0.23 levels. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was down by 0.54% to $0.23026. A bullish start to the day saw Ripples XRP rise to an early morning high $0.23349 before sliding to a low $0.23022. Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the day ahead, a hold onto $0.23 levels would support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.2358. Ripples XRP would need the support of the broader market, however, to break out from the morning high $0.23349. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Fridays high $0.2340 and first major resistance level at $0.2358 would likely limit any upside. Failure to hold onto $0.23 levels would bring the first major support level at $0.2254 into play before any recovery. Barring an extended sell-off, however, Ripples XRP should steer clear of the second major support level at $0.2194. Please let us know what you think in the comments below Thanks, Bob This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Silver Weekly Price Forecast Silver Markets Form Support Of Candle For The Week U.S. Dollar Index Futures (DX) Technical Analysis Trader Reaction to 98.095 to 98.380 Will Set Longer-Term Tone S&P 500 Price Forecast Stock Markets Continue To Hover Near Highs Natural Gas Price Forecast Natural Gas Markets Fell Gap USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis Price Action Suggests Short Top is Forming European Equities: A Week in Review 29/11/19 || Bitcoin, Ethereum & Litecoin - American Wrap: 12/18/19: Bitcoin Technical Analysis: Finally some support for BTC/USD
• This chart shows the pattern break to the upside on the hourly timeframe.
• Price has also taken out the last wave high of 6,712.48.
• 7K could be a source for some resistance as traders often look at psychological numbers.
Ethereum technical analysis: ETH/USD 0 return is near
• Ethereum price is trading in the green, up 0.30% the session on Wednesday.
• ETH/USD is running closer towards a big $100 return, last seen in February.
• The price has dropped over 35% within the last seven weeks, of which it is has been falling.
Litecoin technical analysis: LTC/USD big pennant pattern retest eyed
• Litecoin price is trading in the green in the session by some 7.45%.
• LTC/USD heading for the next critical weekly support down at $20.
• The bears have firmly been in control since June, after putting an end to the 2019 recovery.
Image Sourced from Pixabay
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© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Where is Litecoin accepted as a payment method?: One of the main drivers for cryptocurrency adoption is being able to use your crypto to buy goods and services like an actual currency. If Bitcoin (BTC) is digital gold, Litecoin (LTC) is often seen as digital silver. Litecoin prides itself on being quicker and cheaper to use than Bitcoin, making it perfect for everyday payments. So if you’re a cryptocurrency enthusiast and you happen to hold some LTC, how and where can you spend it? Let’s first take a quick glance at the LTC/BTC price action. This will tell you whether it’s a good time to spend your LTC or if it’s better to hold on in case its value rises. LTC/BTC Looking at the chart above, we can immediately conclude that LTC is near its yearly low against Bitcoin. At the moment, LTC is just above its 20-day EMA, sitting around 690,000 sats. Volume-wise, price is finding some weak support close to a key level, between 610,000 and 710,000 sats. The next strong level of resistance should be felt around 900,000 sats. If LTC is able to break above the 50-day EMA and sustain some support below the 200-day EMA, we could see a sudden shift in investor preferences. However, for the time being, it looks like Litecoin is in for a period of accumulation. Prior to mid-June, the altcoin was the best performing digital asset of 2019, growing more than 170% in fewer than 90 days and peaking at around $145. A serious summer downtrend then saw LTC tumble to around $49 before a market-wide pump last month following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bullish comments on blockchain. In US dollar terms, Litecoin is currently trading at around $59 after a 1% drop in price since last week. Where to buy Litecoin One of the easiest ways to buy Litecoin is through a cryptocurrency exchange. While exchanges support a limited number of digital coins, most of them list Litecoin thanks to its longevity and popularity. You’ll need to create an account on the exchange you’re planning to use. Before making a purchase and trading cryptocurrency, you’ll also have to prove your identity using an identification document issued by your government. Story continues Where to spend Litecoin If your goal is to spend your hard-earned LTC, there’s a few places you can go. At the time of writing, thousands of businesses worldwide accept Litecoin as a payment method through various payment providers. Looking at the Litecoin merchants heatmap above (courtesy of Cryptwerk ), you can see that most merchants are located in the US and in Europe, although there’s quite a few in Asia as well, particularly India and Indonesia. In addition, Turkey seems to be quite a hotspot for LTC as well. Its popularity in the United States is to be expected after the recent news that the NFL has joined the crypto cause, with Litecoin becoming the official cryptocurrency of the Miami Dolphins. Litecoin has also sponsored the UFC and the Mammoth Film Festival over the past year to boost its adoption and presence. To find out which businesses and services accept Litecoin, you can visit the Litecoin Foundation website , which features an updated list of all the merchants supporting the project. The post Where is Litecoin accepted as a payment method? appeared first on Coin Rivet . || JPMorgan Sees Institutional Interest In Options On CME Bitcoin Futures: CME Group Inc.(NASDAQ:CME), a derivatives and options exchange operating in Chicago and New York, formallyannouncedthe launch ofoptionson Bitcoin (BTC) futures Monday, delivering on the growing interest and demand for a cash-settled instrument that allows for more efficient exposure and hedging in the most heavily traded cryptocurrency.
The following is a list of contract specifications:
• Contract unit: 1 BTC futures contract (representing exposure to 5 Bitcoin)
• Minimum price fluctuation: 5 index points ($25)
• Trading Hours: 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT Sunday-Friday
• Exercise: European settlement into cash settled BTC futures
In anticipation of the launch, an increase in activity in the underlying CME BTC futures contract has been witnessed, with open interest rising 69% from year-end, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, managing director atJPMorgan Chase & Co.(NYSE:JPM) said in astatementto Bloomberg.
"This unusually strong activity over the past few days likely reflects the high anticipation among market participants of the option contract."
Bakkt Bitcoin Options
The development comes alongside the launch of Bakkt bitcoin options; Bakkt is a subsidiary of theIntercontinental Exchange Inc.(NYSE:ICE), the parent of the New York Stock Exchange.
ICE is a leader in exchange traded futures products, delivering the globally renowned ICE Brent Crude Oil Futures after its acquisition of the International Petroleum Exchange in 2001.
Like CME, ICE expanded on its product portfolio, delivering options that settle into cash settled Bitcoin futures.
It's important to note that -- at times -- cryptocurrency derivatives have appeared to place a drag on prices. In 2017, CME launched futures on bitcoin, prior to bitcoin’s massive tumble from $19,000. Similarly, after ICE launched Bitcoin futures, spot bitcoin prices fell $2,000.
That said, despite the low volumes in Bakkt options on Bitcoin futures, JPMorgan strategists believe the tide may shift, noting CME’s dominance over the trading of Bitcoin futures on regulated exchanges.
As more exchanges get involved, the crypto options market may grow 10 to 20 times, helping improve liquidity, lower spreads, and stabilize prices, according to a Bloomberg interview with Luuk Strijers, an executive at Deribit, a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform.
Photo: Historical price chart for CME's BTC futures contract.
0
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• Tesla, Musk Approach Historic Milestones As Automaker's Stock Rally Continues
• As Bitcoin Holds ,000, Bitfinex Offers Real-Time Data Insights To Reduce Noise For Traders
© 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || New York Attorney General Calls Bitfinexs Legal Stance Deeply Perverse in New Filing: The New York Attorney Generals office has laid out in greater detail its case for investigating Bitfinex and Tether. A New York Supreme Court Appellate Division filing published Thursday and dated Dec. 4 fleshes out the NYAGs argument, claiming that the two sister firms had gradually been depleting the reserves backing Tethers eponymous stablecoin, also known as USDT. In a sharply worded brief, the office said that the two firms (which share executives and shareholders) had, step by step, dissipated the cash backing tethers: first by going from actual cash in hand to $625 million in an inaccessible Crypto Capital account; and then by replacing even that questionable source of backing with nothing more than a $625 million IOU from Bitfinex. Related: MARKETS DAILY: Casualties Ahead in the Cryptocurrency Mining Arms Race That debt, said the NYAG, seemed unlikely to be repaid, as Bitfinex required the funds for withdrawals on its exchange. In a post on its website Friday, which came following the publication of this article, Tether took issue with this argument, among others, writing that the brief offers a highly misleading factual presentation. It describes the fully secured loan on commercially reasonable terms as nothing more than an IOU from Bitfinex that seemed unlikely to be repaid, conveniently omitting the fact that Bitinex repaid $100M of that loan months ago, ahead of schedule, and with interest. As reported, in the spring of 2019, Tether changed a statement on its website indicating that USDT was backed 100 percent by U.S. dollars. It later acknowledged in court that tether was backed only by cash and cash equivalents
representing approximately 74 percent of the current outstanding tethers. The firm claimed again in November, that, at that point, all USDT tokens were fully backed by reserves, not specifying the assets acting as collateral. Related: Another Class Lawsuit Claims Bitfinex, Tether Manipulated Bitcoin Market Story continues The new NYAG filing further suggested that Bitfinexs exchange token LEO, issued in the early summer, could be a security under U.S. law. While the motion to dismiss was pending, respondents conducted yet another large financial transaction, issuing nearly one billion LEOs, a new virtual asset resembling a debt security, the NYAG said. Tethers post said U.S. buyers were barred from buying LEO tokens (though several U.S. residents purchased tokens on secondary markets ) and called any criticism of our tactics in this case
baseless, saying the companies approached the NYAG in good faith. The Supreme Court has previously found that the exchange knowingly permitted New York-based traders to use Bitfinex until at least 2018, despite officially banning customers there a year earlier, putting it under the states jurisdiction. The NYAG further alleges in the new filing that a Bitfinex executive assisted New York customers with trading activity. The NYAG took aim at Bitfinexs actions around the court case as well, writing that the firms arguments that fault OAG for having insufficient evidence about tethers status as a security or commodity and about respondents contacts with New York are deeply perverse, as the companies have persistently refused to produce the documents which NYAG believes answers these questions. Making a stand The NYAG filing comes in response to Bitfinex and Tethers ongoing appeal over an inquiry begun earlier this year. According to the New York State electronic filing system, the crypto companies filed a brief on Nov. 4 , claiming that the NYAG does not have jurisdiction over any of the affiliated entities, and neither does the New York court trying the case. Bitfinexs lawyers said the New York State Supreme Court, which is trying the inquiry, made three rulings which it should not have: that the NYAG did not have to personally serve the companys executives with the order outlining the inquiry (the order was instead delivered to counsel); that NYAG has jurisdiction over Bitfinex and Tether; and that the supreme court can try the case without determining whether tethers are securities or commodities. Bitfinex is asking the appellate court to reverse each of these decisions. The companies maintain that New York residents cannot use Bitfinex or Tether, and have not been able to do so since January 2017. Regarding the change in language on Tethers website around USDTs dollar backing, the filing stated: For whatever alleged criticism the change engendered, however, the markets remained confident in tether, as it continued to trade at par or better. The case began in late April when the NYAG began its inquiry, alleging Bitfinex covered up the loss of close to $1 billion held by a payment processor, Crypto Capital. Crypto Capitals executives were later indicted and some were arrested for running a shadow banking service for cryptocurrency exchanges and other companies. The NYAG claims that Tether, despite previously claiming that every USDT token was backed on a 1:1 basis, had been lending Bitfinex funds to cover up the loss of $850 million. While the New York State Supreme Court ruled that Bitfinex and Tether should turn over specific documents about the financial arrangements made regarding a loan from Tether to Bitfinex, the ruling was paused pending the current appeal. The parties are expected to make their arguments face to face in court sometime early next year. UPDATE (Dec. 13, 2019 21:40 UTC): Bitfinex filed a reply Friday , maintaining its previous arguments that the NYAGs office does not have jurisdiction over the exchange or its sister firm Tether. The filing also maintains that the New York Supreme Court similarly does not have jurisdiction over the companies, claiming that they do not operate within the state. This article was later updated with comments posted to Tethers website. Related Stories Tether to File Motion to Dismiss Class Action Lawsuit Based on NYAG Claims Kik Suffers Setbacks With Void for Vagueness Defense in SEC Case
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
This is an excellent piece of work. || 📊 #Bitcoin espera nuevas señales del mercado internacional para poder recuperar su cotización
https://t.co/MDPlAw5eNn || $BTC
Bearish trend is forming. https://t.co/v2r71gw5sK || Bitcoin&NEM相場情報(Zaif)
btc/jpy ( https://t.co/oXoJdJE9tY )
時間 04:25 午前
価格 825240
xem/btc ( https://t.co/npFHqkW64n )
時間 01:17 午前
価格 0.0000051
xem/jpy ( https://t.co/rUyInpF8XE )
時間 04:27 午前
価格 4.1502 || #E3T #e3token #E3Hubs #business #entrepreneurs #IEO #blockchain #Crypto #investing
@E3tOfficial || Wed Nov 20 07:51:03 2019 (2:08)
USD : 8122.69
Wght: 0.41
Blk#: 604603
Size: 254.7 KB
TXs: 489
Pool: 163 (0.0 MB)
#bitcoin || Explore more tips for tightening up your KYC at our blog: https://t.co/fb4Bk1vc8o
#cryptocurrency #crypto #compliance #AML #KYC #CDD #BSA #bitcoin #regtech #fintech #BTC #duediligence #business #entrepreneurs #finance #cryptotwitter https://t.co/0BzLpeaqaa || Bear Signal $VRTX ($218.0) in After-Hours trading on https://t.co/knfLD5C2mg RSI:81.0, ATR:4.2 #trade #stocks #bitcoin || @CryptoWendyO They are more anti crypto,than pro bitcoin || https://t.co/qGoMxPkqPN <-- Brand laddering advice for casino marketing executives https://t.co/qfMMpgPZEi #roulette #poker #bitcoin
|
Trend: down || Prices: 8929.04, 8942.81, 8706.25, 8657.64, 8745.89, 8680.88, 8406.52, 8445.43, 8367.85, 8596.83
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
First Bitcoin Capital Corp. Signs Evaluation Agreements with Emercoin International Development Group, To Develop and Market Solutions to Provide Distributed Blockchain Services For Business and Personal Use: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / January, 28, 2016 / First BITCoin Capital Corp. ( BITCF ) announced today that it has signed an evaluation agreement with Emercoin International Development Group, a leader in solutions to provide distributed blockchain services for business and personal use. First BITCoin has signed certain evaluation agreements to promote Emercoin technology for wide spectrum of blockchain based technologies: 1. EMC/ SSH - Secure shell management system needed by every site admin. 2. EMC/ DNS - Uncensored domain name system, peering with OpenNIC. 3. EMC/ LNX- - Decentralized pay-per-click advertising network. 4. EMC/ SSL - System for password less authentication on the world wide web. 5. Info/ Card - Storage for electronic business cards for use with EMCSSL. 6. EMC /TTS - Trusted storage for digital timestamps on the blockchain. 7. MAGNET - Distributed torrent tracker for internet file sharing. 8. EMC/ DPO - Digital proof of ownership solution for physical or digital goods and services. First BITCoin is also evaluating investing in Emercoin to support Emercoin's market expansion and acceptance worldwide. Oleg Khovayko, Emercoin Lead Developer, said, "Key difference in Emercoin from other cryptocurrencies is that we are using blockchain not just for transfer credit values. We consider Emercoin as a technological platform for distributed, censorship–proof and scalable services. So we developed a suite of services running on top of the Emercoin blockchain that will be very useful for a lot of companies and even private persons." In addition, our goal is provide stable, robust and easy to integrate services. Hence, our solutions are compatible with industry standards, proven their efficient and security. "We are excited to have the opportunity to evaluate and possibly invest in EMERCOIN , especially due to their recent partnership with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to deliver their blockchain services to the Azure cloud's Blockchain-as-a-Service marketplace, also known as BaaS Platform," the Company spokesperson said. "We are always looking for disrupting, new and promising technologies, and are ready to invest in those companies to help them to market their technology worldwide." Story continues About EMERCOIN Group EmerCoin (EMC) is a decentralized, open-source cryptocurrency created in late 2013 and based on technologies from Bitcoin, Namecoin and Peercoin. It utilizes both Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake mining. Emercoin, a leading digital currency and blockchain platform has just partnered with Microsoft to become a member of the Azure marketplace. With demand growing for innovative, scalable blockchain services that are ready to implement, Emercoin is a natural fit for the Azure cloud platform. They have developed a robust suite of ready-to-use features that offer real world solutions for business and consumer use. Emercoin will be delivering their suite of blockchain services into the Azure cloud later this year. This will give Azure cloud users the ability to install and make use of Emercoin's many services such as digital proof of ownership and identity, passwordless authentication on the internet, network security, the first distributed advertising network and many E-commerce solutions like the Emercoin secure micropayment service. For more information please visit www.Emercoin.com . About First BITCoin Capital Corp. First Bitcoin Capital Corp. is a development-stage Canadian-based mining company currently holding concessions of Gold in Venezuela and is developing technology for the crypto-currency industry. It is the first vertically-integrated consolidation company of the Bitcoin and crypto-currency marketplace. The Company is developing the following digital assets www.CoinQX.com - online cryptocurrency Exchange. www.BITessentials.com - online shopping mall (in Beta testing) allowing multiple vendors to place their products ans sell for cryptocurrency. Company has partnered with GoCoin , A global leader in Blockchain payments and innovation, GoCoin was the first international platform for enabling merchants to Blockchain currency payments including Bitcoin and popular altcoins Litecoin, Dogecoin and Tether at checkout. www.iCOINews.com - Real time crypto currency news aggregator platform. www.BITminer.cc - Mining and equipment sales for cryptocurrency miners. The Company currently develops other innovative projects. SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release includes various "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs concerning future events. Statements containing expressions such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," or "expects," or similar expressions or statements regarding intent, belief of current expectations used in the Company's press releases and in Disclosure Statements and Reports filed with the Over the Counter Markets through the OTC Disclosure and News Service are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurances that actual results will not differ materially from expected results. The Company cautions that these and similar statements included in this report are further qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. Contacts: info@bitcoincapitalcorp.com bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. || Investors Set Sail With Cruise-Line Investments In 2016: 2015 proved to be a lucrative year for many cruise liners, as an improving economy and low fuel prices created the perfect conditions for a rebuilding year.
Industry juggernautCarnival Corp(NYSE:CCL) saw its shares rise 19.43 percent over the course of the year, andBarron'ssees the firm climbing another 20 percent this year, a sign that the industry can expect smooth waters ahead.
Safety In The Water
Carnival Corp has been touted as one of the safest plays in the cruise industry, because the company is the largest operator in the world. Carnival has ships in almost every body of water on the planet, operating popular names like Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises and Costa Cruises. Not only does the company have a massive brand appeal and staying power, but Carnival also pays out the heftiest dividend with a yield of 2.2 percent.
Related Link:Barron's Picks And Pans: Carnival, Pandora, American Capital And More
Expanding Into China
Another reason the cruise industry is set to continue gaining through 2016 is the potential for expansion in China as cruise holidays gain popularity. For investors looking to play this angle,Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd(NYSE:RCL) orNorwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd(NASDAQ:NCLH) could be smart plays.
Royal Caribbean has proven to be popular among the Chinese population and has been pushing upscale ships with luxury rooms that have brought in a great deal of interest. Norwegian is a relatively new entrant into the Chinese market, but the firm has been able to learn from its peers who have already penetrated the market and by offering customers a tailored experience different from what European or North American customers prefer.
Image Credit: Public Domain
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• Ledger Fights For Bitcoin's Staying Power At CES 2016
• Virtual Reality In 2016
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Sprott Out At Namesake Gold Fund As Price Collapse Takes Toll: With gold's decline, an entire precious metals industry is in peril. And Eric Sprott's just the canary in the gold mine. [This article first appeared on IndexUniverse.com and is republished here with permission.] For those of you who regularly read my stuff, you know I love to write about charts and numbers and all sorts of nerd-ery. In this blog, I'm only going to use a single chart. If you're a gold investor, you know which chart I'm talking about: Gold Prx since Fall 2011 Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com This is the nightmare chart for gold investors. The price of gold has collapsed from all-time highs of slightly more than $1,900 an ounce in fall of 2011 to near $1,235 today. Just this year, gold investors, a lot of them investing through ETFs like the SPDR Gold Trust ( GLD | A-100 ), are down almost 27 percent, while investors in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ( SPY | A-98 ) are up 27 percent. You don't need to be a math whiz to recognize that this has been a terrible, terrible year for anyone who made a big rotation out of equities in the last few years and into the shiny stuff. And while it's easy to kick people when they are down, here's the thing: It's not just gold investors who got hammered. It's an entire industry that's been built on the back of the gold rally. Consider GLD all by itself for a moment. GLD's peak NAV in August last year was $184.59. On that day, there were 424 million shares outstanding, for net assets of more than $78 billion, with an implied annual fee due of $313 million a year. Today assets stand at just $33 billion—well under half their peak, with an implied fee base of $131 million a year. That's nearly $200 million that's leaving the GLD management ecosystem. I'm not expecting anyone to feel sorry for the poor ETF issuer here (State Street and the World Gold Council). Rather, I'm pointing out that decline in gold has made for some rather dramatic shifts in the investment economy. Consider Eric Sprott. I first came to know of Sprott when his Physical Gold Trust launched in 2010—right in the froth of the run-up—and it was being called an "ETF" by various media sources (it's not; it's a closed-end fund). At the time, I ripped it apart for tax issues, poor marketing and various other shortcomings. That's nothing to the savaging Sprott received at the hands of one of the smartest bloggers on the Web, Kid Dynamite. Kid Dynamite has made a kind of sport out of watching how Sprott's closed-end funds magically become un-closed and issue new shares when they trade to large premiums. Story continues Nothing wrong there, other than the fact that the big recipient of those nonpremium shares tended to be other Sprott funds, who could then sell them for the premium price . Nice work if you can get it. But while the various shenanigans may have worked on the way up, they've brutalized the company—and Eric Sprott—on the way down. Take their flagship closed-end gold fund, PHYS. It launched on Feb. 26, 2010. GLD investors are up 9.09 percent since then. PHYS investors are up 6.36 percent. I don't know how you leave 1 percent a year on the table when your only job is to buy gold and stick it in a vault, but there you have it. The good news (if you're actually in one of Sprott's many funds) is that Sprott himself has gotten the ax, as noted by the extraordinarily unkind headline at Business Insider this morning: " One Of The Most Famous Gold Bug Fund Managers Has Gotten Obliterated ." The Wall St. Journal article is a bit more professional—" Gold Drop Is Blow to Prominent Hedge-Fund Manager Sprott "—but makes hay out of the fact that his namesake hedge fund is down 50 percent in 2013. That takes work. In the end, Sprott's getting the boot, and being replaced by new management. There's a whole lot of that going on in gold circles: people getting the boot and making way for turnaround specialists to come in and clean up business. The gold miner industry is awash in panic: The bellwether ETF in the space, the Market Vectors Gold Miners fund ( GDX | A-54 ), is down 66.4 percent since gold's peak in 2011, and down 54.49 percent just in 2013. That collapse is driven by very real work being done in the gold miner space to deal with the collapsing gold prices. Anglo American, for instance, brought in a new CEO to help make huge cuts, effect write-downs and position the company for a longer-term business. In some sense, that's all healthier than bubble economics. But that's small solace to any investor who's actually ridden Anglo American, PHYS, GDX or GLD to the ground these past few years. Of course, the question any rational investor should ask is, What's next? And that's where it becomes very difficult to read the news. In most rational sectors of the global economy, analysts are analysts. You read the reports from agricultural experts or retail-stock experts, and they generally call things as they see them. In the precious metals space, nearly every article you get off any kind of Google search will always be telling you why "Now is the time!" It's important to remember that gold—and the entire gold investment economy—is unique. Gold, by itself, is useless and valueless. It has value only because it's scarce, and then only because enough people believe its scarcity can make it a useful medium of representing value and making transactions. Gold is, essentially, an idea that people assign value to. Lots of folks believe? It goes up. Crisis of faith? It tanks. Which makes it surprisingly similar to that other highly volatile source of questionable stored-value: Bitcoin. Maybe that's where Sprott's next adventure will take him. I'll be camped firmly on the sidelines with a bowl of popcorn. At the time this article was written, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Contact Dave Nadig at dnadig@indexuniverse.com . Recommended Stories Bearish Inventory Report Doesn’t Change Bullish Outlook For NatGas Record Silver Investing, Record Silver Mine Output In 2014 NatGas Tests Top End Of Price Range After Demand Soars Natural Gas Will Eventually Fall Below $3 Potential Takeover Targets In The Mining Sector Permalink | © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved View comments || Why GAHC Is Like a Biotech Stock: HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2015 /Biotechnology stocks have had another huge year in the OTC markets.
Generally, biotechnology stocks make some of the largest moves on the OTC. The reason being most of the biggest rags to riches stories on the OTC are biotech companies.
Why is that? Most biotechs have long expensive trial phases to get through before they'll ever make a dime of revenue, and going public helps these companies raise the capital necessary to make it to solvency. But, if they do make it through the trial phases the payoff can be huge.
Why do speculative investors love biotechs? Biotechnology companies generally have a novel technology or concept to solve a multi billion dollar problem, and earn patents throughout the trial phases.
This is why we have been looking atGlobal Arena Holding, Inc. (GAHC).
GAHCis not a biotechnology stock, but it shares many of the same properties that make it a company you should look at immediately.
Global Arenahas invested inBlockchain Technologies Corporation. ("BTC"),and is working toward a full acquisition.BTCleverages the groundbreaking blockchain, which some - like Marc Andreessen - are calling the most significant technology since the internet, and creates patents for novel uses of the blockchain that will solve multi billion dollar inefficiencies across a number of industries. These include financial markets, banking, electronic payment systems, private & public contracts and election services through various applications such as: exchanges, smart contracts and voting.
Much like a biotech:
- Novel Technology- Solving Multi Billion Dollar Problems- Creating Patents
Unlike biotechs,GAHC, is already generating revenues through its election services subsidiary, Global Election Services.
To bring it all full circle,GAHC'sBTCwill potentially be using its Blockchain Apparatus to make filing patents easier and more efficient, which as mentioned earlier, is a big part of the biotechnology business.
Blockchain technology, which many know as the backbone of the digital currency Bitcoin, is essentially a uncompromisable public ledger of transactions. All transactions are broadcast to a network of subscribing nodes, and each node updates its own copy of the ledger with the new transactions. Once a new group of transactions is verified, a block is created and added to the blockchain. All transactions for the ledger are publicly visible and verifiable based on previous blocks.Essentially, blockchain is a ledger that anyone can add things to but no one can remove anything from. This creates a certain and verifiable record on an electronic system that cannot be hacked.
GAHClooks to be one of the first companies to fully leverage and benefit from this technology.
This could create movements similar, to several biotechnology companies we've been paying attention to:
KaleBios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO)has had a huge past few weeks since being taken over by CEO Martin Shkreli, who has spearheaded a 9,830% move. That's no misprint, it shows the kind of movement these high potential stocks can make.
Endonovo Therapeutics, Inc. (OTC:ENDV)has made an 890% move just this week! ENDV is developing two bioelectronic-based platforms for regenerative medicine. Immunotronic(TM), a non-invasive and non-implantable immuno-regulatory device designed to treat inflammatory conditions in vital organs, including acute organ failure; and Cytotronics(TM), a proprietary bioelectronic-based method of creating stem cells with enhanced biological and therapeutic properties.
In a Schedule 13G filing,Steve Cohen'sPoint72 Asset Managementreported owning 1.41 million shares ofCara Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CARA), which accounted for 5.2% of the company's outstanding shares. Cohen's family office owned a mere 24,800 shares of the company as of September 30. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focuses on the development of new chemical products that target the body's peripheral nervous system in order to relieve pain and pruritus. Shares of Cara Therapeutics Inc. (CARA) had advanced by more than 100% through the end of September, when the sell-off in biotechnology stocks kicked off. Nevertheless, the stock is still 38% in the green year-to-date, and will most likely continue to be guided by investors' expectations for the success of its product candidates in the upcoming quarters.
Biotechnology stocks can make massive moves,Global Arena Holding, Inc. (GAHC)shares several properties which give it the same kind of explosive potential these speculative biotechs have and is already generating revenues with significant increases expected to continue. Make sure to take a close look atGAHC.
For more information about the blockchain, click here:http://globalarenaholding.com/blockchain-news/the-beginners-guide-to-blockchain/Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure:This is a sponsored article. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this Report should be construed as individualized investment advice. For The Full Disclaimer, click herehttp://capitalgainsreport.com/disclaimer/.
SOURCE:Capital Gains Report || Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 / Coin Reverse Inc. ( http://www.coinreverse.com ) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. Story continues All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website: http://www.coinreverse.com . No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visit http://coinreverse.com . Contact Info: Name: Tom Juno Organization: Coin Reverse Inc. Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor Phone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE: Coin Reverse Inc. || Cybersecurity A Hot Topic At Davos: Cybersecurity has been a hot-button issue in both the public and private sectors over the past year after a spate of hacking attacks left several companies in jeopardy and illustrated that the U.S. government is struggling to keep pace with hackers.
With concerns about cyber-terrorism ramping up in the wake of several terror strikes around the world, the Word Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has become abattle groundfor world leaders and tech firms to discuss how to protect each nation's security without compromising customers' privacy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Data Tug Of War
Government officials are pushing tech firms likeFacebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB) andTwitter Inc(NYSE:TWTR) to make their data more accessible in order to give law enforcement better surveillance options.
Related Link:Bitcoin Makes An Appearance At Davos
They argue current encryption processes make it impossible for the firms to give officials access to communications that could be essential in preventing further terror attacks.
However, tech firms say that making data more accessible would land them in a difficult position, as it makes customer data more accessible to everyone, not just law enforcement. Brad Smith,Microsoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT)'s chief legal officer said that loosening encryption could violate customer privacy laws in the United States, causing tech firms to choose which laws they want to break in order to comply with government requests.
Making Customers Happy
Companies likeAlphabet Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) andApple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) have ramped up their privacy protection in the years since U.S. contractor Edward Snowden leaked documents detailing the Untied States' widespread surveillance practices. Since that time, many consumers have become much more conscious about their privacy protection, and companies like Google and Apple have responded by using encryption that even they don't have the keys to.
Image Credit:Public Domain
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• Are Share Repurchases On The Horizon?
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || 10 Tech Predictions for 2016: As I always say, predicting what will happen in the tech industry over a short time horizon is a lot like shooting darts at Jell-O. But someone’s got to do it and it may as well be me. Besides, myprophecies for 2015didn’t do nearly as well asin 2014, and I’m itching to redeem myself.
I did hit a number of forecasts out of the park, including the success of Apple Pay and the demise of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. And my prediction that the Nasdaq would break its all-time high and then fizzle out turned out to be reasonably accurate.
But a few of the calls I made, including those aboutnet neutralityand the Comcast – Time Warner Cable merger – were thwarted by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and federal regulators. [Sigh.] And my bet oncinematic reality startup Magic Leapnever made the jump from virtual to reality.
Let’s see if I can do better this year. Here’s what my crystal ball says will happen in 2016:
Users will develop smart gadget fatigue.While smartphones and tablets, to a lesser extent, will continue to see strong growth in emerging markets, the growth curve will continue to flatten out in mature markets – especially among Android devices. Wearables will get a boost from Apple Watch 2 but unit sales will remain unimpressive compared with the incomparable iPhone.
Jack will tweak Twitter.O Twitter, Twitter! Wherefore art thou Twitter? The return of Jack Dorsey as CEO will see the cofounder do a lot of Facebook-like (move fast and break things) tweaking to Twitter, starting with increasing the 140 character tweet limit. Jack will continue to tweak the product until something good happens, as in renewed user growth and engagement.
Apple and Google car hype will reach fever pitch.Car tech is heating up in a big way. And since the market’s response to Apple’s first new products since Steve Jobs – Apple Watch and Apple TV (the product, not the hobby) – has been muted, fanboys will be clamoring for rumors on the car front. And Google will likewise be pressured to show progress on at least one of its massive Alphabet ventures, notably its self-driving car.
Drones will continue to bug neighbors, privacy buffs and the FAA.Drones will remain an annoying hobbyfor the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, nobody in desperate need of a midnight pizza or a six-pack will be getting one delivered by drone anytime soon. And definitely not anytime this year.
The digital and real worlds will meet in augmented reality (AR).Virtual reality has been the next big thingfor as far back as I can remember, but the technology behind Facebook Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard is becoming more real all the time. A breakthrough, however, is more likely in the AR space, where the digital and real worlds meet. That means something will pop from Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass 2, or who knows, maybe Apple.
The tech bubble will correct.With notable exceptions like Netflix and Amazon, tech stocks took a breather in 2015 after an impressive six-year bull run. But the slowing global economy, the Fed’s monetary tightening, and terrorism concerns will let some air out of theprivate equity bubbleand take the Nasdaq down into correction territory.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious Bitcoin founder, will not be found.Wired, Gizmodo and every other tech media outlet have been hot on the trail ofidentifying Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of Bitcoin’s mysterious founder. They thought they had it figured out a few weeks ago, but that turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Still, it was nowhere near as embarrassing asNewsweek’s Dorian Nakamotodebacle of 2014.
The IPO market will be weak.The private equity bubble is keeping late-stage startups that would ordinarily go public out of the IPO market. That will change when there’s a unicorn shakeout, investors get burned and VCs stop throwing money at startups at crazy valuations. That’s when tech companies will once again see public markets as viable exits. That’s when you’ll seeunicorns stampede on Wall Street. And it won’t be in 2016.
M&A activity will be strong.With the bull market running out of steam and private investors becoming more cautious, M&A exits will be on the rise. Unfortunately, a lot of them will be companies that maintain high burn rates until it’s too late and end up going for dimes on a dollar in fire sales.
Yahoo will sell its core business and Marissa Mayer will be out as CEO.Here’s a fun little rhyme for 2016, courtesy of Humpty Dumpty:
Yahoo Yahoo sat on a wallYahoo Yahoo had a great fallAll the Valley’s CEOs and all the Valley’s chairmenCouldn’t put Yahoo Yahoo together again
Jerry Yang, Carol Bartz, Roy Bostock, Tim Morse, Scott Thompson, Ross Levinsohn, Fred Amoroso, Maynard Webb. I’m sure I missed a CEO or chairman somewhere in there, but in any case, enough is enough. It’s long past time to put this company, its board, and Marissa Mayer out of their misery. Yahoo will be acquired or taken private in 2016.
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• The Most Annoying Aspects of Our Tech-Crazed Culture || 6 trades to watch in an uncertain market: After U.S. stocks followed global markets lower Thursday, "Fast Money" traders outlined what they deemed safe plays to ride out uncertainty.
Major averages each closed down more than 2 percent, after a brief Chinese trading session in which a 7 percent drop in the CSI300 triggered a halt. Traders looked to longer-term plays that could offer protection through volatility.
Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF(NYSE Arca: GDX)
The price of gold(CEC:Commodities Exchange Centre: @GC.1), a traditional "safe haven" asset, climbed Thursday amid the uncertainty in stock and oil markets. The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF rose more than 4 percent for the day.
Both traders Guy Adami and Brian Kelly said gold likely has more upside ahead.
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF(NYSE Arca: TLT)
U.S. Treasury prices rose in choppy trading Thursday amid a flight to safer assets, sending yields lower. In that environment, the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF could make a good play, said Adami and trader Dan Nathan.
Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund(NYSE Arca: XLU)
Utilities offer a place to "hide" in current markets, said trader Steve Grasso. Nathan also identified them as a defensive play because of their dividend yields.
They looked to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, which fell slightly on Thursday.
Retail
Shares of department store chain Macy's(NYSE: M)climbed about 2 percent Thursday in the wake of a restructuring announcement. Adami believes the stock can rise even more.
Grasso also outlined possible strength in American Eagle Outfitters(NYSE: AEO).
Verizon(NYSE: VZ)
Nathan also saw Verizon as a possible play for investors looking for yield.
Disclosures:
Dan Nathan
Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March Risk Reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb Call spread, long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM feb calls, short SPY, Long UUP, long WMT puts
Steve Grasso
Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MBLY, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm is long APC, CXO, OXY, BP, CVX, MCD, RIG, AMZN kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY, DB
Guy Adami
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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• Personal Finance || You say advertising, I say block that malware: The real reason online advertising is doomed and adblockers thrive? Its malware epidemic is unacknowledged, and out of control. The Forbes 30 Under 30 list came out this week and it featured a prominent security researcher. Other researchers were pleased to see one of their own getting positive attention, and visited the site in droves to view the list. On arrival, like a growing number of websites, Forbes asked readers to turn off ad blockers in order to view the article. After doing so, visitors were immediately served with pop-under malware, primed to infect their computers, and likely silently steal passwords, personal data and banking information. Or, as is popular worldwide with these malware "exploit kits," lock up their hard drives in exchange for Bitcoin ransom. One researcher commented on Twitter that the situation was "ironic" -- and while it's certainly another variant of hackenfreude , ironic isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe what happened. The @Forbes website held content until I disabled Ad Blocker. I did so and was immediately given pop-under malware. pic.twitter.com/eDVRAA9ZSu — Brian Baskin (@bbaskin) January 4, 2016 That's because this situation spotlights what happened in 2015 to billions -- yep, billions -- of people who were victims of virus-infected ads which were spread via ad networks like germs from a sneeze across the world's most popular websites. Less than a month ago, a bogus banner ad was found serving malvertising to visitors of video site DailyMotion. After discovering it, security company Malwarebytes contacted the online ad platform the bad ad was coming through, Atomx. The company blamed a "rogue" advertiser on the WWPromoter network. It was estimated the adware broadcast through DailyMotion put 128 million people at risk. To be specific, it was from the notorious malware family called "Angler Exploit Kit." Remember this name, because I'm pretty sure we're going to be getting to know it a whole lot better in 2016. Story continues Last August, Angler struck MSN.com with -- you guessed it -- another drive-by malvertising campaign. It was the same campaign that had infected Yahoo visitors back in July (an estimated 6.9 billion visits per month, it's considered the biggest malvertising attack so far). October saw Angler targeting Daily Mail visitors through poisoned ads as well (monthly ad impressions 64.4 million ). Only last month, Angler's malicious ads hit visitors to Reader's Digest (210K readers; ad impressions 1.7M ). That attack sat unattended after being in the press, and was fixed only after a week of public outcry. It's crazy to consider what a perfect marriage this is, between the advertisers and the criminals pushing the exploit kits. They have a lot in common. pop-up ads coming out of laptop screen with a spring Both try to trick us into giving them something we don't want to. We've recently learned that both entities surveil and track us beyond what we're OK with. And both are hard to get rid of. You know, like those gross toenail and skin condition ad-banners found at the bottom of every cheapo blog you've ever seen, forever burned into the "can't unsee" section of your brain. It actually makes business sense to think about malware attacks like an advertiser. You want to deliver your infection to, and scrape those dollars from, every little reader out there. You need a targeted delivery system, with the widest distribution, and as many clueless middlemen as possible. It's easy to want to blame Reader's Digest, or Yahoo, or Forbes, or Daily Mail, or any of these sites for screwing viewers by serving them malicious ads and not telling them, or not helping them with the cleanup afterward. And it's a hell of a lot easier when they've compelled us to turn off our ad blockers to simply see what brought us to their site. But the problem is coming through them, from the ad networks themselves. The same ones, it should be mentioned, who control the Faustian bargains made by bartering and selling our information. What should the websites do? The ad networks clearly don't have a handle on this at all, giving us one more reason to use ad blockers. They're practically the most popular malware delivery systems on Earth, and they're making the websites they do business with into the same poisonous monster. I don't even want to think about what it all means for the security practices of the ad companies handling our tracking data or the sites we visit hosting these pathogens. So, to my friend on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list -- a malware researcher, which I'll concede is actually ironic -- I'm sorry I won't be seeing your time in that particular spotlight. What we need is a word for the fact that ad blockers have become our first line of defense against a malware epidemic. Especially during a time when the sites we visit are begging, pleading, demanding and practically tricking us into turning off Ad Block Plus. [Image credit: Getty Images] || MarilynJean Interactive (MJMI.QB) Shareholder Update: Marilynjean Interactive (MJMI) Is Pleased To Update Its Shareholders on Its Business Plan for the Coming Year
HENDERSON, NV / ACCESSWIRE / January 18, 2016 /The crypto-currency space saw major strides forward in 2015 with ground-breaking developments in its underlying technology and regulation as well as an unexpected rise in Bitcoin prices. The space appears poised for a quantum leap forward in 2016 and MarilynJean is excited to be a part of what will likely be tremendous growth in the industry.
From a technology standpoint, Bitcoin's blockchain is envisioned to revolutionize the settlement of securities and payments for both financial and non-financial institutions alike. Major stock and futures exchanges, clearing houses, and other technology organizations are exploring the use of blockchain technology to underpin their transaction verification systems.
Bloomberg estimates that approximately $373 million was invested in Bitcoin start-ups in 2015. As investment in Bitcoin and blockchain technology grew, new regulation evidenced that Bitcoin is on track to become a widely used and accepted currency. New York issued its first Bitlicense allowing Goldman Sachs backed Circle Internet Financial to offer digital currency services in the state.
The advent of regulated exchanges and trading instruments may have been a factor in driving demand for Bitcoin, its value having increased over 40% in 2015. While price volatility remained higher than traditional FIAT currencies, 2015 was overall a more stable year than its predecessor for Bitcoin.
Looking ahead to 2016, MJMI plans to continue its focus on the key verticals of exchange, remittance and gaming. In addition, the Company plans to seek partnerships with firms involved specifically in development of applications based on blockchain technology. The Company plans to continue to expand its management and advisory board in 2016, advance the partnerships it began negotiating last year and continue to forge new alliances in the space.
Peter Janosi, MJMI's president said: "We believe that MJMI's best avenue for growth is via acquisitions and strategic partnerships. We expect the industry to continue to expand and evolve rapidly and, as such, we expect our publicly traded currency to be a key strategic tool for growth and financing."
About MJMI
MJMI is in the business of providing safe and accessible services for the users of Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies.
Crypto-currencies are a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units. Bitcoin became the first decentralized crypto-currency in 2009. Crypto-currency is produced at a rate which is defined when the system is created and publicly known. By contrast, in centralized banking and economic systems, such as the Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or governments control the supply of currency by printing units or demanding additions to digital banking ledgers. However, neither companies nor governments can produce units of crypto-currency and as such the value of crypto-currencies are completely based on supply and demand, free from any governmental control. Many people believe crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, hold the promise of being the most significant advancement in global finance in modern history. The advent of Bitcoin creates a secure, easily accessible and transferable transnational currency that is completely liberated from political influence.
MJMI is currently exploring partnerships in several verticals within the crypto-currency space. Management believes that several industries, including international remittances, currency exchange and online gambling are on the verge of being revolutionized by the use of Bitcoin to effect transactions.
MarilynJean Media Interactive is among the first publicly traded companies focused on Bitcoin and the crypto-currency space. The company's trading symbol is OTCQB: MJMI.
Website:www.marilynjean.comPress Contact:bonnie@marilynjean.com
SOURCE:MarilynJean Media Interactive
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
$417.05 at 08:00 UTC [24h Range: $392.14 - $422.28 Volume: 16432 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/wiDYvP1hQf || LIVE: Profit = $484.92 (5.73 %). BUY B20.56 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $435.45 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000005 (-45.95 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-50.00 %) || Current price: 386.16€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-26 17:00:04 CET || LIVE: Profit = $776.40 (9.24 %). BUY B20.40 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $450.44 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || #BTC is $392.00 http://bit.ly/1LfnSIe || Current price of Bitcoin is $433.00 via Chain || Current price: 437.11$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-22 17:00:07 EST || $433.73 #coinbase;
$433.15 #bitstamp;
$432.00 #bitfinex;
$430.00 #btce;
#bitcoin #btc via #ThePriceOfBTCpic.twitter.com/EHRaJBZmf2 || Current price: 461.05$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-12-15 21:00:06 EST
|
Trend: up || Prices: 368.77, 373.06, 374.45, 369.95, 389.59, 386.55, 376.52, 376.62, 373.45, 376.03
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-07-28]
BTC Price: 655.03, BTC RSI: 49.00
Gold Price: 1332.30, Gold RSI: 56.10
Oil Price: 41.14, Oil RSI: 32.12
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
London's Tech Sector Thinks Brexit Will Be A Disaster: The British people will vote next week in a national election to decide the country's fate within the European Union.
The vote, dubbed "Brexit," will ask the people if they want Britain to remain a member of the European Union or not. Recent polls suggest a vote to leave the EU is currently winning, but it's still a very close race.
According toTech Crunch,a survey of 320 members of the Tech London Advocates, a collection of technology leaders, experts and investors, also found that 87 percent believe the country would be in better shape remaining part of the EU.
Related Link:Would Falkland/Malvinas Islands' Sovereignty Be At Risk With A Brexit?
"My concern [about Brexit] is that if people felt there was a better chance of exploiting the European market from a place like Berlin, they'll just choose that or other locations instead," Tech Crunch quoted Gary Stewart, the UK Director of WAYRA, a leading startup accelerator as saying. "Startups will always go to places where they'll have the best possibility of success."
Christian Hernandez, a managing partner at White Star Capital, a venture capital firm based in London, shared a similar sentiment. He is worried that an exit from the European Union would result in startups and tech entrepreneurs no longer choosing London as a base of operation. After all, London is widely considered to be the venture financial capital for Europe.
The reality is that life post-Brexit marks an uncharted territory, and no one knows what the landscape will look like, Tech Crunch concluded.
See more from Benzinga
• Bitcoin Is Up 30% This Week And 200% This Year: Here Is What You Need To Know
• Beijing Orders Apple To Halt Sales Of iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus Devices In The City
• Wells Fargo's Hateful 8: Shares Are Down 8 Sessions In A Row, Worst Streak In 8 Years
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin 'miners' face fight for survival as new supply halves: By Jemima Kelly KEFLAVIK, Iceland (Reuters) - Marco Streng is a miner, though he does not carry a pick around his base in south-western Iceland. Instead, he keeps tens of thousands of computers running 24 hours a day in fierce competition with others across the globe to earn bitcoins. In the world of the web-based digital currency, it is not central banks that add new money to the system, but rather computers like Streng's which are awarded fresh bitcoins in return for processing blocks of the latest bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers. The work Streng's computers and others do serves two purposes: they record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions and - because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do - steadily increase the currency in circulation, currently worth around $10 billion. The process has come to be known as "mining" because it is slow and intensive, reaping a gradual reward in the same way that minerals such as gold are mined from the ground. But on Saturday, the reward for miners will be slashed in half. Written into bitcoin's code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation. From around 1700 GMT on Saturday, instead of 25 bitcoins up for grabs globally every 10 minutes, worth around $16,000 at the current rate (BTC=BTSP), there will be just 12.5. That means only the mining companies with the leanest operations will survive the ensuing profit hit. "The most important thing is to be the most efficient miner," said Streng, the 26-year-old co-founder of German firm Genesis Mining, which has "mining farms" in Canada, the United States and eastern Europe, as well as in Iceland. "When the others drop out, that means that they leave the market and give you a bigger share of the pie." Story continues SOLVING PUZZLES The currency was founded eight years ago by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity has not been established. It was set up to operate independently of any single authority, instead relying on a decentralized global network. Because the bitcoin miners operate autonomously, it is hard to track their numbers and size. But in terms of computing capacity it was estimated earlier this year that the network is 43,000 times more powerful than the world's top 500 supercomputers combined. Computers like Streng's solve complex, automatically generated mathematical puzzles to help secure each block of transactions and keep the bitcoin network safe from hacking or manipulation. For bitcoin users, that security is one of the currency's main attractions. After the first miner secures a block of transactions, its work is verified by the other miners in the network, and that block is added to the "blockchain" - a shared record of all the transaction data - which is virtually impossible to tamper with. The mining, therefore, keeps the whole system going. Bitcoin is now accepted by major organizations including U.S. online retailer Overstock.com and travel company Expedia. The speed and anonymity of bitcoin transactions, and lack of a central authority overseeing the currency, has drawn in many users, including those who want to get around capital controls. It has also attracted investors who see it as a potentially lucrative commodity in itself. KEEPING COOL Bitcoin mining started out as a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers in the early years of the virtual currency, but has become more specialized as bitcoin usage expands. As the bitcoin price has risen, as transaction numbers have grown and as the computers have become so specialized that they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining, a whole industry has emerged. It can be profitable if firms are able to keep their expenses low. But the costs of running these machines, which cost around $1,800 each, and keeping them cool are fiendishly high. Streng reckons that, on average, it costs about $200 in electricity, including cooling power, to mine one bitcoin. Equipment, rent, wages and business running costs are on top. On Saturday, all else being equal, the halving of the reward will double that cost, to $400, leaving a small margin for profit at the current exchange rate of around $640 per bitcoin. In the same remote region of Iceland as the Genesis mining farm, on a former Cold War U.S. military base lies a bitcoin mining facility belonging to U.S. firm Bitfury. A nearby sub-station means electricity transmission costs are minimal. In the farm's two vast buildings, tens of thousands of mining machines whir away, producing a huge amount of heat, so the buildings are open to the cold Icelandic air at either side, save for particle filters to trap dust. Fans in the ceiling allow hot air to escape, but spin so fast that no rain or snow can enter during the winter. The noise produced by computers and fans is deafening. It is no coincidence that so many mining companies have chosen to build farms in Iceland - Chinese giant Bitmain also has a huge farm there. The volcanic island's cheap, bountiful, renewable energy supply, good internet connectivity, and cool temperatures make it an ideal location. The Icelandic authorities welcome the boost to the economy that the bitcoin miners have brought -- Bitmain opened its farm after an approach by the Icelandic embassy in Beijing. Genesis's Streng says he is such a valued client that the Icelandic energy companies fly him around in helicopters. Bitfury CEO Valery Vavilov, who estimates electricity makes up between 90 and 95 percent of bitcoin mining costs, says one way his firm stays competitive is by making its own hardware. He also says the company, founded in 2011, is prepared for the mining reward cut. "We're prepared - we already went through one halving event in 2012," he said. "You can forecast this...so you have time to prepare, and if you're prepared you can live quite easily." Vavilov, and other miners, say the prospect of new supply halving has already helped drive bitcoin up over 50 percent this year, which should help ease the pain. COMPETITION FROM CHINA Despite the fact that the halving was expected, and that the price has risen, it has already claimed one casualty: Sweden's KnCMiner filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, citing the hit to its profits that the reward cut would bring. Daniel Masters, who runs a Jersey-based bitcoin hedge fund and who bought a part of KnC's business, said the Swedish firm, like everybody else, had faced competition from miners in China, which are estimated to make up more than two-thirds of the bitcoin network's computing power, or "hashpower". "It turned out that the Chinese, who really stormed into the mining market in the last couple of years, could just do this whole thing cheaper," Masters said. Some Chinese miners get hydroelectric power from disused dams, while others use cheap coal-powered electricity. Bitfury and Genesis, though, say their lean operations allow them to fight off the competition. Genesis, for example, keeps cost down by remotely monitoring conditions in its mining farms and adjusting its fans and cooling accordingly. And the next time the mining reward is halved, in 2020, they hope the number of bitcoin transactions will have grown sufficiently to mean that the small fees paid by users will make up enough of their income to smooth out the profit cut. "By 2020 we will definitely have had the tipping point," said Bitfury's Vavilov. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Dominic Evans) || WRIT Media Group Announces Beta Availability of CrypStock Crypto Currency Exchange: LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 5, 2016) - WRIT Media Group, Inc. ( OTCQB : WRIT ) today introduces beta availability for its CrypStock crypto currency exchange at the following website: www.CrypStock.com . CrypStock is a crypto-currency exchange, striving to combine the crypto-currency uniqueness with the benefits of a user-friendly but sophisticated exchange system. The platform aims to give a great user experience matched with fast support, and will add new digital currencies based on popularity and requests by account holders. The Company plans to introduce a number of proprietary trading modules, including: Binary options on the Bitcoin/USD pair - the simplest type of derivative financial instruments, allowing traders to make potential profit from trend forecasting. Futures on the Bitcoin/USD pair - the most popular financial instrument in the world, providing an ability to trade with big leverage and volume. Algorithm trading subsystem - traders will benefit from a friendly visual wizard for automatic trading creation, back-testing and real-time execution. "Although the addition of another crypto-currency exchange may seem trivial, the development creates a potential shift in the cryptocurrency landscape, allowing more users direct access to the Company's Pelecoin currency," states Eric Mitchell, President of WRIT Media Group. "Pelecoin will trade against Bitcoin and other digital currencies, effectively creating a direct path between a non-Bitcoin asset and Bitcoin funding." WRIT Media Group plans to integrate a full system into the platform to run a digital currency exchange, including a solution for automatic market-making on exchange using third party exchanges. When launched, it will work with Pelecoin, Bitcoin and other digital currency exchanges around the world. "Having the opportunity to test and plan, with early access by real clients, has been very helpful while preparing for the planned 2017 CrypStock launch," adds Mr. Mitchell. Story continues Opening a CrypStock Account New users can sign up online for free and secure their own CrypStock trading account by completing a New Account Application Form at www.crypstock.com . Once registered, users can navigate the beta version of the trading platform to monitor trading prices for various digital currencies, execute sample trades in various currencies, and provide feedback to WRIT Media Group's active development and support team. Upon its completion of external user acceptance testing, the exchange intends to register as a Money Service Business with the United States Department of Treasury and other necessary regulatory agencies in the US and abroad. Once registered, Pelecoin may be traded in several states in the US as a digital currency. Pelecoin is also finalizing the technical and regulatory ability to trade in Asia and other continents. Qualifying account holders will then be able to trade Pelecoin, other digital currencies, and derivatives on the Company's proprietary CrypStock trading platform. About WRIT Media Group WRIT Media Group, Inc. ( OTCQB : WRIT ) is a diversified media and software company whose operations include content production and distribution; video game distribution via mobile platforms; and digital currency software development, including trading platforms and Blockchain solutions. The Company's portfolio of wholly owned businesses includes: Front Row Networks, a content creation company which produces, acquires and distributes live event programming for worldwide digital broadcast into digitally enabled movie theaters and online streaming; Amiga Games, a software company resurrecting the Amiga brand by publishing retro video games on smartphones, tablets and consoles; Retro Infinity, Inc., a video game distribution portal which publishes video games from Amiga, Atari and other "retro" brands on today's smartphones, tablets and consoles; and Pandora Venture Capital, a software developer with a focus on digital currency technologies, including; a cryptocurrency trading platform, a new generation of cryptocurrency, and Blockchain technology solutions. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those discussed in WRIT Media Group's latest 10-Q filed December 31, 2015. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Pandora Venture Capital Corp., Pelecoin, CrypStock.com and its related trademarks and names are the property of WRIT Media Group, Inc. and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All rights reserved. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. || Spain's Santander names ex-JPMorgan executive Masters blockchain guru: (Reuters) - Banco Santander SA, Spain's largest lender, named former JPMorgan executive Blythe Masters its senior blockchain adviser as banks race to find new uses for the technology behind virtual currency Bitcoin. Proponents of blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, say it has the potential to shake up how financial markets operate. The technology creates a shared database in which participants can trace every transaction ever conducted. Santander is one of several banks investing in this sector to avoid being left behind by fintech start-ups. Citigroup, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are among other big global banks that have invested in the technology. Masters, who spent 27 years at JPMorgan, has been leading the charge into blockchain by financiers. The blockchain software firm she started, Digital Asset Holdings, has raised more than $60 million from investors such as Goldman Sachs and the Australian Securities Exchange, which is partnering with the firm to work on using the technology in the cash-equities market. Masters was previously the chairman of Santander Consumer USA Holdings' board. She rose to prominence during the 1990s when she helped to create the credit-derivatives market. Her appointment comes shortly after Santander became the first British bank to start using blockchain to record international payments. The lender said at the time that it may start rolling out the service to customers next year. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) || SolidX files to launch bitcoin exchange-traded product: July 12 (Reuters) - SolidX Partners Inc, a blockchain technology company, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange-traded product that tracks the price of bitcoins.
SolidX Bitcoin Trust will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XBTC upon regulatory approval, SolidX Partners said on Tuesday.
SolidX is the second company to file for a bitcoin exchange-traded product with the U.S. regulators.
The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, owned by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, filed an application for a bitcoin ETF three years ago.
Last month, the brothers filed to switch the listing of their proposed bitcoin ETF to BATS Global Markets from Nasdaq.
If approved by the SEC, the Winklevoss ETF would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity.
(Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila) || Spain's Santander names ex-JPMorgan executive Masters blockchain guru: (Reuters) - Banco Santander SA, Spain's largest lender, named former JPMorgan executive Blythe Masters its senior blockchain adviser as banks race to find new uses for the technology behind virtual currency Bitcoin. Proponents of blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, say it has the potential to shake up how financial markets operate. The technology creates a shared database in which participants can trace every transaction ever conducted. Santander is one of several banks investing in this sector to avoid being left behind by fintech start-ups. Citigroup, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are among other big global banks that have invested in the technology. Masters, who spent 27 years at JPMorgan, has been leading the charge into blockchain by financiers. The blockchain software firm she started, Digital Asset Holdings, has raised more than $60 million from investors such as Goldman Sachs and the Australian Securities Exchange, which is partnering with the firm to work on using the technology in the cash-equities market. Masters was previously the chairman of Santander Consumer USA Holdings' board. She rose to prominence during the 1990s when she helped to create the credit-derivatives market. Her appointment comes shortly after Santander became the first British bank to start using blockchain to record international payments. The lender said at the time that it may start rolling out the service to customers next year. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly in London; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) View comments || Traders: Here's where to find some protection for your portfolio ahead of Brexit: The "Fast Money" traders debated which securities were best for padding portfolios with some near-term protection ahead of the vote in the U.K. on whether or not to leave the European Union. The CBOE volatility index(INDEX: .VIX)hit a high of 21.19 on Wednesday, ahead of the referendum vote.
Trader Steve Grasso said that the utilities, consumer staples, gold and dividend yielding securities will likely be repurchased after the decision.
Gold is a good play, according to trader Guy Adami. Overall, he believes that global slowdown and deflationary pressure are playing a bigger role in international markets than Brexit.
Trader Dan Nathan said that he is watching the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF(NASDAQ: TLT)(TLT) because of past price action during catalytic events.
"When you think back to August, when we really saw risk asset volatility go berserk, we had this spike to new all-time highs or multi-year highs in the TLT and then that came off, and it came off really hard once things calmed down," he said. "The same thing happened in February."
Trader Brian Kelly said that the European banks are at risk of selling off because of the recent rally in those names. Deutsche Banke(XETRA: DBK-DE), Credit Suisse(Swiss Exchange: CSGN-CH)and UBS(Swiss Exchange: UBSG-CH)are all up double digits in the last week. Kelly said he may be looking to increase his short positions in those stocks.
Disclosures:
Guy Adami
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
Steve Grasso
Steve Grasso is long BA, CC, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, UA. Steve Grasso's Kids are long EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Stuart Frankel & Co Inc. and some of its Partners are long AAPL, AMZN, AVP, CUBA, CVX, DAL, FCX, HSPO, IBM, ICE, KDUS, KO, LDP, LUV, MAT, MCD, MJNA, NE, NEM, NXTD, OLN, OXY, RIG, STAG, TAXI, TEX, TITXF, UAL, URI, VALE, WDR, WYNN, ZNGA.
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, GLD, SFK, SLV, TLT, US Dollar UUP. He is short CS, DB, UBS
Dan Nathan
Dan Nathan is BABA June/Aug put spread, JD Call spread Long PFE, Long TWTR, IWM long Sept put, XLF long Sept Put spread, XLK long Sept Put spread, FXI long Aug put spread, SMH long Aug put spread, long PYPL call calendar, long TLT Sept risk reversal, XLV July calls, long C Sept puts, VZ July August put spread.
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• Personal Finance || Europe's first regulated bitcoin product launches in Gibraltar: By Jemima Kelly LONDON, July 25 (Reuters) - Europe's first regulated bitcoin product - an asset-backed exchange-traded instrument that will invest exclusively in the digital currency - begins trading this week on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange and Germany's Deutsche Boerse. The Web-based currency can be used to send money instantly around the world, free of charge and with no need for third-party checks. It is accepted by several major online retailers and is used in more than 200,000 daily transactions. Its value has been highly volatile, peaking at more than$1,200 in late 2013 before crashing after the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange. It has since stabilised somewhat, trading at around $655 on Monday, up more than 50 percent this year. BitcoinETI will be available through regulated brokerages across Europe, and settlement will be handled through Clearstream and Euroclear, the Gibraltar Stock Exchange said, rather than via bitcoin's shared ledger system - the blockchain. In the United States, where regulation of bitcoin and financial technology more broadly tends to be more onerous, twins Cameron and Tyles Winklevoss - entrepreneurs who famously sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their idea - have been waiting for approval for a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund for three years. Their proposed Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust would be the first ETF issued by a U.S. entity that invests solely in bitcoin. Another ETF issued by New York-based ARK Investment Management last year became the first ETF to invest in bitcoin, but it also invests in other fintech companies. The new European ETI, issued by Gibraltar-based iStructure PCC and sponsored by one of its subsidies, Revoltura, comes as a result of talks between stakeholders, including the Financial Services Commission - Gibraltar's regulator - and the British Overseas Territory's government. "By listing the ETI on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, which is an EU-regulated market, we are able to bring a high level of transparency and liquidity to investors," said Revoltura CEO Ransu Salovaara. (Editing by Hugh Lawson) View comments || A Surprising Post-Brexit Currency ETF Idea: A predictable result of last week’s stunning decision is that, at least in the near-term, investors are likely to bolster their affinity for safe-haven assets.
At the currency level, that can include exchange traded products such as the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP) , which tracks the price movement of the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies, including the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona and Swiss franc.
The red hot CurrencyShares Japanese Yen Trust (FXY) is also another likely beneficiary of investors’ desire to embrace safe currencies, particularly as market participants bet on weakness ahead for the British pound and euro.
Emerging markets currencies and the WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund (CEW) probably will not be the first currency ideas to come to mind for the risk averse, but some market observers see post-Brexit opportunity with select developing world currencies.
CEW tracks the U.S. dollar against the Mexican Peso, Brazilian Real, Chilean Peso, Colombian Peso, South African Rand, Polish Zloty, Russian Ruble, Turkish New Lira, Chinese Yuan, South Korean Won, Indonesian Rupiah, Indian Rupee, Malaysian Ringgit, Philippine Peso and Thai Baht.
Related:Are Dollar ETFs Ready to Rally?
“These are rates markets, with obvious currency repercussions. Hedge funds entered the week of the referendum vote very flat in terms of positioning, with maybe a few longs in the emerging market high yield sector (South African rand (ZAR), Turkish lira (TRY), Brazilian real (BRL) and Indian rupee (IDR)). Real money stayed very quiet in terms of new flows in the weeks preceding the vote. That engineered a reasonably flat environment in both emerging market rates and currency,” according to a Citigroup note posted by Dimitra DeFotis of Barron’s.
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Currency ETFs try to reflect the performance of a single currency or a basket of currencies. ETF providers structure their currency funds to try to reflect the movements of a currency in a foreign exchange market by holding foreign currencies directly, foreign currency denominated short-term debt instrument, derivatives or swaps.
Additionally, commodity producing country currencies are enjoying a boost from rebounding crude oil and metals prices. For example, Russia is a large producer and exporter of oil. Brazil also has larger oil and metal reserves. South Africa is also a major gold and precious metals miner.
Related:Currency Hedged ETFs Offer a Smoother Long-Term Ride
“The UK political timeframe looks too long to vouch for an outright long U.S. dollar in an environment where funding currencies will be forced by monetary policy. Equity fundamentals are weak, for sure. But that will influence emerging market FX in a very choppy way, in bouts of risk-off. It doesn’t look like 2014-15 in terms of U.S. dollar cycle. In doubt, real money will likely buy emerging market bonds,” adds Citi in the note posted by Barron’s.
For more news and strategy on the Currency ETF market, visit ourCurrency category.
WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Mr. Lydon serves as an independent trustee of certain mutual funds and ETFs that are managed by Guggenheim Investments; however, any opinions or forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Mr. Lydon and not those of Guggenheim Funds, Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Specialized Products, LLC or any of their affiliates. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product. || Former U.S. Secret Service agent suspected in additional Bitcoin thefts: By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A Secret Service agent who stole money seized by the government in the investigation of underground drug bazaar Silk Road is now suspected of stealing money in at least two other cases, according to court filings unsealed on Thursday. In the larger of those cases, he is thought to have been behind the theft of about $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from a Secret Service account three months after the agency was urged to block his access, the documents say. Former agent Shaun Bridges pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 of the crypto currency Bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. According to an affidavit unsealed Thursday, the Justice Department learned in April 2015 that Bridges might have kept a private cryptographic key giving him access to a Bitcoin wallet with the $700,000 in currency that the Silk Road task force had seized in 2014. The department urged the agency to move the funds elsewhere. “Unfortunately, the U.S. Secret Service did not do so and the funds were thereafter stolen, something the U.S, Secret Service only discovered once it was ordered by a court to pay a portion of the seizure back to affected claimants,” a team of prosecutors wrote in an accompanying motion. The Bitcoin in question was moved in July 2015 but only discovered missing in December, the affidavit said. The Secret Service and Bridges' attorney Steven Levin declined to comment. In the previous case, Bridges admitted he stole money from Silk Road accounts and framed someone else for it, leading Silk Road chief Ross Ulbricht to plan a murder. Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. (Reporting by Joseph Menn; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000007 (-0.62 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) || BTCTurk 1962.4 TL BTCe 646.749 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 655.00 $ Cavirtex $ CEXIO 661.16 $ Bitcoin.de 598.11 € #Bitcoin #btc || #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000029 (21.60 %) 0.00000005 BTC (20.00 %) || #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000023 (1.15 %) 0.00000004 BTC (-0.00 %) || LIVE: Profit = $199.16 (0.18 %). BUY B173.36 @ $645.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $649.04 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$664.87/$666.00 #Bitstamp
$655.57/$657.19 #BTCe
⇢$-10.43/$-7.68
$668.47/$668.67 #Coinbase
⇢$2.47/$3.80 || 1 BTC Price: BTC-e 629.999 USD Bitstamp 641.00 USD Coinbase 643.04 USD #btc #bitcoin 2016-07-08 04:30 pic.twitter.com/LEd7ZfGgCU || #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000007 (2.99 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) || $656.89 at 03:00 UTC [24h Range: $636.80 - $659.60 Volume: 2784 BTC] || VLOG 3: HOW THE BREXIT WILL EFFECT THE BITCOIN PRICE https://youtu.be/X8sH-tl-whE с помощью @YouTube
|
Trend: down || Prices: 656.99, 655.05, 624.68, 606.27, 547.47, 566.35, 578.29, 575.04, 587.78, 592.69
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2018-11-08]
BTC Price: 6453.72, BTC RSI: 50.32
Gold Price: 1222.90, Gold RSI: 51.94
Oil Price: 60.67, Oil RSI: 20.63
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Crypto Wallet Protection App Wants to Secure Your Wallets Against Malware: Malware, a persistent thorn in the side of the internet’s wider community, has become an increasing concern for cryptocurrency users. A problem that comes in many forms, malicious software is leveraged by hackers to rob community members of their funds. One program, dubbed theclipboard hijacker, for instance, operates by secretly gaining control of a Windows device’s running memory. It then replaces the Bitcoin address copied into a user’s clipboard with the address of the attacker, leading the user to unwittingly transfers funds to the hacker.
New Jersey–basedBlockSafe Technologiesis determined to make mobile crypto wallets more secure with a mobile wallet protection app called the CryptoDefender.According to the company, the CryptoDefender mobile app proactively prevents keylogging malware from stealing your cryptocurrency wallet login details.
The mobile app, which has a desktop version, is loaded with a host of features including a password generator that creates and stores strong passwords, a password vault for encrypting and storing passwords securely, a secure browser and an OATH-complaint one-time password (OTP) generator for websites that allows for two-factor authentication.
George Waller, who serves as the CEO of BlockSafe and the co-founder of cybersecurity outfit StrikeForce Technologies, played a pivotal role in introducing out-of-band authentication and keystroke encryption to the marketplace. He has also held management roles at RxRemedy, TeachMeIT and HealthSCOUT.
Speaking withBitcoin Magazine, Waller said the threat posed by bad actors and malware is one of the biggest barriers to the mass adoption of cryptocurrency.
“Wallets are very vulnerable and insecure, with an average of $9 million stolen every day. By far, those most at risk of becoming victims at the hands of bad actors are those without IT teams, sophisticated cybersecurity tools, or the experience to understand how great the risk can really be,” he remarked.
“The best targets to steal crypto from are the everyday investors, the folks that did the research and took the chance of investing their hard-earned dollars in an emerging and revolutionary technology, and as blockchain cybersecurity experts, we simply won’t stand idly by while the community that is the very foundation of this space are robbed straight out of it.”
At the core of howCryptoDefenderoperates is its keystroke encryption, which blocks keylogging malware and other forms of malware from breaching mobile crypto wallets.
It accomplishes this by encrypting every keystroke a user makes, rather than trying to detect keylogging malware on the device. The app installs an encrypted keystroke keyboard and then routes each encrypted keystroke through its secure data stack, bypassing the original data stack that can easily be hijacked by hackers.
CryptoDefender comes with a secure mobile browser, which Waller says prevents against all forms of attack, including man-in-the-middle and man-in-the-browser attacks. Each time a user launches the browser, CryptoDefender will “generate a brand new browser on the fly, [and] when you close it, we dissolve it,” Waller explained.
“We don’t allow browser extensions, tabs, injections, cookies, or any other vulnerable attributes to be loaded into the browser. Every time you open our browser, it’s a brand new one for the first time.”
Users can create strong passwords up to 99 characters in length and store them automatically in the Password Vault for safekeeping. The Vault, which Waller claims is “extremely safe,” works hand in hand with the browser and the encrypted keyboard. He went on further by saying that the Vault uses AES-256 encryption — a key-generationtechniqueused to encrypt data and prevent unwanted access to data — and fingerprint authentication to secure it.
“Many of us buy, sell, and move cryptocurrencies from our phones and desktops; if one device is protected while the other remains vulnerable to intrusion, they both are at risk. CryptoDefender is a tremendous milestone as it represents phase one in our three-part mission to secure the blockchain ecosystem,” Waller added.
Waller said the app is different from a long list of anti-keylogger software offering similar solutions because of its utility as both a downstream and upstream prescription. He also claimed the app is the “only keystroke encryption” product designed to protect crypto wallets.
“We built this with the assumption that your device is already infected, therefore, as soon as you install this, you are protected. Products that take a reactive approach, i.e., anti-virus software, are always stuck in that cat-n-mouse cycle and getting bypassed on a daily basis.”
The mobile app is available on the BlockSafewebsitefor both Android and iOS devices.
This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. || The Latest Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack Is a $60 Million Theft at Japan's Zaif: Hackers stole $60 million of digital coins from a Japanese exchange, the latest in a string of thefts that have kept many institutional investors wary of putting their money in cryptocurrencies. The theft of Bitcoin, Monacoin and Bitcoin Cash from Zaif, an exchange owned by Osaka-based Tech Bureau Corp., occurred last week and was disclosed by Tech Bureau in a statement on Thursday. About 2.2 billion yen ($19.6 million) of stolen coins belonged to the exchange and the rest was client money. Virtual currency exchanges have suffered at least five major hacks this year, one reason why professional money managers have largely steered clear of the market even as individual investors piled in. Japan, home to some of the world’s most active digital-asset exchanges, has also hosted two of history’s biggest known crypto hacks — the Mt. Gox debacle of 2014 and the theft of nearly $500 million in digital tokens from Coincheck in January. The country’s regulators, who have given crypto markets a stamp of approval by rolling out a registration system for exchanges, have come under growing pressure to ensure that the venues are secure. An estimated 12% of the world’s Bitcoin trades are paired against the Japanese yen, according to CryptoCompare.com. Japan’s Financial Services Agency has asked Tech Bureau to submit a report on the incident and plans to perform an on-site inspection of the company after receiving the document as soon as Thursday, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Zaif, ranked by Coinmarketcap.com as the 35th largest cryptocurrency exchange by reported turnover, was among the exchanges ordered by the regulator to improve operations in a crackdown that followed the Coincheck hack. Bitcoin was little changed at $6,386 as of 12:13 p.m. Tokyo time, underscoring that crypto investors have become increasingly inured to cyberthefts. The biggest digital coin has lost more than half its value this year, following a 15-fold gain in 2017. Tech Bureau pledged to compensate users who lost assets in the hacking, and immediately signed an agreement with a Fisco Ltd. unit aimed at receiving 5 billion yen in financial support in exchange for selling the majority of the company. Tech Bureau didn’t give further details of how the hack happened, citing a criminal investigation that has been launched into the breach. Withdrawals and deposits were halted as Zaif rebuilds its system, with the exchange unable to say when they will resume. || Pot Stocks, ETFs, Top News And Data From The Cannabis Industry This Week: Tilray Inc (NASDAQ: TLRY ) dominated news in the cannabis sector this week after its stock went on a wild rollercoaster ride. Even talk about The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE: KO ) exploring entry into the marijuana industry took a back seat to the action in Tilray’s shares. The company’s stock spiked up more than 50 percent Wednesday following an announcement about the weed producer securing DEA approval to import marijuana to the U.S. for a clinical trial and a bullish interview between CNBC’s Jim Cramer and Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy, and ended with the stock shedding most of its gains over Thursday and Friday. See Benzinga’s full coverage on what has been called Tilray’s “Bitcoin Moment” here . “The momentum in Canadian cannabis stocks is a byproduct of significant institutional demand and limited investable options in the market,” Terra Tech Corp. CEO Derek Peterson told Benzinga. “Canadian companies like Tilray, are trading at multibillion-dollar market caps while similarly sized U.S. companies are trading at a hundredth of those values. Eventually when the legal environment changes in the U.S., we feel domestic companies should respond as favorably considering the U.S. is likely the largest global cannabis market." Curaleaf CEO Joe Lusardi said the intense investment activity points to pent-up demand for the limited number of public cannabis companies that are trading mostly on Canadian exchanges. “Our hope is over time there will be a shift in the regulatory environment in the United States that will allow U.S. cannabis companies to list on the Nasdaq and NYSE,” he said. Back to Coca-Cola: the beverage titan said in a statement that it is eyeing CBD rather than a broader cannabis play. “We have no interest in marijuana or cannabis. Along with many others in the beverage industry, we are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world. The space is evolving quickly. No decisions have been made at this time,” a blog post said. Story continues Marijuana Indexes & ETFs The United States Marijuana Index, which tracks most of the largest marijuana stocks in the U.S., gained roughly 8.6 percent this week, while the North American Marijuana Index , which also includes Canadian stocks, ended the week up 7.2 percent, despite experiencing a big tumble Thursday and Friday. Over the last five trading days, the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF (OTC: HMLSF ) (TSE: HMMJ) rose 13.1 percent, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF (NYSE: MJ ) gained 14.5 percent. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY ) closed the week up almost 0.45 percent. Stock Moves The following are how some of the top marijuana stocks with market caps above $100 million trading on U.S. exchanges performed over the last five trading days: 22nd Century Group Inc (NYSE: XXII ): up 10.2 percent Aphria Inc (OTC: APHQF ): up 1.3 percent Aurora Cannabis Inc (OTC: ACBFF ): up 41.4 percent CannTrust Holdings Inc (OTC: CNTTF ): up 16.9 percent Canopy Growth Corp (NYSE: CGC ): up 5.6 percent Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON ): up 20.5 percent Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (OTC: TGODF ) up 13.3 percent Green Thumb Industries Inc (OTC: GTBIF ) up 15.5 percent GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ: GWPH ): up 16.6 percent iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc (OTC: ITHUF ): up 12 percent Medical Marijuana Inc (OTC: MJNA ) down 2.7 percent MedMen Enterprises Inc. (OTC: MMNFF ) up 2.5 percent Scotts Miracle-Gro Co (NYSE: SMG ): up 2.9 percent THC Biomed Intl Ltd (OTC: THCBF ): up 4.1 percent Tilray Inc (NASDAQ: TLRY ): up 16.2 percent Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ZYNE ): up 21.5 percent In Other News Canadian licensed producer The Flowr Corporation completed its previously announced reverse takeover of a TSX Venture Exchange-listed company, clearing the way for Flowr to begin trading on the TSXV Sept. 26. The company will trade under the symbol FLWR; it was founded by Aurora-owned MedReleaf co-founder and noted cultivator Tom Flow, and is focused on the super-premium flower market for both the medicinal and recreational channels. It is also the exclusive cannabis R&D partner of Scotts Miracle-Gro. Flowr recently raised $27 million as part of the RTO process, with the funds to be used to complete the buildout of its 85,000-square-foot growing facility in Kelowna, BC. The company says the facility will employ proprietary cultivation systems that enhance quality and efficiency and that it expects the facility to produce at least 12,000 kilograms annually of super-premium, non-irradiated flower beginning in 2019. “This is an exciting step forward on the path we've laid out,” said CEO Vinay Tolia. “With the transaction behind us, we can increase our focus on executing our business plan and delivering results for investors as well as a premium cannabis experience for customers and patients.” As it moves forward with its Regulation A+ funding process, High Times announced it has cleared escrow on $5 million raised from more than 6,000 new investors. The brand also decided to extend the deadline for investing in the offering, and it is now open as late as Oct. 31 ahead of its intended public listing later this year. The cannabis heavyweight, which was acquired by a new ownership group early last year, has reportedly been increasing revenue, advertising opportunities and events this year. “We couldn't be more proud of our growth and success over this past year-and-a-half, but receiving this level of acknowledgement and support from the community doubles down on our belief that we're moving in the right direction and that the community is behind us," CEO Adam Levin told Benzinga. "This is just the beginning for High Times, and we're not slowing down!" Acreage Holdings, one of the largest vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operators in the U.S., announced six additions to its product development, R&D and procurement teams. The new hires include Heather Boyd, who brings extensive experience in the spirits industry, along with well-known names in the industry: Phillip Hague, William Fenger, Ryan Clendenin, Ry Prichard and Tamer Mohamed. CEO Kevin Murphy told Benzinga the company is passionate about providing the safest, most accessible product. "It all begins with our cultivation and extraction efforts. Creating a team of veteran cultivators and cannabis product experts under Heather Boyd’s leadership will play a critical role in ensuring we continue to lead the industry in cultivation and extraction operations." BioTrackTHC, a subsidiary of Helix TCS Inc (OTC: HLIX ), completed and passed a Service and Organization Control 2 Type I audit to evaluate software design and organizational procedures for proper storage and handling of customer data. This type of audit is often required by government entities to validate the security protocols of an organization that is expected to handle private and highly sensitive information. “Nothing is more important to seed to sale software than security and confidentiality, and this independent audit further distinguishes both BioTrackTHC’s software and our organization,” said President and CEO Patrick Vo. "As concerns around sensitive data in our industry continue to mount, it is imperative that companies entrusted with such data take the necessary steps to protect our industry’s future by operating and adhering to nationally recognized security standards.” In other software-related news, MJ Freeway, often considered the inventor of the seed-to-sale technology that has become standard in the marijuana industry, announced Thursday that it has closed on a $10-million Series C financing round. See Benzinga’s full coverage in the article below. Related Link: Cannabis Tech Company MJ Freeway Closes On M Funding Round: 'We're The Backbone Upon Which The Cannabis Industry Is Built' Hydroponic and organic gardening stores operator GrowGeneration Corp (OTC: GRWG) announced the purchase of HeavyGardens.com, an online seller of hydroponic and grow supplies. HeavyGardens.com expects to generate over $5 million in sales at the end of fiscal 2019. “HeavyGardens.com expands the GrowGen reach to every state, including every current and future grower that uses a computer or smart device. HG brings a sophisticated, data-driven digital marketing platform that has proven scalability, with an easy-to-navigate search tool to over 10,000 cultivation products, providing access to hundreds of GrowGen’s cultivation experts at the click of a mouse,” said CEO Darren Lampert. Phoenix Life Sciences International Limited (OTC: MJMD ) started trading on the OTC Markets and released information on its global production strategy for cannabis health care solutions. Phoenix Life Sciences — a consolidation of multiple domestic and international businesses including Stem BioScience Inc., Blue Dragon Ventures and the MediJane brand — aims to change the way that many diseases and conditions are treated with cannabis around the world, working with doctors, botanists and pharmaceutical industry veterans to develop a pipeline of medicinal cannabis products with multiple delivery systems targeting the treatment of various medical indications, in addition to supplying generic medical cannabis products for doctor’s prescription and pharmacy fulfillment. “We are confident that we will be able to impact the health of millions of people around the world with our cannabis-derived formulations and our out-of-the-box production and distribution models,” said the company's incoming CEO Martin Tindall. “I am excited to help guide the company to success and help many people across the world gain access to the affordable treatments they need." It has also been reported that Phoenix is working with the government of the Republic of Vanuatu to come up with a cannabis-based treatment for diabetes. Elixinol Global Ltd (OTC: ELLXF ), parent company to U.S.-based Elixinol, a company that distributes seed-to-sale CBD to 40 countries, listed on the OTC as well. This listing is simultaneous to the company’s ASX listing. “The entire Elixinol team is excited that the U.S. market will finally have an opportunity to see what investors in Australia see in our parent company, Elixinol Global, and we’re proud to continue to be the driver of the company’s growth,” said General Manager Gabriel Ettenson. Las Vegas-based CLS Holdings USA Inc (OTC: CLSH ) executed two letters of intent to enter the rapidly growing Massachusetts market, which has been operating as a legalized medical jurisdiction since 2015 and has approved legalized recreational use. CLS has agreed in principle to loan $5 million to In Good Health, a licensed medical dispensary in Brockton, Massachusetts with a significant market share. Along with the loan, CLS will have an option to acquire In Good Health, which is servicing 17,000 registered patients and delivering to 1,700 homes. CLS has also agreed to form an 80-20 joint venture with CannAssist as the majority stakeholder. CannAssist plans to build out a recreationally licensed 86,000-square-foot grow facility in Leicester, Massachusetts. “We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to enter the Massachusetts market. It’s something we have been eyeing for a long time given the attractive characteristics and recent approval of adult use cannabis," said CLS CEO Jeff Binder. "his opportunity fits into our stated objective of entering markets that are on the cusp of implementing a robust adult use market.” California-based real estate investment group Pelorus Equity Group launched The Pelorus Fund, a $100-million, cannabis-focused structured commercial real estate fund. The announcement follows the receipt of an inital $25 million in funding. The fund invests in real estate assets and transactions, and has made investments in high-profile companies like Desert Hot Springs, California cultivator Canndescent. Software company ORHub announced the addition of award-winning neurosurgeon Dr. Burak Ozgur to its medical advisory board. “We remain focused on scaling our digital solutions to market and embracing our physicians' initiatives to drive economic change for health care providers,” said CEO Colt Melby. “Optimizing the business of surgery enables health systems to better serve their patients and respective communities.” Online education platform Green Flower launched its Green Flower Cannabis Fundamentals Certification program this week and provided Benzinga with early access for review. The Fundamentals program is the first e-learning course for the newly established Green Flower Cannabis Programs, intended to support anyone seeking to enter the cannabis business market or people working at companies looking to improve their knowledge and skills. The program has been endorsed and utilized by companies including Green Kiva, Canna Advisors, Papa & Barkley, Growcentia, Bloom Farms and Swami Selects. Registration and course details can be found at Green Flower Academy: https://www.green-flower.com/academy . Shares of MJ Holdings Inc (OTC: MJNE ) traded up 50 percent this week, driven by the announcement of a partnership with Healthier Choices Management Corp (OTC: HCMC ), developer of the Q-Cup. The product is a prefilled quartz cup with 50mg of cannabis, delivering a THC equivalent to eight to10 “hits” per cup. MJ Holdings is expecting an initial shipment of 800,000 Q-Cups. Healthier Choices CEO Jeffrey Holman said the stock reaction to the Q-Cup announcement is a testament to the technology and the company's choice of partner. "We are hopeful that as we expand into additional markets the excitement surrounding this technology will grow exponentially," he said. L’eela, a luxury line of hemp-derived CBD topicals, launced this week. Co-founder Lisa Richards said she has been a devotee of CBD and whole-plant cannabis products after finding them effective in post-workout healing and recovery, as well as fitness-related injuries. L’eela seeks to meet a higher standard for integrity with its collection of responsibly sourced hemp-derived CBD supplements and natural topical products, she said. The products are rooted in holistic health, whole-body wellness and internal and external beauty. Co-founder Amy Andrle added that L'eela products are unique and have a "tangible, positive impact on our customers' lives and well-being." Find out more about this news and more on Pure Global Cannabis Inc (OTC: PRCNF ), MPX Bioceutical Corp (OTC: MPXEF ), KushCo Holdings Inc (OTC: KSHB ), Sunniva Inc (OTC: SNNVF ) and Canopy Rivers with our friends at Marijuana Money , who make a weekly video summary of the top financial and business news in the cannabis industry. More From Benzinga’s Cannabis Newsdesk Over the week, Benzinga’s Cannabis Newsdesk also reported on: Altitude Investment Management ’s latest cannabis investments. KeyBanc Capital Markets’ view on Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP )’s upside potential following cannabis legalization in Canada. ETF ProfessorTodd Shriber's take on the rally in pot ETFs and short holdings. Jim Cramer’s words of caution for cannabis investors. New Frontier Data’s view on cannabis tax revenue, home grow markets and banking risks, Michael Burton’s analysis on the future of cannabis genetics. Mazakali CEO Sumit Mehta’s opinion on why it’s time for cannabis investments to have active managers. Jeff Siegel’s analysis of companies that could benefit from a Coca-Cola-Aurora deal. Options activity on Tilray, GMP Securities’ take on its volatility and the stock’s tumble on Thursday and Friday. Interesting Data Consumer Research Around Cannabis , a U.S. consumer company specializing in cannabis and the general consumer market, said Coca-Cola's interest in the CBD market is well-founded. “Soft drink drinkers are more inclined to use cannabis than the general market according to our ongoing studies," Vice President Jeff Stein said in an email to subscribers. "The heavier the soft drink consumer [they are], the more likely they are to purchase cannabis in the next year." About 15 percent of the general market is extremely likely to purchase recreational cannabis in the next year, according to Consumer Research Around Cannabis data. Of adults who drink five or more soft drinks weekly, 18 percent said they're extremely likely to purchase recreational weed in the next year — a figure that increases to more than 1 in 5 for consumers of 10 or more weekly soft drinks. Vice President Cynthia Methvin said recreational cannabis users drink regular soft drinks, not the diet variety. Recreational cannabis users drink reular soft drinks, not the diet variety, said Cynthia Methvin, “Within the regular soft drink market smaller (Monster, Fanta) to midsize brands like Mountain Dew and Sprite hold disproportionately strong appeal to cannabis users. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, the No. 1 and 2 brands, both index well above the general market. Diet drinks are at the bottom of the cannabis consumer's popularity list. Depending on the action of the big brands, cannabis may mean added growth potential for the smaller brands.” Source: Consumer Research Around Cannabis According to Viridian Capital Advisors’ Cannabis Deal Tracker, the cultivation and retail subsegment of the cannabis industry continues to attract the most capital of the more than $5.6 billion invested year-to-date. Investment firms and extraction companies follow from far behind. Events Calendar ◘ Sept. 21-22: Anaheim, California plays host to the CBD Expo West 2018 . Powered by CBD Health and Wellness Magazine, the CBD-focused event will feature 75 exhibitors, along with a large lineup of presentations and panel discussions from experts in the production, distribution and sale of CBD products. Tickets and can be purchased online; check out cbdexpo.net for more detail. ◘ Sept. 22: The Minority Cannabis Business Association will host its inaugural Medical Marijuana Summit at The Motor House in Baltimore, Maryland. This event marks the first in a series of summits to be held nationwide that bring together medical professionals like Dr. Rachel Knox of American Cannabinoid Clinics; cultivators; processors; and patients of color to discuss the merits of cannabis medicine and the significant role it can play in the treatment of illness and disease. “The work we are doing to create equal access and economic empowerment for black and latinx communities, those most affected by the war on drugs, is wholly dependent on improving the health of those communities," said MCBA Board of Directors President Shanita Penny. “We are launching this series in Baltimore and look forward to bringing it to communities throughout the country in 2019.” ◘ Sept. 28-29: Nashville, Tennessee has the inaugural Southern Hemp Expo , an extension of the NoCo Hemp Expo produced by the Colorado Hemp Co. Often credited as the world’s largest and most comprehensive trade show and conference for industrial hemp, the Southern Hemp Expo will offer a full-scale exhibit hall, networking opportunities, presentations and workshops by pioneers, innovators and activists in the rapidly expanding hemp industry. ◘ Oct. 11: the United Nations NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples presents a Conference in Health Challenges of Indigenous Peoples at New York’s Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission, 221 East 52nd St. in New York City. Topics include physical and mental health; climate change; high suicide, drug and alcohol abuse rates; political strains; and loss of biodiversity. Presenters include Dr. Josephine Tan, Rashmi Jaipal and Rafael Latorre, M.D. ◘ Oct. 11: Leafwire will be hosting its 4th Future of Cannabis Pitch Contest as part of New West Summit in Oakland, California with a $10,000 cash prize, their biggest yet. The Future of Cannabis Pitch Contest tour will have visited Denver, Los Angeles and Miami in its first three stops by this date. Powerhouse judges include Emily Paxhia of Poseidon Asset Management and Tahira Rehmahtullah of Hypur Ventures. ◘ Oct. 11-13: The New West Summit , a conference focused on “game-changing, disruptive developments in technology, science, media and investment within the cannabis space,” hits Oakland, California. Speakers include Weediquette’s Krishna Andavolu, Slow Ventures’ Dave Morin, Berner the rapper, Steve DeAngelo and Ricardo Baca. ◘ Oct. 19-21: The Initiative presents "Hustle Hard: A Cannabis Friendly Retreat For Women Who Mean Business," a three-day intensive retreat for women in cannabis in Bend, Oregon. ◘ Oct. 25-26: Enlighten, the first full-scale enterprise technology solution in the cannabis space, will be partnering with Lemonhaze to put on The Lemonhaze Cannabis & Comedy Convention at the Tacoma Dome. This event hopes to be for cannabis what SXSW has been for technology, pairing innovation and a hub of influence with fun and education. The event will feature comedy by headliner Doug Benson and will combine a major networking event for the cannabis industry together with performances from some the world's most recognized entertainers. ◘ Oct. 30-31: Michigan is hosting its 1st Commercial Cannabis Conference & Expo . This inaugural year is special, celebrating the state's first year in a commercial framework and supporting the upcoming recreational legalization vote. Collectively, the state cannabis community is taking a stand for a healthy and strong cannabis industry in Michigan. Sponsorship, booths and tickets are available. ◘ Nov. 1: The Arcview Group, CannaTech and URI Capital Management are co-hosting Hong Kong’s first-ever Cannabis Investor Symposium , focused on the global investment opportunity, with an emphasis in those attractive to the Asian market. Keynote and panel discussions include: Cannabis and China, The Cannabis Value Chain, Market Insights: Australasia, Public and Private Investment Opportunities, Risks and Regulations, World Cannabis Policy and more. Picture by Javier Hasse . See more from Benzinga New eBay Work-From-Home Program Creates Onshore Customer Service Jobs Cannabis Investment Fund Breaks Down Its 7 Latest Picks © 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Pablo Soria de Lachica Highlights Most Popular Trading Pairs for Ethereum’s Cryptocurrency: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - With a market capitalization of close to $21 billion, Ethereum (ETH) is the second-largest cryptocurrency project, and comparisons with Bitcoin (BTC) are inevitable since the first virtual coin remains the benchmark for the entire market. However, those with in-depth knowledge of the underlying technology consistently point out that the two leading projects in the crypto space have quite different objectives. Bitcoin was designed as digital money, that is, a means of transacting and a store of value. Ether, as Ethereum’s cryptocurrency is called, belongs to the group known as tokens – digital units created to serve as payment for products and services provided by the issuing platform. As the Ethereum organization explains , “Ether is to be treated as "crypto-fuel," a token whose purpose is to pay for computation, and is not intended to be used as or considered a currency, asset, share, or anything else.” The project also acknowledges that Ethereum would not have existed without Bitcoin. With BTC and ETH bound in a strong relationship, it is not surprising this constitutes the most active trading pair for Ethereum’s digital asset, says prominent forex broker Pablo Soria de Lachica . With a circulating supply of just over 102 million units, ETH is listed on 400 cryptocurrency exchanges, according to data by Coinmarketcap. Trading in digital assets is extremely dynamic and the market is highly volatile, so prices and volumes can change in a matter of minutes. Based on CryptoCompare calculations for the past month, the pair with BTC accounted for just under 40% of ETH trading volumes. The most active platforms for ETH/BTC were BitZ, Binance, and HitBTC. The second most popular pairing for Ethereum’s token is with Tether (USDT), one of the so-called stablecoins and among the most talked-about digital assets of late. Its attraction stems from its being pegged to the US dollar, and as the project team claims , “every tether is always backed 1-to-1 by traditional currency held in our reserves.” Stablecoins have become extremely popular in recent months, with several new ones hitting the market, and even IBM has partnered with such a project. The combination with USDT made up about 32% of ETH’s total trading volume in the past month, with Binance, FCoin, and BitZ accounting for the majority of trades. Story continues Given the fluctuating price of digital coins and the limited opportunities for using them as a means of payment, traders are understandably drawn to the fiat option, primarily the US dollar, PabloSoria de Lachica notes. Over the past month, the ETH/USD pair accounted for 12.5% of Ether trading volumes, according to CryptoCompare. Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex led by a massive margin, representing almost 38% of ETH/USD volumes over the period. US-headquartered Coinbase, one of the oldest and most popular crypto trading platforms, ranked second with 14.6%, and Simex, another US-based digital assets exchange, came third with just under 12% of volumes. PabloSoria de Lachica , an MBA holder from the Universidad Tecnologico de Mexico (UNITEC), specialized in international trading after graduation and succeeded in becoming one of today’s most prominent forex experts. Drawing on his extensive experience, he helps clients maximize profits, providing them with both professional guidance and educational opportunities. Currently, he is working with Kartoshka - a company focused on delivering the latest technologies in sales, telemarketing, and customer support. Pablo Soria de Lachica - Foreign Exchange Specialist: http://PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com Pablo Soria de Lachica Explains the Difference between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4008862 Pablo Soria de Lachica Explains the Advantages of Ethereum-Based Smart Contracts: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pablo-soria-lachica-explains-advantages-205500267.html Contact Information: PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com http://PabloSoriaDeLachicaNews.com contact@pablosoriadelachicanews.com || This Dividend Growth Stock Just Keeps on Going: Midstream giantEnterprise Products Partners(NYSE: EPD)recently gave its investors another raise, this time boosting its payout to $0.4325 per quarter. While that was only a 2.4% increase from the year-ago level, it marked themaster limited partnership's 57th consecutive quarterly distribution increase and 66th overall since it went public about 20 years ago.
Enterprise Products Partners should have more than enough fuel to continue increasing its payout for the next few years, which is excellent news for investors, sincecompanies that consistently increase their payouts tend to outperform their stingier peers. That has certainly been the case for Enterprise throughout its history, considering that it has generated a total return of more than 1,800%, which has pulverized the nearly 270% total return of theS&P 500over that time frame.
Image source: Getty Images.
While Enterprise Products Partners' recent distribution increases have been relatively modest, that's by design. The companyslowed its growth rate last yearto give it more cash so that it could internally finance a larger portion of its current slate of growth projects. That helped the company complete $4.4 billion of expansions last year, which have already fueled a 27.7% uptick in cash flow per unit through the first half of 2018 versus the same period last year.
Meanwhile, there's more growth on the way. The company completed another $1.1 billion of expansions in the second quarter, which will provide it with a near-term boost. On top of that, it has another $5.7 billion of projects currently under construction, which positions it to continue growing cash flow at a fast pace over the next few years. The company also has several other projects in development as it works to capture its share of thenearly $800 billion midstream infrastructure opportunity. Those expansions should provide it with plenty of cash flow to continue growing its payout for many years to come.
Enterprise Products Partners' decision to retain more cash has strengthened its distribution coverage ratio from what was an already solid 1.2 times at this time last year up to 1.5 times through the first half of 2018. That coverage ratio should widen further as additional expansions enter service and the company maintains its modest distribution growth rate through the end of this year. That will make the company's payout even more sustainable over the long term.
It's aiming to generate enough excess cash above its dividend so that it can fund a $2.5 billion annual investment program, which it should reach next year. Once it hits that target, the company has several options for the excess cash it will generate above that level, including investing in additional projects, buying back some of its units, or growing its payout at a faster pace. All those options have the potential to create value for investors going forward.
Enterprise Products Partners has been a model of consistency over the years, giving its investors a raise each quarter like clockwork. That trend is showing no signs of slowing down since the company has plenty of fuel to continue increasing its payout for at least the next few years. Because of that, the pipeline company could continue outperforming the market in the years to come, making it an excellent stock to consider buying for the long haul.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin Gradually Increased in Price in September, Case for a Bull Run in 2018: bitcoin price increase Since early September, the price of Bitcoin has gradually increased from $6,100 to $6,550, testing the $6,800 resistance level on two occasions. Bitcoin experienced four dips in its price in the past 30 days and every consecutive drop in the price of the asset stabilized in a higher region than its previous decline in value. On Sept. 9, the price of Bitcoin dropped to around $6,100 during its first fall in the month. On Sept. 16, a week after the initial drop followed by a corrective rally, the price of Bitcoin dropped to $6,250, at a higher point than its previous drop at $6,100. Bitcoin price chart in September: data provided by Coinbase On Sept. 26, around 10 days after the second dip, the price of BTC dropped to $6,400, $150 higher than the region BTC fell to on Sept. 16. On Oct. 4, its latest minor drop in price, Bitcoin dropped to the higher region of $6,400. Is Bitcoin Undergoing a Gradual Recovery? Given that Bitcoin has seen the $6,000 support level strengthen and the momentum of the asset at the $6,550 mark intensify, it is entirely likely that the asset will continue to engage in a gradual recovery throughout October. A rapid increase in price from $6,000 to a higher region like $7,000 and $8,000 in the short-term, similar to its movement from $6,800 to $8,000 earlier this year, is not likely due to the decline in its volume. On October 6, CCN reported that the volume of Bitcoin fell from $4 billion to $3.2 billion on Coinmarketcap and from $2.6 billion to $2 billion on ShapeShifts CoinCap.io, suggesting that an exponential increase in price of Bitcoin is not in play in the short-term. If Bitcoin continues to sustain its momentum it has demonstrated throughout September, it is possible that it can break out of the $6,800 resistance level and potentially eye an entrance into the $7,000 mark. But, in consideration of the positive regulation-related developments in Japan, South Korea and the US, many analysts expected BTC to surpass major resistance levels at $8,000 and $9,000. Story continues Masayuki Tashiro, a prominent Japanese market analyst, said in August: Personally I am bullish, and by the time the outline of the regulations will come together in October, those investors who will feel safer will come back. I hope things wont get as overheated as last year, but I believe BTC can win back the value of 1 million yen (9,020$) in range. Gradual Recovery More Likely Than Explosive Growth Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market has dropped 69 to 80 percent of the valuation in the past nine months, recording some of the steepest falls in value in recent years. A short-term bubble is often followed with a gradual recovery in value, volume, and market demand. Although the market has started to demonstrate sellar fatigue and clear signs of a bottom in the low range of $200 billion, a gradual recovery could be more beneficial for BTC in the long run. Featured Image from Shutterstock The post Bitcoin Gradually Increased in Price in September, Case for a Bull Run in 2018 appeared first on CCN . || Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/09/18: Bitcoin Cash Sees Red Bitcoin Cash fell by 3.4% on Saturday, partially reversing Fridays 10.28% rally, to end the day at $485.5. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash hit an intraday high $512 before hitting reverse, the days high falling short of the first major resistance level at $527.97. Pulling back through the morning, Bitcoin Cash fell to an intraday low $469.7, steering clear of the first major support level at $463.87 before partially recovering late in the day. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash was down 0.78% to $482.3, an early move to an intraday high $488.1 coming up short of the days first major resistance level at $508.43 before hitting reverse, Bitcoin Cash falling to an early morning low $477.3, steering clear of the days first major support level at $466.13, to move back through to $470 levels. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high and a hold on to $490 levels through the late morning would support another run at $500 levels to bring the days first major resistance level at $508.43 into play, with minor losses early on supporting an upward move. Failure to move through to $490 levels could see Bitcoin Cash take a bigger hit later in the day, with a fall through the morning low $477.3 bringing $460 levels and the days first major support level at $466.13 into play, heavier losses unlikely barring materially negative news hitting the crypto wires. {alt} Litecoin Holds On Litecoin slipped by just 0.43% on Saturday, following Fridays 7.69% rally, to end the day at $60.57. Tracking the broader market trend, Litecoin slid to late morning intraday low $58.11 before finding support, the days major support levels left untested. An afternoon recovery saw Litecoin break back through to $61 levels before easing back, a start of a day intraday high $61.68 coming up short of the days first major resistance level at $63.67. At the time of writing, Litecoin was up 1.06% to $61.17, with Litecoin recovering from an early morning low $59.83 to $61 levels and a morning high $61.2, sub-$60 support levels kicking in, while the days major support and resistance levels were left untested in the early hours. Story continues For the day ahead, holding on to $61 levels through the morning would support a run at $62 levels to bring the days first major resistance level at $62.13 into play, though we can expect Litecoin to face plenty of resistance on the way through to pin back any attempts of break out from there. Failure to hold onto $61 levels through the morning could see Litecoin hit reverse later in the day, with a pullback through to sub-$60 levels bringing the days first major support level at $58.56 into play before any recovery, Litecoin expected to hold on to $60 levels by the days end, barring materially negative news hitting the wires. {alt} Ripple Bucks the Trend Ripples XRP gained 2.12% on Saturday, following on from its 26.4% rally on Friday, to end the day at $0.57748. A choppy start to the day saw Ripples XRP slide to an early morning intraday low $0.49211 before recovering, the early slide a continuation from Friday afternoons profit taking. Ripples XRP rallied back to a morning intraday high $0.627 before easing through the afternoon to sub-$0.60 levels, the moves through the day leaving the days major support and resistance levels untested. At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up 2.76% to $0.58997, with Ripples XRP recovering from an early dip to a morning low $0.55921 to strike a morning high $0.5967, before easing back, the days moves leaving the major support and resistance levels untested. For the day ahead, a move back through the morning high $0.5967 would support another day of strong gains, with the first major resistance level at $0.639 in play should the news wires remain crypto friendly, the only question being whether Ripples XRP can hold onto $0.60 levels by the days end, in the event of another rally, late in the day profit taking having led pullbacks to sub-$0.60 level closes on Friday and Saturday. Failure to move back through the morning high $0.5967 to $0.60 levels could see Ripples XRP take a hit later in the day, with a pullback through the morning low $0.55921 bringing $0.54 levels into play, though we would expect Ripples XRP to steer clear of the days first major support level at $0.5041 and sub-$0.50 levels, barring particularly negative news hitting the wires. {alt} Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 23/09/18 E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Analysis No Resistance, but Watch for Closing Price Reversal Top Crude Oil Weekly Forecast crude oil markets continue to push higher Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast natural gas markets rally towards resistance during the week The Week Ahead Geo-Politics and the FED to Drive the Markets S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast stock markets continue to show strength || ETFs with General Electric Down as Company Struggles with Turbine Issues: This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. Shares of General Electric dropped to a nine-year low, putting the hurt on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the largest holdings of GE, such as Davis Select US Equity ETF ( DUSA ) , Oppenheimer S&P Ultra Dividend Rev ETF ( RDIV ) and Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLI ) . GE shares were down 4% as of 1:15 p.m. ET as the company is working feverishly to fix a gas turbine failure in Texas. The turbine issue was purportedly discovered by one of its customers, energy company Exelon, citing an "oxidation issue" with the turbine's fan blades at two plants located in Texas. As a result of the issue, the operation life of the turbines were compromised, forcing a shutdown of the plants, which apparently is not the first time this occurrence has taken place. "A few weeks ago, there was an event at Exelon's Colorado Bend site that resulted from an issue with an HA turbine component," GE Power spokesman Chris Shigas said . "We expect the same issue to impact other HA units. We have identified the solution and have a plan in place, and we have been proactively working with customers on a case-by-case basis to address any impacted unit. We expect the Exelon unit to return to service soon." Related: General Electric CEO John Flannery On New GE Strategy GE shares were further depressed by investment firm J.P. Morgan effectively lowering its GE price target to $10 per share versus its initial $11 per share last week as a result of the turbine failures, citing the incident as "a negative development for a company that has little wiggle room." "Bottom line, while we give GE some benefit of the doubt in its comments [minimizing the issue], we think the mere occurrence is significant in the context of the state of the story," J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa said in a note . GE has experienced an unceremonious fall from grace since its days when its market value was close to $600 billion in August 2000. Since then, its value has nosedived, particularly after the financial crisis in 2009, but has come back to as much as $300 billion by December 2015. Story continues Since then, however, GE is struggling to recapture investor confidence since January 2017 when its shares were trading at about $31 per share--the stock is currently trading at $11.70--a nine-year low. Today, ETFs with GE holdings were down--DUSA was down 0.89%, RDIV dropped 0.63% and XLA stumbled 1.66%. For more market trends, visit ETF Trends . POPULAR ARTICLES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM Latest Round of Tariffs Impacting Homebuilder ETFs Leveraged ETF Hinging on Positive U.S.-Japan Trade Talks ETFs with General Electric Down as Company Struggles with Turbine Issues Dow Stumbles as U.S.-China Trade Talks Stall Bitcoin Will Lose 50% of Its Market Share to Ethereum in Five Years READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || From the crypto-goldrush to new compliance concerns: offshore firms weather the storm: Offshore law firms in the Caribbean basin are no strangers to tempests. Last year’s Atlantic hurricane season was one of the worst on record. The British Virgin Islands (BVI) suffered catastrophic damage; many BVI-based law firms had to evacuate their staff after Hurricane Irma crippled infrastructure across the island chain.Storm clouds have been brewing metaphorically too. Ongoing regulatory scrutiny across the offshore world continues to hang heavy, with the broader industry still trying to salvage its reputation from the wreckage caused by the Panama Papers leak. So when US President Donald Trump announced changes to the country’s tax laws at the end of last year, offshore firms were bracing for another violent squall that threatened to flatten large chunks of their business.For now, it looks like the storm has passed. The increased regulatory burden has not dampened demand for offshore legal services. In the first six months of the year, new incorporations in the Cayman Islands were up by 39%, in BVI they were up by 16%, and in Bermuda by 6%, according to data tracked by Conyers Dill & Pearman. And the revamped US tax legislation has not yet been the scourge that many initially feared. On the contrary, a booming US economy is creating a fertile backdrop for global dealmaking – a potential boon for offshore firms.
“The biggest driver of our business is the health of the onshore economy, but the country that is more significant than any other is the US,” says Marcello Ausenda (pictured right), a director in Conyers’ corporate practice in Bermuda. “If there is growth in the US – and there has been very heathy GDP growth over the last few years – and you have healthy capital markets and a healthy stock market, then that provides oxygen for deal flow, and when there is buoyant deal activity onshore, some of that comes offshore to us.”The amount raised in global initial public offerings (IPOs) hit $134bn at the end of August, the most since 2014, according to Dealogic, a data provider. And that is not just being driven by deals out of the US; the Asia-Pacific region saw its IPO market pop to $61bn, the highest in seven years. Some 112 IPOs were launched across Bermuda, BVI and Cayman in the first half of the year, Ausenda says. A significant number of those Cayman deals were listed in Hong Kong, including China’s Cayman-incorporated Fusen Pharmaceutical Company Limited, which raised HK$416m ($53m), and REM Group (Holdings) Limited, which raised HK$135m.
Chinese companies in particular find the relative simplicity of the Cayman Islands and its regulatory regime attractive
“Chinese companies in particular find the relative simplicity of the Cayman Islands and its regulatory regime attractive, and you couple that with deep legal teams and a professional knowhow around what is required – people in Hong Kong and Shanghai are very comfortable with Cayman companies,” says Simon Raftopoulous, a partner at Applebys in Cayman, whose firm advised on the Fusen and REM IPOs.
Raftopoulous (pictured right) says one of the reasons for Cayman’s appeal is flexibility around capital structuring, such as creating special classes of preference shares or having a mixed board. That has firmly established Cayman as the go-to locale for offshore IPO work. Brazilian fintech firm PagSeguro Digital, for instance, incorporated in Cayman for its $2.3bn IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.The US tax changes have also boosted corporate confidence, says Raftopoulous, spurring a flurry of mergers and acquisitions. Global M&A activity surged above $3trn this year for the first time since the financial crisis, according to Dealogic. In the offshore territories, Bermuda in particular has seen a busy year of dealmaking. At the end of August, there had been six inbound M&A deals into Bermuda (where an overseas company seeks to buy a Bermuda-based entity), worth about $8.2bn – double the value of deals seen during the same period in 2017. Meantime, there were 17 outbound deals (where a Bermuda entity seeks to make an acquisition overseas), worth about $4.3bn, three times last year’s value (the number of deals was also the highest since 2012).“In Bermuda we have a large insurance industry, and that industry has been experiencing quite a long period of soft rates, which has encouraged consolidation,” says Ausenda. “In the past six to eight months, there have been a couple of very large deals – one of them was AXA’s acquisition of XL Group and the other was AIG’s acquisition of Validus.”Another big trend that has been gripping the offshore territories this year is the growth in the cryptocurrency, blockchain and wider fintech market. In the first six months of the year, there were just over 600 initial coin offerings (ICOs) globally, raising more than $16bn, according to Coinschedule, an ICO tracker. Almost $6bn of that was issued in June alone, proving that excitement around cryptocurrency assets shows little signs of waning despite a huge fall in the value of Bitcoin since the turn of the year.The vast potential of the fintech market has not gone unnoticed by offshore governments seeking new ways to expand their economies. Bermuda, for instance, is seeking to position itself as the destination of choice for cryptocurrency and fintech companies, having passed a raft of legislation this year to bolster its appeal. Among those is a bespoke ICO act that will regulate new coin offerings, alongside a fintech advisory committee that has been set up to vet ICO applications. It has also passed a digital asset business act, which will regulate service providers that cater to the fintech industry. And Bermuda has also made an amendment to its banking act to create a new class of bank to better serve the sector, thus sidestepping reluctance from existing financial institutions.
The government is taking a bet that there are enough reputable players in the fintech industry who will want to come and use Bermuda
“The Bermuda government, as a strategic imperative, has gone out and created infrastructure in Bermuda to support the fintech industry and to attract the subset of clients in the fintech space who want to be regulated by a reputable jurisdiction, and the government is taking a bet that there are enough reputable players in the fintech industry who will want to come and use Bermuda,” says Ausenda, whose firm worked closely with the government and the Bermuda Business Development Agency during the legislative process.“There is an enormous advantage to being the first mover, because you can then develop a reputation as being the go-to jurisdiction for that product or asset class, and then the herd follows,” Ausenda adds.Given the nascency of the market – Bermuda’s fintech advisory committee was not even set up when it started receiving ICO applications under the new legislation – offshore lawyers remain circumspect about how the business might unfold.
“We suspect that blockchain may ultimately be more important than cryptocurrency work in the long run. But will this result in significant jobs? The jury is out on that,” says Keith Robinson (pictured right), a partner at Carey Olsen in Bermuda. “Until recently we hadn’t seen the fintech space result in significant instructions, but we have now seen some come in and it’s certainly possible that jobs will result. We have seen some advisory work around employment and immigration because companies that do want to set up in the fintech world in Bermuda are exploring what it means to have significant employees on the ground. Clients tell us that location is important. Bermuda has the direct flight to London, it’s two hours from New York, so for people wanting to span those two worlds it’s not a bad proposition.”Onshore concerns may also have an impact on how the market develops. A number of countries have already banned Bitcoin. And the US Securities and Exchange Commission is said to be investigating about 80 cryptocurrency startups for violating securities regulations.“Certainly, whether you’re onshore or offshore, there’s a desire and need for regulatory certainty in this space and people are grappling with what that actually means,” says Raftopoulous. “For crypto and ICOs to be accepted as a legitimate business and enjoy credibility beyond what is currently afforded in the business sector, we’re far away from that and there will be consequences to the views they are taking onshore that will trickle down to offshore. But crypto and blockchain, it’s here to stay and it’s going to morph into a globally regulated form, that’s where it has to head.”Raftopoulous says Applebys' dedicated global technology and innovation group has seen it lead the way for offshore firms in the fintech space, having worked on a number of groundbreaking transactions, such as SelfKey’s $22m, blockchain-based digital identity token sale.
We were living and breathing this market before it was cool
“We were living and breathing this market before it was cool, so we take a deep sense of pride that the lawyers in our fintech team really understand what is going on,” he says. “That’s important because clients in this sector, maybe more so than other sectors, have an intrinsic need or want that you understand what they’re doing and how their product works. We’ve been lucky in getting that right and it’s certainly reflected in the amount of instructions we’ve got and the amount of deal flow.”
Despite Bermuda’s move to embrace the potential crypto-goldrush, Cayman-based lawyers do not expect to see their work dry up. Cayman has already seen a host of successful ICO and token generation events, says Alan de Saram (pictured right), managing partner at Collas Crill in Cayman, mostly because of its existing investment funds framework.For instance, for people wishing to issue tokens that are not classified as securities (a utility token, in the crypto parlance), Cayman law has a robust definition of what does and does not constitute a security, which means issuers can structure a utility token offering without having to tip-toe around any regulatory uncertainty, de Saram says.The introduction of Cayman’s Foundation Companies law last year has also been popular with ICO issuers. Foundation companies make it easier to set up a bespoke governance structure, and the not-for-profit element is useful for coin issuers that have an altruistic element to them, he says.That existing investment framework has also encouraged the launch of a number of cryptofunds, which are mostly structured in the same way as a standard investment fund, but which hold crypto assets instead, de Saram says.Wider fund work also continues to be healthy, notably in the private equity space, which remains popular with investors, given the meagre returns up for grabs in other asset classes. Private equity funds raised a record $542bn last year, according to Preqin, a data provider (the pace is slightly slower this year, with $255bn raised by the end of August). Hayden Isbister, managing partner at Mourant Ozannes’ Cayman practice, says his firm has seen an increase in the number of Asia-focused private equity funds, which tend to set up Cayman vehicles if they are selling into the US.Raising all that money has come with other challenges though, namely there is a huge pile of cash chasing a finite number of assets. That is driving up prices, making it harder to invest those funds, lawyers say. At the end of June, private equity funds had a record $1trn of unspent ‘dry powder’ waiting to be deployed, Preqin data shows.That frothiness in asset prices – which can crimp potential returns – has led to a rise in the use of fund finance, typically short-term subscription credit lines. Private equity funds have traditionally used these to quickly purchase assets while waiting for cash to be drawn down from investors but, more recently, funds have been extending these credit lines as a way to boost performance, as it allows them to hold assets for longer without using investors’ cash. That can potentially lift a fund’s internal rate of return higher than it would have been had they received the cash from investors earlier.
Isbister (pictured right) says where fund finance was once the domain of more boutique lenders, most of the large US investment banks are now providing fund-level subscription lines, which has led to an increase in the amount of credit being offered.“Historically many of these facilities have been relatively small in money terms but the amounts now are mind-boggling, in some cases billions of dollars,” he says.The growth in private equity funds has not been matched by the hedge fund industry, which has generally underperformed from a returns perspective during the past decade, denting demand. In part that is because stock markets have been rising, and hedge funds tend to do better when markets are falling, de Saram says. Yet given that bull markets tend to have a roughly 10-year shelf life, those dynamics may soon begin to change, and that could lead to a big uptick in new hedge fund formation, he says.Increased regulation and compliance is not depressing fund work either. In fact, Isbister says regulation is actually a growth opportunity for offshore firms as they help funds adapt to the shifting compliance backdrop. That is especially pertinent for the Cayman Islands, which has 11,000 registered funds and more than 30,000 unregulated funds that will have to meet a plethora of new rules, such as having to appoint anti-money laundering officers by the end of September this year.“That’s one of the biggest changes we’ve seen in many years here,” says Isbister. “The amount of regulation that is creeping into the offshore world now is really seeing it become a specialised area for offshore firms; rather than all lawyers dabbling in regulatory work, each firm has got specific regulatory practices and regulatory lawyers.”As well as greater scrutiny around anti-money laundering processes, de Saram says rules around beneficial ownership and data protection are the most pressing topics offshore firms are having to deal with.“People are worried that beneficial ownership regimes will have a negative effect on offshore because it has traditionally been more private,” he says. “It’s going to add to costs, which obviously goes against the grain because it is usually cheaper to set up funds offshore than onshore, but most onshore jurisdictions are having to put in place data protection checks and balances and more robust beneficial ownership practices, so maybe some of our nervousness has been unwarranted.”Robinson reckons there is also an opportunity for offshore law firms to wrestle work away from accountancy firms that currently prepare businesses for regulatory reviews.“A lot of that is really legal work, but law firms don’t seem to have caught on to the fact that they can market their skills to help corporate services providers, trust companies and the whole range of financial services companies get ready for regulatory inspections,” he says.But there is no doubt the tangle of new regulations is a drag. In Bermuda, companies now have to file bylaw provisions to the island’s Registrar of Companies related to the quorum of a shareholders’ meeting, any restrictions on share transfers, and the duties and obligations of the company’s secretary, says Ausenda.“Mostly because of the onshore regulatory pressure from the European Union and the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development, we have this new legislation which just makes it a little bit more cumbersome in Bermuda,” he says.Ausenda is less concerned, however, about any jitters around beneficial ownership requirements.
The inconvenient truth for many onshore regulators is that Bermuda is the world leader in the vetting of ultimate beneficial ownership
“The inconvenient truth for many onshore regulators is that Bermuda is the world leader in the vetting of ultimate beneficial ownership,” he says. “Since we invented the offshore company 80 years ago, from that very first company, Bermuda has always and consistently vetted ultimate beneficial ownership. The Bermuda Monetary Authority has its own private register, and we’re probably the only jurisdiction in the world where you can pick any company on our companies’ registry and our regulator can tell you who the ultimate beneficial owners are.”The regulatory headwinds are unlikely to dissipate in the foreseeable future. The UK has said its overseas territories must make those beneficial ownership registers public before 2020. And the EU is seeking further compliance measures from offshore jurisdictions around the world by stiff-arming them into drafting legislation that will set guidelines on the level of economic activity a company must undertake in the offshore jurisdiction in which it is registered. Failure to enact these so-called substance rules before the end of the year could result in the EU blacklisting that jurisdiction.Black clouds may also be forming over global trade, as tensions continue to escalate between China and the US. Protectionist policies and barriers around inbound foreign investment are unlikely to be good news for cross-border capital flows and by extension offshore financial centres such as Cayman, Bermuda and the BVI. Increased competition among offshore law firms may also add to the challenges ahead.“It’s only the large law firms with an international footprint operating offshore that are successful in securing the best work for the best clients,” says Isbister. “There are too many offshore law firms and too many lawyers in this market. There’s a huge gap between the big global firms and those at the next level. Small firms are struggling.”
There are too many offshore law firms and too many lawyers in this market
Yet others are optimistic that greater competition – and therefore more choice for clients – is healthy. Carey Olsen, for instance, this year opened a Bermuda office as the firm continues its global expansion.“We opened in January with a building on a three-year lease and we’re already full, so we physically have no office space left, and that means there’s demand for people who want to have variety and have competition, and I’m sure that’s the same with Carey Olsen the world over – we face increasing competition in all of the jurisdictions, and that’s not a bad thing,” says Robinson.And despite the geopolitical tensions, markets continue to be upbeat. A new trade pact between the US, Mexico and Canada was agreed at the end of September, with only relatively minor tweaks to the old North American Free Trade Agreement that President Trump had so vehemently railed against. That might offer a glimmer of hope that Trump’s trade grievances with China could yet be resolved without the need for a prolonged and messy trade war.“As long as the Chinese economy and US economy remain strong and buoyant, then our business will follow suit,” says Ausenda. || China’s Merchants are Legally Allowed to Accept Bitcoin and Crypto: Asreportedby CnLedger, a trusted cryptocurrency news source in China, the country’s merchants can legally accept crypto as a payment method.
According to localreports, the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration officially recognized Bitcoin as a property, allowing individuals and businesses to own and transfer Bitcoin without being in conflict with existing financial regulations.
“Chinese court confirms Bitcoin is protected by law. Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration ruled a case involving cryptos. Inside the verdict: CN law does not forbid owning & transferring bitcoin, which should be protected by law because ofits property nature and economic value.”
Katherine Wu, a cryptocurrency researcher at Messari,translatedand analyzed court documents released by the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration to delve into the reasoning behind the decision of the arbitrator to consider Bitcoin as a property.
In essence, Wu explained that due to the decentralized nature of Bitcoin that provides financial freedom and economic value to the owner, the asset can be recognized as a property.
“The Party contends that Bitcoin has characteristics of a property (SOV), can be controlled by the owner, and has economic value to the owner. It does not break any laws. This arbitrator agrees,” Wu said.
As such, the court emphasized that regardless of the legality of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, the circulation and payment of Bitcoin is not illegal. That means, merchants can freely accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method without breaking the local law.
“In the arbitrator’s view, whether or not bitcoin is legal, the circulation and the payment of bitcoin is not illegal. Bitcoin does not have the same rights as fiat, but that does not mean that holding or paying with crypto is illegal.”
Earlier this month, China’s oldest technology publication Beijing Sci-Tech Report (BSTR), a respected media company in the country, released its plans to accept Bitcoin for its yearly subscription to promote the usage of the blockchain and practical use cases of the dominant cryptocurrency.
BSTRrevealedthat starting 2019, the yearly subscription to its magazine will be sold at a price of 0.01 BTC, worth around $65. If the price of BTC rises substantially in the future, the publication stated that it will compensate its customers.
Several hotels in major cities in China have also started to accept cryptocurrencies, one of which branded itself as Ethereum Hotel, providing merits and discounts to those that pay for their services using Ethereum.
In consideration of China’s optimistic stance towards blockchain technology and positive comments regarding the sector made by government agencies, it has become more apparent that the government placed a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trading to prevent the devaluation of the Chinese yuan and to limit speculation in the market.
But, overall, the government remains open to crypto and the usage of the blockchain to improve existing infrastructures and problems pertaining to software and data settlement.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The postChina’s Merchants are Legally Allowed to Accept Bitcoin and Cryptoappeared first onCCN.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#XEM
Buy at #Koineks and sell at #YoBit. Ratio: 13.00%
Buy at #LiveCoin and sell at #YoBit. Ratio: 11.67%
#bitcoin #arbitrage #arbitraj #arbingtool
http://arbing.info || 1H
2018/10/15 13:00 (2018/10/15 12:00)
LONG : 25184.36 BTC (-10.5 BTC)
SHORT : 37369.09 BTC (-71.84 BTC)
LS比 : 40% vs 59% (40% vs 59%) || 1. #BTC: $6346.12 (-0.1%)
2. #ETH: $199.75 (0.38%)
3. #XRP: $0.46 (-0.6%)
4. #BCH: $478.01 (11.0%)
5. #EOS: $5.35 (0.73%)
6. #XLM: $0.23 (4.44%)
7. #LTC: $51.25 (0.98%)
8. #ADA: $0.07 (0.93%)
9. #USDT: $1.00 (1.23%)
10. #XMR: $105.29 (0.71%)
#blockchain #crypto #altcoin || #BTCUSD Market #1H timeframe on October 31 at 04:00 (UTC) is #Bullish. #cryptocurrency #bitcoin #btc #crypto #trading #idea #report technical analysis || [BTC faucet 確実獲得定期tweet]
今9:00だよ！
30分たったからBTCをゲットしに行こう！
皆で使おうfaucet、仮想通貨が必要な世の中へ
BTCを入手するには↓からGET!
https://www.tadacoin.jp/?refer=1hoJeQE4 || Earn UP TO 00 6 BTC For Free With Prof http://youtu.be/NeWfQ5mfgig?a || 1hr Report : 10:00:56 UTC Top 10 Mentions
$BTC, $XRP, $ETH, $XLM, $LTC, $NEO, $EOS, $OCN, $OMG, $BCHpic.twitter.com/hbodIvaaRP || QNO #Vaultmex Price Alert
Time: 2018-11-05 21:00:44
#QNO 0.00004500BTC
Change:100.00%
#instavenezuela #ripplenews #newcryptocurrency #coinbase $BTC #vaultmex
https://vaultmex.com || 24H
2018/10/26 05:00 (2018/10/25 05:00)
LONG : 22302.41 BTC (-471.62 BTC)
SHORT : 31339.84 BTC (+603.86 BTC)
LS比 : 41% vs 58% (42% vs 57%) || 1H
2018/11/08 05:00 (2018/11/08 04:00)
LONG : 25382.37 BTC (-29.72 BTC)
SHORT : 21021.28 BTC (-8.01 BTC)
LS比 : 54% vs 45% (54% vs 45%)
|
Trend: down || Prices: 6385.62, 6409.22, 6411.27, 6371.27, 6359.49, 5738.35, 5648.03, 5575.55, 5554.33, 5623.54
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Winklevoss twins, 'Bitcoin Jesus' head the list of people getting very rich from the cryptocurrency: As bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) surges well above $11,000, the newly created wealth means some early investors have become digital multimillionaires in dollar terms. Winklevoss twins Cameron and Tyler are most prominent. In April 2013, the Winklevoss twins had $11 million in bitcoin at $120 a coin. That's a combined worth of just more than $1 billion with bitcoin near $11,700 this week. The brothers settled with Mark Zuckerberg in a dispute over Facebook's origins and went on to launch digital currency exchange Gemini Trust, which is now working with Cboe Global Markets on its bitcoin futures launch.
Roger Ver, an early bitcoin investor nicknamed "Bitcoin Jesus" for his enthusiasm for the digital currency, is rumored to have about 300,000 bitcoins. However, Ver said in an email to CNBC that he now owns "substantially more" of bitcoin's offshoot bitcoin cash than the original bitcoin. "It is nobody's business how much money I have," Ver added. Bitcoin cash was trading Tuesday near $1,543, according to CoinMarketCap, about an eighth of bitcoin's price. Today, 300,000 bitcoins are worth $3.5 billion. Even 100,000 bitcoins would give Ver $1.1 billion. But Ver may not want dollars. He has renounced his U.S. citizenship and lives in Japan, from where Ver runs Bitcoin.com.
Venture capitalist Tim Draper bought nearly 30,000 bitcoins in a 2014 U.S. Marshals Service auction of coins seized from Silk Road, a now defunct online marketplace that sold illegal goods. If Draper is still holding all those coins, he's worth at least $350 million in bitcoin. In an email to CNBC, Draper said, "I never show my cards." Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and one of the owners of the Golden State Warriors, owned the equivalent of $5 million in bitcoin in October 2013, according to TechCrunch. One bitcoin was worth about $200 then, according to CoinDesk, meaning Palihapitiya had roughly 25,000 bitcoins. That's worth about $290 million at today's prices.
Charlie Shrem was an early investor in bitcoin and reportedly bought thousands of coins when they were worth as little as $3 to $20 each. Even 5,000 coins would give Shrem $57.5 million. Shrem founded digital currency exchange BitInstant. It shut down after the U.S. government charged Shrem in 2014 with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison. He was released last year. None of the individuals above have publicly stated how many bitcoins they own, or responded to CNBC's request for comment. It's possible they have already cashed in, or bought more of the digital currency since. Finally, it's worth noting that the anonymous founder of bitcoin known as "Satoshi Nakamoto" has 980,000 bitcoins, based on widely accepted analysis by Sergio Demian Lerner. That puts Nakamoto at the top of the bitcoin rich list, with about $11.3 billion. Nakamoto also holds almost 4.7 percent of all the bitcoins that will ever exist, and nearly 6 percent of all bitcoins that have been created so far. The number of bitcoins is limited to 21 million, and 16.7 million bitcoins exist today, according to data from Blockchain. Bitcoin rose about 1 percent to $11,700 Tuesday with a market value of around $197 billion, according to CoinDesk. At one point Tuesday, it hit a record above $11,800. The digital currency is up more than 1,100 percent this year.
WATCH: Bitcoin's origin story remains shrouded in mystery. Here's why it mattersMore From CNBC
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• Bitcoin mining IPO falls short || We just got a glimpse of how bitcoin futures will work: cme s&P 500 futures trader REUTERS/Sue Ogrocki CME Group will launch bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter. Bitcoin will trade in $25 ticks and have a daily range of no more than 20% above or below the prior settlement price. CME Group, one of the largest exchange groups in the world, announced last week it will roll out a bitcoin futures contract in the fourth quarter. The announcement has generated a lot of buzz on Wall Street, and sparked a big rally in the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin climbed from $6,100 on October 30 (the day before the announcement) to more than $7,000 on November 7. Futures, which allow two parties to exchange an asset at a specified price at an agreed upon date in the future, have been around since the late 19th century. In some cases, when a futures contract settles the buyer of the contract can receive their payment in the product itself (a barrel of oil, say), or in cash. The latter are referred to as cash settled futures. CME's bitcoin futures will settle in cash. ( You can read a full explainer on bitcoin futures here .) As futures get ready for trading, CME this week sent out a note setting out how the bitcoin futures will work. Here's what you need to know: Each contract is composed of five bitcoin. Each tick (the minimum fluctuation) will be $5 per bitcoin, amounting to $25 per contract. This means that every time the contract moves by the smallest increment a trader will gain or lose $25 per contract they hold. Bitcoin futures will trade on CME Globex and CME ClearPort from 5 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT Sunday to Friday. The long trading hours are typical of futures contracts that are traded electronically. There is a spot position limit of 1,000 contracts. Futures contracts always have limits on the number of contracts one person or entity owns. This prevents someone from being able to "corner the market." Bitcoin futures will have a price limit of 20% above or below the prior settlement price. Price settlement will be based on the Bitcoin Reference Rate , or a daily reference rate of the US dollar price of one bitcoin as of 4:00 p.m. London time. Story continues NOW WATCH: Investors are running out of money and that's bad news for stocks See Also: Bitcoin futures trading gets the green light from US regulators Bitcoin heading for $10,000 as crypto market cracks $300 billion Bitcoin soars above $9,000 to new record high SEE ALSO: GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin could get close to $8,000 || Bitcoin plunges after upgrade is called off, but offshoot 'bitcoin cash' surges more than 40%: Bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) fell Friday to its lowest since Nov. 1 as traders bet on its offshoot, bitcoin cash, instead. The offshoot digital currency surged more than 40 percent to its highest since Aug. 19, and was last trading near $947, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin cash split off from the original version of bitcoin in August as a minority group of developers decided to implement an upgrade in an effort to increase transaction speeds for the digital currency. An alternative bitcoin upgrade proposal, SegWit2x, which initially had more developers behind it, was called off Wednesday due to waning support. Bitcoin three-month performance Source: CoinDesk Bitcoin hit a record high of $7,879.06 that day after the news, but quickly fell and was trading 9 percent lower on the day Friday afternoon near $6,500, according to CoinDesk. That marked its lowest since Nov. 1. "You can see people playing back and forth between bitcoin and bitcoin cash trading depending on where they think near-term catalysts may be," said Chris Burniske, author of "Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond." "It's been a battle of investors versus traders that were stockpiling bitcoin to get their 'bitcoin2x dividend.'" Investors at the time of a bitcoin split technically receive equal amounts of the offshoot currency. Disagreements over upgrade proposals have caused uncertainty over the future of bitcoin, but some traders had been buying bitcoin ahead of splits in order to benefit from a payout of a new digital currency and a potential relief rally in bitcoin following the split. Creating bitcoin cash through the "mining" process was 13.6 percent more profitable than mining bitcoin, according to data on Coin Dance's website. Bitcoin cash performance from Aug. 1 to Nov. 10 Source: CoinMarketCap Bitcoin has tended to recover quickly from pullbacks. The digital currency's price is up seven times this year and in a sign of growing interest from institutional investors, the world's largest futures exchange, CME, is planning to launch bitcoin futures by the end of the year. Another digital currency, ethereum (Exchange: ETH=) traded about 4 percent lower near $307.52 Friday after hitting a nearly one-month high Thursday, according to CoinDesk. WATCH: Bitcoin's origin story remains shrouded in mystery. Here's why it matters More From CNBC Dow and S&P 500 close lower, snap longest weekly winning streak in 4 years Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: JCP, DIS, JWN, ATUS, HTZ, EFX & more Futures point to weak open on Wall Street; tax news in focus || Elon Musk: I am Not Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto: Elon Musk, the CEO ofTesla Inc(NASDAQ:TSLA), is denying rumors that he is the creator of bitcoin.
Source:Chris Brown Via Flickr
Elon Musk usedTwitter Inc(NYSE:TWTR) to deny the claims that he is bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. He did so while responding to a user that linked to an article claiming it was him. Musk even went so far as to say that a friend gifted him some bitcoin once, but that he currently doesn’t know where it is.
Elon Musk continued tojoke with users on Twitterwhen they pushed the subject. One person pointed out his coding skills and the connection to bitcoin, and Musk responded with some code of his own. Another user created a poll asking is users think Musk is an alien. The Tesla Inc CEO responded that he is “definitely a Martian.”
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Theblog postclaiming that Elon Musk is bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto comes from Sahil Gupta. Gupta points to a few bits of evidence that he claims show that Musk and Satoshi Nakamoto are likely the same person.
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The first piece of evidence is that bitcoin was written in C++ and that Musk seems to have a strong grasp on the programming language. He also points out the the original paper on bitcoin was written by someone with a deep understanding of economics and cryptography, which he claims Musk has. The final claim is that Musk is a self-taught polymath that can easily learn new skills just by reading up on them.
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As of this writing, William White did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
The postElon Musk: I am Not Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamotoappeared first onInvestorPlace. || Global markets: Inflation weighs on yields, dollar; stocks lacklustre: By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields dipped and the dollar rose slightly on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data while Wall Street stock indexes fell as earnings season kicked off with a whimper. U.S. Treasury prices gained after the Treasury Department saw strong demand for a sale of 30-year bonds. While investors cheered an increase in the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for last month announced Thursday, inflation concerns were still in focus ahead of consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday after Federal Reserve minutes showed a more guarded view. After four straight days of declines, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>, rose 0.07 percent. "The move in the dollar index this week is primarily a correction to the big move that we had in September," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. "It's largely corrective as the market awaits fresh signals." Adding to this pressure, sterling jumped to its highest since Oct. 4, with analysts citing a report in Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the European Union could offer Britain a two-year transitional Brexit deal. Sterling was last trading at $1.3261, up 0.30 percent on the day. In U.S. stocks, banks and media companies were the biggest drags on the S&P 500 as AT&T Inc fuelled concerns about video subscribers and investors took fright at comments from JPMorgan and Citigroup's earnings calls. "People got a little bit spoiled by the very nice advances we saw in the first and second quarter, but keep in mind that earnings started perking up in the third quarter of last year so the year-over-year comparisons might not look as robust," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 31.88 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 22,841.01, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 4.31 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,550.93 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 12.04 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,591.51. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 0.01 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 0.04 percent. The MSCI index reached a record high, as it has for seven of the past eight trading days. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.3195 percent, from 2.345 percent late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond was last up 15/32 in price to yield 2.8483 percent, from 2.876 percent late on Wednesday. Also in currencies, the euro was down 0.15 percent to $1.1839 snapping four straight days of gains after rising to its highest since Sept. 25 earlier in the session. Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time and was up 10.1 percent. Oil prices fell after the U.S. Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories and a falloff in weekly production. U.S. crude fell 1.29 percent to $50.64 per barrel and Brent was last at $56.32, down 1.09 percent. Spot gold added 0.1 percent to $1,293.37 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Karen Brettell and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York, John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish) || Why Square Shares Plunged Today: Shares of mobile payment processorSquare(NYSE: SQ)have been on quite a run this year, having more than tripled year to date as the company continues to execute well and postsolid earnings resultsthroughout the year, successive guidance raises, and strong growth of gross payment volume (GPV). However, that rally has stretched Square's valuation metrics quite a bit, and shares now trade at over nine times sales.
Given the gains, a pullback is hardly unexpected, and an analyst downgrade this morning has triggered just that. Investors are likely taking some profits off the table as a result.
Square is testing out bitcoin trading in its Square Cash app. Image source: Square.
BTIG Research analyst Mark Palmer has downgraded Square shares from neutral to sell (price target: $30), citing a couple of key concerns. For starters, Square's valuation looks lofty at current levels. By Palmer's estimates, shares are now trading at 28.1 times his forecast for fiscal 2020's adjusted EBITDA ($610 million). Investors are now pricing in "emphatic and unimpeded growth" while not assigning proper weight to the risks that Square faces, according to Palmer.
Square will also have increased competition as it tries to expand its position with midmarket sellers (merchants that process over $500,000 in GPV annually). This group of merchants now represents 20% of Square's GPV, up from 11% two years ago. Square has historically been extremely popular with smaller merchants, but continues to move upmarket. As Square pursues larger merchants, it may need to make pricing concessions, which could hurt transaction margins.
The company is also taking on more risk with Square Capital, which provides loans to merchants. To highlight this credit risk, Palmer points to a $3.4 million charge that Square took in the third quarter.
Bitcoin has experienced insane gains in recent months as the cryptocurrency pusheseven deeper into bubble territory. Square recently confirmed that it was testing bitcoin trading in its Square Cash peer-to-peer (P2P) payments app. As a cryptocurrency, much of bitcoin's theoretical "value" lies in being able to actually use it to buy things from merchants that are willing to accept bitcoin (along with the inherent volatility risks to their own businesses). Oddly, Square's experiment doesnotallow users to transfer bitcoins or otherwise transact in bitcoins, only to trade it.
That news caused Square shares to spike even more earlier this month, as Square is now essentially piggybacking on bitcoin's hype, for better or for worse. Palmer argues that the bitcoin experiment will be immaterial to Square's top line even if it became a permanent feature, but the association with bitcoin could create incremental risk given bitcoin's incredible volatility and hype.
Even after today's drop -- shares are down 14% as of 2:20 p.m. EST -- BTIG's new price target represents nearly 30% downside.
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Evan Niu, CFAhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Square. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || The future of Blockchain infrastructure, with Gavin Wood and Jutta Steiner at Disrupt Berlin: Since its invention a few years ago, the Blockchain has become the infrastructure layer that the Internet was crying out for. The promise of a decentralised world was made in the 90s. Some 27+ or so years later it might now be coming true. Bitcoin was first introduced in 2008, but the Ethereum protocol project has paved the way for a number of new applications and use-cases for the technology. To help separate the wheat from the chaff of this brave new world, TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin welcomes two of the founding figures in the burgeoning blockchain infrastructure world to our stage. TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin welcomes two of the founding figures in this space to our stage: Gavin Wood, former CTO and Co-Founder of Ethereum along with Jutta Steiner, also formerly of the Ethereum Foundation. Since working on Ethereum , they have gone on to launch Parity Technologies , which builds core technology and Dapps (decentralized apps) for businesses and organizations utilizing blockchain technology. More recently, Wood founded the Web3 Foundation , the entity responsible for stewarding and deploying the Polkadot Protocol, which recently had a very successful token sale . Polkadot is an ambitious project that seeks to be "the internet of blockchains" and is laying a claim to solving the scalability, governance and interoperability challenges which exist on current blockchain architectures. The two founders will be on stage to discuss their roles in building Ethereum, the infrastructure they are currently building to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain, and their visions for the future of the space. Tickets for the show are still on sale , so don't miss out on the chance to hear from two legends of this new industry. || UK Hedge Fund Man Group Mulls Bitcoin Futures Offering: The CEO of the Man Group, a major U.K.-based hedge fund, is reportedly eyeing an entry into the cryptocurrency space in light of a pending derivatives product launch by CME Group.
According toReuters, CEO Luke Ellis indicated that if the CME proceeds with its plans to list a bitcoin futures contract – possiblyas early as next month– the hedge fund that claims more than $100 billion in assets under management could make cryptocurrency as part of its "investment universe."
The chief executive was quoted as saying:
"It's not part of our investment universe today – it could be. If there is a CME future on bitcoin, it would be."
In the event that the Man Group makes the proverbial leap to investing in cryptocurrencies – Ellis didn't offer any clues beyond the hint related to CME – it would bethe latest firmof its kind of enter the market.
His remarks come on the heels of CMEannouncing that it would launch its bitcoin productby the end of 2017. At the time it announced the product, the company was still waiting on approval from regulators. CME Group CEO Terry Duffy then made waves earlier this week when he said that the futures contract could launch as soon asmid-December.
Disclosure:CME Group is an investor in Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk's parent company.
Markets graph imagevia Shutterstock || Bitcoin futures trade on Cboe for first time: One day after a major price plunge and following a volatile week, the Cboe Global Markets kicked off the highly-anticipated bitcoin futures trading on Sunday evening on the Cboe Futures Exchange (CFE).
After bitcoin futures started trading, the cryptocurrency spiked more than $1,200, while the Cboe website became inaccessible.
“Due to heavy traffic on our website, visitors towww.cboe.commay find that it is performing slower than usual and may at times be temporarily unavailable. All trading systems are operating normally,” a Cboe spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement.
With Sunday’s launch, Cboe beat fellow Chicago exchange and rival CME Group (NASDAQ:CME), which announced plans to start its own bitcoin futures contract on Dec. 18. Cboe’s bitcoin futures are trading under the ticker symbol XBT, and are based on the auction price from digital asset exchange Gemini, created by the Winklevoss twins in 2015. The first full day of trading will be Monday, and the exchange said trading will be free through the month of December.
Though it’s seen wild swings, bitcoin has been super-hot in recent weeks, currently pricing at $15,400 as of 6:15 p.m. Eastern Time, according to thelatest datafrom Coindesk. Earlier in the week, the cryptocurrency reached an all-time high above $17,000 before falling to as low as $13,152 late Saturday night.
However,some business leaders and investorsare not yet set on the currency itself. Take Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), for example, who called bitcoin a “fraud” while speaking at an investor conference in New York in September.
"The currency isn't going to work. You can't have a business where people can invent a currency out of thin air and think that people who are buying it are really smart," Dimon said, adding that if any of the company’s traders were trading bitcoin, he “would fire them in a second, for two reasons: It is against our rules and they are stupid, and both are dangerous."
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) CEO Larry Fink also had some harsh words for bitcoin, calling it an “index of money laundering,” at a conference hosted by the Institute of International Finance.
Warren Buffett, the “Oracle of Omaha,” also isn’t sold on the cryptocurrency, warning that it could be a bubble that’s getting ready to burst.
But, some still have faith that bitcoin is the way of the future, including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) CEO Patrick Byrne, and of course CME Group’s CEO Terry Duffy.
Furthermore, in an open letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Christopher Giancarlo on Wednesday, Futures Industry Association CEO Walt Lukkenexpressed concernsabout the way cryptocurrency futures have entered the marketplace.
“The recent volatility in these markets has underscored the importance of setting these levels and processes appropriately and conservatively … we remain apprehensive with the lack of transparency and regulation of the underlying reference products on which these futures contracts are based and whether exchanges have the proper oversight to ensure the reference products are not susceptible to manipulation, fraud, and operational risk,” Lukken wrote.
Concerns also have grown regarding the security of bitcoin after NiceHash, a mining exchange for the cryptocurrency’s customers, announced it had lost more than $78 million-worth of bitcoin after being attacked by hackers.
“We have not abandoned you guys, NiceHash CEO Marko Kobal said during a Facebook Live video on Thursday, a day after the hack took place. “Currently we are cooperating with local and international law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to fully investigate the scope of the breach that happened.”
But that’s not the only hack to hit a digital currency exchange. Last year, more than $60 million worth of bitcoin was stolen from Bitfinex, one of the world’s largest exchanges. The biggest hack occurred when hackers stole about $450 million worth of bitcoin from Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based exchange, in February 2014. At the time, the now-defunct Mt. Gox handled 70% of bitcoin trades.
The cryptocurrency was created in 2009 by an unknown person or people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made online and without the involvement of middlemen, or in the case of the currency, banks.
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• Cybersecurity Stocks: What to Watch in 2018 || Bitcoin Holding below Record Highs: Investing.com - The price of bitcoin was holding below all-time highs on Monday after rising above the $11,800 level on Sunday for the first time in its nine-year history.
On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin was at $11,315.00 by 05:44 AM ET (10:44 GMT) near an intra-day high of $11,545.00.
Bitcoin peaked at $11,842.00 on Sunday, capping a surge of around 30% since Thursday, when prices fell to a low of near $9000 after tumbling more than 20% from last weekend’s high.
Bitcoin, which is known for wild swings, has tended to rebound quickly from pullbacks.
Prices have rallied ahead of the start later this month of bitcoin futures trading, a potentially major step in the evolution of the digital currency.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday it would allow two major exchanges to launch bitcoin futures.
CME Group, the world's largest derivative exchange operator, said its bitcoin futures would launch December 18 while Cboe Global Markets said it will shortly announce the start date for its new bitcoin contract.
Bitcoin’s price has risen dramatically in 2017. For the year, bitcoin is up around 1,000%, having started 2017 at $968.23 and is the biggest gainer of all asset classes this year.
Its meteoric rise has prompted warnings of an increasingly volatile bubble amid signs that it is moving from the periphery of finance towards the mainstream.
CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo on Friday warned investors over bitcoin’s extreme volatility.
“Market participants should take note that the relatively nascent underlying cash markets and exchanges for bitcoin remain largely unregulated markets over which the CFTC has limited statutory authority,” he said.
“There are concerns about the price volatility and trading practices of participants in these markets.”
Last week Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein claimed that Bitcoin was “a vehicle to perpetrate fraud” as the value of the cryptocurrency plunged 20% in less than 24 hours.
Blankfein became the latest boss of a major bank to criticize bitcoin, after JP Morgan’s chief executive Jamie Dimon described it as fraud that would ultimately blow up.
Meanwhile, reports on Monday said thatBritain wants to step up regulation of bitcoinand other cryptocurrencies by expanding the reach of European Union anti-money-laundering rules that force traders to disclose their identities and report suspicious activity.
Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading, Bitcoin Cash was last at $1,501.20, while Bitcoin Gold was at $307.00.
Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was at $495.93.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという || BTCでろでろーか、ぐいーんか、どちらかだけど、今日はぐいーんの元氣なさそうだな。ゆっくりでろでろしてほしい。 pic.twitter.com/B0nIz7iysg || こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという || #Bitcoin #Bitcoinbet #NHL #theScore X-rays negative on Schwartz after blocked shot → via http://betbitcoin.pro √ pic.twitter.com/GuKoTJJsqG http://btf.st/Cloudbet pic.twitter.com/ozgaQgyWp7 || Where is the best place to buy BCH in the US? via /r/btc http://ift.tt/2BYwDGD || こんばんは。 bitcoin priceという || The electricity required for a single #Bitcoin trade could power a house for a whole month: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/the-electricity-required-for-a-single-bitcoin-trade-could-power-a-house-for-a-whole-month … via @wef || Is it possible to short sell bitcoin? || Gana $45,00 Usd Por Afiliar, Quieres ganarte dólares con Bitcoin sin tanto esfuerzo? Es solo de ·-· https://goo.gl/Cdo6SQ > #España || Depending on your needs. If you think about it as a risky investment, you just need to realize sum you want to have from it, sell N% once that amount of BTC will cover your desired sum, then do whatever you want.
|
Trend: down || Prices: 16936.80, 17415.40, 16408.20, 16564.00, 17706.90, 19497.40, 19140.80, 19114.20, 17776.70, 16624.60
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-06-23]
BTC Price: 21085.88, BTC RSI: 33.70
Gold Price: 1825.70, Gold RSI: 43.99
Oil Price: 104.27, Oil RSI: 35.98
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin price crashes amid extreme market conditions: Bitcoin (BTC) has crashed more than 10 per cent at the start of the week, falling below $25,000 for the first time since December 2020. It is the latest in a series of price crashes for the cryptocurrency , which has seen it drop more than 60 per cent in value over the last seven months. The overall crypto market also saw a significant tumble, losing more than $400bn (£329bn) over the last week to take it below $1 trillion. Several leading cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE) experienced even heavier losses than bitcoin, falling by between 15-25 per cent in just 24 hours. Not a single cryptocurrency in CoinMarketCaps top 100 rankings saw any gains over the last day, making it one of the most comprehensive crashes in recent memory. The market crash coincided with a similar capitulation of tech stocks in recent days, leading analysts to speculate that the two are reacting in tandem to external market forces. [Cryptocurrencies] have in the past not moved in step with traditional assets such as equities, however in recent times the link between the two has grown ever closer, Simon Peters, an analyst at the online trading platform eToro, wrote in a note on Monday. Now the clearest signal yet that cryptoassets such as bitcoin and ether are moving in lockstep with equities has flashed, as inflation worries have sent stocks and crypto tumbling. The reasons for this are varied, but much of it comes down to institutional holders, which calibrate their risk assets in similar ways, be they tech stocks or bitcoin. Amid the liquidations, crypto lender Celsius told customers that they would be temporarily unable to withdraw funds from the platform. . @CelsiusNetwork is pausing all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts. Acting in the interest of our community is our top priority. Our operations continue and we will continue to share information with the community. More here: https://t.co/CvjORUICs2 Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) June 13, 2022 Due to extreme market conditions, today we are announcing that Celsius is pausing all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers between accounts, the company, which was valued at $3.25bn during a funding round last year, wrote in a blog post on Monday morning. We are taking the necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilise liquidity and operation while we take steps to preserve and protect assets. The move comes just a month after the collapse of Terraform Labs Luna and UST token, which wiped more than $40bn from investors holdings. View comments || Bitcoin Struggles to Hold Support at $27K-$30K: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Bitcoin (BTC) has traded in a tight range of between $27,000 and $30,000 over the past few days. That's a keysupportzone for BTC, and it is also the lower bound of a yearlong trading range.
BTC was trading at around $29,000 at press time and is down by 3% over the past 24 hours.
A decisive break below $27,000 could yield further downside targets for BTC, initially toward $17,823. Further, BTC's downward sloping 50-day moving average indicates persistent trend weakness, which could keep sellers active.
Bitcoin faces strongresistanceat between $33,000 and $36,000, which could stall an upswing in price. And on the weekly chart, momentum remains negative despiteoversoldreadings. That could increase the risk of a breakdown in price, similar to what occurred in March 2020 and November 2018. || Coinbase Global plans to cut 1,100 jobs, or 18% of staff: Coinbase Global says it plans to cut about 1,100 jobs, or approximately 18% of its global workforce, as part of a restructuring in order to help manage its operating expenses in response to current market conditions. The cryptocurrency trading platform said in a regulatory filing that it expects to have about 5,000 total employees at the end of its current fiscal quarter on June 30. The company reported last month that active monthly users fell by 19% in the first quarter amid the decline in crypto values. Cryptocurrencies soared early in the pandemic as ultralow rates encouraged some investors to pile into the riskiest investments. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has tumbled and briefly fell below $21,000 in Asia on Tuesday, down from a peak of $68,990 late last year. Coinbase estimates that it will incur about $40 million to $45 million in total restructuring expenses, mostly related to employee severance and other termination benefits. The restructuring plan is anticipated to be substantially complete in the second quarter. The remote-first company was founded in 2012 and has no headquarters. It went public just over a year ago, in April 2021, by listing its stock directly and skipping the traditional process of hiring underwriters. Shares closed on the first day at around $328. In premarket trading Tuesday, the stock lost 7% to $48.40. || Market Wrap: Cryptos Are Higher After a Volatile Week: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Most cryptocurrencies traded higher on Friday as bearish sentiment waned. It appears that short-term buyers have returned from the sidelines, although technical indicators show limited upside from here . Bitcoin ( BTC ) returned toward the $30,000 price level and was up by as much as 5% over the past 24 hours. Still, momentum signals remain negative on the charts after BTC's 17% dip over the past week. For now, cryptos and stocks are experiencing a relief bounce, which could last for a few more days. Alternative cryptos (altcoins) outperformed on Friday, which reflects a greater appetite for risk among traders. For example, ICP , MANA and DOGE rallied by more than 20% over the past 24 hours. Just launched! Please sign up for our daily Market Wrap newsletter explaining what happens in crypto markets – and why. Meanwhile, the Terra blockchain resumed activity on Friday following a nine-hour halt. The LUNA token continued to trade below 1 cent at the time the network was halted. Also, on Friday, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's (GBTC) discount widened to an all-time low of 30.79% . The recent crypto sell-off also may have contributed to a wider GBTC discount. (Grayscale is a CoinDesk sister company.) Latest prices ● Bitcoin (BTC): $29,980, +5.17% ● Ether (ETH): $2,057, +6.60% ● S&P 500 daily close: $4,024, +2.39% ● Gold: $1,808 per troy ounce, −0.88% ● Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.94% Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found at coindesk.com/indices. Crypto outflows Fewer crypto traders sought refuge in stablecoins during the recent market sell-off. That suggests investors are starting to exit crypto markets. Story continues The chart below, provided by Glassnode, shows the 30-day change in aggregate stablecoin supply (blue) alongside the contribution by stablecoin USDC (red). Since last May, USDC has been a significant contributor to total stablecoin supply growth. Recently, however, USDC has been the primary stablecoin asset experiencing redemption. Stablecoin supply contraction signals a degree of net capital outflow from the cryptocurrency industry at large, according to Glassnode. "Overall, there are a number of signals of net weakness in the space, many of which indicate that risk-off sentiment remains the core market position at this time," Glassnode wrote in a blog post . Stablecoin supply change (Glassnode) Interestingly, Tether's USDT has seen its supply continue to expand over the same period of USDC outflows. But since the start of April the aggregate stablecoin supply has plateaued. It remains to be seen if trust in stablecoins will return following Terra's faulty experiment using algorithms. Some stablecoin issuers have assured market participants that not all stablecoins are the same (some are backed by cash-like instruments, while others try to maintain their value based on an algorithm that balances the stablecoin with a partner token). But recent episodes have exposed instability in the so-called stable corner of the crypto universe. Limited upside ahead For now, cryptos could face additional volatility ahead, which could keep some buyers on the sidelines (in stablecoins or cash). Despite the recent price bounce, bitcoin's forward returns following a peak-to-trough decline of 55% or more tend to be flat or negative over the following six months, according to Delphi Digital. Bitcoin drawdown forward returns (Delphi Digital) Altcoin roundup LUNA exchange-traded product issuances halted: VanEck, Valour and 21Shares, all of which offer LUNA -related exchanged-traded products (ETP) in Europe, suspended issuing shares, citing the network’s recent issues, which include two complete shutdowns of the purportedly decentralized network . All three products lost close to 100% this week. Read more here . Do Kwon’s Terra revival plan: A “Revival Plan” was submitted Friday by the Terraform Labs CEO. It's essentially a restart of the entire Terra blockchain, with network ownership getting distributed entirely to UST and LUNA holders through one billion new tokens. The plan comes as Terra’s terraUSD ( UST ) stablecoin , which is supposed to be pegged to the price of $1, “death spiraled” below 15 cents this week – wiping out over $30 billion in value. Read more here . ADA price jump: Cardano’s ADA token jumped as much as 40% over the past 24 hours, leading gains among the biggest cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency is still down by 82% from its all-time high of $3.10, achieved in September of last year. Some analysts have attributed recent gains to a short-squeeze rally, which occurs when a large number of short sellers exit their positions. Relevant insight Listen 🎧: With crypto markets trading in the green after a deep slump, the CoinDesk Markets Daily podcast team takes a look at how one of crypto’s most ardent critics is now building something like a blockchain. Coinbase, MicroStrategy and Other Crypto Stocks Finally See Some Relief After Recent Losses : Shares of many crypto-related stocks had been battered during the week. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Discount Widens to All-Time Low of 30.79% : The fund is one of the few ways for stock traders in the U.S. to gain exposure to the price movements of bitcoin. Nomura Starts Trading Crypto Derivatives, Joining Rivals Goldman, JPMorgan : Nomura carried out bitcoin futures and options trades with derivatives exchange CME Group (CME) and crypto market maker Cumberland DRW. Elon Musk Says He's Committed to Twitter Deal After Putting It on Hold : The landmark deal under which Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk buys Twitter (TWTR) and takes it private hit a stumbling block after Musk said he wants to verify the number of fake accounts. Galaxy Digital Sees Quarter-to-Date Loss of $300M : The Mike Novogratz-led firm said it has a liquidity position of around $1.6 billion, split 50-50 between cash and net digital assets. Other markets Most digital assets in the CoinDesk 20 ended the day higher. Biggest Gainers Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Internet Computer ICP +23.0% Computing Polkadot DOT +21.6% Smart Contract Platform Solana SOL +14.3% Smart Contract Platform Biggest Losers There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Sector classifications are provided via the Digital Asset Classification Standard (DACS) , developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. The CoinDesk 20 is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. || GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares edge up from near two-year lows as U.S. inflation data looms: By Alun John
HONG KONG, May 11 (Reuters) - Asian shares squeezed higher on Wednesday from close to two-year lows hit in the previous session while the dollar held steady, ahead of keenly awaited U.S. inflation data that will offer a guide to how aggressively the Federal Reserve will raise rates.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.8%, having fallen to its lowest since July 2020 the day before. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.3%.
European markets also were set to open higher, with EUROSTOXX 50 futures up 0.7%. Nasdaq futures added 0.8% and S&P 500 futures gained 0.4%.
Chinese blue chips led Asia's gains, rising 2% helped by Shanghai officials saying half the city had achieved "zero COVID" status, and U.S. President Joe Biden saying he was considering eliminating Trump era tariffs on China as a way to lower prices for goods in the United States.
But, "the main factor for markets right now is inflation, inflation, inflation," said Carlos Casanova, senior Asia economist at UBP.
"Indian inflation was higher this week, Chinese inflation was higher than expected today, and everyone is concerned about U.S. inflation and the possibility of recession in the U.S., which rises with every rate hike," he said.
Chinese data released earlier on Wednesday showed consumer prices gained 2.1% from a year earlier, above expectations and the fastest pace in five months, partly due to food prices.
Factory-gate inflation, while also above expectations, eased to a one-year low.
U.S. consumer price data, due at 1230 GMT, could give an indication of whether the Fed will raise rates even more aggressively to combat inflation.
The Fed last week raised its target for overnight bank-to-bank lending by a half a percentage point, and Chair Jerome Powell said two more such hikes are likely at the U.S. central bank's coming policy meetings.
There has also been speculation in markets the Fed will need to go in for a massive 75 basis point hike at one meeting.
Aggressive tightening has sent U.S. Treasury yields higher, and supported the dollar.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six main peers, was steady at 103.79, not far from the high of 104.49 reached at the start of the week is highest since December 2002.
"The dollar's reaction to the CPI will be asymmetrical in our view," said CBA analysts in a note.
"A positive surprise will encourage markets to increase pricing for a 75pt increase in the Funds rate later in the year and support the dollar, while a negative surprise will keep pricing for 50bp increases in June and July intact and leave the dollar steady."
Analysts expect the U.S. consumer price index to show a sharp pullback in monthly growth, cooling to 0.2% in April from 1.2% in March.
They also predict an annual increase of 8.1%, 0.4 percentage point lower than the prior 8.5%, which was the hottest reading since December 1981.
U.S. Treasuries were also quiet ahead of the data. The benchmark 10-year note yield was little changed at 2.9774%, having fallen from a three-year high hit Monday.
On the front end of the curve, the U.S. two-year yield, which often reflects the Fed rate outlook, was steady at 2.6228%
Bitcoin was trading around $31,700, having staged a small recovery after falling below $30,000 on Tuesday for the first time since July 2021.
Oil bounced back from declines the previous day as markets try to balance concerns that China's zero COVID policy will impact demand and that a proposed European Union ban on Russian oil will hit supply.
U.S. crude rose 2.36% to $102.08 a barrel, having fallen below $100 on Tuesday for the first time this month. Brent rose 2.34% to $104.85.
Spot gold as steady at to $1838.7 an ounce.
($1 = 6.7338 yuan)
(Reporting by Alun John; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kim Coghill) || Market Wrap: Bitcoin Declines, Resisting Seasonal Norm; Altcoins Mixed: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Bitcoin (BTC) drifted lower on Wednesday, paring more than half its relief bounce over the past few days. The cryptocurrency reached a low of around $29,880 during the New York trading day.
Most alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) declined alongside BTC on Wednesday. For example, Solana'sSOLtoken declined by 10% over the past 24 hours, compared with a 4% decline in BTC over the same period.GALAandADAwere down by 7% on Wednesday.
Stocks were also lower on Wednesday while gold and the 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher.
Just launched! Please sign up for our dailyMarket Wrapnewsletter explaining what happens in crypto markets – and why.
Meanwhile,WAVESoutperformed most cryptos with a 21% rally over the past 24 hours. “We have to work on the algorithm” after several depeggings from the dollar, Sasha Ivanov said on CoinDesk TV’s“First Mover”program on Wednesday.
●Bitcoin(BTC): $30,115,−4.76%
●Ether(ETH): $1,820,−5.83%
●S&P 500 daily close: 4,101,−0.75%
●Gold: $1,851 per troy ounce,+0.45%
●Ten-year Treasury yield daily close: 2.93%
Bitcoin, ether and gold prices are taken at approximately 4pm New York time. Bitcoin is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX); Ether is the CoinDesk Ether Price Index (ETX); Gold is the COMEX spot price. Information about CoinDesk Indices can be found atcoindesk.com/indices.
May was a tough month for both stocks and cryptos. It appears that macroeconomic uncertainty has kept some buyers on the sidelines, which benefitted gold and other commodities so far this year.
During the final week of May, bitcoin and stocks experienced a brief relief bounce, which paused the broader downtrend in prices. Trading conditions have been choppy this year, but the overall theme remainsrisk-off.
In the crypto market, bitcoin declined by less than other tokens in the CoinDesk 20 list last month. That suggests a lower appetite for risk among crypto traders. Typically, bitcoin declines by less than altcoins in a down market because of its lower risk profile.
MATIC,SHIB,SOLandAVAXdeclined by more than 40% last month and are down by more than 60% year to date.
On average, over the past nine years, bitcoin has produced a positive return in June. Over the following three months, however, the odds of a strong return diminish.
Bitcoin's negative return in May was outside of its seasonal norm, which means current market conditions are different compared with the past nine years. For example, rising interest rates, high inflation and geopolitical risks have weighed on all speculative assets this year.
• Polygon props up KYC:Ethereum scaling system Polygon is increasing its know-your-customer (KYC) checks for potential investments and grants in India, a source told CoinDesk. Developers in India have recently been talking about the difficulty of acquiring funding or investment from Polygon. This comes amid the Indian government'sincreased scrutinyon digital assets and crypto firms.Read more here.
• Waves to tweak algo for its stablecoin:The algorithm powering the Waves protocol’s neutrino USD (USDN) stablecoin is in need of adjustments following two recent depeggings from the U.S. dollar, said founder Sasha Ivanov on CoinDesk TV. USDN has similarities in design to Terra’s UST, whichcollapsedin May. Waves (WAVES) token gained 21% in the last 24 hours.Read more here.
• Optimism airdrop came early:Ethereum scaling systemOptimism’shotly anticipatedairdropis expected to officiallygo liveon Tuesday, but some users have already been able to claim OP tokens. The Optimism team was still in the process of testing the airdrop functionality. A team member said to CoinDesk that rogue centralized changes got out ahead of the official announcement.Read more here.
• US Charges Ex-OpenSea Exec With NFT Insider Trading: Department of Justice officials say it's the first time they've pursued an "insider trading" charge in digital assets.
• Crypto Banking Rules Now Due This Year From Basel Committee: The group cited recent turmoil in pushing ahead with its plans, which previously saw opposition from major lenders including JPMorgan Chase.
• Crypto Exchanges Should Lose Licenses for Laundering Breaches, EU Regulators Say: The advice comes as legislators reach the closing stages of the landmark crypto MiCA law.
• Tech Experts Lobby Washington Criticizing Crypto, Blockchain: A letter from 26 technologists refers to crypto as risky, flawed and unproven.
• South Korean Government to Form Digital Assets Committee in Response to Terra Collapse: The committee will provide criteria for the listing of coins by exchanges, introduce investor protections and monitor unfair trading.
• Zcash’s NU5 Upgrade Goes Live, Boosting Privacy and Removing ‘Trusted Setups’: The privacy coin now allows transactions that are shielded by default, so users no longer have to opt in to hide payment details on the blockchain.
• Binance-Supported Deal for Forbes to Go Public Via SPAC Is Called Off: Binance had invested $200 million in Forbes earlier this year as part of the plan.
• DeFi Ledgers Can Help Regulators Oversee Sector, BIS Official Says: A new BIS working paper makes a case for "embedded supervision" that argues regulatory oversight can be built into seemingly untamable decentralized finance systems.
• Gary Vaynerchuk Files Trademark for ‘Vayner3’ NFT Consulting Arm: The firm could add to Vaynerchuk’s already influential presence in the NFT space.
Most digital assets in the CoinDesk 20 ended the day lower.
There are no gainers in CoinDesk 20 today.
[{"Asset": "Solana", "Ticker": "SOL", "Returns": "\u22129.4%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Polygon", "Ticker": "MATIC", "Returns": "\u22127.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Cardano", "Ticker": "ADA", "Returns": "\u22127.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}]
Sector classifications are provided via theDigital Asset Classification Standard (DACS), developed by CoinDesk Indices to provide a reliable, comprehensive and standardized classification system for digital assets. TheCoinDesk 20is a ranking of the largest digital assets by volume on trusted exchanges. || US stocks slip in volatile session as Powell addresses lawmakers on rate hikes and forecast for the economy: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during his re-nomination hearing in January 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Reuters US stocks closed lower after volatile trading following Fed Chair Powell's testimony to lawmakers. The Fed isn't trying to pull the US economy into a recession as it battles inflation, he told the Senate Banking Committee. Powell will appear Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee. US stocks fell Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell aimed to quell investor anxiety about a potential recession as the policy makers work to bring down scorching inflation through jacking up the cost of borrowing money. The S&P 500 was on track for its third straight win before turning lower as the session came to a close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite also closed lower after turning higher earlier in the day. Stocks were on edge as investors considered a recent pile up of warnings from Wall Street banks and market luminaries about a looming economic contraction on the back of the Fed's aggressive rate-hike cycle. Powell at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Wednesday told lawmakers the central bank's key goal is to pull down inflation rates. Inflation in May reached 8.6%. "We're not trying to provoke, and don't think that we will need to provoke, a recession," Powell said. However, it's essential that the Fed restores price stability, he said. The world's largest economy is "well-positioned" to take on higher interest rates, he said. The Fed this month extended rate hikes to include a move up of 75 basis points, the biggest increase since 1994. Powell will appear Thursday before the House Financial Services Committee. Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday: S&P 500 : 3,759.89, down 0.13% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 30,483.13, down 0.15% (47.12 points) Nasdaq Composite : 11,053.08, down 0.15% Around the markets, Altria plunged after a report from the Wall Street Journal that the FDA will ban Juul vaping products from the US market . Russia exported gold to Switzerland for the first time since launching its war against Ukraine as some buyers soften on self-sanctioning . Story continues Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 3.3% to $105.91 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, shed 0.3% at $111.39 but pared a larger loss. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax to ease the pressure of spiking prices at the pump. Gold edged up 0.1 % to $1,840 per ounce. The 10-year yield fell 13 basis points to 3.16%. Bitcoin gave up 3.4% at $20,134.10. Read the original article on Business Insider || Dogecoin’s Huge Drop Provides a Value Buying Opportunity: Dogecoin ( DOGE-USD ) has fallen from its recent market capitalization of $22.94 billion on April 4 The recent decline should prompt investors to buy Dogecoin Expect Dogecoin to shoot back up to a normal range once the market stabilizes Concept art for Dogecoin (DOGE). Source: Shutterstock Dogecoin ( DOGE-USD ) is now the 10th largest cryptocurrency, according to Coinmarketcap . It has a market value of more than $11.5 billion. However, recently Dogecoin has taken a big hit. In the last month alone it has fallen over 35% from 14.26 cents to below 10 cents (8.6 cents) as of May 16. This provides investors with a huge bargain buying opportunity. As a result, investors have the ability to buy in at a level that has not been seen since over a year ago in April 2021. That was when it was trading below 10 cents around 6.5 cents per DOGE crypto token. Undoubtedly Dogecoin has been hit hard along with almost all other cryptos due to the sudden decline of the stablecoin UST or TerraUSD, and the Luna token. They have lost almost all their value. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips As a result, all cryptos have taken a deep dive. It also didn’t help that Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN ), the largest crypto exchange has lost almost 48% of its value in the last 10 days since May 4. That was when it was trading at $130.15 and by Sunday, May 15, it was down to $67.87 per share. DOGE-USD Dogecoin $0.0869 Market Capitalization Declines Moreover, the largest crypto of them all, Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) has fallen 22.8% in the last month alone. It has dropped from $40,414, down to $29,518 as of May 15. The 7 Best Energy Stocks to Buy Now In fact, Bitcoin’s market cap has a recent peak of $812 billion as of April 21 , down to $593.4 billion today. That works out to a loss of over $219 billion for the largest cryptocurrency. So no wonder Dogecoin has fallen from a recent peak market cap of $22.94 billion on April 4, down to $11.5 billion as of May 16. That is a loss of $10.64 billion or over 46% in a little over one month. Story continues That is the kind of decline that observant value investors can take advantage of. It is almost the definition of ” blood in the street” opportunities for these kinds of buyers. And it may not last long. Once the market starts to show a slight indication of stabilizing, Dogecoin will shoot back up to a more normal range. In fact, the “whales” seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Newsbtc.com reports that the @DogeWhaleAlert account, a monitor of large Dogecoin transfers, has discovered two recent large transactions. They totaled more than 100 million Dogecoins, which at today’s price would be close to $9.3 million. In fact, at the time the two transactions were worth $8,497,274 and $11,625,997, respectively. The second transaction was recorded on Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD ). Where This Leaves Investors in Dogecoin Cryptos are not like stocks. They don’t have fundamental metrics relating to cash flow, balance sheet equity, or even dividends and dividend yield. This means that investors have to rely on relative measures like performance, or non-direct measures of value such as numbers of digital wallets. For example, anyone can read the chart that Dogecoin has produced over the past year and a half. For example, from February 2021 to April 2021, the crypto was treaded water between four and six cents per DOGE crypto token. After this is when the cryptocurrency took off like a rocket. Correlation with Bitcoin So one might assume if the currency eventually falls a little further to around six to seven cents it could be a super buying opportunity. But, just in case, investors should begin averaging down into the crypto right now, assuming that it could spring back sometime soon once conditions warrant. For example, some investors say that Bitcoin could begin a move back to $34,000 over the next week or so. If that happens, then Dogecoin is likely to follow suit as well. The fundamental reason for that is there is a high correlation between the price of Dogecoin and Bitcoin’s price movements. In the stock market, this is called having a high “beta.” The beta between Dogecoin and Bitcoin is probably north of 90%, although it has not been measured consistently. One study shows that it is around 0.65. This means that Dogecoin will move 65% of the way Bitcoin does, up or down. The problem is this is an average. At extreme points, the correlation is likely to be even higher, closer to 0.90. That is a good enough reason to begin buying into DOGE crypto now, even if it might slowly move lower. On the date of publication, Mark Hake did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Dogecoin’s Huge Drop Provides a Value Buying Opportunity appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Bitcoin (BTC) Ends at $30,000 but Extends Its Worst Losing Streak: • On Sunday, bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.90% to end the week down by 3.30%, an eighth consecutive weekly loss.
• Weekend support reduced the deficit for the week, while the threat of an imminent regulatory overhaul left BTC under pressure.
• Bitcoin (BTC) technical indicators flash red, with bitcoin sitting below the 100-day EMA.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.90% on Sunday. Following a 0.84% gain on Saturday, bitcoin ended the week down by 3.30% to $30,264. The upside over the weekend came despite the recent increase in regulatory scrutiny.
A quiet weekend on the crypto news wires provided bitcoin and the broader market with much-needed respite.
Last week, investor sentiment toward a likely crypto regulatory overhaul added to the market angst. With investors fretting over Fed monetary policy and the threat of a recession, increase regulatory scrutiny may be the least of their worries, however.
For some investors, the collapse of TerraUSD (UST) and Terra LUNA may even justify the need for increased regulatory oversight.
This morning, the Fear & Greed Index fell from 14/100 to 10/100. The fall deeper into the Extreme Zone came despite bitcoin’s return to $30,000 levels.
Based on the trend, the pullback suggests a bearish start to the week, with several drivers, including regulatory scrutiny, currently in play and bearish for bitcoin and the broader crypto market.
A bullish start to the week for the US equity markets delivered early support, however. At the time of writing, the NASDAQ 100 mini was up 121.75 points.
At the time of writing, BTC was down 0.07% to $30,242.
BTC will need to avoid the $29,977pivotto target the First Major Resistance Level at $30,735.
BTC would need the broader crypto market to support a breakout from $30,500.
An extended rally would test the Second Major Resistance Level at $31,214 and resistance at $32,000. The Third Major Resistance Level sits at $32,447.
A fall through the pivot would test the First Major Support Level at $29,509. Barring an extended sell-off, BTC should steer clear of sub-$28,000 levels. The Second Major Support Level at $28,747 should limit the downside.
Looking at theEMAsand the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it is a bearish signal. This morning, BTC sits below the 100-day EMA at $31,364. The 50-day narrowed to the 100-day EMA. The 100-day EMA fell back from the 200-day EMA, however, BTC negative.
A move through the 100-day EMA to $31,500 would support a breakout session. By contrast, a fall through the 50-day EMA would bring support levels into play.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Australia’s new government: What you need to know || Bitcoin nears MicroStrategy 'margin call' price: SINGAPORE, June 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin neared a price level on Tuesday that could force software firm MicroStrategy Inc to stake more tokens against a bitcoin-backed loan or trigger selling of some of its vast holdings, setting fragile cryptocurrency markets on edge.
MictroStrategy, an aggressive investor in bitcoin, said it borrowed $205 million from crypto bank Silvergate Capital in March, with the three-year loan mostly secured against some 19,466 bitcoins.
If the bitcoin price dropped below about $21,000 that would trigger a "margin call" or a demand for extra capital, MicroStrategy President Phong Le said in webcast in May.
Bitcoin fell below that level to $20,816.36 on Tuesday before steadying near $23,000. Typically a margin call is met by providing more capital or liquidating the loan's collateral.
It was unclear if the price moves had any consequences for MicroStrategy, or if the firm already provided more bitcoin or cash to secure the loan. The company did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside business hours.
Silvergate did not immediately respond to a request for comment also emailed outside business hours.
MicroStrategy's Le in May said the firm had 95,643 "unencumbered bitcoin" that it could use as extra collateral.
"We could contribute more bitcoin to the collateral package, so ... we don't get into a situation of a margin call," he had said.
Nevertheless the situation - even if it does not result in MicroStrategy selling anything - was enough to keep the mood nervous in jittery cryptocurrency markets.
Bitcoin has fallen about 40% in six weeks. MicroStrategy shares fell 25% on Monday and Silvergate shares dropped 17% as fear of rising interest rates hit risky asset prices.
In March, MicroStrategy said it intended to use the loan's proceeds to buy more bitcoin, among other purposes.
(Reporting by Tom Westbrook.)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: down || Prices: 21231.66, 21502.34, 21027.29, 20735.48, 20280.63, 20104.02, 19784.73, 19269.37, 19242.26, 19297.08
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2020-01-15]
BTC Price: 8807.01, BTC RSI: 71.30
Gold Price: 1552.10, Gold RSI: 65.37
Oil Price: 57.81, Oil RSI: 38.51
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
How easy is it for hackers to steal your cryptocurrency?: The cryptocurrency industry is unfortunately rife with scams and hackers looking to steal your hard-earned crypto coins. A variety of tactics are used by hackers and their methods are improving every day. The most common strategies adopted by scammers include financial pyramid schemes, exchanges targeting exit scams, fake web and hardware wallets, and even Ponzi schemes. In order to better understand how hackers successfully steal your cryptocurrency , I will take an in-depth look at each method using real-life examples. Hopefully, by understanding how hackers operate and what red flags to look out for, youll be better prepared to fend them off and successfully protect your coins. In this article, Ill discuss Ponzi schemes, financial pyramid schemes, and fake web and hardware wallets. Ponzi schemes According to Investopedia , Ponzi schemes (or scams) are based on fraudulent investment management services. Investors typically contribute money to the portfolio manager who promises them a high return. Afterwards, when those investors want their money back, they are paid out with the incoming funds contributed by later investors. The person organising this type of fraud is in charge of controlling the entire operation they merely transfer funds from one client to another and forgo any real investment activities. One of the biggest Ponzi schemes in crypto one that currently keeps adding selling pressure to Bitcoin is the Plus Token scam. Plus Token was a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme disguised as a high-yield investment program. Platform administrators closed down the operation in June 2019 after withdrawing over $3 billion in stolen cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and EOS. A report by Chainalysis, a US-based blockchain analysis company, claims Plus Token was one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever and was potentially responsible for the 2019 downturn in BTC price. Story continues The report claims that there are still at least 20,000 BTC and 790,000 ETH missing which could be dumped on the market at any time. Financial pyramid schemes A financial pyramid scheme is structured so that the initial schemer must recruit other investors who will continue to recruit other investors, and those investors will then continue to recruit additional investors, and so on. There will be an incentive that is presented as an investment opportunity, such as the right to sell a particular product or high earnings per recruit. Each investor pays the person who recruited them and so on. The recipient must share the proceeds with those in the higher levels of the pyramid structure. One key difference is that pyramid schemes are harder to prove than Ponzi schemes. They are also better protected because the legal teams behind corporations are much more powerful than those protecting an individual. Just recently in Brazil , a group called Bitcoin Banco (Bitcoin Bank) is alleged to have conducted a million dollar exit scam . The group was in charge of a great deal of exchanges in the country and promised set returns to investors who traded the exchange currency, Negociecoins. However, according to analysts, This profit did not exist because the company needs investor money to produce order book orders. Fake wallets One of the most common mistakes by junior cryptocurrency users is to fall prey to fake cryptocurrency web wallets and hardware wallets. Since some users trust Google and other search engines to look up websites, its quite easy to click on the wrong website. To avoid making this mistake, always check the website youre accessing is the real one. There are loads of fake URLs and GitHub repositories with the sole purpose of stealing your precious cryptocurrency. A simple solution is to save websites you visit often, like web wallets and exchanges, into your browser favourites list. That way, it will be near impossible to fall prey to fake URL hacks. Conclusion Before making any decisions about trading your cryptocurrency or investing in a new coin, make sure you complete thorough research. Keep on top of the latest news and trends as reports of scams begin to increase. Most of all, dont forget to apply everyday digital best practices to your activity. Cryptocurrency scams and vulnerabilities will continue to evolve as the industry grows and its your responsibility to stay protected. Safe trades! The post How easy is it for hackers to steal your cryptocurrency? appeared first on Coin Rivet . || The top 10 finance search terms in 2019 on Yahoo Search: The pound has fluctuated significantly over the past year. Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images 2019 has been a turbulent year for the British economy, from Brexit drama and a general election to stagnating growth and iconic firms hitting the wall. Some of that upheaval and uncertainty is reflected in the most-searched for finance terms by Yahoo Search users throughout the year. Here are the 10 most commonly searched terms: 10. Gold price Investors turn to perceived safe havens like gold when times are tough. There may be no yield, but the value of gold ( GC=F ) is less susceptible to market stress and interest rate decisions, providing a hedge against currency decline and inflation. With the trade row between the US and China gripping market attention for much of the year, gold’s fortunes have waxed and waned with the latest twists in the tariff war. 9. Universal credit Brexit may dominate the political agenda, but the UK government is also embarking on one of the biggest shakeups of Britain’s social security system in decades. Universal credit is gradually replacing six other benefits, rolling them into one payment for unemployed and low-income households alike. Some of the changes are complex and controversial and leave certain claimants worse-off, so high search traffic should come as no surprise. 8. Lloyds share price Lloyds is Britian's top retail bank. Photo: Dinendra Haria / SOPA Images/Sipa USA This reflects Lloyds’ ( LLOY.L ) status as one of Britain’s most-traded stocks. The UK’s biggest retail bank and mortgage lender, its UK-focused operations mean it is often seen as a convenient proxy for investors betting on or against the health of the wider UK economy. 7. House prices Property prices have continued to grow across much of Britain in recent years, but a slowdown has hit London and the south-east. Current and aspiring home-owners are often keen to keep track of the latest trends, not least as Brexit turmoil has spooked many would-be sellers and buyers alike. Rightmove is predicting prices will rise 2% in 2020. 6. Minimum wage The UK government increases the national minimum wage every year and rates vary for different age groups, meaning employees and employers both need to keep up to date with current entitlements. Story continues The minimum wage has also attracted significant political attention this year. Chancellor Sajid Javid pledged in October to raise it to two-thirds of median UK pay , while Labour promised an immediate hike from its current £8.21 rate to £10 an hour. 5. Bitcoin Bitcoin rallied after Facebook unveiled Libra. Photo: Chesnot/Getty Images The announcement of Facebook’s Libra project sparked renewed attention on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin this year. Rather than triggering competition fears from rivals, it boosted hopes that Facebook’s plans could lift the sector as a whole and prompted a rally in other cryptocurrencies. But a regulatory backlash and several major companies’ decisions to quit the project, including Visa and PayPal, have sown fresh doubts over its future. 4. Thomas Cook collapse The collapse of the world’s oldest travel firm earlier this year not only marked the end of an era, but also left more than a million people out of pocket. The UK government had to oversee the biggest peacetime repatriation effort in history, flying home 150,000 stranded customers. Staff told Yahoo Finance UK they feared for their homes, and many customers were still waiting for refunds for cancelled bookings from the authorities even after a 90-day deadline earlier this month. 3. London Stock Exchange The latest share price movements and announcements from Britain’s major listed companies naturally drew significant search traffic from readers in the business world. But the London Stock Exchange itself ( LSE.L ) also attracted significant attention after receiving and starkly rejecting a surprise £32bn takeover bid from Hong Kong in September. 2. Forex The pound’s fortunes against the dollar ( GBPUSD=X ) and euro ( GBPEUR=X ) have dovetailed with the latest Brexit developments. Investors have taken flight on the several occasions Britain has looked on course for a radical break with the EU , which would devastate trade ties. First Theresa May and then Boris Johnson took Britain close to the cliff-edge as prime ministers ahead of two Brexit deadlines that were eventually missed in 2019. 1. Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson drives a Union Jack-themed JCB in the election campaign. Photo: PA The B-word has dominated political debate in Britain for much of 2019, from the TV studios to family living rooms. While Brexit has bored some and frustrated others, it has clearly gripped the attention of large swathes of the country. With countless political, economic and other consequences that could be felt for decades to come, Brexit was the most searched-for finance term in 2019. || Yen Rises on Safe-Haven Buying, Surprises Drive Kiwi Higher, Aussie Lower: Risk sentiment over U.S.-China trade relations, central bank activity and economic data drove the price action in the Asia Pacific currencies last week. Uncertainty and mixed headlines over the progress of U.S.-China trade talks sent some investors into the safety of the Japanese Yen.
A surprise policy decision by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) spiked the Kiwi higher and weak employment data drove up the chances of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), drilling the Aussie Dollar lower.
Mixed comments about the status of trade talks between the United States and China encouraged some investors to seek shelter in the safe-haven Japanese Yen although U.S. stock market investors seemed to read the developments as bullish.
Last week, theUSD/JPYsettled at 108.785, down 0.458 or -0.42%.
Uncertainty over a trade deal wasn’t the only factor making the Japanese Yen an attractive asset, ongoing political turmoil in Hong Kong and weak data from Asia and Europe were also factors.
Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters paralyzed parts of the city for a fourth day on November 14, forcing schools to close and blocking highways, as students build campus barricades and the government dismissed rumors of a curfew. Earlier in the week, protests took a violent turn, heightening an already volatile situation days after a group of pro-democracy lawmakers was arrested in the city.
On the data front, China’s factory output growth slowed more than expected in October, Japan’s economy ground to a standstill in the third quarter and the German economy only narrowly avoided a recession in the third quarter. In Australia, weaker-than-expected employment data sent a signal that the recent rate cuts aren’t helping to revive the economy.
The Australian Dollar closed lower last week with most of the loss occurring on November 14 after the Australian 10-year government bond yield slumped to over a 1-week low after the country’s employment report for the month of October created a surprise disappointment among investors, as the jobless rate rose and the employment change slumped.
Last week, theAUD/USDsettled at .6821, down 0.0038 or -0.56%.
The 19,000 drop in employment in October was the largest decline in three years and well-below the Bloomberg median forecast of a rise of 15,000. Annual employment growth eased from 2.5 percent in September to 2.0 percent in October, the report added.
“Further, the unemployment rate bounced back from 5.2 percent to 5.3 percent and the only reason why it didn’t rise even more was that the participation rate fell for the second consecutive month. Our view is that the participation rate is more likely to rise in coming months adding further upward pressure on the unemployment rate,” Capital Economics further noted in the report.
The news has rekindled expectations the RBA will have to cut official rates. This drove the Australian Dollar sharply lower.
The New Zealand Dollar finished the week sharply higher after wholesale interest rates spiked after the Reserve Bank left its official cash rate (OCR) unchanged at 1 percent. Market expectations were weighted towards a rate cut at today’s monetary policy statement.
Last week, theNZD/USDsettled at .6402, up 0.0075 or +1.19%.
Analysts described the RBNZ’s decision as a surprise with several indicating the central bank’s new growth outlook still appears too rosy. The financial markets are now pricing in a February or May rate cut. To some, the market reaction showed the positioning ahead of the policy announcement was clearly the wrong way.
The RBNZ, in its statement, said further monetary stimulus would be added if needed. It said employment remained around its maximum sustainable level while inflation remained below the 2 percent target midpoint but within its target range.
“Economic developments since the August statement do not warrant a change to the already stimulatory monetary setting at this time,” it said.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Asia Pacific Shares Mixed: Violence Pressures Hang Seng, Weak Data Drives Shanghai, Nikkei Lower, Aussie Stocks Rise on Rate Cut Hopes || What the Crypto Markets Are Saying About the Future of Bitcoin: Bitcoin has been sliding amid a lack of capital inflows, raising questions about the future for bitcoin in the long-term. Some analysts argue the nascent market has a long way to go before reaching maturity, as seen in traditional markets, where smoothed volatility and liquidity are important factors. While others imply scarcity inherent in its algorithm is the main factor for bitcoin’s perceived value, now and in the future. A poll conducted by Alex Kruger, a macro cryptocurrency analyst, shows the majority of Crypto Twitter participants think bitcoin (BTC) will ‘eventually’ mature and settle into a wide price range, resembling the traditional commodities markets in real-terms. Related: Lebanese Bitcoiners Show How to Talk About Crypto At Thanksgiving To drive home what he meant, Kruger said “something that settles into a range in real terms still trends in nominal terms due to inflation, as most commodities do.” But timing is always the question and BTC could be faraway from that level of maturity, where it ‘settles’ into a defined range as the budding market of cryptocurrency moves into its 10th year. Willy Woo, a crypto on-chain analyst and trader, said the price of BTC still had some ways to go in discovering a price ceiling. “Anything between a [market capitalization] of $10 trillion to $100 trillion is fair game,” Woo said. Related: Bitcoin Is Looking at a Short-Term Bull Reversal if Prices Pass $7,400 BTC’s market capitalization, a measurement of total coins in circulation multiplied by its spot price, stands at $204.4 billion, down from its yearly peak of $233 billion witnessed June 27, according to information provided by Messari, a cryptocurrency data provider. Kruger said volatility is likely due to the lack of total capital in the space right now. As the market cap increases, the impact to BTC by large market participants, aptly named “whales”, is likely to be less impactful in shifting price. That is a sobering fact for retail investors as volatility tends to be the most attractive aspect to cryptocurrency trading. Story continues For institutional investors, it would be a welcome change. Nic Carter, Partner at Castle Island Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on public blockchains, said BTC resembles a commodity more than any other asset class, but also said that volatility isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “The lack of a supply response to a demand shock all but ensures it is likely to remain volatile for the foreseeable future,” Cater said. BTC’s halving , an event where the reward for mining new blocks is halved, meaning miners receive 50 percent fewer BTC for verifying transactions, is set to trigger on May 14, 2020. In macroeconomics, scarcity tends to be a fundamental driving force that increases the value of an asset, much the same way that diamonds, oil and gold functions based on the supply and demand from speculative investors. Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, CEO of BCB Group, a regulated financial services enterprise for digital assets, said Kruger’s second scenario, in which scarcity continues to drive prices higher is likely to remain a constant forever. He also said global cryptocurrency adoption was a long way from mainstream adoption but said the markets continue to march on, regardless of price. “I can tell you with great confidence that global adoption at established brands is growing steadily and purposefully,” Landsberg-Sadie said. How far along BTC’s market cycle is, is yet to be determined, but if traditional economics prove true, BTC could be highly valued in the very near future. Disclosure: This author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing. Related Stories Charities Put a Bitcoin Twist on Giving Tuesday Keep Calm and HODL On? 3 Reasons to Look Past Bitcoin’s Price Rout || China Crypto Crackdown Elicits Binance, Tron Weibo Appeal: (Bloomberg) -- Crypto giants Binance Holdings Ltd. and Tron have been banned on Chinas largest micro-blogging service amid what appears to be fresh steps to crack down on digital currency trading. The official accounts of exchange operator Binance and blockchain platform Tron were suspended by Twitter-like Weibo last week. At the same time watchdogs in Shanghai issued notices calling for a cleanup of companies involved in cryptocurrency trading, while one in Beijing warned against illegal exchange operations. The latest crackdown came after President Xi Jinping urged faster development of blockchain last month, hailing it as one of the core technologies requiring China-led innovations. Xis remarks spurred companies to jump on the blockchain bandwagon to drive share prices. State media have warned against the frenzy. The Shanghai headquarters of Chinas central bank and the citys financial regulator said in a notice they co-signed on Nov. 14 that local government agencies should work with any companies under their supervision that are tied to cryptocurrency to exit such business immediately, Bloomberg News has reported. A Binance spokeswoman said Monday that Weibo suspended the exchanges account last Wednesday, before the notice was issued, adding that the social media platform didnt give a reason. Binance is appealing the decision, she said. Tron founder Justin Sun told Bloomberg on Monday that he doesnt think the Weibo account shutdown is related to the government notice. Tron is working to restore the account. Weibo didnt respond to requests for comment. In the notice, the Shanghai regulators cited an order from Chinas top internet-finance watchdog, which they said is concerned about the resurgence of speculative bubbles after the recent promotion of the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. A representative with the Shanghai branch of the Peoples Bank of China confirmed the authenticity of the notice, which has been circulating online, but referred to the citys financial-stability office for comment. Calls to that office went unanswered. Story continues A separate announcement, published on the website of Beijings financial regulator on the same day, warned against the risks of illegal operations of financial-asset exchanges in the capital -- but didnt cite crypto specifically. Bitcoin fell 0.3% on Tuesday to $8,191 as of 8:08 a.m. Hong Kong time, dropping a fifth straight day amid concern about Chinas restrictions. Read more: From Pigs to Party Fealty, China Harnesses Blockchain Power While China is an avid supporter of blockchain -- the central bank is working on its own digital currency -- authorities have waged a two-year campaign to restrain crypto activities amid concerns like speculation, fraud and capital flight. In 2017, China ordered an end to exchange trading of digital currencies, but trades are still rampant through alternatives like over-the-counter channels offered by exchanges Huobi and OKEx. Malta-based Binance also recently started to host OTC yuan trading. We want to follow the recommendations very closely, and we want to promote the blockchain research and development, Binance Founder and Chief Executive Officer CZ Zhao Changpeng told Bloomberg Television last week about its China strategy. We just want to help where we can. Zhao said Binance doesnt have an office in Beijing, following a recent report from industry publication CoinDesk that its planning to open one that cited two unnamed sources. The Binance spokeswoman said Monday that the exchange doesnt have fixed operations in mainland China at the moment. As for Tron, its controversial Chinese founder apologized in July for excessively promoting his charity lunch with Warren Buffett, noting it raised concerns among authorities. The lunch that Sun had won with a more than $4.6 million bid at auction was delayed and still appears not to have been rescheduled. (Updates Bitcoin level in 10th paragraph.) --With assistance from Joanna Ossinger. To contact the reporter on this story: Zheping Huang in Hong Kong at zhuang245@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joanna Ossinger at jossinger@bloomberg.net, Colum Murphy, Dave Liedtka For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com ©2019 Bloomberg L.P. || Bitcoin: A Drop Below $8,000 Opens the Doors Toward $5,000: The round level at $8,000 is an important psychological support factor. We saw a strengthening of buys asBitcoinapproached this mark by the end of the Monday. However, Bitcoin’s position has been worsening since this morning. Almost immediately below this mark – around $7,900 – there is a 200-day simple moving average. This is an important signal level, which has stopped the sell-offs several times before. The last time we saw this was in October, and in April, when Bitcoin started its rally from 5K to 14K after almost a month of a sideways trend.
So, if Bitcoin can’t withstand bear pressure at $8K, we can expect a very sharp dive with the nearest important stop at $5,000. A sharp decline of Bitcoin couldn’t but pull the rest of the crypto market. Over the last day, the total capitalization slipped by $9bn. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) became the record-breaker on the decline, losing 7.5% on the previous day. Other altcoins from TOP-10 lose less. However, all are confidently in a red zone. Waves of “desperate sell-offs” of altcoins (when the investor fixes huge losses) will intensify with the further drawdown of alternative cryptocurrencies, as the current price levels for many coins are significantly lower than any psychological levels.
Some well-known analysts predict the growth of the benchmark cryptocurrency up to $25K, but we are talking about 2022, so such forecasts do not cause any excitement. What if the summer growth to $14K was a rally in the bear market? There are suggestions that the “pump” may be associated with the rise of positions before halving, and if it is true, then in the medium term BTC may be caught in a “depressive sideways trend”. We are talking about successive sideways trends when almost each of them ends with a decline.
From the beginning of 2020, investors will be waiting for growth based on halving, which will support the price of Bitcoin, but if, as the event approaches, everyone begins to realize that “the best is in the past”, it may lead to a new large-scale sale. This would be the worst medium-term forecast for Bitcoin, but this scenario cannot be ruled out. 2019 gave the market new hope, but judging by the fact that Litecoin was bought long before halving, and initiated a sale a few months before halving, in the case of Bitcoin, this period could be much more significant.
This article was written byFxPro
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• USD/JPY Price Forecast – US Dollar All Over The Place Against Japanese Yen || Bitcoin Cash ABC, EOS and Ethereum Daily Tech Analysis 15/12/19: Bitcoin Cash ABC Bitcoin Cash ABC slid by 2.22% on Saturday. Reversing a 1.88% gain from Friday, Bitcoin Cash ABC ended the day at $205.92. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin Cash ABC rally to an early morning intraday high $212.75 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $213.94, Bitcoin Cash ABC slid to a late intraday low $205.09. The sell-off saw Bitcoin Cash ABC fall through the first major support level at $207.01. At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash ABC was down by 0.40% to $205.09. Bitcoin Cash ABC eased back from Saturdays end of the day $205.92. Bitcoin Cash ABC left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. For the Day Ahead A move through to $208 levels would support a run at the first major resistance level at $210.75. Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break back through to $210 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely pin Bitcoin Cash ABC back on the day. Failure to move through to $208 levels could see Bitcoin Cash ABC struggle through the day. A fall back through to $204 levels would bring the first major support level at $203.09 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin Cash ABC should steer clear of sub-$200 levels. The second major support level at $200.26 should limit any downside. Looking at the Technical Indicators Major Support Level: $203.09 Major Resistance Level: $210.75 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $269 38% FIB Retracement Level: $316 62% FIB Retracement Level: $393 EOS EOS slid by 2.04% on Saturday. Reversing a 1.4% gain from Friday, EOS ended the day at $2.5783. A bullish start to the day saw EOS rise to an early morning intraday high $2.6389 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $2.6628, EOS slid to a late afternoon intraday low $2.5570. The reversal saw EOS fall through the first major support level at $2.5908 before finding support. Story continues In spite of a partial recovery late on, however, EOS failed to break back through the first major support level. At the time of writing, EOS was down by 0.43% to $2.5672. A bearish start to the day saw EOS slide from an early morning high $2.5791 to an early morning low $2.5464. In spite of the early moves, however, EOS left the major support and resistance levels untested. For the day ahead EOS would need to move through to $2.59 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $2.6256. The broader market would need to provide support, however, for EOS to break back through to $2.60 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rebound, resistance at $2.60 would likely pin EOS back on the day. Failure to move through to $2.59 levels could see EOS take another slide on the day. A fall back through the early morning low $2.5464 would bring the first major support level at $2.5437 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, EOS should steer well clear of the second major support level at $2.5094. Looking at the Technical Indicators Major Support Level: $2.5437 Major Resistance Level: $2.6256 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $6.62 38% FIB Retracement Level: $9.76 62% FIB Retracement Level: $14.82 Ethereum Ethereum fell by 2.05% on Saturday. Following a flat Friday, Ethereum ended the day at $141.73. Tracking the broader market, Ethereum rose to an early morning intraday high $145.03 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $145.63, Ethereum slid to a late afternoon intraday low $141.11. Ethereum fell through the first major support level at $143.26 and the second major support level at $141.83. A recovery to $142 levels was brief, with Ethereum falling back through the second major support level in the final hour. At the time of writing, Ethereum was down by 0.54% to $140.97. A bearish start to the day saw Ethereum slide from an early morning high $141.90 to a low $139.80. Steering clear of the major resistance levels, Ethereum fell through the first major support level at $140.22 before finding support. For the day ahead Ethereum would need to move through to $142.60 level to support a run at the first major resistance level at $144.14. Support from the broader market will be needed, however, for Ethereum to break back through to $143 levels. Barring a broad-based crypto rally on the day, the first major resistance level would likely pin Ethereum back from $145 levels. Failure to move through to $142.60 levels could see Ethereum take another hit on the day. A fall back through the first major support level at $140.22 would bring the second major support level at $138.70 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, however, Ethereum should steer clear of sub-$139 levels on the day. Looking at the Technical Indicators Major Support Level: $140.22 Major Resistance Level: $144.14 23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257 38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367 62% FIB Retracement Level: $543 Please let us know what you think in the comments below . Thanks, Bob This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast Natural Gas Markets Recover For The Week E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis Close Under 8465.25 Forms Potentially Bearish Closing Price Reversal Top Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast Crude Oil Markets Pressing Resistance S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast Stock Markets Continue To Power Higher Gold Weekly Price Forecast Gold Markets Run Into Resistance Gold Price Prediction Prices Trade Sideways Following Trade Deal Announcement || Bitcoin is creating a better future for human rights defenders, says Human Rights Foundation CSO Alex Gladstein: In a recent episode of The Scoop, Chief Strategy Officer of the Human Rights Foundation, Alex Gladstein, discussed the ongoing protests in Hong Kong and how bitcoin could potentially transform the urban protesting environment. Gladstein joined the Human Rights Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit charity, in 2007 and has been working to address human rights violations in countries from Russia to Venezuela. He said his experience on the ground has convinced him that Bitcoin could exert a larger impact on the human rights scene than previously envisioned. Something that is going to decentralize the means of production of money and access to money will be remarkably powerful, especially as we move into a more cashless future where all money will be electronic, he told The Block. He used Hong Kongs ongoing protests against Chinas extradition bill as an example. Student protesters, he said, used prepaid cards to make purchases, rather than their normal payment cards to conceal their identities from employers and government agencies. They were lining up in these big queues to use cash to buy one-time use top up cards, he said. And it struck me as a really powerful reminder of the essential nature of cash in our ability to protest in an urban environment and hold our government accountable. But in 15 to 20 years, when cash becomes extinct, how will these people fight for their rights without exposing who they are? For Gladstein, the answer is clear: "We need a digital version of cash like Bitcoin" - a form of payment that is censorship-resistant and could afford human rights defenders the privacy they need to hold their governments accountable. Gladstein recognized that Bitcoin is not a cure-all. Whether the power of digital currencies will be used for the good or the bad is still unclear. One the one hand, he said, digital assets could help decentralize power and promote access to information and resources. On the other hand, however, Gladstein worries that digital assets could take a controllable form and betray citizens private information to surveillance states. Story continues But Gladstein remains optimistic about the future. At the end of the day, I do believe that financial privacy is essential for a healthy democracy, he said. I do very much believe it will be a better society. Listen to the entire episode, here. || The Repo Market Is So Broken That The Fed Wants To Change It: Illiquidity in the U.S. repo market spooked investors in the second half of 2019, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is considering a major policy change that could help remedy the situation. However, the potential changes could come with some major political fallout. What Is The Repo Market? The term “repo” is short for repurchase agreement. Repo loans are overnight loans taken out by small banks and hedge funds that are repaid the following day. These banks and hedge funds use low-risk securities, such as U.S. Treasury bonds, as collateral for the loans. Liquidity in the U.S. repo market dropped back in September, and the Fed was forced to step in for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008. The Potential Fix The Fed is reportedly considering completely overhauling the current repo market and instead begin allowing the repo market clearinghouse, the Fixed Income Clearing Corp. (FICC), to lend directly to small banks and hedge funds. This change would essentially eliminate the larger bank middlemen from the process and provide a direct source of overnight loans for small banks. In theory, this change would reduce uncertainty and risk and reduce the chances a freeze in the repo market could disrupt the financial system. However, providing wealthy hedge fund managers with a direct path to Fed lending via the FICC might not sit will with the average American. The prospect of a taxpayer-funded hedge fund bailout would likely trigger political backlash. Problems Ahead? While proponents of the potential changes argue it would add liquidity and transparency to the repo market, opponents are concerned the changes would be seen as the Fed giving the green light to hedge funds to increase their leverage and make risky bets. Earlier this month, the New York Fed injected another $56.7 billion into the repo market in an effort to keep fed funds interest rates in-line with the Fed’s target range of between 1.5% and 1.75%. The Fed also said its balance sheet grew from $3.8 trillion in September to $4.17 trillion by the end of 2019. Story continues “The big picture answer is that the repo market is broken,” James Bianco, founder of Bianco Research in Chicago, told MarketWatch back in December . “They are essentially medicating the market into submission...But this is not a long-term solution.” Benzinga’s Take Perhaps uneasiness about the Fed’s role in the repo market is one of the driving forces behind a recent rally in gold and bitcoin prices, investments many traders see as stores of value and inflation hedges. In the past month alone, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) is up 4.5%, while the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC ) is up 13.8% overall. Do you agree or disagree with these predictions? Email feedback@benzinga.com with your thoughts. Related Links: US Adds 145K Jobs In December, Wage And Labor Market Gains Consistent With Fed's Outlook Bernie Sanders Is The Biggest Market Risk Of 2020, Gundlach Says 0 See more from Benzinga Here's How Much Investing 0 In Citigroup Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today Here's How Much Investing 0 In Wells Fargo Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today Here's How Much Investing 0 In JPMorgan Stock Back In 2010 Would Be Worth Today © 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin Lost Momentum, But Markets Believe In Its 2020 Outlook: A sharp rise in the USDT emission perceived as a positive signal for growth, so bots start buying after such news. What happened once again indicates a growing share of algorithmic trading in the crypto sector.
As a result,Bitcoin jumped up to $8,400, where it faced severe resistance. Apart from mistaken news on USDT emission, the geopolitical tension around Iran and the U.S. began to decrease. It became clear that both sides are not interested in further escalation and markets started to return to normal functioning. For Bitcoin, this means a decline.
Besides, as the crypto market began to grow, the technical picture pointed to a significant overbought of the Bitcoin. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) was even higher than when the bitcoin rebounded to $10K at the end of October 2019, when China’s head Xi Jinping made his famous statement related to China’s course on the blockchain development. It is not surprising that now we are witnessing a rollback in prices. However, the cautious nature of the reversal suggests that the level of optimism is still quite high.
Several well-known traders, including Peter Brandt, still hold bullish views on bitcoin. One of the leaders in the analysis has tweeted several bullish scenarios for bitcoin in 2020. In the first scenario, we will first face bear pressure which will push theBitcoin down to $5Kand then see the rebound while the lower boundary is held. In the second scenario, we are already out of the descending channel, which lasts from the summer, and the long accumulation of the asset will be the main reason for its growth. Also, optimists are waiting for Starbucks and Bakkt to collaborate, and for bitcoin usage to increase in the real world.
This article was written byFxPro
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
💰For Good Karma Donate Bitcoin:💰 1Co1MoHC8cM3cB8afJ9a3Bm6it7sJXZJGF "How to securely send email and texts" https://t.co/n2TbhXsmrS || Bloomberg Mike McGlone believes Bitcoin May Pull toward $900.
https://t.co/KCuhdaBddB || [1D] #Bitcoin market is weakly trending down current momentum suggests the market is neutral. #money #rt #entrepreneur visit: https://t.co/yuSljvM9Fq for more! || 半年位前から鼻息が荒かったですがついに〜 / Fidelity Wins Trading License in New York, Hurray to Bitcoin (https://t.co/xv8QkbeVLi) #NewsPicks https://t.co/FYZYInWRlM || #arclk 60 dk #Btrend #bmkototrend #usdtry #eurtry #eurusd #btc #btcusd #bist30 #bist100 #viop30 #varant #forexsignals #Crypto #GARAN #thyao #krdmrd #asels #ISCTR #petkm #halkb #eregl #SASA #tuprs https://t.co/GS6IgmAlw0 || @CryptoRife https://t.co/OE5p8FVp8F || @katieeeeebell Bitcoin fixes this $BTC https://t.co/05ZZexTv81 || https://t.co/Hr7kTg0a8H
$btc $sierra $fusion $nex $ltc $one $ins $xrp $vey $eth $matic $daps $neo $ftm $ada $bnb $miota $trx $vet $ocean $hot $rune $soul $icx $dmme $bolt $olt $kmd $dag $life $nlg $rsr $tfd $joos $tel || @decrepit_degen @TheCryptoDog Now im not saying your idea is wrong for BTC. But you cant look at LTC halving and have it as an argument that BTC halving is not going to be a bullish event. || good
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Trend: down || Prices: 8723.79, 8929.04, 8942.81, 8706.25, 8657.64, 8745.89, 8680.88, 8406.52, 8445.43, 8367.85
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
US officials claim neo-Nazi groups are using Bitcoin to spread terror: The US House Financial Services Committee has been discussing the use of Bitcoin in domestic terror financing, with some experts claiming it is now being used by neo-Nazi groups. Jared Maples, the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Director, has said domestic terror groups are likely to ramp up their use of the cryptocurrency to fund their nefarious activities. He was joined by Anti-Defamation League Senior Vice President George Selim and Congressional Research Service finance expert Rena Miller. The trio predicted that with the rise of crypto awareness, it will become more widely used by white supremacists and other hate groups. Infamous crypto sceptic Congressman Brad Sherman was in agreement, saying : “If it works for Hamas, it will work for the Nazis too.” BTC use on the rise Maples likewise referenced Hamas and suggested domestic terrorists had taken a page out of its playbook in using Bitcoin for both secrecy and privacy. He alleged there had been a $60,000 donation in BTC given to Andrew Anglin, publisher of far-right media outlet The Daily Stormer, following the attack in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. When asked about how to counter terror groups, Maples said it was important to be mindful and to “get the processes right”. Interestingly, it isn’t just Bitcoin they are using to finance their attacks. Recent reports suggest as many as 54 white supremacist groups are utilising Apple’s iTunes, earning roughly 70 cents for each song downloaded on the music platform. Selim has recommended agencies pursue more rigorous prosecutions of domestic terror funding sources and utilise data from various fields such as finance, technology, civil rights, and civil liberties groups alongside studying new forms of money such as digital currencies. Interested in reading more cryptocurrency and terror-related stories? Discover more about the UK’s FCA becoming the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing supervisor for businesses conducting cryptoasset activities. The post US officials claim neo-Nazi groups are using Bitcoin to spread terror appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin to See Return of Bull Cross That Marked Onset of 2016-17 Price Rally: • Bitcoin’s 50- and 100-week moving averages (MAs) look set to produce a bullish crossover next week. Back in 2016, the same cross marked the start of a long-term bull market.
• Prices could rise to key trendline resistance at $7,600 in the short-term. A break higher would expose the recent high of $7,870.
• The short-term bullish case would be invalidated if prices drop below $6,847.
A bitcoin price indicator that marked the beginning of the 2016-17 bull market is about to make another appearance.
The cryptocurrency’s 50-week MA is on track to cross above the 100-week MA next week. The resulting bullish crossover would be the first since May 2016, according to Bitstamp data.
MA crossovers are momentum indicators and help traders gauge the market trend. A bullish cross, therefore, suggests a rally is about to gather steam or a bull market is on the horizon.
Related:Bullish Bitcoin Chart Pattern Still Intact Despite 7% Price Drop
It’s worth noting that MA studies are based on historical data and that crossovers, especially longer duration ones, tend to lag prices. For instance, the 50-week MA is based on one-year-old data and the 100-week MA is sensitive to the price action seen over the last two years.
Put simply, the price rise from the December 2018 low of $3,122 to the June 2019 high of $13,880 has put the 50-week MA on an upward trajectory.
So it could be argued that the impending bull cross is a lagging indicator and has limited predictive powers.
Even so, the chart pattern warrants attention due to the fact that bitcoin broke into a 19-month long uptrend with the bullish crossover of the same averages in May 2016.
Related:WATCH: Thiel Capital’s Eric Weinstein Talks About the Nature of Money
The 50-week MA found acceptance above the 100-week MA in the last week of May 2016, following which the cryptocurrency picked up a strong bid near $430 and charted its way a record high of around $20,000 in December 2017.
The low of $377 registered four weeks ahead of the confirmation of the crossover was never put to test again.
(Interestingly, bitcoin’s bear market from the December 2013 highs above $1,160 ran out of steam with a bearish crossover of the same two averages in April 2015.)
Similar price action was observed earlier this year, as seen below.
Bitcoin charted a higher low of $3,700 in February, despite confirmation of a bear cross, signaling an end of the bear market following record highs near $20,000.
With history perhaps looking to repeat itself, there’s some reason to believe the upcoming bull cross of the 50- and 100-week MAs could bode well for bitcoin.
As for the next 24 hours, the probability of bitcoin witnessing an upside move is high. At press time, the cryptocurrency is changing hands at $7,270 on Bitstamp, representing a 0.75 percent drop on the day.
The long lower wicks attached to the previous two daily candles represent a rejection of lower prices or seller exhaustion. This, coupled with the MACD histogram’s bullish turn to above zero indicates scope for a re-test of the descending trendline, currently at $7,600.
Also, with prices holding well above $6,847, the bullishhammer reversal pattern confirmed on the three-day chart last week is stillvalid.
That pattern would be invalidated if prices drop below $6,847, opening the doors for re-test of recent lows near $6,500.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
• Bitcoin Faces Biggest Monthly Price Drop of 2019 Despite Late Upturn
• What the Fed Reserve’s Balance Sheet Expansion Means for Bitcoin || Bitcoin drops below $6,800, hitting a six-month low: Bitcoin prices fell sharply this morning from $7,700 to below $6,800an almost 12% drop hitting a six-month low. Data from Rekto shows that derivatives exchange BitMEX saw more than $388 million worth of XBT Perpetual Swap contracts liquidated over the past 24 hours, which means that the exchange system has automatically closed a large number of bitcoin levered positions. By publication time, Bitcoin prices have clawed their way back above $7,000. According to a market brief provided to The Block by QCO, a crypto trading firm based in Singapore, BiMEX Open Interest (OI) has dropped below $700 million following rapid liquidationsan indicator of positioning extremes. The exchange is likely to observe a negative funding rate while futures remain in contango, the brief says. Although it is possible for Bitcoin to approach the $6,000 level by year-end, the brief adds, right now it is more bullish than bearish. QCP also believes that Chinese retail traders will likely buy on dips if Bitcoins prices fell below $7,000. || China PMIs Give Riskier Assets a Boost as Focus Shifts to the EUR and USD: Earlier in the Day: It was a busy start to the week on the economic calendar through the Asian session this morning. The Japanese Yen and Aussie Dollar were in action in the early part of the day. Australian manufacturing, building approvals and company gross operating profit figures along with manufacturing PMI numbers out of China provided direction early in the day. Of less influence was 3 rd quarter capital spending figures out of Japan. On the geopolitical front, the markets continued to wait out for Chinas reaction to Trumps signing of the HK Bill. For the Japanese Yen Capital spending surged by 7.1% in the 3 rd quarter, year-on-year, following a 1.9% increase in the 2 nd quarter. In the 1 st quarter, spending had risen by 6.1%. The Japanese Yen moved from ¥109.562 to ¥109.527 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen was down by 0.19% to ¥109.7 against the U.S Dollar. For the Aussie Dollar The AIG Manufacturing Index fell from 51.6 to 48.1 in November. Following on from a slide from 54.7 back in October, the index fell to its lowest level since August 2016. According to the latest AIG Report , A faster rate of contraction in new orders weighed and points to a weak Christmas period ahead. It was not industry-wide, however, with firms in the large food and beverage sector reporting buoyant conditions. Building Approvals slid by 8.1% in October, partially reversing a 7.6% jump in September. Economists had forecast a 0.4% increase. According to the ABS , The slide was attributed to an 11.3% tumble in the approval of private dwellings excluding houses. Approvals for private sector houses fell by 7%. Company gross operating profits fell by 0.8% in the 3 rd quarter, following a 4.5% rise in the 2 nd quarter. Economists had forecast a 1.5% increase. According to the ABS , Weighing on the headline number were falls in company profits in the following sectors: Arts and recreation services (-16.6%). Financial and Insurance Services (-28.0%). Mining (-2.1%). Other services (-4.4%). Rental hiring and real estate services (-11.2%). Transport, postal and warehousing (-6.6%). While company profits declined in the quarter, wages (+1.0%) were on the rise in the quarter. Story continues The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.67674 to $0.6750 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar up by 0.15% to $0.6773. Out of China The Caixin Manufacturing PMI rose from 51.7 to 51.8 in November. Economists had forecast a fall to 51.4. According to the Markit Survey , New business rose strongly, supporting another solid rise in production. Notably, new export orders saw a 2 nd consecutively monthly rise for 1 st time in over 18-months. Staffing levels held steady following 7 consecutive monthly declines, while capacity pressures led to a pickup in backlogs. In spite of the pickup in new orders and output, positive sentiment towards the 12-month outlook fell to a 5-month low. The fall in optimism was attributed to stricter environmental policies and continued market uncertainty. The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.67717 to $0.67745 upon release of the figures. Elsewhere At the time of writing, the Kiwi Dollar was up by 0.31% to $0.6442. The Day Ahead: For the EUR Its a busy day ahead on the economic calendar . Key stats include November manufacturing PMI numbers out of Italy and Spain and finalized PMIs out of France, Germany, and the Eurozone. Barring deviation from prelim figures, Italy and the Eurozones figures will have the greatest influence on the EUR. Expect the devil to be in the details, with employment conditions and new orders likely to be the main areas of focus. On the geopolitical front, any updates from Beijing and Washington on trade will also influence. At the time of writing, the EUR was flat at $1.1018. For the Pound Its a relatively busy day on the data front. Finalized November manufacturing PMI numbers are due out later this morning. Barring a material revision, however, the Pound will likely brush aside todays numbers, with the focus being on the UK General Election. There are just 10 days until Election Day and Boris Johnsons lead has narrowed sharply from 17 points to just 9 according to the latest YouGov opinion poll tracker. Sundays ITV Election Debate will likely have some influence in the early part of the day. At the time of writing, the Pound was down by 0.09% to $1.2914. Across the Pond Its a relatively busy day on the economic calendar , with manufacturing PMI figures due out for November. Barring deviation from the Markits prelim numbers, the focus will be on the markets preferred ISM Manufacturing PMI. Outside of the numbers, the markets will be looking for any retaliation from China on Trumps signing of the HK Bills last week. Or there could be further progress towards a phase 1 agreement
At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was up 0.04% at 98.312. For the Loonie Its a quiet start to the week on the economic calendar , with no material stats due out of Canada to provide direction. With the Bank of Canada in action on Wednesday, PMI numbers from China, the Eurozone, and the U.S could influence crude oil prices and the Loonie throughout the day. Last weeks GDP figures suggest that the BoC may need to take a more cautious stance, which should limit any major upside in the early part of the week. The Loonie was up by 0.01% to C$1.3281, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Asian Shares Rally as Chinas Manufacturing Activity Expansion Offsets Worries Over Trade Deal Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 02/12/19 U.S Mortgage Rates Rise but only Marginally Ethereum and Stellars Lumen Daily Tech Analysis 02/12/19 The Crypto Daily Movers and Shakers -02/12/19 AUD/USD and NZD/USD Fundamental Weekly Forecast RBA Says QE is Option at 0.25%, Unlikely Over Near Term || Latest Litecoin price and analysis (LTC to USD): Litecoin (LTC) is currently trading at around $55 after a 5% drop over the last 24 hours. However, despite the recent decline, LTC price has risen almost 19% since last week. Litecoin experienced exponential growth during the summer of 2019, hitting a yearly high of about $140 in August before breaking down over the second half of the year. Litecoin reached a low of around $37 before recovering to $40, where the altcoin consolidated for a few weeks. Overall, from high to low, Litecoin lost about 68% of its value in the second half of 2019. Interestingly, at the time of writing, LTC seems to be in better shape after a much-needed pump earlier this week. Litecoin has already pushed over $50 and seems to be targeting $60, but is facing resistance from the 200-day EMA. Will the positive trend continue? Let’s take a look at the LTC chart, courtesy of TradingView . As you can see, after touching the 200-day EMA (the blue line) earlier this week, LTC seems to be dropping back down. Last week , I mentioned I could not foresee the price of LTC making a substantial move without first pumping above $50. Volume really needed to grow for this to happen. Fortunately, the altcoin pushed through this key resistance level with ease. Volume is also sitting close to $4.5 billion, 15% higher than last week – a clear sign of strength. If the altcoin recovers past its current resistance levels around the 200-day EMA, I foresee LTC quickly pumping towards the next resistance level around $70. Although we’re on a clear bullish trend, it may take longer for a pump towards $100 to take place. It’s likely that the next significant rise in price will only happen during the BTC halving event, which is taking place sometime in May 2020. Litecoin updates Watch the new #MagicalCryptoFriends Episode 30: Magical Mothers. In this episode we talk about mining in China being “legalized,” a special announcement, the Litecoin Summit, & Litecoin MimbleWimble extension blocks. Thanks @BTSEcom for sponsoring this ep! https://t.co/6sRxc1ly0H — Magical Crypto Friends (@magicalcrypto) December 1, 2019 Recently, the “Magical Crypto Friends” show – which is available on YouTube and features Litecoin founder Charlie Lee – discussed the Litecoin Summit 2019. Story continues The show covered the most important discussions in the community. From Litecoin acting as a store of value to new development updates. Lee confirmed that the project was working on privacy improvements as well. The Litecoin development team is working with the Mimblewimble protocol, specifically the developers behind Grim, with a view to potentially adding the privacy protocol as an extension block. According to Lee, it would work as follows: “We’re working with the Grim++ developers to add an implementation of Mimblewimble. It adds an extension block to the Litecoin main-chain. You can transact between chains to use enhanced privacy.” The goal would be to give Litecoin users improved privacy features when transacting. About Litecoin Litecoin was released in October 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee. It is a fork of Bitcoin, with the main difference being a smaller block generation time. The protocol also increased the maximum number of coins and implemented a different script-based algorithm. Litecoin is one of the leading cryptocurrencies and is one of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. More Litecoin news and information If you want to find out more information about Litecoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started: Litecoin becomes ‘official cryptocurrency’ of the Miami Dolphins By Oliver Knight – January 16, 2020 As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . The post Latest Litecoin price and analysis (LTC to USD) appeared first on Coin Rivet . || PreMarket Prep Recap: Who Let The Bulls Out?: For the final PreMarket Prep of 2019, we invited a few of our favorite guests from the year to share a bullish pick and bearish pan for 2020. To say the sentiment was overwhelmingly bullish for the broad market would be a gross understatement. Herer's what our guests are forecasting, with timestamps from each guest appearance in parentheses. JC Parets, All Star Charts (14:05) Pick - Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN ) will go “at least 50% higher,” Parets said. That would put the issue at $2,803 by the end of 2020. Pan - 20 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: TLT ). Parets sees a major rise in interest rates, with the 10-year Treasury rate going from its current rate of 1.9% to 3%. This would have a very negative effect on bonds and utilities. Chirstian Fromhertz, Tribeca Trade Group (27:00) Pick - Emerging markets or MSCI Emerging Market ETF (NYSE: EEM ). Fromhertz said it’s time for emerging markets to play “catch-up” to the U.S. markets. Pan - GameStop Corp . (NYSE: GME ) Anne-Marie Baiynd, The Trading Book (36:25) Pick - Cyberark Software Ltd (NASDAQ: CYBR ), or more broadly, the Prime Cyber Security ETF (NYSE: HACK ). Baiynd is betting on companies increasing their spending on cybersecurity, and she likes the $118 level Cyberark is ending 2019 at. Pan - Bitcoin or the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (OTC: GBTC ). While she likes cryptocurrency as an idea, Baiynd said governments will eventually step in and squash them out in favor of fiat currency. Dan Forman, Executive Director At Olivetree Financial (45:10) Pick - Ambarella Inc (NASDAQ: AMBA ). Forman sees Ambarella as a direct play on surveillance technology and self-driving cars. Pan - Forman said he would shy away from legacy technology issues such as Hewlett-Packard Enterprises (NYSE: HPE ) that have “zero growth.” Kenny Glick, Hitthebid.com (53:45) Pick - Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ ). Sticking with a fund he's been long since the financial crisis, Glick sees the QQQ rising to $250 next year. Story continues Pan - United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X ). Glick says U.S. Steel is “Going to zero.” It's a classic “revenge trade” for him, emanating from a previous long trade earlier in the year. Listen to the full segments with each guest in the podcast below, or watch the clip on Youtube here. PreMarket Prep is a daily trading show hosted by prop trader Dennis Dick and former floor trader Joel Elconin. You can watch PreMarket Prep live every day from 8-9 a.m. ET here. The replay can be found on Benzinga's YouTube channel, and the podcast is on iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud, Stitcher and Tunein. 0 See more from Benzinga PreMarket Prep Recap: Qiagen Pulls The Rug Out From Investors Banking On A Deal, Bad Data Equals Bad Price Action For Spectrum Pharmaceuticals PreMarket Prep Recap: The Importance Of PRs, FedEx Downgrade And Interviews With A Tesla Bear And Bull PreMarket Prep Recap: $TSLAQ Crowd Continues To Be Punished, Eli Lilly's Incredible Friday Open © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Why Bitcoin has value despite its volatility: Bitcoin has such a volatile and unpredictable nature that many people wonder whether there is any value in investing in the digital asset. Investing in Bitcoin is certainly not for the faint-hearted, but it’s an appealing option for those who believe in its long-term potential, who want to diversify their portfolio, and who have a high level of risk tolerance. Why is Bitcoin so volatile? The price of Bitcoin has been on a roller-coaster ride over the past few years and, so far, the trend shows no signs of abating. Just last weekend, Bitcoin fell by 4.6%, and on Monday it was hovering around $6,600 – a far cry from the summer when it broke through the $13,000 mark. The price of Bitcoin can swing wildly in a matter of minutes. One of the reasons why Bitcoin is so volatile is it is still a relatively new asset, having been launched just a decade ago. As we’ve seen from the dot-com boom and bust, people tend to get very excited about new technologies, invest huge sums of money, and then reality sets in. The total market capitalisation of Bitcoin, and indeed all digital currencies combined, is fairly small when you compare it with more traditional assets like stocks. Small markets are more vulnerable to manipulation and fluctuations in supply and demand. If a major investor decides to sell their holdings, it can cause a sharp drop in price. The Bitcoin price is also incredibly sensitive to news events and regulation, which can impact investors’ views of Bitcoin and result in mass sell-offs. Bitcoin’s appeal Despite Bitcoin’s volatility, it remains an attractive asset for lots of investors around the world. Many people who invested in Bitcoin from its early days have become “Bitcoin millionaires”, so it’s no surprise that other people want to replicate their success. Bitcoin’s decentralised nature is one of its many appealing characteristics. Because it is decentralised and not controlled by a single government, it isn’t subject to the impulses of a central bank or political party. Story continues Likewise, whereas central banks can print more traditional currencies over time, which drives inflation and reduces the currency’s buying power, there is a cap on the total number of Bitcoins that can ever be mined. Bitcoin was designed to be a currency that holds its value – in other words, it has anti-inflationary properties. Investment opportunity Perhaps the biggest reason why lots of people are interested in investing in Bitcoin is it offers bigger returns than pretty much any other asset. For experienced traders, Bitcoin’s volatility is actually the reason why it’s possible to earn such huge profits – although it goes without saying that successfully buying low and selling high is incredibly difficult. Something that has really confounded Bitcoin sceptics is the growing appeal of the cryptocurrency as a safe-haven asset. Earlier this year, people flocked to Bitcoin as global stock markets and fiat currencies were hurt by trade tensions and geopolitical forces. Again, the coin’s decentralised nature means it is insulated from political forces. What’s more, whereas many people around the world don’t have access to traditional investment markets, Bitcoin is available to pretty much anyone. It’s possible to invest either small or large amounts, which opens up investing to those from underdeveloped countries. At the same time, the anonymous nature of decentralised transactions means investing in Bitcoin has a high level of privacy. Bitcoin’s value Bitcoin’s value is closely linked to how favourably people view the cryptocurrency, which is something that even the most knowledgeable traders find hard to predict. Having said that, many Bitcoin enthusiasts are of the view that its value will inevitably rise in the long term. Bitcoin’s adoption rate is growing worldwide, with more businesses now accepting it as a form of payment. The cryptocurrency’s use cases are growing all the time, and it’s predicted Bitcoin will be serving a whole host of new functions in the future. This will only serve to reinforce Bitcoin’s value. Conclusion Bitcoin’s volatility doesn’t detract from its value, but it does mean investors need to have their wits about them before investing in the digital asset. Volatility can reap rewards, but it can also result in huge losses. So experience, knowledge, and an appetite for high risk are a must. The post Why Bitcoin has value despite its volatility appeared first on Coin Rivet . || SEC lobbies court to reopen case against crypto scammer: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to reopen the case against Renwick Haddow, who has been banned from selling securities but has so far faced no monetary penalties. Haddow, the fraudster behind Bitcoin Store Inc and Bar Works, has had his case closed by the New York Southern District Court – but the US regulator doesn’t believe justice has been served. As first reported by FinanceFeeds, the regulator claims that Haddow should be forced to repay some of the funds he scammed from unwitting investors. Haddow defrauded investors through his New York company Bar Works, where investors could buy office space for $25,000 and rent it back to the company, and also through Bitcoin Store Inc, which sold Bitcoins from a physical ATM. A UK citizen now living in New York, Haddow was extradited from Morocco to the US in April 2018, where it’s believed he was hiding from previous run-ins with British regulators. It is claimed that Haddow sent more than $4 million from Bar Works bank accounts to private accounts in Mauritius and a further $1 million to accounts he owned in Morocco. Overall, Bar Works raised $37 million from investors who believed that the company was a legitimate remote working business similar to WeWork. In total, through numerous shell companies, Haddow is thought to have defrauded $180 million. Case closed Haddow cooperated with law enforcement during the trial, entering a guilty plea and agreeing to help bring his co-conspirator, Savraj Gata-Aura, to justice. Gata-Aura has since been charged with wire fraud. The guilty plea was unsealed on May 23 2019, with Haddow admitting to hiding his identity through the alias ‘Jonathan Black’ and detailing his involvement in both Bar Works and Bitcoin Store Inc. As a result, the case was closed following a consent judgement proposed by the SEC in September, with the condition that the case may be reopened at a later date. The consent judgement prevents Haddow from having any role in selling financial instruments again or engaging in practices which may defraud investors. Story continues However, the SEC argues that justice against Haddow has been limited and is now seeking monetary relief. SEC representatives have allegedly sent letters to Judge Lorna Schofield requesting that Haddow agrees to reach a restitution agreement with his aggrieved investors. Haddow, having pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in federal custody. You can read more about recent SEC rulings on cryptocurrency issues here . The post SEC lobbies court to reopen case against crypto scammer appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin price plummets amid mysterious cryptocurrency market crash: The price of bitcoin tripled between January and August 2019 before a cryptocurrency market crash knocked thousands of dollars from its value in late September: Getty Images The price of bitcoin and several other major cryptocurrencies have dropped dramatically over the last 24 hours, wiping billions from their value. Bitcoin fell by more than 10 per cent to take its price below $7,400 (£5,700) for the first time since May, with no sign of the current crash slowing down. Ethereum, ripple, bitcoin cash and ripple all saw losses of between 5 and 15 per cent over the last day. Cryptocurrency analysts struggled to explain the sudden crash but said further losses should not be ruled out. The market movement comes in stark contrast to bitcoin's generally positive year-to-date, which has seen it rise from below $4,000 in January 2019. Recent positive developments in the cryptocurrency space had some investors hoping that bitcoin would continue to see gains, especially after both China and the EU appeared to endorse the notion of blockchain-backed digital currency . Last month Chinese president Xi Jinping described it as an "important breakthrough", prompting a state-run newspaper to publish a front-page story about the success of bitcoin. It came after years of China taking a hardline stance towards the industry and comes amid rumours that the country is preparing to launch its own cryptocurrency next year. One possible explanation for bitcoin's mysterious crash could be further developments in China that saw a fresh crackdown on illegal exchanges. The country's public endorsement of cryptocurrency seemed to fuel an increase in trading activity on illicit platforms, resulting in a response from the People's Bank of China. "Once it is discovered, it will be stopped immediately," the bank stated . Read more EU considers launching its own version of bitcoin || YouTube Calls Crypto Purge a Mistake but Many Videos Still Missing: YouTube erroneously purged cryptocurrency education videos from its video-sharing platform this week but claims to have reinstated them, according to a spokesperson. Content creators, however, are telling a different story.
Responding to allegations it had intentionally deleted content from cryptocurrency education channels ChrisDunnTV, Crypto Tips, BTC Sessions and others in what apparently amounted to hundreds of missing videos, the spokesperson said YouTube made “the wrong call.”
“With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it’s brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it. We also offer uploaders the ability to appeal removals and we will re-review the content,” the spokesperson said. YouTube has issued near-identical statements after previous inadvertent video purges.
Related:PewDiePie Helps Blockchain Video Streaming Platform to 67% Hike in Users
The spokesperson further stated YouTube has not changed any policies related to cryptocurrency videos.
In spite of this, some YouTubers claim their deleted videos remain inaccessible. Chris Dunn, who runs an investment education channel with 200,000 subscribers and a multi-year video library, says the purge has actually gotten worse since he successfully appealed his deletions.
“Today, YouTube not only took down the videos that they reinstated yesterday, but they took down at least one other video that they’d never taken down before,” Dunn said.
At press time a number of videos are still missing from Dunn’s channel and others that CoinDesk directly asked YouTube about, like Crypto Tips. YouTube has not yet responded to follow-up questions.
Related:Top YouTuber PewDiePie Joins Blockchain Live Streaming Platform
The conflicting statements are sure to increase the furious speculation over why YouTube deleted the videos in the first place. Multiple theories abound. Dunn said he has no idea why it occurred – not all of his deleted videos had to do with crypto – but said it could be the work of someone “maliciously reporting” him and others or, perhaps, faulty video-flagging AI.
Dunn said YouTube flagged videos as “harmful or dangerous content” and the “sale of regulated goods.” Dunn told CoinDesk he does not sell products on his channel and does not monetize his videos with ads.
Regardless of the whether the purge was intentional or not, Dunn said he and other content creators have noticed YouTube target content it deems objectionable to itself or its advertisers.
He pointed to YouTube’s demonetization of violent political videos, likefootage of the Hong Kong protests, and its recent terms of service update, which features a throwaway account termination clause with potentially far-reaching ramifications.
“YouTube may terminate your access, or your Google account’s access to all or part of the Service if YouTube believes, in its sole discretion, that provision of the Service to you is no longer commercially viable,” the Dec. 10 ToSupdatereads.
Dunn said he interprets that to mean YouTube can terminate creators who do not make it money.
He told CoinDesk he is seriously considering walking away from YouTube altogether. Contacted for additional comment Thursday, Dunn said he had a goodbye video ready to go and was only waiting for the situation to clear up.
Dunn’s plan, if he invokes that nuclear option is to move his content to “decentralized platforms” where no single entity exerts commercial control.
• YouTube Accused of Negligence in BitConnect Fraud Lawsuit
• Startup Raises $20 Million to Build ‘YouTube on the Blockchain’
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Daily profit for HODLING BTC since 2013 Data taken since 29/10/2018 @ 10:45am (UTC) Updated every hour #bitcoin #btc #cryptocurrency #blockchain #cryptotrade #profit #digitalmine https://t.co/SHuCQ1Vvtc || New York judge rules US government can intervene in $7M Bitcoin scam https://t.co/7jlebrkIXQ || @CryptoBull Very selective comments. On TV when Bitcoin hit 5K I said that I thought it could rise to 20K. Then when it did I declared a blow-off top, and said the high was in. I have been correct about Bitcoin for the past 2 years, and will remain correct as the bubble continues to deflate. || @andre_minassian I think a complete change in global monetary policy is going to happen soon Andre. 1 single currency for all (not sure if it will be bitcoin or UScoin). || триал Ключи для Касперского 2018 2019 KAV | читы на варфейс - Аккаунты, bitcoin заработок, vpn - Мир Читеров - ЧИТАЧОК https://t.co/acVM5sqmA5 || Grayscale: 84% of Q3 Interest Came From Non-Crypto Hedge Funds Cointelegraph https://t.co/4ZM760wem1 #Bitcoin #Bank || The @ToetoebowSol already told you what to do
Get out there and beat some #dumb asses
We don't need #greedy
#Evil
#Racists in #power
Controlling
Our
Shit
Keep your eyes on them
They have their #eyes on you
Googles #on
#OneDayIllTellMyKids
#FridayFeeling #bitcoin || Check out one of the biggest crypto gambling sites - Bitsler. They have free daily promotions with a yearly prizepool of over $1 MILLION! https://t.co/cwlapb5Kct #bitsler #bitcoin #gambling #casino с помощью @Bitsler || How to Plan Your First Safari
@newstwiteafrica - @InvestCrypForex - nytimes - Twitter - News - Noticias - Bitcoin - CryptoCurrency - Forex https://t.co/mgRWC4FGbb || 【8月最新】ビットコイン(BTC)価格が上昇していく理由4つを厳選 https://t.co/7UtXKELaev https://t.co/4OHCZujcMK
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Trend: up || Prices: 8657.64, 8745.89, 8680.88, 8406.52, 8445.43, 8367.85, 8596.83, 8909.82, 9358.59, 9316.63
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2020-10-30]
BTC Price: 13546.52, BTC RSI: 75.16
Gold Price: 1877.40, Gold RSI: 43.07
Oil Price: 35.79, Oil RSI: 34.83
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Rallies Above $13K Less Than 24 Hours After Breaking 2020 Highs: Bitcoin ( BTC ) has risen above $13,000 in less than 24 hours after breaking the $12,000 level on news PayPal will support cryptocurrencies on its platform . Prices of BTC rose to $13,005.51 at 22:22 UTC (6:22 p.m. ET) by press time, representing a 8.7% gain in the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesks Bitcoin Price Index (BPI). The 24-hour price range: $11,898.03 $13,030.86. The oldest cryptocurrency has continued its price rally after payment giant PayPal announced it will allow its users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies. The new service initially will support bitcoin, bitcoin cash ( BCH ), ether ( ETH ) and litecoin ( LTC ). Prices for bitcoin cash, ether and litecoin also rallied on the news, up between 7% and 13%in the past 24 hours. Related Stories Bitcoin Rallies Above $13K Less Than 24 Hours After Breaking 2020 Highs Bitcoin Rallies Above $13K Less Than 24 Hours After Breaking 2020 Highs Bitcoin Rallies Above $13K Less Than 24 Hours After Breaking 2020 Highs Bitcoin Rallies Above $13K Less Than 24 Hours After Breaking 2020 Highs || SaTT Smart Advertising Token Raises USD 7.1M, Rare Feat in 2020 Lackluster ICO Landscape: SINGAPORE, Sept. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smart advertising marketplace SaTT is pleased to announce that its fundraising crowd sale has raised a total of USD 7.1 million against the generally lackluster ICO terrain in 2020. Hitting its soft cap of USD 3,360,000 within a week, the SaTT crowd sale closed at USD 7,146,854 yesterday. “Many thanks to all our loyal supporters for the past two years and a big welcome to the new members of our SaTT family!” said Gauthier Bros , SaTT CEO, expressing his appreciation for the staunch SaTT community. “We will continue in our journey of innovation in the advertising industry. Delivering a working product is only a first step. When people talk about advertising and influencer marketing platforms, we want SaTT to be top of mind - a goal we will put our hundred percent behind! ” The SaTT smart marketing decentralized app (dApp) is developed by the core team of Atayen Inc ., famed for creating the iFrames suite of apps for business pages on Facebook. Atayen’s client list reads like a Who’s Who of the top global advertisers - Coca Cola, Disney, McDonald’s, Nike, Disney, to name a few. The SaTT platform has taken two years before it delivered a working platform in Q3 2020. Targeting key pain points that plague the advertising supply chain, it offers an alternative way to tackle ad fraud, payment delays and competition barriers. Utilizing smart contracts and blockchain oracles, the SaTT smart advertising platform delivers a fast, cost-effective, transparent and secure solution for advertisers. With the completion of its fundraising crowd sale, SaTT announced yesterday on its blog that it was scheduling a token burn of all the unsold tokens today. As part of a deflationary tokenomics move to restrict the supply of SATT, this is a practice generally used to increase demand for a token, thereby increasing its value. Already trading on global digital asset trading platform BW Exchange yesterday immediately after the fundraiser closed, SaTT has also announced that ProBit Exchange will open today for trading. Story continues About SaTT SaTT, which stands for Smart Advertising Transaction Token, is a utility token that enables advertisers to buy smart advertising services on its ethereum-based dApp. All transactions between advertisers and influencers/publishers are governed by the SaTT smart contract which ensures speed, transparency and security, and is cost-efficient. The SaTT dApp helps to quantify ROI by using blockchain oracles to retrieve data from 3rd-party API of social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. Actions performed, such as LIKES, SHARES, VIEWS, TWEETS etc. can then be evaluated and if all criteria is successfully met, payments are triggered automatically from the advertiser’s preloaded budget to the wallet of the influencer/publisher. Fast, tamper-proof, secure and cost-efficient, the SaTT smart advertising system is a perfect use case of the ethereum smart contract. https://satt-token.com SaTT Officials: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaTT_Token Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SaTT.Token LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/satt-token Telegram: https://t.me/satttoken Bitcoin Talk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3407522 Medium: https://medium.com/@satt.atayen Github: https://github.com/Atayen/satt-js Media Contact Cecilia Wong, yourPRstrategist.com cecilia@yourPRstrategist.com +65-91826605 || SEC Is Willing to ‘Try’ a Tokenized ETF, Chairman Says: Report: Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton said the regulatory body’s open to the idea of a tokenized exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to areportby Decrypt.
• “We’re willing to try that. Our door is wide open,” the report quoted Clayton as saying in awebinaryesterday with the Chamber of Digital Commerce.
• While Clayton’s statements expressed a willingness to explore the idea of tokenized stocks, the report also noted recent actions by the regulatory body that would seem to indicate the day those ideas becoming reality is still a ways off.
Read more:The SEC Has Rejected Every Bitcoin ETF. This Firm Thinks It Has a Solution
Correction (Oct. 4, 19:55 UTC):Fixes name of hosting group to Chamber of Digital Commerce.
• SEC Is Willing to ‘Try’ a Tokenized ETF, Chairman Says: Report
• SEC Is Willing to ‘Try’ a Tokenized ETF, Chairman Says: Report
• SEC Is Willing to ‘Try’ a Tokenized ETF, Chairman Says: Report
• SEC Is Willing to ‘Try’ a Tokenized ETF, Chairman Says: Report || The Rise of Defi: Powering the Next Crypto Boom: After a number of years of consolidation across the cryptomarket, new innovative protocols are drawing interest. The interest has created a new crypto hype that is more than just reminiscent of the 2017 ICO boom. As was the case back in 2017, there are a mass number of protocols hitting the crypto market. This time around, the focus has shifted away from the CeFi space to DeFi . Decentralized Finance, better known as DeFi has become the buzz word of 2020. Bitcoin and the broader crypto market delivered blockchain technology and decentralization. There was, however, an element of centralization in the CeFi space. Centralized finance became laden with governance and KYC/AML requirements and more in order to meet investor and government demands. DeFi, by contrast, currently stands as truly decentralized. With an ethos of Permissionless and Trustless, there is no actual governance. And, there are no KYC/AML requirements. In fact, to access decentralized finance all a user needs is a wallet. In concept alone, it is a mouthwatering prospect. True cryptocurrencies have yet to really make a dent in fiat money’s unwavering position as a primary payment source. When considering the unbanked, the disgruntled, and the anonymous, however, DeFi may well give the banking sector a run for its money. The Projects and the Returns As entrepreneurs and scam artists enter the world of DeFi, a number of protocols have caught the eye amidst the mist… While there are no guarantees that these protocols will be here tomorrow, there is the hope and with it the dream of incredible earnings potential. Based on DeFi market caps from Coingecko , some of the more promising protocols that have enjoyed early success. These include: Chainlink (“LINK”) Chainlink sits at the top of the DeFi coin charts at the time of writing. Not only is Chainlink at the top of the DeFi list, but Chainlink’s meteoric rise has also seen it join the crypto giants in the top 10 by market. CoinMarketCap has Chainlink currently sitting at number 8, impressively outgunning the likes of Litecoin… Story continues Year-to-date return: 473.2% to the end of day 28 th September 2020. What’s the hype? With DeFi driven by smart contracts, Chainlink connects smart contracts to data sources. Additionally, users can send payments from a smart contract to bank accounts and payment networks. Dai Dai sits at number 3 on the DeFi market cap table and is ranked at number 25 on the CoinMarket Cap. Year-to-date: Investors will have missed gains from elsewhere, however, with Dai up by just 2.02%. Why the lowly return? Dai is decentralized and backed by collateral. In other words, Dai is a stablecoin and as such, looks to maintain a value of $1.00. The position by market cap, however, reflects the degree of adoption across the DeFi space. Uniswap (“UNI”) Uniswap comes in at number 6 and number 42 on the CoinMarketCap ranking. New to the market and launched on 17 th September, founding investors have received a return of 1,318%. The protocol allows investors to supply liquidity and to swap tokens. Yearn.finance (“YFI”) Yearn.finance sits at number 4 on the DeFi market cap list and number 27 in the crypto CoinMarketCap ranking. New to the market, with a launch date of July 2020, YFI has delivered genesis investors a since launch return of 2,623%. What’s on the package? Yearn.finance provides investors with an array of financial products. These are categorized under: Earn: A yield aggregator that seeks out the best ROI from leading DApps. ZAP: Allows investors to swap between assets, whilst saving on gas fees. Vaults: Delivers returns from liquidity mining and higher yields from more aggressive investments. Cover: Yinsure allows investors to get insurance. A key product in the world of decentralized finance. The Rest And there are other worthy protocols worth mentioning including Synthetix, Ox, Oracle, Kava, Band, and Aava In addition to viewing the DeFi rankings by market cap, DeFi Pulse provides a platform for protocols to list. Here, you are given a brief summary of what the protocol delivers and a direct link to the webpage. The Road Ahead While a number of these protocols will likely survive the early boom days, there are many that will fall by the wayside. Investors only need to go back 3-years to the ICO boom of 2017 to get a glimpse of what likely lies ahead. Just like back in 2017, however, talk of 1,000% returns are drawing investors back into the crypto world. For those, who entered the 2017 boom late, it may take a little longer, however. At present, market leaders report the large existence of scammers and Ponzi schemes in the DeFi space. The current upward trend in DeFi’s market cap suggests that investors are willing to take another bite of the cherry. Unlike investing in CeFi protocols, however, DeFi is a Trustless and Permissionless space. This means that there is little to no governance, testing, auditing, etc. It, therefore, means that some of the protocols drawing investor money could vanish in weeks, if not days. For that very reason, investors are seeing exception returns. The protocols are drawing investors into the DeFi space, wooing them with double-digit returns from the least risky products on offer. These include Yield Farming and Liquidity Pooling that puts the cherry on the top for investors today. When considering the fact the DeFi is still niche, the rally may have some way to go. This is assuming, of course, that the victims of the 2017 crypto meltdown lick their wounds and return to the fray… With platforms such as Binance setting up US$100m funds to seed new projects and fund development, the future of DeFi does look bright. It does not mean, however, that there will not be any cautionary tales. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Week Ahead: A Brexit Showdown, U.S Politics, and Economic Data in Focus Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – Natural Gas Rally Yet Again Oil Prices Start Q4 up, Hurricane Delta Disrupts America’s Energy Hub U.S Mortgage Rates Hold Steady as Trump and U.S Politics Take Center Stage Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude Oil Markets Have Strong Week The Weekly Wrap – Trump and U.S Politics Drove Demand for Riskier Assets || Elastos (ELA) to List on Bittrex Global: SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / October 20, 2020 /Premier cryptocurrency exchangeBittrex Globalhas announced the official listing ofELA, the native token of theElastosblockchain on 21 October. Elastos is a blockchain-powered internet infrastructure that enables the development of secure, decentralized applications and empowers users to become true owners of the data they generate using Elastos.
Tom Albright, Bittrex Global CEO, said: "We're very excited to be launching Elastos' ELA token on Bittrex Global. Elastos' commitment to open source projects and support for developers in the crypto ecosystem perfectly embodies the ethos and promise of blockchain technology."
The market launch for the ELA trading pairs - bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) - takes place on Bittrex Global at 7am PDT (Pacific Day Time) 21 October, with wallet availability beginning the day before, on Tuesday 20 October at 7am PDT.
Albright continued: "We look forward to working closely with Elastos and their committed community as they build new projects over the coming months and years."
The project's origins date back to the year 2000, when founder Rong Chen culminated a decade-long stint working on operating systems at Microsoft Research and returned to China to develop his own revolutionary vision: an operating system designed for the entire web. In Rong's model, applications and services are unable to access the Internet directly, thus rendering the pervasive ills of the current internet - data privacy, theft, and malware to name a few - infrastructurally infeasible.
When blockchain emerged as a revolutionary technology capable of realizing trustless systems in 2017, Rong coordinated with Elastos co-founder Feng Han to incorporate blockchain, effectively completing his preliminary vision. Now three years into its journey in the blockchain space, Elastos' internet operating system is a pioneering force of open-source technology called simply: the Elastos SmartWeb.
Elastos leverages blockchain technology to support the secure ownership and exchange of a vast array of digital assets and data, in an ecosystem of decentralized, peer-to-peer exchange. With Elastos, users are the sole owners of their data and digital assets and the entire platform is decentralized, including the way data moves and is stored.
Solving the trilemma
Taken together, Elastos resolves the pressing trilemma facing all blockchain projects: the prerogative to provide robust security, scalable architecture, and decentralized governance to users and developers alike. First, in order to secure its ecosystem, the Elastos blockchain is merge-mined with the Bitcoin blockchain - a process through which Elastos has already amassed more than 50% of Bitcoin's hash power. Meanwhile, Elastos' sidechain architecture allows for virtually infinite scalability, and its implementation of Delegated-Proof-of-Stake consensus provides for an additional layer of decentralization in solving blocks. Finally, in its commitment to true, community-led decentralization, Elastos' DAO, Cyber Republic, operates a consensus mechanism of its own whereby community-elected representatives vote on and allocate funds to development proposals and broader ecosystem initiatives.
In addition to resolving the blockchain trilemma, Elastos has also become renowned throughout the space for its industry-leading DID solution, which is compliant with the specifications laid out by both the DIF (Decentralized Identity Foundation) and W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) - two of the world's most prominent internet standards organizations where Elastos acts as a contributing member. With its powerful DID Sidechain, Elastos is capable of issuing DIDs to every user and device across its ecosystem.
ELA is the native token of the Elastos blockchain, and is used for trading and paying all gas fees in the Elastos ecosystem. ELA currently trades at $1.61 USD with a market capitalization of $28 million.
About Elastos
Founded by OS expert Rong Chen, Elastos is building the blockchain industry's most comprehensive and interoperable open-source platform. Using a hybrid consensus that combines the secure hash power of Bitcoin and the democratic ideals of Delegated-Proof-of-Stake, the Elastos SmartWeb is a suite of software for an entirely decentralized internet. Elastos employs not only blockchain technology, but a peer-to-peer network for communication, decentralized data storage services, and a decentralized ID (DID) system for all digital assets. With sidechains like Ethereum, Elastos is not merely the foundation for securing truly decentralized applications that can scale: it is the foundation for true data ownership.
elastOS, the flagship product of the Elastos Smartweb, brings the entire decentralized ecosystem into a single App, currently available forAndroidand in development for both iOS and desktop.
To learn more, visit the Elastos InfoWebsite,Twitter, orTelegram. If you are a developer, visitElastos Academy,Elastos Developer, orElastos Developers Telegram.
Elastos is also actively searching for both new and existing dApp projects through its Cyber Republic initiative. Cyber Republic possesses a community-governed grant fund designed to help startups and existing businesses explore blockchain. You can read more about Cyber Republic athttps://www.cyberrepublic.org.
CONTACT FOR ELASTOS.Info
Talha IdrisEMAIL:ti@elastos.info
SOURCE:Elastos
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/611078/Elastos-ELA-to-List-on-Bittrex-Global || Square Invests in Bitcoins to Boost Cryptocurrency Footprint: Square SQ is leaving no stone unturned to bolster its presence in the promising cryptocurrency market as it continues to ride on its bitcoin offerings. This is evident from its latest investment of $50 million to purchase 4,709 bitcoins. We note that the move increases the companys bitcoin reserve, which will enhance its cryptocurrency offerings. This, in turn, is expected to accelerate Squares bitcoin revenue generation in the near term. Additionally, the strengthening bitcoin offering is likely to deliver an enhanced experience to customers of Cash App through which the company facilitates bitcoin trading. Bitcoin Space Holds Promise The emerging bitcoin market holds great potential for growth,driven by increased penetration of internet and online payment services globally. According to a report from Mordor Intelligence, the global bitcoin technology market is expected to reach $477.05 million by 2025 by witnessing a CAGR of 8.3% between 2020 and 2025. Further, a report from Fortune Business Insights, the worldwide cryptocurrency market is expected to $1.7 million by 2027 from $754 million in 2019 by witnessing a CAGR of 11.2% between 2020 and 2027. Consequently, Square is well-poised to reap benefits from the rapidly growing market on the back of its latest move and strong focus toward the expansion of its bitcoin facilities. Square, Inc. Revenue (TTM) Square, Inc. Revenue (TTM) Square, Inc. revenue-ttm | Square, Inc. Quote Bottom Line Square announced its plan to enter the market of cryptocurrency at the end of 2017 and forayed into it in 2018 by facilitating the buying and selling of bitcoins via its Cash App. Notably, bitcoin trading has been driving growth in the companys user base since then. Moreover, bitcoin revenues have turned out to the key catalyst behind the companys top-line growth. In second-quarter 2020, Square generated revenues of $875.5 million from the bitcoin category (45.5% of total revenues), up a whopping 600% on a year-over-year basis. The company witnessed strong customer demand and growth in bitcoin actives in the second quarter. We note that expanding bitcoin offerings on the back of its increasing reserve will continue to aid the company in gaining further momentum among customers. Story continues Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider Currently, Square carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Zoom Video Communications, Inc. ZM, eGain Corporation EGAN and Digital Turbine, Inc. APPS. While Zoom Video and eGain currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Digital Turbine carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Long-term earnings growth rate for Zoom Video, eGain and Digital Turbine is currently pegged at 25%, 20% and 50%, respectively. Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside? Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana. Ignited by referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $17.7 billion in 2019 to a staggering $73.6 billion by 2027. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look. See the pot stocks we're targeting >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report eGain Corporation (EGAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Square, Inc. (SQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Digital Turbine, Inc. (APPS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (ZM) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research || DigiCrypts to Offer AI-Based Crypto Currency Trading Tool within the Next 3 Months: TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / October 29, 2020 / DigiCrypts Blockchain Solutions Inc. o/a DIGIMAX GLOBAL SOLUTIONS (the " Company " or " DigiMax ") (CSE:DIGI) is pleased to announce that, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary DataNavee Corporation, it has developed an AI-Based predictive trading information platform that has demonstrated an ability for an investor to realize superior rates of return trading crypto currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The program has been under development for more than one year and has been used in beta mode with positive results. As with other platforms developed by DataNavee, the program uses AI to sort through reams of data that includes not only the trading history of the currencies, but also both macro- and micro-economic data, world events, and global money flows. Bringing all of this data into one program gives the user an ability to predict small and large changes in pricing direction with a high correlation to actual price moves. The program is anticipated to be offered before the end of the calendar year on a subscription basis to any individual for a low introductory fee designed to attract a maximum number of users. Initially the program will make detailed information available for Bitcoin and Ethereum, and additional currencies will be added over time. Several additional predictive analytic features will be added to the program after the initial launch that can be separately subscribed for in various options packages by the individual user. With a renewed interest globally in the value of crypto currencies as an alternative store of value to fiat currency, DataNavee estimates the potential user base for a program such as this could measure into the millions of individuals. The program will initially be launched in North America after which, countries will be added on a monthly basis. About DigiMax DigiMax is based in Toronto and is the first company in the Digital Security space to be both publicly listed (listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange-symbol: DIGI) and own a registered Dealer. Canada, DigiMax Capital Corp is an 'Exempt Market Dealer registered in Ontario. Story continues DigiMax is continuously looking to bring financial technologies that add value and competitive advantage to its clients and potential investors. The Company has a highly qualified management team with extensive experience in global financial and capital markets, combined with a rapidly expanding global presence through collaborative partnerships in the USA, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, England, Singapore, Korea and Malta . About DataNavee DataNavee is based in Toronto and is developing a number of Artificial Intelligence based Data Analytics services that any individual or small company can utilize at low cost but still realize great value and cost savings for their businesses. By offering a highly customizable search and report service, DataNavee eliminates the need for in-house developers and data scientists reducing the cost of accessing the benefits of "Big Data" that very large corporation have been gaining competitive advantage from for many years. The developers working for or with DataNavee have provided these types of services on an exclusive contract basis to some of the world's largest corporations in North America, Asia and Europe and have come together with DataNavee to make Big Data much more accessible to small and medium sized enterprises ("SME's"). Contacts DigiMax: Chris Carl President & CEO 416-312-9698 ccarl@digimax-global.com Edward Murphy Chairman 416-720-0456 emurphy@digimax-global.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE, NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE This press release contains "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: anticipate, intend, plan, goal, seek, believe, project, estimate, expect, strategy, future, likely, may, should, will and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements in this press release include, among others, statements we make regarding a second closing. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: shareholders approving the change of name to DigiMax, the adequacy of our cash flow and earnings, the availability of future financing and/or credit, and other conditions which may affect our ability to expand the App Platform described herein, the level of demand and financial performance of the cryptocurrency industry, developments and changes in laws and regulations, including increased regulation of the cryptocurrency industry through legislative action and revised rules and standards applied by the Canadian Securities Administrators, Ontario Securities Commission, and/or other similar regulatory bodies in other jurisdictions, disruptions to our technology network including computer systems, software and cloud data, or other disruptions of our operating systems, structures or equipment, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in disclosure documents filed by the Company with the securities regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada and available at www.sedar.com . SOURCE: DigiMax Global Solutions View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/613177/DigiCrypts-to-Offer-AI-Based-Crypto-Currency-Trading-Tool-within-the-Next-3-Months || Market Wrap: Bitcoin Bumps Close to $11.6K; Ether Options Open Interest Dips: Bitcoin bounced close to $11,600 before retreating a bit while ether options traders are less active than they were in September. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $11,552 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET). Gaining 1.7% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $11,186-$11,598 BTC is above its 10-day and 50-day moving averages, a bullish signal for market technicians. After a flat weekend that saw the world’s oldest cryptocurrency stick to a tight $11,300-$11,400 range, bitcoin’s price jumped Monday as high as $11,598 before settling to $11,552 as of press time. Read More: Bitcoin and Ether Rally After Grayscale’s ETH Trust Becomes SEC-Reporting Related: First Mover: Stimulus Winning as Biden Surges in Polls and Bitcoin Eyes $12K In its weekly investor note, quant trading firm QCP Capital put bitcoin’s technical support at $10,500, with any point above positive for the overall market due to payments firm Square buying $50 million in bitcoin . It has stayed above that level comfortably since Oct. 2. ”Last week Square’s purchase put a nice floor in BTC right at the key trendline and 10,500 level, with their average purchase price being $10,617 for 4,709 BTC,” the QCP note read. “Square’s purchase and effective lobbying of other corporate treasury desks through their white paper will give people confidence that a five-digit BTC price will be sustainable.” On the macroeconomic front, global stock markets are anxiously awaiting further economic stimulus in the face of an increasing number of coronavirus cases, said Rupert Douglas, head of institutional sales for broker Koine. Equities traders want another round of stimulus as well as a weaker dollar, which supports gold, silver and bitcoin, too, he added. Indeed, since Sept. 25, the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of a basket of fiat currencies versus the greenback, has been flat, in the red 0.01% Monday at press time. Story continues Related: Bitcoin Eyes $12K Price After 6-Day Streak of Gains “Macroeconomic news and markets have been mostly positive across the globe, with equities up 2%-3% last week,” said Jason Lau, chief operating officer for cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin. He also noted that funding rates have been mostly positive the past three days, indicating traders are mostly paying for margin to go long in the bitcoin market. “Positive funding rates in the BTC futures markets and recent large corporate purchases, for example Square, have also increased short term bullish sentiment in line with traditional markets leading into year end,” Lau added. Ether options open interest lower in October Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was up Monday trading around $387 and climbing 4% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Prices jumped nearly 4% several hours after digital currency asset manager Grayscale announced its Ethereum Trust has become a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-reporting company. Grayscale is owned by CoinDesk’s parent company, Digital Currency Group Read More: DeFi Project Aave Raises $25M From Blockchain.com and Other Investors In the options market, after a record September for open interest on derivatives venue Deribit, October’s volume is much lower. In the first 10 days of September, ether options open interest averaged $425 million. For the first 10 days of October, that average was down 18% to $346 million. Despite a mostly bullish run for ether to start October, options traders are less interested in placing bets on Deribit, which is the largest ether options venue. Vishal Shah, an options trader and founder of derivatives exchange Alpha5, says a decline in DeFi interest this month may be the culprit for open interest dipping. “I think, without over-analyzing it, DeFi has fizzled a touch, naturally reducing the need for ETH optionality on the margin,” he said. Other markets Digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 are mostly green Monday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): chainlink (LINK) + 8.4% monero (XMR) + 7.2% tezos (XTZ) + 4.1% One notable loser as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): bitcoin sv (BSV) – 0.20% Read More: UK Crypto Derivatives Ban Seen Having Limited Effect on Small Market Equities: Asia’s Nikkei 225 closed in the red 0.26% as the People’s Bank of China announced rule changes making it more cost effective to short the renminbi . Europe’s FTSE 100 ended the day slipping 0.25% as the U . K. government announced fresh coronavirus-relation restrictions Monday . In the United States the S&P 500 climbed 1.7% as investors were optimistic for a stimulus deal and tech stocks pushed higher . Commodities: Oil was down 2.6%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $39.49. Gold was in the red 0.32% and at $1,923 as of press time. Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bond yields were flat or slightly in the red Monday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the 10-year, dipping to 0.775 and slipping 0.63%. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Bumps Close to $11.6K; Ether Options Open Interest Dips Market Wrap: Bitcoin Bumps Close to $11.6K; Ether Options Open Interest Dips || Europe mulls digital euro as China pushes ahead with own electronic currency: The European Central Bank (ECB) has moved a step closer to pursuing a digital euro, becoming the latest global central bank to seriously consider following China's lead in creating a digital currency.
China appears to be the clear leader in developing asovereign digital currency, with pilot tests under way in several parts of the country.
But other central banks are starting to explore the idea, spurred on in part by the attention the Chinese project is getting and the nation's advanced system of electronic payments through mobile apps.
Get the latest insights and analysis from ourGlobal Impact newsletteron the big stories originating in China.
The ECB outlined the potential benefits and pitfalls of a digital euro in a report released late last week, saying it must be designed to avoid "adverse effects on monetary policy and financial stability".
Key risks include the impact on monetary policy, financial stability, the safety and efficiency of retail payments, cross-border flows, cybersecurity and legal and privacy issues, the ECB said.
"The move to introduce a digital currency in which users hold deposits directly with the central bank is quite a radical one, and there isn't much research done on the effects on the economy, especially the banking sector," said Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong.
Financial stability could be undermined if banks' funding costs were affected by depositors changing their savings at commercial banks to a central bank-issued digital currency, the ECB said.
Banks might have to replace the lost deposits with borrowing from the central bank or directly from capital markets, which could mean the ECB would have to expand its role in the economy, potentially forcing banks to take on more risk to earn money.
China's digital sovereign currency tests put it ahead of the global pack in push to adopt digital money
"Were this demand to increase their funding costs, banks might have to deleverage and decrease the supply of credit, thus preventing an optimal level of aggregate investment and consumption," the report said, adding this could ultimately drive up the cost of borrowing, hampering economic activity.
"Moreover, if their traditional business model is compromised, banks may decide to take on greater risks in an attempt to earn higher (nominal) returns and to offset the reduction in profitability."
During a crisis, when savers have less confidence in banks, they might opt for the digital currency and so increase the likelihood and severity of bank runs, risking overall financial stability, the report said.
Despite the dangers, the ECB said it believed a digital euro could enhance the role of the second most traded currency in the world.
"A digital euro would support Europe's drive towards continued innovation. It would also contribute to its financial sovereignty and strengthen the international role of the euro," Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB's Executive Board and chair of the digital currency task force, said.
China's central bank has said it is important to become the first nation to issue a digital currency as part of its push to internationalise the yuan and reduce its dependence on thedollar payment system.
A growing number of central banks around the world are considering launching digital currencies. Sweden's Riksbank is trialing the use of an e-krona, but the Reserve Bank of Australia concluded in a report last month there was no need for a digital currency at present.
The ECB report also recommended limited distribution and use of its digital currency by corporate entities and individuals "to prevent excessive shifts of commercial bank money into digital euro".
"The technical implementation of a digital euro needs to be thoroughly tested and legal considerations carefully examined before any decision is taken on issuance," said the ECB report, adding that it will come back with a decision "towards mid 2021" on whether to start a digital euro project.
The ECB said it has not made a decision yet on whether to launch a digital euro but will begin public consultation this week.
This article originally appeared in theSouth China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore theSCMP appor visit the SCMP'sFacebookandTwitterpages. Copyright © 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. || How the Decentralized Web Transfers Wealth From Corporations to People: The internet of today is broken. We can use the internet, but we don’t own anything we do. Companies control our domain names, the content we host on web servers and our access to the internet. Now that so much of our information is on social media, this problem is even worse. Our social media IDs, our chat messages, our videos and anything else we publish online is controlled by giant companies. They can seize your assets, spy on you, ban you and sell your most intimate details to the highest bidder.
Bradley Kam is the founder and head of business development of Unstoppable Domains. This post is part of CoinDesk’s “Internet 2030” series examining the future of our digital lives.
In the case of the domain name system (DNS), companies control domains, not users. Domains are frequently taken from users at the request of governments and other parties.France.com was seizedfrom a man who had owned it since 1994 because the country of France believed it should be the owner. Owners of .com domains around the world are often surprised to discover that the U.S. government polices websites from all over the world by asking Verisign (owner of .com) to take away domains. The Libyan government seized vb.ly for violating Islamic law even though the website and its owner were not based in Libya. Anyone in the world with a .ly domain is subject to takedowns at the request of the Libyan government.
Related:Coinbase's 'Mission' Violates the Spirit of Bitcoin
Hosting services suffer from a similar fate as DNS does. Companies and countries decide what can be published, not users. In Turkey, a law was passedthat bans 150 wordsfrom being mentioned on any website in the country. One of these words is “gay and another one is “naked.” Hosting services are being used to censor content that disagrees with the religious beliefs of the government in power. In China, the problem is even more extreme. Anyone who wants to publish online must first obtain alicense.
And hosting providers are central points of failure. Not long ago,AWS had an outage, which effectively turned off large portions of the internet. These problems all come back to this issue of companies owning user data versus users owning their own data.
See also:Handshake Goes Live With an Uncensorable Internet Browser
All of this would change if users, not companies, controlled their digital assets and data. This is now possible for the first time in history with the creation of blockchain networks like Ethereum, Filecoin and others. By 2030, assuming decentralized networks succeed, the internet will undergo massive changes that are better for users and for freedom on the internet. We can have a user controlled internet that promotes freedom across the world.
Related:Bitcoin Correlations Depend on What Phase It Is In
So what will 2030 look like?
Websites are controlled by communities, not by any one person or company. The community votes on what articles are posted and what content is covered. I visit a popular news website that isn’t controlled by any particular person or group. The top news headlines are voted on by users. Even determining whether an article is truthful or overly biased is determined by the crowd.
After reading the news of the day, I decided to check on my favorite investment fund. This is also a community-owned project, where investment decisions are voted on and members can opt to participate in deals. I’m intrigued by the latest underwater robot tech and decide to put in a little bit of money. I click two buttons and the funds are sent.
Instead of tech companies individually determining what information is okay to share online and what isn’t, users decide.
I open my browser and check out some of the latest content. I navigate to one in particular, but my browser offers a warning – this content is potentially violent and disturbing. Do I want to see it anyway? Something else I click on is blocked entirely because I’ve set my browser to filter out such content. I’ve chosen to use the American Civil Liberties Union’s list of filtered websites because I like its view on where the line is between free speech and hate speech.
Of course, if I disagree with ACLU’s view, I simply set my browser to resolve all websites or I use an open-source browser that resolves every website available. Companies are now competing in an open market to deliver the best user protection from harmful content while still giving me the ultimate choice over what I view online.
See also: Steven McKie –Why the Decentralized Web’s Development Is Unstoppable
Instead of social media companies owning user data, users store information on decentralized hosting networks and carry their data around with them on the internet. If an application wants access to a particular piece of data, users give that app permission. Often, that permission is to use a piece of data without the app’s creators being able to see the data or identify who I am.
I jump onto a social network that has a slick search function for finding info about my friends. I’m looking for friends who have traveled to a particular city in the past few months so I can get travel advice. Next, I want to read about the latest political discussions my friends are having. I jump onto another social network and my contacts, messages, comments and the rest of my info follow me as I move across these networks.
Each friend has just one username, not one per social media app. I am trying out a new social network I’ve never tried before. I don’t need to rebuild my social graph because my contacts and data come along with me. I just log in the first time and it works. I share some data with the app and I get paid. I then choose to watch an ad and get paid again.
As a superuser, I get a steady stream of revenue from one of my most important assets, my online data. New apps are popping up all of the time and companies are constantly competing to provide me the best user experience, which includes paying the highest price possible for my data and my attention.
By 2030, the transition from a corporate-controlled to a user-controlled internet has made everyone on the planet wealthier. Access to new services has reduced the costs for literally billions of people to borrow money, start businesses or invest in their education. Users and their data will be set free. Just as physical property rights ended indentured servitude and launched the industrial revolution, digital property rights have brought about a digital industrial revolution.
I have tens of thousands of dollars in digital value just from monetizing social media accounts. As much as 50% of my wealth is digital now instead of physical. The digital economy is booming and consumers are the primary beneficiaries.
If this is our future, we will all be better off because of it.
• How the Decentralized Web Transfers Wealth From Corporations to People
• How the Decentralized Web Transfers Wealth From Corporations to People
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 13781.00, 13737.11, 13550.49, 13950.30, 14133.71, 15579.85, 15565.88, 14833.75, 15479.57, 15332.32
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Your first trade for Friday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day.
Dan Nathan was a seller of Wal-Mart(WMT).
Steve Grasso was a buyer of American Eagle Outfitters(AEO).
Brian Kelly was a seller of Deutsche Bank(XETRA:DBK-DE).
Guy Adami was a buyer of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF(NYSE Arca: GDX)after picking Macy's(NYSE:M)three days in a row.
Trader disclosure: On January 7, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb put spread, long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March risk reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb call spread, long PYPL Jan risk reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM Feb calls, short SPY, long UUP, long WMT puts. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MBLY, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm is long APC, CXO, OXY, BP, CVX, MCD, RIG, AMZN kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY, DB. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
Wolfe Research Sr. Analyst Paul Sankey: No disclosures.
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• Top News and Analysis
• Latest News Video
• Personal Finance || New Study Shows Bitcoin Still Has A Long Way To Go: Bitcoin has gained notoriety quickly over the past few years, as more people become familiar with cryptocurrencies. While the majority of the public is still skeptical regarding the safety and security of the currency, bitcoin's user base has been growing. However, although bitcoin enthusiasts say the payment system has made major gains over the past few years, a new study shows the cryptocurrency is still widely misunderstood, even by those who use it. Limited Understanding A peer-reviewed study conducted by Janne Lindqvist of Rutgers Wireless Information Network Laboratory showed both users and non-users of the cryptocurrency have only a basic understanding of how bitcoin works and how safe it is to use. Related Link: Interest In Bitcoin Mining Returns For those who have yet to try bitcoin, the study indicated they worried about adopting the currency and saw setting up an account as too difficult. Users Misinformed Surprisingly, the study also showed that many of those who use bitcoin regularly also found the system difficult to understand. Not only were bitcoin users misinformed about the level of security bitcoin transactions provide, but they also struggled to wrap their minds around how bitcoin transactions are carried out. Government Backing Important Another factor from the study that garners attention was that both users and non-users were keen for further government intervention for Bitcoin. While users typically expressed anti-government views and said less regulation was important to them, they still said that backing from the government would make the bitcoin system more secure. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Under Armour's Partnership With IBM Could Revive Both Brands Can Bank Stocks Recover? A New Way To Advertise © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments || Surprising Gift Offered to Bitcoin Sellers at Coin Reverse Inc.: Coin Reverse Inc. Is Now Offering Engraved Bitcoin to Their Customers NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 29, 2016 / Coin Reverse Inc. ( http://www.coinreverse.com ) has hit the charts with their latest offer on Bitcoin purchase: they're not only offering 15% more than Blockchain's official rate for each Bitcoin they purchase, but they are also putting a surprise gift on transactions amounting 10+ BTC. CoinReverse's marketing team has gone creative enough to attach a special gift to each and every transaction amounting more than 10 BTC: they are offering a 24-karat gold coin with the Bitcoin engraved on both sides. The mechanism is simple: each customer selling over 10 BTC within one transaction is asked to provide a mailing address and the company delivers the gift via a courier. CoinReverse's Marketing Manager Jacob Gustavo is enthusiastic with their latest gift idea, while being positive that people involved in the cryptocurrency market are definitely welcoming a jewelry-like item engraved with the Bitcoin logo, being offered to them for doing business with CoinReverse. "In this way, we are offering our customers a somehow materialized version of this virtual, non-material coin. We think it's pretty cool to put your hands on a coin carrying the Bitcoin's logo, especially if you're passionate about the cryptocurrencies," declares Jacob Gustavo, company's Marketing Manager. Coin Reverse Inc. is a cryptocurrency trading company based in NewYork, USA, founded and developed by few bold investment professionals who have seen the business opportunity outside the traditional capital markets and have targeted cryptocurrency trade in terms of medium and long-term investments strategy. Business is operated in an effective manner, with a user-friendly platform and easy contact means through the company's website and via e-mail, with 24/7 assistance through a Live Chat Section offered. Payments for the trade are free of any charges on the customer's side, while the company covers all the costs involved. The most common payment methods are available: PayPal and Bank Transfer. Story continues All the details related to the company's offer and other information, together with the contact details of the Sales Team are available on their website: http://www.coinreverse.com . No restrictions on customers' provenience and payment destination countries or currencies are in force within the company's policy. For more information about us, please visit http://coinreverse.com . Contact Info: Name: Tom Juno Organization: Coin Reverse Inc. Address: 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor Phone: (315) 210-8349 SOURCE: Coin Reverse Inc. || Oil drives Wall St. higher; most & least favorite stocks; Amazon clothing line: Stocks ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) are continuing their rally, boosted by higher oil prices ( CLH16.NYM) following comments from Iran about limiting oil production. Keith Bliss of Cuttone & Co. joins us live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the markets. Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous talks about that and some of the other big stories of the day with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finance's Dan Roberts. Stocks you love, stocks you hate Love 'em or hate 'em? The latest filings from the Securities Exchange Commission are showing which stocks are being bought and sold by the largest investors. So far, the 13F filings are showing some of the leaders to be The Blackstone Group ( BX ), Visa ( V ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Google ( GOOGL ) and LinkedIn ( LNKD ). Pulling up the rear, we have Coca-Cola ( KO ), IBM ( IBM ), Apple ( AAPL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), and ExxonMobil ( XOM ). Who will be the new leaders in 2016? Bitcoin push Virtual currency fans get no respect! Well, apparently that's how they feel, so Bitcoin believers are turning to a non-profit advocacy group to help lift some of the shroud of mystery surrounding cryptocurrency. Will it succeed, disrupt, or fail? Amazon clothes Would you buy your clothes from ... Amazon ( AMZN )? The online retail powerhouse hopes so. Fashion news site WWD reports the company is increasing hiring for Amazon Fashion Private Label, suggesting the line is getting closer to launch. || Flux Party seeks to be the bitcoin of Australian politics: By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - A new Australian political party is using the virtual currency bitcoin as a model to replace what they say is an outdated political system - representative democracy - with a streamlined new polity for the information age. The Flux Party says its goal is to elect six senators. They will propose no policies and will not follow their consciences, but will support or block legislation at the direction of their members, who can swap or trade their votes on every bill online. "If they didn't have to be senators, if they could just be software or robots they would be, because their only purpose is to do what the people want them to do," Flux Party co-founder Max Kaye told Reuters in an interview. Australia is set to hold an election in September or October after a period of turmoil that brought five prime ministers in as many years. At the same time the upper house, which thanks to the quirks of its electoral system has a history of returning mavericks and fringe party candidates, has been hopelessly deadlocked by a handful of senators, at least one elected on less than 1 percent of the vote. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last week raised the possibility of calling an early poll to break the gridlock that has held up the government's legislative agenda. That type of policy inertia is what bitcoin enthusiasts Kaye and Flux co-founder Nathan Spataro say inspired them to explore alternative systems that better represent the world of 2016. Bitcoin is a web-based "cryptocurrency" used to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority. The technology behind it is called the blockchain - a massive electronic ledger of every transaction that is verified and shared by a global network of computers. To Spataro and Kaye, bitcoin is not just an alternative financial system: it is the missing link between representative democracy and Democracy 2.0. "This ancient system we've got of representative democracy, which at the time liberated us from monarchies and was awesome, now we're at a point where it's become this monster," Spataro said. Story continues "We're in a society now that's got the Internet and when democracy in its current form was conceived, you had to sail on a ship from England to get here. This model wasn't designed for this world." "DELIGHTFULLY NAIVE" Bitcoin's strength comes from its ability to build trust through ease of verification and by removing human frailty from the equation, said Dr. Adrian Lee, an expert on bitcoin at the University of Technology Sydney. That makes what the Flux Party is proposing both unique and also potentially fraught. "I haven't seen a party which would vote via blockchain," Lee said. "If you removed the politician and made it just a bitcoin machine, then maybe it would work but you can't do that," he said, noting the absence of a legally binding mechanism to make Flux senators vote as directed. Although the party's architecture for calculating and distributing voters' wishes to their elected officials uses highly complex computer code, the overall idea is fairly simple. Flux members and single-issue campaigners that agree to support the party at the election are allotted bitcoin-like tokens that they can use themselves, trade or give to experts or interest groups they trust to vote as their proxy. Outcomes are distributed proportionately, so if 80 percent vote in favor of a bill and 20 against, five Flux senators vote yea and one nay. Ministers are not often experts in their portfolio, and yet they are charged with making critical decisions on issues such as environmental or fiscal policy. Under their system, the Flux Party founders say, large blocs of voters could effectively grant their vote on such issues to a scientist or economist. "You get sick, you go to the doctor, right? You don't self-diagnose and you don't go and call your plumber," Kaye said. The Party filed its registration papers with the Australian Election Commission last month after obtaining the requisite support of at least 550 registered voters. Its website currently puts its membership at 1,009 people. Attempting to apply the transformative power of the Internet to democratic systems is not a new one, said Peter Chen, a senior lecturer in politics at the University of Sydney, who called the Flux Party "delightfully naive people". "They're just the modern version of something that's always been around: utopian political system designers," he said. "They're obviously guys who are really focused on the tech thing and that has always been the problem with the e-democracy people. They're often really tech-driven and they need political scientists at the brainstorming floor to say 'well, I don't know if that'd work'." (Reporting by Matt Siegel; Editing by Alex Richardson) || 10 Tech Predictions for 2016: As I always say, predicting what will happen in the tech industry over a short time horizon is a lot like shooting darts at Jell-O. But someone’s got to do it and it may as well be me. Besides, my prophecies for 2015 didn’t do nearly as well as in 2014 , and I’m itching to redeem myself. I did hit a number of forecasts out of the park, including the success of Apple Pay and the demise of Twitter CEO Dick Costolo. And my prediction that the Nasdaq would break its all-time high and then fizzle out turned out to be reasonably accurate. But a few of the calls I made, including those about net neutrality and the Comcast – Time Warner Cable merger – were thwarted by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and federal regulators. [Sigh.] And my bet on cinematic reality startup Magic Leap never made the jump from virtual to reality. Let’s see if I can do better this year. Here’s what my crystal ball says will happen in 2016: Users will develop smart gadget fatigue. While smartphones and tablets, to a lesser extent, will continue to see strong growth in emerging markets, the growth curve will continue to flatten out in mature markets – especially among Android devices. Wearables will get a boost from Apple Watch 2 but unit sales will remain unimpressive compared with the incomparable iPhone. Jack will tweak Twitter. O Twitter, Twitter! Wherefore art thou Twitter? The return of Jack Dorsey as CEO will see the cofounder do a lot of Facebook-like (move fast and break things) tweaking to Twitter, starting with increasing the 140 character tweet limit. Jack will continue to tweak the product until something good happens, as in renewed user growth and engagement. Apple and Google car hype will reach fever pitch. Car tech is heating up in a big way. And since the market’s response to Apple’s first new products since Steve Jobs – Apple Watch and Apple TV (the product, not the hobby) – has been muted, fanboys will be clamoring for rumors on the car front. And Google will likewise be pressured to show progress on at least one of its massive Alphabet ventures, notably its self-driving car. Drones will continue to bug neighbors, privacy buffs and the FAA. Drones will remain an annoying hobby for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, nobody in desperate need of a midnight pizza or a six-pack will be getting one delivered by drone anytime soon. And definitely not anytime this year. The digital and real worlds will meet in augmented reality (AR). Virtual reality has been the next big thing for as far back as I can remember, but the technology behind Facebook Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard is becoming more real all the time. A breakthrough, however, is more likely in the AR space, where the digital and real worlds meet. That means something will pop from Magic Leap, Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass 2, or who knows, maybe Apple. Story continues The tech bubble will correct. With notable exceptions like Netflix and Amazon, tech stocks took a breather in 2015 after an impressive six-year bull run. But the slowing global economy, the Fed’s monetary tightening, and terrorism concerns will let some air out of the private equity bubble and take the Nasdaq down into correction territory. Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious Bitcoin founder, will not be found. Wired, Gizmodo and every other tech media outlet have been hot on the trail of identifying Satoshi Nakamoto , the pseudonym of Bitcoin’s mysterious founder. They thought they had it figured out a few weeks ago, but that turned out to be an elaborate hoax. Still, it was nowhere near as embarrassing as Newsweek’s Dorian Nakamoto debacle of 2014. The IPO market will be weak. The private equity bubble is keeping late-stage startups that would ordinarily go public out of the IPO market. That will change when there’s a unicorn shakeout, investors get burned and VCs stop throwing money at startups at crazy valuations. That’s when tech companies will once again see public markets as viable exits. That’s when you’ll see unicorns stampede on Wall Street . And it won’t be in 2016. M&A activity will be strong. With the bull market running out of steam and private investors becoming more cautious, M&A exits will be on the rise. Unfortunately, a lot of them will be companies that maintain high burn rates until it’s too late and end up going for dimes on a dollar in fire sales. Yahoo will sell its core business and Marissa Mayer will be out as CEO. Here’s a fun little rhyme for 2016, courtesy of Humpty Dumpty: Yahoo Yahoo sat on a wall Yahoo Yahoo had a great fall All the Valley’s CEOs and all the Valley’s chairmen Couldn’t put Yahoo Yahoo together again Jerry Yang, Carol Bartz, Roy Bostock, Tim Morse, Scott Thompson, Ross Levinsohn, Fred Amoroso, Maynard Webb. I’m sure I missed a CEO or chairman somewhere in there, but in any case, enough is enough. It’s long past time to put this company, its board, and Marissa Mayer out of their misery. Yahoo will be acquired or taken private in 2016. Related Articles GM Eyes the Future With $500M Bet on Lyft Where You Can Watch and Participate in the GOP Debate The Most Annoying Aspects of Our Tech-Crazed Culture View comments || Your first trade for Wednesday: The " Fast Money " traders delivered their final picks with just two trading days left in the year. Pete Najarian was a buyer ofWynn Resorts ( WYNN ) . Brian Kelly was a buyer of Trina Solar ( TSL ) . Dan Nathan was a seller of McDonald's ( MCD ) . Guy Adami was a buyer of Thermo Fisher Scientific ( TMO ) . Trader disclosure: On December 29, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Pete Najarian is long Long AAPL, BAC, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, ABX, BAC, COP, DAL, DDD, EMR, EXAS, HAIN, HUN, LC, LULU, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NSAM, PNR, SCSS, UAL, VZ, WLL, WYNN, He is long puts FCX, MRO, WFT. Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb Put Spread, Long PFE buy-write, Long TWTR March Risk Reversal, Long UUP March call, Long XLU Feb Call spread, Long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, Long M Jan16 call spread, Long NTAP Jan risk reversal, Long GM Jan Put Butterfly, Long Len Jan Put Fly, Long QCOM feb calls, Short SPY, Long UUP. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yen, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance || XBT Provider AB: Bitcoin Tracker EUR (COINXBE) Now Available on Nasdaq Nordic through Interactive Brokers: Stockholm, Sweden (January 19, 2016) - XBT Provider AB (publ) announced today the availability of the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR in 179 countries. Starting today anyone with an Interactive Brokers account can trade the ETN Bitcoin Tracker EUR. The ticker code is COINXBE. ISIN: SE0007525332
The tracker is an exchange traded note designed to mirror the return of the underlying asset, U.S. dollar (USD) per bitcoin.
This is the first bitcoin-based security denominated in Euro available on a regulated exchange. XBT Provider launched this financial instrument to meet the needs of investors` growing appetite for exposure to bitcoin prices.
"Bitcoin tracker EUR" is listed on Nasdaq Nordic and traded in the same manner as any share or instrument listed on the Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm. COINXBE is also available via Bloomberg terminals.
Direct link to specifications at Nasdaq:http://www.nasdaqomxnordic.com/etp/etn/etninfo?Instrument=SSE113749
Direct link to specifications at Bloomberg:http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/COINXBE:SS
The full prospectus and more information is available onxbtprovider.com
ABOUT THE ISSUER: XBT PROVIDER
XBT Provider AB (publ) is a public limited liability company formed in Sweden with statutory seat in Stockholm. The issuer is incorporated under Swedish law and registered with the Swedish companies` registration office under registration number 559001-3313.
Press release (PDF)
This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: XBT Provider AB via GlobeNewswireHUG#1975095 || Is Oil Driving The Stock Market? And Should Traders Care?: Recent headlines imply that the slump in the oil market caused the January drop in global stocks. They also point to oil rallies as the reason for stock rallies. But is the relationship causation or just correlation? Should we say one happened “and” or “because” the other one did?
Early in the Wednesday US trading session, crude oil futures dropped by nearly a dollar a barrel and the S&P 500 quickly moved in lockstep, dropping over 40 points in the same hour.
The larger downward trend of Monday and Tuesday in oil was also mirrored in the stock market. Crude oil’s drop was a full 11%, the largest percentage drop since March 2009. However, the drop in stocks over those two days was not nearly as dramatic.
On Wednesday, the markets diverged in the morning. Crude had a brief selloff when the weekly EIA Petroleum Status Report came out, but then it bounced and an hour later WTI crude oil futures (Nadex: Crude Oil) had pushed above $31 a barrel and come within 20 cents of $32.
Stocks only came along for half of that ride. The S&P 500 (Nadex: US500) dropped 40 points, but only regained half of that loss. While oil was rising to two-day highs, stocks hovered near Tuesday’s lows. Clearly the exuberance among crude oil traders had not inspired similar optimism among stock index futures traders or investors as a whole.
Later in the day stocks did rally, but at the day’s close, crude oil was up over 8% and equity indexes were unchanged. Clearly stock traders were not taking their cues from the bullishness of oil traders. In fact, it’s hard to say what crude oil traders were using to guide their decisions on Wednesday.
Why were oil traders so bullish following a fairly downbeat EIA report? You’d have to do some mental gymnastics to come up with a direct reason. The record supply glut set a new record, with global oil inventories rising to over half a billion barrels and driving up gasoline inventories as well.
Foreign output remains high, with Iran now adding more of its stockpiles and production to the world market. And with large inventories and weak demand, refineries are cutting back production.
The weak demand comes despite the low prices. Demand for gasoline is off 0.9% year on year, despite gas prices being down 25% from this time in 2015. Demand for heating oil and distillates is down a full 16%, thanks to a warm winter and weak industrial demand. That perception of industrial weakness got further proof with Monday’s weak ISM Manufacturing Index report, the fourth weak report in a row and the worst streak of manufacturing numbers since 2009.
And despite that substantial negative report, the bulls had the day in crude oil. And even though stocks ended flat, some analysts will say that crude oil’s rally had a delayed effect on stocks and caused the afternoon rally.
When crude oil’s price action doesn’t even seem to have a logical connection to the latest supply and demand report, is it reasonable to think that stock traders are tying their decisions to such an emotional and unpredictable market?
Stock traders aren’t showing much consistency in their reactions to the news, themselves. The recent earnings reports were overall positive among S&P 500 companies, indicating that US businesses continue to be profitable. Yet some are pointing to earnings per share as a problem sign. A report from Goldman Sachs even said that profit margins are too high and if they don’t go down and revert to the mean, they believe it raises questions about “the efficacy of capitalism” itself.
It is a time when short-term traders who simply watch price movement tend to have an advantage. On Nadex, binary option and spread traders can trade the ups and downs without speculating on the whys and wherefores. Sometimes that is best left to the analysts. For traders, explaining the move isn’t nearly as important as trading it.
This information has been prepared by Nadex, a trading name of North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc., prepared by independent third parties contracted by Nadex or reproduced form third party news agencies. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Nadex accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication.
See more from Benzinga
• New Ways To Trade China, Crude Oil And The Fed
• Bitcoin Is Thriving As Stock Markets Dive
• The Simple Reason This Market Drop Makes Sense
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Soda and cigarettes? Momentum trades: Amid a wild year for stocks, "Fast Money" traders debated the merits of two names that have ticked higher despite volatility.
Shares of Philip Morris International(NYSE: PM)and Coca-Cola(NYSE: KO)have climbed more than 3 and 1 percent on the year, respectively. The gains compare to a loss of nearly 6 percent for the S&P 500(INDEX: .SPX).
Investors are "starved for yield" during a down year, and Coke may look appealing to some because of its dividend, trader Tim Seymour argued. He noted that awider strategy changemay also drive momentum for the stock.
Coke shares ticked slightly higher Wednesday, closing at $43.49. If the stock breaks above $45 per share, it would make a stronger trade than at its current level, contended trader Guy Adami.
For investors seeking dividends, Philip Morris also offers appeal, argued trader Brian Kelly. He said the company's dividend appears "safe," and the stock "held up very well" amid a downturn this year.
Disclosures:
Tim Seymour
Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, DO, F, FCX, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP, NKE, SINA, T, TWTR, VZ, XOM. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, KO, MCD, PEP, SAVE, SBUX, VALE, WMT,YHOO, short HYG, IWM.
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GLD, SLV, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Aussie Dollar, British Pound, CS, DB, Euro, EWH, Hong Kong Dollar, UBS, SPY, Yuan.
Karen Finerman
Karen is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, M, SEDG, SPY calls, URI, she is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, C calls, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, LYV, M, MOH, NRF, PLCE, URI, her firm is short IWM, MDY, SPY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International.
Guy Adami
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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• Personal Finance
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
LIVE: Profit = $167.34 (8.99 %). BUY B4.82 @ $410.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $421.13 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || 1 #bitcoin 1286.97 TL, 430.449 $, 398.96 €, GBP, 30299.94 RUR, 52999 ¥, CNH, 600.00 CAD #btc || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 13 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $429.17 #bitcoin #btc || $420.15 at 07:15 UTC [24h Range: $419.99 - $434.00 Volume: 6592 BTC] via #btcusdpic.twitter.com/qDVTyEgwhn || LIVE: Profit = $741.37 (8.83 %). BUY B20.40 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $448.60 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || $ 0.000024 (-24.13 %) 0.00000006 BTC (-25.00 %) #Nyancoin #NYAN via #NyanCoinBot
#Bitcoin #BTC #AltCoin #BlockChain…pic.twitter.com/45nUtQpyEX || $421.97 at 21:15 UTC [24h Range: $410.00 - $425.42 Volume: 7898 BTC] || €140,00 Tesla Bought for Bitcoin in Finland - Bitcoin News http://ow.ly/3yV9sH || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 11 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $193.21 #bitcoin #btc || 1 INFX Price: Bittrex 0.00002102 BTC #infx #infxprice 2016-01-30 10:00 pic.twitter.com/lttvSo9BWD
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Trend: no change || Prices: 438.80, 437.75, 420.74, 424.95, 424.54, 432.15, 432.52, 433.50, 437.70, 435.12
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2022-08-04]
BTC Price: 22630.96, BTC RSI: 51.07
Gold Price: 1788.50, Gold RSI: 60.10
Oil Price: 88.54, Oil RSI: 34.32
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Crypto lender Celsius says it is exploring options: (Reuters) -Retail crypto lending platform Celsius Network said on Thursday it was exploring options including deals and restructuring its liabilities. Celsius earlier this month froze https://bit.ly/3bHo3Cf withdrawals and transfers, citing "extreme" market conditions, leaving its 1.7 million customers unable to redeem their assets. The Hoboken, New Jersey, company hired restructuring consultants from advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal to advise on a possible bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. The market for digital assets in recent months has been roiled by extreme volatility as investors dump risky assets due to fears that aggressive interest rate hikes to tame stubborn inflation could plunge the economy into a recession. The European Union has agreed on groundbreaking rules for regulating crypto assets, EU lawmakers said on Thursday, as the rout in bitcoin piles pressure on authorities to rein in the sector. Cryptocurrencies have lost more than $400 billion since TerraUSD, a major stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, collapsed in May. Bitcoin tumbled another 6% to $18,866.77 late on Thursday, leaving it down over 70% from its peak last November. Similar to a bank, Celsius gathered crypto deposits from retail customers and invested them in the equivalent of the wholesale crypto market, including "decentralized finance," or DeFi, sites that use blockchain technology to offer services from loans to insurance outside the traditional financial sector. Celsius promised retail customers huge returns, sometimes as much as 19% annually. The lure of big profits has led individual investors to pour assets into Celsius and platforms like it. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru and Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Matthew Lewis) || Stock Market Today: Stocks Wave Off Recession Worries: white arrow bouncing higher with blue background Getty Images Stocks posted solid gains for a second straight day on Thursday, even as preliminary data showed the U.S. economy contracted 0.9% in the second quarter. The latest report from the Commerce Department marks back-to-back quarterly declines in gross domestic product (GDP), and sparked a whirlwind of recession chatter on Wall Street. SEE MORE 10 Best Low-Volatility Stocks to Buy Now "Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP meets our humble definition of a recession," says Dan Eye, chief investment officer at financial advisory firm Fort Pitt Capital Group. "But we agree with the view that labor market strength and a well-positioned consumer limits the severity of the economic contraction." Eye adds that the market sees lower odds of a third 75 basis-point rate hike (a basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point) at the Federal Reserve's September meeting and is beginning "to price in interest rate cuts as early as February 2023." Earnings were also in focus today. Meta Platforms ( META ) plummeted 5.2% after the Facebook parent said revenue declined 1% year-over-year in the second quarter to $28.8 billion – below what Wall Street was expecting. The company's earnings also came up short, as did its current-quarter revenue forecast. "This is the first quarter ever that META is reporting declining revenue growth from a year ago," says David Wagner, portfolio manager at financial advisory firm Aptus Capital Advisors. "You couple this with the fact that guidance is substantially lighter than expected is why the stock is lower." Wagner adds that "given the market's focus on profitability, we like the fact the company has slowed down egregious spending in products that appear to be black holes." Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. Ford Motor ( F ), on the other hand, jumped 6.1% after the automaker said Q2 operating income nearly tripled on a year-over-year basis to $3.7 billion. F also hiked its quarterly dividend by 50% to 15 cents per share. Story continues SEE MORE 10 Best Green Energy Stocks for the Rest of 2022 The major indexes managed to shake off some early morning weakness to finish near their session highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1% to 32,529, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.2% to 4,072 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 12,162. stock price chart 072822 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 1.3% to 1,873. U.S. crude futures fell 0.9% to settle at $96.42 per barrel. Gold futures jumped 1.8% to $1,750.30 an ounce. Bitcoin soared 4.5% to $23,798.25. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ) rose 5.6% after the discount airline said it ended merger talks with Frontier Group Holdings ( ULCC , +20.5%), instead accepting the $3.8 billion buyout offer from JetBlue Airways ( JBLU , -0.4%). "The companies will have an uphill battle convincing regulators that this deal should be approved," says Chris Pultz, portfolio manager for alternative investment firm Kellner Capital. "The Biden administration has been vocal about competitiveness in the airline industry, and this will not be looked upon favorably." Qualcomm ( QCOM ) sank 4.5% after the wireless technology company gave current-quarter guidance that fell short of the consensus estimate, citing a "challenging macroeconomic environment." This overshadowed QCOM's higher-than-expected earnings of $2.96 per share and revenue of $10.9+ billion for its fiscal third quarter. Still, Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher maintained a Buy rating on the tech stock . "QCOM has slightly outperformed peers during the tech sector selloff, reflecting the enduring strength of its silicon products and IP portfolio, and in our view continues to offer exceptional value," he says. The Best Cheap ETFs We Can Find Stock market gains from the past two days have brought some relief to investors, but worries over a potential recession will likely keep the roller-coaster ride going for the time being. Still, "investors should stay invested through the volatility and try to navigate into areas of the market that are more likely to provide downside protection in the volatile months ahead," says Gargi Chaudhuri, head of iShares investment strategy. SEE MORE 12 Dividend Aristocrats You Can Buy at a Discount To weather the storm of a turbulent market, economic slowdown risks and high inflation, she says investors should gain exposure to "companies with strong balance sheets and the ability to pass on higher costs to consumers," which could help cushion a portfolio. For that, there are plenty of single-stock plays for investors to choose from, like these companies with pricing power or these steady dividend growers . For those who want broad diversification, consider exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – which allow investors to build a core portfolio or make tactical moves across a basket of assets. But with thousands of ETFs to choose one, it can get overwhelming. Here, we've narrowed the list down to 20 of our favorite funds, which we call the Kip ETF 20 . The exchange-traded funds featured here offer a variety of strategies for investors, at low costs to boot. Karee Venema was long F as of this writing. SEE MORE Can AI Beat the Market? 10 Stocks to Watch You may also like What's the Tax on the Mega Millions Jackpot? Your Guide to Roth Conversions 10 Easily Fixable, But Often Overlooked, Financial Planning Items || UPDATE 1-Financial watchdogs should do more to protect crypto investors, Swiss regulator says: (Adds background, comment) By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi ZURICH, June 22 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency trading increasingly resembles the U.S. stock market of the late 1920s, Switzerland's top market regulator said on Wednesday, calling for regulators to take more action to protect consumers from abuse in the freewheeling sector. Governments are trying to work out how to best oversee the $890 billion crypto market, which is currently only covered by patchy regulation. Regulators and policymakers have long fretted over the risk to consumers from cryptocurrencies, with U.S. securities watchdogs among those to warn about the potential for manipulation of opaque crypto markets. "There's much more that can be done," said Urban Angehrn, CEO, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). "It would seem to me that a lot of trading in digital assets looks like the U.S. stock market in 1928, where all kinds of abuse, pump and dump, are now in fact frequently common," Angehrn said at a conference in Zurich. "Let's also think about the potential of technology to make it easy to deal with the large amounts of data and to protect consumers from trading on abusive markets," Angehrn said. Crypto markets have been in turmoil over the past few weeks after blow-ups at several major companies. The overall crypto market has slumped to around $900 billion, down from a record $3 trillion in November, with losses mounting after U.S. crypto lender Celsius Network last week froze the accounts of its 1.7 million customers. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, fell below $20,000 on June 18 for the first time since December 2020. It has plummeted around 60% this year, coming under pressure as soaring inflation and rising interest rates prompt a flight from stocks and other higher-risk assets. The troubles at Celsius are likely to increase U.S. regulatory pressure on a sector already on the defensive amid other crises this year. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich, writing by Tom Wilson in London. Editing by Jane Merriman) View comments || Crypto crash: Bitcoin price sinks further as Voyager Digital files for bankruptcy: Crypto lender Voyager Digital filed for bankruptcy on 5 July, 2022 (Getty Images) The price of bitcoin has fallen once again on Wednesday after Voyager Digital became the latest high-profile crypto firm to file for bankruptcy. The Canada-based cryptocurrency lender announced on Wednesday that it has commenced a voluntary Chapter 11 process in order to “maximize value of all stakeholders”. The filing with the Southern District of New York estimated that Voyager Digital has more than 100,000 creditors and up to $10 billion in assets. “Today we began a voluntary financial restructuring process to protect assets on the platform, maximize value for all stakeholders, especially customers, and emerge as a stronger company,” Voyager Digital CEO Stephen Ehrlich tweeted. “During the reorganisation, we’ll maintain operations. We intend to certain customer programs without disruption. Trading, deposits, withdrawals and loyalty rewards on the Voyager platform remain temporarily suspended.” It comes just days after the company suspended trading, deposits, loyalty rewards and withdrawals amid a liquidity crisis across the crypto industry. Celsius, CoinLoan and CoinFlex are among the companies to have also announced restrictions or halts on customer withdawals over the last month. Voyager Digital’s token, VGX, was trading at $0.21 on Wednesday morning, down from a peak above $5 in November 2021. During that seven-month period, the overall crypto market has fallen from close to $3 trillion to below $1 trillion. Bitcoin, the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, briefly fell below $20,000 following Voyager Digital’s announcement, as it continues to struggle to recover from one of the worst price crashes in its history. Some crypto experts believe a recent run of relative stability amid the market turmoil could suggest that a bottom has been reached, with analysts at the Bitfinex excahange telling The Independent that it could imply “that an intrinsic value has been realised” for the cryptocurrency. Others fear there may be one final “washout” before any significant recovery is seen. || US stocks trade mixed as investors assess online advertising weakness following grim Snap earnings: Spencer Platt/Getty Images US stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors assess the damage from Snap's earnings bomb. Snap plunged more than 25% after the company reported a slowdown in online advertising spending. Of the 87 S&P 500 companies that have reported 2nd-quarter earnings, 80% have beaten profit estimates, according to Fundstrat. US stocks traded mixed on Friday as investors assessed potential weakness in the online advertising space following Snap's second-quarter earnings bomb. Snap plunged as much as 32% in early Friday trades after the company missed analyst's revenue estimates and reported a wider loss than the year prior. The lack of visibility in its business due to a continued slowdown in online advertising spend led Snap to say it wouldn't provide third-quarter revenue guidance. Other stocks down due to disappointing earnings on Friday included Verizon and Intuitive Surgical, among others. But not all results have been bad so far this earnings season, and investors are sifting through the good and the bad to get a sense on the current state of the economy. Of the 17% of S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings, 80% have beat profit estimates by a median of 7%, while 76% beat revenue estimates by a median of 2%, according to Fundstrat. Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Friday: S&P 500 : 3,992.30, down 0.17% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 32,104.11, up 0.21% (67.21 points) Nasdaq Composite : 12,003.49, down 0.47% Commodity prices continue to fall, which is a benefit for consumers who have been dealing with a record surge in inflation in recent months. Wheat prices fell to levels not seen since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine after the two countries signed a deal to unblock shipments of the grain. Russian oil is finding its way to Asia on tankers that used to carry sanctioned Iranian crude, as "dark" trading in commodities from Russia continues to grow. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell as much as much as 1.19% to $95.20 per barrel. Brent crude , oil's international benchmark, fell as much as 0.71% to $103.12. Story continues Bitcoin jumped 2.88% to $23,582. Ether prices rose 3.68% to $1,619. Gold jumped as much as 0.65% to $1,723.70 per ounce. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell eight basis points to 2.79%. Read the original article on Business Insider || First Mover Americas: BTC Retreats From Weekend High of $24K, ETH Options Open Interest Surpasses BTC's on Deribit: • Price Point:Bitcoin reached above $24,000 over the weekend but has dipped since. Levels reached this weekend were the highest since mid-June.
• Market Moves:Ether continues to be the hot topic among investors ahead of the Merge, with ETH open interest on the Deribit options exchange surpassing bitcoin's open interest for the first time.
This article originally appeared inFirst Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context.Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.
Bitcoin (BTC) was down 2% on the day after a weekend that saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value hit its highest levels since mid-June.
BTC reached $24,593 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk data.
Ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was down 3% at $1,649 on Monday.
In traditional markets, U.S. futuresdippedalongside the dollar and oil. Contracts on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were lower Monday after major indexes finished July with theirbest month since 2020.
The rest of the crypto market was also down, apart from decentralized data storage network Filecoin's FIL token, which was up 12% on the day.
In the news, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authoritysaidin a policy document that investment in crypto assets should be capped, with consumers warned that they could lose all their money.
Bank of Americasaidin a report the Ethereum blockchain needs to make scalability improvements in order to hold its market position. The report said blockchains Binance Smart Chain, Tron, Avalanche and Solana have taken market share from Ethereum due to theirproof-of-stakeconsensus mechanisms, lower transaction fees and greater scalability.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) platformAave’sproposal to launch a native crypto-based stablecoin GHO was passed over the weekend with 99% votes in favor of the proposal, itsgovernance pageshows.
An interest piece I read over the weekend was Andres Angler’s piece on two football teams transferring a South American player using USDC. The exchange was carried out by Latin America’s Bitso, with a player from Argentina’s team Banfield to São Paulo, one of Brazil's teams. Read the full storyhere.
CoinDesk research analyst George Kaloudis wrote an in-depth article on the hot topic of cryptos being securities and whether it matters. You can read ithere.
[{"Asset": "Terra", "Ticker": "LUNA", "Returns": "+28.0%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}]
[{"Asset": "Cosmos", "Ticker": "ATOM", "Returns": "\u22126.6%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Loopring", "Ticker": "LRC", "Returns": "\u22126.5%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Avalanche", "Ticker": "AVAX", "Returns": "\u22126.5%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}]
ETH Open Interest Surpasses BTC Open Interest on Deribit For First Time
According to data from Glassnode, viaColin Wu, the open interest of Deribit ether options with a notional value of $5.6 billion exceeded the open interest of BTC options (about $4.3 billion) for the first time in history. Open interest is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that have not been settled.
Currently, ether options are mainlycall options, with aput/call ratioof 0.26. The call options period is mainly concentrated on September 30 and December 30 contracts, with 1.2 billion and 1.8 billion respectively.
“The upcoming Merge is a massive driver of price right now,” said Charles Storry, head of growth at Phuture, a crypto index platform.
He said that about 40% of ether’s price movement today is because of the Merge, or Ethereum's shift from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake protocol. The Merge is set to take place on Sept. 19.
Head of Europe at Hashdex, Laurent Kssis, said that he suspects many investors have already taken decent positions at cheaper ETH levels to account for the potential rally.
“All will be down to the Ethereum Merge in September,” said Kssis. “This is an example of position building.”
• BofA Says Ethereum Needs Scalability Improvements to Hold Its Market Position: Binance Smart Chain, Tron, Avalanche and Solana have taken market share from Ethereum.
• UK Crypto Investors Should Limit Holdings, Financial Regulator Says: The crypto crash only hardened the Financial Conduct Authority’s determination to impose restrictions such as banning refer-a-friend bonuses.
• Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger in Talks to Raise Additional $100M, Bloomberg Reports:The fresh funding will give the firm a higher valuation than the $1.5 billion it commanded in June 2021.
• Bitcoin Trades Cautiously Even as Real Yield, Dollar Support Bullish Stance: The U.S. 10-year real yield has dropped 46 basis points in two weeks, offering bullish cues to risk assets, including bitcoin.
• Aave Passes Proposal for Yield Generating Stablecoin GHO: The fully collateralized stablecoin is native to the Aave ecosystem and will be initially available on the Ethereum network.
• Binance Compliance Officer: KYC Cost Exchange ‘Billions in Revenue’: While venting to CoinDesk about unflattering Reuters coverage, the crypto exchange’s investigations team shared insights about the scale of illicit activity at Binance and its crime-fighting methods.
• Jewelry Brand Tiffany and Co. Unveils $50K CryptoPunk Necklaces: The collection of diamond-encrusted pendants is exclusively available for CryptoPunk owners to purchase and limited to 250 editions. || Bitcoin heading for a $10k fall – poll suggests: Bitcoin is more likely to hit $10,000 than $30,000, a new survey of retail investors has revealed.
According toBloomberg’s MLIV Pulse survey, 60% of the 950 retail investors who took part in the poll think bitcoin will drop to $10,000.
Forty percent have confidence the world's preeminentcryptocurrencywill rebound and reach $30,000.
The respondents to the survey that ran from July 5 to 8 were asked, "which level will bitcoin trade at first? $10k or $30k."
Almost 28% of the contributors to the poll expressed strong confidence that cryptocurrencies are the future of finance, whereas 20% said they're worthless.
This litmus test of retail investor sentiment is significant for the digital asset that relies upon a limited supply and the trust and confidence of investors for its value.
Bitcoin's price hasn't touched the $10,000 mark since September 2020, compared to an all-time high of over $68,000 in November last year.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell today below the $20,000 psychological level to $19,758, down 3.7% in the last 24 hours.
Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell almost 7% in 24 hours to stand at $1,070.
Although the price of bitcoin fell almost 4% on Tuesday to dip below $20,000, this tumble below the crucial psychological price threshold of $20k has not manifested in the same level of panic as in early June, when bitcoin seemed to be in freefall.
Read more:Crypto live prices
Cryptocurrency adoption is increasing among financial institutions, with the fifth-largest Swiss Bank set to enable bitcoin trading for over 2 million of its customers.
Leading Swiss retail bank, PostFinance, will allow its 2.69 million customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies beginning in 2024, according to areport from SwissInfo.
The banking arm of Switzerland’s post office is joining other traditional institutions that have embraced bitcoin such as Julius Baer, LGT Bank, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Fidelity.
Mati Greenspan, founder of the crypto and foreign-exchange analysis firm Quantum Economics spoke toCoindeskabout the recent price movement and said: "I've heard forecasts as low as $8,000 per bitcoin, but we may have seen the bottom already. The outlook only gets better when we realise that the absolute worst-case scenario is probably not extremely likely."
Speaking toCoindesk TV,CEO of the crypto trading platform CrossTower Kapil Rathi said: "The cleansing is happening, when we come on the other side, it should be healthy, and a stronger crypto market."
However, speaking on Tuesday at the British High Commission in Singapore Sir Jon Cunliffe gave a cautionary message for investors wishing to wade into the cryptocurrency waters now that prices look to be reaching a floor.
Read more:How the EU plans to regulate the crypto market
The deputy governor of theBank of Englandfor financial stability said: "Financial assets with no intrinsic value, that is to say with no real economy assets backing them and no means of generating revenue, are only worth what the next buyer will pay. They are therefore inherently volatile, very vulnerable to sentiment and prone to collapse. The proponents of crypto assets like Bitcoin have argued that their technological design enables them to function as a hedge against economic volatility and inflation – a sort of ‘digital gold’. The reality, however, is that they behave as a very speculative, risky asset."
Cunliffe went on to warn of the high leveraged positions that have greatly amplified the losses in the current crash and instigated a "fire sale of digital assets".
Speaking of the inherent risk that comes with leverage, he said: "We have seen a range of crypto funds taken down by these effects; one of the biggest has been here in Singapore with Three Arrows Capital filing for bankruptcy last week."
The collapse of crypto-asset valuations has spread rapidly through the cryptocurrency sector with crypto-lending platforms freezing withdrawals and others going bankrupt.
Firms that had exposure to collapsed crypto-hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) have taken the brunt of the damage.
The 100,000 plus creditors of the failed crypto-brokerage Voyager Digital (VYGVF) are now expected to only receive a fraction of what they are owed, as the firm had exposure with 3AC of approximately $650 million.
Creditors have asked a US bankruptcy court in Manhattan to force the cryptocurrency hedge fund's founders to participate in the liquidation proceedings, but no one can find theThree Arrows Capitalfounders, the Credit Suisse traders Zhu Su and Kyle Davies.
Watch: The Crypto Mile – Jordan Belfort talks about bitcoin and crypto crash || Voyager Digital Shares Slump on Possible 3AC Loan Default: Key Insights: On Wednesday, Voyager Digital Ltd (VOYG), listed on the TSX, slumped by 52.5%. News of a possible Three Arrows Capital $650 million loan default hit VOYG shares. Market conditions have increased calls for a more regimen crypto regulatory framework. The Lummis and Gillibrand bill may kick start the process. In recent weeks, crypto-related companies have frequented the news wires, with the media reporting on the effects of the extended crypto winter. Numerous companies have made announcements of plans to tighten the purse strings. While it has been a bleak winter, leading exchanges dont envisage market conditions improving anytime soon. Prevailing market headwinds include inflation, central bank monetary policy, and the threat of a global recession. On top of these more broad-based headwinds impacting the global financial markets, the collapse of TerraUSD ( UST ) and Terra LUNA has added to the crypto market woes. Regulators have found a new impetus to roll out more restrictive rules that could prove punitive to the crypto market. Market share prices of publicly listed crypto exchanges have reflected investor sentiment towards the crypto market outlook. Voyager Digital Shares Tumble 52.5% on News of a Possible Loan Default On Wednesday, Voyager Digital Ltd. (VOYG), listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), tumbled by 52.5%. The extended sell-off saw VOYG slide to a new current-year low of C$0.55 before a partial recovery to close the day at C$0.76. VOYG had slumped by 58% before the partial recovery. More significantly, VOYG was down 97% year-to-date. While the crypto winter has taken a bite, the latest sell-off was in response to news of a possible loan default. On Wednesday, Voyager Digital Ltd., owner of crypto exchange Voyager Digital issued a press release relating to its subsidiary Voyager Digital LLC. According to the press release, Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc. (VHD) has entered into a definitive agreement with Alameda Ventures Ltd. (Alameda) related to the previously disclosed credit facility, which is intended to help Voyager meet customer liquidity needs during this dynamic period. Story continues The press release went on to say, VDH entered into a definitive agreement with Alameda for a US$200 million cash and USDC revolver and a 15,000 BTC revolver (the Loan). In addition, the press release announced, Concurrently, Voyager announced that its operating subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, may issue a notice of default to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) for failure to repay its loan. The press release added, Voyager exposure to 3AC consists of 15,250 BTC and $350 million USDC. Voyager Digital, LLC has requested payment of $25 million USDC by June 24 and repayment of the entire balance by June 27. Founded in 2018, Voyager is a US cryptocurrency platform that supports the trading of more than 100 crypto assets. Its subsidiary, Coinify ApS enables Voyager to also offer crypto payment solutions for consumers and merchants globally. Voyager Digital LLC Puts the Regulatory Spotlight Back on Cryptos Wednesdays sell-off and the Voyager press release put the spotlight back on the crypto market. The press release highlights a lack of controls. Voyager was able to issue a loan more than four times in size than its very own cash and crypto equivalent on hand, which reportedly stood at $152 million. With Coinbase , Gemini , and FTX having to tighten the purse strings and lawsuits filed in their droves, a regulatory overhaul could be a positive rather than a negative. The collapse of TerraUSD and Terra LUNA and contagion across the broader market calls for a more rigid framework. However, it remains to be seen whether the Lummis and Gillibrand bill will make its way through Congress unscathed to give the CFTC overall responsibility. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: A dozen EU countries affected by Russian gas cuts, EU climate chief says As Russia cuts gas, German industry grapples with painful choices Germany triggers alarm stage of emergency gas plan as Russian flows drop Norway central bank makes largest rate hike in 20 years Health concerns emerge in Bangladesh as flood waters recede Two Britons, Moroccan facing death penalty in Donetsk preparing appeal -TASS || United States Self-Service Kiosks Market Report 202-2026 with Comprehensive Profiles of Leading Players - Acquire Digital, Evoke-Creative, Kiosk Group, Mimo Monitors, Honeywell, and Zebra Technologies: Company Logo U.S. Self-Service Kiosks Market U.S. Self-Service Kiosks Market Dublin, June 24, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "U.S. Self-Service Kiosks Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report has been segmented based on application and end-user industry. The report provides an overview of the U.S. self-service kiosks market and analyzes market trends. Using 2020 as the base year, the report provides estimated market data for the forecast period, 2021 to 2026. Revenue forecasts for this period are segmented based on application and end-user industry. Market values have been estimated based on the total revenue of self-service kiosk OEMs, software providers and service providers. The report covers the market for self-service kiosks with regards to the user base across different end-user industries. It also highlights major trends and challenges that affect the market and the vendor landscape. The report estimates the U.S. market for self-service kiosks in 2020 and provides projections for the expected market size through 2026 Report Includes Estimation of the market size and analyses of market trends, with data from 2020, 2021, estimates for 2022 to 2026 with projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2026 Identification of market drivers, restraints and other forces impacting the market and market share analysis of the self-service kiosks market, by application and end-user verticals Coverage of history and future of self-service kiosks and information on tablet kiosks and all in one computer Discussion on benefits of kiosk enabled healthcare system, and applications of self-service kiosks for telemedicine Coverage of regulations such as PCI Regulations, EMV Regulations, HIPAA Regulations and FDA Regulations, and information on recommendations by the KMA for accessible kiosks distribution Market share analysis of the key companies of the industry and coverage of their proprietary technologies, strategic alliances, and other key market strategies Comprehensive company profiles of the leading players of the industry, including Acquire Digital Inc., Evoke-Creative, Kiosk Group Inc., Mimo Monitors, Honeywell International, and Zebra Technologies Corp. Story continues Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights Chapter 3 Market Overview History of Self-Service Kiosks Adoption of Kiosks in Non-Traditional Industries Further Popularity of Small-Sized Models Period of Acquisitions, Mergers and Partnerships Future of Self-Service Kiosks Development of Artificial Intelligence-Based Self-Service Kiosks Tablet Kiosks and All-In-One Computers-The Future of Self-Service? Growth of Touchless Technologies Impact of Covid-19 U.S. Economic Recovery Touchless Kiosks Growth Consumer Perception Towards Touchscreen Kiosks and Growth of Contactless Payments Growth in Demand for Touchless Kiosks Increase in Usage of Mobile Phones for Self-Ordering Impact of Chip Shortage Regulatory Impacts Ada and Accessibility Recommendations by the Kma for Accessible Kiosks Distribution Access Board Regulations Pci Regulations Emv Regulations Hipaa Regulations Fda Regulations Market Drivers Self-Service Kiosks Enhance Consumer Experience in the Qsr and Retail Segments Self-Service Kiosks Increase Revenue and Reduce Operating Costs Growth of Smart City Kiosks Increasing Demand for Contactless Payment Market Restraints Increasing Cyberattacks High Initial Costs Chapter 4 U.S. Market for Self-Service Kiosks by Application Check-In Kiosks Self-Service Check-Out Kiosks Ticketing Kiosks Self-Ordering Kiosks Financial Services Kiosks Bill Payment Kiosks Digital Signage Kiosks Bitcoin Kiosks Temperature Screening Kiosks Chapter 5 U.S. Market for Self-Service Kiosks by End-User Hospitality and Entertainment Financial Services Medical/Healthcare Benefits of Kiosk-Enabled Healthcare Systems Applications of Self-Service Kiosks for Telemedicine Retail Restaurants and Quick Service Restaurants Travel and Transportation Government Educational Institutions Chapter 6 Competitive Landscape Market Share Analysis Strategic Analysis Key Developments Chapter 7 Company Profiles 22Miles Inc. Accushield LLC Acquire Digital Inc. Alveni LLC (Usa) Analytical Design Solutions Inc. Dba Kioware Au Optronics Corp. Boca Systems Inc. Burroughs Inc. Datacap Systems Inc. Dolphin Computer Access Ltd. Dynatouch Elatec Inc. Evoke-Creative Evolis Group Frank Mayer and Associates Inc. General Touch Goldfinger Monitors, Okra LLC Honeywell International Inc. Ingenico Insight Touch Technology Intel Corp. Intuiface Kiosk Group Kiosk Information Systems Kiosk Innovations Lg-Mri Lilitab LLC Marathon Deployment Inc. Microcom Corp. Mimo Monitors Nanonation Inc. Nanoptix Inc. Olea Kiosks Inc. Panasonic Corp. Of North America Parabit Systems Peerless Industries Inc. Practical Automation Inc. Provisio LLC Pyramid Computer GmbH (North America) Qwick Media Inc. Self-Service Networks Star Micronics America Inc. Storm Interface Suzohapp Global Teamsable Pos Tech for All Inc. Thermoelectric Cooling America Corp. Tokenworks Inc. Touchpay Holdings, LLC Ucp Inc. Us Hechuang Technology LLC Vispero Zebra Technologies Corp. Note: Market projections for 2022 were estimated based on the assumption that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines was largely completed by the end of the year 2022 around 80% of the country's population will at least be done with both doses of the vaccines. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/mupir8 Attachment U.S. Self-Service Kiosks Market CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 || Singapore-based crypto lender Vauld suspends withdrawals: Souvenir tokens representing cryptocurrency networks Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and Ripple plunge into water in this illustration taken May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration (Dado Ruvic / reuters) HONG KONG (Reuters) - Singapore-based crypto lending and trading platform Vauld said on Monday it would suspend withdrawals and trading and seek new investors, the latest sign of stress in the embattled crypto industry. Vauld CEO Darshan Bathija said in a blog post that it was facing "financial challenges" due to: "the volatile market conditions, the financial difficulties of our key business partners inevitably affecting us, and the current market climate which has led to a significant amount of customer withdrawals in excess of a $197.7 million since June 12." The crypto industry has been shaken by a series of collapses in recent months including the failure of so-called stablecoin TerraUSD, large U.S.-based lender Celsius network pausing withdrawals and Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital entering into liquidation. Crypto lenders have been particularly affected and crypto exchange FTX has signed a deal with an option to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for up to $240 million, the company said last week. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, has lost around half its value since early May, and was last trading at just under $20,000. Vauld said it had appointed legal and financial advisers, was in discussions with potential investors, and would also apply to the Singapore courts for a moratorium that would have any proceedings against it halted to give it time to carry out a restructuring. Vauld did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore and Alun John in Hong Kong, Editing by Louise Heavens)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: up || Prices: 23289.31, 22961.28, 23175.89, 23809.49, 23164.32, 23947.64, 23957.53, 24402.82, 24424.07, 24319.33
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2018-10-03]
BTC Price: 6502.59, BTC RSI: 45.96
Gold Price: 1198.30, Gold RSI: 50.04
Oil Price: 76.41, Oil RSI: 75.08
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
ECB has no plan to issue digital currency: Draghi: FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central bank has no plan to issue a digital currency because the underlying technology is still fragile and the use of physical cash still high in the euro zone, the ECB president said on Friday. The sudden proliferation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, essentially a privately created online token, has sparked a global debate over whether central banks should also launch their own digital money. This would give holders a direct claim on the central bank, bypassing the banking system and potentially revolutionizing the way monetary policy is carried out. Sweden's Riksbank is exploring whether to issue an electronic version of its currency, called e-krona, to respond to the dwindling use of banknotes and a rise in electronic payments in that country. But ECB President Mario Draghi said the time was not ripe for such a change in the euro zone. "The ECB and the Eurosystem currently have no plans to issue a central bank digital currency," he said in a letter to a member of the European Parliament. He added that technologies such as distributed ledgers "require substantial further development" and that he saw no "concrete need" to issue a digital euro. Cash accounted for 79 percent of all payments at point of sale in the euro zone in 2016 and for 54 percent of the total value of those transactions, according to ECB research. Separate ECB data published on Friday showed non-cash payments were growing, however, with a 7.9 percent annual increase in 2017 led by cards. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Mark Heinrich) || Fed Policymakers Offer Mixed Outlooks: The week began with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he was “not thrilled” with the Federal Reserve under his own appointee, Chairman Jerome Powell, for raising interest rates. He further added the U.S. central bank should do more to help him to boost the economy. “I’m not thrilled with his raising of interest rates, no. I’m not thrilled,” Trump said, referring to Powell. The U.S. Dollar spiked lower on the news with the headlines reading that Trump’s comments triggered the break. Trump was once again scolded by the press for criticizing the Fed a second time. Fast Forward to Friday…. While all eyes were on Fed Chair Powell ahead of his speech at 1400 GMT before a group of central bankers’ at the symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester raised her outlook for the economy and gross domestic product for 2018, adding that the central bank’s plan for gradual interest rate increases is appropriate. “I’ve been upping my forecast. I’m now at 2.75 percent to 3 percent for the year, probably closer to 3 percent,” Mester said. “I think that the fiscal policy – the stimulus and tax cuts – has been a positive for the economy in terms of demand growth and so that’s one of the factors.” “But also there’s been more momentum in the economy than I might have anticipated,” she added. Sounds like an endorsement for the President’s economic policy, but we know the Fed can’t say that. Bullard Doesn’t See Much Inflation Pressure St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard does not want the central bank to raise rates again this year. “If it was just me, I’d stand pat where we are and I’d try to react to data as it comes in,” he said Friday in an interview with CNBC. “I just don’t see much inflation pressure. … I just don’t think this is a situation where we have to be pre-emptive.” Story continues Bullard said he’d focus on inflation data and inflation expectations to change his views. Currently the numbers are not pointing to “much inflation,” he noted in the interview. Bullard seems to back President Trump in not wanting to raise rates, but of course, he has no say. He’s a non-voting member of the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee. This Time, Powell Crushes the Dollar Trump contributed to the dollar’s weakness during the last hour of trading on Monday by criticizing the Fed. On Friday, Fed Chair Powell drove the dollar lower by suggesting the Fed funds rate was getting closer to neutral. I’m still waiting for the headlines to read “Powell Crushes the Dollar”, but I’m not holding my breath because the financial press likes it better when Trump does it, it sounds more negative. U.S. rates aren’t going to go up forever, and neither is the U.S. Dollar. As the Fed comes closer to ending its rate hikes, and the other central banks start to raise rates especially the European Central Bank, the dollar will eventually weaken. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Fed Policymakers Offer Mixed Outlooks Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – crude markets scream higher during the week The Week Ahead – Geo-Political Risk and the Economic Calendar in Focus S&P 500 Weekly Price Forecast – S&P 500 continues to march higher Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 25/08/18 Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – natural gas chops around again during previous week || Bitcoin Hashpower Doubled Since May Despite 70% Correction: Fundstrat, a Wall Street-based investment firm led by Tom Lee, reported that the hashpower of Bitcoin has doubled since May.
“Despite BTC bear market, hashpower doubled since May to 57 EH/s – Even with upgrades to existing equipment, implies almost 1GW of new power consumption vs 5.2GW in May ’18. Breakeven now $7300 ($5300 cash BE) vs. $6000 in May,” Sam Doctor at Fundstratsaid.
Since February, the valuation of the cryptocurrency market has fallen by more than 80 percent. Yet, mining activity in the cryptocurrency sector has continued to increase at an exponential rate.
The difficulty of Bitcoin mining, which measures how difficult it is to find a hash below a given target, changes based on the hashrate of the dominant cryptocurrency. If less people are mining Bitcoin, then the difficulty of Bitcoin mining declines. But, when more people mine it and the hashrate of the network increases, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining increases.
When the difficulty is increased, it is harder to find blocks, which leads to a decline in revenue for miners. The block reward of Bitcoin changes once every four years and as such, the discrepancy of revenue from mining BTC is often caused by the volatility in the difficulty of Bitcoin mining.
If the reward remains the same for four years yet the difficulty increases, less BTC will be generated to cover the costs of miners and mining centers. That means, if the price of BTC decreases as well, then the revenue of miners decrease even further.
Hence, when the price of BTC falls, which leads to a decline in mining revenue, it is normal to expect the hashrate of Bitcoin to fall as well.
However, throughout the past five months, the hashrate of Bitcoin has more than doubled, despite its 70 percent drop in value within an eight-month period. That means, miners are still willing to expand their resources and mine Bitcoin with lower profit margins in a bear market.
Earlier this month, BitMEX Research revealed that Bitmain, the largest mining company in the cryptocurrency sector, has been maintaining its profit margin at a low level to solidify its dominance over the market.
The research paperread:
“These low prices are likely to be a deliberate strategy by Bitmain, to squeeze out their competition by causing them to experience lower sales and therefore financial difficulties. In our view, herein lies the key to one of the main driving forces behind the decision to IPO. A successful IPO may increase the firepower available to continue this strategy and eliminate an advantage rivals could have by doing their IPOs first.”
The increase in the difficulty and hashrate of Bitcoin is always a positive indicator, as it means that the Bitcoin blockchain network is stronger, more robust, and resilient to attacks. More to that, it also demonstrates the willingness of miners to continue their mining operations despite a clear drop in profit from the decline in the price of BTC.
The postBitcoin Hashpower Doubled Since May Despite 70% Correctionappeared first onCCN. || Bitcoin Gains Traction as Morgan Stanley Prepares Bitcoin Swap Trading: Investing.com - Bitcoin rallied on Thursday amid news that financial giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is preparing a bitcoin derivatives scheme for clients.
Bitcoin rallied 3.44% to $6,479.00 on the Bitfinex exchange as of 8:04 AM ET (12:04 GMT).
The U.S. bank will deal crypto contracts, which allow investors to bet on the price of bitcoin without actually owning any,Bloomberg reported. Clients can go long or short and Morgan Stanley will charge a spread for the transactions.
It’s the latest Wall Street firm to find a way for clients to invest in the digital currency market. Citigroup (NYSE:C) is exploring digital asset receipts for trading virtual coins, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is considering derivatives on bitcoin and a plan to offer custody for alternative coin assets.
Cryptocurrencies overall were higher, with the coin market cap of total market capitalization at $197 billion at the time of writing compared to $187 billion on Thursday.
Ethereum,or Ether, the second-biggest alternative currency by market cap, rose 13.08% to $196.42, after falling to a one-year low of $169.44 on Wednesday. XRP, the third-largest virtual currency, increased 5.75% to $0.27459 and Litecoin was at $53.764, up 11.10%.
In other news, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority took its first disciplinary step involving cryptocurrencies, charging a broker with fraud and unlawful distribution of digital securities. On Tuesday the agency “filed a complaint against Timothy Tilton Ayre of Agawam, Massachusetts, charging him with securities fraud and the unlawful distribution of an unregistered cryptocurrency security called Hempcoin.”
The news comes after aNew York federal rule judge that a fraud case involving virtual coinscan go forward under U.S. securities laws.
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Morgan Stanley Plans to Offer Bitcoin Swap Trading for Clients || IBM Has More than 500 Blockchain Projects in the Works: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
Cryptocurrencies are still struggling to attain wider adoption by industries, but its underlying technology, blockchain, is gaining more traction from companies, large or small, public and private alike, who see it as a viable application for a variety of uses in a multitude of sectors. One of those companies is IBM, which boasts 1,500 employees working on over 500 blockchain projects in a bevy of industries.
IBM is part of theForbes' list of 50companies exploring blockchain use, which include domestic names, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. From the financial sector to the healthcare sector, blockchain technology appears to be manifesting itself in various forms as a workable solution for housing data and securing it from unwanted access.
Companies like IBM are vying to become early adopters in order to further their businesses, such as the joint venture between the tech giant and transportation company Maersk, which launched a blockchain shipping platform dubbed TradeLens. The TradeLens platform has already been put to use facilitating global trade without relying on middlemen for a year, which has resulted in $154 million shipping events at ports located around the world.
Now, the blockchain platform is growing at a rate of $1 million daily.
"As blockchain is a technology that creates trust, it has the power to bring efficiencies to the shipping & transportation industries where there are multiple logistics & governmental participants involved in moving goods from point A to B," said Matt Markiewicz, Managing Director at Innovation Shares, an index provider for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). "Through their TradeLens platform, A.P. Moller-Maersk, the Danish container shipping company, is one of the leaders in helping to streamline processes & reduce costs involved in the movement of freight across more than 200 ports around the globe."
IBM's penchant for early adoption is well-documented,according to Josh Olson, an analyst at Edward Jones. IBM is in the forefront of blockchain usage in financial services with itsLedgerConnectapp store that gives financial companies access to blockchain vendors to streamline back-end operations.
"Historically we've seen IBM invest in a technology early with some early promise, but then they've had difficulty commercializing good technologies or innovations at scale," said Olson.
Part of the drive towards implementing blockchain technology is IBM listening to their customer base. By identifying key needs in customers' demands, IBM can determine whether blockchain technology is a viable solution.
"We didn't start with a big bang,"said Marie Wieck, the general manager of IBM Blockchain. "We found (blockchain) had real applicability but not just as an extension of our existing products. We had to create something new, so we started experimenting and doing some customer pilots, and we saw there was enough interest to move forward."
Related:World Bank Launches Blockchain-Only Bond
Still an Uphill Climb for Cryptocurrencies
As blockchain technology continues to gain wider acceptance, cryptocurrency efforts like Bitcoin ETFs continue to face an uphill climb to legitimacy in the investment space and despite efforts by firms, the Securities and Exchange Commission stands firmly in the way. Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications have been getting seemingly perfunctory rejections, preventing cryptos from gaining more acceptance from investors who are wary of the unregulated exchanges of cryptocurrencies.
In an attempt to fall under the governmental regulation of the SEC, the cryptocurrency industry has been unable to bring this into fruition, starting with the Winklevoss Capital Management founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss application, which was rejected twice. The US Securities and Exchange Commission postponed their decision on a bitcoin ETF by investment firm VanEck and financial services company SolidX until the end of this month.
For more information on the cryptocurrency market, visit theBitcoin category.
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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || What is VIX and How Can You Trade It?: The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is a market index used to measure the general volatility of the stock market as implied by the S&P 500 Index Options over time. It is calculated and published by theChicago Board Options Exchange. Analysts and traders use it to predict how volatile the market is likely to be in the foreseeable future. As such, it has gained many trading names over time including ‘the fear index’, or simply ‘the VIX’ among others.
The VIX uses the S&P 500 Index (SPX) options to capture the expected volatility for the next 30 days. The index uses the two options expirations that have more than 23 days and less than 30 days to narrow down on the 30-day timeframe.
As demonstrated on the charts above, the VIX and the SPX appear to have a direct relationship with significant spikes and curves occurring just about the same time, or within a 30-day period. Thiswhite paper the Chicago Board Options Exchangeexplains the whole relationship properly and also illustrates how the VIX is calculated using the SPX options.
So clearly, it looks like trading the VIX would be pretty a simple task. However, as it turns out, you cannot directly trade the VIX. However, as expert traders atEngine forexpoint out, the two key extremes of the VIX are known ahead of time that makes it a lot more complicated than it visually appears to be. As such, traders try to trade the VIX by trading products that track the volatility index.
Therefore, the market has created various products that traders can use to capitalize on the opportunities created by tracking the VIX. Most of these are ETNs that allow traders to hedge using funds. Some of the notable ETNs in the market today include VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV) and the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX).
When using the VXX to hedge against market volatility, analysts and trading experts seem to have a bias towards going long when they anticipate a market correction in the foreseeable future. This decision is usually taken when the VIX appears to bottom indicating that it cannot go any lower.
However, as many traders have found out, this theory does not hold when individual funds and ETNs are involved. Sometimes these have moved lower, even when the VIX appeared to have bottomed, which again illustrates the potential impact of trading an asset that tracks a predictive measure of market volatility.
Therefore, in order to understand better how to trade products that track market volatility, it is important to use a shorter timeframe, in this case, the Volatility Index pegged to short-term S&P 500 Index options, represented by the Mini SPX Index Options (XSP).
It is pretty much like using a narrower window to determine how volatile the market is likely to be for the next few weeks, which is likely to return more accurate results.
In general terms, the VIX has also been used to determine the overall market sentiment and views towards the economy. When the market has a bullish view on the economy, the VIX tends to rise as investors flock to the stock market to invest in capital assets.
This is very well demonstrated in the chart above. Starting in late January 2018 to early February 2018, the market experienced one of the sharpest bull-runs in a long time as speculation hit multi-year highs, and this can be seen on both the S&P 500 Index and the CBOE Volatility Index.
However, what followed shortly after was a period of low market volatility as normalcy returned with most of the investors having exhausted their investment capital. Since then the VIX has traded within what appears to be a tighter range and this indicates high levels of market stability. This is also backed by the steady rally in the market as demonstrated by the SPX.
In summary, the VIX predicts market volatility and due to its wider timeframe, it is hard to target the two extremes making it difficult to trade directly. However, traders have adopted the practice of trading products that track the VIX and as demonstrated on the charts, it tends to pay off some of the time.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Bitcoin Sees Red Early as the Market Hits Reverse || Indian Police Arrest Two in $150 Million Bitcoin Ponzi: The Indian police have arrested two more persons involved in the GainBitcoin Ponzi case, according to Times ofIndia.
This comes on the heels of a series of arrests made in Delhi where the police raided a 4,000 square-foot mining facility, whoseoperatorsconned several victims into investing in GainBitcoin.com.
The news outlet quotes an unnamed police officer who said the two suspects were involved in marketing the scam to thousands of investors across India.
“The duo were involved in marketing the scheme. They had lured hundreds of people and then disappear. We are investigating the case and are also finding out the number of people that have been duped,” the official added.
The accused individuals are said to be close aides of Amit Bhardwaj, the kingpin the infamous cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme GainBitcoin, estimated at $300 million.
GainBitcoin started out as a multi-level-marketing scheme in 2015, where it grew to over 100,000 investors, all of whom were promised a monthly return of 10% on their investment.
The scam came to light after two First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed against GainBitcoin in April 2018, followed by another FIR filed in a different city. Authorities immediately regarded the crime as a multi-city operation after this development. The authorities swooped in after a victim complained against GainBitcoin in May 2018.
During the preliminary investigation, officials from the cyber crime cell at the Indian city of Pune discovered the wallets controlled by Bhardwaj, which was said to contain a total balance of 3.31 bitcoin—a significant reduction from its previous balance of 5,372 BTC. The authorities also contacted Zebpay in a bid to get an inquiry after determining that “a large volume of transactions between the victims and Bhardwaj took place via its platform.”
As per aCCNreportlast month, Bhardwaj offered to repay investors their initial bitcoin investments in their corresponding value in Indian rupees. The victims were, however, not enthused about the idea as they demanded to be paid in today’s market value.
“Today, the Bitcoin price is much higher than what it was when we invested,” an anonymous victim was quoted as stating. “It is like Bhardwaj will keep the profits and just return the principal amount which is wrong.”
Featured image from Shutterstock,
The postIndian Police Arrest Two in $150 Million Bitcoin Ponziappeared first onCCN. || New Weapon for Blockchain Startups: Nobel Prize-Winning Brains: (Bloomberg) -- With cryptocurrency mania over for now, blockchain startups need to dig a little deeper to attract attention. Their latest secret weapon: Nobel laureates. Covee Network is the latest venture to announce a partnership with an economist of the highest standing: game-theory and market design expert Alvin Roth, who shared the economics Nobel in 2012. Prysm Group is borrowing the brain -- and name -- of Oliver Hart of Harvard University, a 2016 co-laureate; and Cryptic Labs LLC has partnered with both Eric Maskin -- who shared the prize in 2007 -- and Christopher Pissarides -- a 2010 co-laureate. A year ago, just uttering the word “blockchain” was enough to spark interest. Photography pioneer Eastman Kodak Co. last year had a brief return to fame, and a 272 percent share-price jump, after a cryptocurrency licensing its name was announced. And soft-drink company Long Island Ice Tea Corp. rebranded as Long Blockchain Corp., with similar results, only to end up accused of misleading investors. But the magic has faded. In August, funding from initial coin offerings, which are used as an alternative to public offerings by companies in the cryptocurrency business, dropped to the lowest in 16 months, according to data from Autonomous Research. Bitcoin, the oldest in the space, fell by more than half this year to $6,655. The question is: Do the laureates just supply their names and reputations, or are they fully engaged in the projects? “When I was first approached about joining, I spent a good deal of time thinking about whether I would just be a decoration, or whether I would actually be able to contribute,” Roth said by phone. What persuaded him was how he could bring his unique skills to bear on the project. “They are embracing game theory as a way of incentivizing participation.” Roth will help Zurich-based Covee set strategy in regular phone calls and has direct access to the team because he works in the same building as one of its members. Options remain open for him to become a part-owner of the company, though neither he nor Covee disclosed payment arrangements. Like the partners at Cryptic Labs and Prysm, he’s described as an adviser. Story continues “It was the seriousness of the team, and our existing relationships that distinguished us,” allowing the firm to bag Roth, Covee Chief Executive Officer Marcel Dietsch, an alumnus of Oxford University, said by phone. The interest exhibited by serious thinkers “shows that the blockchain sector is growing up,” he added. Of course, not all winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences agree on the benefits of cryptocurrencies. “Bitcoin is evil,” Paul Krugman, a 2008 laureate, wrote in his New York Times column in December 2013. Even Roth says much of what Covee is setting out to do can initially be achieved without the blockchain. Covee’s white paper -- with its discussion of game theory, including payoff diagrams -- seems custom-designed to win over an economist. It’s authored by six Ph.D.s from, among other schools, Harvard and Imperial College London, one of whom studied under Roth. The project is likely to launch in November. It does not currently have plans to raise funds via an ICO. Ambitious Goal Dietsch’s goal is ambitious: He wants to disrupt the firm itself. Using the Ethereum network, he aims to create a marketplace for skills that will allow ad hoc teams to form around business projects. A scientist who has developed a new drug, for instance, could seek out an expert in regulation and someone with experience in marketing. Once the project is complete and the drug brought to market, they could disband. Dietsch says blockchains will replace the intermediation function of the firm. Value tokens will be used to enforce participation and solve the free-rider problem, while smart contracts will address coordination issues. “Why is most of the workforce stuck within the boundaries of centralized intermediaries such as the centuries-old corporation?” Dietsch and his team ask in the white paper. “Both trust and traditional organizations are limited in terms of scale.” (Updates prices.) --With assistance from Olga Kharif. To contact the reporters on this story: Eddie van der Walt in London at evanderwalt@bloomberg.net;Agnieszka de Sousa in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Samuel Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, ;Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Andrew Dunn, Dave Liedtka ©2018 Bloomberg L.P. || Chinese Investor Sues Local Cryptocurrency Exchange OKCoin For Blocking Release Of Bitcoin Cash (BCH): A cryptocurrency investor from China sued the virtual currency exchange OKCoin for blocking access to 38.748 Bitcoin Cash ( BCH-USD ), the balance present during the fork in his account. The trader whose pseudonym is Feng Bin accused the Chinese exchange of disallowing him access Bitcoin Cash created after the fork last year at the start of December 2017. Feng Bin says OKCoin stopped him from extracting BCH However, OKCoin has denied the accusation saying that that stipulated Bitcoin Cash was not released as the investor did not claim his coins within the deadline. Apparently, the deadline was not disclosed to traders. Feng Bin said that he found no button that could allow him extract Bitcoin Cash as was promised by OKCoin after he tried to sell BCH when the virtual currency reached its pinnacle of approximately $4,000 in the month of December last year. On its part, OKCoin said that the program of the platform already expired when Feng Bin tried to extract Bitcoin Cash. OKCoin also added that if the investor fails to withdraw BCH during the program it becomes impossible to execute the withdrawal at a later stage. However, Bin is not ready to accept this clarification and said , I have been paying attention to the announcement of the OKcoin currency release. In all the announcements, there is no declaration of the deadline for receipt and the removal of the program. Furthermore, Bin claimed that when contacted the company responded saying that the claim button was part of a program that automatically carried out the execution of BCH to the account of the user. OKCoin to challenge claim of Feng Bin The cryptocurrency exchange from China challenged the claim by Feng Bin. OKCoin said that there are some inconsistencies between the records of Bins account balances and his story. It is not the first time that Bitcoin Cash has been dragged into a legal controversy. The cryptocurrency has been facing challenges and controversies all through the year. Roger Ver, the number one supporter of BCH in the crypto market created quite a ripple when he stated that Bitcoin Cash is, in reality, the real Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ) in November 2017. The post Chinese Investor Sues Local Cryptocurrency Exchange OKCoin For Blocking Release Of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) appeared first on Market Exclusive . || Is Crypto Market Bottoming Out? Bitcoin Shows Stability at $6,500: Earlier this week, the crypto market seemed to be initiating a strong corrective rally, as Bitcoin breezed past $6,500.
However, in the past 24 hours, the crypto market demonstrated a slight decline in value from $204 billion to $198 billion, as small market cap cryptocurrencies and tokens struggled to maintain momentum.
While the crypto market eventually recovered to $202 billion, the price movement of major cryptocurrencies on September 15 showed that the market is undergoing a bottoming out process, demonstrating volatility in the low price range.
AsCCN reported, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz stated on September 14 that the crypto market has already reached a bottom at the $186 billion mark and is ready to initiate a new mid-term rally.
“This is the BGCI chart. I think we put in a low yesterday. retouched the highs of late last year and the point of acceleration that led to the massive rally/bubble… markets like to retrace to the breakout..we retraced the whole of the bubble,” Novogratz said.
Similar technical indicators have shown highly oversold conditions for the crypto market, suggesting that in the upcoming days, as long as the volume of the market can be maintained, a rally is due.
But, as seen in February, April, June, and August, an abrupt increase in the price of Bitcoin is not beneficial for the market. It is important for major cryptocurrencies to properly bottom out and stabilize in the low price range before gradually increasing in value and volume.
Luke Martin, a widely recognized technical analyst in the cryptocurrency sector, stated that the next resistance level for Bitcoin is at around $6,900, based on the trend of BTC since early 2018.
Martinexplained:
“Pattern of the BTC bounces from $6,000 lows this year. Each subsequent bounce has been weaker taking us to the 61.8% fib retracement level of the move down. (first bounce only a 50% retrace) 61.8% retrace of most recent drop puts BTC resistance $6,940.”
If Bitcoin can continue to remain stable in the mid-$6,000 region, it is likely that BTC surpasses the $6,900 mark in the short-term. But, if th volume of Bitcoin declines below $3 billion and the rest of the market struggles to regain momentum, it is also possible that BTC remains in the $6,400 to $6,500 range.
Throughout the past week, tokens have continuously shown oversold conditions, recording large losses against BTC apart from September 13 when tokens like ICON, 0x, and BAT recorded relatively large gains.
While the performance of tokens largely depend on the momentum of BTC, as long as BTC moves towards the $6,900 resistance level in the upcoming days, which is likely given the trend of the market since February, a strong performance by tokens is expected.
Nano, Maker, Decentraland, and 0x demonstrated gains in the range of 5 to 10 percent against BTC, while the majority of tokens in the market demonstrated stability in their low price range.
The postIs Crypto Market Bottoming Out? Bitcoin Shows Stability at $6,500appeared first onCCN.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 Bitcoin =40907.48581969135 TL
Tarih/Saat : 13/09/18 12:00:03 || 09-01 04:00(GMT)
#SPINDLE price
$SPD (BTC)
Yobit :0.00000043
HitBTC :0.00000042
LiveCoin:0.00000039
$SPD (JPY)
Yobit :0.34
HitBTC :0.33
LiveCoin:0.31 || Our Public ICO is finished, thanks to all investors and comunity for the support, now the best starts 🛫🌎
Visit. https://t.co/YdHhkgF3cs
$HLX #Helex #cryptolife #world #realestate #ICO #Eth #Bitcoin #Blockchain #Europe #crypto #btc #realestate #worldwide https://t.co/dkb3h0L8fP || 『英国公認企業』への投資で日利1%〜3%の配当！
10ヶ国以上（日本語も）に対応したシステム。2ヶ月で元本回収！
RightRise（ライトライズ）でビットコイン投資！
https://mtlnk.net/j_s%253A%252F%252Fgoo.gl%252FuFBh2M … || #Doviz
-------------------
#USD : 6.0211
#EUR : 6.8946
#GBP : 7.6736
--------------------------------------
#BTC
-------------------
#Gobaba : 38443.67
#BtcTurk : 38781.00
#Koinim : 38821.99
#Paribu : 38860.00
#Koineks : 38879.99 || 2018/09/29 02:00
#Binance 格安コイン
1位 #HOT 0.00000016 BTC(0.12円)
2位 #NPXS 0.00000023 BTC(0.17円)
3位 #DENT 0.00000034 BTC(0.26円)
4位 #BCN 0.00000036 BTC(0.27円)
5位 #NCASH 0.00000084 BTC(0.63円)
#仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン || Cotización del Bitcoin Cash: 464 00.€ | -0.19% | Kraken | 16/08/18 21:00 #BitcoinCash #Kraken #BCHEUR || 2018/09/28 20:00
#Binance 格安コイン
1位 #HOT 0.00000016 BTC(0.12円)
2位 #NPXS 0.00000023 BTC(0.17円)
3位 #DENT 0.00000034 BTC(0.26円)
4位 #BCN 0.00000035 BTC(0.26円)
5位 #NCASH 0.00000083 BTC(0.62円)
#仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン || 2018-09-07 21:00:02 UTC
BTC: $6464.18
BCH: $498.71
ETH: $218.52
ZEC: $126.74
LTC: $56.61
ETC: $11.75
XRP: $0.294 || 1H
2018/08/20 01:00 (2018/08/19 23:00)
LONG : 25868.37 BTC (-14.16 BTC)
SHORT : 31650.45 BTC (+20.72 BTC)
LS比 : 44% vs 55% (45% vs 54%)
|
Trend: down || Prices: 6576.69, 6622.48, 6588.31, 6602.95, 6652.23, 6642.64, 6585.53, 6256.24, 6274.58, 6285.99
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2019-08-22]
BTC Price: 10131.06, BTC RSI: 43.52
Gold Price: 1497.30, Gold RSI: 63.62
Oil Price: 55.35, Oil RSI: 48.79
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
BitGo partners with Algorand to offer multisig wallets and custody services: Cryptocurrency custodian BitGo announced today that it is bringing multi-signature wallets and custody services to the Algorand blockchain.Both Algorand wallets and custody can now be accessed via BitGo, according to a company statement.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrency wallets, where funds can be accessed via a single private key, multi-signature wallets require several keys to unlock funds. Many blockchains including the largest ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum already support them, while BitGo itself provides multi-sig wallet support forover 100 tokens.
Meanwhile, Algorand just completed a $60 million token sale in June with much fanfare. The company is said to be valued at $24 billion.
Join Genesis nowand continue reading,BitGo partners with Algorand to offer multisig wallets and custody services! || NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – August 21, 2019 Forecast: The New Zealand Dollar continues to drift sideways to lower nearly two week after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) stunned the financial markets by cutting interest rates a steep 50 basis points and even indicated it may be willing to take rates below zero. The news drove the Kiwi to three-and-a-half year lows. At 03:56 GMT, the NZD/USD is trading .6411, down 0.0006 or -0.09%. We could see some movement in the Forex pair later in the session with the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its July 30-31 meeting. The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points last month, citing “global developments” and “muted inflation.” The Fed minutes are scheduled for release Wednesday at 18:00 GMT. Daily NZD/USD Daily Technical Analysis The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. A trade through .6378 will signal a resumption of the downtrend. The main trend will change to up on a move through .6791. This is highly unlikely, however. Before the Forex pair can reach this level, it has to take out a minor top and the short-term retracement zone. The minor trend is also down. A trade through .6588 will change the minor trend to up. This will also shift momentum to the upside. The short-term range is .6791 to .6378. Its retracement zone at .6585 to .6633 is the primary upside target. With the retracement zone so close to the minor top, don’t expect a huge breakout to the upside. The minor range is .6588 to .6378. Its 50% level or pivot at .6483 is resistance. Daily Technical Forecast The sideways to lower chart pattern suggests the direction of the NZD/USD is still being controlled by the bearish traders. As long as fears over a global recession and the U.S.-China trade dispute continue, it’s going to be hard to mount a strong rally. Furthermore, there is the threat of even more aggressive policy moves by the RBNZ. On the upside, the resistance cluster at .6481 to .6483 is keep a lid on prices. The first level is the former top at .6481. Old bottoms become new tops rule. The second level is the minor pivot. Story continues Overtaking and sustaining a move over .6483 could drive the NZD/USD into the nearest downtrending Gann angle at .6591. On the downside, the first target is the minor bottom at .6378. This is followed by the January 20, 2016 main bottom at .6346 and a downtrending Gann angle at .6331. Crossing to the weak side of the Gann angle at .6331 will put the NZD/USD in an extremely bearish position with the August 24, 2015 main bottom at .6207 the next major target. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – August 21, 2019 Forecast Monero Technical Analysis – Support Levels in Play – 21/08/19 USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – August 21, 2019 Forecast European Equities: Geopolitics and Monetary Policy to Influence EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Euro Snaps 5-Day Losing Streak Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 21/08/19 || Iranian Authorities Disagree on Whether Bitcoin Is Legal: The crypto community inIranis still riding a roller coaster as the country seeks to bring its economy forward. Even though the country has expressed its interest in digital assets, enthusiasts cannot be very optimistic yet.
According to recent statements by Nasser Hakimi, who serves as the deputy governor for new technologies at the Central Bank of Iran, crypto trading is illegal and banned by the government.
In an interview with the Iranian agencyTasnim News, Mr. Hakimi explained that the recent spike in the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Iran could be potentially dangerous for citizens because of their volatility – let alone the legal risks associated with their use. The expert also warned that victims risk losing the protection of the state if they fall for a fraud or scam:
"[Iranians should be cautious] against the advertisements and marketers of pyramid style network companies that promote Bitcoin like a tree with gold coins in the Adventures of Pinocchio ... The Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering has prohibited the sale and purchase of Bitcoin in Iran."
The current status of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in Iran is quite complex to explain, mainly because of the difference in criteria shown on the statements given by different public authorities in the country.
As an example, Mr. Hakimi clarified that it is essential to make a distinction between trading and mining. This idea could imply that the supposed ban ordered by the Supreme Council on Countering Money Laundering of Iran does not affect mining; however, just a week ago, the country's authoritiesconfiscatedmore than 1,000 ASICS located in different mining farms across Yazd province.
Read the full story on CCN.com. || BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant: HDR Global Trading, owner and operator of BitMEX, has awarded a $60,000 grant to Bitcoin Core contributor, Michael Ford (aka fanquake ). This recognises Fords contribution to the growth and maintenance of the Bitcoin ecosystem. In line with BitMEXs previous donation to the MIT Digital Currency initiative in May, the grant shows our commitment to improving FinTech innovation and giving back to the Bitcoin project, it said in a statement. The grant is non-exclusive and requires Ford to work on Bitcoin Core solely. Sam Reed, CTO and Co-founder of HDR Global Trading, says: Like all other companies in the cryptocurrency space, we rely heavily on the (mostly volunteer) work of coders dedicated to the mission and ideals of Bitcoin. This work is difficult, demanding, and often thankless. We believe it is the duty of corporations to give back to the projects from which they benefit and from which their very business model stems. He adds: Without the millions of free man-hours from dedicated OSS developers powering everything from our operating systems, to our web servers, to our ops tools and Bitcoin itself, the BitMEX trading platform could not have been built. We dont forget this gift. Therefore, HDR considers this grant, provided on a no-strings-attached basis, to be only a small part of an ongoing commitment to bolstering Bitcoin and other OSS projects for the benefit of all. The post BitMEX owner gives back to Bitcoin project with Michael Ford grant appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Brent Crude Oil Price Update – Daily Direction Controlled by Fibonacci Level at $59.07: International-Brent crude oil futures closed higher on Friday despite an International Energy Agency report that showed demand growth dropping to its lowest level in 11 years. The IEA said global demand to May from January grew at its slowest pace since 2008, hurt by mounting signs of an economic slowdown and a ramping up of the U.S.-China trade dispute. Buyers instead were motivated by Euroilstock data that showed total crude and product inventories of 16 European nations in July were slightly lower than in June.
On Friday,October Brent crude oilsettled at $58.53, up $1.15 or +1.96%.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. Earlier in the week, the downtrend was reaffirmed when sellers took out a pair of main bottoms at $58.42 and $58.14, but the selling pressure stopped at $55.88, well above the December 24, 2018 main bottom at $52.04.
The main trend will change to up on a trade through $65.43. We’re not likely to change the trend on Monday, but we could see a normal retracement into a short-term retracement zone.
The major retracement zone controlling the longer-term direction of the market is $59.07 to $63.58.
The short-term range is $65.43 to $55.88. Its retracement zone at $60.66 to $61.78 is the next upside target. Since the main trend is down, sellers are likely to come in on a test of this zone.
Based on Friday’s price action and the close at $58.53, the direction of the October Brent crude oil market on Monday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the long-term Fibonacci level at $59.07.
A sustained move over $59.07 will indicate the presence of buyers. If this creates enough upside momentum then look for a potential drive into the short-term retracement zone at $60.66 to $61.78. With the main trend down, look for sellers to show up on a test of this zone. They are going to try to form a secondary lower top.
A sustained move under $59.07 will signal the presence of sellers. The first downside target is a minor pivot at $57.59. If this fails then look for the selling to continue into last week’s low at $55.88. Don’t be surprised by an acceleration to the downside if this low is taken out. The daily chart indicates there is room to the downside with the next major target the $52.04 main bottom.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• GBP/JPY Weekly Price Forecast – British pound breaks significant figure
• EUR/USD Weekly Price Forecast – Euro has strong week
• Gold Price Prediction – Gold Consolidates but Rises 4% for the Week
• Gold Price Futures (GC) Technical Analysis – Weak Price Action Leaves Gold Vulnerable on Monday
• Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 10/08/19
• Crude Oil Weekly Price Forecast – Crude oil markets find support || Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Apple, Nike, Tesla, Uber And More: Benzinga has examined prospects for many investorfavorite stocksover the past week.
Bullish calls included a potential G-20 winner and a company facing another scandal.
Bearish calls included various companies struggling against low expectations.
Though the big U.S. indexes ended the holiday-shorted week only marginally higher, they remain at or near record highs. It was a week that sawsome movement on trade issues, additionalmoves by OPECand its partners, better-than-expectedjobs numbersand thepassing of a corporate icon.
Benzinga continues to examine the prospects for many of the stocks most popular with investors. The following are just a few of the past week's most bullish and bearish posts that may be worth another look.
Bulls
"Analyst: The G-20 Winner 'Is Clearly Apple'" by Wayne Duggan details whyApple, Inc.(NYSE:AAPL) is one of the biggest winners from the trade war truce arising from last week's G-20 meeting in Osaka, Japan. See what analysts have to say.
Brett Hershman's "Footwear Analyst: Outrage Over Nike's Betsy Ross Shoe Comes From Outside Its Teen Demographic" examines why the latest controversy in whichNike Inc(NYSE:NKE) is embroiled will have a limited impact on the shares, in one expert's opinion.
In "Teva's Migraine Prevention Drug Meets Exploratory Endpoints," Shanthi Rexaline reports on whyTeva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd(NYSE:TEVA) trial results could bode well for migraine suffers and investors.
A management change atCanopy Growth Corp(NYSE:CGC) did not overly concern one top analyst, according to Jayson Derrick's "Bank Of America Remains Bullish On Canopy Growth Despite The 'End Of An Era'."
For additional bullish calls, also have a look at "Wells Fargo Analyst: T-Mobile-Sprint Tie-Up Could Progress Next Week" and "Carter Worth Sees The Bitcoin Pullback As A Buying Opportunity."
Bears
In Wayne Duggan's "Wall Street Analysts Still Divided On Tesla Following Record Deliveries," see why some analysts feelTesla Inc(NASDAQ:TSLA) topped low expectations — and remain concerned about long-term demand.
Dave Royse's "Stifel Gives Uber A Neutral Rating, Raises Target Price On Lyft" covers why one analyst is cautious onUber Technologies Inc(NYSE:UBER) despite being bullish about the ride-sharing industry.
"Wedbush Stays On The Sidelines With Square, Points To Margin Expansion Concerns" by Priya Nigam takes a look at whySquare Inc(NYSE:SQ) investors may want to wait for a more attractive entry point.
Customer sentiment on high-end retailerNordstrom, Inc.(NYSE:JWN) has changed, according to "Nordstrom's Outlook Is 'Deteriorating,' UBS Says In Downgrade" by Jayson Derrick. Can it regain market share?
Be sure to check out "30-Year Treasury Bonds Flash Economic Warning Signal" and "Strategist Cautions Investors: 'Let's Not Get Too Comfortable'" for additional bearish calls.
At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.
Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.
See more from Benzinga
• Barron's On: Why JPMorgan Is A Solid Bet Now
• Barron's Picks And Pans: GameStop, JPMorgan, Uber And More
• Bulls & Bears Of The Week: GameStop, McDonald's, Tesla, Tilray And More
© 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || The Other Side of the Economic Story: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
What the Nobel Laureate is not telling us
By J. Richard Fredericks,Main Management
Author’s Note : Readers should be aware that, while we participated in the last Presidential election, we did not cast a vote for either major party candidate. We believe in the two-party system since liberals and conservatives need each other, as the right course of action can generally be found between the back and forth of their two positions. That said, to totally sign on with one or the other party gives away too much independence of thought in our opinion. As an independent, one need not to have to blindly support either the party view or all of their representatives. Only as an independent person, can one exercise contempt evenly and view success or failure dispassionately. But as an American, it is important in one’s critique of any President to give him/her a chance; to observe them closely; applaud what is sound; criticize what isn’t; and wish them well. With respect to our current President, our view is that, while he daily violates the norms of civility, decorum, and deportment, his policies haven’t been ideologically extreme, but temperamentally extreme . Based on the data below, it would be difficult for an observer not to conclude that President Trump has generated some notable economic success.
In the June 17 th edition of the New York Times, Nobel Laureate, Professor Paul Krugman, in his editorial column entitled “Why Isn’t Trump a Real Populist?”, wrote several things …
… “why has Trump been unwilling to do anything, and I mean anything, to help the people who installed him in the White House?”
… “In 2016, on the campaign trail, Trump sounded as if he might be a European-style populist, blending racism with support for social programs that benefit white people. He even promised to raise taxes on the rich, himself included.”
… “Since taking office, however, he has relentlessly favored the wealthy over members of the working class, whatever their skin color. His only major legislative success was a huge break for corporations and business owners; the handful of crumbs thrown at ordinary families was so small that most people believe they got nothing at all.”
Reflecting the above, we believe there is an extensive amount of data that Professor Krugman has either not seen, or perhaps has chosen to ignore, but needs to be recognized and acknowledged. We feel the following is relevant to whether the Krugman quotes above have merit.
There has been a dramatic pickup in GDP so far under the Trump policies as can be seen in the table below sourced by the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Many felt that a Trump Presidency would definitely not be characterized by any acceleration in GDP due the belief that 2% or less growth was the “new normal” … or worse, that we would move directly into a recession. President Obama famously said that “President Trump would need a magic wand to get to 4% GDP”. Notably, that level was achieved in the 2 nd quarter of 2018 when GDP registered a growth rate of 4.16%. While that level of growth has not been sustained, the annualized quarterly growth rate for 2018 was impressive at 2.98% and for the past four quarters, the average has been even better at 3.19%. There is a major difference between a 2% GDP and a 3% GDP. Some, when queried, would say the difference is “1%” when, mathematically, it is really a 50% step-up. So, the GDP attained so far in the Trump administration far exceeds the GDP achievements of both President Obama and President Bush.
We would remind readers that one of the longest stretches of time without a year registering 3% growth in GDP was the four-year time frame from 1929 to 1933 that encompassed the Depression years. There was one other three-year period, from 1945 to 1947, when GDP failed to reach the 3% growth threshold. Regrettably, however, the Obama Presidency failed to achieve GDP growth in excess of 3% inanyof his 8 years in office . Some would correctly note that President Obama inherited a difficult economy, but the economic recovery took hold just 9 months into his Presidency, leaving 39 months to enjoy a strong rebound from those depressed levels. That didn’t happen.
Clickhere to read the entire articleon Main Management's website.
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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || Bitcoin tax: the U.S. & Singapore go to extremes: Last week, Singapore proposed to exemptBitcoinandcryptocurrencytransactions from value-added tax (VAT.) In America, meanwhile, it seems things are about to get a whole lot more taxing.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to issue new guidance on how cryptocurrencies will be taxedin the coming weeks, and the taxman is licking his lips.
Using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services, trading, selling, mining and airdrops are all currently taxable in the U.S. But recent data suggest that people aren’t taking those rules very seriously. Only 53 percent of Americans had plans to report their cryptocurrency gains or losses, according to onesurvey.
So the IRS is proposing a host ofmeasuresto identify and prosecute crypto tax evasion. They range from grilling family and friends, searching through social media posts and block explorer data, using electronic surveillance to determine whether a taxpayer transacts in, or maintains a balance of, Bitcoin, and issuing subpoenas to access bank, PayPal and other account data.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, a more Zen approach seems to be in play. The state tax agency is proposing to exempt cryptocurrency from VAT, which is called goods and services tax there (and covers transactions which function as a medium of exchange). The same approach has already been taken by other jurisdictions, notably Australia, Germany and Portugal.
If adopted by Singapore’s Parliament, the proposal will become law in January.
Neighbouring Malaysia has gone one better by deciding crypto doesn’t qualify forcapital gains tax, but that’s because digital currencies are not considered assets or legal tender by the authorities.
The approach to taxing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is a constantly shifting kaleidoscope. While many historically have turned a blind eye (like Bermuda and Malawi) the trend nowadays seems to be heading firmly towards regulation.
A good thing too. If wide-scale adoption of a crypto like Facebook’s Libra, was to happen anytime soon, it would send many current tax systems into meltdown. In most jurisdictions, users would incur tax liabilities based on the crypto’s fluctuations against their local currency, creating a “novel problem for consumers,” according to a briefingnotefrom UK-based lawyers, Clifford Chance.
“Each time they transact, they’ll be making a currency gain or loss,” said the note. “In most countries gains will be taxable, meaning consumers will have to file a detailed tax return showing all their transactions and the exchange rate at the time, and pay any tax due.”
Perhaps the least problematic approach, then, is the one taken by Belarus. Since March 2018, cryptocurrency activities—including mining and investing— are considered both legal and exempt from taxes. At least, until 2023. || The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers 31/07/19: Bitcoin gained 0.90% on Tuesday. Reversing a 0.13% fall from Monday, Bitcoin ended the day at $9,589. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin fall to an early morning intraday low $9,380 before finding support. Steering clear of the first major support level at $9,343, Bitcoin rallied to an early afternoon intraday high $9,747.8. Bitcoin broke through the first major resistance level at $9,704.63 to come up against the 38.2% FIB of $9,734. Bitcoin fell back to $9,520 levels before a late move back through to $9,580 levels. Whilst finding support on the day, Bitcoin’s looking at a loss for the month of July. For the current month to the end of Tuesday, Bitcoin was down by 11.21%. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was another mixed bag for the majors on the day. Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way on the day, rallying by 5.95%. Ripple’s XRP and Stellar’s Lumen also saw solid gains on the day, rising by 2.8% and 2.25% respectively. Binance Coin (+0.19%), Litecoin (+0.08%) and EOS (+0.02%) also managed close out the day in the green. Bucking the trend on the day were Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash SV, which fell by 0.41% and by 0.26% respectively. In spite of the mixed day, it’s been a particularly bearish month for the crypto majors. For the current month through to the end of Tuesday, Tron’s TRX led the way down, sliding by 30.5%. Ethereum (-27.66), EOS (-27.14%), Litecoin (-25.98%) and Bitcoin Cash SV (-24.52%) also saw particularly heavy losses. For the month, Binance Coin (-15.2%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (-19%), Ripple’s XRP (-19.2%), and Stellar’s Lumen (19.78%) saw the most modest losses going into the final day of the month. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 1.54% to $9,736.6. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rally to an early morning low $9,575.5 to a high $9,862.1. Bitcoin broke through the 38.2% FIB of $9,734 and first major resistance level at $9,764.53 before easing back. Story continues Elsewhere, Bitcoin Cash ABC (+2.79%), Litecoin (+2.52%) and Binance Coin (+2.33%) also saw solid gains early on. Bucking the trend through the morning, however, was Stellar’s Lumen, which was down by 0.32%. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead A hold above $9,580 levels through the morning would support another move through the 38.2% FIB of $9,734. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to take a run at the first major resistance level at $9,764.53. In the event of a broad-based crypto rally, the second major resistance level at $9,940.07 could come into play. Failure to hold above $9,580 levels could see Bitcoin take a tumble. A fall through this morning’s low $9,757.5 to $9,600 levels would bring the first major support level at $9,343.03 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$9,000 support levels on the day. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Metals on Consolidation Pattern Ahead the Fed Cardano’s ADA Technical Analysis – Support Levels in Play – 31/07/19 Asian Equities Recoil at Trump’s Confrontational Tone Around US-China Trade Imbalance Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Yields Down, Gold Up Will Mean Fed Got It Wrong EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for July 31, 2019 Bitcoin Cash – ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 31/07/19 || Bigger than the Kardashians: Bitcoin searches top Kim K, study says: Bitcoin is more popular than the royal wedding, and the world’s biggest reality television star?
Those are essentially the findings of a newstudyby cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. According to the data, not only have more than half of Americans heard of bitcoin (BTC-USD), but more of them have searched for it this year on Google than Kim Kardashian this year.
In fact, three times more.
“We look at Google searches of Kim Khadashian, of election results, of the royal wedding, and Bitcoin topped all of those,” said Nina Willdorf, Coinbase’s director of content & editorial on “YFi PM.”
“We found that awareness is quite high: 60% of Americans say they’ve heard of bitcoin,” she said. “When you compare that to other broad phenomenon, it’s great.”
Bitcoin has been on a seesaw, rallying to 2019 highs near $13,000 but retracing some of those gains in the last few sessions. Still the cryptocurrency has more than tripled since the start of the year.
That could be because there is a high correlation between Google searches for bitcoin and its price action, according to anoteby research firm SEMrush.
It’s not surprising that California, a wealthy coastal state, has the highest percentage of the population owning cryptocurrency. However, the Coinbase study also revealed a few surprises.
“We saw broad swaths of the United States showing up. You see states like Colorado, Utah, Alaska in that top 10 list. That was a very interesting indicator for us,” said Willdorf.
Coinbase also looked at states with the largest average value of cryptocurrency owned per person. Surprisingly, Delaware residents hold the highest average value of cryptocurrency per person, followed by California and Nevada.
Wyoming (No. 6) and New Hampshire (No. 10) also made the list.
So why are so many retail investors betting on bitcoin?
“We spoke to one person, he’s saying that he’s looking to it as a way to drive his own economic freedom. He says this is something for ‘my generation’ this is something that’s giving us a new form of access,” said Willdorf.
For others, having access to buy cryptocurrency without an “accredited investor” designation is also a motivator. Also, some like its association with technology, and the shape of things to come.
“A young woman in New York tells us that this is really interesting and she thinks it’s going to be the wave of the future,” said Willdorf.
Crypto is here to stay
Even big banks are getting in on the digital currency hype. Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon told France’s Les echos newspaper that he’s looking into ways to transform currencies or assets into tradeable digital contracts with blockchain.
Also, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) said earlier this year it developed its own stable coin called JPM Coin.
Lawmakers also want in on cryptocurrency, with more than 70% of U.S. states having enacted regulations governing cryptocurrency or blockchain technology, according to Coinbase.
Cryptocurrencies may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but Willdorf says the numbers reveal it still has a lot of room to grow.
“When you see 60% of Americans telling us in this survey that they’ve heard of Bitcoin, that number shows it’s both big and it also shows room to grow. When you see 15% across the country are saying they are interested in purchasing cryptocurrency,” she said.
Grete Suarez is producer at Yahoo Finance for YFi PM and The Ticker. Follow her on Twitter:@GreteSuarez
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
@RencanamuIndah @Semuabaik3 @BesarSetiamu @IndahSungguh @KBagimu || @cryptolobopt Eu não apostava nisso. O BTC vai aos 20K e levas uma banhada. || With BitClub Network you have the opportunity to earn Bitcoin every day from our strategic mining operations. We have combined network marketing with digital currency to bring you an opportunity unlike anything else https://t.co/oAamUxlO9f https://t.co/3Zk04tDpPg || $BTC is now worth $9,513.95 (+0.57%) #BTC
➡️ https://t.co/lNpLBdQRKt || Anti-Bitcoin Congressman: Libra Could be as Damaging as 9/11 @EtherWorldNews #Cryptocurrency #Law and Legislation #bitcoin #Brad Sherman #Congress #Libra https://t.co/3yqWeoCfri || Bitmex Industry-leading leverage up to 100x, without expiries #Btc $Crypto. / (link: (link: https://t.co/ua4JQqPQiM) || none of this is surprising. I have had all this on my screen for over a month. didn't we expect summer to have a crash? anyone? great things are coming! $btc $ltc https://t.co/lviB6rN7WX || La esencia de #Bitcoin es que es una divisa totalmente digital: software criptográfico que corre en una red descentralizada. 📲
Actualmente el dinero físico cada vez se usa menos, por eso las #DivisasDigitales cobran relevancia al ofrecer rapidez y transparencia. 🌎
#CuboDato https://t.co/Pkae9f3lXf || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10407.96, 10159.96, 10138.52, 10370.82, 10185.50, 9754.42, 9510.20, 9598.17, 9630.66, 9757.97
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2016-09-01]
BTC Price: 572.30, BTC RSI: 40.35
Gold Price: 1312.20, Gold RSI: 40.49
Oil Price: 43.16, Oil RSI: 40.84
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin 'miners' face fight for survival as new supply halves: By Jemima Kelly
KEFLAVIK, Iceland (Reuters) - Marco Streng is a miner, though he does not carry a pick around his base in south-western Iceland. Instead, he keeps tens of thousands of computers running 24 hours a day in fierce competition with others across the globe to earn bitcoins.
In the world of the web-based digital currency, it is not central banks that add new money to the system, but rather computers like Streng's which are awarded fresh bitcoins in return for processing blocks of the latest bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers.
The work Streng's computers and others do serves two purposes: they record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions and - because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do - steadily increase the currency in circulation, currently worth around $10 billion.
The process has come to be known as "mining" because it is slow and intensive, reaping a gradual reward in the same way that minerals such as gold are mined from the ground.
But on Saturday, the reward for miners will be slashed in half. Written into bitcoin's code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation.
From around 1700 GMT on Saturday, instead of 25 bitcoins up for grabs globally every 10 minutes, worth around $16,000 at the current rate (BTC=BTSP), there will be just 12.5.
That means only the mining companies with the leanest operations will survive the ensuing profit hit.
"The most important thing is to be the most efficient miner," said Streng, the 26-year-old co-founder of German firm Genesis Mining, which has "mining farms" in Canada, the United States and eastern Europe, as well as in Iceland. "When the others drop out, that means that they leave the market and give you a bigger share of the pie."
SOLVING PUZZLES
The currency was founded eight years ago by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity has not been established. It was set up to operate independently of any single authority, instead relying on a decentralized global network.
Because the bitcoin miners operate autonomously, it is hard to track their numbers and size. But in terms of computing capacity it was estimated earlier this year that the network is 43,000 times more powerful than the world's top 500 supercomputers combined.
Computers like Streng's solve complex, automatically generated mathematical puzzles to help secure each block of transactions and keep the bitcoin network safe from hacking or manipulation. For bitcoin users, that security is one of the currency's main attractions.
After the first miner secures a block of transactions, its work is verified by the other miners in the network, and that block is added to the "blockchain" - a shared record of all the transaction data - which is virtually impossible to tamper with. The mining, therefore, keeps the whole system going.
Bitcoin is now accepted by major organizations including U.S. online retailer Overstock.com and travel company Expedia.
The speed and anonymity of bitcoin transactions, and lack of a central authority overseeing the currency, has drawn in many users, including those who want to get around capital controls. It has also attracted investors who see it as a potentially lucrative commodity in itself.
KEEPING COOL
Bitcoin mining started out as a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers in the early years of the virtual currency, but has become more specialized as bitcoin usage expands.
As the bitcoin price has risen, as transaction numbers have grown and as the computers have become so specialized that they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining, a whole industry has emerged.
It can be profitable if firms are able to keep their expenses low. But the costs of running these machines, which cost around $1,800 each, and keeping them cool are fiendishly high.
Streng reckons that, on average, it costs about $200 in electricity, including cooling power, to mine one bitcoin. Equipment, rent, wages and business running costs are on top.
On Saturday, all else being equal, the halving of the reward will double that cost, to $400, leaving a small margin for profit at the current exchange rate of around $640 per bitcoin.
In the same remote region of Iceland as the Genesis mining farm, on a former Cold War U.S. military base lies a bitcoin mining facility belonging to U.S. firm Bitfury. A nearby sub-station means electricity transmission costs are minimal.
In the farm's two vast buildings, tens of thousands of mining machines whir away, producing a huge amount of heat, so the buildings are open to the cold Icelandic air at either side, save for particle filters to trap dust.
Fans in the ceiling allow hot air to escape, but spin so fast that no rain or snow can enter during the winter. The noise produced by computers and fans is deafening.
It is no coincidence that so many mining companies have chosen to build farms in Iceland - Chinese giant Bitmain also has a huge farm there. The volcanic island's cheap, bountiful, renewable energy supply, good internet connectivity, and cool temperatures make it an ideal location.
The Icelandic authorities welcome the boost to the economy that the bitcoin miners have brought -- Bitmain opened its farm after an approach by the Icelandic embassy in Beijing. Genesis's Streng says he is such a valued client that the Icelandic energy companies fly him around in helicopters.
Bitfury CEO Valery Vavilov, who estimates electricity makes up between 90 and 95 percent of bitcoin mining costs, says one way his firm stays competitive is by making its own hardware.
He also says the company, founded in 2011, is prepared for the mining reward cut. "We're prepared - we already went through one halving event in 2012," he said. "You can forecast this...so you have time to prepare, and if you're prepared you can live quite easily."
Vavilov, and other miners, say the prospect of new supply halving has already helped drive bitcoin up over 50 percent this year, which should help ease the pain.
COMPETITION FROM CHINA
Despite the fact that the halving was expected, and that the price has risen, it has already claimed one casualty: Sweden's KnCMiner filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, citing the hit to its profits that the reward cut would bring.
Daniel Masters, who runs a Jersey-based bitcoin hedge fund and who bought a part of KnC's business, said the Swedish firm, like everybody else, had faced competition from miners in China, which are estimated to make up more than two-thirds of the bitcoin network's computing power, or "hashpower".
"It turned out that the Chinese, who really stormed into the mining market in the last couple of years, could just do this whole thing cheaper," Masters said.
Some Chinese miners get hydroelectric power from disused dams, while others use cheap coal-powered electricity.
Bitfury and Genesis, though, say their lean operations allow them to fight off the competition. Genesis, for example, keeps cost down by remotely monitoring conditions in its mining farms and adjusting its fans and cooling accordingly.
And the next time the mining reward is halved, in 2020, they hope the number of bitcoin transactions will have grown sufficiently to mean that the small fees paid by users will make up enough of their income to smooth out the profit cut.
"By 2020 we will definitely have had the tipping point," said Bitfury's Vavilov.
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Dominic Evans) || Bitcoin 'miners' face fight for survival as new supply halves: By Jemima Kelly KEFLAVIK, Iceland (Reuters) - Marco Streng is a miner, though he does not carry a pick around his base in south-western Iceland. Instead, he keeps tens of thousands of computers running 24 hours a day in fierce competition with others across the globe to earn bitcoins. In the world of the web-based digital currency, it is not central banks that add new money to the system, but rather computers like Streng's which are awarded fresh bitcoins in return for processing blocks of the latest bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers. The work Streng's computers and others do serves two purposes: they record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions and - because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do - steadily increase the currency in circulation, currently worth around $10 billion. The process has come to be known as "mining" because it is slow and intensive, reaping a gradual reward in the same way that minerals such as gold are mined from the ground. But on Saturday, the reward for miners will be slashed in half. Written into bitcoin's code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation. From around 1700 GMT on Saturday, instead of 25 bitcoins up for grabs globally every 10 minutes, worth around $16,000 at the current rate, there will be just 12.5. That means only the mining companies with the leanest operations will survive the ensuing profit hit. "The most important thing is to be the most efficient miner," said Streng, the 26-year-old co-founder of German firm Genesis Mining, which has "mining farms" in Canada, the United States and eastern Europe, as well as in Iceland. "When the others drop out, that means that they leave the market and give you a bigger share of the pie." Story continues SOLVING PUZZLES The currency was founded eight years ago by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity has not been established. It was set up to operate independently of any single authority, instead relying on a decentralised global network. Because the bitcoin miners operate autonomously, it is hard to track their numbers and size. But in terms of computing capacity it was estimated earlier this year that the network is 43,000 times more powerful than the world's top 500 supercomputers combined. Computers like Streng's solve complex, automatically generated mathematical puzzles to help secure each block of transactions and keep the bitcoin network safe from hacking or manipulation. For bitcoin users, that security is one of the currency's main attractions. After the first miner secures a block of transactions, its work is verified by the other miners in the network, and that block is added to the "blockchain" - a shared record of all the transaction data - which is virtually impossible to tamper with. The mining, therefore, keeps the whole system going. Bitcoin is now accepted by major organisations including U.S. online retailer Overstock.com and travel company Expedia. The speed and anonymity of bitcoin transactions, and lack of a central authority overseeing the currency, has drawn in many users, including those who want to get around capital controls. It has also attracted investors who see it as a potentially lucrative commodity in itself. KEEPING COOL Bitcoin mining started out as a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers in the early years of the virtual currency, but has become more specialised as bitcoin usage expands. As the bitcoin price has risen, as transaction numbers have grown and as the computers have become so specialised that they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining, a whole industry has emerged. It can be profitable if firms are able to keep their expenses low. But the costs of running these machines, which cost around $1,800 each, and keeping them cool are fiendishly high. Streng reckons that, on average, it costs about $200 in electricity, including cooling power, to mine one bitcoin. Equipment, rent, wages and business running costs are on top. On Saturday, all else being equal, the halving of the reward will double that cost, to $400, leaving a small margin for profit at the current exchange rate of around $640 per bitcoin. In the same remote region of Iceland as the Genesis mining farm, on a former Cold War U.S. military base lies a bitcoin mining facility belonging to U.S. firm Bitfury. A nearby sub-station means electricity transmission costs are minimal. In the farm's two vast buildings, tens of thousands of mining machines whir away, producing a huge amount of heat, so the buildings are open to the cold Icelandic air at either side, save for particle filters to trap dust. Fans in the ceiling allow hot air to escape, but spin so fast that no rain or snow can enter during the winter. The noise produced by computers and fans is deafening. It is no coincidence that so many mining companies have chosen to build farms in Iceland - Chinese giant Bitmain also has a huge farm there. The volcanic island's cheap, bountiful, renewable energy supply, good internet connectivity, and cool temperatures make it an ideal location. The Icelandic authorities welcome the boost to the economy that the bitcoin miners have brought -- Bitmain opened its farm after an approach by the Icelandic embassy in Beijing. Genesis's Streng says he is such a valued client that the Icelandic energy companies fly him around in helicopters. Bitfury CEO Valery Vavilov, who estimates electricity makes up between 90 and 95 percent of bitcoin mining costs, says one way his firm stays competitive is by making its own hardware. He also says the company, founded in 2011, is prepared for the mining reward cut. "We're prepared - we already went through one halving event in 2012," he said. "You can forecast this...so you have time to prepare, and if you're prepared you can live quite easily." Vavilov, and other miners, say the prospect of new supply halving has already helped drive bitcoin up over 50 percent this year, which should help ease the pain. COMPETITION FROM CHINA Despite the fact that the halving was expected, and that the price has risen, it has already claimed one casualty: Sweden's KnCMiner filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, citing the hit to its profits that the reward cut would bring. Daniel Masters, who runs a Jersey-based bitcoin hedge fund and who bought a part of KnC's business, said the Swedish firm, like everybody else, had faced competition from miners in China, which are estimated to make up more than two-thirds of the bitcoin network's computing power, or "hashpower". "It turned out that the Chinese, who really stormed into the mining market in the last couple of years, could just do this whole thing cheaper," Masters said. Some Chinese miners get hydroelectric power from disused dams, while others use cheap coal-powered electricity. Bitfury and Genesis, though, say their lean operations allow them to fight off the competition. Genesis, for example, keeps cost down by remotely monitoring conditions in its mining farms and adjusting its fans and cooling accordingly. And the next time the mining reward is halved, in 2020, they hope the number of bitcoin transactions will have grown sufficiently to mean that the small fees paid by users will make up enough of their income to smooth out the profit cut. "By 2020 we will definitely have had the tipping point," said Bitfury's Vavilov. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Dominic Evans) || Here's your simple guide to the bitcoin halving: Bitcoin price over the past 3 months, via WinkDex. On Saturday, July 9, around 1:30pm EST, the bitcoin halving will occur. What the heck is the bitcoin halving? In simplest terms, for only the second time in the digital currencys history, the reward that bitcoin miners receive will be cut in half. To get more in depth: All bitcoin transactions are recorded on the bitcoin blockchain, a public, decentralized, permissionless ledger . The transactions are recorded in bundles, called blocks, by miners who receive a small reward in bitcoin for mining. This process creates new bitcoins. Miners currently earn 25 bitcoins per blockat the current bitcoin price, thats $16,175. But beginning with the mining of the 420,000th block, which is set to happen on Saturday, the reward will go down to 12.5 bitcoins rewarded per block mined. This will reduce the creation of new bitcoins from 9% down to about 4% per year. Its an event that people in the bitcoin world have been anticipating for months with great excitementbut also uncertainty. So, what does this mean for you, Yahoo Finance reader, and for the bitcoin market? If you dont own any bitcoin, perhaps nothing at all. But there are signs that the halving could have a major impact on the price. And if it brings the price on another big ride, this could be the right time to get in. Consequently, some experts predict the opposite: that the halving will be an exit event when many speculators get out. The last time the mining reward was halved, after 210,000 blocks, was on November 28, 2012. The price did nothing significant that day, then saw a slow increase in the weeks that followed, part of a run to the highest price bitcoin has ever seen, above $1,200 one year later. But the post-halving bump was likely due to many different factors, as is typically the case with every bitcoin price hike. Take the last few months as an example. Just after the Brexit vote, bitcoin saw a clear bump but the price had already been on a big ride for months before the EU referendum, and many believe it was because of the approaching halving. Bitcoin is up 49% over the last 3 months, and 115% in the past year. (Then again, based on data from Coinbase, Brits bought a lot of bitcoin just before the Brexit happened.) Story continues Every time bitcoin spikes, people like to point to China, the de facto global capital of bitcoin and where the majority of miners are based. But bitcoin is an asset untied to any single countrys economy or currency (much like gold), which means the factors that raise or drop its price are varied and difficult to pinpoint. In a casual Twitter poll on what the price will do in the wake of the halving, nearly 300 respondents were basically split on whether it will go up, down, or do nothing. The #bitcoin halving will have what effect on price? $btc Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) July 8, 2016 One group that could be seriously hurt by the halving is miners using older mining machines, whose margins are smaller. (Most miners nowadays are big operations with expensive machines, mostly in China.) If the price drops precipitously, these small-margin miners could be cut out, because mining might become unprofitable for them. If that happens, bitcoins hashratethe speed at which the blockchain is operatingwould drop. And that would be bad for the entire bitcoin network. The only thing you can bank on from bitcoin in the next few weeks after the halving: volatility. But that doesnt necessarily mean the everyday investor should stay away. Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Follow him on Twitter at @ readDanwrite . Read more: British bitcoin market sent extraordinary signals before Brexit The latest Bitcoin price hike is not all about Brexit It doesnt really matter to bitcoin who created bitcoin || Wall Street's favorite technology set out to disrupt how we transfer money, but may end up changing everything else instead: (Dana Byerlee, 33, of Santa Monica, prepares to use one of Southern California's first two bitcoin-to-cash ATMs, in Locali Conscious Convenience store in Venice, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 2014.REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)
Bitcoin was created to revolutionize the way we pay for things.
The decentralized control, quick payment processing and blockchain technology Bitcoin championed was intended to disrupt the status quo in payments.
The Bitcoin platform was released in 2009, and was created to give the power of payments to the people using it.
No longer would you have to rely on a bank to verify transactions. The people who use Bitcoin double as the verification method using a technology known as the "blockchain."
The widespread nature of Bitcoin means it can't be controlled by a malicious government or a single company. No single person has power over Bitcoin, and any changes to the payment system would have to be agreed upon by a majority of the people using it, a refreshing change from other payment methods.
"Bitcoin is a very successful proof of concept for a peer to peer electronic cash system, which allows for the transfer of value over the internet without the need for a trusted third party," Citigroup analyst Keith Horowitz said in a note to clients.
It's now becoming clear that bitcoin is unlikely tosucceed in getting rid of cash or credit cards. There are too many barriers to its widespread availability.That doesn't mean it's a failure, though.The technology that Bitcoin popularized is being put to use in other exciting areas now.
It turns out that Bitcoin's biggest feature, its decentralized nature, is also one of its biggest weaknesses.
Let's illustrate the problem with an example.
Imagine sending money to a family member who is overseas, but accidentally typing in the wrong account number. On the Bitcoin network, you would have to contact the account you mistakenly sent money to and have them agree to send it back. If you had used a bank or credit card, the central power could resolve the issue, and refund your account with the money you mistakenly sent.
Even if you manage to correctly send Bitcoin to your family member, they would have to find someone willing to trade their new Bitcoin into currency they could use locally.
The decentralized nature of Bitcoin actually hurts it in an example like this.
Additionally, in developed nations, a central power often help suppress volatility and increase adoption. It's hard to convince a user that Bitcoin is the best payment option when systems issued by banks and government entities are just as fast and easy to use.
"When we compare Bitcoin to centralized systems on messaging, settlement and regulation, we believe that overall centralized systems come out on top, and consequently we do not believe that banks and the card networks (Visa/MasterCard) are at risk from disruption," Horowitz said.
Despite it's shortcomings, Bitcoin is not a failure. It has succeeded in highlighting several problem areas in current payment systems, and people are working on a number of different options for utilizing the technology Bitcoin popularized.
(A 3D printed people's models are seen in front of a displayed Airbnb logo in this illustrationThomson Reuters)
Major banks are investigating thepracticality of a 'blockchain' technology, for example.
Autonomous Research has called the technology a "game changer," and Goldman Sachs has said the technology "has the potential to redefine transactions."
The estimated annual budget for blockchain initiativeson Wall Street is $1 billion.
Goldman Sachs recently published areport highlighting practical use casesfor blockchain outside of finance, including applications in the sharing economy, electricity market and in property.
"Groundbreaking innovations have often come from not one but many different technologies coming together," Horowitz said.
Bitcoin could provide a framework for incredibly quick microtransactions, which would revolutionize several industries.
Imagine the streaming music services, like Spotify and Apple Music, paying an artist a small amount of money every time you play a song. This happens now, but is done slowly and is hard to track.
Plumbing a database of music with a Bitcoinlike technology would allow artists to be paid immediately for people listening to their work, and the system could theoretically work across streaming services.
Bitcoin also has interesting applications in the Internet of Things.As more of our everyday objects start connecting to the internet, the potential for small micropayments increases.
Imagine your dryer, fridge and AC all communicating with each other and talking to the power grid to barter over power usage. A decentralized, Bitcoin like systemcould allow these devices to all talk to each other. Instead of having to be connected to a centralized hub the devices could provide their own smarts.
The possible applications of Bitcoin technology are potentially infinite, and are only just starting to be realized.
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New data disclosed to Reuters shows a third of bitcoin trading platforms have been hacked, and nearly half have closed in the half dozen years since they burst on the scene. This rising risk for bitcoin holders is compounded by the fact there is no depositor's insurance to absorb the loss, even though many exchanges act like virtual banks. Not only does that approach cast the cyber security risk in stark relief, but it also exposes the fact that bitcoin investors have little choice but to do business with under-capitalized exchanges that may not have the capital buffer to absorb these losses the way a traditional and regulated bank or exchange would. "There is a general sense in the bitcoin community that any centralized repository is at risk," said a U.S.-based professional trader who lost about $1,000 in bitcoins when Bitfinex was hacked. He declined to be named for this article. "So when investing, you always have that expectation at the back of your head. I lost a small amount compared to the others, but I know of traders who lost millions of dollars worth of bitcoins," the trader said. The security challenge for the bitcoin world does not appear to be letting up, according to experts in the currency. "I am skeptical there's going to be any technological silver bullet that's going to solve security breach problems. No technology, crypto-currency, or financial mechanism can be made safe from hacks," said Tyler Moore, assistant professor of cyber security at the University of Tulsa's Tandy School of Computer Science who will soon publish the new research on the vulnerability of bitcoin exchanges. His study, funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and shared with Reuters, shows that since bitcoin's creation in 2009 to March 2015, 33 percent of all bitcoin exchanges operational during that period were hacked. The figure represents one of the first estimates of the extent of security breaches in the bitcoin world. In contrast, data from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization, showed that of the 6,000 operational U.S. banks, only 67 banks experienced a publicly-disclosed data breach between 2009 and 2015. That's roughly 1 percent of U.S. banks. Among the world's stock exchanges, however, security breaches are much higher, with hackers attracted to the large pools of cash moving in and out of these trading venues. The latest survey of 46 securities exchanges released three years ago by the International Organization of Securities Commissions and World Federation of Exchanges found that more than half had experienced a cyber attack. Moore collaborated on the research with Nicolas Christin, associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Janos Szurdi, a Ph.D. student also at Carnegie. In 2013, Moore and Christin wrote a research paper on security risks surrounding bitcoin exchanges when Moore was still a professor at Southern Methodist University. That research entitled Beware of the Middleman: Empirical Analysis of Bitcoin Exchange Risk was peer-reviewed and presented at the 17th International Financial Cryptography and Data Security Conference in Okinawa, Japan in 2013. In the most recent study, the rate of closure for bitcoin exchanges in Moore's research edged up to 48 percent among those operating from 2009 to March 2015. Hacking did not necessarily trigger the closure in each case. "A 48 percent closure is not acceptable, but not surprising given that bitcoin is a new technology," said Richard Johnson, vice president of market structure and technology at Greenwich Associates. Johnson has written reports on risk and security issues in the crypto-currency world. Profitability is a big problem for bitcoin exchanges, with many of them unable to generate enough volume to keep afloat. Bitcoin exchanges overall could be launched for as low as $100,000 up to $1 million, said Erik Voorhees, founder and chief executive officer of digital currency exchange ShapeShift. That is a fraction of what U.S. forex exchanges' are required to put up. Retail FX trading platform FXCM, for instance, is required by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have at least $25 million in capital at all times. RECOVERING LOSSES A key factor tied to the risk posed by exchanges is whether customers are reimbursed after closure or after the loss of bitcoins following a hack. Each closure and breach have been handled differently, but Tandy's Moore said the risk of losing funds stored in exchanges are real. In the case of Bitfinex, which is now up and running after the hack August 2, customers lost 36 percent of the assets they had on the platform and were compensated for the losses with tokens of credit that would be converted into equity in the parent company. At Tokyo's MtGox, customers have yet to recover their investments more than two years after closure. Experts say trading venues acting like banks such as Bitfinex will remain vulnerable. These exchanges act as custodial wallets in which they control users' digital currencies like banks control customer deposits. "The big exchanges that hold customer deposits are a big target for hackers," said ShapeShift's Voorhees, "and unfortunately most bitcoin exchanges store user funds." When customers' checking accounts are hacked, there is always a third party at the bank that can step in to deal with the theft. Not so with bitcoin, said Seattle-based Darin Stanchfield, chief executive officer at KeepKey, a hardware wallet provider. He expects more of these attacks to happen despite efforts to improve security at bitcoin exchanges. "Unfortunately because of its irreversible nature, bitcoin requires near perfect security." (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Edward Tobin) || Bitcoin value plummets after Hong Kong exchange hack: There has been another big bitcoin hack, and it looks like the biggest one since the infamous hack of Mount Gox back in 2011. This time, $65 million worth of bitcoins were stolen from the exchange Bitfinex. The price of bitcoin fell more than 8% after the hack. Here’s exactly what happened. || Exchanges Propose New Unified Trading Rules: The country’s three major exchanges announced today they have agreed to work together for new common trading procedures when reopening after a trading halt.
Bats Global Markets, owner of ETF.com, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they will be filing a new set of exchange rules with the SEC that propose to unify how all three resume trading when a halt occurs with ETFs and stocks. This comes nearly a year after more than 1,000 ETFs and stocks were halted on Aug. 24, 2015, causing dozens ofETFs to be traded well below fair value.
Currently the exchanges do not have the same procedures to resume trading after such a halt, which fueled the market swings and price dislocation on that day.
Beyond the unified reopening procedures, the exchanges also propose to eliminate the time periods where securities could trade without the limit up/limit down (circuit breaker) bands in place, reduce the number of trading pauses, and remove the “Clearly Erroneous Execution” rules when the limit up/limit down bands are in place.
Getting Ahead Of Regulators
“Last year’s flash crash wasn’t necessarily ‘caused’by chaos between the exchanges, but it certainly was exacerbated by it,” said Dave Nadig, director of exchange-traded funds at FactSet and ETF trading expert. “It’s to the exchanges’ credit that in many ways they’re getting ahead of the regulators and trying to coordinate their disparate rule sets to minimize the chances of the same thing happening again. The work they’re doing about initial opening, limit up/limit down triggering and reopening is exactly what needs to happen.”
Nadig added that while the details are just coming out, the proactive nature of the exchanges in making these proposals is admirable.
“The devil can sometimes be in the details, so we’ll see the final suggestions in a few weeks, but overall, I’m enormously impressed at the way these competitors have pulled together to improve the system,” he added.
Industry Call To Action In March
In March, leaders of the ETF industry joined a group in writing a letter to the SEC (Why This ‘Open Letter’ To SEC Matters) petitioning for overhauls to the market microstructure to prevent further flash crashes in ETFs and stocks.
At the heart of the matter on Aug. 24, 2015 were the inconsistencies between how different exchanges handled big swings in securities (the limit up/limit down circuit breakers) and how securities were reopened after those breakers were hit.
The problem spoke to the fragmentation of exchanges and the difference in how each exchange resumed trading, resulting in price discovery problems. Today’s announcement aims to address those problems.
Drew Voros can be reached atdvoros@etf.com.
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Permalink| © Copyright 2016ETF.com.All rights reserved || Bitcoin Buying Service Launches with Market-Beating Rates: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 13, 2016 / Selling bitcoins has just been made more profitable with the launch of a new website from PowerBTC.com . The recently revamped service offers to buy the crypto currency with one very simple advantage - a guarantee that they will pay a significantly higher price than the exchange rate of the day. The platform charges no transaction fees, making the market-beating offer even more attractive to those with bitcoin assets to trade. PowerBTC.com can guarantee this higher payment as they have established relationships with bulk bitcoin buyers, and need volume to feed their clients' hunger for the digital currency. They aim to make the selling process as simple and transparent as possible, not requiring any lengthy registration process, nor storing any personal information about their customers. Funds are delivered direct within 48 hours of purchase using Paypal, Western Union, or bank transfer, with the promise of complete privacy and anonymity. Tom Clark , CEO of PowerBTC.com, said, "We believe we are the best buyers for your bitcoin assets, whether you're a dedicated miner or a savvy trader. Not only do we offer better-than-market rates, but we deliver your funds in US Dollars direct with no strings attached, no need for registration, and a guarantee of complete privacy." Bitcoin has long been the most high-profile crypto currency, but its technological origins have often made it appear inaccessible to the mainstream investor. Talk of mining and exchanges can be off-putting, but PowerBTC.com aim to simplify the whole process of realizing bitcoin value by offering a no-frills, easy to use way of turning coins into solid cash. The service is not limited to new entrants to the blockchain arena, however, as the ease of converting a digital wallet into conventional currency at market-beating rates will appeal to even the most hardcore of bitcoin miners. The Key PowerBTC.com Features: All bitcoins purchased at significantly above market rates. No commissions or fees charged, just a clear and transparent buying price: what you see is what you get. Simple selling process with no registration or account required. Easy international payment in US Dollars via PayPal, Western Union, or bank transfer. Full anonymity guarantee with no personal details stored, and a safe and secure online platform. SOURCE: PowerBTC LLC
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
One Bitcoin now worth $655.00@bitstamp. High $665.99. Low $636.88. Market Cap $10.315 Billion #bitcoin || This Thursday is gonna be fuuuuun come support at the BTC +AxSM art show at love city love then after hit up Amber ! pic.twitter.com/0DlEcaHTdZ || ada :) start point BTC utk jadwalnya 02.00/05.30/07.30/09.30/11.30/13.30/15.30 || #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000007 (1.90 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) || @Bitstamp
Last price: $582.51
Daily change: -$0.27 -0.05%
Day's range: 582.00 - 584.98 USD
Today's open: $582.78
24h volume; 4882 BTC || Bitstamp: $674.00
Bitfinex: $676.13
Coinbase: $678
Get a #Bitcion loan today https://goo.gl/smQBq1
#btc #FreeBitcoin || #new $100.00 Butterfly Labs ASIC Bitcoin miner 50GHS (used) with power supply (low hours) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Butterfly-Labs-ASIC-Bitcoin-miner-50GHS-used-power-supply-low-hours-/232045072422 … || Bitfury Research Seeks to Shine Light on Bitcoin Mixing Methods http://goo.gl/0ZhIXE https://twitter.com/BitcoinWrld/status/768218202052722688/photo/1pic.twitter.com/MiMwtwjBpN || #UFOCoin #UFO $ 0.000012 (0.23 %) 0.00000002 BTC (-0.00 %) || #AudioCoin #ADC $ 0.000215 (-1.00 %) 0.00000038 BTC (-0.64 %)
|
Trend: up || Prices: 575.54, 598.21, 608.63, 606.59, 610.44, 614.54, 626.32, 622.86, 623.51, 606.72
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2021-09-13]
BTC Price: 44963.07, BTC RSI: 43.80
Gold Price: 1792.00, Gold RSI: 48.19
Oil Price: 70.45, Oil RSI: 55.87
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Coinbase Shares Pop On Blowout Earnings: Shares of Coinbase were trading higher by as much as 8% today after reporting blowout earnings yesterday afternoon. The rally brings the stock’s one-week gains to almost 26%, with the crypto-focused company benefiting from the strong earnings report, as well as a stunning surge in cryptocurrency prices.
Asreportedon ETF.com on Tuesday, since bottoming out at the end of July, ether and bitcoin jumped 85% and 60%, respectively, putting them halfway between their recent lows and their all-time highs.
As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, and with ambitions to become a much broader platform within the crypto space, Coinbase’s fortunes are inextricably tied to the booms and busts in cryptocurrency prices—at least for now.
Coinbase Share Price
Skyrocketing Revenues
In the second quarter, Coinbase generated $2.2 billion of revenue—up a whopping 12-fold from the year ago period—and $869 million of adjusted earnings. Fueling the spike was a nearly sixfold increase in the number of monthly transacting users, from 1.5 million to 8.8 million; a fivefold increase in bitcoin prices, from an average of $8,650 to $46,500; and a more than 16-fold increase in trading volumes on the platform, from $28 billion to $462 billion.
The bulk of that volume came from institutional investors—$317 billion versus $145 billion for retail. However, as usual, retail investors were responsible for generating the vast majority of Coinbase’s revenues—$1.8 billion versus $102 million for institutions.
Transaction fees, which make up about 95% of Coinbase’s total revenues, are much higher for retail investors than for institutional investors.
This primarily reflects the fact that retail investors are less price-sensitive than institutional investors, but it’s also a function of the different way Coinbase monetizes the two groups. In the case of retail investors, custody is bundled together with trading, while institutions have to pay extra for custody.
No Longer Bitcoin-Centric
Notably, Coinbase said that ether accounted for a greater share of its trading volume than bitcoin for the first time ever—26% compared to 24%—and perhaps even more surprisingly, other crypto assets accounted for 50% of total volume. That’s a big change from last year when the bitcoin, ether and other categories equaled 57%, 15% and 28% of total volume, respectively.
Coinbase said that the dollar value of the assets on its platform now totals $180 billion, roughly evenly split between retail investors and institutions. The firm estimates that the $180 billion is equal to 11.2% of the total market capitalization of crypto assets worldwide.
Interestingly, though ether managed to steal the crown from bitcoin on the trading side, the latter still represents the bulk of assets held on the platform, with a 47% share versus 24% for ether, 24% for other crypto assets and 5% for fiat currencies.
Still, bitcoin’s share of assets is down from 64% last year, and Coinbase highlighted its expectation that digital assets other than bitcoin would continue to grow as a share of the cryptomarket.
The Amazon Of Crypto Assets
Speaking at the earnings conference call with analysts and investors, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong predicted that there would be millions of crypto assets eventually, and the firm wants to enable trading in most of them.
“We want to be the Amazon of assets, list every asset out there in crypto that's legal,” he said. “There are thousands of them today. There are eventually going to be millions of them.”
In addition to listing more and more crypto assets on its platform, Armstrong said he is positioning his company to connect more tightly with the numerous decentralized applications being built on top of public blockchains.
“We need to make it easy for people to connect to and integrate with all of these third-party apps out there,” he added. “With Coinbase Wallet today, which is our self-custody app, you can participate in all of these things—DeFi, NFTs, third-party applications—and a number of our customers are taking advantage of that. But how do we bring that functionality to the main Coinbase app, the one that has the majority of our users? That's the next thing we're working on. So we're doing that with a crypto app store, if you will, that's to be built right in the app.”
Embracing Decentralization
Armstrong’s comments suggest that while Coinbase is a centralized platform, it is fully embracing the decentralized world of crypto, adding value where it can through user experience, customer support, and additional features that abstract away a lot of the complexity of dealing with the crypto ecosystem more directly.
That’s why the company thinks it can maintain its fees, which are high compared to some competitors.
“We’ve said before that we do not compete on fees. And instead of focusing on being the lowest-priced platform, we focus on providing the most value to customers through our custody, our security in storage, in addition to trade execution, which is critical for bearer instruments like crypto,” explained Coinbase COO Alesia Haas. “On the retail side, these services are bundled into our transaction fee. We're really competing though for these users based on the product suite.”
With transaction fees making up 95% of its revenues, investors in Coinbase are hoping the firm can sustain its pricing power. Even if it can, the company’s transaction revenues are highly dependent on where cryptocurrency prices go. A precipitous slide in bitcoin and ether prices would dent Coinbase’s growth, and likely its stock—though the firm says it is well-positioned to withstand any such setback.
“We're very mindful that crypto is volatile, and we want to ensure we have enough cash and resources to weather any prolonged crypto winter cycle, and still be able to grow our business and execute on our business goals,” CEO Brian Armstrong noted.
Email Sumit Roy atsroy@etf.comor follow him on Twittersumitroy2
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Permalink| © Copyright 2021ETF.com.All rights reserved || Fed’s Brainard Says US Can’t Not Have a CBDC in a World in Which Others Have Them: Chief among the reasons the U.S. needs to have a digital dollar is that other countries are racing to issue their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC), Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said on Friday, Reutersreported.
• Speaking at the Aspen Institute Economic Strategy Group, Brainard said, “The dollar is very dominant in international payments, and if you have the other major jurisdictions in the world with a digital currency, a CBDC offering, and the U.S. doesn’t have one, I just, I can’t wrap my head around that,” according to the Reuters report.
• Earlier this month, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a House committee a Fed report on CBDCs would come in early September as the central bank decides on the merits of issuing a digital dollar. Meanwhile, China is in the testing stage of its own CBDC.
• Closer to home, Brainard said the proliferation of stablecoins could fragment the payment system without a digital dollar, according to the report.
• A digital dollar could also help people without bank accounts to get government aid such as coronavirus pandemic relief payments, Reuters quoted the Fed governor as saying.
• Separately, Brainard said she doesn’t see any signs that currently high inflation readings are pushing longer-term inflation expectations above the central bank’s 2% target.
• Brazilian Central Bank Projects ‘Significant Migration’ to Digital Payments
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Hits Two-Month High After Late-Day Surge
• Ireland’s Central Bank Governor Says Digital Euro Is ‘Very Likely’
• Bank of America Calls CBDCs ‘More Effective’ Than Cash in Research Note || Dogecoin Faces Further Decline On Close Below $0.28: Analysis: Dogecoin(CRYPTO: DOGE) investors should soon expect to dive in for another major downturn.What Happened:According to a recent AMBCryptotechnical analysis, Dogecoin's price rested on support located in the $0.28 area and its 12-hour 200-candle simple moving average.
Since the analysis was first published, the coin has already lost the support and dropped down to $0.2734 as of press time.
Per the report, Dogecoin had an opportunity to start an uptrend when it broke over $0.28 on August 13, but then it failed to hold its price above $0.35, which invited bearish sentiment.
More downside was invited by the coin's price performing a symmetrical triangle and broke the $0.28 support, which has been in play since the coin broke new highs in early April.
Why It Matters:Bulls could have been spurred by the 12-hour 200-candle simple moving average close to crossing over the 50-candle simple moving average, which would have been an uptrend sign suggesting a possible market reversal.
But bears are also reassured by the Awesome Oscillator showing weakness and threatening to move below the half line for the first time in over three weeks, while the directional movement index showed further bearish confirmation as the -DI crossed above the +DI, indicating a trend switch.
What Else:The analyst concludes that most indicators suggest an extended decline is on its way, especially if the coin were to lose the $0.28 support as it did.
The report follows a recentanalysissuggesting that Dogecoin is facing a major downturn that will see it reach the $0.22 price level.
Earlier this week, a Motley Fool reporthighlightedhow little use the Dogecoin blockchain sees despite it being one of the seventh biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap.
The report's author also claims that the coin's value is largely dictated by the speculative actions of few wealthy individuals.
Price Action:According to CoinMarketCapdata, Dogecoin is currently trading at $0.2734 after seeing its price decrease by about 6.66% over the last 24 hours.
Read next:Dogecoin Is A Dangerous Speculative Joke Controlled By Whales: Report
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• Dogecoin Might Lose 30% In Price, Headed ToDogecoin Might Lose 30% In Price, Headed To $0.22: Analysis.22: Analysis
© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin touches $50K for first time in months in summer bounce back: B itcoin hit $50,000 for the first time since May after dropping to $29,608 last month. The $50,000 level was reached on Monday. As of Tuesday afternoon, the price of a bitcoin was resting at about $48,100. The flagship cryptocurrency is not the only one that has seen gains. Ethereum was up more than $3,300 after plunging to less than $1,800 in July, and Ripple has more than doubled in value since late last month. While the summer rebound in prices is notable, it is still not quite the surge that was seen earlier this year when Bitcoin charged upward from $30,000 at the beginning of the year to being worth more than $63,000, the highest price in its history. After peaking in April, the following months saw a downward slide in the prices of all the major cryptocurrencies. Much of those losses were tied to regulatory concerns out of China, where a lot of the worlds bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are mined. Discussions of increased U.S. oversight also contributed to investor jitters. GREENER CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN FOCUS AS BITCOIN FACES ENVIRONMENTAL CRITICISM To mine for bitcoin, high-powered computers are used to create rigs that verify virtual coin transactions, and many of those rigs are located in China . Prices tumbled in May after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He called for the crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading behavior and resolutely prevent the transmission of individual risks to the social field. China's central bank also said it asked banks and payment institutions to crack down harder on the trading of digital assets. Recent gains are coming close to erasing the losses, which Peter St. Onge, a research fellow for economic policy at the Heritage Foundation, attributes to the current state of the U.S. economy, which has seen high inflation and uncertainty related to the delta variant of COVID-19. Bitcoin, in many ways, has picked up the investing function that gold used to have, he told the Washington Examiner. Gold is traditionally the alternative. When the stuff hits the fan, you move your money over to gold because its protected from inflation. Story continues St. Onge tied the price of Bitcoin to inflation and said that since June of last year, when inflation began to increase, the price of gold sat at $1,800, and the price of Bitcoin was about $10,000. He pointed out that despite the higher-than-anticipated inflation of the past several months, the price of gold has remained in the $1,800 range, while Bitcoin has lurched to $50,000. The economist asserted that Bitcoin is largely serving the role that gold used to serve, a notion that he said was particularly true for younger investors. St. Onge said that people might be flocking to Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset more now because they have a better understanding of how it functions as it grows in popularity. The upward pressure on Bitcoin this week was also being amplified by news that PayPal will let its customers in the United Kingdom trade in cryptocurrencies, which it has allowed those in the U.S. to do since late last year. Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at CoinShares, told Yahoo Finance on Monday that the PayPal decision is a sign that every company will eventually be a crypto company they just dont know it yet and that the trend is just getting started. Cryptos not a fad. There are elements of this, certainly, that feel a little speculative and bubbly
but if we zoom out and look at the secular 10-, 20-year trend
we view crypto as a fundamental enabling component of this new digital world, Demirors added. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER St. Onge is also bullish on cryptocurrency. He said that early in the days of Bitcoin, investors had more regulatory fears than they have now, including worries that it might be banned. Although, he said the type of regulations being discussed now are much less threatening than in the past. He also is confident that Bitcoin will become more commonplace going into the future and pointed out that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced in June that the country would become the first to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Washington Examiner Videos Tags: News , Bitcoin , Cryptocurrency , Investment , Technology , Currency , Inflation Original Author: Zachary Halaschak Original Location: Bitcoin touches $50K for first time in months in summer bounce back || VeChain partners to bring transparency to Chinas emerging olive oil industry: Vechain has entered a new partnership aimed at integrating its blockchain technology within the Chinese agricultural sector to assist with the countrys massive demand for olive oil. Under a rising tide of light foods and healthier dietary options for Chinas burgeoning middle class, a surge in extra virgin olive oil consumption is driving substantial demand for the product. In a new partnership, Vechain will work with The Olive Times an upcoming Chinese olive oil firm based in Gansu in order to unleash the potential of the Vechain blockchain in the sector. The hope is to demonstrate another viable use case for Vechains flexible and cost effective technology. VeChain said the partnership would aim to help the company meet growing demand in China for organic olive oils. The goal is to achieve provenance and traceability something lacking in much of the Chinas food production infrastructure. Extra virgin olive oil represents a significant opportunity, as its legal classification requires the pressing and extraction to take place within 48 hours of harvest. Vechains blockchain will enable The Olive Times to track harvests through the production process, creating a public ledger record of each component step, which can later be checked by the consumer to ensure it is authentic extra virgin olive oil. The move marks a significant collaboration for Vechains BaaS (Blockchain as a Service), and this adoption demonstrates the growing prevalence of blockchain technology in ever-innovative capacities across every sector. NFT Agricultural Labels Co-founder and CEO of The Olive Times, Jane Gong, explained the decision to integrate with blockchain technologies was about delivering trust. VeChains technology raises our prestige as a niche brand by allowing us to communicate with consumers through a QR code or NFC tag, she said. Using VeChains flexible and cost-effective technology, everything about our product can be conveyed trustlessly and unalterably. Story continues This offers a real-time, trustworthy window into our operations for loyal customers and consumers alike. This follows the adoption of Vechain powered NFT covid-19 vaccination passports in San Marino as the VET firm continue to sweep industry with unique use cases. More crypto news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Heres an article to get you started. As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. || Earn 100% APR with the DeFi Yield Protocol Buyback Program: VALLETTA, Malta, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DeFi Yield Protocol (DYP) is the first and only platform that rewards liquidity providers (LPs) directly in ETH. The leading DeFi solutions provider is delighted toannouncethat its Buyback program went live at 13:00 on Aug 4, 2021 (UTC).
The Buyback is a smart contract that integrates staking, allowing investors on DYP to earn 100% APR on their deposited funds. This latest offering from DYP is available on multiple chains, including Ethereum, Avalanche network, and Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
To start earning lucrative rewards on DYP with the Buyback program, users must first deposit one of the supported assets to the smart contract.
Supported cryptocurrencies on Ethereum include stablecoins USDT and USDC, wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and wrapped Ethereum (WETH). Interested investors can buy these assets onUniswapDex or centralized exchanges such as OKEx.
For users on Avalanche Network, USDT, PNG, WBTC, ETH, and wrapped AVAX (WAVAX) are supported. These assets are available onPangolinDEX or multiple centralized exchanges.
Finally, BSC users can deposit wrapped BNB (WBNB), BUSD, ETH, and BTCB (wrapped BTC on the BSC chain). Again, these assets can be acquired from any centralized exchange or fromPancakeswap, the leading DEX on BSC.
Interested users can access the Buyback on the DYP home page or join directly viathis link.
Start Earning 100% APR On Your Holdings Today!
DYP has introduced yet another amazing product that provides investors with the very best value while staking their tokens. The Buyback contract automatically converts all deposited funds into DYP, the native token of the DeFi Yield Protocol. The tokens are then locked into a staking contract.
The process to start earning 100% APR on deposits is easy and straightforward. Rewards are updated in real-time and disbursed automatically to participants, who have the option to claim their rewards daily.
The Buyback promises to be a superb product that enables crypto enthusiasts to earn passive income on DYP. Users on the platform can also enjoy up to 35% APR by joining one of the DYP staking pools.
Another simple way for investors to earn compound rewards on their tokens is through the DYP Earn Vault. This feature offers users up to 23% interest on their crypto holdings.
Why DeFi Yield Protocol Stands Out
DeFi Yield protocol(DYP) continues to be a trailblazer in the DeFi space with its revolutionary solutions for staking, yield farming, and more. The project seeks to foster DeFi adoption while prioritizing fairness for users of all sizes.
DYP has integrated a unique anti-manipulation feature that curbs the impact of large whales on the network by converting rewards into ETH every 24 hours. By denying whales the power to manipulate token prices or dump their holdings, the protocol ensures fair access to liquidity for all, as well as DYP token price stability.
The protocol offers four distinct staking pools offering monthly rewards of 30,000-100,000 DYP depending on the lock period. So far, 8,645 ETH, 5,876 BNB, and 5,746 AVAX worth a staggering $25,316,169 have been paid out to the LPs.
The core product of the protocol is theDYP Toolswhich is designed to protect DeFi users and increase use cases for the DYP token. The dashboard tool is packed with numerous advanced features that benefit the entire DeFi ecosystem, including the DYP Locker, Launchpad, Yield Farm Data, and Top Tokens Page.
Users can also access a Decentralized Score that empowers them to make informed investment decisions to reduce risk and maximize their returns. DYP tools also provide a unique voting system that allows the community to get involved in the project’s decision-making process.
For more information on the DYP Buyback program or any other products and features, check out the resources below:
Website|Announcements|Discord|Twitter|Telegram|GitHub|YoutubeMedia Contacts -
Name: Teki Kolaneci - Digital Strategy Manager
Company: DYP Finance
Email: contact@dyp.finance
Website URL:https://dyp.finance
The PostEarn 100% APR with the DeFi Yield Protocol Buyback Programappeared first onZex PR Wire. || Coinbase Must Diversify Revenue to Survive Crypto Winter: The phenomenon of cryptocurrencies’ volatile price action is not yet fully understood, but their movement had certainly entered into more of a consolidation period across much of June and July. With a drop in volatility, the companies that generate revenue based on crypto trading are showing their vulnerabilities. Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) lives and breathes off crypto volatility, most notably that of Bitcoin (BTC), and at the moment seems to be breathing just a bit less. (SeeCoinbase stock chartson TipRanks)
Providing his hypothesis on the matter isDan Dolevof Mizuho Securities, who opined that other analysts have overestimated the actual trading volumes for Q3. If Wall Street consensus estimates are not met, a stock typically sells off once earnings are disclosed for that quarter.
The five-star analyst assigned a Hold rating on the stock, and downgraded his price target to $210 from its previous $225. The new price target represents a potential 12-month downside of -11.24%.
Dolev took into consideration the recent Bitcoin and crypto rally, wherein trading volumes for Coinbase shot up. Unfortunately, these volumes were only temporary, and returned to their more modest levels soon thereafter.
If August and September see similar price action in Bitcoin, it is assertable that Coinbase will fall 20-25% short of Q3 consensus expectations. This metric was deduced by Dolev even after incorporating the recent rally's trading hike. The upshot is that Bitcoin must experience an uptick in volatility or begin to break above its current resistance level in order for Coinbase to recoup its inadequate July volumes.
The situation is not all doom and gloom, as Dolev later expressed. He went on to discuss the possibility of monetization of other revenue streams, such as “subscription & services, crypto asset sales, [and] corporate interest income.” While Coinbase has benefitted handsomely from the volatility in crypto markets, the company must diversify its revenue sources if it is to survive the winter.
On TipRanks, COIN has an analyst rating consensus of Moderate Buy, based on 9 Buy and 3 Hold ratings, and 1 Sell rating. Theaverage Coinbase price targetis $351.33, suggesting a possible 12-month upside of 48.50%. COIN closed trading Friday at a price of $236.58 per share.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. || AMC to Accept Bitcoin for Tickets and Concessions Later This Year: AMC Entertainment Holdings, which runs the largest movie theater chain in the U.S., will begin acceptingbitcoinpayments for tickets and concessions by the end of the year, the company’s CEO, Adam Aron, said on a second-quarter earnings call Monday.
“We are also in the preliminary stage of now exploring how else AMC can participate in this new burgeoning cryptocurrency universe and we’re quite intrigued by potentially lucrative business opportunities for AMC if we intelligently pursue further serious involvement with cryptocurrency,” Aron said.
AMC did not specify what technology it would use to process the payments. The company has 593 theaters in the U.S. and 335 international locations.
Related:Human Rights Foundation, Compass Mining Give $80K to Sponsor Bitcoin Developer
Aron said that AMC will also begin accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay payments by the end of 2021.
AMC’s stock was trading at roughly $33 Monday morning. After the earnings release, the stock jumped 13.2% before falling to about $35 at the time of publication.
During the Reddit-driven retail trading frenzy earlier this year, so-called “meme stocks” like GameStop and AMC soared in value. AMC’s pivot to bitcoin payments suggests the struggling movie theater chain sees value in cryptocurrencies.
• Bitcoin Upside Stalls; Lower Support at $38K-$40K
• Bitcoin Breaks Key Resistance as Market Health Improves on Institutional Demand
• Institutional Investors Return to Bitcoin Despite US Crypto Tax Plans || Cryptocurrency Interest; How the Power of Choice Can Strengthen Your Portfolio: Photo by Executium on Unsplash When investors think about building wealth with cryptocurrency, buying and selling are usually the first ways that come to mind. But there’s another way to make money with your holdings without trading or selling the crypto you own. Singapore-based Hodlnaut has a platform that offers its investors a way to earn interest on their currency while they HODL their investment. That means you have the opportunity to build onto your portfolio without giving up your digital assets. And starting July 21, 2021, Hodlnaut launched yet another avenue for crypto investors to add to their wealth without selling their assets. The program involves a preferred interest payout. What is Preferred Interest Payout? You know when you put your money in the bank, you earn a set interest amount in cash that compounds and grows over time. Hodlnaut gives you the opportunity to hold cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and earn interest on that currency, but you also get to choose the crypto you want as payment. For example, if you own Ethereum (ETH) and you want your interest paid in Bitcoin (BTC), you can do that. But if you want to have your interest paid in Ethereum, you can do that, too. In fact, earning additional cryptocurrency in the asset form you already own is the default setting until you go into your account and change your asset class . The preferred interest payout offers earned interest in six cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Dai (DAI), Ethereum, Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). Using Cryptocurrency to Diversify If you already invest in the traditional market, you know how important it is to diversify your portfolio to minimize your overall risk. The logic behind that investment technique is to protect your overall bottom line by holding investments across various sectors. That same logic is true in the digital market, making the preferred interest payout program even more appealing. You could effectively round out your portfolio simply by earning interest in a different cryptocurrency than what you own. Story continues The Future of Investing As cryptocurrency’s popularity continues to grow, companies will develop ways to offer investors more for their investment efforts. Earning interest is one way to earn passive income on your assets without trading what you already hold. And now you can HODL the cryptocurrencies of your choice and add to your bottom line as you explore new digital possibilities and meet your investment goals. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga What the Surprising Connection Between Silver and Crypto Means to Your Investment Possibilities © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || What Changed in Crypto Markets While You Were Sleeping — Aug 23: BeInCrypto –
BeInCrypto presents our daily morning roundup of crypto news and market changes that you might have missed while you were asleep.
Bitcoin update
Despite last week’s increase, the weekly BTC chart provides mixed signs.
On the bearish side, the price has previously broken down from an ascending support line and could now be close to validating it as resistance (red icon).
This storywas seen first onBeInCryptoJoin our Telegram Groupand get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories likethisonBeInCrypto
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 47092.49, 48176.35, 47783.36, 47267.52, 48278.36, 47260.22, 42843.80, 40693.68, 43574.51, 44895.10
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2021-05-13]
BTC Price: 49716.19, BTC RSI: 38.46
Gold Price: 1823.80, Gold RSI: 63.21
Oil Price: 63.82, Oil RSI: 51.42
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Why You Shouldn’t Jump On Investing Bandwagons: LPETTET / Getty Images Everyone wants to invest to make money, and investing truly is a great way to meet your long-term financial goals. However, the financial press — and your friends and neighbors — can make it seem as if everyone in the world is getting rich while you are plodding away, barely earning anything. Small Business Boost: Don’t Miss Out on Nominating Your Favorite Small Business To Be Featured on GOBankingRates — Ends May 31 This type of “fear of missing out” can lead some investors to hop on every investing bandwagon in the hopes of making a quick buck . While this desire is very human, it can also be very destructive to your long-term financial health. Here’s a look at just a few reasons why you shouldn’t jump on investing bandwagons . Last updated: May 5, 2021 frustrated man looking at stocks tanking on his laptop You Won't Know When To Get Out One of the biggest problems with jumping on a hot stock or other investing trend is that it’s hard to know when to get out. Hot stocks can often rise rapidly and offer dramatic profits, but they can just as easily turn on a dime and trade sharply lower. Imagine a stock that runs up 100% before you decide to pile in and buy it. When the stock sells off 10%, what will you do? What about if the decline reaches 20% or 30%? Many investors will be inclined to buy more of a stock they like if it sells off a little, but what if the stock continues to drop? Would a 50% decline be a huge buying opportunity or an indication that a stock will go down even more? It’s unlikely that the stock message boards or your friends who got you into a stock will have any answers, and that is one of the big risks of jumping on an investing bandwagon. Costly Errors: 10 Most Expensive Investing Mistakes, According To Experts gamestop store front You Won't Know When To Get In The flip side of not knowing when to get out of a stock is not knowing when to get in. Usually, hot stocks or other popular investment trends only attract the general public after big gains have already been achieved. Take the example of GameStop. In early 2021, no one in the financial press was talking about GameStop, as the stock traded at about $18 per share. It was only when the stock began skyrocketing by as much as 400% in a single week that the financial press couldn’t stop talking about it. Once the news of the hot stock reached the masses, it exploded upwards to $483 in a matter of days — but if you decided that was the time to buy in, you made a huge mistake, as the stock now sits at just $160 per share. Trying to time a hot stock is usually a fool’s errand. Story continues See Also: 9 Safe Investments With the Highest Returns Short-Term Wins Come at a Big Cost One of the rarely discussed flaws of trading in and out of hot stocks is the hidden cost you’ll have to pay, in the form of taxes. Any short-term profits you take on hot stocks can trigger a massive tax bill, as positions held for one year or less are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. This means that depending on your income, you might owe as much as 37% in federal taxes alone on your short-term gains. In high-tax states like California, your combined tax rate could reach about 50%. If you could instead hold your positions for longer than one year, you’d likely pay just 15% on those gains, and you might owe as little as 0% if your taxable income is less than $80,000. More: 9 Outdated Myths About Investing Close up of women's hands holding smartphone. Investment Trends Change One of the main reasons to avoid investing bandwagons is that investment trends change. Even if you’ve done the research and confirmed that there are sound investment principles behind the current hot trend, you shouldn’t expect it to last forever. And, as with any hot stock, it can be hard to know exactly when the winds of change will come. The closest thing to “a sure thing” on Wall Street is that the overall market will rise over the long run, a principle that no less than billionaire investor Warren Buffet subscribes to. But if you’re investing according to the latest hot trend, you can never be sure when the party will be over. Read: Top Investing Tips for Those Who Don’t Follow the Market Stock market concept You're Gambling, Not Investing Let’s call a spade a spade — the bottom line is that if you are jumping on hot investing bandwagons, you are gambling with your money, not investing. And that is OK if you understand what you are doing. There’s no doubt that investing speculatively can be exciting, and sometimes it can result in tremendous profits. However, just like gambling in a casino, these types of risks can just as often result in losing a significant amount of your money. If you want to speculate with a small portion of your portfolio — say, 5% — most financial advisors will say that is fine. However, if you’re looking to reach your long-term investment goals, gambling with money you can’t lose — just as in a casino — is foolhardy. Check Out: The Best Investing Advice From Jim Cramer and 9 Other Top Experts Focused college student sitting in cafeteria taking notes while using laptop. It's Time-Consuming Trying to keep on top of all of the latest investment trends can take up a lot more of your time than you might imagine. Hot investment trends tend to come and go rapidly, so if you aren’t paying constant attention, you might miss out when the trend turns. In fact, if you aren’t willing to keep up with how your investments are going, you’re better off just holding a long-term, “buy-and-hold” investment portfolio to begin with. The Big Picture: 7 Best Long Term Investments To Consider businessman experiencing stress during a late night at work It's Stressful Jumping in and out of hot stocks or investment trends can be immensely stressful. If you’re buying and selling stocks like GameStop that can literally move 100% in a single day, your stress level could skyrocket as much as the stock. Especially if you are playing with money you can’t afford to lose — like your retirement or college savings funds — trying to ride the hot trend can put you in a constant state of tension and stress. As stress can create long-term health problems, at some point you’ll have to ask yourself, is chasing the hot trend really worth it? More: 9 Investing Bubbles That Will Make You Rethink Bitcoin couple on the floor filling out paper work It's Unsustainable Riding hot investment trends is ultimately unsustainable. If you’re just looking for short-term speculation, sure, it can be fun to hop on to the latest trend. However, if following the crowd is your long-term investment strategy, it’s simply unsustainable. While you might get lucky and succeed once, twice or even three times, over the long run, it’s inevitable that you will get whipsawed and time the trend incorrectly. And if you’re dealing with hot stocks, just one miss can be enough to wipe out your whole bankroll. Imagine you buy a stock and you take a 100% profit, then reinvest that in the next hot stock and earn 200%. You’re doing great, right? Well, if your third investment loses 90%, your entire bankroll is essentially gone. It’s hard to reach long-term financial goals with that type of volatility. Against Type: 13 Investing Rules You Should Break During the Pandemic man counting USD money It Can Be Expensive It goes without saying that if you’re planning to day trade with a traditional brokerage firm, all of the commissions you pay from trading in and out of stocks can easily eat up all of your profits. But even at the zero-commission brokers, costs can add up. In addition to the taxes you’ll pay, as mentioned above, zero-commission brokers carry another risk — down service time. Brokers such as Robinhood may charge no commissions, but they’ve also had notable service outages, right when customers needed to buy or sell a stock the most. In fact, in 2020, Robinhood was actually under SEC and FINRA investigation for a day-long outage in the midst of the March market turmoil. If you need to get out of a stock that’s plunging and you can’t access your broker’s website, your losses can add up to a lot more than the commissions you are saving. See: Reasons These 10 Hot Stocks Might Not Survive 2021 Businessman checking stock market data on tablet on night background Slow and Steady Wins the Race If you’re not yet convinced that “slow and steady wins the race” when it comes to investing, just take a look at the history of the S&P 500 index. Although the market can certainly be volatile at times, hanging on for the long haul has proved immensely profitable for patient investors. Not only is the long-term average return of the S&P 500 index about 10% per year, but there has also actually been no 20-year rolling period in history where the S&P 500 index has lost money. Considering the market has a reputation as being “too risky” for some investors, that’s an amazing statistic. If you told the average investor that there was an investment where they could earn about 10% per year while having no historical risk of losing money over any 20-year period, a lot more might get excited about putting more money into the stock market. More From GOBankingRates Money’s Most Influential: Where Do Americans Get Their Financial Advice? Everything You Need To Know About Taxes This Year ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ Author Robert Kiyosaki: You Should Never Say ‘I Can’t Afford That’ Here’s How Much You Should Have in Your 401(k) Account, Based on Your Age This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Why You Shouldn’t Jump On Investing Bandwagons || Look Out: Inflation Impact on Earnings, Peloton Treadmills, Cryptocurrency Bubble Concerns to Drive Volatility: Corporate earnings will be the major focus in the week ahead, with investors especially zeroed-in on the impact of rising costs on margins. Investors will be looking for evidence that inflationary pressures are already having a negative influence on corporate profit margins.
CNBC is reporting that fromCoca-ColaandIBMtoJohnson & JohnsonandNetflix, investors will hear from a broad swatch of corporate America. So far, with one week in, companies are beating earnings estimates by a wide margin of more than 84%, according to Refinitiv.
This three-month period is the first to be compared to year earlier profits that were affected by the pandemic. Profit growth for the S&P 500 is a stunning 30.2% for the quarter so far, based on actual reports and estimates. That makes it the best three-month period since the third quarter of 2010, according to FactSet.
In other news, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Saturday warned consumers about the dangers ofPeloton’streadmill Tread+ after reports of multiple incidents of small children and a pet being injured beneath the machines.
The price ofbitcointumbled over the weekend and was down as much as 19.5% from record highs posted by the popular cryptocurrency in the past week. The move comes after new concerns of a bubble in the cryptocurrency market.
Peloton shares could take a major hit on Monday after a warning from a key government safety agency.
“CPSC staff believes the Peloton Tread+ poses serious risks to children for abrasions, fractures, and death,” the safety regulator said in a statement, adding that consumers with children should stop using the product immediately.
Peloton in a response to the regulator’s statement said it was “troubled by the CPSC’s unilateral press release about the Peloton Tread+ because it is inaccurate and misleading.”
The company said there was no reason to stop using the Tread+, but children under 16 should not use the treadmill.
The regulator said it was aware of 39 incidents including one death and was investigating all known incidents related to the Peloton Tread+.
The price of Bitcoin dropped as low as $52,148.98 on Sunday morning, days after reaching an all-time high above $64,800. Ether and Dogecoin also saw their prices drop, following a week in which investors worried that the cryptocurrency market was in a bubble.
An unverified report on Twitter claimed that the U.S. Treasury Department could be looking to crack down on financial institutions for money laundering using cryptocurrency.
Coinbase shares could drop on the news since it could mean the cryptocurrency market could face tougher U.S. regulation. Last week, it became the largest cryptocurrency company to go public.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Look Out: Inflation Impact on Earnings, Peloton Treadmills, Cryptocurrency Bubble Concerns to Drive Volatility
• The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – April 19th, 2021
• USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Technical Reversal Could Be Signaling Weakening Selling Pressure
• EUR/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Could Be Setting Up for Pullback into 1.1888 or Lower
• U.S. Dollar Index (DX) Futures Technical Analysis – Weakens Under 91.555, Strengthens Over 91.870
• USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Trade Through 108.407 Changes Main Trend to Down with 108.230 Next Target || ‘Time to Switch to Satoshis’ says Novogratz: Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital,has taken to Twitter to make a case for Satoshis (SATS) to replace Bitcoin (BTC) on exchanges.
The tweet, issued late on May 8, suggests that SATS, the smallest unit of BTC, should be listed on exchanges instead of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Novogratz alluded to people telling him that, at $58,000, BTC is too expensive.Reports indicatethat using SATS as a quote currency will make BTC more appealing to the average user. One SATS equates to 0.00000001 BTC.
Furthermore, he called out his fellow execs Changpeng Zhao, Brian Armstrong, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Tyler Winklevoss, CEOs of Binance, Coinbase, FTX, and Gemini respectively, to ask which exchange will be the first to quote in SATS.
While the exchanges may not use SATS as a quote currency just yet, BTC’s smallest unit has not gone totally ignored. More specifically, crypto tracking website CoinMarketCap, which hasstarted to track SATS. At time of writing, the website listed SATS at a value of $0.00058.
The idea for the unit first came about in 2010. Named after the BTC creator Satoshi Nakamoto, it was a BitcoinTalk user called Ribuck who originally proposed the Satoshi.
While he evidently sees the potential in SATS, the Galaxy Investment Partners CEO hasrecently been criticalof other popular cryptocurrencies. Back in April, Novogratz shared his opinions on both dogecoin (DOGE) and Ripple (XRP).
In the case of the former, he remarked that DOGE did not “really have a purpose.” This was at the time when the price of DOGE had spiked over the $0.30 markin light of a Tweetfrom Elon Musk. Novogratz added that he “would be very worried if one of his friends were investing in dogecoin at those prices.”
Novogratz was critical of the likes of Musk and fellow billionaireMark Cuban, who endorse DOGE, calling it “frothiness.”
Until May 9, DOGE continued to smash all-time high records, hittinga price of $0.73on May 8. It thencrashedfollowing Elon Musk’s Saturday Night Live appearance.
Regarding Ripple, he had similar comments regarding their price rise at the time. XRP had risen from $0.40 to $1.60 in the space of the month. An event which Novogratz said did not “make a lot of sense.” || Bitcoin Here To Stay, Despite Volatility and Climate Impact: ©Shutterstock.com / Shutterstock.com Analysts say that the ubiquitous cryptocurrency bitcoin is now part of our investing lives, after backing from major companies like Tesla. However, new data suggests that the blockchain-based digital coin will be subject to major volatility especially given that creating new coins comes at a high environmental cost. See: The Crypto Craze Continues Bitcoin ATMs Are Popping Up Across the US Find: How to Invest In Cryptocurrency What You Should Know Before Investing After Reaching $60K, Bitcoin Part of Investing World Over the weekend of March 12, the value of a single bitcoin reached $60,000 for the first time , thanks in part to a major investment by Tesla and newly minted Technoking Elon Musk. According to Barrons , the milestone gives bitcoin a $1 trillion valuation. As a result, Harvard University economist and Deutsche Bank analyst Marion Labouré is now calling it too important to ignore. With these moves, major investment firms are now starting to pay much closer attention to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and could ultimately allow their clients to place cash into the market. CNBC reports Morgan Stanely will start allowing their investors to access crypto-based funds, while Reuters notes Bank of New York Mellon will back cryptocurrency storage firm Fireblocks. See: Morgan Stanley Will Offer Wealthy Clients Access to Bitcoin Funds Find: Elon Musk Is Making a $150 Million Mistake with Bitcoin, According to This Economist On the downside, Labouré notes that placing money in bitcoin and other electronic tokens comes with significantly more volatility than traditional securities. She credits this to the Tinkerbell Effect, where the price goes up based on how much people believe in it. Drawing the comparison to major investor Tesla, the economist says bitcoin will have to transform potential into results to sustain its value proposition. Additionally, a combination of low liquidity and difficult comparisons makes it hard to project bitcoins future trajectory. Although 40 billion shares of Apple traded throughout 2020, only 28 million bitcoins exchanged hands during the same time representing 150% of the coins in circulation. Story continues Bank of America: Bitcoin Energy Consumption Similar to Airlines The bitcoin outlook comes as Bank of America slammed the digital currency, claiming it can be easily manipulated by major coinholders. Financial News reports the research paper claims bitcoin is responsible for 60 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions in the world, giving it the same carbon footprint as the nation of Greece. Moreover, the concentrated ownership of coins makes it easy to shift pricing based on supply and demand. More From GOBankingRates If You Get a Stimulus Check, How Will You Use It? Take Our Poll How Long $1 Million in Savings Will Last in Every State 30 Essential Money Habits 27 Ugly Truths About Retirement This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Bitcoin Here To Stay, Despite Volatility and Climate Impact || Ethereum hits a record: How much $1,000 would be worth today if you had invested earlier: Ethereum , the worlds second-largest cryptocurrency , is on a quiet tear these days, regularly hitting new record highs, but doing so without the frenzy of Bitcoin or Dogecoin . The digital currency hit an all-time high of $2,800 Thursday morning, jumping 273% since the beginning of the year. Compare that to an 86% increase in Bitcoin's price . ( Dogecoin is up 6,388%, but trades for less than 45 cents, making it, arguably, more accessible to small investors.) The latest surge comes after reports that the European Investment Bank plans to issue its first-ever digital bond sale on the Ethereum blockchain network. The sale will be led by [hotlink]Goldman Sachs[/hotlink], Banco Santander, and [hotlink]Societe Generale[/hotlink], Bloomberg reported. At the same time, the supply of Ethereum has been dropping as demand increases, driving prices higher. And businesses including Mastercard, UBS, and JPMorgan have been investing in startups that revolve around Ethereum. Subscribe to The Ledger for expert weekly analysis on fintechs big stories, delivered free to your inbox. Like any cryptocurrency, though, theres a risk of volatility . If youd bought Ethereum the afternoon of April 22 and sold three days later, youd have lost over $500 per token. But if you took a chance on Ethereum and were in it for the long haul, youd have reason to celebrate. Here's a look at what a $1,000 investment in Ethereum would be worth as of mid-morning Thursday, when its value, per CoinDesk, is $2,771.48. Aug. 11, 2015: Ethereum in its early days cost about the same as Dogecoin does today, just under 67 cents each. That $1,000 investment today would be worth more than $4.1 million. June 12, 2017: After a slow and steady climb, Ethereum saw its first big spike in value in the spring of 2017 . By mid-June it was at $343.42. A $1,000 investment at that time would today net $8,070. Jan. 9, 2018: The first big cryptocurrency rush saw Ethereum hit a high of $1,405.21. Had you bought at that peak, your investment would today be worth $1,972. Story continues April 5, 2018: Remember that volatility we mentioned? Just three months after hitting that high, the price had dropped to $379.75. That same investment would have a value of $7,298. Dec. 14, 2018: Things didnt get much better as 2018 continued. By the end of the year, Ethereums value had dropped to $83.37. A $1,000 investment then would be worth $33,243 today. July 3, 2019: The market for Ethereum improved in the following year, but it was slow and steady growth to $301.40and no investor could have forecast what was to come. Your $1,000 would be worth $9,195 today. March 12, 2020: The day after the WHO declared a global pandemic , Ethereum was trading at a modest $127.29, less than half its highs of earlier in the year. That $1,000 would today be worth $21,773. Jan. 1, 2021: Ethereum had already started its impressive and rapid climb at the start of the year and was hovering at $730.04 on New Years Day. Your investment at that time would be worth $3,796 now. March 29, 2021: What a difference a month makes. Ethereum sat at $1,830.61 a month ago. Youd have made $514 profit on your $1,000 investment at that time. More must-read finance coverage from Fortune : How much the big banks have lost so far from the Archegos collapse An illustrated guide to bear markets and other business terms How the highest corn prices in over a decade could hit American wallets hard Lumber prices are up 232% and "could spiral out of control in the next few months" These were the top-paid CEOs of 2020 This story was originally featured on Fortune.com || AUD/USD Daily Forecast – U.S. Dollar Remains Under Pressure Against Australian Dollar: AUD/USD Video 18.03.21.
AUD/USDgained strong upside momentum and continues to move higher while the U.S. dollar is losing ground against a broad basket of currencies.
The U.S. Dollar Index is currently trying to settle below the nearest support level at the 20 EMA at 91.35. If this attempt is successful, the U.S. Dollar Index will head towards the 50 EMA at 91.05 which will be bullish for AUD/USD.
It looks like comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell were dovish enough for foreign exchange market traders. The U.S. dollar has recently made an attempt to rebound after yesterday’s sell-off but quickly lost momentum and found itself under additional pressure.
Today, Australia reported thatUnemployment Ratedeclined from 6.4% in January to 5.8% in February. TheEmployment Changereport indicated that employment increased by 88,700 in February. The reports showed that Australia’s labor market continued to recover thanks to the country’s success in virus containment.
Traders will also have a chance to take a look at the latest job market data from the U.S.Initial Jobless Claimsreport is expected to show that 700,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in a week.Continuing Jobless Claimsare projected to decline from 4.14 million to 4.07 million.
AUD/USD is currently trying to settle above the resistance at 0.7820. If this attempt is successful, AUD/USD will move towards the next resistance at 0.7860.
In case AUD/USD manages to settle above the resistance at 0.7860, it will head towards the resistance at 0.7875. A move above this level will open the way to the test of the resistance at 0.7890.
On the support side, the nearest support level for AUD/USD is located at 0.7800. If AUD/USD declines below this level, it will head towards the support at 0.7780. In case AUD/USD gets below the support at 0.7780, it will move towards the next support level which is located at the 20 EMA at 0.7765.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – Trader Reaction to 32904 Sets the Tone || Bank Of America Calls Bitcoin 'Impractical,' And Crypto Community Has A Lot To Say About That: Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC ) faced some backlash from the crypto community earlier today, after its criticism of Bitcoin from its latest research note made headlines. What Happened: The bank’s research note titled “Bitcoin’s Dirty Little Secrets” stated that there is “no good reason to own Bitcoin unless you see prices going up”. According to the bank, Bitcoin’s volatility makes it impractical as a store of value or a payments mechanism. Why It Matters: The research note was not well received by the crypto community who took to Twitter to share their thoughts about it. Samson Mow, CSO of blockchain technology company Blockstream, shared a graph of Bank of America’s stock price over the years and said, “If your stonk chart looks like this, you don’t get to call Bitcoin volatile.” If your stonk chart looks like this, you don't get to call #Bitcoin volatile. @BankofAmerica pic.twitter.com/nVpqlFhejY — Samson Mow (@Excellion) March 19, 2021 The research note also claimed that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) would be “kryptonite for cryptocurrency”, which most users described as the “worst take” on cryptocurrency they have heard. Popular Bitcoin proponent Anthony Pompliano stated on Twitter that the Bank of America has a higher chance of failing than Bitcoin, and was quickly backed by most of his 650k followers on the platform. CZ, CEO of the largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume Binance, suggested that it wouldn’t be just Bank of America, but rather, all banks that would fail before Bitcoin did. Bank of America has a higher chance of failing than Bitcoin. — Pomp (@APompliano) March 17, 2021 The bank’s criticism, however, was appreciated by known Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff – According to him, the research report “concluded the obvious” and he went on to reiterate his belief that Bitcoin is the ultimate bubble. Bank of America’s stance on Bitcoin comes at a time where large institutions and public companies are buying and holding the digital asset on their balance sheets. Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS ) said it would offer Bitcoin to its wealthy clients. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $58,500, up 5% in the past 24-hours. With over $1 trillion in market cap, Bitcoin is larger than JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM ), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C ) ,and Bank of America combined. Story continues See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Ethereum Could Overtake Bitcoin, Messari Analyst Says Bitcoin Mining Revenue On The Rise: Miners Record M In A Single Day © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments || How To Buy Bitcoin in UK: London, United Kingdom, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitcoin is not as complicated as it seems. It’s easy provided you know when and where to invest your funds to make the right Bitcoin Purchase. In this Guide, we at DailyBitcoinJournal will throw light on the best exchanges which allow users to buy bitcoin in the UK and help you to make a better choice for your next Bitcoin Purchase. Let's begin, Shall we? Coinbase : Coinbase is considered one of the safest and easiest ways of buying Bitcoin in the UK. With GBP deposits via fast payments. Coinbase is one of the first platforms to hold an FCA-approved e-money license making them safe and approved. They only charge a transaction fixed fee of 0.5 % which is the lowest in the market and it's very easy to use. How to Buy Bitcoins in UK using Coinbase? You need to open a coinbase account by signing up at Coinbase Once you set up the accounts, it is highly recommended that you set up security along with it (Two-factor authentication) To add your funds, you need to go to Coinbase.com, login with your account and access settings→ Payment options→ Add your bank accounts to transfer the funds. Once your bank gets added it gets linked with your Coinbase Pro account as well. You can access coinbase pro using pro.coinbase.com. Once you access the page, you can click on the Deposit button and you can access the bank account that you have added using coinbase.com. Binance : Since its launch in 2017, Binance has come a long way and is now considered the biggest Cryptocurrency trading platform and maintains the highest 24-hour trading volume. Binance allows its users in Uk to directly deposit funds in their account with debit and credit cards. Binance charges a 0.1% spot trading fee and 0.5% instant buy/sell trading fee along with some withdrawal fees based on Bitcoin network fees. The trading fee on Binance is an affordable price to pay for a platform that offers the one of the highest number of Crypto trading pairs to trade. Binance is also known for the simple and elegant API that facilitates effective trading with utmost transparency. Story continues How to buy Bitcoin in the UK using Binance? 1. Open up a Binance account by entering the basic details that you would be needing to open any account. 2. Once you access your account, you need to protect your account with two-factor authentication to enable security measures in place. 3. Once you are done with the basic setups, you will be inside your trading account. 4. Click on the exchange button on the task bar and choose basic for trading. 5. Once you complete that, you will be put up with a set of trading pairs that you can select from. 6. you can link your debit/credit card or bank account and Deposit your funds. 7. Make sure you have enough balance in your Binance wallet before you make the purchase. Wirex : Wirex was considered the cheapest among the other competitors where you can buy bitcoin. Wirex charges 1% fee to buy bitcoin using a debit or credit card and Bank deposits are completely free of charge but can take up to 2-3 days to show up in your account and are also only available to users with a fiat account. Wirex also charges fixed account maintenance fees but if you are ok with some extra charges, Wirex might just be what you are looking for when it comes to making your Bitcoin purchase. Here’s how to Buy Bitcoin in UK from Wirex Create a wirex account and login in. Click on the accounts option that you can access on the left side and select the account to which you want to transfer the fund to. Click on the add funds options and once that is done, you will have to select the option via which you would add the funds. Complete the transaction and you should see the funds in your account. You might experience a delay in having the funds into your account depending on the partner bank/card that you use. Paxful : Paxful is a P2P Bitcoin buying and selling marketplace where you can find bitcoin buyers or sellers near you. Paxful’s customer-to-customer trading platform that permits the exchange of local currencies for Bitcoin. Bitcoin Buyers can post about their offers with exchange rates and or explore the best possible offers from multiple sellers. You can filter offers based on Seller’s Buy rate, Trust score, Payment Methods etc. The payment options offered here are huge, You can buy bitcoin with Paypal, Credit Card, Bank transfers, Western Union transfers, Cash transfers etc. Paxful also allows customers to buy or sell Bitcoins with Gift Cards. Paxful charges 0.5% - 3% fees when you sell Bitcoins on their platform depending upon the Payment method. You will also be asked to verify your identity to make it a safe space as it is a P2P trading platform. Local Bitcoins : Localbitcoin is Another leading P2P Bitcoin buying and selling platform like Paxful. LocalBitcoins faced a lot of problems during its initial days of launch and over the period of time, it became better at making trading easy and safe. It is the same as any peer-peer trading platform where you can make a purchase depending on the offers that are on the adverts or else make an offer with the cryptocurrency you have. Localbitcoin allows users to buy bitcoin with Credit card, Paypal, Bank transfers etc. Make sure you trade with a verified user when you use local bitcoins, same as what you would do with any other peer-peer trading platform. Coinmama : One of the most recent popular hits in the trading space to buy Bitcoin is Coinmama. The company is known for the spectacular support that it offers with every trade and the prices mentioned seem to be as same as the ones quoted in the market. But with every privilege comes a downside and this is a bit on the heavy side. Coinmama charges its customer 5.5% transaction fee for trading. One of the most commonly mistaken facts about Coinmama is that Coinmama is not a crypto wallet and this means that you will have to have a wallet added to your coinmama account before making a purchase. How to buy Bitcoin in UK from Coinmama? 1. Create a coinmama account and get it verified with simple on-screen prompts. 2. Once the coinmama account is created, you will have to set up the wallet in the account by entering the wallet address. (Note: Make sure that the wallet address is correct as entering a wrong wallet address will make it impossible to retrieve your coins) 3. Once the wallet is set up, you will have to select the crypto coin that you would like to buy. Once you select that, you can select the amount that you want to buy and make the purchase with the desired payment method. 4. Once the payment has been cleared from your bank, you can see the coins reflected in your wallet in 1-3 business days. Crypto.Com Crypto.com does not take up direct GBP transfers currently. This makes the process of buying, a lengthy one. With Crypto.com, you will have to download two applications, one is Revoult, a EUR-based banking application and the next is Crypto.com, where you make the actual purchase. To use Crypto.com to buy bitcoin in the UK with net banking or debit/credit card, you need to create two accounts in two applications. Open the Revolut application (a banking application) and create an account when you are prompted with a sign up message. You can add your bank account here in the settings of the application. Open the Crypto.com application and open an account there as well. The next step is to transfer GBP from your bank account and trade it for EUR in Revolut. Once the EUR exchange is done, you can connect your revolut account with Crypto.com and transfer that EUR to buy Bitcoin and relevant cryptocurrencies. Crypto.com does not charge any additional fees but revolut does if you process transactions on the weekends. When it completes a transaction that was initiated on the weekend, they charge you an extra 0.5% transaction fee. Therefore, if you are looking for flexibility and is someone new, this might not be the right platform. CoinJar : CoinJar is the perfect resource for you if you are looking forward to an easy way to buy Bitcoin with extra cash to spend on for transactions. If you want to start using CoinJar, the first thing is to; How to Buy Bitcoin in UK from Coinjar? Open a account in CoinJar by going to their official site Once you complete the sign-up, you will need to verify your account that hardly takes a small amount of time. Once the verification is done, you will have to activate advanced security like the two-factor authentication to ensure your account is safe. Once the account is authenticated and protected, you can proceed with the actual trading. Once you have signed into the coinjar account, you need to navigate to the quick deposit option. (Desktop-version) or navigate to add funds option that is seen when you click the drop-down arrow near your profile icon.(Mobile-version) Once you click on this, you will receive the PayID and reference number which you can make a payment against from your bank account. You can transfer the funds that you would be requiring to make a bitcoin purchase and make the purchase once your account has been recharged. Yes, CoinJar is one of the oldest cryptocurrency brokers that charge an additional 1% fixed fee against your Bitcoin purchase. They are also known to quote a little high on the exchange rate compared to what is seen on the market. Therefore, if you have got extra bucks and look for Simplicity, CoinJar should be your option. CoinFloor : If you are looking for a resource that offers real-time BTC to GBP exchange rates and allows you to buy bitcoin with debit card or credit card and fast GBP payment deposits, CoinFloor is your best option. Open a coinfloor account by signing in with the basic information. Once you sign up, you will be able to access the Auto Buy deposit details in the application. With the Auto Buy deposit details, login to your banking application. You have two options. Choose recurring standing orders Make a bank transfer and complete a Bitcoin purchase. Once you have completed setting up your bank account with coinfloor you can directly buy bitcoin in UK and by transferring funds or scheduling recurring orders accordingly. The only extras that you would need to be paying are a 0.3% fixed fee if you are making a low-volume purchase and £2.50 for every deposit made. These rates shouldn't be bothering you if you are making large-volume purchases. Bittylicious : If you are looking forward to a simple GBP transfer and making a purchase, they are your choice. All you have to do is enter the amount which you would like to buy and based on your entry you will be connected to the cheapest broker who has registered with Bittylicious. Once the broker receives payment, you receive the fund from an escrow to your wallet. The additional overhead is somewhere between 1.5-2% when you purchase on their platform. Media Details Company: DailyBitcoinJournal Email: info@dailybitcoinjournal.com Website: https://dailybitcoinjournal.com The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. Via: Globalreleasewire || Three Arrows-Backed ‘Lightweight’ Blockchain Mina Launches Mainnet: The mainnet for a blockchain that discards its own blocks is now live.
Mina, a proof-of-stake protocol designed by O(1) Labs, announced the launch of its mainnet Tuesday, according to a release shared with CoinDesk.Self-titled as a “lightweight,” Mina has a fixed blockchain size of 22 kilobytes, which it maintains bydiscardingblocks as they elapse. Usually blockchains retain every block mined. Its unorthodox design employs a technology called “zk-SNARKS,” most widely known for its use by Zcash, to preserve its transaction record without saving every block.
Through its SNARK-powered applications – or “Snapps” – Mina aims to “bring new possibilities for internet privacy and data security,” said O(1) Labs CEO Evan Shaprio in a statement.
Related:Bitcoin Rises Despite Dollar Strength as Elon Musk Adds BTC Payment Option
Mina boasts a long list of notable backers, including Three Arrows Capital, for whom the “lightweight” protocol is one of only four base-layer blockchain investments listed on its website, a group that also includes Bitcoin, Ethereum and Polkadot.
Mina’s backers also include Polychain, Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, Naval Ravikant and Bixin Ventures.
Concurrent with its mainnet launch, Mina announced its partnership withCoinListfor its upcoming token sale.
• Three Arrows-Backed ‘Lightweight’ Blockchain Mina Launches Mainnet
• Three Arrows-Backed ‘Lightweight’ Blockchain Mina Launches Mainnet
• Three Arrows-Backed ‘Lightweight’ Blockchain Mina Launches Mainnet || NIO Shakes Off Semiconductor Crisis. Next, NIO Stock Will Fly to $60.: What Happened to the NIO Stock Price Today? A Nio (NIO) sign and logo on a tan concrete building. Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com Nio (NYSE: NIO ) stock popped after the premium Chinese electric vehicle maker reported strong first-quarter numbers that topped expectations. Management also delivered an above-consensus second-quarter guide with respect to deliveries and revenues. Stocks to Buy No Matter What: Why Is Luke So Bullish on Tech Stocks? Why It Happened NIO stock has been under pressure because of a shortage in semiconductor chips that has stalled and delayed EV production. This report appears to be easing those concerns. Despite these supply chain issues, NIO reported monstrous first quarter numbers. Deliveries rose 423% year-over-year and 16% sequentially in Q1. Average sales prices rose 20% year-over-year and 4% sequentially. Revenues rose 482% year-over-year and 20% sequentially. Vehicle margins expanded 400 basis points. Gross margins expanded 230 basis points. Operating loss narrowed dramatically both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. Everything continues to trend in the right direction. Management expects the good times to keep rolling. Second quarter deliveries are guided to rise sequentially and grow more than 100% year-over-year. ASPs are guided to keep rising. Revenues are expected to grow more than 140% year-over-year in Q2. Does It Matter? The long-term outlook on NIO stock is very favorable. The world is pivoting towards electric vehicles. China is at the forefront of this transition. NIO is the highest-quality and most technologically-advanced EV maker in China. Over the next several years, this company is going to produce and sell a lot of EVs, and generate tons of revenue and profits. The near-term outlook is less certain because of the semiconductor shortage constraining supply in 2021, which will dilute growth rates. But NIO appears to be trouncing the semiconductor crisis, and is growing at lightspeed irrespective of these challenges. With supply chain risks sidelined, NIO stock should be clear to head higher. NIO Stock Price Forecast We believe NIO stock is significantly undervalued at current levels, on the assumption that NIO will one day be one of the largest EV makers in the world. Wall Street agrees with us. The consensus analyst price target of NIO stock is $60. We fully expect shares to make a run towards that level in 2021, as the supply chain issues ease over the next few months as semiconductor foundries come back online. NIO stock is one of my favorite tech stocks to buy on the dip. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Story continues But it’s just one of my top electric vehicle stocks, which represent the cream-of-the-crop when it comes to disruptive technological innovation in EVs. These companies all feature second-to-none management teams and massive long-term potential. Each of these next-generation mobility stocks could post Tesla-like returns, including a secret startup that’s spearheading the self-driving revolution, and a company I consider my EV “sleeper” stock of the decade. To see my entire lineup of innovative next-generation EV stocks, click here . On the date of publication, Luke Lango did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. By uncovering early investments in hypergrowth industries, Luke Lango puts you on the ground-floor of world-changing megatrends. It’s how his Daily 10X Report has averaged up to a ridiculous 100% return across all recommendations since launching last May. Click here to see how he does it. More From Hypergrowth Investing Silicon Valley Whiz Kid Reveals #1 Tech Stock in America Why $30 May Be the Floor for Plug Power Stock 7 Explosive Cryptocurrencies to Buy After the Bitcoin Halvening An Explosive LiDAR Tech Stock for the Self-Driving Revolution The post NIO Shakes Off Semiconductor Crisis. Next, NIO Stock Will Fly to $60. appeared first on InvestorPlace . View comments
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 49880.54, 46760.19, 46456.06, 43537.51, 42909.40, 37002.44, 40782.74, 37304.69, 37536.63, 34770.58
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-10]
BTC Price: 6329.95, BTC RSI: 42.00
Gold Price: 1253.80, Gold RSI: 37.94
Oil Price: 74.11, Oil RSI: 66.57
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Baidu's AI Brain Drain Continues: Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) tumbled 10% on May 18, after the company announced the upcoming departure of COO Qi Lu in July. Prior to joining Baidu in early 2017, Lu served as Microsoft 's executive VP of its Applications and Services Group. As one of the industry's leading AI experts, Lu played a key role in Baidu's transition from an online search company to a cloud and AI services provider. When Lu initially joined Baidu, CEO Robin Li stated: "With Dr. Lu on board, we are confident that our strategy will be executed smoothly and Baidu will become a world-class technology company and global leader in AI." Lu stated that he was "excited to help realize Baidu's visionary AI strategy." A female robot's head shattering. Image source: Getty Images. Lu will remain vice chairman of Baidu's board but stated that he was "no longer able to work in China on a full-time basis" for "personal and family reasons." His departure will likely hurt Baidu, which is battling Tencent (NASDAQOTH: TCEHY) and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) in the cloud and AI markets. This also wouldn't be the first time Baidu lost a major leader in its AI efforts. Let's take a look back at Baidu's AI initiatives and analyze the unit's brain drain issues. Understanding Baidu's AI business Baidu's "Baidu Brain" unit improves the company's machine-learning algorithms, core search technologies, analytics, and big data applications. The division created Baidu's virtual assistant Duer and its platform DuerOS, opened labs in Silicon Valley to work with American tech companies, and launched an open-source platform for autonomous cars called Apollo. Robin Li believes that Baidu's self-driving cars, which are powered by its AI and mapping technologies, will hit public roads in China "within three to five years." The unit is also building a state-backed engineering laboratory for deep-learning technologies in China. Story continues Baidu Brain also partners with other companies, like Huawei and Xiaomi , to expand its reach by deploying its APIs into mobile and Internet of Things devices. Those moves widen Baidu's moat against Alibaba -- which leverages its e-commerce and cloud infrastructure platform to expand its AI efforts; and Tencent, which leverages its WeChat messaging app, video games, and streaming services to do the same. If Baidu holds these rivals at bay, it can gather more data from its users via DuerOS devices, process its search data into better-targeted ads, and expand its AI-powered ecosystem into adjacent markets like streaming media, fintech, and smart retail. But it's been a bumpy ride Baidu hired Qi Lu to sharpen those efforts, but Lu's arrival preceded the departures of three other key AI executives: Andrew Ng, Zhang Tong, and Adam Coates. A brain melting like ice cream on a tablet. Image source: Getty Images. Andrew Ng, who became Baidu's chief scientist in 2014, resigned in March 2017 to pursue other opportunities. Prior to joining Baidu, Ng was an associate professor at Stanford University and a founding leader of Alphabet 's Google Brain Team. Just two days after Ng's resignation, Tencent poached Zhang Tong -- who previously led Baidu's Big Data Lab -- to lead its own AI Lab. At the time, Tencent's AI team of 50 scientists and 200 engineers was much smaller than Baidu's team of 1,300 AI employees. In September, Adam Coates, the director of Baidu's Silicon Valley AI Lab, also resigned. Coates was responsible for promoting Baidu's machine-learning efforts in the U.S. and applying deep learning to natural language processing tasks like text-to-speech and speech recognition. Coates notably did his post-doctoral research at Stanford, under Ng. Is Baidu losing its edge in the AI market? Baidu's loss of four key AI executives in just over a year is troubling, and it indicates that the company could be struggling with management issues as it faces tougher competition from Tencent and Alibaba. Lu's successor as AI chief, Haifeng Wang, has been with Baidu since 2010. However, it's unknown if Wang will fare better than his predecessors, who all seemed to jump ship just as the market was getting more interesting. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Leo Sun owns shares of Baidu and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A and C shares), Baidu, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Ignore the Bears -- BlackBerry's Turnaround Is Almost Here: Shares ofBlackBerry(NYSE: BB)tumbled 9% on June 22 after the company reported its first-quarter numbers. But those numbers easily beat analyst estimates and indicated that BlackBerry's turnaround was finally paying off.
BlackBerry's non-GAAP revenue fell 11% annually to $217 million, but that beat expectations by $7.4 million and marked the company's most moderate decline in years. It posted a non-GAAP profit of $0.03 per share, which was up a penny annually and represented the company's seventh straight quarter of non-GAAP profitability.
Image source: BlackBerry.
Those numbers were encouraging, but BlackBerry's stock remains down nearly 5% for the year. So today I'll explain why BlackBerry could rebound later this year.
CEO John Chen, who took the top job in 2013, gradually phased out BlackBerry's dying smartphone business and invested in the expansion of its enterprise software portfolio. It completely halted the production of its own smartphones in 2016, then licensedits brandto Chinese tech company TCL to generate higher-margin licensing revenues.
BlackBerry's core software products include BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Server), a platform that helps companies monitor their employees' mobile devices, the enterprise messaging app BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), various cybersecurity solutions, and QNX, the world's most popular embedded OS for connected vehicles.
Investors often gauge BlackBerry's growth with two metrics: the total growth rate of its software and services revenue, and the weight of that revenue on its top line. Those figures have held steady over the past few quarters.
[{"": "Software and Services revenue* growth (YOY)", "Q2 2018": "26%", "Q3 2018": "16%", "Q4 2018": "13%", "Q1 2019": "14%"}, {"": "As a percentage of total revenue*", "Q2 2018": "79%", "Q3 2018": "85%", "Q4 2018": "91%", "Q1 2019": "89%"}, {"": "Total revenue growth (YOY)", "Q2 2018": "(29%)", "Q3 2018": "(22%)", "Q4 2018": "(20%)", "Q1 2019": "(11%)"}]
*Non-GAAP. Source: BlackBerry quarterly results.
A growing percentage of BlackBerry's software and services revenue is also recurring, which indicates that it's retaining its customers. 86% of its software and services revenue was recurring last quarter, compared to just 79% in the prior year quarter. Chen believes that percentage will exceed 90% "within a year."
For the full year, BlackBerry expects its software and services revenue to rise 8%-10%. That sounds like a slowdown from its 14% growth last year, but the forecast uses the new ASC 606 standard, which changes how subscription revenues are recognized.
A more accurate measure of BlackBerry's software and services growth would be through its billings, which are still expected to rise by double digits this year. The company also expects its non-GAAP earnings and free cash flow to be positive for the year. That would mark a remarkable recovery from its negative free cash flow in previous years.
Source:YCharts
BlackBerry's decision to pivot away from lower-margin hardware toward higher-margin software also boosted its gross margins to historic highs. That figure hit 76% during the first quarter.
Source:YCharts
Another pillar of BlackBerry's turnaround is the monetization of its patent portfolio of over 44,000 patents. Its "Licensing, IP, and other" revenues from TCL and other deals (which are excluded from its recurring revenue figure) nearly doubled year-over-year, and accounted for almost a third of its software and services revenue for the quarter. To maximize that unit's growth, BlackBerryis suinga wide range of companies -- includingNokia,Cisco,Facebook, andSnap-- to squeeze out more licensing revenues.
Wall Street expects BlackBerry's revenue to dip 8% this year, but eventually rise 10% next year. BlackBerry's stock might seem pricey at seven times this year's sales and six times next year's sales, but I think many bigger tech companies could be interested in a buyout if BlackBerry's sales growth finally turns positive.
Last year, Citron Research stated: "When Wall Street shifts its frame of expectations toward the future, and gets over their legacy business, watch out." Citron, which is better known for shorting stocks than supporting them, cites its automotive OS QNX as BlackBerry's most attractive asset.
Image source: Getty Images.
Natural suitors could includeIntel(NASDAQ: INTC), which is heavily invested in the connected car market via its acquisitions of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) maker Mobileye, computer vision chipmaker Movidius, and numerous other start-ups.NVIDIA(NASDAQ: NVDA), which has a first-mover's advantage in the automotive market with its Tegra automotive chips and Drive PX platform for autonomous cars, would also benefit from bundling QNX into its ecosystem.
Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT), which lost the automotive embedded OS market to QNX, would be another likely suitor. The rest of BlackBerry's enterprise software portfolio could also be neatly integrated into Microsoft's other cloud, security, and enterprise mobility services. BlackBerry's low enterprise value of $4.3 billion would make it a fairly easy buyout for all three companies.
BlackBerry's turnaround isn't guaranteed yet since it still faces plenty of competitors in the enterprise software and services space. But I'd rather be bullish than bearish on BlackBerry since expectations for the company are so low, and the company plays in a space that's expected to only get bigger.
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Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft.Leo Sunhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Forget Cryptocurrencies: You're Better Off Buying These 3 Stocks: The rise of cryptocurrencies has captured Wall Street's attention and helped push share prices up for a wide range of investments, including the companies that support their production or trade. But many investors have been turned off by the intense volatility in the currencies themselves.
If you're attracted to the growth potential that these cryptocurrencies promise, but would prefer a more stable long-term investment, then it's time to take a closer look atIqiyi(NASDAQ: IQ),Wayfair(NYSE: W), andPalo Alto Networks(NYSE: PANW).
Jeremy Bowman(Iqiyi):With bitcoin prices fading fast, it's time for investors to look elsewhere for big-time growth, and one appealing opportunity is iQiyi (pronounced I-chee-yee). If you missed out onNetflix's meteoric rise, you may have another chance with iQiyi. The company is the leading video streamer in China and recently had its IPO after being spun off fromBaidu, China's No. 1 search engine, which still owns a majority stake in Iqiyi.
Image source: Getty Images.
Since its March IPO, Iqiyi has already found favor with investors as the stock has jumped more than 150% in just afew short monthsas it's announced new content partnerships, and formed an exclusive strategic partnership withJD.com, China's second-largest online retailer, linking membership program between the two companies.l
Elsewhere, the company secured a license for anti-piracy technology, a key advantage in the Chinese market, and said it was partnering withTencentandAlibabaon content purchasing initiatives. All of those moves seem to make investors' eyes bulge as they see big opportunity ahead in the Chinese video entertainment market.
In its first report as a publicly traded company, Iqiyi showed off revenue growth of 57% to $777.6 million and said its operating loss margin narrowed from 34% to 22%. As more Chinese become internet users, Iqiyi's total addressable market will only become bigger, and the company's execution in its first few months could should reassure investors that their money is in good hands.
While the stock may not double again so quickly, the potential for blockbuster returns with this stock is considerable.
Demitri Kalogeropoulos(Wayfair):Unlike its rivalOverstock, Wayfair has no exposure to cryptocurrencies but instead focuses entirely on its e-commerce retailing business. There are some major financial benefits to that approach.
Take Wayfair's sales growth, which last quarter reachedmarket-thumping 48%compared to Overstock's 3% uptick. The home furnishings specialist protected its profitability over the spring selling season, too, even though Overstock spent aggressively on marketing and advertising in hopes of arresting its rival's growth pace.
The fact that Wayfair's business has held up against competitive threats from Overstock and others suggests its business is stronger than many investors expected. Part of that strength comes from its many efforts to make the shopping, delivering, and home setup process as easy as possible for customers. Those moves include investing in a proprietary shipping network that's reducing delivery times for bulky objects, for example. "We're taking a large number of steps across our business to bring customers the best possible offering in our category," CEO Niraj Shahexplained to investors, "and we're being rewarded with outsized growth in market share."
Wayfair hasn't yet produced an annual profit, and that makes this investment riskier than an investor would see in an established retailer. The stock could see impressive long-term gains, though, if management is right about the long-term market opportunity available in the global home furnishings niche.
Steve Symington(Palo Alto Networks):Next-generation cybersecurity platform leader Palo Alto Networks has already rewarded its earliest investors handsomely. Shares have climbed around 380% over the past five years, including a nearly 50% pop from this time last year.
Image source: Getty Images.
But in the same way many investors believe cryptocurrencies are just getting started, Palo Alto Networks still enjoys a long -- and much more tangible -- runway for growth. As the world continues to migrate online, cyberattacks will inevitably grow in number and sophistication, which in turn will increase the demand for cutting-edge cybersecurity. With the help of new machine learning algorithms integrated into its natively integrated, extensible platform, Palo Alto Networks' customers enjoy seamless, simplified protection across their growing number of connected devices and endpoints on both local networks and in the cloud. That's why Palo Alto Networks continues to add thousands of new customers each quarter -- around3,000 in its most recent quarter alone, to be specific, bringing its total to 51,000 in over 150 countries.
Of course, it's also an expensive quest. Palo Alto Networks still isn't profitable on aGAAPbasis as it plows money into research and development and wrestles for market share in these early stages. But that's certainlynot an uncommon wayfor today's tech industry juggernauts to effectively create shareholder value. And I think investors who buy Palo Alto Networks stock today still stand to enjoy the lion's share of its long-term gains.
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Demitrios Kalogeropoulosowns shares of Netflix.Jeremy Bowmanowns shares of Netflix.Steve Symingtonhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Baidu, Netflix, and Wayfair. The Motley Fool recommends iQiyi and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Should You Buy Red Hat After Its Post-Earnings Plunge?: Shares of Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) tumbled during after-hours trading on June 21, after the enterprise software company followed up its first-quarter earnings beat with tepid guidance. Its revenue rose 20% annually to $813.5 million, beating expectations by about $6 million. Its non-GAAP net income climbed 28% to $133 million, or $0.72 per share, clearing estimates by $0.03. But for the current quarter, Red Hat expects just 14% to 15% sales growth, compared to the consensus estimate of 18% growth. Its forecast for 5% non-GAAP EPS growth also missed expectations for 16% growth. Red Hat's full-year revenue forecast for 16% to 18% missed the consensus estimate of 19%, but its earnings guidance for 15% to 17% growth exceeded expectations. Servers in a data center. Image source: Getty Images. Despite the recent pullback, Red Hat's stock remains up nearly 20% for the year, and it still isn't cheap, at over 40 times this year's earnings. So, is it time to sell Red Hat, or does this dip represent a long-term buying opportunity? What does Red Hat do? Red Hat provides open-source software products -- including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) platform, and JBoss middleware -- to enterprise customers. Most of Red Hat's software products are free, but it sells subscriptions for support, training, and integration services for those products. Red Hat's subscription revenue grew 19% annually to $712 million last quarter and accounted for 87% of its top line. Within that total, its subscription revenues from infrastructure-related services rose 14% to $522 million, while revenues from application-development and emerging technology services rose 37% to $189 million. Red Hat benefits from the rise of hybrid cloud deployments, in which large enterprises move part of their data to the public cloud while retaining some data in on-premise servers. It holds partnerships with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) in that market. Story continues Red Hat integrates its OpenShift platform with Microsoft's Azure, the second largest cloud infrastructure platform in the world. That integration makes it easier for enterprise developers to shift between Azure, a public cloud platform, and on-premise environments. It also integrates OpenShift into IBM's software and cloud services, which helps Big Blue modernize its portfolio with Linux "containers" -- which isolate applications from the rest of the system. A graphical representation of cloud computing. Image source: Getty Images. During the quarter, Red Hat reported a 48% year-over-year increase in deals worth over $1 million -- and 70% of those deals included one or more components from its higher-growth application-development and emerging technologies unit. Mid-market deals worth over $250,000 rose 138% annually. Red Hat also added over 100 new customers to its Linux container platform OpenShift, as its subscribers for Ansible, which automates software tasks, jumped about 70% to over 1,000. Understanding the tailwinds and headwinds Red Hat's core business is well-poised for growth as the hybrid cloud market expands. The company's unique business model and partnerships with enterprise giants like Microsoft and IBM give it plenty of room to upsell and cross-sell other services. Last quarter, 25 of Red Hat's largest deals that were up for renewal renewed in aggregate at over 120% of their previous values. 70% of its cross-selling deals also cleared $1 million. Yet two main headwinds could throttle Red Hat's near-term growth. First, Red Hat expects a strengthening dollar to reduce its full-year reported revenues by $50 million. Second, an ongoing shift from physical deployments to container environments is throttling Red Hat's middleware growth. Red Hat partly offsets that softer growth with the stronger growth of its emerging technologies unit, but it's still causing its sales and earnings growth to decelerate. Should you buy Red Hat on the dip? Red Hat is a compelling long-term play on the hybrid cloud and the modernization of IT systems. Unfortunately, the stock's valuations aren't supported by its growth forecasts. Therefore, investors should wait for the stock to drop to lower levels before starting a position. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || 11 Best Investing Apps to Buy Stocks, ETFs: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
Mobile computing has opened up a world of options when we're on the go, including the convenience of buying and selling stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or doing market research almost anywhere with investment apps.
Below is a list of 11 investment apps you can utilize today for a variety of investing needs:
Related:6 Personal Finance Apps to Reach Financial Goals
1. Robinhood
Robinhood is an attractive option in that it offers commission-free trading with no minimum balance. It's a minimalistic approach to mobile investing, which means it doesn't offer vast research and analysis capabilities. Nonetheless, it offers a barebones option for the beginning or advanced investor.
2. TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade offers over 100 commission free trades for certain ETFs from market movers, such as iShares and Vanguard. On top of that, TD Ameritrade does not carry a minimum account balance requirement and no maintenance fee IRAs. In addition, the mobile app also offers extensive research capabilities at your fingertips, including charts and portfolio analysis.
3. Acorns
Acorns is a micro-investing option that allows you to purchase shares incrementally and make recurring investments over time. It is perfect for the beginning investor without access to a large initial capital investment. Acorns charges $1 per month, but is free for college students.
4. Stash
Stash is another micro-investing option for beginners that requires an account minimum of only $5. Stash's investment philosophy consists of offering hand-picked investments on its platform, which can be tailored based on the investor's risk profile and objectives.
5. E*TRADE
E*TRADE has been around since 1982 and has been one of the purveyors of online trading since the technology's early inception. Their mobile investing app is suitable for all types of investors and comes with commission-free ETF trading, but there is a cost--$6.95 commissions on individual stock trades and a $500 account minimum.
6. Personal Capital
Personal Capital a financial tracking tool that can help the user manage their investments, particularly if they need to collate multiple accounts from different firms. There is also a personal budgeting tool that allows users to manage their budget, calculate their net worth and plan for retirement.
7. Learn
Learn is the perfect app for the neophyte investor looking to finally make their capital work for them. It is essentially Investopedia made easy and contains a plethora of text and audio lessons covering the basics of investing.
8. Stockpile
Like similar micro-investing apps, Stockpile gives investors the option to buy fractional stock shares. The research and analysis capabilities of Stockpile are limited and stocks trading under $6 per share are not allowed, which would deter the microcap stock investor. In addition, using Stockpile requires $0.99 per trade and a $5 minimum investment.
9. Vanguard
Vanguard has been a pillar of consistency as the financial company has been around since 1975. Trades are commission-free as long as they involve Vanguard ETFs. There is, however, a minimum investment of $3,000 and trades outside of Vanguard funds will cost $7 for the first 25 trades and $20 thereafter.
10. Fidelity
Fidelity Investments was founded in 1946 and like Vanguard, has a consistent history for its mutual funds. Fidelity investments are ideal for retirement investors and active traders, but trades will come at a cost of $4.95 per trade. However, there is no account minimum and the mobile trading platform is robust, allowing for portfolio monitoring and research.
11. Beanstox
Beanstox is Kevin O'Leary's appthat makes investing easy for all types of people to become investors, and to build their personal financial freedom, including people on Main Street with under $5000 or over $50,000; people who want “choice and control” of their investments; people who want access to over 100 ETFs and 1000 stocks.
For more ETF-related news,click here.
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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || Cryptocurrencies Bullish Technical View: Key Points BTCUSD Fresh Bullish Kumo Breakout ETH/USD Fresh Bullish Kumo Breakout XRPUSD may start a new uptrend Bitcoin (BTCUSD) Technical Analysis Based on the Ichimoku system, the price is out of the cloud and the tekan sen and kijun sean seem to be in a bullish formation. The chikou span is above the price meaning that the small uptrend was formed may continue. But before we start looking for any potential bearish signals we need to have a bounce on the tekan sen or kijun sen. BTCUSD 1H Chart Bitcoin 1H Chart Ethereum (ETH/USD) Technical Analysis Based on Ichimoku system it can be noticed that the price is also above the cloud. The kijun sen and the tekan sen seem to be in a bullish formation. The chikou span appears above the price. Now the picture here seems to be bullish for the moment and we would be more confident if the stochastic was below the 20 level. Other clues here that may state a potential bearish momentum are the blue color of the cloud and the slope of tekan sen. Now based on the Ichimoku system we would like to see here the possibility of the price to bounce on the tekan sen start looking for any potential signals. ETH/USD 1H Chart Ethereum 1h Chart Ripple (XRP/USD) Technical Analysis On XRPUSD it can be observed that the price has formed a confirmed bullish Kumo break out yet based on the Ichimoku system. The tekan sen and kijun sen seem to be in bullish formation, the chikou span is above the price and the cloud seems to be on the bullish mode. What we would like to see here before start looking for any potential signals is the bounce of the price on the tekan sen line. XRP/USD 1H Chart Ripple 1H Chart This article was written by Marios Athinodorou, TeleTrade ’s market analyst, and commentator. Among others, Marios is delivering weekly trading webinars. Sign up for upcoming webinars here . This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Coincheck To Relaunch In Japan And Expand To The United States Equity Markets and USD Rise as US Could Tolerate NAFTA Deadline in 2019 for the Right Deal EUR/USD Mid-Session Technical Analysis for May 21, 2018 E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – May 21, 2018 Forecast Grains Break Higher Following Reduction in Trade War Rhetoric Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Rally May Be Stalling Due to Concerns Over US Production || "Fortnite Battle Royale" Is Taking the Video Game Industry by Storm: Over the last decade, video game companies have churned out hit after hit across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices and it seemed giants like Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) , Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) , and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) were gobbling up most of the market share . As long as they kept the hits coming, it seemed like there wasn't any real competition to worry about in video games. That was, until Fortnite Battle Royale . Fortnite was released in July 2017 by Epic Games, a privately held game developer 40% owned by Tencent , as a game where up to four players work together to complete missions and rebuild the world after a natural disaster. But it was a floundering game until Fortnite Battle Royale was released in September 2017 and that's the product that has taken the video game industry by storm. Fortnite Battle Royale has attracted young gamers, hooked regular gamers, and its battle royale mode -- which blends elements of survival games with the last-player-standing goal of other games -- could be a template companies copy for the next decade. Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty Online in China added the game mode and Overwatch is looking to add battle royale as well, while Electronic Arts is also developing the mode for Battlefield V . If you're an investor in video game stocks, it's time to start paying attention to the tidal wave that's hitting video games and depending on how you look at it, Fortnite Battle Royale could be good or bad for the rest of the industry. Man playing video games on a computer. Image source: Getty Images. First things first: What is Fortnite ? Fortnite is a multiplatform game whose battle royale mode pits players against one another with the goal of being the last one standing. Winners get prizes for conquering campaigns or seasons. Developer Epic Games has built the game on a free format, but allows players to buy upgrades through V-bucks, which can be used to buy into games or upgrade your player. It's been a very successful business model. Story continues According to research firm Superdata, Epic Games generated $296 million in revenue from Fortnite in April, more than doubling from $126 million in February. On an annualized basis, April's revenue pace would be $3.55 billion each year, which would make it nearly as big as Electronic Arts. ATVI Revenue (TTM) Chart ATVI revenue (TTM) . Data by YCharts . The impact on the video game industry isn't lost on the competition, either. Video game companies are paying attention For now, video game executives are putting on a brave face and trying to see Fortnite Battle Royale as a game that can make the video game pie bigger for everyone . Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said exactly that in the company's first-quarter conference call: Gaming is constantly evolving and innovating, which often expands the marketplace, and the success of Fortnite is no exception. This game is attracting new players of all ages and genders, and it is helping gaming become even more mainstream entertainment. Our biggest franchises are anchored by communities of tens of millions of players, and while many of our players try new games, they always come back to the franchises that are the foundation of the communities that they are a part of. The positive twist that players always come back to Activision Blizzard games is easy to sell today, but we've never seen a hit like Fortnite Battle Royale and I don't think investors should assume that past trends will hold given the game's success. According to data compiled by Statista , in April 2018 Fortnite was the most watched game on Twitch (a proxy for engagement) with 127.9 million hours viewed, nearly doubling League of Legends ' 73.7 million hours. According to EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen, Fortnite Battle Royale is a way to bring in a younger audience. He said in the company's recent conferecne call, "... we do think, in the case of Fortnite , it's helped grow the whole marketplace. And in particular, it's bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters, and I think that's good for the long-run health of that category for all of us in the industry ... " Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was a little more honest in his wishing that his company would make every hit: I think the fact that Fortnite surprised everyone, particularly given where Fortnite came from, after all what is now in the market was based on a prior release that did not perform all that well. It's just a reflection of the fact that if you innovate and give consumers what they want, you can get an extraordinary result. And while we would love to corner the market in hits, and we certainly see it as our job to do so, we don't have all of the hits and we shouldn't expect to. As much as each company may want to play off Fortnite Battle Royale as a positive for the industry, the fact that they aren't the ones developing the industry's biggest hit is both a new phenomenon and a bit jarring to the biggest video game makers in the U.S. Fortnite will be a very big deal in 2018 Activision Blizzard says the vitality of Fortnite Battle Royale shows how the right content can capture the attention of millions of video game players in a very short amount of time. That's a fair assessment, but this time around, it's Epic Games that has the smash hit of the year, not Activision Blizzard, EA, or Take-Two. That's not a position these companies are used to. What we don't yet know is the financial impact Fortnite will have on any of these video game companies' quarterly results, but it'll likely be noticeable in coming quarters. If engagement is up for one game, it's naturally going to be down for others, and at the end of the day, engagement is the key to making money in video games. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Travis Hoium has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends Electronic Arts. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || DX.Exchange – An Impressive New Cryptocurrency Exchange Nearing Launch: The exchange will highlight Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Litecoin and Ether as the first assets to be traded with no trading fees . However, participants will pay a monthly membership fee of 10 Euros. At the second stage, additional top 20 utility coins will be featured. DX.exchange has said it will introduce other digital assets that DX wants to support as they monitor emerging cryptocurrencies. The exchange will allow for fiat currency to be deposited and exchanged for cryptocurrency and back to fiat. The exchange will allow worldwide traders, but exclude the United States for the time being. Suggested Articles The Week Ahead: Geopolitics and Economic Calendar in Focus ICO vs DAICO: what’s the Difference? DX Exchange CEO Daniel Skowronski Quoted: “ Crypto enthusiasts shouldn’t have to pay more than a minimal membership charge to trade with their peers, and they shouldn’t have to trade in an unregulated unsecure environment. We are supporting blockchain technology. And the way we can help this ecosystem to progress is by vetting the tokens and making sure the good ones are promoted. We are not going to list coins, just because they pay us. Those who are worthy – will be listed,” Yaron Mazor is a senior analyst at SuperTraderTV . SuperTraderTV Academy is a leader in investing and stock trading education. Sign up for a class today to learn proven strategies on how to trade smarter. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: GPU and ASIC – A Correlation and Barometer for Cryptocurrency Traders What Happened to Bitcoin (BTC) These Past Few Days? USD/JPY Fundamental Daily Forecast – Should Rally if North Korean Meeting is Reinstated Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 27/05/18 USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Critical Area on Daily Chart is 108.641 – 108.604 US Dollar Index (DX) Futures Technical Analysis – Bullish Over 94.42, Bearish Under 93.87 || Thai Regulator Publishes ICO Regulations; 7 Cryptocurrencies Approved: Thailand ICO Baht Regulation Thailands Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the countrys capital markets authority, has announced a regulatory framework for initial coin offerings (ICOs) which will go into effect on July 16. Under the new guidelines, ICO issuers are mandated to have a company registered in Thailand approved by the SEC with a minimum registered capital of 5 million baht (approx. $150,000), a Bangkok Post report confirmed. While each approved ICO operator will be allowed to offer an unlimited number of tokens to institutional investors, venture capital and private equity firms and ultra-high net-worth individuals, there is a token value cap of 300,000 bath ($9,050) for retail investors, the SEC confirmed. Notably, ICO issuers are only allowed to receive payments in seven chosen cryptocurrencies. They include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Stellar and Litecoin. Issuers can also accept fiat investments in Thai baht. ICO issuers will have to go through an ICO portal (company) process, the latter which will need to be pre-approved by the SEC. Disclosure of the investment prospectus, financial statements, and the source code are all mandated by the SEC. These ICO portals management structure and plan of operations will be scrutinized by the SEC. They must be prepared to evaluate ICO issuers business plans and the distribution structure of digital tokens as well as perform checks to ensure that computer code, or source code, matches the disclosed information, the report added. SEC SEC secretary-general Rapee Sucharitakul stated: The SEC is pleased to immediately discuss details with those who would like to be approved as ICO portals in order for them to be prepared for the regulatory framework. After the SEC approves an ICO portal, the token will be assessed for approval. The newly mandated guidelines is part of a wider embracive approach by Thai authorities who began the legislative process to regulate in effect legalize the domestic cryptocurrency and ICO markets in March this year with two royal decrees . Story continues Thailands finance ministry outlined its proposed taxation rates for cryptocurrency trading and investments a flat 15% withholding tax on gains . In May, Thailands tax authority waived a 7% value-added tax (VAT) to bring some relief for retail cryptocurrency investors. The SEC is expecting up to 50 ICO project applications seeking approval and is reportedly favoring 5 ICO projects initially. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Thai Regulator Publishes ICO Regulations; 7 Cryptocurrencies Approved appeared first on CCN . || $1 Billion Bitcoins Lost in Mt. Gox Hack to Be Returned to Victims: A Japanese court ruled Friday to pullinfamous Bitcoin exchange Mt. Goxout of bankruptcy, opening the door for at least $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency to be paid back to the company’s former customers.
The decision was a stunning outcome for victims in a saga that represents Bitcoin’s darkest chapter since its creation nearly a decade ago: Mt. Gox, then the largest Bitcoin exchange in the world,collapsed in early 2014after realizing it had lost all the cryptocurrency it held -- 850,000 Bitcoins valued at roughly $473 million at the time. The Mt. Gox hack is still the biggest theft of Bitcoins in history.
While 200,000 Bitcoins weresubsequently discoveredby Mt. Gox’s then-CEO Mark Karpel?s, that money had essentially been frozen in the Tokyo-based company’s bankruptcy estate ever since. For more than four years, Mt. Gox creditors have been unsure if and when they could ever expect refunds -- or if they would receive paper money or Bitcoins back -- even as the value of their recovered assets soared to more than $4 billion when the Bitcoin price peaked last year.
That changed this week when the Tokyo District Court halted Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy proceedings and commenced a legal process known as civil rehabilitation, allowing it to distribute the remaining Mt. Gox assets to ex-customers and debtors. The estate include nearly 170,000 each of Bitcoins and its offshoot Bitcoin Cash, worth roughly $1.2 billion at today’s prices.
“Enormous assets…will be returned to creditors of Mt. Gox,” Shin Fukuoka, a leading attorney and partner at Japan’s Nishimura & Asahi law firm, whopetitioned the Court for civil rehabilitationon behalf of a large creditor, wrote in a statement. “This is the creditors' victory.”
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The Court also confirmed that those “seeking a refund of Bitcoins” would be paid in that form. Under the original bankruptcy plan, creditors were only entitled to receive the monetary equivalent of the value of their Bitcoins at the time of Mt. Gox’s collapse, when the cryptocurrency’s price was $483. With the Bitcoin price now around $6,200, millions of dollars worth of excess wouldotherwise have lined the pockets of Karpel?sand other Mt. Gox shareholders.
Still, the news came as a relief for Karpel?s, on trial in Tokyo for embezzlement and other criminal charges, who feared a backlash of lawsuits if he were to collect the windfall.
“I hope entering civil rehabilitation will be for the best of everyone. As I said previously I am not expecting any kind of profit from this and only hope everyone will be repaid as much as possible as soon as possible,” Karpel?s toldFortunein a message following the announcement. “Creditors worked hard for the purpose of seeing civil rehabilitation happen and I will continue to help as much as I can.”
In addition to creditors, investors who speculated on such a fortunate, if once unlikely, turn of events by buying up the claims of others stand to reap major profits from the Mt. Gox disaster. That includes Thomas Braziel, managing partner of hedge fund B.E. Capital Management, who purchased $1 million in creditors’ claims at a discount: “If the rehabilitation happens, it's a bonanza, and you make eight, nine, 10 times your money," Braziel told me earlier this year.
The payout, however, won’t come immediately. The Mt. Gox trustee has reopeneda claim-filing processrequiring creditors to submit proof of what they are owed under the rehabilitation, and must also formulate a new plan for the distribution of assets, which is due Feb. 14, 2019. It could be a year from now or longer before that plan becomes final and creditors receive their Bitcoins.
Yet even the prospect of hoards ofMt. Gox Bitcoins flooding the marketonce creditors get their hands on them may have contributed to a sharp rout in the Bitcoin price, which dropped nearly 8% Friday, while Bitcoin Cash fell nearly 12%. The selloff also came on the heels of a $32 million hack of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb and fears that India may ban Bitcoin.
The rest of Mt. Gox’s missing Bitcoins, some 650,000, were stolen by hackers and may never be recovered, though one suspect in the conspiracy was arrested last summer. (For the full saga, read my feature story inFortune Magazine,“Mt. Gox and the Surprising Redemption of Bitcoin's Biggest Villain.”)
At the same time, the civil rehabilitation proceedings -- marking the first time a defunct business has been “rehabilitated” in Japan’s history -- does not mean Mt. Gox itself will make a comeback. “There are no plans to resume operations of the Bitcoin exchange operated by Mt. Gox at this time,” the company’s trustee told creditors.
See original article on Fortune.com
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
3 tips to reduce bias in AI-powered chatbots #news #crypto #btc #cryptocurrency https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/05/3-tips-to-reduce-bias-in-ai-powered-chatbots …pic.twitter.com/rCuRaVKnOY || Bitcoin price latest: Why is Bitcoin falling? Will it continue to fall past $7,500 https://justlatestnews.com/bitcoin-price-latest-why-is-bitcoin-falling-will-it-continue-to-fall-past-7500/ …pic.twitter.com/jfQWn60Zbi || $XRP is now worth $0.677 (+2.02%) and 0.00008990 BTC (+1.66%) #XRP || Aktueller #Bitcoin-Preis: 5633.00 EUR / 6524.14 CHF || Yeah I hate it so much when you present facts. I hate facts || RT reitium "Japan's GMO Launches App to Reward Gamers in Bitcoin https://buff.ly/2xEMDPN
#reitium #assetbacked #blockchain #smartcontracts #cryptocurrency #realestate #fintech #smartmoney #crypto #ethereum #bitcoin #smartcontracts #vancouverstartup pic.twitter.com/YCIhT837Lm" || New post: "Anonymous Crypto Currency """""CEO""""""https://ift.tt/2LRETx0 || Shiiii goodluck dude! I gotta get in on these || Jul 01, 2018 22:00:00 UTC | 6,364.20$ | 5,453.50€ | 4,825.70£ | #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/26gATzhWIT || #Bitcoin: Le point sur les mouvements et les infos du weekend https://fr.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-le-point-sur-les-mouvements-et-les-infos-du-weekend-647055 …
|
Trend: up || Prices: 6394.71, 6228.81, 6238.05, 6276.12, 6359.64, 6741.75, 7321.04, 7370.78, 7466.86, 7354.13
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2022-02-16]
BTC Price: 43961.86, BTC RSI: 59.72
Gold Price: 1870.20, Gold RSI: 64.42
Oil Price: 93.66, Oil RSI: 65.37
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Intel Reportedly Entering Crypto Mining Market with New ‘Bonanza Mine’ Chip: BeInCrypto –
Microchip giant Intel could be about to enter the crypto and Bitcoin mining hardware market in a big way as it readies a presentation on a new revolutionary mining chip.
This storywas seen first onBeInCryptoJoin our Telegram Groupand get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories likethisonBeInCrypto || Phil Ivey-backed Virtue Gaming brings online poker back to USA: Decentralised online poker platform Virtue Gaming has launched a digital online casino in the United States in a move that could be a catalyst for a wider resurgence across North America. Virtue Gaming is backed by renowned professional poker player Phil Ivey, who is accompanied by Dan Colman and Brian Rast as the Virtue Poker team pros. The regulatory situation around online poker in the US remains a concern, with just six states (Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan) having legalised online poker. Virtue Poker plans to solve this issue by launching a play-to-earn system that is based around Virtual Player Points (VPPs). Because when in Vegas, you NEED to discuss gaming! @alexshore , Ryan Gittleson of @Virtue_Poker Darren Simmons of @everi_inc & Quinton Singleton on how #blockchain is changing the game. Literally… 🎲All-In on #Blockchain : The Future of Casino Gaming🎲 pic.twitter.com/PWuFdjMo5w — Real Vision (@RealVision) December 11, 2021 Upon sign-up, players will be credited with 500 VPPs, which can eventually be cashed out to USD Tether (USDT), once tournament and cash game playing requirements are met. Players can top up their accounts with a number of Ethereum-based tokens that will be locked into the platform’s smart contract. While Virtue Gaming remains in its infancy, its launch provides a key example of how cryptocurrencies can be used to play online poker in heavily regulated regions like the United States. The crossover between poker and cryptocurrency has been clear to see over the past year, with a number of high roller events accepting Bitcoin as a buy-in, including the $1 million tournament at BTC Miami. For more iGaming news, click here . || Solana Added to BTCS Blockchain Infrastructure: Silver Spring, MD, Feb. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BTCS Inc. (NASDAQ: BTCS) (“BTCS” or the “Company”), a blockchain technology-focused company, announces the addition of Solana (“SOL”) to its blockchain infrastructure. In addition to BTCS’ current revenue streams, it will now be rewarded with SOL tokens. Solana’s open-source blockchain protocol features a robust variety of decentralized solutions that includes but are not limited to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, digital asset transactions, and payment mechanisms.
What is Solana?
A key selling point of Solana are low transaction fees compared to other top-performing blockchain systems. According to an article in theWall Street Journal, Bitcoin transaction costs can drop to as low as $1.78 but could be as high as $62 depending on several factors. To compare, SOL’s average fee per transaction is $0.001. SOL’s fast and cost-effective network will allow the following types of decentralized use cases to thrive including, but not limited to, derivatives, high-frequency trading, central limit order books and cloud computing.
One core innovation of the SOL network is the Proof-of-History (“PoH”) timing mechanism. Each SOL validator maintains its own synchronized clock so it doesn’t need to wait for confirmation across the network before moving forward.
Solana Has Become One of the Fastest, Most Cost-Effective Blockchains
As a result of the platform’s growth, speed, potential, and development team, Solana has a market cap of over $32B and is garnering attention from today’s top analysts and companies.
“In a January research note, Bank of America analysts said that Solana has the potential to be the equivalent of Visa to the world of crypto. Additionally, Solana’s network is powering event experiences for world-leading entertainment companies. For example, an NFT released earlier this month by California-based music festival Coachella used the Solana ecosystem. The integration of a ticket-focused Solana NFT should not be ignored,” Allen said.
Technical Work Completed to Run a Solana NodeBTCS has staked 6,997 SOL tokens valued at approximately $710,000, and is generating compounding rewards. Staking allows users to generate an annual percentage yield (“APY”) on their staked assets whereas validator node operators charge a fee on users’ staked asset rewards in addition to earning an APY on staked crypto. As such, the highly-scalable nature of running validator nodes is the premise behind BTCS’ Staking-as-a-Service platform that they are currently developing. BTCS has completed all the technical work needed to deploy its own validator node on the Solana network and is working on the integration into its planned Staking-as-a-Service platform.
About BTCS:BTCS is an early mover in the blockchain and digital currency ecosystem, and the first “Pure Play” U.S. publicly traded company focused on blockchain infrastructure and technology. Through its blockchain infrastructure operations, the Company secures Proof-of-Stake blockchains by actively processing and validating blockchain transactions and is rewarded with native digital tokens. The Company is developing a proprietary Staking-as-a-Service platform to allow users to stake and delegate supported cryptocurrencies through a non-custodial platform, which it plans to integrate with its Data Analytics Dashboard, now in beta release. BTCS’ proprietary digital asset data analytics platform currently supports six exchanges and over 800 digital assets, and the Company plans to further broaden its suite of performance-tracking tools, add additional centralized and decentralized exchanges, as well as wallets, and stake pool monitoring. The Company’s digital asset treasury strategy, with a primary focus on disruptive non-security protocol layer assets, is a core component of its business model and supports BTCS’ expanding operations. For more information visit:www.btcs.com.
Investor Relations:Dave GentryRedChip Companies, Inc.Phone: (407) 491-4498btcs@redchip.com
Public Relations:Mercy Chikoworem.chikowore@btcs.com || Crypto Exchange Bitpanda Lists Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Note on Deutsche Boerse: Bitpanda, a cryptocurrency investment platform based in Vienna, has launched its first exchange-traded cryptocurrency note (ETC). The note will track the price of bitcoin and be traded in euros. Bitpanda, which has a valuation of $4.1 billion, said the Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is listed on Deutsche Boerse’s Xetra market. It plans to add more crypto ETC products in 2022. The Bitpanda Bitcoin ETC is physically backed by bitcoin kept in cold storage with a regulated custodian. The product is targeting investors looking to “diversify their portfolio and get access to the world of cryptocurrencies,” Bitpanda said. This year has been characterized by the introduction of physical cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded products in many jurisdictions, though not in the U.S. Xetra has hosted the introduction of products from 21 Shares, ETC Group and WisdomTree. Bitpanda’s first ETC is another diversification move for the company founded as a bitcoin exchange in 2014. It has since expanded beyond crypto to offer trading in stocks, precious metals and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through a mobile app. It has more than 3 million users. “Issuing an entirely EU [European Union] based Bitcoin ETC with euro as base currency, we are able to offer exposure to an alternative asset class that we feel is ripe for opportunity in the current market environment,” CEO Eric Demuth said in a press release. Read more: Crypto Exchange Bitpanda Raises $263M at $4.1B Valuation || FOREX-Cryptocurrencies pause after weekend battering, other currencies wait for Fed: By Alun John HONG KONG, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The dollar traded steady on Monday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's January policy meeting later this week, while bitcoin lay bruised near a six-month low hit over the weekend, hurt by a sell-off in technology stocks. "The Fed has got markets by the leash. And this week, it will once more tug and yank," said Frederic Neumann, HSBC's co-head of Asian economics research, in a morning note. Attempts to predict when and how quickly central banks will raise interest rates and conclude stimulus programmes launched when COVID-19 hit are a major factor driving currency markets at present. "What will prompt investors to scurry about will be the guidance Chair Powell might give at his press conference about quantitative tightening later in 2022," Neumann said, adding that he was not expecting a policy change. The Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee kicks off its two-day meeting on Tuesday with some analysts starting to speculate that it is possible, though unlikely, that it will raise interest rates for the first time since the pandemic began. "We consider the higher risk is the FOMC’s statement portrays an urgency to act soon, likely in March, in the face of very high inflation. The urgency could culminate in a decision to abruptly stop quantitative easing by mid-February," said analysts at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a note. "A bullish statement and/or a faster end to the QE programme could even encourage markets to price a risk of a 50bp rate hike in March," they added, saying they thought this would lead to a knee-jerk reaction higher in the dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers was steady at 95.682 on Monday morning. Also on traders' agenda this week is the Bank of Canada's January meeting, wrapping up just before the Fed, where a rate hike is a possibility, and Australian inflation data due Tuesday, which will guide the Reserve Bank of Australia's stance at its meeting next month. On Monday morning the Aussie dollar was at $0.7180, the lower end of its recent range. The risk-friendly currency sold off late last week as traders dumped assets like equities, as well as even riskier assets like cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was at $36,026, having fallen 10% on Friday and dropping as low as $34,000 on Saturday, its lowest level since July 2021. The world's largest cryptocurrency has nearly halved in value since its record peak of $69,000 hit November. The sell-off hurt most digital assets, and ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency was at $2,516, also having hit its lowest level since July on Saturday, which was $2,300. Traders say that as institutional investors increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies, their moves are more closely correlated with other risk assets. The Nasdaq Composite lost 7.55% last week, its worst week since March 2020. Back in traditional currency markets, sterling was near a two-week low at $1.3551, and the euro was at $1.1333. The yen was at the stronger end of its recent range, with one dollar at 113.7 yen not far from the 113.47 touched 10 days earlier. A fall below that level would be a five-week low for the dollar. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 0032 GMT Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar $1.1333 $1.1342 -0.08% -0.31% +1.1350 +1.1333 Dollar/Yen 113.7950 113.6550 +0.00% -1.19% +113.8250 +0.0000 Euro/Yen Dollar/Swiss 0.9130 0.9121 +0.03% +0.02% +0.9130 +0.9123 Sterling/Dollar 1.3549 1.3551 +0.00% +0.20% +1.3555 +1.3547 Dollar/Canadian 1.2571 1.2576 -0.04% -0.58% +1.2580 +1.2562 Aussie/Dollar 0.7178 0.7172 +0.08% -1.25% +0.7187 +0.7171 NZ 0.6708 0.6715 -0.06% -1.95% +0.6721 +0.6710 Dollar/Dollar All spots Tokyo spots Europe spots Volatilities Tokyo Forex market info from BOJ (Reporting by Alun John) || Malaysian Police Arrest Man for Bitcoin Mining Using Stolen Electricity: BeInCrypto – While mining activity has increased in Malaysia, the amount of stolen electricity used is growing in alarming proportion, compelling authorities to take action. This story was seen first on BeInCrypto Join our Telegram Group and get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories like this on BeInCrypto || UPDATE 1-Bitcoin hovers near more than 3-month lows after U.S. payrolls: (Updates prices)
By Tom Wilson
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Bitcoin slumped as much as 5% on Friday to its lowest since late September, amid a broader sell-off for cryptocurrencies driven by concerns about tighter U.S. monetary policy.
Bitcoin was last down more than 3% at $41,704 after touching $40,938, its lowest since Sept. 29, as a mixed bag of U.S. payrolls data fuelled some bargain buying.
The world's biggest cryptocurrency has lost over 40% since hitting a record high of $69,000 in November and the volatility that has plagued it since its birth 13 years ago remains stubbornly present.
The global computing power of the bitcoin network has dropped sharply this week following the shutdown of Kazakhstan's internet as an uprising hit the country's fast-growing cryptocurrency mining industry.
Bitcoin has also been under pressure after minutes from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, released on Wednesday, appeared to lean toward more aggressive policy action, sapping investor appetite for riskier assets.
"We are seeing broad risk-off sentiment across all markets currently as inflationary concerns and rate hikes appear to be at the forefront of speculators' minds," said Matthew Dibb, COO of Singapore crypto platform Stack Funds.
"Liquidity in BTC has been quite thin on both sides and there is risk of a retreat back to the mid-30's on the short term."
Ether, the second largest token by market cap, fell as much as 8.6% to $3,114, its lowest since Oct. 1. It was last trading down more than 6% at $3,200.
(Reporting by Tom Wilson; additional reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Dhara Ranasinghe) || Bitcoin Hashrate Mints New All-Time Highs: Hashrate figures for Bitcoin set new highs on Sunday night after crossing previous highs from mid-2021, data from analytics tool Glassnode show. Hashrate refers to the amount of computational power used by miners dedicated to the minting of new bitcoins and verification of new transactions on the Bitcoin network. Millions of calculations are solved each second to win new blocks, in a process broadly called mining. Higher hashrates mean a stronger and more secure network, making it hard for a group of attackers to execute an ill-fated 51% attack and gain control of the network. But the upkeep of such intensive machinery is costly and requires deep technical knowledge which has historically led miners to set up in inner regions of China, where manpower is affordable and climate conditions are conducive. The Chinese government, however, isnt big on crypto. A crackdown on local miners and mining businesses last year saw Bitcoin hashrates plummet to as low as 61 exahashes per second in June 2021, from over 190 exahashes per second in April 2021. Data at the time estimated that over 46% of Bitcoins requisite computing power was supplied by Chinese miners. The ban has since led to an exodus of Chinese miners to other regions, such as Kazakhstan, Iran and the U.S. But Bitcoin has since bounced back and the network has not taken very long to recover: Glassnode data shows hashrates spiked to 201 exahashes on January 1, surpassing April 2021 levels. Some engineers say the recovery showcases the networks resilience after a plummet last year. Weathering and completely recovering from a 50%+ drop due to a mining ban by the country with the most hash power was a major milestone for network resilience, said Casa wallet founder and Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp in a tweet on Sunday night. Bitcoin's network hashrate increased by 10% during 2021, from 159 to 175 exahash per second. But that's not noteworthy. Weathering and completely recovering from a 50%+ drop due to a mining ban by the country with the most hashpower was a major milestone for network resilience. pic.twitter.com/yw8HwXm9pG Jameson Lopp (@lopp) January 2, 2022 Bitcoin hashrates hover at 189 exahashes per second on Monday morning at the time of writing, data shows. || ECB, BOE Have Scant Leeway to Influence Bitcoin: The U.S. Federal Reserve has emerged as one of the mostinfluentialentities in the bitcoin market in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. What's not clear are the roles of other major central banks, including the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BOE).
According to Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at CoinDesk's sister company Genesis Global Trading, those banks' actions matter to traders holding cryptocurrencies in euros, the official currency of 19 of the 27 member states of the European Union (EU), and the British pound.
"We're so used to watching crypto in dollars; we forget that for many, performance is decided by relative movements in local currencies," Acheson told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. "Also, many traders borrow in local currencies to trade, so higher borrowing costs will eat into their profits."
The BOE on Thursday raised official borrowing costs by 25 basis points to 0.5%, matching estimates. The central bank's policy statement showed four members voted for a 50 basis-point hike, signaling the potential for a faster tightening than historical standards. Officials unanimously voted to begin shrinking the balance sheet.
The central bank was widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points, while pushing back against market expectations of a total of five quarter-percentage-point hikes by the end of 2023. "Most were already discounting a raise from the BOE, but not the ECB," Acheson said.
The ECB, as expected, kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, while maintaining that higher inflation will fade by year end. Dessislava Aubert, senior research analyst at Paris-based crypto market data provider Kaiko, said the growing monetary policy divergence between the Fed and the ECB might lead to a stronger dollar and weaker bitcoin.
"While the Fed is expected to hike rates several times this year, the ECB has adopted a more sequential and slow-go approach to monetary policy tightening – explicitly ruling out a rate hike for this year. This will likely impact the U.S. currency relative to the euro," Aubert said in a WhatsApp chat.
"There is already a rate differential, with between the U.S. yields which have increased since November and German yields which are up only a little. Stronger dollar is generally bearish for equities and bitcoin with BTC moving in the opposite direction to the greenback over the past months," Aubert added.
The BOE and ECB rate decisions failed to inject volatility into the bitcoin market, leaving the cryptocurrency largely steady at under $37,000.
Europe has been a major source of demand for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Both the ECB and BOE have contributed to the two-year global liquidity deluge commonly associated with the Fed and have fueled unprecedented risk-taking in financial markets.
Data tracked byByteTree Asset Managementshows the number of bitcoin held by U.S. and Canadian closed-ended funds and Canadian and European exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has risen 165% since early 2020 to 842,153 BTC.
AChainalysis reportreleased in October mentioned Europe as the world's largest crypto market. "Central, Northern, & Western Europe (CNWE) has the biggest cryptocurrency economy in the world, receiving over $1 trillion worth of cryptocurrency over the last year, which represents 25% of global activity," the blockchain analytics firm said.
Together, the Fed, the ECB, BOE, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) have $27 trillion worth of assets, according to Bloomberg. That's up from $14 trillion at the start of 2020. Thus, monetary policy revisions by the European and North American central banks can influence bitcoin's price.
"Broader monetary policy trends do matter for the medium term as it sets the tone for global liquidity and global risk appetite," Ilan Solot, a partner at the Tagus Capital Multi-Strategy Fund, said in a Telegram chat.
While central banks in advanced nations have worked in tandem to flood the global economy with cash, the Fed sets the worldwide narrative and draws the most attention from financial markets.
"While all macro decisions matter, the Fed is the most important as it drives the global policy," said Charlie Morris, founder and chief investment officer of ByteTree Asset Management.
The Fed is widely seen as the lender of the last resort because of the dollar's global reserve status, as explained in a Council on Foreign Relations articledatedSeptember 2020. The popular theory states that the dollar's reserve status ensures constant demand for the greenback in the global market. That allows the Fed, in theory, to print to infinity without worrying about sharp currency depreciation and a surge in inflation.
The U.S. central bank has taken a sharp hawkish turn since November, retiring the word "transitory" from inflation discussions, setting the stage for at least four interest rate hikes this year and an end to the liquidity-boosting bond-buying program in March.
Bitcoin, widely touted as an inflation hedge, has declined by 45% since mid-November, predominantly due to the Fed jitters.
Speculation ofglobal tighteninghas been doing the rounds since the Fed's hawkish turn. Thus, impending anti-stimulus comments or actions from other central banks, if any, may not have a significant negative impact on bitcoin.
On the flip side, the battered cryptocurrency may see a relief rally if the likes of ECB squash fears of aggressive monetary policy tightening, though the central bank has little room to do so given inflation is running at multiyear highs. "If ECB and BOE do not pull the trigger, this will offer up some short-term tailwinds with the price of bitcoin," said Laurent Kssis, a crypto ETF expert and director of CEC Capital.
That said, overall, the environment for risk assets, including bitcoin, is gloomy, according to Pankaj Balani, CEO of Delta Exchange. "The cryptocurrency could continue to trade sideways until bottom fishing emerges," Balani told CoinDesk in a WhatsApp call. "That looks unlikely as long as macro factors remain bearish."
UPDATE (Feb. 3, 12:23 UTC):Updates with BOE's rate decision; removes "Preview" from headline.
UPDATE (Feb. 3, 13:07 UTC):Adds ECB decision
UPDATE (Feb. 3, 13:47 UTC):Adds quote from Kaiko || Soluna Holdings Announces January Site Level Financials: Soluna Holdings, Inc. All Plugs Ready for 1 EH/s Ramp by End of March 2022 as Hashrate Continues to Scale ALBANY, N.Y., Feb. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Soluna Holdings, Inc. (SHI or the Company), (NASDAQ: SLNH), the parent company of Soluna Computing, Inc. ("SCI"), a developer of green data centers for cryptocurrency mining and other intensive computing, today announced the release of its January site level financials. Michael Toporek, CEO of Soluna Holdings, stated, Our revenues and earnings have continued to accelerate as planned and our hashrate is on track to hit 1 EH/s by the end of March and over 3 EH/s in the fourth quarter. We remain keenly focused on return on invested capital and developing our longer-term strategy beyond crypto mining within the larger batchable computing industry. Toporek added, We now have 1EH/s of plugs ready to go, about 60 days ahead of schedule. As equipment shows up, we plug in. Facility ramp up and infrastructure upgrades are behind us. We are ready to go full bore. Key Summary Highlights: Currently energized 52 MW with hashrate continuing to ramp to 1 EH/s by end of March (+/- 30 days) January 2022 BTC Equivalent mined increased 11% MoM Despite a 17% decrease in average BTC price between December ($49,263) and January ($41,114) If planned transformer upgrades were excluded, BTC Equivalent mined would have increased 20% MoM Pre-construction activity for the first 50MW of our Dorothy Project is complete and anticipate breaking ground on this flagship facility this month Targeting energized capacity ramping to over 150 MW and hashrate scaling over 3 EH in Q422 Revenue & Contribution Margin Summary: *all numbers below exclude legacy hosting ($ in 000s, Unaudited) Pro-Forma Q1 2021 Q2 2021 Q3 2021 Q4 2021 Jan 2022 Revenue $995 $1,657 $2,368 $8,017 $3,238 Contribution Margin $744 $1,261 $1,703 $5,524 $2,038 Annualized Revenue $3,980 $6,628 $9,472 $32,068 $38,856 Annualized Contribution Margin $2,976 $5,044 $6,812 $22,096 $24,456 A presentation and corresponding video is available on the Companys website at: https://www.solunacomputing.com/investors/updates/january2022monthlyflash Story continues About Soluna Holdings, Inc. Soluna Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SLNH) is the leading developer of green data centers that convert excess renewable energy into global computing resources. Soluna builds modular, scalable data centers for computing intensive, batchable applications such as cryptocurrency mining, AI and machine learning. Soluna provides a cost-effective alternative to battery storage or transmission lines. Solunas MTI Instruments division manufactures precision tools and testing equipment for electronics, aviation, automotive, power and other industries. Both Soluna and MTI Instruments use technology and intentional design to solve complex, real-world challenges. Up to 30% of the power of renewable energy projects can go to waste. Solunas data centers enable clean electricity asset owners to Sell. Every. Megawatt. For more information about Soluna, please visit www.solunacomputing.com or follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/solunaholdings and Twitter @SolunaHoldings. Forward Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of this communication, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements herein with respect to the successful execution of the Company's business strategy. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to establish and maintain the proprietary nature of our technology through the patent process, as well as our ability to possibly license from others patents and patent applications necessary to develop products; the availability of financing; the Company's ability to implement its long range business plan for various applications of its technology; the Company's ability to enter into agreements with any necessary partners; the impact of competition, the obtaining and maintenance of any necessary regulatory clearances applicable to applications of the Company's technology; and management of growth and other risks and uncertainties that may be detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investor Relations: Kirin Smith, President PCG Advisory, Inc. 646.823.8656 Ksmith@pcgadvisory.com
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 40538.01, 40030.98, 40122.16, 38431.38, 37075.28, 38286.03, 37296.57, 38332.61, 39214.22, 39105.15
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-10-13]
BTC Price: 5647.21, BTC RSI: 79.85
Gold Price: 1301.50, Gold RSI: 55.69
Oil Price: 51.45, Oil RSI: 57.44
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Jamie Dimon Beats Up on Bitcoin, Says It’s ‘a Fraud’: The CEO of , Jamie Dimon, just might be bitcoin’s biggest hater. On Tuesday, Dimon was at it again, unleashing a tirade about what he sees as the flaws of the digital currency.
“It’s worse than tulip bulbs. It won’t end well. Someone is going to get killed,” Dimon said in remarks at a Barclays banking conferencereportedby CNBC.
Oh, and that wasn’t all. Dimon also reportedly proclaimed bitcoin to be a “fraud” and that “it will blow up.” He also noted this:
The remarks aren’t exactly encouraging for bitcoin believers but will come as no surprise to those familiar with Dimon, who has been a digital currency bear for years. In 2015, for instance,Dimon toldtheFortuneGlobal Summit a government crackdown was imminent and that bitcoin didn’t have a hope of replacing traditional currency.
In response to his outburst on Tuesday, some bitcoin boosters were quick to shoot back at Dimon and the banking industry:
Notably, though, Dimon’s pessimism doesn’t extend to blockchain, which is the revolutionary software technology that undergirds bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Indeed, his company J.P. Morgan is the process ofbuilding a blockchainatop the software that runs Ethereum--which is bitcoin’s main rival.
The price of bitcoin has fallen since Dimon’s comments, though it’s not clear if the fall was triggered by Dimon or other factors.
Overall, it’s been a rough week for bitcoin as a reported crackdown by the Chinese government on cryptocurrency exchanges has seen the price tumble well off the $5,000 high it hit early this month. As of 3 p.m. ET, bitcoin was trading around $4,100, according to Coindesk.
Finally, whatever Dimon thinks of governments’ attitudes towards bitcoin, at least one government is very interested in obtaining it--alas, the country is North Korea.Reportsfrom security company FireEye say cyber criminals directed by Pyongyang are behind a series of robberies of South Korean exchanges.
This is part ofFortune'snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here.
See original article on Fortune.com
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• Tax Bill Calls for Digital Currency Exemptions Under $600 || How Legal Is Bitcoin Anyway?: Bitcoin prices have headed back toward highs above $4,900 since Oct. 5, trading at near $4,300 as fear of a China crackdown receded and big banks indicated they want in on the action. Bitcoin traders, however, have a love-hate relationship with the banks. They want the trade and think that making cryptocurrencies mainstream would inevitably lead to huge profits for those who got in early. On the other hand, they fear the competition, and regulation, that big banks bring with them. It was a tweet by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS ) CEO Lloyd Blankfein that led to the latest speculative run-up. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Still thinking about #Bitcoin . No conclusion – not endorsing/rejecting. Know that folks also were skeptical when paper money displaced gold. — Lloyd Blankfein (@lloydblankfein) October 3, 2017 The Tweet Heard Round the World For Bitcoin, it was the “tweet heard ’round the world.” 10 Smart Money Stocks to Sell for 2018 Each time law enforcement agency breaks cases based on crypto-coins, a new upgrade appears to protect anonymity . Anonymity for honest men, but also for drug runners, cyber-criminals and terrorists of all kinds. Blackrock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK ) CEO Larry Fink is among the conflicted. The rise of Bitcoin, he says, shows just how much money laundering is going on around the world . Despite the conflict, big banks like Goldman are talking of dipping their toes into Bitcoin trading. Those who chart Bitcoin pricing don’t know what to make of the recent action — is it a head-and-shoulders top or is it about to break the 50-day moving average trend line and head to new highs? Convertibility and Legality Two key issues are bedeviling the technology right now, convertibility and legality. Convertibility, the movement of value between cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, is behind many recent forks, which aims to increase the rate at which cryptocurrency blockchains can handle transactions. Inside that goal, developers are arguing over possible cyberattacks on the blockchain, and whether new software must be deployed to meet the threat. Story continues The legality issue is being played out between code protecting anonymity and governments seeking to ban anonymity. India and China are leading the political side of the battle, demanding that cryptocurrency holders be unmasked and prove they’re legitimate. The other side consists of miners and traders in places that have not clamped down, like South Korea and Japan. There are reports that North Korea is also trying to mine Bitcoin and hack virtual currency exchanges. The U.S. has been on both sides of the fence. Banking regulators are talking up rules to let bankers like Blankfein into the market with clean hands. At the same time, the government is extraditing BTC-e Bitcoin exchange operator Alexander Vinnik , a move Russia calls “kidnapping.” Questions like taking Bitcoin as legal tender, defining Bitcoin as securities and taxing Bitcoin gains are a sideshow to these larger battles. Make It Legal? Why not simply launch a government-backed, convertible virtual currency through an Initial Coin Offering, as India is considering and Dubai has done through emCash ? That’s what all the recent ICO frenzy is really all about, the creation of new ways to turn fiat currency into value. Investors can buy coins, put them in an ICO, and launch new markets with them. Securities and Exchange Commission chair Jay Clayton calls these another version of the old “pump and dump” scam , where phony stocks were kited with publicity, sold to the gullible, then allowed to become worthless. Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK ), which began as a competitor to Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) now wants to build a government-regulated market to trade ICO tokens, and the stock briefly rose 25% on the news. The Best (and Worst) Sectors in the Stock Market Today When a press release about someone wanting to engage in government-regulated ICO trading gets a $200 million bump into an otherwise-obscure stock, something very real is going on. Dana Blankenhorn is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a mystery novella involving Bitcoin, The Reluctant Detective Saves the World , available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn . As of this writing, he owned shares in AMZN. To follow the value of cryptocurrencies bookmark https://coinmarketcap.com . More From InvestorPlace The 10 Most Expensive Stocks in the S&P 500 How to Buy Bitcoin: Everything You Should Know 5 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy in October The post How Legal Is Bitcoin Anyway? appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Market Snapshot – Asian News Triggers Todays Moves: North Korean Threat Leads Gold Higher It was once again a bullish day for the gold prices and it seems to be so for many days of late as the prices continue to move higher as the global risks arise. This time, it was the threat of the testing of the hydrogen bomb by North Korea which led to escalation of tension in the region. For a change, South Korea also joined the group by conducting a missile test of its own and this led to a lot of uncertainty in the region. This pushed the gold prices higher and led the stock markets lower during the course of the day. This has become almost a periodic happening over the last month or so as we have seen North Korea conduct such tests almost every 2 weeks and we have been seeing gold prices shoot up whenever that happens. China Bans ICOs The other important news came from China as the regulatory authorities in China banned all ICOs. The Chinese region had been a source of many ICOs and we had also seen a lot of Chinese investors investing in many ICOs around the world and with this ban, it is bound to affect the cryptocurrency in a big way. This could also pave the way for a cleanup of the system and a move into a new regime of controlled, regulated and planned ICOs but that is still quite some way off for now. This news led to the crash in the prices of Bitcoin and ethereum and this is likely to continue in the short term as the market begins to digest this news. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: The Jury is Out on Bitcoin Market Snapshot – Asian News Triggers Todays Moves Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Other Cryptocurrencies Tumble after China Bans ICO’s 4 Reasons Why Cloud Token Cryptocurrency Will Succeed Save Haven Assets Rally Following Hydrogen Bomb Detonation by North Korea Global Traders Turn Cautious as North Korea Tension Builds. Stocks Fall, Gold and Yen Jump || Here's Why Bitcoin's Value Dropped Over the Weekend: Bitcoin prices have tumbled over $1,000 over the past month as China clamps down on cryptocurrency. Chinese authorities have reportedly decided to ban the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on domestic exchanges, the Wall Street Journal reports . That has pushed Bitcoin as low as $3,978 over the weekend. It has since ticked upward to about $4,177 as of early Monday. Thats a 20% drop since the start of September, when Chinas central bank said it would ban initial coin offeringstipping the cryptocurrency from its all-time high of above $5,000. Prior to Chinas most recent clampdown on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin had been soaring as investors grew more optimistic about the future cost and speed of transactions . But news of Chinas potential exchange ban has likely spooked investors. The country accounts for a hefty portion of the Bitcoin market, with about 18% of trades being conducted in Chinese yuan, according to CryptoCompare . Investors in China have been using Bitcoin as a way to protect themselves should the yuan fall in value. Trading their yuan in for Bitcoin can allow Chinese investors to move funds outside of the country. Traditionally, Chinas government has set a $50,000 annual limit on how much its citizens can move outside of the country. Buying Bitcoin was a way to bypass those rules. Still, the ban is not exactly a ban on trading Bitcoin entirely. It still will allow for over-the-counter transactions. While existing users will likely still trade, according to Zhou Shuoji, a founding partner at FBG Capital interviewed by Bloomberg , it will make it more difficult for new users to start trading Bitcointhereby limiting Bitcoins potential growth. Notably, the ban has yet to be officially announced in China, according to the Wall Street Journal. The price of Ethereum also ticked upward slightly to about $290 early Monday, up from $283 over the weekend as investors continued to digest reports of the ban in China. This is part of Fortunes new initiative, The Ledger, a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more on The Ledger, click here . || Bitcoin slides on 'fraud' warning from JPMorgan's Dimon: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin slid by more than 10 percent on Wednesday, as investors sold the cryptocurrency after a warning by JPMorgan (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon that it "is a fraud" and will eventually "blow up". Bitcoin, the original and still the biggest cryptocurrency, has been on a tear in recent months, hitting a record high just below $5,000 at the start of September after a more than fivefold increase in price since the start of the year. But bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been falling since early last week, when China banned the issuance of new digital coins for fundraising purposes - a phenomenon known as initial coin offerings, or ICOs. ICOs have fueled a rapid ascent in the value of all cryptocurrencies, from about $17 billion at the start of the year - with bitcoin making up around 90 percent of that - to a record high close to $180 billion at the beginning of September, of which bitcoin represented less than half. Following the ICO ban, the market was further spooked by reports early this week that Chinese authorities were planning to forbid any trading of cryptocurrencies and by a warning on ICOs from Britain's financial watchdog, raising fears of a wider crackdown. Dimon's warning triggered a further 11 percent collapse in the price of bitcoin, which had already lost around 15 percent of its value in 10 days. "He joins a long line of market commentators that have been critical of bitcoin and it potentially being in a bubble, so his comments could have been the tipping point," said James Butterfill, head of research and investment strategy at ETF Securities in London. The cryptocurrency tumbled to as low as $3,720.01 on the Bitstamp exchange (BTC=BTSP) before recovering to trade around $3,810 by 1524 GMT, still down 8.7 percent on the day. Most other digital currencies were down also, with bitcoin's main rival ether - often called Ethereum, the name given to the project behind the currency - down 10 percent on the day, according to Coinmarketcap, an industry website. Story continues Dimon told an investor conference in New York that if any of his traders were found trading bitcoin he would "fire them in a second", and that bitcoin was "worse than tulips bulbs," referring to a famous market bubble from the 1600s. "This is not the first time that Jamie Dimon has spoken against the currency - the last time he had a similar go on the currency was in November 2015," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam. "Since then, the currency has had a remarkable run." "Most importantly, given that the CEO does not think that shorting this trade would yield a more favorable outcome shows that the cryptocurrency has a lot more room to run." (This version of the story was refiled to fix garbled third paragraph) (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Larry King) || Bitcoin is in a bubble, and here's how it's going to crash: Can bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) be a transformational, technology-based, currency and be in a bubble at the same time? Uh, yeah! JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon created a bit of a stir in the market for bitcoin on Tuesday by claiming the cryptocurrency is a fraud and is in a valuation bubble that will burst. He said he'd fire any employee in his trading division who speculates in that currency market. Critics say Dimon is just protecting his entrenched financial market turf, while others, like myself, voiced their agreement with his core premise.There is so much to "unpack" when it comes to discussing transformational, or disruptive, technologies that have become highly speculative that it's hard to compress it into a mere 750 words or so. But here goes:Most disruptive developments in technology and finance eventually inflate into speculative bubbles as investors and traders assume that the intrinsic value of these new vehicles will expand forever.The "Tulip Mania" in Holland in the 1630s to which Dimon alluded notwithstanding, history is replete with examples of how transformational technologies enter a highly speculative phase, leading to the creation of great riches for early investors but great risks for those who arrive at the party far too late.Here, one looks back to history to identify the various and sundry bubbles that brought both great risks and rewards to investors and suckers alike! The exploration of the New World led to the catastrophic "South Sea Bubble" in Great Britain in the 18 th century, along with the "Mississippi Scheme" in France at roughly the same time. Isaac Newton lost a fortune in the former while the French government nearly collapsed in the latter.Of more domestic vintage, turnpike and canal bonds were the subject of great speculation in early American history. So were railroad bonds, electric utility stocks, auto companies, radio firms, the electronics industry, color TV companies, Japanese conglomerates, computer, biotech, internet shares and real estate, and all crashed when excessive optimism far outweighed the more rational expectations normally associated with prudent investing.So too will be the case with bitcoin.The price of a single bitcoin has gone up parabolically and at a faster pace than any other speculative vehicle in market history, as investor enthusiasm for the new medium has reached a fever pitch.However, its adoption as a global currency is suspect, partly for regulatory reasons and partly because creating a world currency from scratch, especially given the mandatory limitations on bitcoin creation, is no mean feat. There have been only three reserve currencies in the history of the Western World: the British pound, the French franc (however briefly) and the U.S. dollar (STOXX: .DXY) . Today, the dollar accounts for roughly two-thirds of all financial and economic transactions globally. The daily value of foreign exchange trading tops $5 trillion, alone, while bitcoin does a mere fraction of that.As yet, bitcoin also fails as a currency in several ways. Money is defined by three characteristics:A storehouse of value.A unit of account.A medium of exchange.It's hard to determine if bitcoin is a storehouse of value. Daily volatility tops 5 percent to 10 percent while its "value" has skyrocketed. If it crashes, it will fail to meet criteria No. 1.It is a unit of account, but for whom?It may be a medium of exchange, but for now that is only for a very few users.Convertibility is suspect in some nations where bitcoin exchanges have been banned, creating some confusion as to how the currency can be used.Complicating all that is the use of cryptocurrencies in the "dark web" for a wide variety of illicit activities, from money laundering to drug dealing to prostitution, among others.Additional issues involve sovereign nations and their desire to maintain control of their respective currencies and money supplies that make widespread use of bitcoin unlikely in the very near term.I've studied bubbles, written extensively about them and have covered no shortage of speculative events in my 33-year career.Bitcoin is in a bubble, make no mistake. The episode, for some, will end badly while others reap the rewards of getting in on the action early and, more importantly, getting out before the bust.But as in the case of many prior breakthrough technologies, the transformation will indeed be disruptive and extremely important even if the first mover fails to survive.The two, as history has shown, are not at all mutually exclusive.WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this country Can bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=-USS) be a transformational, technology-based, currency and be in a bubble at the same time? Uh, yeah! JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon created a bit of a stir in the market for bitcoin on Tuesday by claiming the cryptocurrency is a fraud and is in a valuation bubble that will burst. He said he'd fire any employee in his trading division who speculates in that currency market. Critics say Dimon is just protecting his entrenched financial market turf, while others, like myself, voiced their agreement with his core premise. There is so much to "unpack" when it comes to discussing transformational, or disruptive, technologies that have become highly speculative that it's hard to compress it into a mere 750 words or so. But here goes: Most disruptive developments in technology and finance eventually inflate into speculative bubbles as investors and traders assume that the intrinsic value of these new vehicles will expand forever. The "Tulip Mania" in Holland in the 1630s to which Dimon alluded notwithstanding, history is replete with examples of how transformational technologies enter a highly speculative phase, leading to the creation of great riches for early investors but great risks for those who arrive at the party far too late. Here, one looks back to history to identify the various and sundry bubbles that brought both great risks and rewards to investors and suckers alike! The exploration of the New World led to the catastrophic "South Sea Bubble" in Great Britain in the 18 th century, along with the "Mississippi Scheme" in France at roughly the same time. Isaac Newton lost a fortune in the former while the French government nearly collapsed in the latter. Of more domestic vintage, turnpike and canal bonds were the subject of great speculation in early American history. So were railroad bonds, electric utility stocks, auto companies, radio firms, the electronics industry, color TV companies, Japanese conglomerates, computer, biotech, internet shares and real estate, and all crashed when excessive optimism far outweighed the more rational expectations normally associated with prudent investing. So too will be the case with bitcoin. The price of a single bitcoin has gone up parabolically and at a faster pace than any other speculative vehicle in market history, as investor enthusiasm for the new medium has reached a fever pitch. However, its adoption as a global currency is suspect, partly for regulatory reasons and partly because creating a world currency from scratch, especially given the mandatory limitations on bitcoin creation, is no mean feat. There have been only three reserve currencies in the history of the Western World: the British pound, the French franc (however briefly) and the U.S. dollar (STOXX: .DXY) . Today, the dollar accounts for roughly two-thirds of all financial and economic transactions globally. The daily value of foreign exchange trading tops $5 trillion, alone, while bitcoin does a mere fraction of that. As yet, bitcoin also fails as a currency in several ways. Money is defined by three characteristics: A storehouse of value. A unit of account. A medium of exchange. It's hard to determine if bitcoin is a storehouse of value. Daily volatility tops 5 percent to 10 percent while its "value" has skyrocketed. If it crashes, it will fail to meet criteria No. 1. It is a unit of account, but for whom? It may be a medium of exchange, but for now that is only for a very few users. Convertibility is suspect in some nations where bitcoin exchanges have been banned, creating some confusion as to how the currency can be used. Complicating all that is the use of cryptocurrencies in the "dark web" for a wide variety of illicit activities, from money laundering to drug dealing to prostitution, among others. Additional issues involve sovereign nations and their desire to maintain control of their respective currencies and money supplies that make widespread use of bitcoin unlikely in the very near term. I've studied bubbles, written extensively about them and have covered no shortage of speculative events in my 33-year career. Bitcoin is in a bubble, make no mistake. The episode, for some, will end badly while others reap the rewards of getting in on the action early and, more importantly, getting out before the bust. But as in the case of many prior breakthrough technologies, the transformation will indeed be disruptive and extremely important even if the first mover fails to survive. The two, as history has shown, are not at all mutually exclusive. WATCH: Bitcoin mining can land you in jail in this countryMore From CNBC
• Terror to end bitcoin anonymity?
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• Bitcoin mining IPO falls short || Two Hurdles? Bitcoin Faces Resistance Ahead of $4,500: Bitcoin bulls can breathe a sigh of relief.
Having defended the 50-day moving average support, the price of bitcoin rose to a four-day high of $4,407 today. Week-over-week, the bitcoin-U.S. dollar (BTC/USD) exchange rate is now up 5.84 percent.
Brushing aside uncertainty surrounding a possibleupcoming fork, bitcoin is looking northward ahead of the weekend and, should it cut through key technical hurdles ahead, it could be poised to push higher.
The rebound from the 50-day moving average is encouraging, but the cryptocurrency still faces the following hurdles:
• $4,420 – Resistance offered by the trend line sloping upwards from the September 15 low and September 25 low.
• $4,470 – Monday's doji candle high.
An end-of-day close above $4,470 would signal failure of the bearish doji reversal and mark continuation of the higher highs and higher lows pattern. Thus, bitcoin could revisit $4,700, above which a major resistance is seen directly at $5,000 (record highs).
• A failure to cut through $4,420 (trend line hurdle) followed by a break below $4,300 (support on 4-hour chart) would open up downside towards the head and shoulders neckline level of $4,200.
• A violation there would confirm bullish-to-bearish trend change.
Measurement toolsimage via Shutterstock
• Bitcoin Derivatives ETFs Withdraw Filings at SEC Request
• Is Ripple's Rally Over? XRP Price Runs Into Roadblock
• ICO Central: Why Switzerland Will Remain Crypto Valley
• Swiss Public University Begins Accepting Bitcoin || Bitcoin's Price Keeps Rising, But Is $6,000 in Reach?: Bitcoin hit a new record high of $5,856 on CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index this morning, but the question everyone will be asking is, can the rally continue? At press time, bitcoin is trading at $5,610 levels, as per CoinMarketCap data. Bitcoin's week-on-week performance of over 28 percent (up more than $1,200,) is double S&P's year-to-date gains of 14 percent. Further, the cryptocurrency is up 96 percent from its Sept. 15 low of $2,980, and, on a year-to-date basis, is up almost 500 percent. Following a rally of such astonishing proportions, it would be quite logical to assume bitcoin prices will trade sideways, or witness a healthy pull-back in the short run The price action analysis indicates that bitcoin could find a short-term top in the range of $5,800-$6,000. Daily chart The daily chart shows that: Bitcoin's price suffers a corrective pull back every time the stochastic and the relative strength index (RSI) signal overbought conditions (marked by hand sign and red circles on the chart). The stochastic oscillator is a chart analysis indicator that helps determine where a trend might be ending. The trend line drawn from the July 16 low and Aug. 22 low and extended further is seen offering resistance around $6,100 levels. Though overbought, the RSI is still rising. Meanwhile, the stochastic is looking to retreat from the overbought territory. A technical correction would gather pace once the RSI starts losing altitude. View A short-term consolidation around $5,800 or brief spike to $6,000 followed by a short-term pull back to $5,000-$5,300 looks more likely. Roller coaster image via Shutterstock Related Stories $5,800: Bitcoin Price Sets New Record Rally Restored? Bitcoin Is Up 75 Percent from 30-Day Lows Why HODLing Is Hobbling Bitcoin's Prospects as a Common Currency $5,200: Bitcoin Buoyant as Price Sets New All-Time High || Global Investors Appear Ready to Take on Risk as Global Shares Rise, Gold and Yen Weaken: A relief rally may be in sight from global investors today in the equity markets. Hurricane Irma’s impact may be less than what had been anticipated, and while geopolitical tensions continue to boil the relatively quiet weekend was a welcomed break. Italian Industrial Production numbers will be presented today. Relief Rally May be in Sight, Investors Ready to Make an Impact Investors are likely to experience a huge sigh of relief this morning upon returning to their offices this morning. It appears that Hurricane Irma’s impact will be less than had been worried about . Yes, the storm remains a threat, but its damage may not be as widespread as contemplated. Wall Street saw cautious trading late last week and traders may be ready to turn in a ‘relief rally’ today. Canada will release Housing Starts data today. And the Canadian Dollar continues to be monitored closely in forex. Surge in Machinery Orders in Japan, Buyers Return to Japanese Equities The Nikkei and Topix Indexes have produced a buying surge early this morning. Core Machinery Orders numbers from Japan produced an outstanding gain of 8 percent, far exceeding the expected gain of 4.2%. The Yen has weakened and is solidly above the 108.00 juncture against the U.S Dollar. While the Hang Seng has also gained today, the Shanghai Shenzhen composite has been cautious. U.K. Inflation Data Tomorrow, European Equities Speculative European equities which have been cautious will be watched closed by investors in the coming days a renewed spark of speculative buying. The Euro and Pound have come under early pressure this morning. However, the Euro continues to be above the 1.20 level against the U.S Dollar. Data will be light from Europe today with only the Italian Industrial Production numbers being released, but tomorrow important Consumer Price Index figures will come from the U.K. Early Pressure on Gold, Risk-On Hurts Precious Metal Gold has experienced an early sell-off , as investors have shown the ability to buy equities in Asia. The precious metal has fallen below 1340.00 U.S Dollars an ounce and could come under additional pressure. Volatility could be pronounced because of the perception Gold is highly priced. Economic Data from Italy, Canadian Housing Sector Numbers Italian Industrial Production data will be released at 8:00 GMT and European investors will look the numbers over carefully. 8:00 AM GMT Italy, Industrial Production 12:15 PM GMT Canada, Housing Starts Yaron Mazor is a senior analyst at SuperTraderTV. SuperTraderTV Academy is a leader in investing and stock trading education. Sign up for a class today to learn proven strategies on how to trade smarter. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Investing in Cryptocurrencies Now or It’s Too Late? The Pound is Not Afraid of Negative News, Sterling Continues to Rise Global Investors Appear Ready to Take on Risk as Global Shares Rise, Gold and Yen Weaken Asian Stocks and the Dollar Find Relief from North Korea’s Relative Silence, with no Materials Stats for the Day Ahead Gold Prices Drop as Risks Recede A Crucial Week for Bitcoin View comments || Russia Blasts Decision to Extradite Alleged Bitcoin Money Launderer: Russia's foreign ministry has sharply criticized a Greek court's decision to extradite Alexander Vinnik to the US for his alleged role in laundering funds through the BTC-e bitcoin exchange.
In a statement, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said today that they "noted with regret" that the court optedto complywith the US's extradition request for Vinnik, whowas arrestedin Greece in late July and was accused of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin through the exchange.
Both Vinnik and BTC-e were later charged by US prosecutors, withFinCENhanding down a $110 million fine after the sealed indictment was unveiled.
Since then, Vinnik has remained in Greece pending the outcome of the extradition process. During that time the Russian government moved to extradite Vinnik on unrelated charges, a move that was later endorsed by Vinnik himself in a statement to Russia Today.
To date, Vinnik has maintained that he isinnocentof the charges, though he claims to have worked for BTC-e in the past. BTC-e, for its part, has denied Vinnik's involvement and, since the exchange's site domain was seized by US agents, has moved to establisha new cryptocurrency exchange.
But this week's ruling by a Greek judge was met with dismay by the Russian foreign ministry, which in a statement urged the court to reconsider the decision.
The Russian government said:
"We deem the verdict unjust and a violation of international law. A request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on extraditing Mr Vinnik to Russia was submitted to the Greek authorities. Based on legal precedent, the Russian request should take priority as Mr Vinnik is a citizen of Russia."
The statement notably makes no mention of BTC-e or the specific crimes for which Vinnik has been accused. That said, it does make note that Vinnik's legal team will appeal the decision, potentially leaving it up to the Greek Justice Ministry to decide on where the Russian national will be sent.
The foreign ministry also expressed hope that Vinnik will ultimately be extradited to Russia.
"We hope the Greek authorities will consider the Russian Prosecutor General's Office request, and Russia’s reasoning, and act in strict compliance with international law," the ministry said.
Imagevia Shutterstock
• Greek Court Backs Extradition of Alleged Bitcoin Exchange Operator to US
• Alleged Bitcoin Money Launderer Has First Extradition Hearing
• It's Political: Why China Hates Bitcoin and Loves the Blockchain
• FICO Patent Filing Hints at Plans for Bitcoin Exchange Monitoring
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || Bitcoin is decentralized, so there's no regulatory body. From the inception, supply was fixed at 21 million bitcoins to be issued automatically at the rate of X BTC every ten minutes, while X rate is halved every Y number of years. It's a trustless system, protected by miners || @toptenfanduel @bitcoin_miner_ @josephzhou || #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || Forget stealing data — these hackers broke into Amazon's cloud to mine bitcoin http://flip.it/HDjLKm || #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica || #Bitcoin -1.66%
Ultima: R$ 16599.00 Alta: R$ 17250.00 Baixa: R$ 13505.01
Fonte: Foxbit || China State News Hints at #bitcoin Exchange Licensing, Resumed Crypto Trading The Merkle https://bitgator.pro/2017/10/09/china-state-news-hints-at-bitcoin-exchange-licensing-resumed-crypto-trading-the-merkle …pic.twitter.com/7k7ZYToSWr
|
Trend: up || Prices: 5831.79, 5678.19, 5725.59, 5605.51, 5590.69, 5708.52, 6011.45, 6031.60, 6008.42, 5930.32
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2020-01-07]
BTC Price: 8163.69, BTC RSI: 68.44
Gold Price: 1571.80, Gold RSI: 83.99
Oil Price: 62.70, Oil RSI: 65.72
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
A Bitcoin Wallet Is Orbiting the Earth at 5 Miles Per Second: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA At exactly 12:29 EST on Thursday, a crypto wallet built by developers at SpaceChain hurtled into the stratosphere aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. When it arrived at the International Space Station, the 1kg node only a fraction of SpaceX CRS-19 resupply missions 2,600kg payload became the first active bitcoin node on the ISS. For SpaceChain, the launch is a step forward in its mission of building out a robust, decentralized blockchain infrastructure high above the Earth. The wallet will be beyond any countrys jurisdiction and well above the reach of any physical hardware hacks. Related: European Space Agency Backs Blockchain Satellite Project SpaceChain sees its nodes as a radical new way to make crypto transactions more secure. This is the three-year-old companys third launch and its first from American soil. The other two launches blasted off from China. The wallet will play a small but important part in that long-term goal, said to Zee Zheng, SpaceChains CEO and co-founder. Once the astronauts aboard the ISS install it, the node will operate for about a year securing multi-signature transactions through the ISS data feed. We met with Zheng over margaritas at a Mexican joint overlooking the famed Floridian Space Coast. More than half of his team had congregated in Florida to watch the launch. He was ecstatic. This launch had been the 23-person companys full-time focus for much of 2019 and it was a milestone theyve been shooting for since they first proposed it 18 months ago. Related: Bitcoin Nanosatellites Could Orbit Earth in 2016 We put all the companys resources into it, said Zheng. SpaceChain declined to state how much payload space and research and development cost. They contracted through Nanoracks, whose CEO Jeffrey Manber is also a SpaceChain advisor. It is fundamentally different from the other two nodes SpaceChain has put into orbit. For us, its kind of tricky, said Zheng. Theres no existing space-tested hardware available, so even to install our own software we needed to make major changes. Story continues Building a space wallet was one thing; making it compliant for use on the ISS was something completely different. SpaceChains open-source protocol had to be vetted by NASA and retrofitted for the stations unique plug architecture, Zheng said SpaceChains space node. Photo via Eric Desatnik/SpaceChain Zheng said that having Jeff Garzik as SpaceChains Chief Technical Officer helped in that regard. Garzik was one of the early bitcoin core developers and he led SpaceChains effort to build out the software soon to be integrated with the ISS. Hes also been thinking about blockchain in space even before SpaceChain founded, said Zheng. About five years ago in the bitcointalk forum, Jeff wrote an article about bitcoin in space, said Zheng. Its been his dream for a while. This launch is a far cry from their first space project: a Raspberry Pi equipped with a Qtum node that the company launched from Chinas Gobi desert in February 2018. Their second launch, also from China, was slightly more developed. That hardware could run blockchain dapps on the SpaceChain OS and it communicated directly with the ground. This new wallet will operate independently of SpaceChains past launches. It will not communicate with the previous nodes and all comms will route through the ISS feed to ground. This means the device will have a slower connection and it will take hours, not minutes for any single transaction to complete. We actually want to make slower, said Zheng, who described this crawling pace as a feature, not a bug. We see so many crypto exchanges get hacked. And within two minutes the funds millions of dollars get transferred. By utilizing this channel we can not only secure transactions, but have a chance to intercept suspicious activity, he said. This could appeal to high-dollar clients custodial services, exchanges, and enterprise customers, said Zheng, who are more than willing to trade a few extra hours for added peace of mind. The node will live alongside a number of other experiments sent up to the ISS including Anheuser Buschs study of how sugars malt in space and an experiment to test of the effects microgravity has on genetically modified super-mice. Only a few months ago it received a 60,000 euro grant from the European Space Agency . Zheng said the exposure that comes with NASA and SpaceX will help it grow to the larger mission. But he insists SpaceChain is rocket agnostic. Its willing to contract with any agency, anywhere, whenever the time is right. NASA and SpaceX happened to be the ideal partners for the Dec. 5 launch, just as Chinese partners were for their first two. Future launches wont necessarily be. Actually, next March were going to use an Indian rocket, said Zheng, referring to one of the two SpaceChain launches he says is coming in the next 18 months. In 10 years, perhaps, SpaceChain will deploy a network of dedicated satellites that speak to each other and run far more blockchain infrastructure than any single ISS wallet ever could, said Zheng. Until then, Zheng said he and SpaceChain will continue to rally toward its orbital goal. Were welcoming anyone to join the revolution, he said. Image via CoinDesk. Related Stories Xapo Looks to Outer Space in Latest Bitcoin Security Push Jeff Garzik Announces Partnership to Launch Bitcoin Satellites into Space || Nvidia Battles Shareholders in Lawsuit Over Crypto Miner Claims: Chip making giant Nvidia has been making its case for why a court should throw out a lawsuit alleging it misled investors over cryptocurrency mining demand for its graphics cards.
At a hearing over Nvidia’s motion to dismiss in Oakland, California, the firm said Friday that shareholders had “cherry-picked” some company statements in an attempt to show that it had not been transparent over how much of its sales were due to miners, while ignoring others.
The case comprises consolidated shareholder lawsuits first brought in December 2018, after its revenues dipped and stock slumped by 29 percent, Law360reports.
Related:MARKETS DAILY: Casualties Ahead in the Cryptocurrency Mining Arms Race
The shareholders allege that Nvidia had not been clear that its gaming segment still included a good volume of miner revenue, even after it launched a dedicated mining card, the Crypto SKU. That was only acknowledged by Nvidia in August 2018 after gaming revenue slumped, they claim.
Nvidia’s legal counsel – Patrick E. Gibbs of law firm Cooley LLP – said the investors’ case was not valid as they had not provided any evidence that Nvidia had known about the facts as presented in the suit, and had also not shown any connection between the stock price losses and the allegations.
“There’s not a single piece of data,” said Gibbs.
The shareholders’ legal representative argued in response that Nvidia had indicated that crypto-based revenue was low, but was actually so substantial that the company missed its expected earnings when cryptocurrency prices dropped and miner demand fell.
Related:Canadian Government-Assisted Bitcoin Miner Files for Bankruptcy Owing Millions
During the hearing, District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. queried Nvidia over the fact that a Morgan Stanley analyst and others had appeared surprised when Nvidia stated in November 2018 that it expected revenues to decline over 7 percent.
Gibbs responded that some analysts went by the incorrect assumption that demand for gaming cards is “static.” He also argued that not all analysts responded with “same type of surprise” at the earnings forecast.
The judge is considering the arguments, according to Law360.
• Litecoin’s Mining Power Tanks to Lowest in Year Following Price Plunge
• A Plan to Decentralize Bitcoin Mining Again Is Gaining Ground || This Year’s Top 10 Crypto Narratives: This post is part of CoinDesk’s 2019 Year in Review, a collection of 100 op-eds, interviews and takes on the state of blockchain and the world. Ryan Selkis is the co-founder and CEO of Messari. The following is an excerpt from Messari’s “ Crypto Theses for 2020 .” 1. “Hyperbitcoinization vs. Digital Gold.” While you’ll see a great deal of chatter about the coming decade’s hyperbitcoinization if you read The Bitcoin Standard (which I recommend) and follow the hardcore libertarian crypto crowd on Twitter, it’s a mistake for everyone to keep hammering away at this currency narrative. It’s threatening and unnecessarily and prematurely hostile to the powers that be. It’s a harder narrative to grok for newcomers, and everyone that converts to crypto ends up hoarding bitcoin like digital gold, anyway. Practically speaking, we should go after the $7 trillion gold market first, see how that goes, then move up the value chain to the next milestone if we get there. Bitcoin as everyday cash will also always suck in a world with stablecoins because of the tax consequences of spending, and the public audit trail those transactions leave. 2. “Long Bitcoin, Short the Bankers.” In a world where every transaction has an associated cost basis and tax event, the real killer app for the industry is in collateralized lending. This is especially true in the U.S. with its crypto hostile tax regime. Rather than spend crypto and deal with accounting headaches, it’s becoming feasible to lend bitcoin in return for (tax free!) dollars out, at reasonably low interest rates! Of course, there is always liquidation risk in these products if your collateral declines in value, but borrowing against 10-20 percent of your holdings, for instance, is plenty of cushion for most people, especially if they’d be otherwise looking at 20-30 points of incremental capital gains tax liabilities in a sale. It’s nonsensical to take the tax hit on a big purchase (e.g. a down payment on a new house) if you can avoid selling. I’m waiting for one of the crypto tax software companies to collaborate with the lenders and create a calculator that runs through this logic for their customers. Borrow money from your own bank. Story continues Related: Blockchain Projects Work Better When Everyone Collaborates 3. “Stack Sats & Earn Crypto.” I’m disappointed in what has become of Earn.com and Streamium. (You’d have to be OLD to remember Streamium.) The potential to monetize your time via crypto is significant (an Airbnb or Uber for “spare time” is capital efficient), but it hasn’t hit yet. The potential for streaming metered payments is also there (telemedicine, international consulting, and of course, porn), but that hasn’t clicked either for some reason. I’m shocked we haven’t seen a BIG specialized payroll company that offers bitcoin payouts as a percentage of your paycheck (though Coinbase may be working on it). In the meantime, we put together an easy overview at Messari of how to earn “free bitcoin.” Perhaps the easiest method today is Lolli, a browser extension that sends users bitcoin rewards for online shopping. Honey just sold to PayPal for $4 billion. Lolli could be on a similar trajectory in the next bitcoin bull cycle. 4. “Unbank the Banked.” I love this quip. (I believe it originated with the OmiseGo team in mid-2017.) It’s SPOT ON. There’s building tech for the disenfranchised, who often need financial services, but don’t make tremendously compelling early customers because of their low CLV (customer lifetime value). Then there’s building tech for those who are on the inside already, but feel like they may be on the way out: the misfits, the tinkerers, and the dissidents. We desperately need more success stories from Latin America, and the Middle East, and other emerging or unstable markets, particularly in regions where the rule of law is weaker and there are security risks associated with having a healthy bank account. Bitcoin took off in the U.S. in large part because Wences Casares, Silicon Valley’s “patient zero,” was a successful entrepreneur from Argentina with a superhero backstory and a stunt that caught the attention of the rich. Bitcoin caught fire in the U.S. because he passed $250k of bitcoin around a table of Silicon Valley power brokers at an exclusive 2013 dinner, not because someone at the party bought LSD on Silk Road (ok, ok, maybe it was both). The only crypto communities that will survive in the long-term will have strong memes. 5. “Missionaries vs. Mercenaries.” The only crypto communities that will survive in the long-term will have strong memes. On the flipside, most attempts to bribe developers and users with airdrops and developer grants will fail (many already are), and most attempts to recruit insiders to a cause with pre-sale discounts and the (diminishing allure) of token flips will bring dysfunction and gridlock to projects that otherwise may have had a chance. We’re starting to see some teams come to terms with this reality. Stellar just burned 50 percent of its token supply because they quite literally can’t give it away. The EOS “cartel” has likely led to irreparable damage in that protocol’s reputation in developer circles (why build on infrastructure that will get hijacked by ruthless investors). And I’m predicting another bloodbath for privately funded token networks that come to market in 2020. We’re also intentionally avoiding coverage of many new competitive Layer 1 blockchains in these theses for this same reason: the vast majority are simply not interesting from a narrative standpoint. Related: Musicians Want to Break Free of Big Tech 6. “Bitcoin is a Platypus.” Blockchain Capital’s Spencer Bogart had one of the all-time classic analogies for Bitcoin in a 2017 post: the platypus. He writes about the platypus’s history: “The platypus is perhaps the most bizarre creature on the planet. It’s a venomous, egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal. Those things simply aren’t supposed to go together. In fact, when leading scientists first read accounts of the platypus, they dismissed it as a joke – and for good reason: the platypus is a seemingly impossible animal that combines features from three different animal classes and four different animal orders. … Even once the platypus was broadly accepted as a real and legitimate animal, classification provoked arguments: What type of animal is it? As it turns out, the platypus isn’t good at being a duck, it’s not good at being an otter, nor is it good at being a beaver or a reptile. The platypus is, however, great at being a platypus! In the end, the platypus was so distinct that scientists had to create a new animal category to accommodate its unique features. The platypus is a category creator.” Bitcoin can be used for payments, has provable scarcity like a commodity, can split like a stock, and serves as a foundational protocol for other types of value transfer. We’d do well to capitalize on the limited time bitcoin has left being considered a punch line. When someone in power says “This isn’t money, it sucks as money. No one accepts it!” You should say, “You’re right!” When they say, “This isn’t digital gold, it sucks as a store of value.” You should say, “You’re right!” Please, please, please, let us hide in plain sight for one more bull run that gets us too big to fail. 7. “The Revolution Needs Rules.” I wrote last year that I thought Gemini’s controversial campaign was brilliant. A year older, wiser, and more disgruntled has made me an even bigger fan of the messaging, though perhaps my punch line is different than that of the Winklevoss twins. I believe they were trying to convey that Gemini is a regulated exchange that follows the law and sets the standard for what compliance should look like in crypto investment products. Good for them, but I take a less supplicant stance. When I think “The Revolution Needs Rules” I don’t think of placating U.S. regulators so much as I do of training a rag-tag militia. If we want to be better than the incumbents, then token teams: start disclosing insider sales; exchanges, clean up your wash trades; wallets, learn how to integrate with tax software systems and help your customers minimize their liabilities and pay only to Caesar that which is actually Caesar’s. The rules to the revolution shouldn’t all be defensive. Let’s play some fucking offense in the 2020s. I told [a] room full of ‘decentralized world computer’ fanatics it was stupid for the Ethereum community to build non-financial applications. 8. “ETH is money.” Back in May I spoke at Ethereal and told the room full of “decentralized world computer” fanatics it was stupid for the Ethereum community to build non-financial applications. Being the reserve currency for DeFi / Open Finance was plenty good enough, and things like low-value collectibles, gaming, and distributed applications were a complete distraction whose use cases they should forfeit to other blockchains. This was a good take, and a lot of other ETH fans are starting to fly that flag. Ethereum could power most major stablecoins, synthetic securities, and the vast majority of the programmatic crypto lending and derivatives market. C’mon, fam, FOCUS. Rebuilding literally the entire financial system would be a big enough win. Push the kitties to a separate blockchain. 9. “Dissident Tech.” Web 3 got real fast. I thought it would take years to get excited about “decentralized internet” applications, but perhaps it’s sooner than we think, especially if it’s getting the satirical treatment on Silicon Valley. The continued exploitation of user data from tech behemoths (looking at you, Zuck) is making the concept of dissident tech – coined by Maya Zehavi – not only relevant, but cool. And new generations of users tend to gravitate towards “cool” tech. The demand for privacy and freedom of expression sparked a proliferation of crypto solutions over the past year-plus, from decentralized hardware networks like Helium and Orchid to privacy-focused browsers like Brave, which provide a glimpse of what’s to come with the Web 3 data stack. I’m not too bullish on the projects sporting token-first models, but upstarts that apply token models to applications that already work are more interesting. What’s also intriguing is the rate at which investors are defining their investment theses around dissident tech, emphasized by funds such as Cyberpunk Holdings and the mysterious Unknown Fund. Demand for privacy and censor-resistant solutions will require a shift in user behavior, but “the undercurrents are growing” in the current environment. 10. “Ok, boomer,” but for crypto. Crypto has some pretty good memes for insiders. But I’m not sure how effective our narratives will be during the political battles ahead. Are any of the nine narratives above capable of winning elections? Every time I look at that bald, conniving ape Sherman, I see someone who will lead and win the narrative battle against crypto with the most powerful people we cannot afford to lose. It strikes me there’s a generational divide we must recognize in that battle, a frustration we can capture and turn back against leaders like Sherman. An “ok boomer” that provides an effective counter to the damaging narrative that crypto is for “frauds, terrorists, and criminals.” I don’t know what it is, but I like these 500+ efforts to get it right. My favorite: “The rich got bailouts. The people got bitcoin.” Related Stories Bitcoin Has Got Society to Think About the Nature of Money Dissidents and Activists Have a Lot to Gain From Bitcoin, if Only They Knew It || Economist claims Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme: After a turbulent couple of years for Bitcoin, the world’s leading digital asset is still holding firm though one economist has branded the cryptocurrency a “pyramid scheme”. Back in 2017, it exploded into meteoric levels hitting its all-time high of $20,000 before a drawn-out bear market persisted throughout much of the following year. It then crept back up in the first months of 2019 ahead of tumbling in the latter half of the year – with it now sat just above $7,100. Despite the volatility, the wider financial world has started to embrace cryptocurrencies with some central banks taking their first steps toward implementing their own digital assets. However, not everyone is convinced. Particularly one naysayer – Lending Tree chief economist Tendayi Kapfidze – brandishing Bitcoin as a scam. “It’s a pyramid scheme,” he told Yahoo Finance . “You only make money based on people who enter after you.” Cutting deeper, he suggests it has “no utility in the real world”. “They’ve been trying to create a utility for it for 10 years now. It’s a solution in search of a problem and it still hasn’t found a problem to solve.” Other experts would still argue investing in cryptocurrencies is still purely speculative and can be a way to learn more about the technology. One such enthusiast is Oliver Pursche, Bruderman asset management chief market strategist. He revealed he owns five cryptocurrencies which he bought in equal quantities throughout late 2016 and early 2017. “I own five… if I’m lucky, one of them will be an all-star!” he said. “I don’t think you go into it thinking that you’re going to become a billionaire or a millionaire as a result of it. You go into it very soberly understanding that you can lose all of your principle and that this is purely speculative. “For me, it’s also a way to get educated on it… to me, if you want to learn about it, you’ve got to own it because that’s the only way you’re going to truly educate yourself and pay attention.” Story continues Interested in reading more Bitcoin-related news? Discover more about Bitwise reiterating its commitment to delivering a Bitcoin ETF. The post Economist claims Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin is boring now: Man in orange jacket asleep on a bench. Bitcoin is in a funk. For the last two months, the leading cryptocurrency has remained within a narrow band, fluctuating between $7,000 and $9,000. On occasion, it has creeped higher or lower, but never for long. Compared to its stunning rise two years ago, when bitcoins price vaulted to $20,000, the crypto market now looks sleepy. The highs arent as high, and the lows arent as low. The booms and busts have become less frequent, too. Trump is trying to make it too expensive for poor American immigrants to stay The overall crypto markets have a tendency to be event-driven, and in the past few months there hasnt been news to send prices moving meaningfully, Andy Bromberg , president of CoinList, a startup that enables crypto-based fundraising , surmised to Quartz. In October, his company raised $10 million to continue its service. For his part, Bromberg thinks the market is entering a new phase. Whats interesting is that bitcoin is becoming less correlated with the rest of the [crypto] market, an indicator of how its narrative, value, and popularity are emerging even more strongly, he said. Because of bitcoins decreasing correlation, theres a reasonable chance that the next time the market moves, it will be either bitcoin or the rest of the market, not both. People with depression are more likely to say certain words But even now, thats as good as the predictions get. For mainstream investors, thats not much to go on. All thats clear is this: Bitcoin has gotten relatively boring. Earlier this year, between January and March, bitcoins price also stalled. For almost three months, it floundered in the mid-$3,000s. A mid-year revival finally occurred after Facebook revealed plans for Libra , its own digital currency. The project, however, appears unlikely to launch on schedule . Bitcoins highs and lows Year Max price Minimum Difference 2016 $979 $355 $624 2017 $20,089 $756 $19,333 2018 $17,712 $3,191 $14,521 2019 $13,796 $3,391 $10,405 So, where does that leave us? In a year when the S&P 500 has delivered a 20% year-to-date return, bitcoin has rewarded speculators with a 90% return. This year hasnt been a mania , but it hasnt been a crypto winter , or stagnation, either. Instead, 2019 has been unpredictable in its own wayand at times, its been surprisingly stable. Of course, stable is relativebitcoin is still far more volatile than the average stock. Story continues Calling this a rejuvenation would be too ebullient, but the bitcoin market has exhibited signs of life once again. If anything, 2019 has shown that bitcoin is neither savior nor destroyer of money. As other crypto projects have stumbled , bitcoin has simply persisted. Maybe thats good enough. Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: Psychology suggests that when someone calls you the wrong name, its because they love you Justices stumped in SCOTUS tax refund case with massive economic significance || Latest Bitcoin price and analysis (BTC to USD): Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at around $7,550 following a significant 8% pump since Friday. Over the past 24 hours, the price of BTC has increased by 1% and is showing signs of recovery. Will Bitcoin maintain its positive price action and start its recovery towards $10,000 soon? Let’s take a look at Bitcoin’s chart, courtesy of TradingView . As you can see, Bitcoin has finally crossed its 20-day EMA (the red line), which is the first crucial step if BTC is to start recording higher lows. Since the massive bull market that took Bitcoin close to $14,000 last year, BTC has been dropping in value following a downtrend that was only broken in late October when BTC surprisingly broke through a number of key resistance levels (around the 200-day, 50-day, and 20-day EMAs). Over the last quarter of the year, volume was also showing signs of weakness. During most of Q4, volume stayed below $20 billion. However, since late December, Bitcoin seems to have been turning things around. After the last drop that took BTC from around $7,500 to $6,900, price bounced and started climbing upwards. We’re now entering the fourth consecutive day of green price action and volume. The current Bitcoin trend Last week , I underlined that within the next few days/weeks, we could see a major reversal after a period of serious accumulation by ‘hodlers’. It seems I was right and Bitcoin did make a significant reversal. Volume has remained similar to last week, about 30% to 40% above last month. This means the accumulation cycle could be close to an end and the bull run we’re all waiting for will start sooner than expected. For the time being though, there’s a chance it can go either way. Only if BTC continues to add higher lows will price continue to go up. The upwards movement over the past few days could mean a shift in sentiment, but it is too early to tell. It seems we already found the bottom (during 2019) and could be making way for a mid-term move to the upside. Story continues I expect price to bounce between the 20-day and 50-day EMAs until we see a serious break to the upside. At the moment, I expect BTC to trade between $7,500 and $8,000, as there’s strong resistance around this key level. To break the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, BTC will have to go past some serious volume levels. I personally see massive resistance at around $8,000 and again near $10,000. Will the trend reverse soon? As veteran traders and investors usually say, smart money “buys when there’s blood on the streets”. I’ve been saying for the past month that I’m waiting for major drops to make new entries. Moments like these are highly welcomed and appreciated. I strongly believe Bitcoin to be a long-term store of value, especially as traditional markets continue to show weaknesses. How can the markets continue to push higher after the ECB’s recent rate cuts, the continuous share buybacks from huge corporations, or the inverted bond yield shoving investors away towards riskier assets? In addition, repo market activity – as in loans from central banks to commercial and investment banks – has spiked to new monthly records. That adds up to another signal of weakness for the general economy. We shouldn’t forget that the Bitcoin halving is coming in May 2020, which will put extra positive pressure on price as the number of Bitcoin minted per block is halved. The key aspect of the halving event is to work out whether it has already been priced-in by miners. I personally doubt it, since most people (and businesses) have a short-term mindset. In addition, miners’ behaviour shows there’s additional specialisation with better hardware being developed and released. Not only would that make the hash rate go up, it would also diminish profitability for the entire mining space. Therefore, I see miners pushing for lower prices until the halving takes place. The harder it is to mine until the halving, the more miners will drop off, leaving more room for profits for the players who stay. In conclusion, investors and traders should pay attention to the overall economic panorama, as it will most likely be a major catalyst for worldwide BTC adoption. Safe trades! Current live Bitcoin pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest Bitcoin price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BTCtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BTCtoGBP Japanese Yen – BTCtoJPY Euro – BTCtoEUR Australian Dollar – BTCtoAUD Russian Rouble – BTCtoRUB About Bitcoin In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.org was registered. On 31st October 2008, a paper was published called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. This was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of Bitcoin. To date, no one knows who this person, or people, are. The paper outlined a method of using a P2P network for electronic transactions without “relying on trust”. On 3rd January 2009, the Bitcoin network came into existence. Nakamoto mined block number “0” (or the “genesis block”), which had a reward of 50 Bitcoins. More Bitcoin news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started. As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. The post Latest Bitcoin price and analysis (BTC to USD) appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bomb Threats Demanding Bitcoin Force Evacuations Across Russia: Someone has been sending bomb threats across Russia, demanding $870,000 worth of bitcoin supposedly stolen from the defunct cryptocurrency exchange WEX. For almost a month, anonymous blackmailers have been threatening to blow up courts, schools, shopping malls, transportation hubs and a television station unless someone sends 120 bitcoin stolen from the WEX exchange to their address . No one was hurt, nor were any bombs detonated, but 750,000 people have had to evacuate buildings since the threats started on Nov. 28, Russian news agency Interfax reports . Court buildings in Moscow and Saint Petersburg were the first to receive threats. Related: Alleged BTC-e Operator Alexander Vinnik to Be Extradited to France: Reports So far only a negligible amount of bitcoin, about $0.48 worth, has been sent to the address, in a single transaction on Dec. 9. The anonymous actors are blaming Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev and a former officer of Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), Anton Nemkin, for the alleged theft of bitcoin, citing a report by the BBC published in November. The story cited the testimony of the alleged administrator of WEX, Alexei Bilyuchenko. According to Bilyuchenko, two FSB officers forced him to hand over all the bitcoin from the wallets of the crypto exchange, the successor of another failed exchange, BTC-e. He also claimed that Malofeev and Nemkin were demanding that he hand over the database of WEX users to them. WEX froze withdrawals and gradually ceased operations last year, soon after it was sold by its previous CEO Dmitri Vasilev to Dmitri Khavchenko, a militia fighter in the civil war in Ukraine, known to be close to Malofeev. Related: Ex-Kraken Employee Alleges Unethical and Illegal Tactics in Discrimination Lawsuit Millions of dollars worth of crypto left WEXs wallets between July and October 2018, and users started filing police reports . WEXs ex-CEO Vaselev was arrested this summer in Italy at the request of the Russian police but released soon after. Related Stories Circle Pivots to Stablecoin Platform as More Execs, Teams Depart State Street Teams up With Winklevoss-Founded Gemini Exchange for Digital Assets Trial || Bakkt CEO Will Be Asked to Fill Georgia Senate Seat in 2020: Report: Crypto custodian Bakkt’s chief executive Kelly Loeffler has reportedly been picked by Governor Brian Kemp to serve in the U.S. Senate until the special election in November 2020. Loeffler will likely be asked next week to serve as the replacement of U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson , who has announced plans to vacate his senate seat on December 31, according to a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, citing “several senior GOP officials.” Last re-elected in 2016, Isakson is set to leave office before the expiration of his term in 2022. Kemp has authority to pick a replacement to fill in until the special election in November 2020. Related: Bakkt’s Bitcoin Futures Launch in Singapore in Just Two Weeks The governor’s office, The Republican National Committee, Georgia Republican Party and Senator Isakson’s office have not responded to a request for comment from CoinDesk. The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) declined to comment. A subsidiary of ICE announced in 2018, Bakkt said it was cleared to launch in September, providing physically-settled bitcoin futures contracts. It also has plans for a consumer facing app next year. Loefller previously served as chief communication and marketing director at ICE. Additional reporting by Brady Dale. Related Stories Bakkt, Fidelity Will Store Galaxy Digital’s New Bitcoin Fund Holdings Bakkt in Discussions to Offer Cash-Settled Bitcoin Futures in Singapore Bakkt Expands Bitcoin Custody Service Beyond Futures Trading Clients View comments || Lawsuit Shows How a Public Firm’s $80M Bet on Bitcoin Miners Went Terribly Wrong: In March 2018, shortly after bitcoin’s bull run to $20,000, a publicly-traded Chinese company invested 500 million yuan, worth $80 million at the time, to buy 100,000 bitcoin mining units.
As the bear market kicked in during the months that followed, so, too, did a contract dispute, offering a rare window into Chinese public firms tapping into bitcoin mining as a new business stream and reflecting the prolonged magnitude of last year’s market sell-off.
The $80 million mining investment made by Beijing Cailiang, an app developer fully-owned by Shenzhen-listedWholeasy, brought home almost negligible profit return in 2018. Yet it dragged the company into a lawsuit involving $15 million in debt and a potential criminal case with accusation of fraudulent public disclosure.
Related:GSR Partners With Canaan-Tied Startup to Offer Crypto Miners Derivatives
Though the amount at dispute may seem insignificant, the case sheds light on the increasing investments by institutions in China into an area where even public entities typically shy away from public discussions.
Gaming app and marketplace provider Wholeasy, with now a $500 million market cap,disclosedlast Thursday that Chinese law enforcement has opened a criminal case against bitcoin miner supplier Ebang. Wholeasy’s Cailiang subsidiary filed the complaint, accusing Ebang of committing sales fraud.
That evening in China, Ebang, one of the three Chinese bitcoin miners that attempted to go public in Hong Kong in 2018,saidin an urgent response that Cailiang filed the police report in a malicious attempt to play the victim.
The miner maker released a dozen pages of sales contracts and delivery receipts as supporting documents to debunk Cailiang’s story. Ebang said it had already filed a separate report to financial regulators in China accusing Cailiang of fraudulent disclosure on its liability as a public company.
Related:Canaan’s Post-IPO Stock Plunge Reveals Sales Slump, Price War With Bitmain
The escalation followed a civil contract dispute case over an unpaid amount of 100 million yuan, worth $15 million, as part of the two parties’ $80 million bitcoin miner sales agreement in March of last year.
Ebang sued Cailiang inApril 2019, demanding the defendant to pay the remaining overdue balance for the shipment of all 100,000 units of bitcoin miners. However, Cailiang claimed that it had only received 65,000 units and thus shouldn’t be liable for the remaining payments. The case was tried on Nov. 26 and is pending the judge’s ruling.
“Their malicious report to the police is nothing but an attempt to escalate it to a criminal case to interfere with a civil lawsuit,” Ebang said of its miner buyer’s motivation.
Following the news on Friday, Wholeasy’s share price dropped by eight percent on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. It has further declined by 10 percent as of press time during China’s Monday trading hours.
As of June 30, Wholeasy’s cash in its current asset on the balance sheet was $7 million, down from $10 million on Dec. 31 2018.
Started out as a gaming app developer and in-game ad distributor, Cailiang was fully acquired by Wholeasy in July 2017 under the condition that it should bring the parent company a net profit of $7 million, $8 million and $10 million for 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively.
Soon after the acquisition, Cailiang kicked off a business unit during Q4 2017, amid bitcoin’s price surge, that it called a “high capacity cloud computing server business and hosting service”, according to Wholeasy’s 2017 financialreport.
There was no mention of bitcoin, mining, miner or even blockchain in the report. That year, Cailiang made $5 million in net profit on a revenue of $21 million.
But Cailiang’s 2018 financial reportindicatedthat the only new business area that it had expanded into in the year was “a new cloud computing server (miner) brokerage and rental service” available for individual and institutional customers.
In fact, Cailiang incorporated a mining farm in July 2018 calledMobcolor, headquartered in California with offices in Colorado and North Dakota.
And Cailiang’s 2018 revenue indeed saw significant growth with $52 million, more than double compared to 2017, while the net profit grew to $8.2 million.
But assuming Cailiang’s gaming business made the same revenue and profit in 2018 as it did in 2017, its mining-related business may only have brought home $3 million in net profit on a $31 million revenue.
And that’s after the $80 million investment, which bought 100,000 units of Ebang’s older E9+ model that have a much shorter utility life compared to more advanced products that hit the market recently.
Further, Cailiang doubled down in 2018 on its research and development cost on crypto-related services including a mining pool and, notably, a crypto exchange service despite China’s tough stance on crypto trading activities.
Based on the 2018 financial report, as of October last year, Cailiang completed the main development work for “a digital asset exchange that offers crypto-to-crypto as well as over-the-counter trading for mainstream digital assets such as BTC and ETH.”
The firm said the main goal of the exchange is to facilitate assets trading for overseas mining customers via its mining pool in order to “improve its profitability.”
Based on Ebang’s sales agreement with Cailiang released in its Thursday response, the bitcoin miners sold to the buyer in 2018 was the E9+ series, at a price of 5,000 yuan each, or $720.
At bitcoin’s current price, mining rewards and difficulty, these machines can only make a slightly positive daily return if electricity costs falls below $0.04 per kilo-watt hour, according to f2pool’s mining profitabilityindex.
As such, the valuation of these units in the second-hand market likely won’t be anywhere near the original price. The ask and bid prices for more widely-used Bitmain’s AntMiner S9 can now be seen around $100 to $150.
Cailiang’s financial report for the first half of 2019 indicates that mining-related service is no longer among its top three businesses, although it had acquired another $3 million worth of mining equipment with ongoing mining site construction.
For the first six months of 2019, Cailiangmade$3.5 million in net profit on an $18 million revenue, not yet half way through the promised target of $10 million in net profit. The company has not responded to email request for comment.
The crypto market’s downturn, especially in the second half of 2018, had caused more than 600,000 miners to shut down amid a broader industry reshuffle.
But bitcoin’s price rebound since March 2019 rejuvenated interests in mining, pushing bitcoin network’s mining difficulty to an all-time-high near 100 exahashes per second (EH/s) around October.
As bitcoin’s price has largely remained unchanged over the past month, the network’s total computing power kept steady at the 90 EH/s level.
However, faster and more efficient mining machines than the allegedly unpaid-for E9+ models are already in place elsewhere, so it may be too late for Cailiang.
• Bitmain’s Miner Manufacturing Subsidiary Had $680K in Assets Frozen in a Contract Dispute
• Founder of Bitmain Rival MicroBT Arrested for Alleged Embezzlement || Nigeria’s telecom regulator invests in blockchain startup Wicrypt: The Nigerian Communications Commission, the country’s telecom regulator, has invested 2 million nairas (~$5,500) in blockchain startup Wicrypt.
Wicryptfacilitatesblockchain-based WiFi sharing service, which allows users to earn money by sharing their internet connection. Users can register via Wicrypt’s mobileappand deposit funds using fiat currency, as well as three cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and Binance coin (BNB). Hosts, on the other hand, can withdraw their earnings in fiat or cryptocurrency.
Wicryptsaysit has an inbuilt wallet that verifies a beneficiary has enough funds to start using the service. “Wicrypt automatically cuts off a beneficiary when his money is exhausted. It allows automatic connection between user and beneficiary once the beneficiary has enough funds to start using the service,” it added.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Twitter, Bitcoin Konusunda Sessizliğe Bürünüyor https://t.co/nYoY8sRLdp #bitcoin #ethereum #altcoin #kriptopara #blockchain || ☀️ Bitcoin: quién es el creador y para qué sirve... https://t.co/S7pTispSTR || I always welcome talk about ＃Bitcoin and ＃Blockchain 😄
#暗号通貨 #ビットコイン #MLM #ICO #仮想通貨 #アルトコイン https://t.co/QTYBJrig4N || 11月16日 (土) 20:00〜 open
Twitter見たで割引！
初回ご利用の方、2回目以降ご利用の方関わらず、
40min 7.000円
60min 8.000円 ＋場内指名無料
#歌舞伎町 #CLUBSLOW #スロウ
#セクキャバ #おっパブ
#歌舞伎町キャバクラ
#bitcoin決済可能 #銀聯カード決済
#外国人大歓迎
#従業員募集 https://t.co/lQsNKM7oZb || =====Antminer Bitmain T9+ 10.5 TH/s – USA Seller- Free shipping! No Power Supply https://t.co/ZcmmyNcX1X #bitcoin #crypto #antminer #bitmain || BUYING activity
MARKET FUEL Binance
Duration: 26 min
Maker buy 16.12%
Volume 24h: 13.13 BTC
Bought: 2.12 BTC
$FUEL #cryptotrading #bullish #binance || 3 lições de um CEO que assumiu o cargo de diretor de marke..
ThinkwithGoogle - News - Noticias - Twitter - Blockchain - Bitcoin - @1jl4com - @bitcoinincoins - @Health14Fitness - @Marketing_1jl4 - @InvestCrypForex - @News_1jl4 > https://t.co/lV0a4DIa9d https://t.co/uVXhSRfYi2 || Bitfinex Looks to Launch Options Trading As Soon As Q1 2020 https://t.co/gdAlWOIJhm #XBT #BTC #Bitcoin || Low RSI may well mean a bounce is in the works but it is extremely bearish. It shows the bears have all control. Same way high RSI is bullish. Take it how you please. || $VEN is now worth $0.00 (nan%) and BTC (nan%) #VEN
➡️ https://t.co/SLE6sBMhBz
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Trend: up || Prices: 8079.86, 7879.07, 8166.55, 8037.54, 8192.49, 8144.19, 8827.76, 8807.01, 8723.79, 8929.04
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Marathon Patent Group and DMG Blockchain Solutions to Form the Digital Currency Miners of North America (DCMNA) and Launch North America’s First Cooperative Mining Pool: VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Patent Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), (“Marathon”) and DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (DMGGF: OTC US) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) (“DMG”) have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to form Digital Currency Miners of North America (“DCMNA”), which will be a U.S.-based non-profit entity whose mission is to create a better mining environment for North American miners, to help improve their financial performance, and to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool.
Marathon Patent Group and DMG’s U.S. subsidiary, Blockseer, are working together to establish DCMNA, a non-profit entity focused on North American digital currency opportunities, including decentralizing the Bitcoin hashrate and providing more transparency for North American miners. DCMNA’s principal initiative is to create North America’s first cooperative mining pool by licensing Blockseer’s mining pool to all DCMNA members in a cooperative structure. Mining partners who are members will receive rebates based on the hash rate they contribute to the overall pool, thus improving the mining profitability of DCMNA members.
As a founding member of DCMNA and one of North America’s largest enterprise Bitcoin mining companies, Marathon will put all of its mining hashrate (equivalent to 10.36 EH/s, or 7.6% of the total Bitcoin network’s hashrate, if all miners were deployed today at current levels) into the pool.
Benefits of the mining pool include, but are not limited to:
• Profit sharing, whereby miners receive rebates based on their contributed hashrate
• Increased transparency as all financial information will be audited by a third-party U.S.-based financial audit firm
• Lobbying efforts to improve the policies and regulatory environment in North America for miners
• “Clean block mining” that adheres to the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s (OFAC’s) compliance standards and reduces the risk of mining blocks that include transactions linked to nefarious activities
DCMNA is focused on increasing transparency, trust, and accountability in the emerging mining industry, particularly as more institutions embrace Bitcoin as a store of value. Unlike other Bitcoin mining pools, Blockseer’s pool will be audited by an independent auditing firm, ensuring that the miners receive accurate rewards and that auditors and regulators can trust the data provided. Using DMG’s proprietary patent pending technologies, the pool will also create transaction blocks that specifically omit any transactions deemed risky by Walletscore, and which may not meet OFAC standards. As a result, North American miners who are DCMNA members will reduce the risk of the blocks they mine containing transactions tied to criminal or terrorist-related activities.
DCMNA will also act as unified group to lobby government bodies and regulators on behalf of its membership. The organization will be governed by its mining members, while Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto, will serve as DCMNA’s inaugural chairman. A membership committee will also be formed to develop and regulate DCMNA’s operations and investments in North American digital currency mining issues, which will be identified by its membership.
“We are tremendously proud to lead the launch of DCMNA, a non-profit organization, whose first mandate is to bring its members a vast improvement in mining pool operations by licensing the Blockseer pool to serve our North American mining members,” said Marathon’s executive chairman, Merrick Okamoto. “To date, companies such as ours have relied on pools primarily based in Asia to connect to the Bitcoin network, and we have been frustrated by the lack of transparency and audited data. Marathon has been a leader both in terms of market capitalization and also in terms of lobbying regulators on behalf of our industry, and we look forward to working diligently to build the capabilities of DCMNA on behalf of our mining partners and DCMNA’s new members.”
Dan Reitzik, DMG’s CEO added, “It is an honor to work with Marathon to establish the DCMNA and to provide the technological components for the DCMNA organization. When DMG acquired Datient, the parent of Blockseer in 2018, our intention was to create solutions that would benefit our industry as a whole and increase trust in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Mining is a unique industry, in that miners do not necessarily compete with one another for customers or contracts, but instead work together to secure the blockchain on which Bitcoin transactions are processed. It simply makes sense to amalgamate North American miners toward common goals, and the Blockseer pool is the ideal way in which to lead this process in a safe, transparent, and compliant way.”
Terms of the memorandum of understanding include DMG licensing Blockseer’s technology and associated intellectual property to DCMNA, as well as the management of pool operations. Upon completion of a definitive agreement, detailed terms and conditions will be provided in an upcoming news release. Pool operations are expected to commence shortly after entering into a definitive agreement.
About Marathon Patent GroupMarathon is a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets.
About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.DMG is a vertically integrated blockchain and cryptocurrency company that manages, operates, and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the blockchain ecosystem. DMG’s businesses are segmented into three main divisions: data centre operations, data analytics and forensics and developing enterprise blockchains. DMG’s data centre operations focus on earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees by mining primarily bitcoin as well as providing hosting services for industrial mining clients. DMG’s data analytics and forensic services provide technical expertise software products such as Blockseer Pool, Mine Manager and Walletscore, as well as working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement organizations. DMG’s permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMG’s strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMG’s management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry.
For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit:www.dmgblockchain.com
On behalf of the Board of Directors,Daniel Reitzik, CEO & Director
For further information, please contact:
Marathon Patent Group Company Contact:Jason AssadTelephone: 678-570-6791Email:Jason@marathonpg.com
Marathon Patent Group Investor Contact:Gateway Investor RelationsMatt Glover and Charlie SchumacherTelephone: 949-574-3860Email:MARA@gatewayir.com
DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.Email: investors@dmgblockchain.comWeb:www.dmgblockchain.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the Company’s plans for the potential establishment of this new DCMNA pool and definitive agreement, to increase petahash (PH) by self-mining, price of bitcoin, plans and intentions, other potential transactions, acquisition of customers, product development, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company’s technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as “may”, “expect”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “believe” and “continue” or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG’s bitcoins; DMG’s relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG’s facilities; DMG’s ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers’ needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG’s business.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company’s ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG’s products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. || First Mover: Reminiscing on Pre-Pandemic Bitcoin as Rally Stalls: Bitcoin (BTC) was rising for a fourth straight day, though in a repeat of last week’s action the cryptocurrency struggled to push above $20,000 after its months-long rally from a low around $5,000 in March. “The level of $20,000, which is commonly equated with bitcoin’s all-time high, represents a massive psychological barrier and could likely require a lot of force to break through,” Mati Greenspan, founder of the foreign-exchange and cryptocurrency research firm Quantum Economics, wrote in his newsletter. In traditional markets , Asian stocks fell the most in two weeks but European equities were steady. U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open after a four-day slump. According to Bloomberg News, investors were pricing in optimism about a vaccine rollout while harboring doubts on the latest efforts by U.S. lawmakers to negotiate a new stimulus bill. The so-called third wave of the coronavirus is leading to new lockdown measures. Gold strengthened 1% to $1,846 an ounce. Market moves Related: Becoming Self Sovereign: How to Set Up a Bitcoin Node, With Lightning ( Editor’s note: This is the second installment of First Mover’s recap of how the bitcoin market evolved over the course of 2020 and what it means for the future. Today we cover January and February, just before the fast-spreading coronavirus began to take its toll on the global economy, sending markets into a tailspin and leading to an unprecedented financial response from governments and central banks around the world.) Trillions of dollars of money-printing this year by the Federal Reserve and other central banks have galvanized bitcoin’s use as a hedge against currency debasement by investors from both cryptocurrency markets and traditional finance. But even before the pandemic-related economic stimulus hit global markets, economists were already openly speculating whether the U.S. dollar could survive another decade as the world’s dominant currency for international payments and foreign reserves. Story continues Historically, after all, a catalyst always led to one currency supplanting another as the world’s most important medium of transaction, unit of accounting and store of value. The U.S. dollar had emerged as the world’s leading currency during the early 20th century when it took over from debt-strapped Britain’s pound; a century before that, Holland’s guilder was undone by the French Emperor Napoleon’s invasion. Related: Will Wall Street Ruin Bitcoin? Featuring Ben Hunt and Alex Gladstein In early 2020, China’s proposed digital currency was seen as a potential threat to the greenback, and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney had gone so far as to propose a “ synthetic hegemonic currency ,” potentially provided “through a network of central bank digital currencies.” “There’s a lot of discussion of substitutes for the dollar as the global reserve currency,” Bill Adams, senior international economist for the U.S. bank PNC, told CoinDesk around the start of the year. But based on officials tallies of the dollar’s share of global foreign reserves, the U.S. currency looked as strong as ever. It didn’t take long for the bitcoin market to get a jolt – after a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian commander during the first week of January , fueling speculation that heightened geopolitical turmoil might spur demand for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin jumped to $7,300, as analysts said it might serve as a safe-haven asset similar to gold, whose value is expected to hold in times of geopolitical or economic instability. The flap soon faded from the news and crypto traders turned to what they thought would be the bitcoin market’s marquee event of the year – the once-every-four-years “halving” that would take place in May, where the pace of new supply of cryptocurrency issued from the Bitcoin network gets cut by 50%. It’s stipulated in the 11-year-old blockchain’s underlying programming. From December through February, Google searches on the term “bitcoin halving” doubled in a month to the highest levels since 2016, and some enthusiasts even created a dedicated website, bitcoinblockhalf.com , to count down the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds until it happens. Cryptocurrency lenders reported a quickening pace of customer activity , in some cases more than 10 times the loan growth reported by big banks like JPMorgan Chase. The traditional financial companies were tethered to the broad economy, where U.S. growth had slowed to a 2.3% expansion in 2019 from the 2.9% clip in 2018. (A newly launched futures contract focused on the U.S. presidential election , launched by the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in early February, suggested Donald Trump had a 62% chance of winning.) Crypto traders bandied about analyst predictions the halving could send prices skyrocketing to $90,000 or higher. They had no idea, of course, how dramatically the events of the ensuing months would reshape the global economic outlook. By late February, traders saw clearly just how far bitcoin was from being a safe haven – as prices tumbled alongside U.S. stocks as authorities globally struggled to stem the spread of the coronavirus beyond China. U.S. Treasury bonds, seen as a traditional safe-haven asset, rallied, as did gold. Bitcoin is “not the same as owning Treasury, and not the same as owning gold,” the cryptocurrency analyst Greg Cipolaro told CoinDesk on Feb. 24. Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer of the crypto-focused firm Arca Funds in Los Angeles, raised the prospect of a separate potential catalyst for higher bitcoin prices: Monetary-policy easing by the Federal Reserve to stimulate coronavirus-infected markets. “I don’t expect bitcoin to trade as risk-on or risk-off asset,” he said. “But over a longer period of time, anything that’s inflationary, or said another way devalues other currencies, strengthens the purchasing power of bitcoin.” That view would take hold in the bitcoin market over the rest of the year, attracting the notice of mutual-fund companies like Fidelity Investments and BlackRock, hedge funds including Tudor Investment and more recently the 169-year-old insurance company MassMutual . Prices have nearly tripled in 2020 to near $20,000. Iran rarely came up again in bitcoiners’ conversations about the market, and these days, there’s barely any market talk about the halving. Now, it’s all about the money printing. Questions remain about the future of the dollar. Coming Wednesday: The coronavirus hits, and bitcoin prices tank – until the Federal Reserve arrives and embarks on the biggest money-printing episode of its 107-year history. – Bradley Keoun Bitcoin watch Bitcoin again failed to hold gains above $19,500 early Tuesday, possibly due to profit-taking by large Asia-based investors, according to one analyst. In the two hours between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. coordinated universal time (UTC), the cryptocurrency fell from about $19,500 to about $19,050. An increased inflow of coins onto the crypto exchange Huobi Global, which has a Hong Kong presence, was observed before prices began falling. “A total of 2,013 coins were transferred to Huobi in blocks 661,425 to 661,430 just 15 minutes before the price dip,” said Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, adding that block number 661,425 carried 1,017 coins, the highest single-block inflow on Huobi since Nov. 30. Monday saw 8,836 BTC arrive on Huobi in total, with a mean transaction of 4.5 BTC, the highest since March 2018, according to CryptoQuant. The uptick in the average size of exchange deposits indicates that larger investors were transferring their coins to Huobi and may have liquidated their holdings around $19,500, a level that has acted as stiff resistance of late. At press time, bitcoin has rebounded to near $19,300, and the path of least resistance for the cryptocurrency remains to the upside, according to analysts . However, forcing a breakout above $20,000 in the short term may prove to be an uphill task for the bulls, since there are sizable sell orders open in the approach to a new record high spot price. “There are still offers above $19,500 up to $20,000,” Patrick Heusser, head of trading at the Zurich-based Crypto Broker AG, told CoinDesk. “The US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase shows 700 bitcoin for sale right at $20,000, but all other exchanges show some offers up there as well in the region of 200-300 coins.” – Omkar Godbole Read More: Bitcoin May Have Hit Wall of Profit Takers Around $19,500 What’s hot Mt. Gox creditors’ wait nearly over as trustee announces draft rehabilitation plan ( Cointelegraph ) Charles Calomiris, chief economist for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, cites benefits of issuing bank charters to stablecoin providers ( CoinDesk ) Wall Street firm Evercore says PayPal’s crypto offering could bring big business boost ( CoinDesk ) Supermarket kiosk company Coinstar adds Coinme bitcoin ATM functionality to 5K change-sorting machines across U.S. ( CoinDesk ) Hybrid blockchain maker Kadena onboards Celo’s dollar stablecoin, plots January launch for decentralized exchange ( CoinDesk ) Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin takes to Twitter to warn followers not to take out personal loans to buy cryptocurrencies ( CoinDesk) Pornhub now accepting crypto only after being cut off by Mastercard and Visa ( CoinDesk ) Analogs The latest on the economy and traditional finance Google outage shows perils of centralization ( CoinDesk ) Reckoning looms for commercial real estate ( WSJ op-ed ) U.S. electoral college votes to formalize Joe Biden’s victory in November U.S. presidential election ( WSJ ) New home price increases slow in China as government pushes to deleverage heavily indebted residential real estate sector to curb financial risk ( Nikkei Asia Review ) Australian prime minister says Chinese ban on coal imports likely breaches World Trade Organization rules ( Bloomberg ) Chinese factory outputs up 7% from a year earlier, signaling recovery as consumer demand increases ( Reuters ) Tweet of the day Related Stories First Mover: Reminiscing on Pre-Pandemic Bitcoin as Rally Stalls First Mover: Reminiscing on Pre-Pandemic Bitcoin as Rally Stalls || Crypto Is a Low-Risk, High-Reward Career Move These Days: There has never been a better time to bet your career on crypto. A series of historic improvements to the fundamentals of the asset class this year have decreased the risk. Meanwhile, the potential rewards are as high as ever. There’s an old saying, “Nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM.” The implication of this statement is that if you make a bold decision and it backfires, you can get fired. But if you make that same decision and de-risk it by hiring a reputable firm to support your decision, you’re good. This post is part of CoinDesk’s Year in Review 2020 – a collection of op-eds, essays and interviews about the year in crypto and beyond. Tony is the co-founder of Cozy Finance , a risk management protocol for DeFi investors. He is also an active angel investor. He is best reached on Twitter . Related: Mr. Curious This is a loser mentality but undeniably true. I’ve heard a similar axiom applied to institutional investing – “Nobody ever got fired for following Yale Endowment” – which was why Yale’s foray into crypto was such a big deal. It de-risked the asset class for Yale’s peers. Here’s a simple framework to help illustrate the point: Most people in most jobs stick to boring activities. They won’t get fired for these low-risk, low-reward decisions but they’re unlikely to make a name for themselves either. They’d love to find low-risk, high-reward opportunities but those are harder to come by. Another way to put it is by highlighting the quadrants that could threaten their survival in their role: Related: Experiments in Crypto’s Governance Lab Anything high-risk could lead to firing. Unsurprisingly, most employers don’t want their people acting stupid or outright gambling. Crypto fell squarely in the risky half of the diagram for most people. Indeed, early adopters took on massive risk by starting companies in crypto or being the “crypto person” at their firm. It took deep conviction in the inevitability of the asset class to take on that risk. Story continues The risk tolerance required to jump into crypto has decreased substantially over the last year with breakout successes from startups, endorsement from the who’s who of institutional investors and a top-to-bottom-to-top market cycle, proving the resiliency of the asset class and those who believe in it. This time last year I wrote for CoinDesk about the need for “ lighthouse customers ” to illuminate the way for high caliber founders and investors. We got that in spades, most notably in decentralized finance (DeFi). I mentioned MakerDAO, Compound and Uniswap as potential trailblazers. MakerDAO’s DAI supply recently crossed $1 billion, Compound has more than $1.5 billion supplied on its platform,and Uniswap volumes have surpassed Coinbase’s several months this year at tens of billions of dollars. Endorsements from legendary investors including Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller embolden other traditional investors. Major financial institutions such as BlackRock and Citi have changed their bearish tune. And previously skeptical influencers such as Jim Cramer have turned into vocal supporters. Last year, I struggled to find enough examples to illustrate my point. This year, there are dozens of similar data points that I have to omit for concision! Just as risk can jeopardize a career, so, too, can reward make a career. Market conditions have validated those who kept their heads down and built during the painful drawdown from 2018 to early 2020. A full top-to-bottom-to-top market cycle turns “crazy” crypto people into “visionaries.” And BTC doesn’t look like a pump and dump, it looks like a macro hedge. Altogether, this shifts the risk profile of crypto out of the danger zone for many people. Betting on crypto can still get you fired, but it’s less likely now that billion-dollar businesses have been built and some of the most well respected figures in institutional investing have made their positions public. See also: Pondering Durian – 4 Big Reasons Bitcoin Belongs in Your Portfolio Meanwhile, the potential rewards are still immense. We have made tremendous progress but we are still in the embryonic stages of the industry. BTC is still a small fraction of the market cap of gold, and one could argue that its potential is much greater than that. While DeFi has exploded, it still represents only a nominal amount of capital compared to traditional markets. And companies everywhere have under-invested in crypto over the years, yielding white space for ambitious people looking for high potential opportunities. Just as risk can jeopardize a career, so, too, can reward make a career. Altogether, risk has gone down while rewards remain high. I expect ambitious people all over the world to recognize that. Eventually the opportunity will sit squarely in the “boring” box as crypto becomes a part of everyday life. But now, the return on investment is as high as it has ever been. For everybody paying attention, the career risk has gone way down and it will take time for everybody to see that. Until then, savvy actors can take advantage of this asymmetry. We’ll get a wave of top talent looking for ways to make their mark in crypto. And they’ll build alongside the battle-tested talent that has been here all along. That’s something to get excited about as we enter the new year. Related Stories Crypto Is a Low-Risk, High-Reward Career Move These Days Crypto Is a Low-Risk, High-Reward Career Move These Days || How One Bitcoin Options Trader Turned $638K Into $4.4M in 5 Weeks: In the run-up to the 2017 market peak, stories abounded of traders who bought bitcoin in the spot market just a few months before only to cash out to the tune of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
The days of tripling or quadrupling your money in just a week or two just by buyingbitcoinmay be behind us. But since those heady days of three years ago, the crypto derivatives market has taken up the mantle of being the place where astonishing returns can occasionally be had by taking huge risks.
Indeed, some traders with bullish outlooks have recently generated significant profits by taking long positions using the cheapout-of-the-money call options. That has given them the same reward as holding multiple bitcoins in the spot market but at a significantly less cost, albeit with more risk.
Related:Bitcoin News Roundup for Dec. 8, 2020
That’s what a bullish call options trade executed five weeks ago on the world’s largest crypto options exchange, Deribit, has achieved.
On Oct. 30, someone (a single trader or small group) bought 16,000 January expiry call options at the $36,000 strike for 0.003 bitcoin per contract, according to data shared by Deribit. The total cost was 48 bitcoin – the number of contracts (16,000) multiplied by the per-contract premium of 0.003 bitcoin.
In dollar terms, the per-contract premium at the time was around $39.90, and the entire trade required an initial outlay of approximately $638,400.
As bitcoin rallied from $13,400 to over $19,000, the premium drawn by the $36,000-strike January expiry call rose from 0.003 bitcoin to 0.0145 bitcoin, generating a paper profit of more than $4 million.
Related:First Mover: Wells Fargo Bitcoin Briefing Could Signal Bull Run Intact
Here is how the net return is calculated:
= [(Option’scurrent priceof 0.0145 BTC x 16,000 contracts) x bitcoin’s current spot market price of $19,200] minus (-) cost of trade.
If the position were to be liquidated now, and assuming dumping on the market 16,000 far-out-of-the-money calls wouldn’t drop the price, the net return ignoring the fees charged by the exchange would be seven times the initial outlay.
A call option gives the holder the right but not the obligation to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a particular date. A put option represents a right to sell. Options on Deribit are also cash-settled, which means when they are exercised it is only the profits that are paid. One options contract represents the right to buy or sell one bitcoin.
As of now, the $36,000 call is an out-of-the-money call option – one which has no intrinsic value due to the spot price hovering below the strike price.
Theoretically, the purchase of the $36,000 call expiring on Jan. 29 is a bet that prices will rise above $36,000 before the end of January, making the option “in-the-money.”
The crypto derivatives market has taken up the mantle of being the place where astonishing returns can occasionally be had by taking huge risks.
However, as markets move higher, the probability of the out-of-the-money option turning into one that is in-the-money rises, boosting the option’s premium, as seen in this case.
If the bull market maintains its pace, the option premium will continue to rise, all things being equal. However, a potential price consolidation would reduce bitcoin’s probability of rising above $36,000 by the end of January and erode the option’s value as the time to expiration draws near (referred to as “theta decay” in options parlance).
Taking on an options trade brings with it even more risk than just buying bitcoin outright. For one, the trader could get wiped out. That’s because the long call position would expire worthless on Jan. 29, yielding a loss of $638,400 (the total premium the trader paid) if bitcoin settles below $36,000 on that day. Then again, the maximum loss the option trader can suffer is limited to the extent of premium paid, which is $638,400 in this case.
If the trader is seeking to liquidate a little bit of the position now, he or she may have a willing buyer out there near current prices for small amounts. As of now, the $36,000-strike call looks somewhat active. A few other traders seem to have bought call options at that strike price.
“Options offer a different strategy to make leveraged profit,” said Shaun Fernando, head of risk and product at Deribit. “In this case, extremely bullish sentiment could be done through buying leveraged futures. However from trading far out-of-the-money calls, it offered the trader a low-risk, high-reward strategy with limited down side. Increase in option price was as a result of underlying move and increased volatility. Underlying [bitcoin] does not necessarily have to cross the strike for a trader to profit.”
At press time, there are more than 20,000 call option contracts open at the $36,000 strike – that’s the highest concentration of open interest at a single strike.
A big open interest buildup in a deep out-of-the-money option is often considered a bullish sign. However, sometimes the data is skewed by a few large trades and thus not reliable as a market indicator, as in this case.
• How One Bitcoin Options Trader Turned $638K Into $4.4M in 5 Weeks
• How One Bitcoin Options Trader Turned $638K Into $4.4M in 5 Weeks || Photos: A look at the nationwide riots today: On Wednesday across the country, hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators gathered in state capitals to oppose President-elect Joe Biden’s win. They massed outside statehouses, rallying while rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. From Georgia to New Mexico to Oklahoma, crowds of people carried signs emblazoned “My vote was stolen!” and “Stop the steal” and waved Trump and U.S. flags. The heated demonstrations broke out as Congress tried to affirm Biden’s Electoral College victory. In some states, officials have ordered closures and evacuations in the face of armed demonstrators. In Colorado, city agencies in Denver closed buildings. In Georgia, the secretary of state and his staff evacuated their offices at the state Capitol. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been the target of President Trump’s fury over his loss in the state by nearly 12,000 votes. (In the midst of demonstrations, Democratic senators cinched Georgia’s Senate runoff.) Trump has encouraged the protests over the past two days. On Wednesday, after hours of chaos, he tweeted a taped video message calling for his supporters to retreat (“You have to go home now”) while claiming baseless election fraud (“We had an election that was stolen from us”). Below, view images of the nationwide gatherings. More must-read stories from Fortune : When to expect $600 checks and $300 enhanced unemployment payments Everything jobless Americans need to know about the $300 unemployment benefit COVID vaccine recipients may still be infectious. When will we know for sure? The biggest conspiracy theories of 2020 (and why they won’t die) A brief history of Bitcoin bubbles This story was originally featured on Fortune.com || There’s Still Value to Be Had in Small Caps and ERSX Has Some to Offer: This article was originally published onETFTrends.com.
Small-cap stocks were among the best-performing assets in the waning stages of 2020, a tide that lifted boats, such as theERShares International Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: ERSX), and while a pullback would be healthy, smaller stocks still look attractive as 2021 ideas.
ERSX selects the most entrepreneurial, primarily Non-US Small Cap companies, that meet the thresholds embedded in their proprietary Entrepreneur Factor (EF). ERShares’ ETF delivers strong performance across a variety of investment strategies without disrupting investors’ underlying risk profile metrics. Their geographic diversity enables them to harness global advantages through additional returns associated with currency fluctuations, strategic geographic allocations, comparative trade imbalances, and relative supply/demand strengths.
Adding to the case for ERSX is that domestic large caps, in the eyes of some market observers, pricey while the opposite is true of some small caps, particularly international fare, which ERSX provides exposure to.
“Broad market valuations are no longer cheap (trailing 2020 PE of 27.8x), even when pricing in recovery from the COVID-19 shock. However, this is largely a function of the strong rally in technology-related shares,” according to Citi.
Adding to the case for ERSX in 2021 is that ETF's uncanny ability to blend growth and value with cyclical and defensive exposures.
“As vaccines and treatments grow, a rotation to such cyclicals is highly likely to play out as the eventual departure of COVID-19 could mean more significant recoveries in the most impacted industries,” notes Citi.
The broad health care sector was a strong outperformer as front line workers became the focus of attention amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Small cap equities have been gaining as of late, posting a strong fourth quarter, highlighting the benefits of ERSX's healthcare exposure.
Modern medicine certainly came to the forefront this year, but it’s a space that will see further strength in the future. Small cap companies can expose investors to companies that are creating the latest and greatest in modern medicine.
“As the population ages in the developed world, the spending habits of this cohort evolves, to the benefit of some companies, including healthcare. Citi analysts note that the healthcare sector has a consistent record of revenues and earnings growth through cycles, but it tends to underperform in the early years of new economic cycles,” according toFinancial Express.
For more on entrepreneurial strategies, visit ourEntrepreneur ETF Channel.
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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM > || US Firm Launches Company-Sponsored Bitcoin Retirement Plans: After running a year-long test, Digital Asset Investment Management (DAiM), a U.S.-based crypto investment adviser, has launched what it says are the first company-sponsored retirement plans supporting bitcoin.
DAiM will serve as an adviser and fiduciary while helping companies create a 401(k) plan that allows a maximum allocation of up to 10% inbitcoinalongside varying degrees of exposure to traditional assets, according to anannouncementThursday.
Cryptocurrency associated with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-compliant plans will be held in New York-regulated Gemini Trust’s cold storage custody.
Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Hits $18.8K as Total Crypto Locked in DeFi Passes $14B
“From the moment we were approved by the State of California in June 2018, we’ve seen incredible inbound demand from individuals eager to invest bitcoin in 401(k)s,” DAiM said in the announcement, adding that conventional plans’ inability to keep up with inflation is a bad deal for savers.
Individuals can choose to take a bigger exposure to bitcoin following a consultation with DAiM and will be able to transfer pension bitcoins in the event of a job switch. Companies can switch to the bitcoin plans from their current provider if desired.
Firms interested in offering the new product to employees in 2021 need to put the plan in place by mid-December 2020, DAiM said.
Also read:Morgan Creek CEO Says Bitcoin Doing ‘Extremely Well’ Due to Fed Reserve’s Dollar Devaluation
Related:10 Metrics Where Bitcoin Has Already Hit New All-Time Highs
“We believe [b]itcoin has demonstrated it has a place in the modern portfolio and individuals should have an opportunity to ‘Get Off Zero’ and invest directly through their retirement account,” the company said.
Bitcoin has received validation as an inflation-hedge and reserve asset from severalpublic companiesandprominent investorsthis year.
• US Firm Launches Company-Sponsored Bitcoin Retirement Plans
• US Firm Launches Company-Sponsored Bitcoin Retirement Plans || Apex DAO: Institutional DeFi Protocol with Decentralized On-chain Governance: NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The blockchain space has exploded massively over the last few years. For the most part, this is due to the growing popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) among cryptocurrency enthusiasts in 2019. DeFi has become so popular because it has presented real-world business scenarios, pushing to solve key problems plaguing the financial industry.
DeFi is a catchy moniker which represents a paradigm shift in our perception of what money entails. Similar to banks and other centralized financial institutions, DeFi offers the same financial products and services but in a decentralized, trustless and borderless environment.
Bitcoin was the first peer-to-peer digital currency and the first successful implementation of blockchain technology. However, blockchain has grown past Bitcoin to give rise to decentralized finance. This recent development represents a turning point for financial applications which gives users freedom to do more with their crypto assets.
The decentralized finance space is a fast-growing ecosystem of open protocols and applications serving thousands of everyday users who use financial products and services. DeFi has expanded its reach to cover various services like lending and borrowing, spot trading and margin trading — and it's still growing fast.
According to DeFi Pulse data, the DeFi space is now worth around $12.4 billion, at the time of writing. This is up from a valuation of barely $80 million in early 2020.
What Is Apex DAO?
Apex DAO is an institutional DeFi protocol based on open distributed protocols leveraging blockchain technology and smart contracts. The protocol maintains true decentralization through a transparent and unbiased governance model.
Apex DAO features an ecosystem of financial solutions in the form of yield farming, corporate loans, synthetic assets, and Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). These solutions are presented as simple DeFi products which everyday users can easily access on the Apex DAO protocol.
The existing financial market is based on board structure and centralized management. This presents some issues, notably personal errors, investor manipulation and lack of transparency. To that end, a viable solution which tackles and eliminates these downfalls is needed now more than ever.
Apex DAO has set out to solve these key issues plaguing traditional financial solutions by entrusting Governance to an Autonomous System Crowdsourcing Process.
How Apex DAO’s Token Ecosystem Works
Apex DAO users can increase their earning potential by tapping into several profit opportunities such as the increase in the token price, distribution of liquidity rewards and dividends obtained from the top layer.
The Apex DAO ecosystem operates in a three-layer structure with an additional side layer for digital asset management. Here’s a brief overview of these layers.
DeFiLayer
This is the first and lowest layer in the Apex DAO ecosystem. The DeFi layer works in conjunction with the side layer to provide everyday users with opportunities to earn profits through yield farming and asset management. Through the advanced asset management services, Apex DAO will maintain investment portfolios (which mainly consist of derivatives and synthetic assets) on behalf of institutional investors. The DeFi layer is operated in a decentralized environment through the Governance Voting System.
Using layer one, individual investors can deposit their tokens into the Apex yield farming pool and earn passive income continuously. In addition, they will also receive periodic dividends on the revenue generated from asset management and SPAC.
Crypto Fundand Corporate Loan
The second layer of the Apex DAO ecosystem features a DeFi lending protocol for individuals and businesses. In the second layer, users will deposit their crypto assets through the asset manager. They can then use the deposited tokens as collateral to invest in the crypto fund. The revenue at the end of the investment period is settled in two ways, depending on the value of the crypto collateral.
One, if the yield on the collateral is less than 6%, then the crypto fund will be terminated and the collateral returned to the user.
On the other hand, if the yield on the collateral is at 6% or more, the tokens used as collateral will be burnt permanently to reduce the supply (thereby increasing the price) and the profits will be disbursed to the user. By adopting deflationary tokenomics, fund investors and token holders can enjoy continued returns on their investment. It’s important to know that users have the power to change the percentage yield by voting through protocol governance.
Special Purpose Acquisition Company, SPAC
As the Crypto Fund and Corporate Loan instruments in layer two increase in valuation, more SPACs will be created through insurance companies and private equity funds.
The SPAC is a unique financing vehicle for acquiring early-stage companies (i.e., prior to IPO and M&A) by raising funds through a public offering and earning revenue in a short time from the sale process.
In the third layer, institutional and private investors will invest in private equity funds. The funds raised will be deposited into an interest-bearing account and will only be disbursed when the company acquisition is completed. In the event that the acquisition is unsuccessful and the fund is liquidated, investors will receive their initial SPAC contribution back.
The SPAC layer in turn provides liquidity for the lower layer (particularly corporate loan) through corporate investment deposits. It's noteworthy that layers two and three are designed to operate under the institutional custody and asset management service. This ensures security of funds and allows them to maintain control over their crypto holdings at all times.
CPMM Market Making
Uniswap was the first decentralized exchange protocol to implement automated market makers (AMMs), providing a better way to trade cryptocurrencies in a decentralized way through liquidity pools.
Uniswap is a popular liquidity protocol which operates under the CPMM automated market-making model. It will be the first DEX platform where Apex DAO will be listed.
The price formula for the CPMM model is based on the functionx*y=k, where x and y represent the supply of two tokens X and Y respectively, and k is the product which must be kept constant.
Instead of centralized buy/sell order books used on crypto exchanges, the token swaps are made through the liquidity pool. In this process, a token is deposited into the liquidity pool, and the targeted token is taken out of the pool based on its quantity and value.
The CPMM model establishes a range of prices for X and Y according to the available liquidity of each token. When the token X supply increases, then the supply of token Y will automatically adjust (in this case, decrease) — and vice versa — to maintain the constant productk.
All pools deliver a fixed amount of rewards, irrespective of the current demand. As such, the liquidity rewards distributed to farmers in a particular pool is inversely proportional to the supply of the farmed token in that pool. However, the received token as a reward is directly proportional to the supply of the token. Hence, as the total value locked increases, the number of rewards that can be received from the pool can be decreased.
The bottom line is this: as the total value locked (i.e., total supply) of the reward token increases, the price of the token increases while the amount of rewards which farmers can obtain from the pool decreases.
On-chain Governance
Tokens distributed in Apex DAO have the same authority as the most DeFi governance proportional to their quantity. Apex DAO doesn’t directly benefit from selling tokens because the value will increase through burning and innovative tokenomics are determined by the voting rights of the token holders. The entire governance process is also transparent.
All in all, the goal of Apex DAO users and the institution remains the same for asset growth because the amount of funds deposited as collateral interferes with the size of higher layer deposits. This results in better revenue circulation leading to the rapid growth of the ecosystem.
By leveraging blockchain and smart contracts, Apex DAO will provide proper programmability, interoperability and transparency in its suite of DeFi solutions, eliminating the need for a trusted third party through decentralized governance by the community. This will help everyday users unlock the full value (and earning potential) of their crypto assets and access financial products and services in a secure, decentralized and trustless environment.
Media contact
Company: ApexDAO Ltd.
Contact: Steffan Mendez
Telephone: +1 (518) 490-9990
E-mail:contact@apexdao.io
Twitter:https://twitter.com/apex_dao
Website:https://apexdao.io/ || Bitcoin Tops $40,000 for the First Time, Pushing the Value of the Worlds Cryptocurrency Over $1 Trillion: Theres never been a lack of skepticism surrounding cryptocurrency . And its fair to say the jury still wavers at times. But with 2021 just a week old, the worlds most polarizing and misunderstood currency is making a strong case for its staying power. On Thursday, the price of a single Bitcoin, the oldest virtual currency, topped $40,000 for the first time, according to Business Insider . The 12 percent increase on the day pushed the total value of Bitcoin to over $700 billion and all cryptocurrency to over $1 trillion for the very first time. More from Robb Report Crypto-Cat? This Sleek 52-Foot Sailing Catamaran Was Just Bought With Bitcoin 'Sitting This out Seems a Poor Option': Why Now Is the Best Time to Invest in Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin vs . Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Should You Invest In? The surge continued into Friday, with Bitcoin valued at over $41,000 as of press time. That means that value of Bitcoin has risen by over 400 percent over the last year. Interest in the virtual currency has been especially high over the last month, during which time its value has more than doubled. The interest has reportedly been driven by investors desire for an alternative asset not tied to a central bank, unlike the dollar or euro. Of course, that interest may or may not last. If nothing else, cryptocurrency has proven itself to be quite volatile in recent years. The value of Bitcoin, for example, crashed from $19,000 to $3,200 between 2017 and 2018. For now, the news is good. With a market cap of over $1 trillion, cryptocurrencies are now worth almost half as much as Apple, the worlds most valuable company, reports Business Insider. It also makes cryptocurrency more valuable than the entire Swiss economy. While the recent surge in Bitcoin value is great news investors, this is especially true for Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator of the virtual currency is believed to own one million Bitcoin. If true, Ars Technica reports that the investment would put his net worth at more than $40 billion. That would make him one of the 35 richest people in the world, according to the Bloombergs Billionaire Index . Bitcoin may be the currency that has most benefited from the recent surge in interest, but other virtual currencies have also seen their value rise as well. By the end of trading on Thursday, Ether, which is used by the Ethereum network, was valued at $140 billion Meanwhile, other notable currencies arent doing too shabby either. Tether is now worth $22 billion, Litecoin sits at $11 billion, and Bitcoin Cash checks in at $8 billion. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . || The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – December 19th, 2020: Bitcoin, BTC to USD, rose by 1.46% on Friday. Following on from a 6.89% rally on Thursday, Bitcoin ended the day at $23,124.0.
It was a mixed start to the day. Bitcoin slipped to an early morning low $22,466.0 before making a move.
Steering clear of the first major support level at $21,445, Bitcoin rose to a late morning intraday high $23,287.0.
Falling short of the first major resistance level at $23,878, however, Bitcoin slid back to a mid-afternoon intraday low $22,362.0.
Steering clear of the major support levels once more, Bitcoin moved back through to $23,000 levels to end the day in the green.
The near-term bullish trend remained intact, supported by the breakthrough to $23,000 levels. For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $11,500 to form a near-term bearish trend.
Across the rest of the majors, it was another mixed day on Friday.
Litecoinrallied by 8.31% to lead the way.
Binance Coin(+2.60%),Cardano’s ADA(+1.13%),Chainlink(+0.42%),Ethereum(+1.77%), andRipple’s XRP(+1.29%) also joined Bitcoin in the green.
It was a bearish day for the rest of the majors, however.
Bitcoin Cash SV(-0.50%),Crypto.com Coin(-5.52%) and Polkadot (-1.00%) saw red on the day
For the current week, the crypto total market cap fell to a Monday low $545.05bn before rising to a Thursday high $679.01bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $643.64bn.
Bitcoin’s dominance fell to a Monday low 64.21% before rising to a Friday high 66.72%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 66.38%.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.71% to $22,960.0. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $23,188.0 before falling to a low $22,952.0
Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.
Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day.
Binance Coin and Polkadot bucked the trend early on, with gains of 0.53% and 0.17% respectively.
It was a bearish start for the rest of the majors, however.
At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was down by 1.58% to lead the way.
Bitcoin would need to avoid a fall through the pivot level at $22,924 to bring the first major resistance level at $23,487 into play.
Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break out from Friday’s high $23,287.0.
Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and resistance at $23,500 would likely cap any upside.
In the event of another extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could test resistance at $24,000 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $23,849.
Failure to avoid a fall through the $22,924 pivot would bring the first major support level at $22,562 into play.
Barring an extended crypto sell-off, Bitcoin should steer well clear of sub-$22,000 levels. The second major support level sits at $21,999.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 38356.44, 35566.66, 33922.96, 37316.36, 39187.33, 36825.37, 36178.14, 35791.28, 36630.07, 36069.80
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Brainstorm Health: GOP Tax Plan and Obamacare, Trump Health Pick and Drug Prices: Hello, readers! This is Sy.
The contours of theGOP tax plancurrently making its way through Congress are in flux. But the sprawling bill from the U.S. Senate would, in addition to reshaping individuals’ and corporations’ tax rates, also have broad effects on American health care—including millions in insurance coverage losses and premium hikes, even if Congress also passes certain fixes to shore up Obamacare markets, the nonpartisanCongressional Budget Office (CBO) said in a new reportreleased Wednesday.
Health care became intimately mired in the tax reform debate as Senate Republicans heeded President Trump’s call to tack on a repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate, one of the health law’s most unpopular measures, into their plan. The mandate requires all Americans to carry insurance (subsidized for the vast majority of people buying individual health insurance plans) or pay a tax penalty.
Trump and the Congressional GOP have long aimed to nix that requirement. But they’ve been unsuccessful to date in part because the CBO has projected that repealing the mandate would lead to millions of fewer insured Americans relative to current law while also hiking rates. And while experts may quibble over the precise magnitude of those effects, the CBO hasn’t equivocated about the overall trend.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around how effective the mandate has been,” Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the independent health care think tank Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), toldFortunein an interview. “But CBO has said the direction of the effect is clear. Repealing the mandate would increase premiums, would increase the number of people who are uninsured.”
Just how big of an effect would a mandate repeal have? According to CBO, 13 million fewer people would be insured in 2027 compared with current law while premiums would spike 10%. That’s because, without the policy “stick” of a mandate, healthier and wealthier people would likely drop out of Obamacare’s marketplaces, in turn making individual insurance risk pools more costly by disproportionately leaving them with sicker Americans.
That projection been a big road block for more moderate Republican Senators like Maine’s Susan Collins. But Collins reportedly hascome around on the issueafter Trump assured her he would support a pair of bipartisan “fixes” to Obamacare—one that wouldguarantee insurer paymentsthat help lower out-of-pocket medical costs for poorer Americans and another (co-sponsored by Collins) that would establish reinsurance funding to give insurance companies more market certainty.
Whether such bills would pass a Congress with general antipathy toward Obamacare is an open question. But, even if they did, CBO now says they would do little to make up for the damage wrought by axing the individual mandate.
“If legislation were enacted that incorporated both the provisions of the Bipartisan Health Care Stabilization Act and a repeal of the individual mandate, the agencies expect that the interactions among the provisions would be small; the effects on premiums and the number of people with health insurance coverage would be similar to those referenced above,”wrote CBOin its new analysis.
A sizable number of consumers would be shielded from the rate hikes since more than 70% of Obamacare plan holders receive federal subsidies to help pay their monthly premiums. Those subsidies would rise in tandem with insurers’ rates. But Americans making too much money to qualify for the subsidies would be out of luck—which could be financially devastating for people with costly medical needs. “It would have the biggest effect on the middle class,” as Levitt explained.
Then there’s the matter of whether or not more insurance companies would exit Obamacare markets since a repeal of the individual mandate would introduce even more uncertainty to the health law. “Repeal of the individual mandate could be the final straw for some insurers,” said Levitt.
Read on for the day’s news.
Duke researchers create heart patch with stem cells.Biomedical engineers at Duke University have made an “artificial human heart muscle large enough to patch over damage typically seen in patients who have suffered a heart attack,” the university announced in apress release. In a study, the researchers used pluripotent stem cells to create a “patch” of new heart tissue that could then be placed over damaged, scarred tissue from a heart attack. Regenerating dead heart tissue is particularly hard since it viable heart muscle has to be able to both contract and emit electrical signals; the patch method instead serves as a band aid for the scarred heart tissue.(FierceBiotech)
Trump’s health secretary pick says high drug prices are a problem.Former Eli Lilly executive and George W. Bush administration official Alex Azar has come under some scrutiny for his close ties to an industry he would regulate as Secretary of Health and Human Services. That issue came up from both Democrats and Republicans during a Senate confirmation hearing for Azar on Wednesday. His response? “The current system of pricing insulins and other medicines may meet the needs of many stakeholders, but that system is not working for the patients who have to pay out of pocket, and we have to recognize that impact,” he said. Azar said that tackling high drug prices would be a top priority of his if confirmed to the HHS post. But that doesn’t mean drug makers should necessarily be shaking in their boots quite yet—most of the proposals discussed by the Trump administration and Azar are largely industry-friendly, such as fighting patent trolls and helping get drugs (especially generic drugs) to market faster.
The war on HIV is working—but there’s plenty more to do.The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is out with anencouraging report on the battle against HIV: We’re getting better at it, particularly when it comes to getting treatment early on. “[T]he estimated median time from HIV infection to diagnosis was three years in 2015. CDC previously estimated that, in 2011, the median time from HIV infection to diagnosis was three years and seven months,” wrote the health agency. “The seven-month improvement is a considerable decrease over a four-year period and reinforces other recent signs that the nation’s approach to HIV prevention is paying off.” Still, about 15% of Americans living with HIV don’t know they’re infected, and the progress hasn’t been uniform among all demographics and U.S. states.
Bitcoin Breaks the $11,000 Mark After Climbing by $3,000 in a Week,by Lucinda Shen
Apple Apologizes, Patching Security Hole That Lets Anyone Log on to Any Mac,by John Patrick Pullen
Intel Partners With Warner Bros to Develop VR for Self-Driving Cars,by Kirsten Korosec
Latest NSA Leak Reveals Secret Army Intelligence Project,by Don Reisinger
Produced by Sy Mukherjee@the_sy_guysayak.mukherjee@fortune.comFindpastcoverage. Sign up for otherFortunenewsletters. || Dash Cryptocurrency Builds Base After Setting Record Above $500: Dash is seeking direction after hitting new highs. After reaching a new record above $500 on Sunday, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell back to near $350 today before regaining poise above the $400 mark. As of writing, the dash-U.S. dollar ( DASH/USD ) exchange rate is $403. As per CoinMarketCap , the cryptocurrency is up 4.58 percent over the last 24 hours, and 48 percent in the last week. The record rally seen over the weekend is reportedly due to the flow of money out of bitcoin and into alternative cryptocurrencies triggered by last week's suspension of the Segwit2x hard fork. Following the last-minute move to halt a controversial bitcoin upgrade, the markets saw a broad rally in the tokens of competing blockchains such as dash, bitcoin cash and others. Also possibly driving price gains, the dash core team has announced the latest release of its software , an update that would bring a 2 MB block size and lower and transaction fees. The move may further strengthen the appeal of dash as a payment network, especially among those who believe that modifications to its blockchain will ultimately boost performance. Indeed, price chart analysis suggests the base has shifted higher to around $380 levels and that markets could revisit record highs sooner rather than later. Dash chart The above chart shows: Prices spiked after spending a better part of the last month defending the support level of $250. The 5-day MA and 10-day MA signal a strong bullish bias (slope upwards), thus dips are likely to be short-lived. The rising trendline (red) is seen offering support around $325 levels and the descending trendline is likely to act as a support around $306 levels. Yesterday's close was above the critical resistance of $414. Thus, the stars seem nicely aligned in favor of the bulls. However, the relative strength index is overbought. Furthermore, the 1-hour chart below does show scope for a pullback to $350 levels. Story continues 1-hour chart The chart above shows: Bearish price RSI divergence led to a strong pullback. The RSI favors further losses. However, the 50-MA and 100-MA are sloping upwards, so any dips to $350 levels are likely to be short-lived. View A potential technical correction $350 cannot be ruled out but could be quickly reversed. Given the upward sloping nature of the key moving averages, the base appears to have shifted higher to around $380 levels. A nice consolidation around $380–$400 could yield a fresh rally to record highs above $500. Elevator buttons image via Shutterstock Related Stories Ripple Makes a Splash: XRP Price Looks Up on Amex News Up and Away? Bitcoin Price Eyes $8,000 Or Higher Bitcoin Nears $7,900 to Hit New All-Time High Bitcoin Cash Dips to $1,000, But a Recovery May Be on the Cards || Think bitcoin's getting expensive? Try Zimbabwe: By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - For most investors around the world, bitcoin is a volatile and highly speculative bet. For Zimbabweans, however, the cryptocurrency seems to offer rare protection from the onset of hyperinflation and financial implosion.
Some are turning to bitcoin out of desperation as their bank deposits lose value almost by the day, while others are using the online currency for housekeeping such as funding family members studying abroad.
The result is startling. Bitcoin's (BTC=BTSP) global surge to a record high of $7,888 last week - a sevenfold increase since the start of the year - has been spectacular enough. But on Harare's bitcoin exchange, Golix (golix.io), the price hit $13,900, a 40-fold jump in the same period.
Warnings abound internationally that bitcoin may be a bubble waiting to burst. But the dire state of the Zimbabwean financial system under President Robert Mugabe is encouraging risk-taking.
"I have now changed all my reserves to bitcoin because that is the only way I can protect my investment," said Arnold Manhizwa, who works for an IT and telecoms company in Harare.
The government adopted the U.S. dollar in 2009 after a bout of hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwean dollar worthless, wiping out savings in the now defunct national currency.
After a period of relative stability, acute shortages of dollar cash have set in, leaving Zimbabweans with electronic units in their bank accounts which are officially called dollars but have a far lower - and rapidly decreasing - value.
In January if they wanted to buy $100 in cash they had to transfer $120 out of their account to a seller on the parallel market. Now the price is $180 in what are nicknamed "zollars".
GRAPHIC: Devalued zollarshttp://tmsnrt.rs/2mwbtLU
Nearly all domestic transactions are made via debit card or transfers using mobile phones. But some economists estimate inflation is more than 50 percent a month in zollar terms, far from the official, dollar-calculated rate of 0.38 percent.
Zimbabweans are therefore piling into anything they think might retain value. Prices of cars, real estate and stocks have all soared, with the Harare bourse's main industrial index (.INDZI) doubling in the last two months.
For people like Manhizwa, a 34-year-old father of two, bitcoin is almost a safe-haven asset. "If I have $500 in the bank I won't get it back and I will be losing value, but when I have my bitcoin it is going up every day," he told Reuters.
Manhizwa, who participates in online chatrooms discussing cryptocurrencies, says he deposited $20 in bitcoin for his newly-born daughter a few months ago. Now it's worth over $200. "If I put that money in a bank right now in Zimbabwe I will be left with nothing," he said.
CLEAR RISKS
Globally, the value of all cryptocurrencies is more than $170 billion and bitcoin, the biggest and best-known, has outperformed all traditional currencies every year since 2011, except for 2014. But many international investors still view it as an opaque instrument used by gun-runners and drug-dealers on the Dark Web that should be avoided.
The risks are clear. After reaching the record peak, the international price of bitcoin slid over $1,000 in less than 48 hours last week. In Zimbabwe, the Golix exchange's website showed at one point on Sunday that the price had tumbled below $11,000, a drop of around eight percent in 24 hours.
But all this has to be compared with the zollar. "Many people view bitcoin, despite its volatile nature, as a better store of value," said in-house Golix cryptocurrency analyst Taurai Chinyamakobvu.
The same is true in other financially troubled countries such as Venezuela, where the currency has also been eroded by rocketing inflation, pushing bitcoin prices sharply higher.
In Zimbabwe, bitcoin's attraction looks set to endure after Mugabe fired vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa last week, paving the way for his wife, Grace, to get to the front of the queue to succeed the 93-year-old.
Mnangagwa had been given a mandate by Mugabe in 2015 to steer the economy and had backed former finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, who was trying to re-engage with foreign lenders such as the International Monetary Fund.
FOREIGN PAYMENTS
Besides acting as an inflation hedge, bitcoin's attraction to Zimbabweans lies in the difficulty of making foreign payments due to banks capping or halting transactions by Mastercard and Visa cards.
With bitcoin, Zimbabweans can bypass the need to seek foreign currency from the bank, and can even buy goods or services from the growing number of overseas merchants that accept the digital currency.
The central bank, which has to approve official overseas transactions and prioritizes necessities such as fuel and medicines, has previously said Zimbabwe had a backlog of more than $500 million in pending foreign payments.
"A software developer that wants to buy a software download would never get that prioritized by their bank. They can use bitcoin to make payments," Golix said in response to Reuters questions. "Others use it to send funds to their children in schools outside the country."
Some better-off families send their sons and daughters for secondary and university education in countries such as South Africa or Britain but they are struggling to support them due to the currency shortage.
Golix data shows it handled bitcoin transactions worth $1 million in October.
But it is a market from which foreigners are largely absent. Technically, overseas-based investors could buy bitcoin on the international market and sell them for almost twice the price in Zimbabwe. The snag is that payment would be in zollars.
One analyst who is setting up a bitcoin trading desk at a Harare bank acknowledged that the local price appeared attractive, but added: "Once foreigners sell their bitcoin, they won't have a way of getting their money out."
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Ed Cropley and David Stamp) || The Market In 5 Minutes: Sprint And T-Mobile, Saudi Arabia, Twitter Upgrade: IN THE NEWS Benzinga T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS ) and Sprint (NYSE: S ) jointly announced Saturday that they have ceased talks to merge as the companies were unable to find mutually agreeable terms: Link Papa John’s Int’l, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA ) attributed its mid-season sales slump to an alleged bad call — one that allowed controversial anthem protests to cripple NFL viewership and corresponding pizza deliveries: Link Blockchain — the technology used to record and store transaction in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin — could get a dedicated exchange traded fund. Amplify ETFs has filed plans to introduce the Amplify Blockchain Leaders ETF: Link Wall Street Journal A sweeping weekend roundup of more than five dozen princes, ministers and prominent businessmen in Saudi Arabia marks a dramatic escalation in the crown prince’s effort to consolidate power and accelerate far-reaching change in the kingdom: Link President Donald Trump pushed for Japan to buy “massive” amounts of military equipment from the U.S., saying that it would help the country shoot down missiles like the pair that nearby North Korea has fired overhead in recent months: Link Reuters Indonesia on Monday vowed to block Facebook Inc’s (NASDAQ: FB ) WhatsApp Messenger within 48 hours if the service did not ensure that obscene Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images were removed: Link Bloomberg The House tax-writing committee begins debate Monday on the GOP’s proposed overhaul, kicking off four frantic days for lobbyists and lawmakers to revise a bill that represents President Trump’s final hope for a signature legislative achievement this year: Link A Russian lawyer who met with President Trump’s oldest son last year says he indicated that a law targeting Russia could be re-examined if his father won the election and asked her for written evidence that illegal proceeds went to Hillary Clinton’s campaign: Link ECONOMIC DATA The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley will speak in New York at 12:10 p.m. ET. The TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index for October is schedule for release at 12:30 p.m. ET. Story continues ANALYST RATINGS Citi upgraded Twitter (NYSE: TWTR ) from Sell to Neutral Raymond James upgraded Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX ) from Market Perform to Outperform Wells Fargo upgraded Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H ) from Market Perform to Outperform Wells Fargo downgraded Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE: HLT ) from Outperform to Market Perform KeyBanc downgraded Sprint from Sector Weigh to Underweight This is a tool used by the Benzinga News Desk each trading day — it's a look at everything happening in the market, in five minutes. To get the full version of this note every morning, click here. See more from Benzinga The Market In 5 Minutes: Apple, iPhones, And Trump's Twitter The Market In 5 Minutes: Facebook, Tesla In The Red As Market Preps For Apple's Latest Earnings The Market In 5 Minutes: Bitcoin, Gold, Steel, And More © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – .7654 Trigger Point for Acceleration to the Upside: The AUD/USD surged on Friday on reports Michael Flynn may implicate President Donald Trump in the Russian investigation. According to ABC News, retired General Michael Flynn would testify that he was directed by the Trump administration to make contact with Russia.
Early Friday, Flynn pleaded guilty to knowingly making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements to FBI agents, in a plea hearing in Washington, D.C. federal court. This surprise news drove down the U.S. Dollar as investors took protection in so-called safe haven or lower-yielding assets.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. However, momentum shifted to the upside on Friday with the formation of a closing price reversal bottom.
A trade through .7644 will change the main trend to up. This could lead to an eventual rally into the next main top at .7729. A move through .7551 will negate the closing price reversal bottom and signal a resumption of the downtrend. This could lead to a test of the next main bottom at .7532. Taking out this bottom could trigger an acceleration to the downside. The daily chart is wide open under .7532 with the next major target the June 2 bottom at .7572.
The AUD/USD is trading inside a major retracement zone bounded by .7642 and .7527. This zone is controlling the longer-term direction of the Forex pair.
The main range is .7729 to .7532. Its retracement zone is .7630 to .7654. This zone stopped a rally on November 27 at .7644.
Although the rally on Friday was news driven, we could see a continuation of the move if the Russia investigation starts to get inside Trump’s inner circle. Longer-term, the market has priced in a Fed rate hike in December and probably the passing of the tax reform bill so the Russia investigation will be the wild card the next few weeks. Furthermore, there is also the possibility of a government shutdown on December 8.
The chart indicates that the trigger point for a surge to the upside is .7654. Watch the price action and read the order flow on a test of that level. Given the shift in the short-term fundamentals, this price may be the most important level of the week.
The trigger point for a steep sell-off is .7532.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Crude Oil Price forecast for the week of December 4, 2017, Technical Analysis
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• USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis – week of December 4, 2017 || Bitcoin Price: Market Law and a Bit of Sentiment: Cryptocurrency market is a highly volatile one. This is one of its key features that lures so many new investors to the digital currency world. How is a digital coin priced? This is a question asked by any a cryptocurrency newcomer. To answer this question, however, you should first and foremost remember that digital currencies are ‘virtual’, they are not backed by any material assets and not regulated by any authority.
In fact, the only thingBitcoin pricedepends on is supply and demand. This market law is king here, and it always governs the cryptocurrency price. The more attention is driven towards the digital currency market, the more Bitcoin is spread as an asset or payment option, and the higher goes its price.
Digital coins are as much volatile as they lack transparency. Nobody has a clue of the total amount of Bitcoins in the market and who they belong to. This is critical, as a few pumpers (investors who hold a large amount of an asset) agreeing upon a few actions could be sufficient to artificially create any market trend. As for the high risk, traders get large earning opportunities as a reward in case the market follows their direction.
There are, however, some secondary factors influencing digital coin prices. These are, for instance, increased financial awareness among general public and free access to cryptocurrency market news and events. The more attention digital assets get, again, the more is the demand, and the higher the price. Cryptocurrency infrastructure improvements, such as adding more deposit options, ways of making transaction, converting options, etc, also have some positive influence on cryptocurrencies demand. The easier you can enter and exit the market, the better for you.
With an in-depth approach, we can find yet another digital currency price driver, although its influence is more indirect. This is inflation rate in ‘traditional’ economy. Bitcoin,Litecoinand other digital coins price depend on how many coins have already been issued. A digital coin is a sort of finite resource, as the source code would allow issuing a limited number of course. However, Bitcoin is not connected to inflation in any way, as it is not backed by anything. Thus, cryptocurrency is becoming a kind of safe haven for investors who want to avoid inflation-related losses.
There are many more secondary factors influencing digital currencies, such as geopolitical events, number of active buyers and sellers, total cryptocurrency volume, speculators’ sentiment, etc. The political factor can be easily traced when comparing digital currency price with emerging markets currencies, such as Mexican Peso, Turkish Lira, or Russian Ruble.
Speculative market players do deserve some special attention. The digital currency market has just started developing, with its volume constantly growing, but intraday values still allowing speculators to artificially create an ascending or descending trend. We have already mentioned that above: a few investors with large amounts of cryptocurrency can make the price rise or fall.
The sentiment is another factor that should not be underrated. Market panic or hype may both cause the prices to fall and make the skyrocket. Everything here depends on market reactions to specific events at some point in time. In case the sentiment is positive and the investors are inclined to buy an asset, the price of such asset will be going up.
Anyway, when you invest in cryptocurrencies you should always remember that past performance does not guarantee future results, while the risks will be growing as long as the cryptocurrency market becomes more and more volatile.
RoboForexis a group of companies that offers brokerage services to clients in various countries over the world. The group provides traders from the Forex and stock markets with access to its proprietary trading platforms.
Forecasts presented in this section only reflect the author’s private opinion and should not be considered as guidance for trading. RoboForex bears no responsibility for trading results based on trading recommendations described in these analytical reviews.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Caution on Wall Street as Trump is Watched, US Futures Rise Ahead of Earnings || Japan's BitFlyer Launches Bitcoin Exchange in US Market: Japanese bitcoin exchange bitFlyer has officially launched in the US after receiving approval from regulators like the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
Announced today, the move concludes a private beta that saw the exchange working with 2,000 initial users. The official launch also comes months after bitFlyerfirst revealedits intention to open its doors in the US. At the time, the startup said it had obtained permission to operate in 34 states.
As part of today's launch, bitFlyer revealed that it had been granted a BitLicense from regulators in New York. Formalized in 2015, theBitLicenseframework was an early effort to oversee companies working with cryptocurrencies in the US.
"BitFlyer is proud to have been granted a BitLicense to do business in the state of New York," CEO Yuzo Kano said in a statement. "This is a nod of approval from one of the most influential state financial services regulators in the nation."
Though the exchange will initially allow for only bitcoin trading, bitFlyer indicated that it would move to add support for additional cryptocurrencies over time.
Disclosure:CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in bitFlyer.
Trading dataimage via Shutterstock
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• White House Team Is Monitoring Cryptocurrencies, Says Press Secretary || Caterpillar Inc. Is Ready to Roar Once More: The cat’s almost out of the bag. If a cat’s a Caterpillar and a bag’s a box, that is. Heavy equipment juggernaut, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT ), is on the cusp of busting out of the box it’s been locked in since last month’s earnings release. And that means another advance will soon be upon us. The time to prepare is now, and the trade to consider is, well, outlined below. Year-to-date, CAT stock is up just shy of 50%. And she’s reached record highs in the process. The optimistic backdrop for equities this year certainly hasn’t hurt, but CAT fundamentals have improved notably as well. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Earnings growth has helped propel the Dow Jones component into the stratosphere. The stock has now gapped higher over three straight earnings releases. 7 Stocks to Buy Before the Holidays It’s always comforting when a large-cap company can gap higher on earnings after it’s already risen 30% to 40% in previous months. It shows the gains were justified and the underlying fundamentals support the lofty price tag, and then some. Click to Enlarge Source: OptionsAnalytix Since the mid-October jump, CAT has traded sideways in a narrow box between $139 and $134. The stock’s ability to remain aloft after such a strong run is impressive and speaks to the underlying bid beneath the surface. With the 20-day moving average now caught up, and the 50-day well on its way, CAT’s next advance will soon begin. Watch for a breakout over $139 in the coming days to confirm. The CAT Stock Trade Demand for CAT options is subdued and that has driven its implied volatility rank to a lowly 19%. Cheap premiums suggest long option plays are the way to go. Here’s a spread trade that strikes a nice balance between the probability of profit and return on investment. Buy the Jan $135/$140 bull call spread for $2.74. The initial cost of $2.74 represents the max loss and will be forfeited if the stock sits below $135. Story continues The max gain is $2.26 and will be captured if Caterpillar shares sit above $140 at expiration. By risking $2.74 to acquire $2.26, the position offers a potential 82% return. As of this writing, Tyler Craig didn’t hold positions in any of the aforementioned securities. Want more education on how to trade? Check out his trading blog, Tales of a Technician . More From InvestorPlace 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over Why Facebook Inc Is on the Verge of a Massive Breakout Holiday Gift Guide 2017: 10 High-Tech Gift Ideas for Music Lovers The post Caterpillar Inc. Is Ready to Roar Once More appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Bitcoin claws back over $1,000 after losing almost a third of value: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin surged on Monday, recovering more than $1,000 after losing almost a third of its value in less than four days as traders bought back into the volatile cryptocurrency. Bitcoin tumbled in the second half of last week, falling as low as $5,555 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange on Sunday, a slide of almost 30 percent from a record high just shy of $7,900 on Wednesday.. It rebounded on Monday, trading up more than 14 percent on the day at $6,718, though that was still more than $1,000 less than last week's record high. Market-watchers said the fall had been driven by a decision on Wednesday to abandon a planned software upgrade that could have split the cryptocurrency in a so-called "fork" - a move that had initially had a positive impact on the digital coin, sending it to a record high of $7,888 on the view that this marked a resolution of a long-term dispute. But some were disappointed that "Segwit2x" fork had been abandoned. It would have increased the capacity of the "blocks" transactions are processed in, thereby reducing competition to get payments processed and lowering transaction fees. Consequently, analysts said, some of those who see low fees as important to the future of bitcoin were selling it for a clone called Bitcoin Cash that spun off from the original in August. Its block sizes are larger, and therefore transaction fees are lower. Bitcoin Cash tripled in value at the end of the week as bitcoin slid, reaching an all-time high just below $2,000 on Sunda and briefly overtaking Ethereum as the world's second-biggest cryptocurrency. But traders bought back into the original bitcoin on Monday, sending Bitcoin Cash plummeting. It was trading down over 30 percent on the day at around $1,097, according to industry website Coinmarketcap. "Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash will co-exist and serve different use cases, just like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It's not a zero sum game," bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antopolous said in a post on Twitter. Bitcoin is up more than 500 percent so far this year. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Larry King) || Stocks tumble, gold spikes on report that Flynn is prepared to testify against Trump: Screen Shot 2017 12 01 at 1.30.51 PM Markets Insider Stocks fell sharply on Friday on an ABC News report that Michael Flynn would say President Donald Trump told him to contact Russians. Earlier Friday, Flynn was charged with one count of making false statements to federal investigators. He has pleaded guilty. Stocks rose to new highs this week as Senate Republicans advanced their tax bill, though news related to the Russia investigation has now overshadowed that in markets. US stocks fell in trading on Friday following an ABC News report that said Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, would testify that President Donald Trump told him to contact Russians. The report, from ABC's Brian Ross , was not confirmed by other media outlets. ABC later clarified that Flynn would testify that Trump as president-elect directed him to make contact with Russians — not as a candidate. Flynn was charged earlier Friday with one count of making false statements to federal investigators. He has pleaded guilty and promised to cooperate with the special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and whether members of Trump's campaign colluded with Russians. Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer, said in a statement that Flynn's guilty plea did not implicate anyone other than Flynn. Stocks had opened lower on Friday amid concerns about the Republican tax bill and its potential effect on the federal budget deficit. The market gained this week as Senate Republicans moved closer toward passing the bill — the chamber is expected to vote on it on Friday . But new details about the Russia investigation, which has dogged Trump's presidency over the past year, have overshadowed that progress and interrupted the rally for now. The Dow, off its worst levels of the intraday sell-off, was down 90 points, or 0.37%, to 24,182, at 1:31 p.m. ET. The S&P 500 was down 0.43%, to 2,636. "Ultimately, the market will look past the politics and focus on the positive economic fundamentals and benefits of tax reform, and this is what will lead markets higher after they've been knocked down in the short run," said Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance. Story continues Other markets also reacted to the news. Treasurys rallied, sending the benchmark 10-year yield down by 9 basis points, to 2.322%. It was the biggest drop in the safe haven's yield in over six months, according to Bloomberg . Gold jumped 1.1%, or $15.20 an ounce, to $1,288.40. NOW WATCH: This is why you should be buying gold See Also: 2 Berkeley grads are using AI to make stock-buying decisions — and it could change investing forever MORGAN STANLEY: Everything keeping the market calm is about to get worse Holiday retailers are surging as online spending hits a record SEE ALSO: Bitcoin futures trading gets the green light from US regulators DON'T MISS: UBS: Stocks could surge 25% if the Republican tax bill passes
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin trading at 6066.00.
Don't miss out on the action! Automate trades with ModoBot.
http://www.ModoBot.com #BTC #Bitcoin || Bad hair day? Stay in and play CashClamber for bitcoin. http://cashclamber.com/CashClamber/Default/Translator.php?page=Main.html&subpage=/Pages/Game/Streaker/Streaker.html&app=def … #womeninbiz #manchester #rtbuk || #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica || BTC戦闘力↓:¥538,259(max #ZEC/mini #XEM)
このままロングホールドですか？
#暗号通貨 #イーサリアム #ポロニエックス #bitbank #フリーザチャートpic.twitter.com/rDZ1BHM1TT || $GBTC Should be at least $777 o be the same level with BTC.X at above 4700 . Compare the charts || #WayBackWednesday The #Blockchain Ecosystem [Infographic]
#fintech #banking #crypto #bitcoin #investing #trading #financialinclusionpic.twitter.com/PBMKdT9ZyE || 11/24 22:00 Crypto currency sentiment analysis.
BTC : Neutral
BCC : Neutral
ETH : Neutral
ETC : Positive
https://goo.gl/5hp6Cz #BTC || BTC Real Time Price: $8264.96 #GDAX;
$8268.94 #bitstamp;
$8259.96 #hitbtc;
$8258.46 #gemini;
$8272.70 #kraken;
$8313.00 #cex; || Bitcoin trading at 4810.99.
Don't miss out on the action! Automate trades with ModoBot.
http://www.ModoBot.com #BTC #Bitcoin || ③の働き方について。好きなようにチャットをすればOKなのですが、男性側からもリクエストなどがあるかと思います。その場合はその内容に応じて、自分ができる範囲で応えればOKです(^-^)
|
Trend: up || Prices: 11657.20, 11916.70, 14291.50, 17899.70, 16569.40, 15178.20, 15455.40, 16936.80, 17415.40, 16408.20
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
The Best Water Stocks of 2017 -- How the 10 Largest Water Utilities Stacked Up: Water stocks, particularly water utility stocks, have been having a great run in recent years. Despite most of the group pulling back beginning in mid-2016, which we can largely attribute to expectations of rising interest rates, water utility stocks turned in a good 2017.
These 10 water utility stocks with market caps greater than $300 million trade on major U.S. stock exchanges. They're listed below in order of their total return (stock price appreciation + dividend) last year.
[{"Company": "California Water Service(NYSE: CWT)", "Market Cap": "$2.1 billion", "Dividend Yield": "1.68%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "9.8%", "2017 Return": "36.4%", "10-Year Return": "218%"}, {"Company": "Aqua America(NYSE: WTR)", "Market Cap": "$6.2 billion", "Dividend Yield": "2.33%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "5%", "2017 Return": "33.8%", "10-Year Return": "180%"}, {"Company": "American States Water(NYSE: AWR)", "Market Cap": "$2.0 billion", "Dividend Yield": "1.86%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "4%", "2017 Return": "29.8%", "10-Year Return": "284%"}, {"Company": "American Water Works(NYSE: AWK)", "Market Cap": "$14.4 billion", "Dividend Yield": "2.05%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "7.5%", "2017 Return": "29%", "10-Year Return": "417%*"}, {"Company": "Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo, or \"Sabesp\"", "Market Cap": "$7.2 billion", "Dividend Yield": "3.45%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "10.7%", "2017 Return": "25%", "10-Year Return": "71.8%"}, {"Company": "Artesian Resources**", "Market Cap": "$353 million/$345 million", "Dividend Yield": "2.45%/2.51%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "4%", "2017 Return": "24.1%/ 23.9%", "10-Year Return": "196%/79.2%"}, {"Company": "SJW Corp.", "Market Cap": "$1.2 billion", "Dividend Yield": "1.49%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "14%", "2017 Return": "16.2%", "10-Year Return": "133%"}, {"Company": "Connecticut Water", "Market Cap": "$640 million", "Dividend Yield": "2.24%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "8%", "2017 Return": "5%", "10-Year Return": "195%"}, {"Company": "Middlesex Water", "Market Cap": "$611 million", "Dividend Yield": "2.39%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "2.7%", "2017 Return": "(4.9%)", "10-Year Return": "178%"}, {"Company": "York Water", "Market Cap": "$411 million", "Dividend Yield": "2.09%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "4.9%", "2017 Return": "(9.6%)", "10-Year Return": "173%"}, {"Company": "S&P 500", "Market Cap": "--", "Dividend Yield": "1.74%", "Projected 5-Year Average Annual EPS Growth": "", "2017 Return": "21.8%", "10-Year Return": "147%"}]
Data source: YCharts. Data as of Jan. 12, 2018. Returns that have beaten the S&P 500 are boldfaced. *American Water's return is since its April 2008 IPO. **Artesian has Class A (non-voting) and Class B shares.
Two of the above companies aren't comparable to the others: Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo, or "Sabesp," operates in Brazil, and its financial performance and stock price will be significantly affected by exchange rates because a good chunk of its debt is denominated in U.S. dollars and Japanese yen. And SJW has significant real estate operations.
Disregarding these two companies, there was a strong relationship between a water utility's size and its stock's performance in 2017. At the start of 2017, American Water and Aqua America were the two largest players, with California Water Service and American States Water tied for third. These four stocks were the best-performing in 2017. Conversely, three of the four smallest players performed the worst, with Artesian, which primarily operates in Delaware, bucking the trend. This dynamic isn't going to happen every year. In fact, the smaller utilities were the big winners in 2016. Though, as I noted in a Jan. 2017article, that while some positive things can be said about them, "their small sizes combined with their lack of geographic diversity limit their long-term growth potential."
The bigger players are more likely to have the resources needed to acquire smaller utilities. As I'vepreviously opined, this is a considerable advantage because the water utility industry is quite fragmented, and municipalities that operate their own water systems are increasingly selling them because they can't afford to maintain and upgrade them.
Image source: Getty Images.
The two biggest water and wastewater utilities operating in the U.S., American Water Works and Aqua America, have been the beneficiaries of the dynamic just discussed. So, it's perhaps not surprising that they were the fourth and second best performers, respectively, in our group last year. American Water has operations in 47 U.S. states and one Canadian province, with regulated operations in 16 states, double the number as second-most-diverse Aqua America.
Two California-based stocks -- California Water Service and American States Water -- took the gold and the bronze medals, respectively. Their stocks were propelled by the companies' improved financial performances, driven by the end of the epic California drought. The drought, which began in 2011, finally began subsiding in 2016, with conditions further improving in 2017. Both companies' financials were hurt during the drought, particularly American States Water's because its regulated business is limited to California, whereas California Water Service also has regulated operations in Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii. Their revenue was negatively impacted because of mandatory water restrictions in the Golden State, the strictest of which were lifted in June 2016. Moreover, drought conditions usually increase operating costs, which water utilities must then try to recoup through rate increases.
While the calendar has only recently flipped to 2018, water utility stocks are underperforming the market so far this year. This isn't surprising since valuations have ballooned over the last few years and interest rates continue to tick up. Further pullbacks could be ahead.
While water utility stocks might not outperform over the short term, the long-term picture remains solid: The world's fresh water supply is limited and the Earth is in a long-term warming trend, which should increase demand. Moreover, most water utilities pay dependable and increasing dividends.
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Beth McKennahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || There's a new hottest cryptocurrency of 2018 so far: stellar: The hottest digital coin as 2018 kicks off is stellar, which has climbed more than 65 percent since Friday into the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.By Tuesday, stellar had a market cap of $10 billion as the eighth-largest digital currency, according to CoinMarketCap. The digital coin traded 17.5 percent higher on the day near 56.4 cents, the website showed.Stellar operates a network with the blockchain technology behind bitcoin. But unlike the popular digital currency, Stellar's transactions settle in 2 to 5 seconds and allows users to quickly exchange government-backed currencies, such as turning U.S. dollars into euros, according to its website. Stellar's coins are officially called lumens, or XLM. Notably, IBM is using Stellar 's network to develop a cross-border payments system with some large banks. Consulting firm Deloitte is also a partner . Bitcoin (Exchange: BTC.CB=) , the largest cryptocurrency by market cap at $232 billion, has lost its upward momentum over the last two weeks. The digital currency traded slightly higher Tuesday near $13,880, down 12 percent over the last week, according to Coinbase. While bitcoin has grabbed the most attention over the last 12 months, briefly soaring about 1,900 percent, 2017 was the year of ripple on a percentage-change basis.Bitcoin 12-month performanceSource: Coinbase Ripple (Exchange: XRP.BS=) , or XRP, climbed 35,500 percent to $2.30 last year and into second place by market capitalization. The digital currency traded 2 percent higher Tuesday near $2.44, with a market cap of $94.65 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Like Stellar, Ripple's focus is on payments. The San Francisco-based start-up is working with financial institutions in South Korea and Japan to use Ripple's XRP coin.The two companies also have the same founder: early cryptocurrency developer Jed McCaleb, who created the Mt.Gox bitcoin exchange. McCaleb left Ripple in 2013 and sold Mt.Gox in 2011 to Mark Karpeles, under whom the exchange suffered a massive hack and eventually filed for bankruptcy.Today, McCaleb is focused on Stellar, whose website says it operates as a nonprofit and covers operating costs with some of its digital currency holdings and donations. Meanwhile, ethereum (Exchange: ETH=) soared 17.5 percent to an all-time high Tuesday of $908.12, according to CoinMarketCap. But the digital currency remained in third place by market cap. Litecoin (Exchange: LTC.CB=) jumped 14 percent to $261, about $100 below its record high hit in mid-December, according to CoinMarketCap. Litecoin has a market cap of $14 billion as the sixth-largest digital currency. WATCH: Bitcoin could be the biggest bubble in history – here's how The hottest digital coin as 2018 kicks off is stellar, which has climbed more than 65 percent since Friday into the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. By Tuesday, stellar had a market cap of $10 billion as the eighth-largest digital currency, according to CoinMarketCap. The digital coin traded 17.5 percent higher on the day near 56.4 cents, the website showed. Stellar operates a network with the blockchain technology behind bitcoin. But unlike the popular digital currency, Stellar's transactions settle in 2 to 5 seconds and allows users to quickly exchange government-backed currencies, such as turning U.S. dollars into euros, according to its website. Stellar's coins are officially called lumens, or XLM. Notably, IBM is using Stellar 's network to develop a cross-border payments system with some large banks. Consulting firm Deloitte is also a partner . Bitcoin (Exchange: BTC.CB=) , the largest cryptocurrency by market cap at $232 billion, has lost its upward momentum over the last two weeks. The digital currency traded slightly higher Tuesday near $13,880, down 12 percent over the last week, according to Coinbase. While bitcoin has grabbed the most attention over the last 12 months, briefly soaring about 1,900 percent, 2017 was the year of ripple on a percentage-change basis. Bitcoin 12-month performance Source: Coinbase Ripple (Exchange: XRP.BS=) , or XRP, climbed 35,500 percent to $2.30 last year and into second place by market capitalization. The digital currency traded 2 percent higher Tuesday near $2.44, with a market cap of $94.65 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. Like Stellar, Ripple's focus is on payments. The San Francisco-based start-up is working with financial institutions in South Korea and Japan to use Ripple's XRP coin. The two companies also have the same founder: early cryptocurrency developer Jed McCaleb, who created the Mt.Gox bitcoin exchange. McCaleb left Ripple in 2013 and sold Mt.Gox in 2011 to Mark Karpeles, under whom the exchange suffered a massive hack and eventually filed for bankruptcy. Today, McCaleb is focused on Stellar, whose website says it operates as a nonprofit and covers operating costs with some of its digital currency holdings and donations. Meanwhile, ethereum (Exchange: ETH=) soared 17.5 percent to an all-time high Tuesday of $908.12, according to CoinMarketCap. But the digital currency remained in third place by market cap. Litecoin (Exchange: LTC.CB=) jumped 14 percent to $261, about $100 below its record high hit in mid-December, according to CoinMarketCap. Litecoin has a market cap of $14 billion as the sixth-largest digital currency. WATCH: Bitcoin could be the biggest bubble in history – here's howMore From CNBC
• Tiny burger chain says it will use blockchain for rewards program, boosting stock
• Bitcoin’s dominance of the cryptocurrency market is at its lowest level ever
• There are a lot of complications in trading cryptocurrencies || A Royalty Marijuana Stock Might Be the Smartest Way to Get In on the Green Rush: The marijuana industry is growing at an exceptional pace, and investors have had no choice but to take notice. Investment firm Cowen & Co. forecast in 2016 that the U.S. marijuana industry could be worth as much as $50 billion by 2026, while ArcView, a leading cannabis research company, has projected a 26% annual growth rate in North America through 2021. If ArcView is correct, the North American legal-weed industry could be generating almost $22 billion in sales within a few years. But investing in marijuana is rife with challenges. A cannabis plant up close in an outdoor grow facility. Image source: Getty Images. Caveat emptor when investing in pot stocks To state the obvious, cannabis is wholly illegal at the federal level in the U.S., with the substance classified as Schedule I. This classification means that marijuana has no recognized medical benefits, and it has a high potential for abuse. Weed's scheduling creates all sorts of red tape that medical researchers have to contend with to run studies, and it makes life quite difficult for pot businesses. Marijuana companies are often unable to access basic banking services, and they have virtually no way of taking normal corporate income-tax deduction as a result of tax code 280E. Making matters even worse for U.S. pot companies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this month that he'd be rescinding the Cole memo , a loose set of rules aimed at states that had legalized cannabis in some capacity. For example, states had to ensure that cannabis grown within a state stayed there. If states abided by the Cole memo, then the federal government more or less promised to keep a hands-off approach. Sessions' rescinding of this memo signals the possibility that state-level prosecutors will be able to go after marijuana businesses operating in "legal" states. The deck is really stacked against success throughout much of the U.S. marijuana industry. But that's not the case in Canada. Canada has had marijuana investors seeing green In Canada, medical cannabis has been legal since 2001, and the medical-weed industry is being overseen by Health Canada, the equivalent of the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States. As recently as May 2017, Health Canada noted that the number of eligible medical patients was increasing at a rate of 10% per month , singlehandedly pushing some pot stocks into the black. Story continues A lit cannabis joint in front of a red Canadian maple leaf. Image source: Getty Images. The downside, though, is that most Canadian marijuana stocks have shot through the roof, and are potentially priced for perfection. A majority of cannabis stocks are still losing money on annual basis as a result of significant spending tied to capacity expansion. It's good news that Canada is on track to legalize recreational pot by this July, and that could open the door for up to $5 billion in additional annual sales once fully ramped up. But there are still risks for investors of most Canadian pot stocks. However, there is a relatively new player in the Canadian cannabis industry that just might be the smartest way to take advantage of the green rush. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (NASDAQOTH: CBWTF) . Introducing the world's first publicly traded royalty marijuana stock If Cannabis Wheaton Income has a somewhat familiar ring, it's because the company was named and modeled after precious-metal streaming company Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM) , which is headquartered in Canada. The idea behind a cannabis streaming company is simple and genius. Pot-based companies looking to expand their growing capacity or some other aspect of their operations, but without the adequate financing to do so, approach Cannabis Wheaton Income for that capital. In exchange for funding, Cannabis Wheaton Income receives a royalty percentage of that business. Just like Wheaton Precious Metals with its silver- and gold-streaming deals, there are no recurring costs and no daily maintenance expenditures to worry about as a streaming company. It's merely about making deals and reaping high-margin returns by selling what you receive from the stream at current market prices. A cannabis bud lying atop a messy pile of hundred dollar bills. Image source: Getty Images. According to the company, it has an internal rate of return of more than 60% on its deals. It's able to achieve that through an estimated cost of goods sold per gram of $2.50 Canadian, or about $2.01 in U.S. dollars. Comparatively, the average selling price per gram of cannabis in Canada is CA$7.75 Canadian ($6.22). That works out to an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) per gram sold of CA$5.25 ($4.21 U.S.). Another major advantage of the streaming model is that it allows for both industry-based and geographic diversity. The company currently has 15 streaming partners and anticipates receiving about 230,000 kilograms of annual dried cannabis production as a result. That's more than any of the rapidly expanding Canadian marijuana stocks that are expected to dominate the industry. Plus, with multiple provinces represented in its streaming portfolio, it's able to minimize licensing and production-delay risks. In an industry mired by question marks, Cannabis Wheaton Income might just be the smartest buy. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williams owns shares of Wheaton Precious Metals. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Time Warner's Profits Rise as Advertising Rates Stabilize: With its pending merger withAT&T(NYSE: T)up in the air,Time Warner(NYSE: TWX)posted fourth-quarter earnings results this week that paired broad sales growth with improving profitability. Each of its entertainment divisions benefited from popular content that the company successfully monetized through its many distribution channels.
Here's how the headline results compared to the prior-year period:
[{"Metric": "Revenue", "Q4 2017": "$8.6 billion", "Q4 2016": "$7.9 billion", "Year-Over-Year Change": "9%"}, {"Metric": "Net income", "Q4 2017": "$1.4 billion", "Q4 2016": "$293 million", "Year-Over-Year Change": "378%"}, {"Metric": "Earnings per share", "Q4 2017": "$1.75", "Q4 2016": "$0.37", "Year-Over-Year Change": "373%"}]
Data source: Time Warner.
Operating results strengthened overall due to improving trends in Time Warner's broadcast networks, strong subscriber growth in its Home Box Office business, and rising video game sales.
Image source: Getty Images.
Highlights of the quarter included:
• The pace of decline in advertising revenue slowed for the second straight quarter. Ad sales ticked down by 2% across Turner's networks, compared to a 3% dip in the prior quarter and an8% drop in the second quarter. Turner also notched significantly higher distribution fees, which more than offset a slight decline in overall pay-TV package subscribers.
• The Home Box Office segment managed double-digit gains in sales and profits thanks to an expanding pool of subscribers in both the domestic market and internationally.
• Warner Bros. studios announced rising revenue as growth in the video game segment offset a relatively weak showing at the box office. Earnings dipped in this segment, but overall Time Warner boosted operating profit by 13% to $1.9 billion.
• The large spike in net income and earnings per share was mainly due to a one-time benefit stemming from recent changes to U.S. tax law.
CEO Jeff Bewkes credited the entertainment giant's content portfolio with powering strong growth over the full fiscal year. "All three of our operating divisions increased revenue and profits [in 2017]," Bewkes said, "while also investing to capitalize on the growing demand for the most creative and compelling content as well as new ways to deliver it to audiences worldwide."
Executives highlighted wins from each of their core operating divisions, saying Turner broadcasting "continued to deliver exception value" to advertisers through healthy ratings at the TBS, TNT, Adult Swim, and CNN networks. HBO posted its "best subscription revenue growth in over 20 years," thanks to hits likeBig Little Lies, Bewkes explained. Finally, the Warner Bros. unit had its best year yet, with global hits likeWonder WomanandDunkirkpushing global receipts past $5 billion.
Bewkes and his team say they "remain excited" about the proposed merger with AT&T that they had believed would close before the end of 2017. The acquisition is now at risk as it goes through additional regulatory scrutiny.
While investors wait for resolution on that important issue, they have every reason to expect continued healthy growth from Time Warner. Specifically, executives are predicting robust sales gains at Turner, thanks in part to the advertising benefit the company will receive from broadcasting the NCAA Final Four games. HBO should have another record subscription year, they predict, even as content and programming costs moderate. As for Warner Bros., the studio segment is projected to expand further into record territory in 2018.
Overall, Time Warner is targeting adjusted operating income growth in the high single digits (should it remain a separate business for the full year). That would mark a slight acceleration over the past year's 7% profit increase.
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Demitrios Kalogeropouloshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Time Warner. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || America First: The Country Is About to Become the Leader in Global Oil Production: In 1967, following the Six-Day War, oil-producing nations in the Middle East limited their oil exports to countries supporting Israel in that war. That forced the U.S. and other embargoed countries into action to ensure they had a steady supply of crude, which included increased drilling for domestic oil. Those ramped-up drilling efforts helped drive U.S. oil production to a peak of 9.6 million barrels per day (BPD) in 1970.
However, it was all downhill from there. Output in the country would steadily decline until it hit a low of roughly 5 million BPD right around the time of the financial crisis, which was one of the fuels causing crude to spike to a pinnacle of $147.27 per barrel in July 2008. The sky-high pricing, when combined with some good old American ingenuity, ultimately led to the breakthrough of combininghydraulic fracturingwithhorizontal drilling, enabling oil companies in the country to unlock a treasure trove of oil and gas trapped in shale formations. In fact, the nation has unleashed such a torrent of crude that America is on pace to produce more than 10 million barrels per day this year, which could make it the global leader in 2018.
Image source: Getty Images.
According to a forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), oil production in the U.S. should average 10.3 million BPD this year, an increase of 1 million BPD from just last year. The International Energy Administration (IEA), likewise, sees U.S. oil output rising to about 10 million BPD this year. That forecast makes it "possible that very soon US crude production could overtake that of Saudi Arabia and also rival Russia's," according to the IEA, assuming both countries hold to theircurrent agreement to keep a lid on outputin support of higher oil prices.
Much of this oil is already on its way, according to the EIA, which expects U.S. drillers toincrease production from the top shale playsby 1.5% this month and another 1.7% in February. That's a big-time uptick considering that output from these regions has been mainly flat for the past several months due to lower oil prices last summer. However, with crude roaring higher since then, and recently in the $60s, producers in the country have the cash to drill more wells.
Image source: Getty Images.
While many oil producers in the country haven't unveiled their official 2018 plans, several put out their preliminary expectations last fall when crude was in the low $50s. Despite that lower price, most expected healthy growth this year. For example,Continental Resources(NYSE: CLR), which was one of the earlier developers of theBakken shale, anticipated that its production would increase 15% to 20% this year as long as crude stayed between $50 to $55 a barrel. That's an acceleration from the 10% to 12% growth rate Continental expected in 2017. In the meantime,WPX Energy(NYSE: WPX), which also operates in the Bakken as well as thePermian Basin, planned to grow its oil production 40% to 45% this year. That forecast matches WPX Energy's torrid pace from last year.
That said, with crude now in the $60s, it's more likely that oil production in the U.S. will head even higher than initially expected. That's certainly what the IEA sees, which is why it ratcheted up its U.S. oil growth forecast from an increase of 870,000 BPD to 1.1 million BPD for 2018. That's because shale leaders likeEOG Resources(NYSE: EOG)have made it clear that they can grow faster as oil prices rise. In the case of EOG Resources, it can increase its U.S. oil output at a 15% compound annual growth rate through 2020 at $50 oil and could accelerate that up to 25% compounded annually at $60 oil. While EOG Resources hasn't revealed its guidance for 2018, the company was on pace to boost output 20% last year, and given its ultra-low costs, could grow even faster this year given current pricing. Others appear likely to accelerate since most plan to reinvest all their oil profits on drilling more wells, which will likely cause oil output here to grow further in 2019, with the EIA estimating that it could average 10.8 million BPD.
With a coalition of oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia planning to keep a lid on their oil output this year to prop up prices, it has opened the door for the U.S. to take over the top spot. That surge in production, when combined with currently higher oil prices, could send producer profits -- and their stock prices -- soaring this year. That said, if the U.S. unleashes too much production, it could cause Russia and Saudi Arabia to abandon their agreement and start another market share war that might topple crude prices. So, while the U.S. oil industry appears poised to make a big-time comeback this year, it might be a short-lived boost if producers get greedy and grow too fast.
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Matthew DiLallohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Is Amazon Fresh Killing Blue Apron?: Shares of meal-kit makerBlue Apron(NYSE: APRN)fell over 6% on Jan. 16 after One Click Retail's2017 Grocery Reportindicated thatAmazon(NASDAQ: AMZN)had made huge gains in the U.S. grocery market. The report claims that Amazon generated $2 billion in food and beverage sales last year, and it accounted for 18% of all online grocery sales in the U.S.
More specifically, weekly sales at Amazon Fresh, its online grocery service, "more than doubled" over the course of the year, rising from about $3 million in January to over $7 million by the end of 2017 to hit an estimated $350 million in total sales. The biggest growth driver was Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods, which closed last August.
Image source: Getty Images.
The report didn't mention Blue Apron or any other meal-kit makers, but it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Over the past two years, Amazon signed meal-kit partnerships with Marley Spoon and Martha Stewart, then test-launched its own meal-kits, which all complimented the Whole Foods acquisition.
Concerns about Whole Foods and Amazon Fresh cast a long shadow over Blue Apron's IPO last June, which bombed during its market debut. The stock now trades nearly 70% below its IPO price, the company laid offhundreds of workerslast October, and CEO Matt Salzbergannounced his resignationa month later.
Blue Apron's stock looks cheap at 0.7 times sales, but most bulls seem to have given up, with 38% of the float beingshortedas of Jan. 10. But is Blue Apron's time really up?
Blue Apron's growth has been decelerating at an alarming rate. Its revenue rose just 3% annually during the third quarter, compared to 18% growth in the second quarter. On a sequential basis, its number of customers fell 9% to 856,000, its average revenue per customer dropped 2% to $245, and its average orders from customer dipped from 4.3 to 4.2.
Image source: Blue Apron.
On the bottom line, its net loss widened from $37.4 million to $87.2 million between the third quarters of 2016 and 2017. Its adjusted EBITDA also came in at a loss of $48 million, compared to a loss of $34.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Both figures also widened on a sequential basis.
Blue Apron's biggest problem is the competition. In addition to Amazon and its Whole Foods network, it needs to counter other major players like Sun Basket, Green Chef,Albertson's Plated, andHelloFresh, a rapidly growing German rival that went public last year and claimed that it would overtake Blue Apron in the U.S.
Blue Apron's loss of customers, its waning customer loyalty, layoffs, and abrupt CEO change all indicate that it's not up to the task. At this point, Blue Apron shouldn't be cutting costs to protect its bottom line. It should be focusing on revenue and customer growth, boosting its marketing efforts, or buying up smaller players -- even if it means using a secondary offering to raise cash or taking on more debt.
When Amazon cut the price of Amazon Fresh to $14.99 per month for Prime members in late 2016 (down from its annual fee of $299), it clearly wanted grocery deliveries to become part of its Prime ecosystem.
Amazon hasn't disclosed any membership figures for Amazon Fresh. But research firm CIRP estimates that Amazon has 90 million Prime members in the U.S. who spend about $1,300 annually on the site, compared to $700 for non-members.
This gives Amazon Fresh a massive potential market that dwarfs Blue Apron's base of less than a million customers. Therefore, it will only be a matter of time before Amazon -- along with other meal-kit makers -- push Blue Apron out of the market it once dominated.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Leo Sunowns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Acquisition Gone Wrong: Tesla Can't Find a Home For Solar Energy: In the second quarter of 2016, SolarCity was on the top of its game in the U.S. residential solar market. The company installed 201 MW of solar and had a goal of hitting nearly 1,000 MW of solar installed for the year.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
SinceTesla's(NASDAQ: TSLA)$2.6 billionbailoutof SolarCity later that year, things have been a lot rougher. Tesla fired hundreds, maybe thousands, of sales staff and installation crews that were key to SolarCity's strategy. The plan to move solar into the Tesla showroom hasn't been very fruitful, and there doesn't seem to be an easy home in the Tesla family for plain old residential solar sales. According to the recently released fourth-quarter results, Tesla only installed 87 MW of solar, an astonishing decline for such a large acquisition and another sign that solar may be slowly dying at Tesla.
Image source: Getty Images.
The 57% decline in installations over the past six quarters isn't surprising when you consider that Tesla undermined most of SolarCity's business. Most solar systems were sold via door-to-door sales, something Tesla began de-emphasizing almost immediately. Combined with the shift from leases to loans, the changing business model naturally lost momentum.
But Tesla would rather not have a dying solar business, because it has a major manufacturing facility being built in Buffalo, New York and the Powerwall to sell. Solar customers could become energy storage customers, and ultimately EV customers.
To try to get back in the game, Tesla is rolling out booths in 800Home Depotsand considering a similar deal withLowe's. This may give Tesla more face time with customers, but booths in retail stores haven't been a driver of solar sales traditionally, and Tesla may have a hard time translating the booths into long-term sales growth.
Overshadowing the decline in solar isTesla's production problems with the Model 3. The product has been delayed by at least two quarters, and if delays continue it won't matter what happens in the solar business because Tesla will burn through billions in cash.
Tesla is also working on a semi, solar roof, Model Y, a pickup, and the next generation Roadster. It's no wonder the company has lost sight of the traditional solar market. It's just not important compared to these other products.
The lack of a large solar business could pose a big problem for energy storage. Tesla could have had captive demand for the Powerwall within SolarCity, but instead it'll have to look outside to sell the residential energy storage product. And that will mean entering a commodity battery market, not ideal for making money.
Tesla also doesn't disclose how much money the floundering solar business is burning through today. Given the decline in installations and the high overhead Tesla acquired from SolarCity, there's not much of a chance solar is positive to Tesla's cash flow or bottom line, making it a distraction the company doesn't need today.
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Travis Hoiumhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has the following options: short May 2018 $175 calls on Home Depot and long January 2020 $110 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot and Lowe's. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || 3 Big Stocks That Slashed Their Dividends in 2017: Investors who rely on dividends for income must have confidence that the stocks they own will keep making payouts through good times and bad. Unfortunately, not all stocks are able to do so, and when big dividend cuts come, they can shock the entire stock market.
During 2017, some high-profile companies made massive reductions in the dividends that they pay. Among the most famous wereTeva Pharmaceutical Industries,Frontier Communications, andGeneral Electric. Below, we'll look more closely at these three companies to see what prompted them to disappoint their dividend investors and what could be coming down the road for their business prospects.
[{"Stock": "Teva Pharmaceutical Industries(NYSE: TEVA)", "Current Dividend Yield": "0%", "Dividend Cut": "(100%)*"}, {"Stock": "Frontier Communications(NASDAQ: FTR)", "Current Dividend Yield": "26%", "Dividend Cut": "(62%)"}, {"Stock": "General Electric(NYSE: GE)", "Current Dividend Yield": "3.2%", "Dividend Cut": "(50%)"}]
Data source: Yahoo! Finance. * Initial 75% cut followed by suspension of dividend.
Image source: Getty Images.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries went through a tough time last year. The company does a lot of business in generic drugs, and pricing on generics was extremely weak as industry practices came under fire in Washington and elsewhere. Teva in particular came under financial strain as a result of the poor industry conditions because it has taken on huge amounts of debt -- debt that it is now trying to figure out how to restructure and repay even as the company's fundamentals weaken.
Teva initially tried to contain the damage, announcing a75% dividend cut in Augustthat it hoped would be sufficient to help it dig its way out of its financial hole. That proved not to be enough, though, and so later in the year,Teva suspended its dividend entirelyas part of a more draconian cost reduction plan. Long-term shareholders hope that Teva's business will be able to recover, yet the extent to which it has fought to integrate large acquisitions into its own operations shows that Teva still has work to do in order to turn things around entirely.
Frontier knows all too well what big acquisitions can do to a company. The once-rural telecom specialist made its play to join the big leagues by buying legacy assets from multiple big carriers, spending billions in an attempt to retain and build on businesses that others had initially established. Those efforts haven't gone so well, and even after numerous attempts to keep its double-digit percentage dividend yield intact, Frontier finally made thetough decision to cut its dividendby 62% during the spring of 2017.
Since then, Frontier has continued to struggle. It had to do a reverse split of its stock, and even with the reduced payout, its shares now yield more than 25%. That points to investor skepticism that the dividend will survive very much longer. With acontinued deterioration in subscriber countsand ongoing net losses, Frontier hasn't yet been able to convince shareholders that anything good will come of its efforts.
Finally, General Electric was the highest-profile company to cut its dividend in 2017, with a 50% reduction coming late in the year. The conglomerate's most recent moves towardfocusing on the energy industry proved to be ill-timed, with persistently low oil and natural gas prices hampering its efforts to sustain profitability at levels investors wanted to see.
Bullish investors hope that General Electric's decision to cut its dividend will result in having more cash to use in order to restructure its operations and seek out smarter, higher-growth opportunities for the future. But with the company having made a fundamental mistake for the second time in a decade in picking a once-booming industry that later fell back to earth, General Electric will need to reassure its long-term investors that it hasn't permanently lost its touch in identifying smart strategies for future growth.
The lesson you can learn by looking at these dividend reductions is that business difficulties often put pressure on companies that pay out significant dividends. Some resist dividend cuts until the bitter end, but without improvement in profits, a reduction in quarterly payouts is almost certain in the long run.
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Dan Caplingerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || This High-Yield Stock Just Declared Its 95th Dividend Increase: Net-lease REIT Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O) recently announced a 4% dividend increase, which represents the 95th time the payout has been raised since the company's 1994 NYSE listing. Here's a rundown of Realty Income's incredible dividend history and why you shouldn't worry about the company's retail-oriented property portfolio. It's tough to find a stock with a better dividend history As I mentioned, Realty Income just announced its 95th dividend increase since listing on the NYSE in 1994. The monthly dividends, of which Realty Income will have paid 571 in a row, are going up by 4% from $0.2125 to $0.219 ($2.628 annualized). Based on the current stock price, this brings Realty Income's dividend yield to just under 5%. Empty jar, jar half-full of coins, and overflowing jar of coins. Image source: Getty Images. Over the years, Realty Income has increased its dividend at a compounded rate of 4.7% per year. Generally, the company will declare one large dividend increase in the beginning of the year (that's this one) and several smaller ones throughout the year. Realty Income likes to raise its dividend quarterly, at a minimum, and has done so for 81 consecutive quarters -- more than 20 years. The dividend will often increase even more frequently if the company is doing particularly well. Out of the past 15 years, the company has increased its dividend five times or more in 10 of them. But retail is risky, right? How is Realty Income so consistent? There are two main components that allow Realty Income to grow its revenue and increase its dividend in such a consistent and predictable manner. First, the company's lease structure is designed for stability. And second, most of Realty Income's tenants operate recession-resistant businesses. Realty Income's tenants sign "triple-net" leases . This is a long-term lease agreement, and most of Realty Income's tenants' leases have initial terms of 15 years or longer, generally with annual rent increases included. Tenants are responsible for most ongoing and variable costs of property ownership -- specifically taxes, insurance, and maintenance. So not only are the tenants locked in for years, minimizing turnover, but Realty Income's expenses once it has a tenant in place are next to nothing. In fact, the company's gross profit margin is more than 98%. Story continues Most of the retail tenants (about 20% of the portfolio is industrial and office properties) fall into one or more of three recession-resistant or e-commerce-resistant categories. Service/Experiential: These are businesses that people need to physically go to, such as theaters, gas stations, and fitness centers, and are naturally resistant to e-commerce headwinds. Examples of major tenants from Realty Income's portfolio include AMC Theaters , LA Fitness, and 7-Eleven. Non-Discretionary : These businesses sell things people need , as opposed to things people want. Drug stores are a great example -- not only do they sell things people need, but they sell things people generally need in a timely manner. CVS , Walgreens , and Rite-Aid are all top Realty Income tenants. Low Price Point : Businesses with a discount orientation tend to do fine during recessions and compete well against e-commerce giants like Amazon . For example, dollar stores like Dollar General and warehouse clubs like BJ's Wholesale often offer bargains that simply can't be matched online. A rock-solid stock with a 5% yield and lots of growth potential In addition to a high-yield and incredible dividend history, Realty Income also has the capability of delivering market-beating returns. And over the 24 years it has been listed on the NYSE, it has done just that, delivering annualized total returns (dividends + stock price gains) of 16.4% over that time. To put this into perspective, if you had invested $10,000 at the time the company first listed on the NYSE in 1994, your investment would be worth roughly $383,000 today. To be clear, Realty Income's past performance isn't a guarantee that it will perform as well in the future . However, with a proven recipe for consistent growth and income, there's no reason to believe that Realty Income's record of strong returns will be in jeopardy anytime soon. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Matthew Frankel owns shares of Realty Income. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Banks in Britain and U.S. ban Bitcoin buying with credit cards: By Lawrence White and Emma Rumney LONDON (Reuters) - Banks in Britain and the United States have banned the use of credit cards to buy Bitcoin and other "cryptocurrencies", fearing a plunge in their value will leave customers unable to repay their debts. Lloyds Banking Group Plc , which issues just over a quarter of all credit cards in Britain, and Virgin Money said they would ban credit card customers from buying cryptocurrencies, following the lead of U.S. banking giants JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup . The move is aimed at protecting customers from running up huge debts from buying virtual currencies on credit, if their values were to plummet, a Lloyds spokeswoman said. Concerns have arisen among credit card providers because their customers have increasingly been using credit cards to fund accounts on online exchanges, which are then used to purchase the digital currencies. However, other banks said on Monday they will continue to allow credit card customers to buy cryptocurrencies. "We constantly review our protections for customers as a responsible bank and lender, and are keeping this matter under close review," a spokeswoman for Barclays said. Barclays is Britain's leading credit card issuer with a market share of around 27 percent through its Barclaycard brand. "At present UK customers can use both their Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card to purchase cryptocurrency legitimately," the Barclays spokeswoman said. Spain's second-biggest bank BBVA also said it has no restrictions in place on such purchases. Last week Mastercard Inc , the world's second biggest payments network, said customers buying cryptocurrencies with credit cards fueled a 1 percentage point increase in overseas transaction volumes in the fourth quarter. At that time Bitcoin was staging a spectacular rise in value, reaching a peak of $19,187 on Dec. 16 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. But the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency has since fallen dramatically and on Monday was down by 11 percent to $7255 at 1719 GMT on Bitstamp, extending losses from Friday amid worries of a global regulatory clampdown. CREDIT RISK The decision on whether to allow credit card users to buy cryptocurrencies is a credit risk decision made by the card-issuing banks, a spokesman for Mastercard said. A spokeswoman for Chase bank said it is not currently processing credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies because of the volatility and risk involved, while a Citi spokeswoman confirmed a similar ban, but did not give a reason. The bans extends only to credit card purchases, with debit card users still able to buy cryptocurrencies. "Across Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA, we do not accept credit card transactions involving the purchase of cryptocurrencies," the Lloyds spokeswoman said in an email. Lloyds did not say how it planned to enforce the ban, although the Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday that its credit card customers will be blocked from buying Bitcoin online through a "blacklist" that will flag sellers. A spokeswoman from the Royal Bank of Scotland declined to comment on the bank's policy. Europe's biggest bank HSBC did not respond to requests for comment on whether it permits credit card purchases of cryptocurrencies. Concerns about the use of Bitcoin and other such currencies extend beyond the use of credit cards for borrowing. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said Britain should take a serious look at digital currencies such as Bitcoin because of the way they can be used by criminals. (Additional reporting by Anjuli Davies in London and Jesus Aguado in Madrid; Editing by Peter Cooney and Alexander Smith)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Los últimos 3 meses del #Bitcoin explicado por los Simpsons https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgBTSMRkmp8 … || Bitcoin falls below $6,000 pic.twitter.com/3wXdd4wLne || Ledger Blue BTC ETH LTC Crypto-Currency Hardware Wallet - £320.00 End Date: Monday Feb-5-2018 14:04:02 GMT Buy It Now for only: £320.00 Buy It Now | Add to watch list http://ow.ly/y4Eb50g2OIR || Dear Live Stars community!
We'd like to announce that whitelist registration is now closed. For those who signed up, a smart contract and bitcoin addresses will appear in their contribution panel on https://livestars.io at 07:00 UTC, 14th of January. || Cotizaciones al 05/01/2018 02:00 AM
Bitcoin (BTC): 87.012.869
Ethereum (ETH): 5.901.805
Litecoin (LTC): 1.356.947
Monero (XMR): 2.195.733
Dash (DASH): 6.865.136
ZCash (ZEC): 3.270.598 || Current price of Bitcoin is $6988.24 #Bitcoin #Bithound || A cotação atual do Bitcoin é de R$27.944,00 subindo 0.34% na última hora! #cotacao #BTC || [14:37 GMT]Arbitrage opportunity has occurred!!
The diff is 0.00000008 BTC!
1. Buy $FLDC on bittrex(0.00000242 BTC).
2. Sell $FLDC on poloniex(0.00000250 BTC).
3. Secure profit when the diff converges.
The profit is expected to be 3.3%.
#bitcoin #arbitrage || @sambowne Governments Hate Bitcoin and Cash for the Same Reason: They Protect People’s Privacy. http://reason.com/archives/2018/02/06/governments-hate-bitcoin-and-cash-for-th … || Interesting... the Bitcoin drop seems to be what everyone is talking about, not the MEMO released today by Senators @ChuckGrassley and @LindseyGrahamSC Distraction???
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10366.70, 10725.60, 10397.90, 10951.00, 11086.40, 11489.70, 11512.60, 11573.30, 10779.90, 9965.57
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2022-02-10]
BTC Price: 43565.11, BTC RSI: 60.49
Gold Price: 1836.20, Gold RSI: 57.63
Oil Price: 89.88, Oil RSI: 64.61
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Mining Proponent Ponders a World Where BTC Fails: BeInCrypto –
For crypto die-hards, the idea of Bitcoin collapsing is unthinkable. But what would happen if, for any reason, the Bitcoin network failed? Max Gagliardi, the co-founder of Ancova Energy, a U.S. Bitcoin mining and advisory outfit, laid out potential outcomes in the event that such a situation ever materialized.
This storywas seen first onBeInCryptoJoin our Telegram Groupand get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories likethisonBeInCrypto || 10 things in tech you need to know today: Happy Friday, friends. There's drama in Wordle world , and Tesla's Cyberquad for kids is starting to arrive. BTW — There will be no newsletter Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We'll be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. Now, let's get started. If this was forwarded to you, sign up here . Download Insider's app – click here for iOS and here for Android . An image of the word puzzle game "Wordle," which went viral in late 2021 and early 2022. The word puzzle game "Wordle," which went viral in late 2021 and early 2022. Josh Wardle 1. Wordle is taking over the internet — and spurring knockoffs. Wordle, a daily word game that's quickly growing in popularity, is garnering so much attention that Apple said it had to remove several knockoffs from its App Store. Attempting to capitalize on the game's success, app developers have been copying Wordle and putting their versions in the App Store. A direct iOS clone of Wordle was removed after receiving backlash from fans online, Variety reported. The developer created "Wordle — The App," a version that offered unlimited play for a $30 yearly subscription. He has since apologized. Heard of Wordle, but not sure what it is? We've got you covered. Wordle is a puzzle that only exists on the game's website, so you don't need an app — or even a cell phone — to play. You can play the game here. It's a puzzle with a relatively simple (but tricky) premise: try to guess the five-letter word. After each guess, the game tells you if any of the letters are correct, and if they're in the right order. You have six chances to get it right — but you can only play once a day. It was created by Josh Wardle (get it?), a software engineer from Brooklyn, who made it for his word-game-loving partner. We've got a rundown of the latest Wordle news. In other news: facebook mark zuckerberg Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 2. The Jan. 6 committee subpoenaed the nation's tech giants. The committee, in an attempt to understand the spread of misinformation, efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and domestic extremism, has subpoenaed Twitter, YouTube, Meta, and Reddit. Here's what you need to know. Story continues 3. Hackers are breaking into Amazon cloud accounts to mine crypto — and leaving the owners with huge bills. Crypto miners can run up huge charges for the raw computing power needed to produce even small amounts of digital currencies like Bitcoin. One hacking victim describes finding a $53,000 bill on his account. 4. Meta dropped 36 places on Glassdoor's annual Best Places to Work list. Facebook's parent company — which has snagged the top spot three times — fell from 11th to 47th place after a string of PR crises. If you're on the hunt for a new job this year, these 10 companies have the happiest employees. 5. Alphabet has distanced its "other bets," like self-driving cars and healthcare, from Google. Alphabet, Google's parent company, has given its other businesses like Waymo and Verily more freedom to set their own rules around job structures. The move gives the businesses more autonomy as they evolve, and could help them better attract outside talent. What we know so far. 6. Google's full-time staff get rapid COVID-19 tests, but its temps don't. Google's army of temporary workers and contractors must go through a slower process than full-time employees, using mail-in tests — a policy that's reignited discussions about the way it treats its temp workers. 7. The founder of a Muslim dating app is battling Tinder-owner Match in court. Shahzad Younas says Match tried to buy his startup Muzmatch on four occasions and that after he turned down the offer Match Group sued – twice. Read more about the legal tussle. 8. Tesla will give an update on the Cybertruck in two weeks. After removing the 2022 production date for Cybertruck from its website last month, Tesla is expected to give a roadmap update on the car in late January. Everything we know about the forthcoming update. 9. The $19,995 Ford Maverick proves less really can be more. Less than half the price of the average new car, the bare-bones Maverick lacks features like cruise control and power mirrors — but offers a basic, versatile pickup for budget buyers. Check out the new Ford Maverick. 10. Tesla's Cyberquad for kids is starting to arrive. Earlier this week, YouTubers began posting unboxing videos of the toy, which went on sale in December and sold out within a week. Now, some resellers are listing the Cyberquads on eBay for more than double their original price. See videos of the Cyberquad here. The latest people moves in tech: Amazon has promoted Stephen Schmidt, an AWS cybersecurity veteran, to its S-team, the company's elite group of execs. More on his new role. Two of Facebook's top PR executives left the company. What we know about their departures. Amazon's SaaS business applications team suffered its second top exec departure in less than a year. Ousted WeWork chief Adam Neumann is entering one of real estate's hottest markets — and tapped two former confidants to help him out. Index Ventures is losing its first-ever female partner in a blow to the Silicon Valley heavyweight . Tesla's most prominent Black executive, HR chief Valerie Capers Workman, is leaving the company. More on her next steps. Facebook added DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu to its board of directors . Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @jordanparkererb .) Edited by Michael Cogley in London. Read the original article on Business Insider || Whiplashed Wall Street struggles with mixed payrolls data: By Lawrence Delevingne BOSTON (Reuters) -U.S. stocks and Treasury yields were mixed on Friday as investors digested payroll data and its potential impact on Federal Reserve policy in the final session of an already roller-coaster first trading week of the year. U.S. employment rose by a less-than-expected 199,000 jobs last month as the impact of a resurgent pandemic bites, well below the 400,000 forecast by economists, but data for November was revised higher. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, underscoring near full-employment. "Seasonal adjustments, diverging surveys, and a volatile economic environment made this report a mess," Barry Gilbert, a strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, wrote in a note. "It won’t divert the Fed from its current path, but any rate decision will be more focused on the data over the next several months." The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.81 points, or 0.01%, to 36,231.66, the S&P 500 lost 19.03 points, or 0.41%, to 4,677.02 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 144.96 points, or 0.96%, to 14,935.90. Technology and growth shares eased as investors remained worried about the U.S. interest rate outlook, while consumer discretionary and technology sectors led the way lower on the S&P 500; financials extended recent gains. It had already been a confusing week for stocks. After a start to 2022 marked by new highs, the mood changed on Wednesday after minutes from the Fed's December meeting signaled the central bank may have to raise interest rates sooner than expected. Wall Street steadied by Thursday evening, though analysts at ING bank said the minutes were still reverberating across markets, driving bond yields higher, hitting growth stocks and supporting the dollar. The MSCI All Country stock index was flat at 743.52 points, down nearly 2% from a record high on Tuesday. In Europe, the STOXX index was off 0.4% at 486.3 points, also off about 1.6% from a record high on Tuesday. Story continues SUPPLY CONCERNS Longer-dated Treasury yields rose anew on Friday but shorter-term government bonds declined after the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. Analysts said the data was solid enough to keep the Fed on track to raise interest rates at its March meeting - or sooner. "Today’s report should be eye-opening for the Fed as tight labor conditions are only going to exacerbate the building inflation problem," Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management in Minneapolis, said. "It would be surprising if the Fed is not contemplating a faster removal of policy accommodation at the January meeting." The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes was last at 1.7673%, up from 1.7461% before the payrolls data. Euro zone inflation rose unexpectedly last month to 5% from 4.9% in November, a record high for the currency bloc, though unlike the Fed, the European Central Bank says prices will ease enough this year to avoid the need for rate hikes. The dollar was on track for its biggest daily percentage drop in six weeks on the heels of the jobs report seen as strong enough to keep the Fed's tightening path intact. The dollar index fell 0.53% at 95.750, and was poised for its biggest drop since Nov. 26, when concerns about the Omicron COVID-19 variant began to rattle markets. Even with Friday's weakness, the dollar was still on track for a slight weekly gain, its first in three weeks. Oil prices settled lower as the market weighed supply concerns from the unrest in Kazakhstan and outages in Libya against the mixed U.S. jobs report and its potential impact on Federal Reserve policy. U.S. crude fell 0.52% to $79.05 per barrel and Brent was at $81.90, down 0.11% on the day, partially erasing gains earlier in the week. [O/R] Spot gold stood at $1,795 an ounce, up slightly on the day after touching a two-week low of $1,788.25 on Thursday, as rising U.S. Treasury yields hurt demand for the non-interest bearing metal. Bitcoin slumped as much as 5% on Friday to its lowest since late September, amid a broader sell-off for cryptocurrencies driven by concerns about tighter U.S. monetary policy. Bitcoin was last down about 3% at $41,896 after touching $40,938, its lowest since Sept. 29, as the payrolls data fueled some bargain buying. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Editing by Alison Williams and Chizu Nomiyama) || Why India Isn’t Buying NFTs (Yet): 2022 is expected to be the year of non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ). At $40 billion, the global market capitalization for NFTs is inching closer to the entire global art market cap of $50 billion. However, one of the potentially largest markets for NFTs – India – is facing teething troubles. Indian experiments with NFTs have grown rapidly in the last eight months or so. In June 2021, WazirX, India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, launched an NFT marketplace predominantly for Indian artists. In the time since, multiple Bollywood celebrities and sports stars have launched NFTs. The largest global NFT sale to date, the $69 million Beeple sale , was incidentally also purchased by a buyer of Indian origin, Vignesh Sundaresan, also known as MetaKovan. But oddly enough, Indians have not started buying into NFTs just yet. The supply and demand gap There is a fairly large supply and demand gap in the Indian NFT market. NFT creators here are proliferating while collectors remain nonexistent. Both sides paint a different picture of how they see the NFT opportunity in India. From the creator perspective, opportunity abounds. The talent landscape for art and digital art in India is vibrant – from graphic designers and illustrators, to specialized visual effects (VFX) artists working for Hollywood and Bollywood, to a rich traditional art heritage spanning many diverse styles. The young and savvy have already taken to the NFT space and the numbers are growing. WazirX has an active Indian creator community of 1,300 artists and has a waitlist of 20,000 artists waiting to be onboarded into the marketplace. SamosaRani is one such successful creator with over 18 NFT sales and three collections under her belt across OpenSea and other markets. An art therapist and artist for two decades, she has found a great niche for her art in the NFT space. However, none of her dedicated collectors are Indian, and only a small fraction of her one-off buyers are from India. "Finding collectors is a difficult task for most Indian artists," she told me. Story continues Read more: India Edges Toward Crypto Legalization With 30% Tax, Announces Digital Rupee Interestingly, Indian NFT creators have migrated into becoming NFT collectors and traders. CreatiWitty , a top performer on the Kalamint platform, started off as a creator but now spends 100% of his time flipping NFTs. His story is the kind that motivates many artists across the country to enter the NFT space. He used to be a freelance graphic designer in a small town in the Indian state of Gujarat, designing logos and branding for companies. “It used to take me three days to design logos with customers complaining and constantly needing changes. Now, in a matter of minutes, I can flip an NFT and earn two times, three times what I used to make with three days of effort,” he said in an interview. From a mass adoption perspective, however, NFT collectibles are not quite finding a product market fit in India. A limited set of Indian collectors leverage NFTs for speculative uses. This small Indian collector community cites a preference for high liquidity NFTs, with PFP (photo for profile) art and photos as the best performing categories. Sandeep Sangli, the founder of NFT platform Kalamint said: “Historically Indians have not been collectors. Art is something Indians haven’t really warmed up to as an asset class. For NFTs to work in India they need to have utility.” Indeed, different players in the market are coming to terms with the real value in India being for utility-based NFTs. Sangli said one of the higher performing segments in Kalamint is for brands and entrepreneurs to cross promote and sell NFTs that can be redeemed on their site for goods. WazirX experimented selling NFT tickets for a music festival in its marketplace. These sold out in record time. Enter Bollywood It is not for lack of trying that NFT collectibles have not taken off. Bollywood and cricket are two rich cultural categories, and it was only natural that celebrities in both spheres gravitated towards NFTs. Between June and December 2021, several movie stars and cricket players released NFTs. But these launches saw a relatively lukewarm response. Amitabh Bachhan, Bollywood’s biggest superstar, affectionately known as “Big B,” launched an NFT collection with several thoughtful collectibles, including poem readings and even a Big B CryptoPunk. The entire collection sold for just under $1 million. While this is not bad, it does not compare to big ticket NFT sales we have seen around the world, especially given that Big B is India's biggest superstar by a mile with cross-generational appeal. Single CryptoPunks (the original must-have NFTs) have sold for many multiples of this, from $3 million to $12 million. The sale also pales in comparison to NFTs by other celebrities. Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats collection, which gave access for a series that has not even launched, pulled an easy $8 million. Celebrities are now expanding beyond pure NFTs into full metaverse plays. One of the first to experiment deeply with this has been Bollywood star Kunal Kapoor who is now building out the LoveABot /LABverse project. “I wanted to do something to change the narrative around the tech dystopia and a tech-driven future that we fear,” he told me. He is on a mission to build a creative metaverse for technologists where a tech-positive narrative can be created. Another actor, Rana Daggubati, of the iconic “ Baahubali ” movie franchise, is venturing into an ambitious Indian metaverse, with the Ikonz project. CEO Abhinav Kalidindi believes that “we need to drive a change in mindset, but with it, India would be one of the largest metaverse and NFT markets in the world.” Read more: India's Millennials Embrace Digital Gold Despite Proposed Bitcoin Ban It has placed a bet on a unique metaverse with Indian characteristics, having secured IP rights to the “Baahubali” franchise, as well as widely read and loved Indian comic brands, “Tinkle” and “Amar Chitra Katha.” But in line with experience from other Indian projects, Kalidindi said “building NFTs with utility at value-conscious price for Indians” will be key to their success. Name of the game With this backdrop to India’s budding NFT sector, all stakeholders are now looking to India’s gaming sector for that ultimate product market fit with NFTs. India’s gaming sector has exploded in the last year, recording 170% growth between 2020 and 2021 alone, and the market is expected to triple by 2025. With over 450 million gamers, industry players are betting this will create the right growth market for NFTs. Indian creators and collectors have started looking into gaming NFTs. Some interviewees have already started experimenting with gaming skins and related NFTs. They often presell NFTs that will be used in games as a form of fundraising. “With enough hype around these games, we see a lot of collectors buying ahead and flipping these NFTs,” said Kalamint's Sangli. He believes a gaming and content utility might be the most preferred by Indians. Ikonz’s Kalidindi put it accurately when he said, “NFT collectibles may have value globally but not for Indians. Crypto gaming is massive and in India play-to-earn games do really well. This is where India might find the right product market fit for NFTs.” As experimentation in the country accelerates, it will be interesting to see how Indian attitudes to NFTs evolve. || Bitcoin's long-term momentum indicators are still positive despite recent downturn, Katie Stockton says: • Bitcoin's long-term outlook remains bullish despite recent volatility, according to technical analyst Katie Stockton.
• Bitcoin is down 30% from its November high, but it remains in a long-term uptrend and has yet to break below key support levels.
• "Our long-term gauges still point higher despite having down-ticked this month," Stockton said.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
A recent sell-off inbitcoinisn't changing one technical analyst's bullish long-term view on the cryptocurrency.
Katie Stockton ofFairlead Strategiessaid in a note on Monday that bitcoin's long-term outlook remains positive despite the recent volatility.
Bitcoin is down 30% from its record November high, but a relief rally helped the cryptocurrency recover some of its losses. That was until late Monday evening, when the world's most valuable cryptocurrency fell about 6% below the $50,000 level to $47,800 Tuesday afternoon.
Despite the back-and-forth action, bitcoin has managed to hold above its key support level at $44,200, Stockton observed, which represents a 61.8%fibonacci retracement level. Bitcoin's successful test of that level throughout December helped improve short-term momentum to neutral from bearish, according to the note.
But in the medium term, bitcoin's momentum remains weak and in bearish territory based on its weeklymoving average convergence divergence(MACD) indicator. "But we would assume a neutral intermediate-term bias if the weekly stochastics crossover," Stockton said.
With a neutral short-term bias and a bearish intermediate-term bias, bitcoin remains in a choppy trading range with key short-term resistance between $54,600 and $55,600.
Still, bitcoin "remains solidly in a long-term uptrend... and our long-term gauges still point higher despite having down-ticked this month," Stockton said.
If bitcoin is able to decisively jump above its short-term resistance, its next target would be long-term resistance around $65,000, representing potential upside of 35% from current levels, according to the note.
Despite the recent sell-off, bitcoin is still up 64% year-to-date, and is up 693% since the stock market bottomed on March 23, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
Read the original article onBusiness Insider || How the Latest Biden/House Tax Proposal Affects Millionaire Retirees: A couple of well-off retirees roll suitcases out of a Southwestern home for a trip. Getty Images Back in November 2017, I did a deep dive into the House version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). It’s hard to identify anything I’ve done that was a bigger waste of time. The final version of the bill signed into law by former President Trump had almost no resemblance to its initial form. Today the Build Back Better proposal has also gone through multiple twists and turns — and probably will continue to do so. This time, however, the House version is more likely to be close to its final form. As I write, it is also possible that this will play out in the Senate in January. Happy New Year! SEE MORE 2022 Tax Calendar: Important Tax Due Dates and Deadlines Here’s the good news for the wealthy: If you have $1 million to $5 million, this bill is not going to have a significant impact on your finances unless you are about to sell a business or hit the lottery. But here are three items still in the bill that you should be aware of: 1. Increase of the SALT deduction Unlike the many tax hikes in the bill for the wealthy, this provision is likely to reduce your taxes. The TCJA put a cap of $10K on the amount of state income taxes and personal property taxes you can deduct. In high-tax, high-property-value areas, this cap significantly reduced the amount of itemized deductions you could claim. This bill raises that cap to $80K. That’s great news for retirees who live in valuable homes or have significant retirement income subject to state income taxes. Example: If your itemized deductions increase by $10K due to the SALT cap expansion, your taxable income will drop by the same amount. Your tax bill will decrease by your [marginal rate * $10K]. So if you were in the 32% marginal tax bracket, you would owe $3,200 less in taxes. 2. Wash sale rules would apply to cryptocurrencies My mom, who is in her 70s and largely hands-off with her investments, inquired about Bitcoin earlier in the year. That was my sign that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and we know that many of our clients are investing in them. What I think many retirees don’t realize is that there is a way to take advantage of a current loophole until (if) this bill is passed. Story continues SEE MORE How Is Cryptocurrency Taxed? Here's What You Need to Know Cryptos are extremely volatile. If you have a bad Bitcoin day, you can sell your position, claim the loss on your tax return, and reinvest the same or next day. With stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc., you must be out of that position for more than 30 days to be able to claim that loss. Many experts think that this contributes to the volatility of the asset class as there is actually a tax advantage to selling when everyone else does, leading to self-perpetuating volatility. Should the Build Back Better plan as currently written pass, cryptos will follow the same wash sale rules as other publicly traded securities. 3. Reduced estate exemption (but not until 2026) Full disclosure: This reduction actually stems from the expiration of the TCJA, not as part of the Build Back Better act. I imagine this all seems like Greek, but, as a refresher, the exemption is the amount you can pass to beneficiaries without owing federal estate tax. The TCJA doubled this amount from roughly $5.5 million to $11 million per person, meaning that very few people have to worry about it. Many of the earlier versions of Build Back Better accelerated the reduction. However, the latest version does not. Assuming that the estate tax exemption in the final bill is exactly what the House passed, the reduction of the exemption amount would come in 2026. While the vast majority of Americans would still be just fine, many of you may not be. When you add your home, your investments, etc., that number can climb quickly. Add compounding interest for the next 20 years and you may need a different level of estate planning. Bottom line: This bill has been defanged for almost all but the uberwealthy. If you’re wondering why Elon Musk is selling Tesla stock, it’s not because of a Twitter war with Bernie Sanders; it’s because he’s betting his tax bill will be lower today than in the future. For those like Elon, it’s a safe bet. The rest of us need to wait and see. SEE MORE Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Basics You may also like Your Guide to Roth Conversions Meet the Architect of the 401(k) Plan Patience Pays for Investing Decisions || 2021: The Year in Review: By Peter Nurse, Liz Moyer, Sam Boughedda and Yasin Ebrahim Investing.com -- The year 2021 is rapidly drawing to a close, and while it has been a significant improvement, market-wise, to the previous year, there was plenty of volatility along the way. As we move into 2022, here's a look back at the year that was. First Quarter: Biden arrives January: The new year started as the old one had ended with the Covid-19 virus casting an ominous shadow over the global markets. The official global death toll breached the 2 million mark in January. Supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, resulting in five deaths and Trump’s impeachment, the first time in history a U.S. President was impeached twice. President Joe Biden’s inauguration did proceed smoothly in the end, and he promptly unveiled a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 stimulus package. Markets found a new trading theme - inflation. The Covid-19 lockdowns contributed to supply chain disruptions and brewing inflation, and the stimulus deal amped up the pressure. The Federal Reserve said short-term price increases were not a concern, but traders began anticipating it would have to act. U.S. bond yields started to climb, and the dollar rose in tandem. After starting the year around $30,000, Bitcoin jumped to over $40,000 before slumping 10%. So-called ‘meme’ stocks were on the rise. Video game retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME) was central to this phenomenon. Professional short-sellers had positioned themselves for a fall in the stock given the videogame retailer’s lack of an online presence during the pandemic. Retail investors, helped by social media sites and cheap trading platforms, were eager to give hedge funds a bloody nose and rushed in. GameStop’s stock soared 400% in the last week of the month. February: Equity markets headed higher in February, as optimism that the mass rollout of Covid vaccines, including a new one by Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), would mean a prompt return to normalcy. Story continues Jeff Bezos announced he was stepping down as CEO of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) after 30 years, having grown the company from his garage to the largest U.S. e-commerce retailer by market capitalization. U.S. government bonds saw a sharp sell-off late in the month, with yields climbing sharply after tepid demand at a Treasury bond auction. Bitcoin jumped 50% through the $58,000-mark, claiming a market capitalization of $1 trillion, as heavyweight institutions such as Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) embraced the cryptocurrency. Crude prices continued to recover on growing confidence that oil demand would rise sharply as vaccines helped global economies reopen. A major winter storm in Texas helped, shutting down supply. In politics, former President Donald Trump was acquitted in his second Senate impeachment trial as the Republican Party mostly stayed loyal. Mario Draghi, former head of the European Central Bank, was sworn in as Italian Prime Minister, while civilian leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, were detained in Myanmar after a military coup. March: The search for normalcy continued. The rollout of Covid vaccines, particularly in the U.S. and the U.K., helped equity markets rise. The U.S. S&P 500 index rose by over 4% in March whereas the Nasdaq 100 index gained just under 0.5%, as growth stocks continued to underperform their value counterparts. In the European Union, a lack of vaccination logistics organization was exacerbated when AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) struggled to deliver as many vaccine doses as promised. Then a blood clot side effect problem created doubts about its viability. Inflationary fears continued to unnerve bond markets with the U.S. 10-year yield climbing steadily, ending the month at 1.73%, after the passing of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package and with a substantial infrastructure plan in the works. Bitcoin broke $60,000 for the first time, before pulling back in volatile trading. Crude prices pushed higher, with the global benchmark Brent rallying to $65 a barrel. Late in the month, a 224,000 ton container ship, owned by Evergreen Marine, got lodged in the Suez Canal, creating a traffic jam in one of the busiest waterways in the world. Second Quarter: Trust me, it’s just transitory April: Large-cap stocks got all the attention as the second quarter kicked off a period of strong earnings and economic data. The S&P rose 5.3%, while the Nasdaq rose 5.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.8%. The Federal Reserve stayed committed to keeping the stimulus spigot open a year after slashing rates to zero, holding fast to its view that any price increases would be “transitory.” Inflationary pressures that showed up in March seemed to calm a bit in April, with the 10-year Treasury yield easing back to 1.63%. By month’s end, about 100 million Americans had received their Covid shots, a hopeful sign that the economy could recover quickly. But unemployment remained elevated at 6% and 2 million or so Americans were still missing from the labor force compared to conditions before the pandemic erupted. U.S. job growth disappointed in April, but the full scope wasn’t appreciated until May, when the monthly jobs report for April showed 266,000 new jobs added in the period. Economists had expected 1 million. The weaker-than-expected number sparked debate about whether extended extra unemployment benefits were keeping workers from seeking jobs. Bitcoin reached a high of $63,400 in April but then tumbled back to $50,000. May: The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed another 2.2% for the month, and the S&P 500 rose 0.7% while the Nasdaq dropped 1.4%. Fears about inflation started to dig in amid talk of rising costs and labor shortages. Consumer and producer prices continued to surge. They weighed against labor shortages, rising wages, shipping delays and material shortages. President Biden set July 4 as the deadline to get at least 70% of American adults vaccinated with at least one shot. By month’s end, 135 million Americans were fully vaccinated, but a variant of coronavirus called Delta was surging in India and would land on U.S. shores soon enough. A late-month rally in stocks was a reaction to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s April policy meeting, where officials signaled a shift in their thinking. The minutes said continued progress with the economy could make it appropriate for the Fed to start talking about the timing of its bond purchase taper, the first step in reducing the stimulus that flowed through the economy since the beginning of the pandemic. The 10-year Treasury fell back to 1.59% at month’s-end. Bitcoin traded above $59,000 on May 8 and then fell to a four-month low. June: Though a surge in coronavirus cases caused European governments to second-guess their reopening plans, stocks continued to climb. The Nasdaq rose 5.5%, while the S&P 500 advanced 2.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. By now, Fed officials were signaling the likelihood of two interest rate hikes in 2023. Chair Jerome Powell said substantial further progress would be needed to start the taper. Two-thirds of workers said employers had encouraged staff to get their vaccination, with half saying they got paid time off to get it or recover from side effects. In June, 25 states withdrew the extra unemployment benefits that had been going out to people since the pandemic, arguing the extra money kept people out of the workforce. The economy added 850,000 jobs that month, and the unemployment rate was 5.9% from 5.8% in May. Third Quarter: It’s infrastructure week, finally July: The lingering Covid-19 pandemic left concerns about whether the economic recovery would continue throughout the rest of the year, creating volatility. U.S. equities ended the month higher, as did U.K. and European equity markets. China's regulatory clampdown hit Chinese U.S. listed stocks hard. Ride-hailing company and NYSE-listed Didi Global saw its shares close the month down 27%. The Fed said after its July meeting that the economy was making progress. However, it maintained asset purchases and said it is appropriate to keep the current target rate range until labor market conditions have improved. After moving mostly sideways since May, failing to break above the $41,000 mark after a couple of attempts, Bitcoin closed the month at $41,490. The Senate began debate on a $1 trillion bill to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, including money for bridges, roads, rail and ports, and the build out of broadband and clean energy projects. August: The tech sector helped drive U.S. equities higher in August to touch new highs. Powell made dovish comments at the Jackson Hole Symposium but also said bond purchases could be reduced before the end of 2021. The benchmark S&P 500 rose for the seventh-straight month after a 3% gain, the Nasdaq 100 climbed 4% and the Dow rose over 1%. This was against the backdrop of supply chain challenges, inflation concerns, the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant, and labor market shortages. WTI crude oil fell 7% in August, its worst month since October 2020, as demand concerns increased once again when Hurricane Ida forced the closure of U.S. refineries. The U.S. dollar hit a new high for 2021 in August, touching the 93.73 level before quickly retreating throughout the rest of the month. However, the decline wasn't enough to put it into negative territory. It closed out August over half a percent higher. After the breakout towards the end of July, Bitcoin gained some momentum in August, closing out the month over 13% higher. The Senate passed the infrastructure spending bill, but not without considerable debate over whether to pair its passage with a larger spending bill focused on social initiatives. The House wouldn’t pass it until November. September: September saw U.S. equity markets sell off, erasing the previous month's gains and staying true to the usual seasonal September decline. The S&P 500 fell 4.8%, the Nasdaq 100 closed September down over 5% and the Dow finished the month down 4.2%. The majority of FAANG stocks fell in September, with Meta (formerly known as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB)) down over 10%, Amazon down over 5%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) 6.8% lower, and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) over 7% lower. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was the outlier, gaining over 7% during the month. Elsewhere, the energy sector rose 9% after spikes in oil and natural gas prices. There were significant concerns for the Chinese real estate market and Evergrande bondholders after the property firm ran short of cash in the face of mounting debts, an issue that is still ongoing. China also continued to impose stricter regulatory reforms — another concern for investors. In the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting, Powell said tapering could begin as soon as November. He also said that rate hikes would not start until the tapering was complete. A promising start to September for Bitcoin was short-lived after it failed to penetrate the $53,000 level and ended being down 7% for the month. Fourth Quarter: Focus shifts to inflation October: Stocks started the fourth quarter on the front foot as investors looked ahead to the quarterly U.S. earnings season to get a sense of how companies were holding up against rising costs. Corporate America duly answered the call, delivering its strongest quarterly earnings in more than a decade. Fears that surging costs from clogged-up supply chains would hold margins hostage quickly dispersed as firms were able to pass on costs to consumers. The S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all swelled to all-time highs. Tesla was one of standout performers of the month, racking up gains of 44% en route to a record high. Bitcoin leapt to record highs as the wider investment world cheered the coming of age of the moment for the popular cryptocurrency: A futures-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The Securities and Exchange Commissions approved the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy fund. The traditional fourth-quarter rally in Bitcoin and stocks appeared to be a done deal. Bond markets, however, kept some of the optimism in check, as the yield curve continued to flatten – a traditional doomsday sign. November: Investors were reminded that the pandemic continued to be a main market risk event as a new variant emerged from South Africa. Armed with the tools – via several mutations – to evade our most effective vaccines, Omicron sent shockwaves through markets. Europe was soon under siege. Covid lockdowns in parts of Europe were back in vogue. As investors awaited further data to assess the threat carried by the Omicron variant, they had to contend with another negative surprise: The ‘Powell Pivot.’ Testimony from Powell before Congress, proved to be a monumental moment for monetary policy. Against the backdrop of U.S. inflation running at the hottest pace in three decades, Powell said it was time to delete the word “transitory” from our inflation vernacular. The Fed chief signaled that the pace of bond tapering would be accelerated to allow enough room to begin hiking rates. For the first time in a while, investors were forced to remove their Fed-tinted glasses. And they didn’t like the unknowns before them. Is the ‘Fed Put’ dead? How far behind is the Fed on the curve? How many hikes will it take for the Fed to catch up, and could that lead to recession as the Omicron impact threatens the recovery? Investors didn’t hang around for answers and uncertainty soon swept through markets, delivering a blow to risk appetite. The Bank of England reprised its role as the ‘unreliable boyfriend.’ It unexpectedly kept monetary policy unchanged. December: The final month of the year was characterized by wild swings in either direction as investors started counting down the days until the Fed’s last monetary policy meeting of the year, betting that the Fed would double the speed of its bond purchase tapering to $30 billion per month. The consensus on rate hikes was less than straightforward, as some were in the two hikes in 2022 camp, others were clinging onto one. The Fed sprung a hawkish surprise, with members forecasting three rate hikes for 2022 followed by another three in 2023. In the press conference that followed the monetary policy statement, Powell delivered arguably his best monetary policy Q&A during his tenure as Fed chair. The chief acknowledged the threat of inflation, but also reassured markets that the economy was strong enough to deal with the Fed’s tightening plan. Markets rallied with tech delivering strong post-Fed gains. And talk of “Apple $3 trillion valuation,” was on the agenda once again. Some on Wall Street had even harbored hope that the “Santa Rally” would make a late appearance. But the positive sentiment quickly faded as the economic threat of the Omicron variant lurked in the background. See our full 2022 outlook series here . Related Articles 2021: The Year in Review China to stabilise markets, adopt registration-based IPO system - official Futures subdued as focus turns to weekly jobless claims || Terra LFG To Commit $450 Million To Maintain Anchors 19.3% APY: One of the biggest Lending protocols in the DeFi space Anchor recently suffered a major blow to its reserves in the last 2 months which has led to the protocol looking at a contribution from Terras foundation to escape the ensuing losses. LFG to Anchors Rescue In a proposal to Terra, the Anchor protocol is looking for the recently formed Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) to replenish Anchors reserves with $450 million. The proposal has been put forth in order to maintain the protocols industry-high annual percentage yield (APY) of 19-20% on deposits. This APY known to be one of the highest among the top protocols led to the depletion of reserves. As the market crashed in December and January, lending on the protocol came down. However, deposits continued at the same rate, and as a result, most of the capital inflow which was the result of Anchors high-interest rate reduced leading to a higher outflow. This led to the reserves losing between $1 million to $1.6 million every single day since December. At the moment, the same reserve stands at $12.6 million. Using this boost of $450 million from the LFG, Anchor aims on maintaining the yield reserves long enough to cancel out the payout with the revenues. As described by the announcement, Anchor plans on extending the $450 million reserves for the next 47 weeks, with projections indicating a return to their earlier structure of higher revenue over payouts by January 5, 2023. Anchor also intends on improving its mechanics in the future by introducing its new v2 borrowing model. In addition to the same, the spokesperson stated: This refinement process takes time and we believe having a sufficient yield reserve to continue scaling USTs growth to newcomers and inspire existing users confidence will benefit all stakeholders The Effect of LFG on Terra Launched less than a month ago the Luna Foundation Guard basically acts as a non-profit organization mandated to build reserves for the $UST peg amid volatile market conditions. Story continues The organization is said to be governed independently by an international council of leaders and experts to maintain transparency. However, despite the positive announcement broader market took down both LUNA and Anchor by 20.18% and 28.17% respectively. Ongoing market recovery did manage to push them back up by 30-40% and with a bullish development as such, this recovery could continue for a while. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Binance Invests $200 Million in Forbes To Strengthen Digital Initiative Silver Gains Ground After U.S. Inflation Reports Exceed Analyst Estimates Crude Oil Markets Choppy After CPI UBS Group Suggests Alternate Ways of Investing in Cryptocurrencies NY City Mayor Eric Adams Talks Down Bitcoin (BTC) Mining US Dollar Threatening Major Breakout Against Yen || The Invesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF Continues its Poor Performance: The US industrial sector has performed well so far this year as the Biden administration is set to spend big on infrastructure.
TheInvesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF(PRN) has underperformed over the past few weeks. The ETF has lost more than 6% of its value over the past month despite rallying since the start of the year. At press time, PRN is trading at $112.55, down by 1.95% over the past 24 hours.
The Invesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF is a passively managed exchange-traded fund that has been around since 2006. The fund is sponsored by Invesco and currently has more than $250 million in assets under management, making it one of the average-sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials – Broad segment of the US stock market.
The fund seeks to match the performance of the DWA Industrials Technical Leaders Index before fees and expenses. Meanwhile, the DWA Industrials Technical Leaders Index tracks the performance of companies with relative strength. It comprises 30 common stocks from a universe of approximately 3,000 common stocks traded on US exchanges.
Despite its poor performance in recent weeks, PRN remains one of the top ETFs in its space. PRN currently has an annual operating expense of 0.60%, similar to most products in the space. The fund also has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.07%.
The fund has the heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector, with 91.30% of the portfolio covering that sector. PRN has a beta of 1.07 and a standard deviation of 27.94% for the past three-year period, making it a medium-risk choice in the sector.
Since the start of the year, PRN has added more than 21% to its value, making it one of the top performers in the industrial sector. Despite its recent performance, PRN could still rally higher and touch the $120 mark over the coming weeks.
Heading into the holidays, the fund might likely remain around the $110-$115 level as investors take time off to look at the following year.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• The Invesco DWA Industrials Momentum ETF Continues its Poor Performance || Bitcoin tumbles 5% to below $47,000 as it heads toward its worst monthly slump since May: • Bitcoin struggled for a third straight session Wednesday, losing 5% to trade below $47,000
• The digital currency appears to be facing a headwind from this week's expiration of options contracts worth about $6 billion.
• Bitcoin has lost 17% in December, its worst monthly performance since May.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
Bitcoin fell for a third straight session Wednesday and is heading toward its worst monthly performance in seven months, as investors wrap up trading for 2021.
The world's most valuable cryptocurrency was down 5.4% at $46,647.85 during Wednesday's session from Tuesday when it traded as high as $49,307.04,according to Coingecko.
Bitcoin has failed to hold $52,000 following a "short-term breakthrough" on Monday, said Adrian Kenny, senior sales trader at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, in a note Wednesday.
"Whilst Bitcoin's overall trading volumes were consistent, a total of 129,800 option contracts are set to expire on the 31st December which is believed to be fuelling overall wary sentiment for the short term," Kenny wrote, noting the value of the options is about $6 billion.
Bitcoin's failure to stay above $50,000 is worrisome for many crypto traders, said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note early Wednesday. "If the price continues to trade below this mark, we are likely to visit the early 40K price level again."
Bitcoin is on track to lose roughly 17% for December, which would be its sharpest monthly decline since May when bitcoin sank about 35%.
May's decline was driven largely by worries about regulatory moves in China and in the US. Bitcoin also came under pressure after electric vehicle maker Tesla said in mid-May it would halt taking bitcoin as a payment option because of environmental concerns.
This month started off with a weekend selloff in bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market, with one day of trading throwing bitcoin's price down by as much as 27%. But while bitcoin is under pressure for December, it's still on course to rise about 63% in 2021.
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and a bitcoin skeptic, pointed outin a tweet Tuesdaythat bitcoin's market dominance had dropped this month.
"With over 16,000 alternative cryptos to choose from Bitcoin's market dominance is now below 40% for the first time since June of 2018. With an unlimited supply of easily created cryptos with virtually identical properties, #Bitcoin is losing its first-mover competitive advantage," he wrote.
Read the original article onBusiness Insider
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 42407.94, 42244.47, 42197.52, 42586.92, 44575.20, 43961.86, 40538.01, 40030.98, 40122.16, 38431.38
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-11-21]
BTC Price: 8071.26, BTC RSI: 66.31
Gold Price: 1281.10, Gold RSI: 50.50
Oil Price: 56.83, Oil RSI: 64.19
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Not Rewarding Surprises Like It Used To: Global Week Ahead: In theGlobal Week Ahead, USA large-cap stock markets look quieter, with so many earnings results already priced in. Third quarter earnings season has 81% of S&P500 companies completed.
To date, the market has been rewarding upside earnings surprises less than average and is punishing downside earnings surprises more than average.
Why? Trump tax ebullience got this market ahead of itself on valuation. The forward P/E ratio is at 18.0. That’s high, folks.
Yet, other than for insurance companies, results have been good. The earnings growth rate for the third quarter is at +5.9%.
48 S&P500 companies report results in the week ahead. Interesting names to watch include:
Monday: Knight Swift Transportation KNX, Manitowoc MTW
Tuesday: Hecla Mining HL, Royal Caribbean RCL
Wednesday: MGM Resorts MGM, Regeneron Pharma REGN
Thursday: Brookfield Asset Management BAM, Macy’s M
Friday: Arcelor Mittal MT
For the rest of the world, Reuter’s bureau in London identified five World Market Themes.
(1) President Trump Tours Asia
U.S. President Donald Trump is on his first trip to Asia. He has stopped in Japan already, and will go on to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Security concerns in the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea will grab a lot of attention.
But investors will also look at trade talks, with Trump particularly keen to address his country’s vast trade deficit with China that Beijing calls unintentional, but which he calls “horrible.”
(2) Bitcoin Talk Bubbles Over
Investors’ appetite for bitcoin appears to have no bounds.The digital currency climbed above $7,000 on Thursday for the first time ever, after an astronomical increase of more than 900 percent over the past 12 months. News that the world’s biggest derivatives exchange operator, CME Group, was set to launch bitcoin futures was seen as a significant step in bitcoin’s road to mainstream adoption, driving the latest surge in price.
But with high-profile investors such as Warren Buffett and the head of Credit Suisse saying in recent days that the bitcoin market represents a bubble, could that be set to burst in spectacular fashion?
What is to stop a rival cryptocurrency — of which there is a potentially unlimited quantity — from becoming investors’ digital currency of choice?
With bitcoin now worth more than $120 billion, more than Citi or Goldman Sachs, the consequences of a sudden crash could be severe.
(3) The JOLTS Labor Market Survey Is Out for the USA
The Nov. 7th release of the September Job Opening and Labor Turnover (JOLT) survey will show whether demand for labor has held up or is in need of an — ahem — jolt.At the moment, the ratio of job openings versus quit jobs is close to 2 to 1, hovering in a range close to the all-time peak of 2.12 hit in July 2015.
(4) Italian Bank Earnings Are Out
Italy’s biggest banks, including UniCredit, Intesa and Banco BPM, report their latest earnings and they could make encouraging reading following the euro zone-wide pick-up in growth and a strong rally in Italian debt over the last month.
It certainly seems a long time since last year’s bail out of problem child Monte dei Paschi di Siena. It is now back in the market, and the main Italian banks are comfortably outperforming their euro zone peers in share performance, so the results round should be telling.
(5) Ah Yes, VENEZUELA!
After what feels like years of speculation, OPEC member Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro wants to restructure the ailing country’s foreign debt.
Maduro has invited Venezuelan bondholders to a Nov. 13th meeting in Caracas to discuss the matter, although getting clearance from the compliance department could be interesting for the bankers involved.
Vice President Tareck El Aissami, who is on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drug trafficking, said the country remained committed to paying all its debt but wanted to reformulate terms with creditors, which is likely to mean some lively bouts of price discovery.
Top Zacks Rank Stocks
(1) Exxon Mobil XOM:This is the $352 billion market cap oil giant. The long-term Zacks VGM score is C.With all of the political chaos that just opened in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, keep an eye on this Zacks #1 Rank conglomerate, petrochemical, oil and gas stock.(2) Intel INTC:Semiconductor, semiconductors. This 2017 market couldn’t have risen as far as it did without them. Now, 2018 approaches.This $127 billion in market cap stock is the core holding here. And after a stellar quarterly earnings report, it is back to a #1 Rank. This stock’s long-term Zacks VGM score is B. I see more room to run here.(3) Mastercard MA:What would the world be (barring a move to Bitcoin) without credit cards? This is a $159 billion market cap stock now. That tells us the vast, vast majority of us use credit cards to make online and in store purchases.The Zacks Rank is a #1 and the long-term Zacks score is a D. With an F for Zacks Value, this bull story is well and truly overbought.Key Global Macro—
A wave of 5 central bank decisions happens across Asia. Think of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Don’t expect any change here.
On Thursday, the central bank’s of Mexico (Banxico) and Peru (Banco Central de Reserva del Peru) issue policy decisions.
Expect Banxico to hold its policy rate at 7.0% for the third straight.
Meeting: The last hike happened in June. Peru should hold fast at 3.5%.
Mexico’s central bankers should look through a transitory soft patch in Mexico’s economy during Q3 that was influenced by hurricanes and earthquakes.
On Friday, Brazil’s inflation rate will be a focus.
On Monday, Indonesia’s GDP growth rate came in at +5.0% y/y.
The final composite Eurozone Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) came out. The reading was 56, better than the prior 55.9.
The Markit PMI for Brazil was 49.5, down from 51.1. 50 marks expansion, so this is important data.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should keeps its overnight rate at 1.5%.
Industrial production in Germany comes out. The prior was 4.7% y/y.
Russia’s CPI comes out. The prior was +3.0% y/y, and the forecast is +2.8% y/y.
On Wednesday, the National Bank of Poland issues its new base rate. The rate has been 1.5% and is not expected to change.
Portugal’s unemployment rate is 8.8%. We get a new reading here. Remember the PIiGs? That seems long gone now. Time moves on fast and worries do change.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) should keep its policy rate at 1.75%. It’s similar to the RBA in Australia.
On Thursday, Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) issues its overnight policy rate. The 3.0% rate is not expected to change.The central bank of the Philippines (BSP) should also stay pat at 3.0%.Greece’s unemployment rate is 21%.U.S. initial claims should remain low at 229K.On Friday, Singapore’s GDP growth rate comes out. 4.6% y/y was the prior.Brazil’s IBGE inflation rate (their CPI) comes out. The look is for 2.73% y/y from 2.54%.University of Michigan consumer sentiment gets tested again, in the USA. The prior was 100.7.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSwift Transportation Company (KNX) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMGM Resorts International (MGM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportManitowoc Company, Inc. (The) (MTW) : Free Stock Analysis ReportRegeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (REGN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHecla Mining Company (HL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportExxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMacy's Inc (M) : Free Stock Analysis ReportArcelorMittal (MT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportIntel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin Drops below $6,000 as Bitcoin Cash Surges: Investing.com - The price of the digital currency bitcoin fell below the $6,000 level on Sunday to trade down more than $1,000 from an all-time high hit on Wednesday amid a shift by traders to bitcoin offshoot Bitcoin Cash.
On the U.S.-based Bitfinex exchange, Bitcoin hit a low of $5,426.00, its lowest since October 25 before pulling back to trade at $6,143.30 by 04:49 AM ET (09:49 AM GMT), still down 2.5% for the day.
Bitcoin has fallen in recent sessions after a software upgrade planned for next week that could have split the cryptocurrency in a so-called "fork" was called off due to waning support.
The planned split or fork, known as "SegWit2x", had intended to allow for more transactions to be processed at any given time, making fees for bitcoin transactions much cheaper.
As Bitcoin tumbled, Bitcoin Cash, which was generated from another software split on August 1, surged.
Bitcoin Cash hit an all-time high of $2,790.00, before pulling back to $1,680.60, still up 26.36% for the day.
Bitcoin Cash has a total market cap of around $27 billion at current prices, making it the third most valuable cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has tended to rebound quickly from pullbacks. Bitcoin started the year near $1,000 and at current prices has a total market capitalization of around $103 billion.
In a sign that the financial industry is starting to warm up to bitcoin, the world's largest derivative exchange operator CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) this month announced plans to launch bitcoin futures later this year, pending regulatory approvals.
The futures will allow investors to short-sell bitcoins, making two-way bets possible, a development that CME expects will attract major institutional investors, not just speculators.
CME’s announcement came just weeks after Goldman Sachs said it was considering setting up a new trading operation focused on bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency by market cap after bitcoin, was down 3.46% at $304.77.
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Bitcoin slides by over $1,000 in less than 48 hours || How to talk about cryptocurrency at the holiday dinner table: You’re sitting downto a nice meal and your aunt, always one step ahead, mentions she wants to start investing in Bitcoin. You freeze, a drip of gravy plopping off the ladle. It’s your time to shine.
You got this.
First, you know that the state of crypto is very, very good. This has been a banner year for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin rose from $738 a year ago to $8220 as of this year. If you invested $7000 in Bitcoin in November 2016 you’d be rounding into six figures by now. The same can be said about Ethereum with a bump from $9 in 2016 to $350 in 2017. Check out these graphs:
It’s enough to make your aunt want to sell her summer home and dump it all into the blockchain! But should she?
Probably not.
Interestingly, as the price has risen and the fluctuations have become more manageable, talk of crypto investing has died down. There are many reasons, but the primary one is that the crypto world loves to keep quiet and take profits on the sly. This means if you’re planning on getting in you’d best act decisively. You can dabble, sure, but if you want to see real returns I do not expect things to fall back down to $3,000 or even $5,000. We’re almost at a set-point for the next few months and, barring flash crashes, don't expect much to change barring some wild SEC regulation.
We’ve entered a strange era in cryptocurrencies. The technology is mature enough that anyone can implement a blockchain solution — from small fintechs to MasterCard — but not yet trusted enough to become a true store of general value. However the recentSegwit2x failureessentially showed the world that the “rulers” of the blockchain, namely the whales who have millions in crypto and the miners, want BTC to avoid becoming a utility and act more as a commodity. They don’t want to turn the blockchain into a credit card transaction service but instead want a way to store and transfer massive hordes of cash electronically.
Ethereum, on the other hand, will be the utility. The price should rise until after January but will probably fall drastically once the first of the poorly-orchestrated ICOs fail. It will rise again once the the first true ICOs — the true token sales that approach this with an eye on monetary management vs. get rich quick schemes— begin rolling out. This will happen in the first and second quarters. How do you pick a good token sale? Right now you can’t. Your best bet is to buy Ether on a dip and avoid the weirder token solutions that come over the pike. Tokens are, in my my opinion,the future. Just not in their current form.
Ultimately, the Ethereum network will grow to handle more transactions and Bitcoin will remain the same, a safeguard and bulwark for those who don’t want to keep their gold doubloons in a safe under the floor.
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Is your aunt still hounding you for advice? If she owns she should hold. If she doesn't own, she might as well give it a try. Make a her a Coinbase account and buy a few hundred dollars worth of BTC and Ether. Let her watch it move and begin to acclimate herself to the news cycle and, more importantly, the hype cycle. Remember: results may vary and this does not constitute investment advice any more than me saying “Hey, you should try learning to use Linux. You might make a really nice salary when it gets popular” back in 1992.
Cryptocurrencies are entering the mainstream. There are a few problems with its current popularity, the primary one being that people are entering the market without understanding it. This is fine - this has been practiced for decades on the NASDAQ with untrained traders making gut-based guesses on complex companies - but in crypto the technology is wedded to the price and misunderstanding the news coming out of services like CoinDesk can get you into a lot of trouble. To a degree the crypto loyalists love the fact that their world is inscrutable. To another degree this makes for some nail-biting times.
Tell your family that cryptocurrency will eventually replace the way we send money from computer to computer. Tell them that there are a lot of smart people doing a lot of cool stuff that was impossible even a few years ago. And tell them that, no, the FBI won't arrest them for trading in Bitcoin and that it can't be used very effectively to call in hits or buy kilos of cocaine online. Ultimately this is all a gamble but it's a gamble that mixes the high-stakes world of Wall Street with the high tech world of command lines. It's complex, fascinating, and fun. If it becomes anything less than that then it's probably time to cash out. || Bitcoin slides by over $1,000 in less than 48 hours: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin dropped below $7,000 (5,303 pounds) on Friday to trade more than $1,000 down from an all-time high hit on Wednesday, as some traders dumped it for a clone called Bitcoin Cash, sending its value up around a third. Bitcoin has been on a tear in recent months, with a vertiginous sevenfold increase in value since the start of the year that has led to many warnings the bitcoin market - now worth well over $100 billion - has become a bubble that is about to burst. It reached a record high of $7,888 around 1800 GMT on Wednesday after a software upgrade planned for next week that could have split the cryptocurrency in a so-called "fork" was suspended. But it has quickly retreated from that peak, falling to as low as $6,718 around 1330 GMT on Friday. It later recovered a touch to trade around $6,880 by 1645 GMT, but that was still down almost 4 percent on the day. "Bitcoin is all ups and downs," said Thomas Bertani, chief executive of Eidoo, a cryptocurrency wallet provider that recently became the first startup in the space to take out a full-page advert in the Wall Street Journal newspaper. "The market realised that the price rise was an over-reaching, so people started selling... (and) there are many long and short positions that amplify price movements." As bitcoin tumbled, Bitcoin Cash, which was generated from another software split on Aug.1, surged, trading up as much as 35 percent on the day to around $850, according to industry website Coinmarketcap. Bitcoin Cash's transactions are processed in so-called "blocks" that are larger in capacity than bitcoin's, so can therefore in theory allow for more transactions to be processed at any given time, making transaction fees much cheaper. The fork that had been planned for next week, known as "SegWit2x", had also intended to increase the capacity of the blocks, and could thus have reduced fees for bitcoin transactions. Any investors, therefore, that see bitcoin more as a currency than a store of value might be choosing to buy into Bitcoin Cash now that Segwit2x had been scrapped, Bertani said. Story continues "People who had been supporting Segwit2x could as an alternative move to Bitcoin Cash," he said. "There are good reasons to believe that Bitcoin Cash could be an alternative for people who believe that low fees on bitcoin transactions are needed today." (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) || Bitcoin blasts to new all-time high of $6,450: LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high of $6,450 on Wednesday, boosted by bets the cryptocurrency could enter the financial mainstream after the world's largest derivatives exchange operator said on Tuesday it would launch bitcoin futures. CME Group Inc said it would provide a regulated trading venue for the cryptocurrency market and would launch the new derivatives in the fourth quarter of 2017. Bitcoin has had a bumper year with a more than sixfold increase in price, and has more than doubled in price since mid-September alone. It was up 0.3 percent on Wednesday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange . (Reporting by Jemima Kelly, Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan) || The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Royal Caribbean, Macy's, Exxon Mobil, Intel and Mastercard: For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – November 7, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Royal Caribbean RCL, Macy’s M, Exxon Mobil XOM, Intel INTC and Mastercard MA.
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
Not Rewarding Surprises Like It Used To: Global Week Ahead
In theGlobal Week Ahead, USA large-cap stock markets look quieter, with so many earnings results already priced in. Third quarter earnings season has 81% of S&P500 companies completed.
To date, the market has been rewarding upside earnings surprises less than average and is punishing downside earnings surprises more than average.
Why? Trump tax ebullience got this market ahead of itself on valuation. The forward P/E ratio is at 18.0. That’s high, folks.
Yet, other than for insurance companies, results have been good. The earnings growth rate for the third quarter is at +5.9%.
48 S&P500 companies report results in the week ahead. Interesting names to watch include:
Monday: Knight Swift Transportation, Manitowoc
Tuesday: Hecla Mining, Royal Caribbean
Wednesday: MGM Resorts, Regeneron Pharma
Thursday: Brookfield Asset Management, Macy’s
Friday: Arcelor Mittal
For the rest of the world, Reuter’s bureau in London identified five World Market Themes.
(1) President Trump Tours Asia
U.S. President Donald Trump is on his first trip to Asia. He has stopped in Japan already, and will go on to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Security concerns in the Korean peninsula and the South China Sea will grab a lot of attention.
But investors will also look at trade talks, with Trump particularly keen to address his country’s vast trade deficit with China that Beijing calls unintentional, but which he calls “horrible.”
(2) Bitcoin Talk Bubbles Over
Investors’ appetite for bitcoin appears to have no bounds.The digital currency climbed above $7,000 on Thursday for the first time ever, after an astronomical increase of more than 900 percent over the past 12 months. News that the world’s biggest derivatives exchange operator, CME Group, was set to launch bitcoin futures was seen as a significant step in bitcoin’s road to mainstream adoption, driving the latest surge in price.
But with high-profile investors such as Warren Buffett and the head of Credit Suisse saying in recent days that the bitcoin market represents a bubble, could that be set to burst in spectacular fashion?
What is to stop a rival cryptocurrency — of which there is a potentially unlimited quantity — from becoming investors’ digital currency of choice?
With bitcoin now worth more than $120 billion, more than Citi or Goldman Sachs, the consequences of a sudden crash could be severe.
(3) The JOLTS Labor Market Survey Is Out for the USA
The Nov. 7th release of the September Job Opening and Labor Turnover (JOLT) survey will show whether demand for labor has held up or is in need of an — ahem — jolt.At the moment, the ratio of job openings versus quit jobs is close to 2 to 1, hovering in a range close to the all-time peak of 2.12 hit in July 2015.
(4) Italian Bank Earnings Are Out
Italy’s biggest banks, including UniCredit, Intesa and Banco BPM, report their latest earnings and they could make encouraging reading following the euro zone-wide pick-up in growth and a strong rally in Italian debt over the last month.
It certainly seems a long time since last year’s bail out of problem child Monte dei Paschi di Siena. It is now back in the market, and the main Italian banks are comfortably outperforming their euro zone peers in share performance, so the results round should be telling.
(5) Ah Yes, VENEZUELA!
After what feels like years of speculation, OPEC member Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro wants to restructure the ailing country’s foreign debt.
Maduro has invited Venezuelan bondholders to a Nov. 13th meeting in Caracas to discuss the matter, although getting clearance from the compliance department could be interesting for the bankers involved.
Vice President Tareck El Aissami, who is on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drug trafficking, said the country remained committed to paying all its debt but wanted to reformulate terms with creditors, which is likely to mean some lively bouts of price discovery.
Top Zacks Rank Stocks
(1) Exxon Mobil: This is the $352 billion market cap oil giant. The long-term Zacks VGM score is C.With all of the political chaos that just opened in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, keep an eye on this Zacks #1 Rank conglomerate, petrochemical, oil and gas stock.
(2) Intel: Semiconductor, semiconductors. This 2017 market couldn’t have risen as far as it did without them. Now, 2018 approaches.
This $127 billion in market cap stock is the core holding here. And after a stellar quarterly earnings report, it is back to a #1 Rank. This stock’s long-term Zacks VGM score is B. I see more room to run here.
(3) Mastercard: What would the world be (barring a move to Bitcoin) without credit cards? This is a $159 billion market cap stock now. That tells us the vast, vast majority of us use credit cards to make online and in store purchases.
The Zacks Rank is a #1 and the long-term Zacks score is a D. With an F for Zacks Value, this bull story is well and truly overbought.
Key Global Macro—
A wave of 5 central bank decisions happens across Asia. Think of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Don’t expect any change here.
On Thursday, the central banks of Mexico (Banxico) and Peru (Banco Central de Reserva del Peru) issue policy decisions.
Expect Banxico to hold its policy rate at 7.0% for the third straight.
Meeting: The last hike happened in June. Peru should hold fast at 3.5%.
Mexico’s central bankers should look through a transitory soft patch in Mexico’s economy during Q3 that was influenced by hurricanes and earthquakes.
On Friday, Brazil’s inflation rate will be a focus.
On Monday, Indonesia’s GDP growth rate came in at +5.0% y/y.
The final composite Eurozone Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) came out. The reading was 56, better than the prior 55.9.
The Markit PMI for Brazil was 49.5, down from 51.1. 50 marks expansion, so this is important data.
On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) should keeps its overnight rate at 1.5%.
Industrial production in Germany comes out. The prior was 4.7% y/y.
Russia’s CPI comes out. The prior was +3.0% y/y, and the forecast is +2.8% y/y.
On Wednesday, the National Bank of Poland issues its new base rate. The rate has been 1.5% and is not expected to change.
Portugal’s unemployment rate is 8.8%. We get a new reading here. Remember the PIiGs? That seems long gone now. Time moves on fast and worries do change.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) should keep its policy rate at 1.75%. It’s similar to the RBA in Australia.
On Thursday, Malaysia’s central bank (BNM) issues its overnight policy rate. The 3.0% rate is not expected to change.
The central bank of the Philippines (BSP) should also stay pat at 3.0%.
Greece’s unemployment rate is 21%.
U.S. initial claims should remain low at 229K.
On Friday, Singapore’s GDP growth rate comes out. 4.6% y/y was the prior.
Brazil’s IBGE inflation rate (their CPI) comes out. The look is for 2.73% y/y from 2.54%.
University of Michigan consumer sentiment gets tested again, in the USA. The prior was 100.7.
Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?
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Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportRoyal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportExxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMacy's Inc (M) : Free Stock Analysis ReportIntel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMastercard Incorporated (MA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin is overvalued, investors say: It’s thehottest investment of the year. But be careful buying it.
That’s the view of several thousand Yahoo Finance readers who took our recent survey on bitcoin, the digital currency that’s up nearly 600% in value this year. We started by asking poll-takers whether they had ever purchased bitcoin or not, then asking what buyers and non-buyers think about it. Of more than 6,300 respondents, 23% said they had purchased bitcoin and 20% still held some. More than half of those bitcoin buyers didn’t start purchasing it until this year.
[See ourfull survey results here. Questions 2 through 8 were for people who have purchased bitcoin. The remaining questions were for all respondents.]
Seventy-one percent of bitcoin buyers told us they’ve made money, while 8% said they’ve lost money. The median gain was $3,000, while the median loss was $500. That reflects bitcoin’s volatile history. Overall, the currency has soared in value since being launched in 2009. But there have been some wild ups and downs, and anybody needing to sell during a downswing could easily have lost money.
Nearly one-quarter ofbitcoin buyers said the investment has changed their lives— mainly by making them wealthier on paper and giving them more money to spend. Nearly 12% of bitcoin buyers said they’ve made enough money to quit their jobs.
The cryptocurrency remains appealing. Of bitcoin holders, 56% plan to buy more, while 15% say they’re done buying. Of respondents who don’t own bitcoin, 11% say they plan to buy, and 38% say they’re thinking about it.
Overall, 56% of investors think bitcoin is overvalued. But there’s a huge split between players and sideline-dwellers. Among investors who plan to buy bitcoin, only 15% think it’s overvalued. Among those who don’t plan to buy, 56% say it’s overvalued. Those views reflect an obvious truism, since investors aren’t likely to purchase something they think is overvalued.
But they also reflect confusion over where bitcoin is headed, what its true value is, and what it’s even good for. In the poll, only 4% of bitcoin buyers say they use it mainly as a currency for buying stuff, while 53% said they view it strictly as an investment. Thirty-seven percent said they use it for both.
Investors aren’t even sure bitcoin will survive. Just 36% of all respondents think bitcoin will still be around in 10 years, with 34% saying they don’t think it will last that long. Thirty percent aren’t sure. That’s probably the safest way to think about it.
Confidential tip line:rickjnewman@yahoo.com.Encrypted communication available.
Read more:
• Trump’s tax cut would favor robots over workers
• ow your taxes could change next year
• Trump’s plan will raise taxes, nearly one-third of voters think
• Democrats still have no message on the economy
• You and I don’t deserve a tax cut
Rick Newman is the author of four books, includingRebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter:@rickjnewman || BitTorrent inventor announces eco-friendly bitcoin competitor Chia: A bitcoin transaction wastes as much electricity as it takes to power an American home for a week , and legendary coder Bram Cohen wants to fix that. And considering he invented the ubiquitous peer-to-peer file transfer protocol BitTorrent, you should take him seriously. Cohen has just started a new company called Chia Network that will launch a cryptocurrency based on proofs of time and storage rather than bitcoin's electricity-burning proofs of work. Essentially, Chia will harness cheap and abundant unused storage space on hard drives to verify its blockchain. "The idea is to make a better bitcoin, to fix the centralization problems" Cohen tells me. The two main issues he sees in bitcoin are in environmental impact and the instability that arises from the few bitcoin miners with the cheapest access to electricity exerting outsized influence. Chia aims to solve both. Bitcoin uses proofs of work to verify the blockchain. That's because it's prohibitively expensive to make a fake blockchain as it wouldn't have as much work demonstrated as the real one. But over time that's given a massive advantage in collecting the incentives for mining bitcoin to those who operate close to low-cost electricity and naturally chill air to cool the mining rigs. Chia instead relies on proofs of space in file storage, which people often already have and can use for no additional cost. It combines this with proofs of time that disarm a wide array of attacks to which proofs of space are susceptible. "I'm not the first person to come up with this idea," says Cohen, but actually implementing requires the kind of advanced computer science he specializes in. After inventing torrenting in the early 2000s and briefly working on Steam for Valve, Cohen had been at BitTorrent building a new protocol for peer-to-peer live video transfer. But mismanagement on the business side caused the company to implode . Now it's limping along, and Cohen says "it doesn't need me day-to-day." So while he's still on the board, he left in early August to start Chia Network. Story continues Chia Network co-founder Bram Cohen Cohen has teamed up with early bitcoin exchange Tradehill's COO Ryan Singer and they've raised a seed round for Chia to ramp up hiring. Cohen wouldn't say how much it had raised, laughing that, "I'm not sure how much we want to announce right now, but it was a very hot round." The goal is do some early sales of Chia in Q2 2018, with a full launch of its cryptocurrency by the end of 2018, though Cohen says that's a stretch goal. Cohen is a brilliant technologist, but it will take more than that to convince people to switch over from bitcoin to Chia. He tells me the plan for Chia is "do some smarter things about its legal status and do a bunch of technical fixes that you can do when starting from scratch." It's too early to guess how this will all play out, but at least someone is trying to address the ecological impact of cryptocurrency instead of just complaining about it. Cohen seems excited though. "It's technically ambitious and there's a big meaty chunk of work to do. I've done enough raising money and recruiting. Now for the real work." [Featured Image Credit: Michael O'Donnell ] || This is what you get when you invest in an initial coin offering: Miko Matsumura, co-founder of the Evercoin Cryptocurrency Exchange , talks with Business Insider executive editor Sara Silverstein about initial coin offerings. The following is a transcript of the video. Miko Matsumura: Hi, I’m Miko Matsumura; co-founder of the Evercoin Cryptocurrency Exchange and here’s everything you need to know about initial coin offerings. Sara Silverstein: So I really want to learn everything I can from you about ICOs. Seems to be a lot going on right now. Generally speaking what is an ICO? Matsumura: ICO is kind of a funnily named thing. ICO which is Initial Coin Offering. So essentially what is happening is that tokens are being created and they are being sold to the public. So it’s quite a phenomenon these days. Silverstein: And what are you getting? So you're getting a coin. What is that? Matsumura: So what you're getting is that you’re getting a cryptographic token to store in a piece of wallet software and ultimately the value is determined by the value of the economy being created by this entity Silverstein: So it’s not like you have a stake in an IPO? You don’t have a stake in what’s behind it? Matsumura: One of the big concerns people have about coins and cryptographic tokens is that they don’t actually confer legal rights in most cases. So that’s pretty interesting and potentially concerning for people who hold them. Silverstein: So kind of like the bitcoin — the value of the bitcoin is what keeps the bitcoin blockchain going right? Matsumura: Correct. Silverstein: So the ICO coins associated with those, new ICOs are spurring new companies. And if that company continues to grow then maybe that coin will increase in value. Matsumura: That’s correct. There’s really two classes of ICO tokens. One of them is asset backed securities. So asset backed is literally what it means, which is there’s real estate back there. So it represents the physical or virtual goods of that token. Story continues The other class is a utility token. And that’s basically used to buy goods and services in some kind of microeconomy. Silverstein: And how many of these are there? Matsumura: Well we’re seeing about 30 new ICOs launching per day. Year to date we've seen about 3 billion go into the ICO market. So we’re seeing companies raise as much as 200 million USD per ICO. And what’s interesting they’re raising it in bitcoin and ether. The value of which also continues to rise. One case — for example — eos has probably estimated about 700 million USD that's been raised as a function of increase in bitcoin and ether. Silverstein: And is that one of the things causing bitcoin to go up? To have ICOs you have to use bitcoin. So all this ICO activity is actually increasing the price of bitcoin Matsumura: The most common platform is actually the ethereum blockchain. So ether purchasing for the purpose of transferring into ICO is definitely an economic driver for that. But I would say there are actually much larger geopolitical fundamentals with the respect to the price for bitcoin itself. And we are seeing a large movement — with respect — to the fiat currency to bitcoin interface, to crypto interface. So we’re seeing a lot of new hedge funds. There’s over 100 crypto hedge funds that have emerged; some of which — I know of four — that are at the $500 million USD size. They’re fairly sizeable fiat to crypt interfaces. Silverstein: And one of the funds you’re invested in is an ICO only fund, correct? Matsumura: That’s correct, I am a limited partner with Pantera Capital. And that’s a $100 million ICO only fund. So it invests exclusively in tokens, not in traditional venture equity. Silverstein: So if you missed out on the bitcoin rally or you think you did, should everyone just go into these ICOs? Because it sounds like a really exciting things that’s happening Matsumura: Well I’d like to be a little more cautionary about this. One of the things that’s happened is that it’s such a popular fundraising vehicle, because it has genetic roots with crowdfunding. And so one of the problems is that everybody has like a cousin that’s doing an ICO. And that is actually a little scary. I would probably stay away from most of these instruments. What’s happening now is that more and more kind of whale-class investors are diligencing these instruments and that’s actually very proper. It’s actually interesting that the market is self regulating. So there are fewer and fewer retail investors that are randomly throwing cryptos at CEOs, which I think is a healthy trend. Matsumura: Because I do think these are very complex to analyze. And understanding the fundamental value of a specific ICOs I think the job of people who do that all day long as professionals. Silverstein: And what are the types of flags you would look for as far as an ICO that doesn’t make sense? Matsumura: Well for me I’m really looking for a fundamental connection to the technology underlying it, which is blockchain. So to describe blockchain very succinctly, it’s a really, really slow database. And the only reason you would want to use blockchain is if you didn’t trust anyone. And what’s a situation like that? Bitcoin is a perfect situation because you shouldn't trust anyone with your money and so that’s what that blockchain is doing. To underscore it, it’s a very slow database. So if you want a faster database, you just need to find a situation in which someone can be trusted to run it. So to me, when I analyze ICO, I’m really looking for fundamental uses of the technology. Whether it’s relevant or not, I feel like that’s key. Silverstein: So this general idea that blockchain can revolutionize everything and everything can be decentralized, doesn’t necessarily make sense. Matsumura: No, so it is one of my investment thesis points that we are at a point of peak centralization and so it is the case that the pendulum — in many cases — swings toward decentralization in a lot of infrastructures. And that there are a lot of externalities, which means that there are costs that people are bearing that they didn’t agree to bear in many different kinds of systems. See Also: We talked to the chief investment strategist at $920 billion fund giant Invesco about where you should invest right now Why this New York City preschool accepts bitcoin but doesn't accept credit cards SEC issues warning on celebrity-endorsed investments || Walmart — What you need to know in markets on Thursday: America’s biggest retailer will be the market’s biggest story on Thursday.
Earnings from Walmart (WMT), due out before the market open, will be the day’s big highlight with investors looking for same-store sales growth of 1.7% in the third quarter, matching the pace of growth seen in the second quarter. Walmart shares were trading just below a record high on Wednesday ahead of results and the stock has gained 30% year-to-date.
Other notable earnings set for release on Thursday are expected to include, Best Buy (BBY), Viacom (VIAB), JM Smucker (SJM), and The Gap (GPS).
On the economics side, the calendar is a bit busy with the weekly report on initial jobless claims due out, as well as October readings on import prices, industrial production, and the November reading on homebuilder sentiment.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the stock market more broadly, as this week has seen some notable weakness in equities amid concerns that recent declines in junk bonds yields could signal trouble for the broader economy.
In an email on Wednesday, Torsten Sløk, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, said “I’m getting client questions whether the current sell-off in US high yield will cause a US recession and the answer is no.”
Adding, “To be sure, earnings have for structural reasons deteriorated somewhat in a few sectors (telecom, healthcare, and retail) but we are not seeing any evidence of a recession or a slowdown in the macro data for GDP, consumer spending, capex spending, ISM or consumer sentiment.”
Late last month, Goldman Sachsequity strategist David Kostin was writingabout “peak growth” in the economy and the potential for poorer stock returns down the lines.
On Wednesday, Kostin’s colleague in Goldman’s economics department, Jan Hatzius, wrote about the global economy and how the growth we’re seeing right now is “as good as it gets.”
“For the first time since 2010, the world economy is outperforming most predictions, and we expect this strength to continue,” Hatzius writes.
Hatzius adds that, “On the supply side, we have also seen tentative signs of a rebound in productivity growth from its dismal post-crisis trend.
“Nevertheless, spare capacity is diminishing rapidly—and already exhausted in a number of advanced economies, including the US. There, the question is no longer whether output will overshoot potential, but by how much.”
The output gap, or the difference between what economists estimate potential GDP is versus what actual GDP growth is, has been negative since the crisis and an argument from some economists that central banks and governments need to do more to ensure economic recoveries continue.
And in Hatzius’ outline, we are soon going to be looking at a global economy that is exceeding its potential. Which seems like a good thing, but will likely lead to higher inflation as capacity is taken up in labor markets and supply chains. Higher inflation, in turn, is likely to lead to higher interest rates. And higher interest rates can choke off economic cycles before they overheat.
It is this cycle that leads the current economic assessment to become “as good as it gets.” Things are good and still improving, but growth and inflation are not running at levels that warrant active management from monetary or fiscal authorities. That day, however, will come. Which is whynowis the time to appreciate the economic moment.
—
Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@MylesUdland
Read more from Myles here:
• Foreign investors might be the key to forecasting a U.S. recession
• It’s been 17 years since U.S. consumers felt this good about the economy
• TOM LEE: Bitcoin is an important asset for investors to own
• Wall Street can’t stop talking about Bitcoin
• Warren Buffett likes the stock market because of the bond market
• America’s shortage of workers is about to get ‘much worse’
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Blockchains Road to Adoption - IT Peer Network #Bitcoin #Blockchain #Cryptocurrency https://itpeernetwork.intel.com/blockchains-road-to-adoption …pic.twitter.com/dN8GArHYQM || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || Bitcoin Price Rises to $4,450 Despite Looming SegWit2x Fork https://lnkd.in/duKgke9 || China Will Likely Resume Cryptocurrency Trading by Licensing Bitcoin Exchanges https://buff.ly/2y501vi pic.twitter.com/uLfiC764Xu || $ARK doorbrak de bearish trend, maar is nu zoekende. Het volume echter is goed, maar het aandeel oversold. #cryptocurrency #BTC pic.twitter.com/iRwzEBf9g4 || Bitcoin Surges Back Above $4600 For The First Time In A Month http://ift.tt/2wFTCmP #BTC #bitcoin || If #Bitcoin = #gold, then #Ethereum = #stocks & #Litecoin = ...
https://briandcolwell.com/2017/10/10-reasons-why-litecoin-is-the-most-undervalued-cryptocurrency/.html … @litecoin #p2p #payments #ltc #btc #eth #investing || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica || MISSED BITCOIN DONT MISS THIS
PR REG NOW legal block chain DO NOT MISS THIS
http://tcpros.co/5XhMx #crypto #blockchain #wealth #coin
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Trend: up || Prices: 8253.55, 8038.77, 8253.69, 8790.92, 9330.55, 9818.35, 10058.80, 9888.61, 10233.60, 10975.60
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
U.S. governments blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses is just getting started: The U.S. government is paying close attention to illegal activity associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. And the governments blacklisting of blockchain addresses associated with digital currencies linked to crimes is sure to escalate, cryptocurrency compliance experts say. On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against three alleged Chinese drug kingpins who the government claims used Bitcoin to launder their ill-gotten gains. The Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) subsequently added 11 Bitcoin addresses and 1 Litecoin address to its list of Specially Designated Nationals , ensuring that no U.S. person can conduct business with any of the associated addresses. It was the second such blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses that the OFAC has taken within the last yearthe first against two Iranian citizens last November. But these actions are only the beginning, according to Chainalysis Global Head of Policy Jesse Spiro. Crypto criminals rake in $4.3 billion in 2019 so far, says new report We anticipate further action by OFAC to include additional cryptocurrency addresses attributed to these individuals and others that are involved in narcotics trafficking going forward, Spiro told Decrypt . He said cases such as these further demonstrate the need for strict cryptocurrency compliance programs to immediately identify high-risk behavior and activity. Juan Llanos, a compliance expert and advisor to several cryptocurrency firms, agreed that we can expect to see more blacklisting of Bitcoin addresses in the future. And thats largely due to the nature of open blockchains, he said. The ability to quickly detect and manage questionable transactions can make a major difference in preventing and reducing the amount of cryptocurrency lost in security breaches, according to Chainalysis. The firm specializes in providing compliance tools to government agencies and private companies, such as cryptocurrency exchanges. Story continues As lawmakers and regulators focus their attention on the industry, it is more critical than ever that cryptocurrency businesses demonstrate compliance best practices, Chainalysis VP John Dempsey said in a statement. Every minute counts when managing exposure to sanctioned entities, hacked funds, darknet markets, and other illicit activities. Exchanges and other financial institutions subject to U.S. jurisdiction are obligated to screen for blocked persons, Llanos explained. Anyone who violates these sanctions can face civil penalties up to $10 million as well as criminal charges. Publicly blacklisting cryptocurrency addresses forms part of a larger effort by OFAC and FinCEN to exert financial pressure on criminals and criminal organizations. "By having such procedures in place, institutions and exchanges can work with governments and law enforcement in detecting and preventing such illicit activities, said Spiro. Additional reporting by Guillermo Jimenez. || Funding dissent in China: Hong Kong Free Press accepts Bitcoin: Hong Kong Free Press, a leading independent publication relied upon for its impartial coverage of the Hong Kong protests, nowacceptsdonations inBitcoinandBitcoin Cash.
“We've seen a flurry of donations today! Help us pay for freelancers, safety gear, overtime, insurance etc,” writes u/mod89, a Redditor whosayshe is the paper’s editor-in-chief.
HKFP touts itself as the link between English and Chinese reporting, and an independent voice among a slew of papers many see as corrupted by the influence of the Chinese government.
The paper currently accepts donations through BitPay, a service many regard as slow, which the paper has acknowledged. “When I can get my head around this, after the protests settle, we'll fix it,” writes the editor.
Since March, the city of Hong Kong has been thrown into tumult. Protests center around a bill, pushed by China, that would allow criminals to be expedited from Hong Kong to China. As the government debates the bill, peaceful protests, which railed against China’s encroachment into the territory, have been met with force by Hong Kong police, including rubber bullets, batons, and tear gas.
The protestors now have five demands: the withdrawal of the extradition bill; the resignation of the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam; government recognition of the protests as protests, rather than riots; an independent investigation into the police; and the release of everyone detained due to protests.
Since the protest started, over 600 people have been arrested.
HKFP’s acceptance of Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash is not the first time crypto has been to support non-profits.Binance,Coinbase, andRipplerecently raised millions through their charity funds. The UN also uses crypto remittances in Jordanian refugee camps. || Bitcoin’s Total Share of Crypto Market Now Highest Since March 2017: • Bitcoin’s price recovery from the Aug. 29 low of $9,320 is backed by an uptick in the dominance rate to 30-month highs.
• Weak trading volumes, however, indicate the recovery could be short-lived and a fall back to $9,750 could be in the offing in the next day or two. Weekly chart indicators continue to call a bearish move.
• A high-volume UTC close above the bearish lower high of $10,956 (Aug. 20 high) is needed to revive the short-term bullish outlook.
• A weekly close (Sunday, UTC) above $12,000 is needed for full bull revival.
Bitcoin (BTC) is flashing green at press time, while its share of the cryptocurrency market has reached at 30-month highs above 70 percent.
As of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $10,350 on Bitstamp – up 6 percent on a 24-hour basis – after hitting an eight-day high of $10,506 earlier today. At that level, BTC was up 12.7 percent from the one-month low of $9,320 hit on Aug. 29.
Over the last nine weeks, BTC has consistently found takers in the range of $9,000–$10,000. The resulting recovery rallies, however, ended up creating lower highs – a sign of bull market exhaustion – as seen in the chart below.
Related:Bitcoin Averts Bearish Trend Change But Stalls Beneath Key Price Average
The question now is whether the latest recovery from sub-$10,000 levels will invalidate the bearish lower-highs setup with a move above $10,956.
The gains seen in the last four days look sustainable and could be extended further, as BTC’s dominance rate – the cryptocurrency’s share of the total crypto market – has jumped to 70.10 percent, the highest level since March 2017, according toCoinMarketCap.
The gauge stood at 69 percent on Aug. 29, when BTC’s price slipped to one-month lows below $9,400.
Related:Top 10 Cryptocurrencies Now Trading Below 200-Day Price Averages
Many observers consider price gains sustainable if they are backed by a rise in the dominance rate,as discussedlast month. The shift indicates money is being poured into BTC for the long haul and not to fund purchases of alternative cryptocurrencies.
Trading volumes, however, tell another story, and suggest the recovery seen in the last four days could be short-lived.
The green bars (buying volumes) seen in the last four days on the hourly chart (above left) are smaller compared to the red bars (selling volumes) seen during bitcoin’s drop to one-month lows on Aug.29.
Buying volumes only ticked up slightly in the 60 minutes to 21:00 UTC yesterday. During that time frame, BTC rose from $10,200 to $10,470. Further, Sunday’s green bar (above right) is significantly smaller than those observed during previous breakouts above $10,000 (marked by arrows).
Put simply, the price bounce seen in the last four days lacks substance and a pullback, possibly to $9,750. could be in the offing in the next day or two.
The outlook as per the daily chart would turn bullish if prices print a UTC close above $10,956 on high buying volumes. That would open the doors to $12,000.
The bitcoin bulls have failed four times in the last 10 weeks to secure a weekly close (Sunday, UTC) above $12,000. Meanwhile, the sellers have failed persistently failed to keep prices below $9,500.
A downside break looks likely, as key indicators have turned bearish, including a bearish crossover of 5- and 10-week moving averages.
The moving average convergence divergence (MACD) histogram has also dropped below zero for the first time since February, while the Chaikin money flow, which incorporates both prices and trading volumes, has slipped to a 4.5-month low of 0.10, a sign of weakening bullish pressures.
Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Bitcoinimage via Shutterstock;charts byTrading View
• Bitcoin Price Faces Third Monthly Loss of 2019
• Why Tether Volume Is at All-Time Highs || Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD): Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is delicately poised above the $288 level of support having rallied 12% since the start of the month. At the time of writing, BCH is trading at around $296 after recovering from the drop down to $270 towards the end of August. The 200 EMA on the four-hour chart is currently at $309. This will likely act as a point of resistance over the coming days, but it all depends on whether Bitcoin can surge above $11,000. BCHUSD Another level of resistance comes in confluence with the 22 EMA on the daily chart, which has been on a negative slope since August 13. The recent rise in price coincides with the release of a native Bitcoin Cash exchange on Bitcoin.com , which is owned and operated by Roger Ver. Current live BCH pricing information and interactive charts are available on our site 24 hours a day. The ticker bar at the bottom of every page on our site has the latest BCH price. Pricing is also available in a range of different currency equivalents: US Dollar – BCHtoUSD British Pound Sterling – BCHtoGBP Japanese Yen – BCHtoJPY Euro – BCHtoEUR Australian Dollar – BCHtoAUD Russian Rouble – BCHtoRUB Bitcoin – BCHtoBTC About Bitcoin Cash Bitcoin Cash was born out of the idea of making Bitcoin more practical for small, day-to-day payments. In May 2017, Bitcoin payments took about four days unless a fee was paid, which was proportionately too large for small transactions. A change to the code was implemented and Bitcoin Cash was born on 1st August 2017. More Bitcoin Cash news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin Cash or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started: Roger Ver to launch crypto exchange on Bitcoin.com By Oliver Knight – September 4, 2019 As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. Story continues You may be interested in our range of cryptocurrency guides along with the latest cryptocurrency news . The post Latest Bitcoin Cash price and analysis (BCH to USD) appeared first on Coin Rivet . || $155 million in long positions liquidated as Bitcoin breaches $10,000 support: More than $155 million in long positions have been liquidated on BitMEX following Bitcoin’s dramatic fall to below $10,000 overnight. The price of Bitcoin fell by more than 5% before a slight bounce at $9,560. The move to the downside comes after numerous weeks of a tight consolidation pattern that has stagnated the price of Bitcoin. From a technical standpoint, the next major level of support for Bitcoin is at $9,350, which is an area that has been respected three times since July 16. A break down from this level would present price targets of $8,750, which is in confluence with the 200 EMA on the daily chart, and $6,800, which is residing by the weekly 100 EMA. While it may seem that a 25% decline to these levels would signify a bearish transition in the market, a retest of previously untested moving averages following a parabolic advance is actually quite bullish, as it would provide a platform for a rally to yearly highs – providing price doesn’t fall below $5,900. Bitcoin From a short-term perspective, Bitcoin needs to reestablish the $10,000 level of support with a breakout on significant volume. Earlier this week, it was reported that the highly anticipated Bitcoin ETF application from VanEck/SolidX had been withdrawn , which was likely the cause of this morning’s move to the downside. Bitcoin bulls will be hoping that Bakkt’s upcoming launch of Bitcoin futures will spur life back into the market, although it must be noted that the CME and CBOE’s launch of Bitcoin futures in December 2017 marked the top of the bull market, with prices subsequently taking a dramatic tumble. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post $155 million in long positions liquidated as Bitcoin breaches $10,000 support appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bear Trap? Bitcoin Price Dips Below $10K on Low Volumes: • Bitcoin’s drop from $10,949 to $9,855 (Wednesday low) may be a bear trap, as selling volumes have dropped throughout the price pullback.
• A widely-tracked 4-hour chart indicator is reporting a bullish divergence and the daily candlesticks are signaling seller exhaustion. BTC could rise above $10,270, confirming a falling wedge breakout on the 4-hour chart.
• A wedge breakout, if confirmed, would open the doors to $10,956 (Aug. 20 high). A UTC close above that level would confirm bull revival.
• On the lower side, a high-volume drop below $9,855 could pave way for a deeper drop toward $9,500. Currently, that looks unlikely.
Bitcoin (BTC) has recovered from nine-day lows hit earlier on Wednesday and may pick up a strong bid during the day ahead.
The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell to $9,855 on Bitstamp during the Asian trading hours, the lowest level since Sept. 2. At that level, prices were down 11 percent from Friday’s high of $10,950.
At time of writing, BTC is changing hands around $10,000, representing a 1.9 percent drop on a 24-hour basis.
Related:New Data Gives Unprecedented Insight Into How Iranians Are Using Bitcoin
BTC’s drop into four figures seen earlier today validated the bearish view put forward by BTC’sfailed breakouton the hourly chart on Monday.
Further, the daily chart is reporting bearish conditions with a lower-highs setup. The cryptocurrency has also found acceptance belowkeyhourly chart support of $10,060.
Even so, the sellers need to observe caution, as the recent pullback lacks volume support and may prove a bear trap, as seen in the chart below.
Related:You Can Now Buy Lightning-Powered Bitcoin With a Credit Card
Selling volumes (red bars) have been consistently higher than buying volumes (green bars) through the price pullback from $10,950 to $9,855.
However, the red bars have produced lower highs, meaning the selling volume, or pressure, has eased along with the price.
A low-volume decline is often short-lived and ends up trapping the bears on the wrong side of the market.
Also, the pullback has taken the shape of a falling wedge on the 4-hour chart. A falling wedge comprises of converging trendlines connecting lower highs and lower lows and is widely considered a bullish reversal pattern.
A break above the upper edge of the falling wedge, currently at $10,270, would confirm a breakout and open the doors for re-test of the recent high of $10,949.
The breakout looks likely as the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) histogram, a widely-tracked trend following indicator, is reporting a bullish divergence – higher lows contradicting lower lows on price.
The bullish case would weaken if prices drop below the previous long-tailed candle’s low of $9,855 with a solid rise in selling volumes (red bar breaches falling trendline).
The long tails attached to the previous three candles indicate dip demand near the daily lows or bearish exhaustion – in effect, the sellers fought to keep prices lower, but lost as the buyers pushed the price up.
The daily chart also shows a steady drop in selling volumes in the last five days.
So, BTC may move higher, possibly to levels above $10,270 during the next 24 hours, confirming a breakout on the 4-hour chart.
The outlook as per the daily chart would turn bullish if prices invalidate the bearish lower highs setup with a UTC close above $10,956 (Aug. 20 high).
Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Bitcoinimage via Shutterstock;charts byTrading View
• Bitcoin Consolidates Above $10.2K After Failed Price Breakout
• Bitcoin Price Faces Drop to Support Levels Below $10K || Stock Market News: Boeing Faces New Delays; Bitcoin ETF Coming: Tuesday morning brought a holiday hangover to the stock market, with significant losses to start the shortened week on Wall Street. Concerns about new tariffs that took effect over the weekend continue to hurt sentiment, and fears about past seasonal trends that have included substantial sell-offs in the months of September and October aren't helping investors feel more confident. As of 10:30 a.m. EDT, theDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI)was down 382 points to 26,021. TheS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC)fell 29 points to 2,898, and theNasdaq Composite(NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC)declined 84 points to 7,878.
Hurting the Dow this morning wasBoeing(NYSE: BA), which saw its stock lose ground amid more bad news for the beleaguered aircraft manufacturer. Meanwhile, on the cryptocurrency front, a long-awaited announcement concerning a possible exchange-traded fund for investing in bitcoin could open up the market to a new group of institutional investors -- but not necessarily to individuals.
Shares of Boeing were down 3% after the aerospace giant reportedly ran into more resistance concerning the grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft lines. Boeing has been working with federal regulators to get approval to get the planes flying again, but according toThe Wall Street Journal, those talks aren't going well. Many fear that the tension could lead to an extended delay in the 737 MAX's return to service at least into early 2020.
Image source: Boeing.
Already,Boeing's customers have had to dealwith the complications stemming from the grounding.American Airlines Group(NASDAQ: AAL)andUnited Continental Holdings(NASDAQ: UAL)recently canceled their planned 737 MAX flights through early to mid-December, taking the key Thanksgiving travel season off the table but still leaving open the hope that the planes might be available for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
Boeing also faces the prospect of seeing customers start to shuffle orders. RivalAirbushas seen its business pick up as a result of Boeing's woes, and that trend could continue if the 737 MAX stays grounded indefinitely. It takes a long time for order shuffling to result in actual delivery changes, but investors have counted on Boeing being able to get the 737 MAX back in the air quickly to regain customer confidence. If that doesn't happen, then further declines in the stock could lie ahead.
Bitcoin prices were up about 3% ascryptocurrency investorsresponded to news that an ETF granting access to the bitcoin market will open soon. Yet for those individuals who had hoped to take advantage, there'll be a longer wait.
ETF providers VanEck Securities and SolidX Management announced that they would make shares of their VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust available to a select set of investors on Thursday. However, the companies expect to open the ETF using a rule from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allows for certain offerings to avoid the extensive regulatory requirements that haveprevented bitcoin ETFsfrom coming onto the market before now.
Under that rule, VanEck and SolidX will do a private placement of bitcoin ETF shares to qualified institutional buyers. That will allow investment without going through the SEC registration process. Unfortunately, it also means that ordinary investors won't have access to shares of VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust.
Bitcoin's rise in 2019 has been impressive, and it's gotten a lot more investors interested in cryptocurrencies again. Yet at least for now, the ease of investing in bitcoin through an ETF still won't be available to individual investors -- even if some hope that VanEck and SolidX's move could push things in the right direction in the future.
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• Crypto, Blockchain & Bitcoin Articles
Dan Caplingerowns shares of Boeing. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
This article was originally published onFool.com || Ethereum falls below $200 in sea of red: Things have taken a turn for the worse for Ethereum , with the cryptocurrency crashing to its lowest value in over three months amidst a global market sell-off. As it stands, ether (ETH) is down more than 10 percent in the last 24 hours, knocking the price below the $200 threshold for the first time since May 2019. It is now worth $187. With the latest drop, close to 80 percent of all ETH holders are out of pocket, according to crypto market analytics firm, IntoTheBlock. Ethereum is today's worst-performing asset in the top five coins, but fared better than both EOS and Bitcoin SV in the top 10. Meanwhile, as the market falls increasingly into the red, Bitcoin's dominance is growing . As it stands, Bitcoin has captured a whopping 68.4 percent of the total value in the crypto market, while Ethereum's market share has shrunk to just 7.5 percent. However, it's not all bad news for Ethereum. It has managed to claw itself back to second in the crypto rankingswith its market cap nearly double that of XRPafter Ripple' s currency suffered huge losses in the last few weeks. The exact reason behind the general crypto slide remains unclear. However, some have suggested it's the result of the weakening Chinese Yuan and yesterday's crash of the Dow Jones that has spooked investorswith many looking for safety in stablecoins. With the world economy seemingly poised for a significant downturn, the brief crypto spring looks like it might skip summer and fall and head straight back to winter. || The Crypto Daily – The Movers and Shakers 12/08/19: Bitcoin rose by 2.25% on Sunday. Partially reversing a 4.87% slide on Saturday, Bitcoin ended the day at $11,565.4. A relatively choppy morning saw Bitcoin fall to a late morning intraday low $11,129 before finding support. Whilst steering clear of the major support levels, Bitcoin fell through the 23.6% FIB of $11,275. Finding support in the late morning, Bitcoin struck a morning high $11,494 before easing back to $11,300 levels. A late rally led to an intraday high $11,615 before falling back to $11,500 levels. Whilst Bitcoin fell short of the first major resistance level at $11,812.27, Bitcoin managed to break back through the 23.6% FIB. For the week, Bitcoin gained 5.4%, with Saturday’s sell-off limiting the upside. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a sea of green for the majors. Stellar’s Lumen and Bitcoin Cash ABC led the way on the day, rallying by 6.7% and 6.5% respectively. Litecoin (+5.43%), Ethreum (+4.83%), Bitcoin Cash SV (+3.61%) and EOS (+3.36%) also saw solid gains. Trailing the pack, however, were Ripple’s XRP and Binance Coin, which rose by 1.34% and by 2.20% respectively. Sunday’s much-needed rally reversed losses in the week for Bitcoin Cash ABC, which joined Bitcoin in the green. Binance Coin led the way, however, rallying by 9.85% from Monday through Sunday. It was red for the rest of the majors. Tron’s TRX and Stellar’s Lumen led the way down, falling by 7.14% and by 5.5% respectively. Stellar’s Lumen saw a heavy loss in spite of Sunday’s rebound. Ripple’s XRP (-4.95%), Litecoin (-3.44%), Ethereum (-3.06%) and Bitcoin Cash SV (-3.02%) were also deep in the red. For Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Binance Coin, last week’s gains left the trio in the green for the current month. Bitcoin led the way, rallying by 14.65% to the end of Sunday. Binance Coin was a distant second, up by 8.67%, while Bitcoin Cash ABC was up by 3.09%. Story continues With the rest of the pack down for the month, Litecoin and Tron’s TRX saw the heaviest losses. Litecoin was down by 9.24%, with Tron’s TRX down by 7.35%. Following Sunday’s gain, Bitcoin’s dominance held relatively steady at 68.5%. The broad-based sell-off through the week, however, led to a fall in the total market cap from a Tuesday high $319.93bn to a Sunday low $293bn. At the time of writing, the total crypto market cap stood at $297.65bn. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 1.57% to $11,384. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin fall from a morning high $11,585 to a low $11,381. Bitcoin steered clear of the major support and resistance levels and the 23.6% FIB of $11,275 early on. Elsewhere, Bitcoin Cash ABC and Binance Coin bucked the trend in the early hours. Bitcoin Cash ABC was up by 0.24% at the time of writing, with Binance Coin up by 0.10%. With the rest of the pack in the red, Litecoin led the way down, falling by 2.66%. Stellar’s Lumen (-1.25%), EOS (-1.52%) and Ethereum (-1.29%) also struggled early on. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead A move back through to $11,440 levels would support a rebound from the early losses. Bitcoin would need the support of the broader market, however, to break out from Sunday’s high $11,615. Barring a broad-based crypto rally, Bitcoin would likely come up short of the first major resistance level at $11,743.93. In the event of a breakout, Bitcoin could come up against the second major resistance level at $11,922.47 before any pullback. Failure to move through to $11,440 levels could see Bitcoin slide deeper into the red. A fall through the morning low $11,381 would bring the 23.6% FIB of $11,275 into play. Barring an extended sell-off, the first major support level at $11,257.93 and 23.6% FIB should limit any downside. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: European Equities: No Stats Leaves Geopolitics in Focus GBP/USD Proceeds With Downtrend After a Retracement EUR/USD Daily Forecast – Euro Attempting to Push Lower From Range Key Data to Confirm A Global Economic Slowdown USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – Sentiment Shifts to Upside on Trade Through 105.817 NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – August 12, 2019 Forecast || Huge movement of XRP to mysterious wallet: Ripple appears to be moving large amounts of XRP again—this timemoving a total of 522 million XRPto an unknown address. The recent movement was tracked by Whale Alert, a platform that monitors and identifies large on-chain transactions across a variety of blockchains.
Speculators believe that the XRP was sent to an unknown exchange wallet as part of an over-the-counter XRP sale.
Ripple's blockchain is arguably much more centralized than most other major cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by the fact that the Ripple company holds more than 50% of the total supply.
According to recent reports,Ripplesold more than $250 million worth of XRP in Q2 2019, up more than 50% from the previous quarter. With a market capitalization of close to $11 billion and more than $400 million in XRP sold so far in 2019, investors are understandably concerned that Ripple's actions could be contributing to the significant decline seen by XRP in 2019.
Technically, this is just a fraction of the maximum amount Ripple is able to sell. In total, the company is theoretically allowed to sell 1 billion XRP per month, meaning things could get much, much worse.
This recent activity has prompted XRP bagholders topetitionRipple to stop selling its coins, under the assumption that this "dumping" is crashing the market price. So far, the petition has received over 2,700 signatures.
Since 2019 began, XRP has fallen more than 22 percent against the dollar and has lost significant ground against BTC in this time. As it stands, XRP now sits at its lowest value against BTC since December 2017.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
This Vid Goes Out To All The #Millennials
Next Recession Is Going TO #REKT Millennials
Graduated Into Worst Job Mkt. In 80 years =A Decade of Lost Wages
Student Debt, No Retirement
But A Small % Of Us Are Betting On #bitcoin & #crypto
Tune In Here>>>>https://t.co/4JQe5pLZdZ https://t.co/jI5dWV49pD || @8g777 Posted...
https://t.co/26IEIaekn3 || XLMをBTCに変換する作業 || ⏰ 09:09:31 #Piyasa #Döviz
▼ USD: 5,6687 ₺
▼ EUR: 6,1886 ₺
▼ GBP: 6,9893 ₺
▼ EUR/USD: 1,0916 $
▲ Bitcoin: 8.033,6 $
▼ Ons Altın: 1.504,96 $
▼ Gümüş: 17,780 $
▼ Gr. Altın: 274,313 ₺
▼ Ç. Altın: 448,4938 ₺
▲ Brent: 62,27 $
#Dolar #Euro #Bitcoin #Doviz #Altın || Kindle Download Free Blockchain: The Technology Revolution behind Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency (Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Book 4) -> https://t.co/BEKDy8Ogdd || Do you want to buy bitcoin and need help? Our experience and knowledge in the sector means that you do not have to worry about the processes of buying and selling bitcoins. Make your first purchase in BitBase! Get started here - https://t.co/OgtlhLynyo || New post: 仮想通貨で少なくとも今年600万程稼げた1: 以下、5ちゃんねるからVIPがお送りします 2019 https://t.co/xvk4nFEiSK || SEGREDOS DO BITCOIN Ronaldo Silva Funciona? TRIPLIQUEI Meu Dinheiro https://t.co/m7WgWEFk5l via @YouTube || BTC
本日の上昇波動により
10/15の高騰調整において、逆三尊の形が作られました。
ネックラインは髭で突破。
時間足のインジケータは味方に働く位置にいます。
現在は1週間続く小幅レンジの中でも優位な位置です。
上昇の下地は整いました。 || @YangGangWisdom @SpeedyReidy11 @lopp @lrettig 5700 BTC per block.
Less with each passing block.
|
Trend: up || Prices: 7988.16, 8245.62, 8228.78, 8595.74, 8586.47, 8321.76, 8336.56, 8321.01, 8374.69, 8205.37
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin surges as Grexit worries mount, posts best run in 18 months: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin surged by as much as 7 percent on Tuesday and was on track for its longest winning streak in 18 months, as concerns that Greece could tumble out of the euro drove speculators and Greek depositors into the decentralized digital currency. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras lashed out at Greece's creditors on Tuesday as he defied a string of warnings that Europe is preparing for a "Grexit". The debt-stricken country faces 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in repayments to the International Monetary Fund by the end of June. Bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" invented six years ago, is not backed by or controlled by any government or central bank and floats freely, fluctuating according to user demand. Though bitcoin's value has previously been highly volatile, it has stabilized over the past six months and is increasingly treated as a legitimate and potentially valuable asset by major financial institutions, and even by governments such as Britain's. Joshua Scigala, co-founder of Vaultoro.com, a firm that holds bitcoin for its customers and allows them to exchange it for gold and vice versa, said that Greeks were buying the currency as their trust in the authorities waned. It is also unclear what currency would be used if a Grexit does occur -- another potential factor driving Greek demand for bitcoin. "Some people aren't waiting for the government to figure out an exit plan and are doing it for themselves," said Scigala. "You have people worrying about their families' wealth or their life savings, and worrying that their money might be locked up in banks ... They'd rather hold money in a private asset like gold or bitcoin." Scigala said over the past two months, with Greece locked in talks with its creditors, the company had seen a 124 percent pick-up in inflows from Greek IP addresses - numerical labels that identify computers and other internet-enabled devices. Bitcoin traded as high as $252.05 on the Bitstamp exchange on Tuesday, its strongest in over two months, before easing a little to $245.21, still up around 4 percent on the day. That marked its sixth straight session of gains -- its best run since January 2014. In March-April 2013 bitcoin's value shot up by almost 700 percent in just over a month, as Cyprus clamped down on withdrawals and seized deposits, rattling faith in fiat currencies. Paul Gordon, founder of bitcoin firm Quantave and a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association, said that although he did not share the view that worries about Cyprus had driven that rally, Grexit fears could be driving the current one, with more people now aware of bitcoin. Story continues "This time round, the worries about Greece could be filtering through. (Bitcoin) could provide an alternative outlet for some people who are concerned about capital controls, along with more traditional methods." Some have suggested that a bitcoin-like digital currency, backed either by Greece's assets or future tax revenues, could be introduced as an parallel currency to the euro in Greece in order to avert an exit from Europe.($1 = 0.8881 Euros) (Reporting By Jemima Kelly; editing by Ralph Boulton) View comments || Bitcoin Focused HashingSpace Corporation Announces New Ticker Symbol "HSHS", Files 8-K, and Completes Reverse Merger: US based HashingSpace Corporation ( HSHS ) is pleased to announce it has completed a reverse merger, and a ticker change from the old ticker MLSOD to HSHS. HashingSpace provides a wide range of services to the Bitcoin and blockchain communities including hosted ASIC mining and Bitcoin ATM's WENATCHEE, WA / ACCESSWIRE / July 27, 2015 / HashingSpace Corporation ( HSHS ), a Bitcoin ASIC mining and hosting company, announced today that it has completed a reverse merger transaction with Milestone International Corporation. HashingSpace completed its 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. HashingSpace will be traded on the OTC Markets with the symbol HSHS. The reverse merger was completed on July 10, 2015. HashingSpace Corporation merged with Milestone International Corporation as part of a reverse merger agreement for 120,000,000 shares of common stock, and 600,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock. US based HashingSpace Corporation's new ticker symbol (HSHS) reflects the company's growth strategy and brings value to our shareholders. HashingSpace provides hosted Bitcoin ASIC mining, Bitcoin cloud mining solutions, and Bitcoin ATM's, among other essential services, to the Bitcoin ecosystem. "This transaction enables HashingSpace to fully capitalize on our fast growth as a Bitcoin and blockchain services and hosting operation. The merger we completed helps our company position itself as a leader in the Bitcoin/blockchain services revolution," shared Timothy Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of HashingSpace Corporation. "This is another major step in the implementation of our business plan to become a major provider of crypto currency and transactional verification mining solutions." "We are pleased to receive approval from FINRA on our name and ticker change. We believe this ticker symbol change will foster a stronger and more recognizable brand for the company. The new symbol more accurately reflects who we are as a company. These changes reflect our expectations for future growth of the company and our desire to provide our shareholders with maximum value. It also helps our investors to see our strategic focus and long-term goals to become an industry leader in the Bitcoin services industry. We will continue to offer new Bitcoin innovations as we further build our brand and robust suite of services." Story continues All company information, including stock trading, filings, and market data related to the company, will be reported under the new ticker symbol, HSHS. HashingSpace Corporation's business will provide a wide range of services to include: - HASHHOSTING: Servers fully managed and specifically set-up for ASIC MINING - CLOUDHASH: Cloud mining servers that can be rented with full hashing power - HASHMINING: Our own Mining Farm - HASHATM: Owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines - HASHWALLET: Bitcoin consumer wallet for bitcoin banking and transactions - HASHPOOL: Public Stratum and P2Pool (Web/IOS/Droid) - HASHTICKER: Free Ticker for tracking Bitcoin Value (Screen Saver/Web/IOS/Droid) - HASHVAR: A wholesaler of Bitcoin servers and Bitcoin ATM machines About HashingSpace Corporation HashingSpace Corporation is a Bitcoin ASIC mining company, hosting provider, and service provider of blockchain transactional services. HashingSpace's high density datacenters are designed to meet the demanding power and cooling needs of client hosted Bitcoin mining gear with unparalleled pricing, cooling and green energy. The Corporation is continuing to expand its datacenters to satisfy the shortage of low cost hosting facilities catering to the Bitcoin and blockchain mining and transactional verification services industry specifically. HashingSpace Corporation manages HashWallet, a Bitcoin wallet; HashPool, a Bitcoin mining pool; and HashATM, the owner and operator of Bitcoin ATM machines. The company is a wholesaler of Bitcoin mining servers and Bitcoin ATM machines. Bitcoin businesses interested in reselling HashingSpace products and services are invited to reach out to HashingSpace Corporation for more information. HashingSpace Corporation is headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington. For more information, visit www.hashingspace.com . Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements may not be currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase HashingSpace services should make their purchase decisions based upon features currently available. For more information please visit http://www.hashingspace.com or call 1-855-HASHING (427-4464). Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information please visit: http://www.hashingspace.com/ Company Contact: HashingSpace Corporation 5042 Wilshire Blvd. #26900 Los Angeles, CA, 90036 855 HASHING (427-4464) Investor Relations: Email: ir@hashingspace.com SOURCE: HashingSpace Corporation || Banx Capital Joins the BitShares Exchange Network: LEICESTERSHIRE, UK / ACCESSWIRE / June 23, 2015 /Banx Capital announced today it is joining the BitShares Exchange Network when BitShares 2.0 is released this summer.
"It just made too much business sense," said Banx CEO Mark Lyford, "What a way to cut costs, expand our available services and multiply our network effect!"
About a year ago Banx began launching a whole portfolio of cryptocurrency businesses including a crypto currency exchange, a mining company, a trading company, a physical coin company and a half dozen other enterprises intended to span the industry.
Banx put its own shares up for trading by qualified investors on what quickly became a top ten crypto-currency in its own right. You probably know it already as BanxShares on coinmarketcap.com.
"I've been watching BitShares for over a year now," he confided. "But when I got a preview of whatCryptonomex.comhad in store with BitShares 2.0 I knew I had to move fast. As a result of some pretty aggressive negotiations, both BanxShares and Banx.io will upgrade simultaneously when BitShares 2.0 launches this summer. I consider that a bit of a personal coup."
What made him move so fast?
"I can smell a revolution coming," said Lyford. "I want to be riding that wave when it hits the shore, not sitting on the beach."
He went on to explain the nature of that revolution. "Everybody knows the limitations of current exchanges. Despite their best intentions, people aren't sure if exchanges can be trusted any more. Some of the biggest have been hacked and the rest are looking over their shoulders. We can hire the best cryptogeeks on the planet and they still can't promise we are safe. On top of that, users really have no way of knowing whether an exchange is solvent. Cypto currencies are supposed to be super-secure, but the exchanges are the weak link. This is going to kill the whole industry if we don't get it fixed quick."
"BitShares has been claiming that they have solved these problems by offering a decentralized exchange on a blockchain since last summer. Incorruptible. Unhackable. Transparent. That's all quite impressive, but it just made them another one of my worries as a future competitor."
Leaning forward as if to tell me a secret, Lyford went on, "But that wasn't their killer business model at all! Sure, they are a stand-alonedecentralized exchangeon a blockchain that you can interact with from your own wallet just like Bitcoin, but that was just their prototype demo.
This year they are upgrading to an industrial strength platform that can handle every transaction in the whole crypto industry with enough bandwidth left over to host everything Visa is doing as well! And their transactions verify in 1 second not 1 hour."
Why do they need that kind of bandwidth?
"Because they are offering their 'Smartchain' as a safe, level playing field for use by the whole industry. It can serve as backbone network to all the exchanges as a way for them to trade with and against each other. Instead of keeping their order books in a dark, closed, isolated, hackable stovepipe, they can put them all out there in the transparent open where all their combined customers can trade against all their combined assets!"
He sat back as if he had just explained The Universe and Everything.
"Don't you see," he went on, "With shared order books we have deeper markets, tighter spreads, and greater liquidity. And since our customers keep their own keys while trading on this network we can't get hacked! Not only that, with BitShares easy to use hierarchical multi-sig capabilities, even our customers can't get hacked."
But what exchange would want to give up its customers to some global pool?
"That's the thing that clinched the deal," he smiled. "With theBitShares referral programwe keep our customers and our share of their fees. So there was really nothing to lose and everything to gain. I get the benefits of selling other member's products and services to my customers while outsourcing most of the costs and risks of this business. That lets me concentrate on what I do best – developing new innovations, recruiting more customers and keeping them happy."
Then he paused for a moment, as if to shift gears. "But that's just what's in it for Banx.io. The key is what all customers will be demanding a year from now once they get a taste of the new levels of transparency and safety and the quality and variety of services our networked exchanges can offer together. Banx.io along with CCEDK, Bit-X, Cryptonomex.com (and maybe a few more) are just the network's Founding Members. We expect a lot of smaller exchanges to use this as a way to become big exchanges in the coming year." Leaning back in his chair he grinned again, "Like I said, I'd rather be riding the tsunami than sitting on the beach."
Contact Banx Capital Ltd:
Zoe Hart(+44) 01530 215015zoe@banxcapital.comMarketing Dept First Floor, 81 Market Street Ashby De La Zouch Leicestershire, LE65 1AH United Kingdom
SOURCE:Banx Capital Ltd || Bitcoin Payments Decline Significantly At Expedia: Expedia Inc(NASDAQ:EXPE) introduced bitcoin as a payment option about a year ago. The company hoped to reach new users and meet the growing demand for digital payments by adding a bitcoin option.
However over the past 12 months, the travel website said it has seen a significant decline in the number of payments made using bitcoin, something which could be attributed to the cryptocurrency's marked decline.
Loss Of Value
Expedia's Senior Payments Product Manger Connie Chung toldCoinDeskthat bitcoin purchases on the site have declined by 40 percent over the past year. Chung said that drop makes sense when you look at how much value bitcoin has lost over the past 12 months. When bitcoin was added to Expedia's service in June last year, it was worth more than $600. Now, the currency is trading at just over $270 following a price rally earlier in the month.
Related Link:Venture Capitalists Pouring Money Into Bitcoin
Bitcoin To Stay Put
While the decline in bitcoin payments suggests that consumers aren't as willing to use the cryptocurrency as merchants had predicted, Chung said Expedia plans to continue offering bitcoin as a payment choice for as long as there is some demand for it. She said the company's decision to incorporate bitcoin had little to do with the firm's stance on digital currencies and that it has simply been a way to meet customer needs.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Costas Inc. Is Pleased to Present Its Position on the Financial Technology Space: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Jul 6, 2015) - Costas Inc. (OTC PINK:CSSI) Costas Inc. (CSSI) or "Costas" has focused over the last year and invested heavily in Distributed Asset Technology; "DAT" is the systemic foundation to what is now known as Digital Currency "DC". DC has taken the world by storm and created a new class of asset. Quite simply, the world economy has evolved from gold and silver as the only accepted form of payment to paper currency and now DC has started to weave itself into the fabric of our global economy.
The public generally associates DC with the market's preferred digital coin, Bitcoin. Bitcoin and its peers, have fascinating properties that Costas strongly believes will accelerate the speed at which a store of value can move regionally and/or globally. Decentralized currency without borders is now a viable option for consumers. DC and the institutions that bridge the gap between merchants, consumers and investors stand to capitalize exponentially as investment floods into the space.
There are very few opportunities in the realm of DC available to investors through public markets. Investment in the space, to most, is out of reach apart from purchasing DC coins. Costas intends to create a portfolio of diverse DC businesses under its umbrella. Costas will offer a unique opportunity to invest in a cross-section of companies in what The Company believes is the most exciting investment vehicle made available in decades.
Costas will acquire companies in full, or a take a significant position in a variety of companies, then facilitate their growth. Costas is also open to creating businesses by putting capable people together, giving them an equity stake and capitalizing them. In the event that there is no pre-existing company with whom to partner, Costas would create its own company to fill that investment vacuum. We are actively searching for strong innovative leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit to either join our board of directors or to offer their services to targets we are looking to acquire and thereby incentivizing them to partner with Costas.
Costas, through its relationships, has the ability to raise capital for the companies it chooses to acquire or create. The management at Costas has built relationships with investment groups that focus on funding, incubating and growing potential business ventures. This network spans the globe and truly has very few limits. We feel confident we can pair any opportunity with the appropriate funds and management, preparing them for their entry into any competitive market.
Safe Harbor Act Notice:
Statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the company's ability to obtain additional financing and the demand for the company's products. Any investment in the company would be extremely speculative and involve a high degree of risk and should not be pursued unless the investor could afford to lose their entire investment. Before investing, please review this filing, all past public filings with the SEC, all current Pinksheets.com filings and consult a registered broker dealer or contact the financial industry regulatory authority ("FINRA") for more information regarding locating a qualified party to assist in making an investment decision. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact the company's success are more fully disclosed in the company's most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
About Costas Inc.
Costas Inc. is a publicly traded company focused on investing in and incubating promising digital currency-based businesses and entrepreneurs by providing access to a global infrastructure of financial and legal professionals and investment groups. Costas identifies "Fintech" emerging companies that, with some incubation and professional experience, will become the next standard in banking, commercial trading and lending. || Meet 'Dope' Breakout Shameik Moore, Who Went From YouTube Tween to Rising Star: The Sundance Film Festival favorite Dope hits theaters on Friday, and, if all goes according to plan, Americans will soon be living in Meaks World. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa ( Brown Sugar , The Wood ), Dope features 20-year-old newcomer Shameik Moore as Malcolm, a 90s hip hop-obsessed geek who hopes to escape from his rough Los Angeles neighborhood and attend Harvard. Its an unlikely jump for Malcolm, given the obstacles on the long uphill road from his humble childhood home, and in that way, Moore can certainly relate: A native of Atlanta with no real Hollywood connections, he decided to become a professional dancer once he saw the 2004 hit You Got Served , and began plotting a singing career after seeing Chris Brown in concert when he was 13 years old. All these interviews Im doing this is the kind of stuff that I was dreaming about doing when I was younger, Moore told Yahoo Movies from a hotel in L.A., where he was preparing to go on Jimmy Kimmel Live . I was praying for people to want to write about me. I wanted people to hear my music, I wanted to perform, I wanted to be on billboards. Moore belongs to the first social media generation, made up of kids who lied about their ages to join Facebook in the late aughts, when no one younger than a high school freshman could register. Young stars have been taught to establish their personal brand from day one, and once Moore began training at the We Entertain arts complex in Atlanta, he came up with Meaks World, which was a combination of a mantra, mission statement, and trademark to tie together his various creative endeavors. Meaks World is the world I created when I was 12, when I got into the industry, he said. I said, I have to do it myself. Its not going to be given to me. It has to be Meaks World. He wasnt an overnight success, but he worked hard at building a small fan base mostly via YouTube. His channel still hosts videos that stretch back six years, with everything from episodes of a webcam show called Meaks World to breakdance performances to direct appeals to Hollywood directors, like the one below: Story continues From that point in early middle school, Meaks World was built slowly, with a foundation made of mostly music video appearances and small roles in films like Joyful Noise and The Watsons Go to Birmingham . Then Famuyiwa , whod been struggling to cast the Malcolm role , noticed Moore while watching audition tapes several years ago, and flew him to L.A. for an in-person tryout. It didnt go very well, at least in their initial meeting. I got really nervous, Moore remembers. For like 98 percent of my life, Im not nervous. But as soon as Im nervous, I start shaking or something, and I lose my cool. Still, Moore says he didnt realize how badly he wilted in the spotlight until his agents called to tell him that Famuyiwa was willing to give him one more chance. Obviously, Moore nailed it the second time around, putting the rare case of nerves behind him and grabbing the part of the ambitious, conscientious, and very well-dressed Malcolm. Watch the trailer for Dope: Moore plays Malcolm as a vulnerable, but ultimately resourceful kid destined for greater things. The character who quotes N.W.A. lyrics and plays in a punk band uses his blend of street smarts and geeky know-how to unload a stash of drugs, aided by his two best friends, played by Transparents Kiersey Clemons and The Grand Budapest Hotels Tony Revolori. Theres also a girl, of course: A local (Zoë Kravitz) whom Moore tutors and eventually tries to win over. Its a nuanced role in a film that puts a fresh spin on the classic gotta get out of here coming-of-age film a 21st century Risky Business or Saturday Night Fever set in South Central. The teens deal with Bitcoin and Instagram , ogle old vinyl records and tap into the Dark Web, making Dope an earnest adventure inside a maze of zeitgeist. Its a film that takes a fresh look at a world largely written off by Hollywood, even though its just miles down the road. Dope will no doubt be Moores breakout turn, and hes long prepared for this wave of publicity. In the grand tradition of hip-hop culture, Moore has worked on establishing a sort of brand name that combines his ambition and self-regard; as he often mentions on Twitter , hed love to be known as #KingSAM. Its a hashtag monicker that he hopes becomes the catch-all identity for all of his artistic pursuits each letter in his initials carries its own meaning; the M for Moore also suggests he always leaves the audience wanting more. Why brand himself so early? Its to take control of the narrative, Moore says, before someone else can begin to write it. It makes sense from a business standpoint, as its unlikely that the news media would be quite as invested in his careers success as Moore is himself. He talks about being grateful and staying humble quite often, so he doesnt lack self-awareness. He just also knows that in an increasingly crowded media sphere with countless young social media stars and performers obsessing over their brands and follower count, he has to be overly proactive. Dope , Moore hopes, will also help launch his music career. To coincide with the films release, Moore, who worked with producer Pharrell and co-star A$AP Rocky during the films production, is dropping some new music of his own. Its not a mixtape or EP; I call it a soundtrack, he says, explaining that the tracks will be about his upbringing and life in Georgia. Its called 30058 his childhood zip code and will be available on his website . And hes got a full album that he plans to release next spring, soon after the release of The Get Down , the Netflix series on which hes currently working. While Dope s Malcolm was obsessed with 90s hip hop, the Netflix show, which is being made by Baz Luhrmann, focuses on the birth of hip hop in the 70s South Bronx. Moore gets to rap, sing and b-boy dance, and this time, he plays the bad boy, he says, teasing a very different look from his breakout role. Moore seems to have a solid game-plan, thanks in part to all the years he spent preparing to capitalize on the opportunities he hustled so hard to secure. He certainly doesnt lack for confidence, but also knows his journey to turning Hollywood into Meaks World has really only gotten started. I cant assume that people see me the way I see myself, Moore offered. I have to show them. But I cant do it in a way where its too much, where its rude. I feel like when youre a king, you lead. And I just see myself as a king, or as something more than just a regular human being. Watch Forest Whitaker talk about Dope: || Your first trade for Wednesday, July 1: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades for June.
Pete Najarian was a buyer of GILD(NASDAQ: GILD).
Brian Kelly was a buyer of SPY(Singapore Exchange: SPY-SG)puts.
Karen Finerman was a buyer of KORS(NYSE: KORS).
Guy Adami was a buyer of KITE(NASDAQ: KITE).
Trader disclosure: On June 30, 2015, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Karen Finerman is long BABA, BAC, C, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, M, TACO, URI, she is short SPY, Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, DIS, DRI, FBT, FINL, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GPS, IBB, JPM, KORS, M, SUNE, URI, XBI, KORS call spreads, URI calls, SPY puts, her firm is short IWM, SPY, MDY, Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International. Pete Najarian is long AMAT, AAPL, BABA, BAC, BMY, BP, CSX, DISCA, DKS, FOXA, GE, KKR, KO, LLY, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AAPL, ABX, BAC, BBY, C, DAL, ETFC, FCAU, GS, HYS, INVN, JPM, LULU, NUAN, OC, PNR, S, SPY, SXC, SYY, UAL, UBS, USB, VOYA, VZ, WYNN, XLF, ZIOP. Today he bought SPY calls and WYNN calls. Today he sold DE calls. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, BTC=; TAN, TSL; he is short Euro, Yuan, and Yen. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Managing Dir. & Analyst Robert Peck: An affiliate of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. has received compensation for products or services other than investment banking services from the following company within the last 12 months: TWTR-US.
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• Personal Finance || What to Watch in the Week Ahead and on Monday, July 13: (The Day Ahead is an email and PDF publication that includes the day's major stories and events, analyses and other features. To receive The Day Ahead, Eikon users can register at . Thomson One users can register at RT/DAY/US. All times in ET/GMT)
WEEK AHEAD
The stock market this quarter doesn't get its usual one-week on-ramp to earnings season, instead getting hit with JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Intel, Netflix, Google, General Electric Co and Honeywell, all in one week. Add in the political yelling that has become the semi-annual Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony and the ongoing craziness that is Greece's potential exit from the euro zone - to say nothing of China's turmoil - and it should be a lively week for markets, and one that will likely see a lot of volatility. Euro zone finance ministers may make a "major decision" when they hold a special meeting on Saturday to weigh a new Greek proposal for emergency funding. The ministers' conclusions will be reviewed by euro zone leaders at a summit called for on Sunday.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivers semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday. The July hearing has more drama heading into it than the February testimonies. For one, Yellen starts this time with the House, where she ended last time, after trading some testy exchanges with Republican congressmen. This week's congressional appearance also comes as the Fed appears closer to raising interest rates for the first time since 2006. Yellen's appearance comes just a few weeks after the Fed's last Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and two weeks before its next one - so Yellen will be unlikely to drop too many policy hints and changes in this round or testimony, unless she wants to point the market harder to September lift-off.
Dow components Johnson & Johnson, General Electric Co, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Intel Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UnitedHealth Group Inc are scheduled to report quarterly results in the coming week. Johnson & Johnson is expected to report on Tuesday lower second-quarter sales and earnings as weak revenue from medical devices and consumer products and a stronger dollar more than offset the benefit of surging sales of its newer prescription medicines. The same day, JPMorgan Chase & Co releases second-quarter results. Separately, Goldman Sachs is expected to report lower second-quarter profit on Thursday. Intel Corp is expected to report second-quarter revenue and profit below analysts' expectations on Wednesday, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. General Electric reports second-quarter earnings on Friday, with Wall Street eyeing updates on the U.S. conglomerate's desired portfolio moves as it seeks to become a more focused industrial company. UnitedHealth Group Inc will report second-quarter earnings on Thursday. The quarter is expected to be a strong one for UnitedHealth, whose technology and pharmacy management business has helped it report regular growth in quarterly operating profit.
Google Inc, the operator of the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, is scheduled to post second-quarter results on Thursday. The company is expected to report quarterly revenue slightly below analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, hurt by the impact of a stronger dollar. Google, which generates about half of its revenue outside the United States, has also faced challenges in mobile advertising and it is investing heavily in new businesses.
Citigroup Inc reports second-quarter results on Thursday. The most international of banks based in the United States is expected to see quarterly profits rebound sharply from a year earlier, when net income was all but obliterated by high legal and restructuring costs. Separately, Wells Fargo & Co will also report second-quarter results on Tuesday. The bank's mortgage banking business is expected to do well during the quarter as more people buy new homes in an improving economy. On Wednesday, Bank of America Corp is expected to report an increase in its second-quarter profit. The bank's results from fixed-income trading are expected to lag those of competitors because it is more heavily weighted toward trading credit instruments such as corporate bonds and it handles relatively fewer interest rate-sensitive government securities, Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson warned investors in June.
The U.S. Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index for June on Friday. The index is expected to have risen at a slower pace than in the previous month. Separately, the department will issue on Wednesday its June producer price index for final demand. On the same day, the Federal Reserve releases data for June industrial output, which is expected to have risen 0.2 percent after falling 0.2 percent in May. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department issues June retail sales data on Tuesday. Economists expect retail sales, which surged 1.2 percent in May, to have risen just 0.3 percent in June. On Friday, the University of Michigan's preliminary reading on its overall index on consumer sentiment for July is expected to come at 96.0 compared with a final reading of 96.1 for the previous month. Also, the Federal Reserve issues its so-called Beige Book on Wednesday.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George speaks on economic conditions and monetary policy before the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 2015 Agricultural Symposium in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester speaks on the economic outlook and participates in live interview before the Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum in Columbus, Ohio. The same day, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams will speak on the economic outlook before the Mesa Chamber of Commerce in Mesa, Arizona and in another event, he will also give a brief summary on the economy before a Greater Phoenix Economic Council panel on economic trends in Phoenix, Arizona.
On Thursday, e-commerce company eBay Inc is expected to report second-quarter revenue below expectations, according to some analysts. Revenue from the company's marketplace business, which includes its e-commerce platform ebay.com, fell last quarter, hurt by increasing competition from rivals such as Amazon.com and changes in Google's search algorithms. Investors will be looking for signs of a turnaround at eBay's marketplace business. They will also look for any commentary from the company regarding post-spinoff valuation of the marketplace business.
Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, is expected to report a fall in second-quarter profit on Thursday as lower oil prices weigh on global drilling activity. Schlumberger, which has cut 20,000 jobs this year, has swiftly controlled costs to maintain margins in a weak commodity market. With oil prices staying around $50 per barrel, a handful of optimistic shale producers are looking to deploy more rigs. Investors will also look for comments on pricing and expectations for industry spending in the second half of the year. Another topic of interest this quarter is the company's pending deal with Russia's Eurasia Drilling.
BlackRock Inc, the world's largest asset manager, will report second-quarter results on Wednesday. Investors will await Chief Executive Larry Fink's comments on the results, the markets, Greece and China, among other issues.
Charles Schwab Corp will report its second-quarter results on Thursday. Analysts expect the company's profit to rise to 24 cents per share from 23 cents a year earlier, helped by higher fees for advisory accounts and slightly higher trading commissions. But the big revenue bonus that Schwab expects from investing cash it will get in its clients account once rates rise remains evasive, amid signs that the Federal Reserve may again delay rate hikes.
Delta Air Lines Inc is expected to post second-quarter results in line with analysts' expectations on Wednesday. However, investors will want to know how the airline plans to respond to falling demand abroad due to a stronger dollar, a regulatory investigation into U.S. airlines' capacity plans and pilots' decision to reject management's proposal for a new contract.
Yum Brands reports second-quarter results on Tuesday. Yum's China business remains in the spotlight as it fights to recover from a food scandal in its biggest market for profit. Analysts say that the company is suffering from "brand fatigue" in China, where competition is mounting and its image has been hurt by food scares that have raised doubts over its supply chain. The KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chain owner said it expected another tough quarter before a recovery in China, but this recovery could be pushed further as consumers cut back on discretionary spending amid an economic slowdown and fears stemming from the sharp decline in the Chinese stock market over the past few weeks. Investors will be looking for outlook and commentary on the impact from recent developments in China. Profit and sales are expected to beat a generally low bar for second-quarter estimates, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
Netflix Inc, a TV and movie streaming service provider, is scheduled to post second-quarter results on Wednesday. The company is expected to report quarterly revenue above estimates, according to analysts, as it is expected to sign up more video streaming subscribers than previously expected. The cost of driving subscriber growth has been high as Netflix continues to invest heavily in international markets, but it is yet to see any profits from outside the United States.
Kinder Morgan Inc, the leading U.S. pipeline company, is expected to report a lower second-quarter profit on Wednesday, but the focus this quarter will be on the company's reorganization. Kinder Morgan shed its tax-advantaged master limited partnership structure last August by folding its units into one publicly traded corporation in a $70-billion deal. Investors will see if the new structure will help allay concerns about the company's growth prospects and complicated financial structure. The company has said the reorganization would help it grow its dividend by about 10 percent a year and clock bigger income tax savings.
Domino's Pizza Inc reports second-quarter results on Thursday. The second-largest U.S. pizza chain is expected to report revenue below the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. Chief Executive Patrick Doyle has said the company would need to raise minimum wage to stay competitive following McDonald's announcement of wage hikes in April. Investors will look out for any related announcement and updates on commodity costs, which the company said are likely to come down after cheese prices soared last year.
On Thursday, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc is expected to report second-quarter earnings below the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data. The company lowered its revenue estimate for the second quarter on Monday, citing weaker-than-expected demand for personal computers. All eyes will be on weak PC sales and whether the company can mitigate some of the impact with cost cuts.
Barbie doll and Fisher-Price toys maker Mattel Inc is expected to report on Thursday second-quarter revenue above the average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. The company will report its first quarter under new Chief Executive Christopher Sinclair, who took the top post in April. Sinclair has said Mattel needs to move urgently to create toys that connect with young customers in the face of flagging Barbie sales. Investors will look for announcements from Sinclair, a former Pepsi executive, on how he plans to turn around Mattel and make it more competitive, and any updates on the company's preparations for the holiday season.
Honeywell International Inc, a major manufacturer of aircraft electronics and climate control systems, is expected to report second-quarter results below analysts' expectations on Friday, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine. Honeywell said in April that it expected a stronger dollar to hurt revenue by 4-6 percent in the quarter ended June. Investors will be looking for updated comments on how Honeywell expects the dollar to affect business in the full year.
The initial public offering of the U.S. deep discount retailer Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc is scheduled for Thursday. Ollie's Bargain operates 181 stores across the United States, selling excess inventory and salvage merchandise such as houseware, sporting goods and toys from manufacturers who make too much of an item or change their packaging. Ollie's net income rose 38 percent to $27 million in fiscal 2014, while revenue increased 18 percent to $638 million.
Bank of Canada announces its rate decision on Wednesday and Governor Stephen Poloz holds a news conference upon the release of the Monetary Policy Report. A series of weak economic data suggesting Canada may already be in recession has prompted a growing minority of economists to predict the central bank may cut rates again, possibly as soon as next week, a Reuters poll has found.
Chile's central bank meets on Tuesday to set the interest rate. The central bank is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold at its current 3.0 percent through the following 11 months, scaling back expectations, according to the median response of 61 analysts and economists surveyed by the bank in a poll. Also, Argentina is due to release June consumer inflation data on Wednesday.
ON MONDAY, JULY 13
Treasury Department issues a monthly budget report for June. The department is expected to post a budget surplus of $51.0 billion in June compared with a $82.4 billion deficit reported in May. (1400/1800)
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union and General Motors Co hold the ceremonial handshake between union president Dennis Williams and company CEO Mary Barra to mark the start of labor negotiations for a new four-year contract for about 51,000 workers. The union has lost power but it can still upset GM's quest to keep labor costs low enough to compete with Japanese, Korean and German automakers with U.S. plants. UAW leaders will bargain with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Co later in the week.
LIVECHAT - BITCOIN BITES with Anatoliy Knyazev, managing partner, Exante With Greek worries contributing to Bitcoin's best run in 18 months and the crypto currency even touted as a possible parallel currency in the Hellenic Republic, has the controversial payment system's time come? We chat with Anatoliy Knyazev, managing partner at Malta-based brokerage Exante, which previously debuted the world's first Bitcoin-only fund. (0500/0900) To join the Global Markets Forum, click herehttp://bit.ly/1kTxdKD(Compiled by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey) || 4 trades on airline and aerospace stocks: JetBlue Airways(NASDAQ:JBLU-News)stock could gain ground as the carrier attempts an overseas expansion, some CNBC "Fast Money" traders said.
The company on Monday said it is looking into extending its network to South America and other places abroad with a long-range plane from Airbus. JetBlue closed Tuesday barely higher.
While he was disappointed by the way it traded after the news, trader Guy Adami said he still likes JetBlue at its current price, below $20 per share. The stock has climbed more than 20 percent this year, and trader Steve Grasso agreed that he would stick with it, especially after a recent pullback in the wider airline sector.
Read MoreFor Boeing, Airbus, it's about profits
That broader weakness has brought Delta Air Lines(NYSE:DAL-News)to "interesting levels," said trader Tim Seymour. The stock has fallen more than 17 percent this year, and closed Tuesday around $40 per share.
Delta looks risky if it fails to hold above $40, he noted.
Boeing(NYSE:BA-News)looks the most appealing in the aerospace sector, trader Brian Kelly contended. The stock has climbed almost 10 percent this year.
Read MoreAirlines are getting better at being on time
Disclosures:
TIM SEYMOUR
Tim Seymour is long AAPL, T, BAC, C, DIS, F, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, JCP and SUNE. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, NOK, SBUX and YHOO.
STEVE GRASSO
Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BAC, DD, DECK, EVGN, MJNA, PFE, T, TWTR and GDX. His firm is long AVP and TWTR. His kids own EFG, EFA, EWJ, IJR and SPY.
BRIAN KELLY
Brian Kelly is long DXGE, BTC=, BBRY and U.S. dollar. He is short Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, euro, yen and yuan.
GUY ADAMI
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS and INTC. Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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• CNBC.com Earnings Central || Bitcoin's 'war' could threaten its survival: Bitcoin , the digital currency technology with an ecosystem attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, is struggling through an existential crisis. And what may to outsiders seem like petty squabbling about a single number actually has major financial implications and could even threaten the very survival of the cryptocurrency. The argument-which is pitting Chinese constituencies against largely Western developers, the business community against the often ideological early adopters, and programmer against programmer-centers on a simple number in the global bitcoin system. But if the various parties can't come to an agreement, the whole network could splinter, wrecking its major selling points of security and decentralization. "There is literally a war going on right now in the bitcoin world," Marco Streng, CEO of Genesis Mining, told CNBC last month. There are two major questions facing the technology: Who is bitcoin for? And who gets to decide? Most of the early adopters saw appeal in bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency (: BTC=) -(to over-simplify the promise) a sort of virtual gold that could not be touched by governments, banks or corporations. But in seeking to create the perfect system for such a currency, bitcoin's early creators also created a technology that has wide-ranging applications. That technology is called the "blockchain" (CNBC has gone in depth into how it works) , and this is basically what it does: It can record any information in a secure way, and make that information both public and unchangeable-doing this without relying on any central authority. Banks, stock exchanges, payment companies and others have already begun exploring how this can be used in their own businesses. The issue at hand is about the structure of bitcoin's blockchain (which is composed of "blocks" of data with each block referring back to the preceding chunk of information-thereby creating a chain). The community is arguing about how big the maximum block size should be: The current max is one megabyte, which only allows for about seven transactions per second-far too few for most businesses currently investing in the technology. Story continues This speed is a "roadblock to bitcoin growth," Jeff Garzik, one of five bitcoin core developers who have taken over maintenance of the technology, wrote in a recent paper . (Visa, for comparison, says its network can handle more than 24,000 transactions per second.) Read More Why is it called the 'blockchain?' "Any responsible business projecting capacity usage into the future sees the system reaching an absolute maximum capacity, with this speed limit in place," he wrote. "Increasing or removing this limit will encourage businesses to view bitcoin as scalable and capable of supporting millions of new users." The block size limit may also negatively impact bitcoin's original currency use-case: As the number of transaction requests exceed the limit, the user experience degrades: The pools of "miners" who help inscribe data onto the global network will begin charging ever-higher fees for processing, eliminating some of the appeal over other payment methods. But there are reasons for limiting the size of a block. For one, it provides security for the system by constraining available space, and therefore making it costly to maliciously flood the network with spam. Miners are generally against increasing the size too much: They would have to do more work on each block, but they'd still reap the same benefit per block (while transaction fees remain negligibly low), said Pete Rizzo, the U.S. editor for cryptocurrency site CoinDesk. Also, some early adopters who plan to hold bitcoin for extended periods of time as an investment may prefer to keep the block size limit low-unbothered by transaction fees or business prospects, Garzik explained to CNBC. But even if more interests seem to point to increasing the block size, there's no agreement what size is ideal-balancing present-day security and future promise-or how a change should be made. Gavin Andresen, one of the most important developers of the technology, proposed increasing the max size to 20 megabytes. (He did not respond to request for comment.) A powerful constituency of Chinese miners-who also object to increasing the size of the block, saying their nation's Internet connection to the rest of the world would not allow it-made a counter proposal suggesting an eight-megabyte maximum. Andresen has since backed a version of this plan. Read More Why financial firms are investigating bitcoin tech For his part, Garzik proposed a sliding cap with a change to the bitcoin code allowing for periodic block increases (or even decreases) based on global miners' votes. Different sources told CNBC that the most important parts of the community were variously leaning toward Garzik's proposal, an 8-megabyte increase, or just a small "can-kicking" measure to wait for technologies that might allow them to bypass the question. But as a totally decentralized system, bitcoin has no clear way to weigh these disparate opinions and interests-in other words, no way to make a definitive decision. Garzik called the block size debate the first major alteration to bitcoin policy since it began in January 2009. When other changes have been made, the core software has been changed, and the players on the network have quickly updated (anyone who doesn't follow the current protocol gets booted from the network until they comply). But with a contentious issue like this, the developers risk splitting the network into those who want to follow one set of rules, and those who want another. If someone were to push out a global update without ensuring near-total consensus, a split could occur. Read More Bitcoin firm raises $116M, including Qualcomm investment "That would be the worst of all possible options," Garzik said. Bitcoin runs on a blockchain that is more secure and decentralized than any of its competitors because of its large user base and its comparatively lengthy history. If those users were to splinter, then the entire enterprise could be compromised. So what's at stake? Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in bitcoin and blockchain-related companies, and the current value of all the bitcoin in existence is currently about $4 billion . The risks of a network split are low but not negligible, experts told CNBC. "You're dealing with consensus among a community of people who aren't communicating very well-and haven't for some time," Rizzo said, explaining that making any change to the code risks breaking a technology that already works pretty well. "At what point does that risk become untenable? At this point it's still within the realm of 'danger Will Robinson'-level risk," he added. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
To see the actual growth of #bitcoin over time it is best to use a logarithmic scale. Bitcoin has only gone up. http://t.co/fqpOE3rvzi || Current price: 244.55$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-23 12:00:08 EDT || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 18760.00 INR Sell : 18185.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 19353.00 INR Sell : 18755.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin || #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges:
Cryptsy: 0.00000005
Bittrex: 0.00000006
Average $1.2E-5 per #reddcoin
14:00:01 || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16440.00 INR Sell : 15933.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin || Current price: 147.91£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-12 09:00:03 BST || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 19 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,069.35 #bitcoin #btc || Current price: 211.36€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2015-06-16 16:00:05 CEST || 1 #bitcoin 664.07 TL, 244.1 $, 215.5 €, GBP, 12910.00 RUR, 30350 ¥, CNH, 300.31 CAD #btc
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Trend: down || Prices: 282.61, 281.23, 285.22, 281.88, 278.58, 279.58, 261.00, 265.08, 264.47, 270.39
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Stock Market Today: Seesawing Stocks Start Q2 With Small Gains: A jubilant woman rides a seesaw Getty Images A day after Wall Street closed the books on its worst quarter in two years , stocks vacillated between red and green following a March jobs report that was viewed as disappointing on some counts and encouraging on others. The Labor Department said Friday that 431,000 nonfarm payrolls were added last month. That was shy of estimates for 478,000 jobs, and well off February's upwardly revised figure of 750,000. SEE MORE The 22 Best Stocks to Buy for 2022 The unemployment rate, however, dipped to a new post-COVID-19 low of 3.6%, just off the historic floor of 3.5% set in February 2020 and better than estimates for 3.7%. Average hourly earnings continued to swell too, up 5.6% year-over-year with significant gains made in lower-income positions. Importantly, the data suggest jobs growth can continue at a robust rate. "We think it's likely that labor market gains, and further wage increases, could be sustained for a while," says Rick Rieder, BlackRock's chief investment officer of global fixed income. "For example, there is still a 1.5 million worker shortfall in the leisure and hospitality industry alone relative to the February 2020 level." Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. Rhea Thomas, senior economist at wealth services provider Wilmington Trust, doesn't expect the March jobs report to change the Federal Reserve's current policy, but it could offer the central bank a little more flexibility. "[It] still gives them the green light to hike in May, and we expect another hike in June, but we think if the wage and inflation data shows signs of deceleration on a month-over-month basis, it could give them room to assess before moving forward." SEE MORE 10 Stocks Warren Buffett Is Selling (And 7 He's Buying) The major indexes finished an up-and-down session in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a 0.4% gain to 34,818, the S&P 500 improved 0.3% to 4,545 and the Nasdaq Composite also closed 0.3% higher to 14,261. Story continues stock chart for 040122 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 jumped 1.0% to 2,091. U.S. crude futures fell 1% to end at $99.27 per barrel. For the week, crude oil lost nearly 13%, its biggest such decline since April 2020. Gold futures shed 1.6% to settle at $1,923.70 an ounce, bringing its weekly loss above 1%. Bitcoin rebounded 1.7% to $46,396.70. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) U.S.-listed Chinese stocks traded higher today. This came after a report in Bloomberg suggested the China Securities Regulatory Commission and other regulators are considering giving U.S. authorities access to auditing reports later this year – marking a sharp reversal from Beijing. This will allow the majority of Chinese firms to keep their listings on U.S. exchanges. Alibaba Group ( BABA , +1.3%), Bilibili ( BILI , +8.0%) and Pinduoduo ( PDD , +6.3%) were among those that gained ground. Tellurian ( TELL ) surged 19.4% after Credit Suisse analyst Spiro Dounis upgraded the energy stock to Outperform from Neutral (the equivalents of Buy and Hold, respectively). " Three factors drive the upgrade," Dounis writes in a note. "First, we believe TELL is close to sanctioning the Driftwood LNG project. Second, we're ascribing value to future project phases given the strong demand for U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG). Third, LNG prices remain high and may be structurally higher for the foreseeable future." TELL has now more than doubled for the year-to-date. Amazon.com ( AMZN , +0.4%) was little changed today after workers at its Staten Island warehouse voted to join a union. This marks a first for workers at any of the e-commerce giant's U.S. facilities. High Yield With High Diversification Dividends are probably doing more for your portfolio than you think. SEE MORE 12 Best Monthly Dividend Stocks and Funds to Buy for 2022 Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst for S&P Dow Jones Indices, released his latest data dive into the S&P 500 on Friday, looking into the index's valuation, yields and returns. "From January 1926 through March 2022, the annualized total return for the S&P 500 [which includes both price gains and dividends reinvested] was 10.48% per year," he says. Critically, a bit more than 38% of those returns were attributable to dividends. That might sound surprising, given that the S&P 500 currently yields 1.3% and has yielded a mere 1.9% on average over the past decade. But remember, many of the index's components have been growing their dividends over that time . The relentless rise of the S&P 500's level is what has kept the yield low. (Prices and yields move in opposite directions.) The S&P 500 might have enough income-generating power for some investors. For those who would prefer collecting an even greater percentage of their returns in regular cash distributions, an array of high-yield options are at their disposal. These nine generous payers , for instance, yield at least 5%, easily outpacing the S&P 500 and most fixed-income options. You can also take a more diversified approach to high-yield via exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The following 10 high-yield ETFs pursue strategies that will suit conservative and aggressive investors alike, but they all share one trait: plentiful yields of at least 4%. SEE MORE The 22 Best ETFs to Buy for a Prosperous 2022 You may also like Why Now Might Be a Good Time to Sell Your Investment Real Estate Your Guide to Roth Conversions Does Your Estate Plan Call for More Than Just a Will? || Bitcoin Slips Toward $38K After Rally Fizzles: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Bitcoin ( BTC ), after a price pop on Monday above the crucial psychological level of $40,000, is again flirting with a six-week low. As of press time, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was down 3.3% in the past 24 hours, trading at $38,210 close to the lowest since mid-March. The bitcoin price climbed as high as $40,800 earlier Tuesday but dropped more than 5% in the past four hours. Bitcoin reversed earlier gains after Russia reportedly suspended gas supplies to Poland , said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at the foreign-exchange brokerage Oanda. That's a sign that war in Ukraine could see further escalations. Bitcoin had a good start following news that Fidelity was planning on offering bitcoin for peoples retirement money, but risk aversion returned as investors remain fixated over aggressive central bank tightening, a worsening Russia-Ukraine war, and a disappointing uptake of using bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador. U.S.-based financial services firm Fidelity Investments will allow investors to put bitcoin (BTC) into their 401(k) retirement savings accounts later this year, the firm said on Tuesday. Employers could place a ceiling on the amount of savings earmarked for bitcoin, with the maximum cap expected to be no more than 20%, according to CoinDesks Shaurya Malwa. Fidelity is the first major retirement-plan provider to do this, wrote Marcus Sotiriou, Analyst at the UK based digital asset broker GlobalBlock in a newsletter, And I think it sends a significant message to pension providers. Nobody wants to be first, but nobody wants to be last. Yesterday, the Bitcoin Mining Council released a report which highlighted mining efficiency rose by 63% YoY, Sotiriou also wrote, with sustainable energy usage at 58%, marking the fourth quarter in a row above 50%. Furthermore, the network used 25% less energy [year over year]. These improvements are appealing for institutions who see environmental impact as one of the biggest reasons not to invest in bitcoin. Crypto analysis firm IntoTheBlock wrote in a Telegram message that short-term bitcoin holders who tend to follow the price action continue to decrease their positions. The balance held by these traders is 1.49 million bitcoin as of Apr. 25, the lowest since Jan. 18. Ether ( ETH ) was down 2.58% in the past 24 hours, trading at $2,856. U.S. stocks were down today. The S&P 500 was down 1.8% and the Nasdaq was down 2.89%. Fidelity CEO Abby Johnson is scheduled to speak at Consensus 2022 in June. || Crypto Rebound in H2 2022 ‘Unquestionable,’ Says PolySign CEO McDonald: Key Insights: Galaxy Digital CEO and crypto billionaire Michael Novogratz warned recent crypto pain could worsen in the coming quarters. His remarks come with both bitcoin and ethereum trading over 50% below November’s record highs. But PolySign’s McDonald is bullish on the prospect of an H2 rebound amid positive long-term fundamentals. Billionaire cryptocurrency investor and CEO of Galaxy Digital Michael Novogratz has warned that things could get worse for cryptocurrency markets, before they get better. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell under $2.0 trillion for the first time since July 2021, this week, down more than 50% from its all-time highs above $3.0 trillion last November. This has coincided with a pullback to the low $30,000s per token in bitcoin (BTC) (also its lowest since last July) and a drop back towards annual lows under $2,500 in ethereum (ETH). Both currently trade slightly below their respective record highs above $69,000 and near $4,900 printed last November. Galaxy Digital’s Novogratz warns of difficult quarters ahead Novogratz said that one of the key challenges facing crypto markets is that they are increasingly correlated with US technology stocks, which have been taking a beating as of late due to rising interest rates. US government bond yields have risen sharply (the ten-year yield is up over 1.40% since the start of the year) in recent months amid a “hawkish” shift from the US Federal Reserve in response to the persistence of high inflation this year. Whereat the end of 2021, only a few interest rate hikes were expected from the bank this year, expectations are now for rates to reach around 2.5% by the end of the year and go as high as 3.5% in 2023. Higher interest rates mean a higher “opportunity cost” of holding assets that either don’t yield (like cryptocurrencies, commodities and the stocks of non-profitable companies) or have a poor yield (like the stocks of profitable, but very high price to earnings ratio companies). Story continues On Galaxy Digital’s Q1 2022 earnings call on Monday, Novogratz explained that “crypto probably trades correlated to the Nasdaq until we hit a new equilibrium.” He warned that investors should prepare for “a very choppy, volatile and difficult market for at least the next few quarters before people are getting some sense that we’re at an equilibrium.” PolySign’s McDonald says H2 rebound “unquestionable” When pressed on whether he thinks support at $30,000 in bitcoin will hold in an interview on CNBC, PolySign CEO Jack McDonald on Tuesday said “it feels to me like we are sniffing around for a bottom.” A lot of speculative investors are being flushed out, while institutional investors and HODLers are holding firm, he explained. McDonald added that, while a combination of bearish macro factors like rising interest rates, worries about persistent high inflation and fears about global economic growth are weighing on cryptocurrencies in the short-term, in the longer-term, he still expects demand for inflation protection and positive growth trends within the crypto space as supporting digital asset prices. According to McDonald, big global institutions increasingly believe in the underlying blockchain technology, meaning the higher quality tokens and assets remain likely to prevail in the long run. Finally, when asked about whether he expects a rebound in H2 2022, McDonald said it was “unquestionable,” saying that real money coming into the crypto space views the recent downturn as an opportunity for the longer term. “I remain very, very bullish,” he concluded. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Brembo’s Q1 core profit rises 11.2% despite tense macro scenario Ghana’s consumer inflation spikes to ‘shocking’ 23.6% in April HeidelbergCement Q1 core profit falls on higher energy, transport costs Former guerrilla Petro would win Colombia’s presidency in runoff – poll UK’s FTSE 100 rises on commodity stocks rally, Compass earnings boost Oil jumps as Russia gas flow to Europe falls, EU Russian oil ban looms || US stocks trade mixed as investors watch developments in Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia: • US stock indexes were mixed Monday as investors waited for word on potential new sanctions on Russia.
• The potential for sanctions against Russia's energy market sent oil prices higher.
• Russian troops are being accused of killing hundreds of civilians near Kyiv.
US stocks were mixed Monday as the first full trading week of April started with Europe weighing new sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, with the potential for new measures sending oil prices marching higher.
European governments have suggested putting new sanctions on Russia followingreports of war crimesaround the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Russian troops areaccused of killing close to 300 civiliansduring their occupation of the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted photos of dead bodiesto the Telegram Sundayand called Russian troops "butchers."
France's President Emmanuel Macron said Monday a new round of sanctions is needed, and the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc "will advance, as a matter of urgency, work on further sanctions" against Russia.
"Pressure is ramping up on Brussels to enforce a total ban on Russian energy imports in order to enforce real damage and punishment against the Kremlin for the invasion. Of course, it's easier for some to make such demands than others," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a note Monday.
Oil prices climbed Monday, withWest Texas Intermediate crudejumping 2.9% to $102.16 per barrel.Brent crude,the international benchmark, gained 2.4% at $106.94.
Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Monday:
• S&P 500:4,547.09, up 0.03%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average:34,726.04, down 0.26% (92.23 points)
• Nasdaq Composite:14,303.61, up 0.32%
"We will likely continue to see resistance from Germany and a select few others as they're simply far more reliant on Russian imports of oil, gas and coal. Forecasts for the impact of an embargo vary but it would almost certainly tip the country into recession," said Erlam.
Around the markets,Twitter sharessoared after Elon Musk disclosed he hastaken a big stake in the social media company.
Goldrose 0.7% to $1,936.30 per ounce. The10-year yieldfell 4 basis points to 2.38%.
Bitcoinfell 0.9% to $46,033.98.
Read the original article onBusiness Insider || DraftKings Could Run Out of Cash Within a Year If It Keeps Burning Cash: DraftKings(NASDAQ:DKNG) reported its latest figures for the March quarter showing it is burning through cash as if it was going out of style. As a result, despiterecently purchasingGolden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG), expect to see DKNG stock tank further.
I warned about this cash flow issue in mylast article on February 25on DraftKings when the stock was at $22.20. Today, May 9, it is down to $11.10, a drop of 50%. But that does not mean it can’t decline even further. This article will help you see why.
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From its press release and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings on May 6, DraftKings reported negative cash flow. Its “net cash flows used in operating activities” (usually known as cash flow from operations or CFFO) was negative $356.7 million during the first quarter. This ison page 7of its 10-Q filing. Moreover, after deducting $8.6 million in capex expenditures, its total free cash flow (FCF) was negative $364.82 million for the quarter.
• 7 Defensive Dividend Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now
This puts the DraftKings cash burn in an unsustainable situation. It means that on an annualized run-rate basis, cash burn will be $1.459 billion. Moreover, now that it has acquired GNOG, the cash burn is likely to increase.
For example, if we assume that this raises cash burn by 10% to approximately $1.6 billion a year, that could use up most of the company’s cash. It had $1.77 billion at the end of March. Depending on how much cash GNOG brings in with the combination, that might mean that in one year, three-quarters of the cash on its balance sheet will be eliminated or burnt through.
By then, the stock will have cratered and it will be very hard for the company to raise equity at a suitable price. It may be forced to borrow and have to put up collateral. DKNG stock won’t stay at today’s price with its $4.9 billion market value.
For example, right now its book value (shareholders’ equity) is only $1.3856 billion. That is 71.7% below today’s stock market value. Moreover, if we deduct the goodwill and intangible assets, it falls to $246.9 million, or almost 95% below today’s price.
But let’s be generous. Even at two times the stated book value, the market value would fall to $2.77 billion. This is 43.4% below today’s $4.9 billion market capitalization. That means DKNG stock could fall to $6.23 from $11.02 today.
So, investors should watch carefully to see if DraftKings can get its cash flow spending under control. If not, DKNG stock could fall 43% more.
On the date of publication, Mark R. Hake did not hold any position (either directly or indirectly) in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to theInvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.
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The postDraftKings Could Run Out of Cash Within a Year If It Keeps Burning Cashappeared first onInvestorPlace. || GLOBAL MARKETS-World equities rise on bounce in U.S., European markets: (Adds closing price of oil, updates prices, adds fresh commentary)
* Wall Street rallies at end of roller coaster week
* Crypto world stabilizes, bitcoin rallies after stablecoin slide
* Oil jumps 4% as U.S. gasoline prices hit record high
* U.S. yields gain as market angst eases a bit
By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall
NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Global shares rose on Friday as Wall Street rallied to end a volatile week of trading, while oil jumped 4% on the back of record-high U.S. gas prices.
Global markets and U.S. stocks were down sharply most of this week as investors grew anxious about the possibility of recession. The S&P 500 index is off nearly 20% from its all-time high in January and was close to a bear market on Thursday.
But investors' fears over whether U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell can accomplish a "soft landing" - bringing inflation down while keeping the U.S. economy growing - appeared to ease at least temporarily on Friday.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 2.30% at 4:07 p.m. ET (2007 GMT), after hitting its lowest since November 2020 on Thursday. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 2.14%.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 94.57 points, or 2.41%, to end at 4,024.65 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 436.61 points, or 3.84%, to 11,807.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 466.43 points, or 1.47%, to 32,196.73.
Despite Friday's gains, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their sixth consecutive weekly loss, and the Dow notched its seventh consecutive weekly dip.
Emerging market stocks rose 1.83%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rallied 2.01% from Thursday's 22-month closing low. Japan's Nikkei rose 2.64%.
"Stocks were ready to rebound as some investors remain hopeful the Fed will deliver a soft landing, while others are ready to buy the dip," said Edward Moya, analyst at OANDA.
Cryptocurrencies steadied on Friday, with bitcoin recovering from a 16-month low after a volatile week dominated by the collapse in value of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, rose 3.5% to $29,884, rebounding from a December 2020 low of $25,400 hit on Thursday. Bitcoin remains far below week-earlier levels of around $40,000 and is on track for a record seventh consecutive weekly loss.
Oil prices jumped 4% as U.S. gasoline prices jumped to a record high and China looked ready to ease pandemic restrictions.
Brent futures rose $4.10, or 3.8%, to settle at $111.55 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.36, or 4.1%, to settle at $110.49.
Markets are likely to experience a short-term rebound before resuming the sell-off which has sent Wall Street's Nasdaq tech index down over 25% since the beginning of the year, BofA analysts wrote in a weekly strategy note.
Investors liquidated global equity funds worth $10.53 billion in the week ended May 11, compared with $1.65 billion of net selling in the previous week, according to Refinitiv Lipper.
In an interview late on Thursday, Powell said the battle to control inflation would "include some pain," and he repeated his expectation of half-percentage-point interest rate rises at each of the Fed's next two policy meetings.
Headline inflation in the euro zone will fall in the second half of the year but so-called core prices, which strip out food and energy, will keep rising, the European Central Bank's vice-president Luis de Guindos said on Friday.
The dollar was lower on Friday but remained on track for a weekly gain. The dollar index fell 0.2%, with the euro up 0.21% to $1.0401.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.77% versus the greenback at 129.32 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2232, up 0.27% on the day.
The moves higher in equities were mirrored in U.S. Treasuries, with the benchmark U.S. 10-year yield edging up to 2.9367% from a close of 2.817% on Thursday.
The policy-sensitive 2-year yield was 2.5986%, from a close of 2.522%.
Gold fell more than 1% on Friday and is set for its fourth straight weekly decline, as the dollar's strength sapped appetite for bullion. Spot gold dropped 0.8% to $1,807.79 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.59% to $1,807.40 an ounce.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Dilts Marshall; Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn in London and Andrew Galbraith in Shanghai and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by Jane Merriman, Nick Zieminski and Richard Chang) || Luna is worth less than 2 cents after a single-day crash of 99% as sister coin Terra loses dollar peg: ii Luna is down 99% Thursday, falling to under $0.02 per coin. The cryptocurrency is linked to stablecoin TerraUSD, which lost its US dollar peg this week. Luna and Terra's slide come as cryptocurrency markets plummet in a broad sell-off. Luna is worth less than two cents, losing 99% of its value amid a broad decline in the cryptocurrency market. The coin is linked to TerraUSD, an algorithmic stablecoin that's in the spotlight this week after losing its peg to the US dollar. Luna is a kind of temperature check for sister coin TerraUSD, meant to absorb market turbulence and shockwaves amid volatility. The latest rout in the cryptocurrency market comes as the market plummets alongside other risk assets. The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies fell to a new 2022 low Thursday. Bitcoin was trading as low as $25,000 Thursday morning, but had retraced some losses to climb back toward $30,000 around 11:30 a.m. ET. Terra is a stablecoin that uses an algorithm to maintain its dollar peg, compared to a coin like Tether that are backed up by holdings of fiat currencies and other assets. The code erases portions of Luna coin to keep Terra at or above one dollar. But Terra isn't backed by liquid assets. Instead, the token is supported by about $3.5 billion in reserves of bitcoin. Terra's turmoil has pushed investors to dump Luna on fears that a critical part of the whole crypto ecosystem is coming undone. Luna has gone from support at $85 to its current low of around $0.01. Read the original article on Business Insider View comments || Crypto Markets On The Ropes As Traders Brace For US NFP Data: Key Points Crypto markets were crushed on Thursday, shedding over $150 million in value as US bond yields rallied. Bitcoin dropped nearly 8.0% to fresh more than two-month lows in the $36,000s. Traders are now bracing for the upcoming release of the April US jobs report. Thursday’s Market Rout Traders and strategists skeptical of Wednesday’s post-“not as hawkish as feared” Fed policy announcement rally across cryptocurrency markets and, more broadly, global risk assets, saw their cynicism pay off on Thursday. Bond markets, seemingly taking the view that the latest Fed policy announcement raises the risk of an ultimately higher so-called “terminal” interest rate, rallied on Thursday, with the 10-year breaching the 3.0% for the first time since December 2018. Risk assets and crypto markets quickly took note of the hawkish signal being sent by bond markets. The big tech-dense Nasdaq 100 index led a global decline in equities, clocking a historic more than 5.0% intra-day drop. Cryptocurrencies, given their high correlation to US tech, were battered as a result. According to TradingView, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization cratered from weekly highs above $1.8 trillion on Wednesday to as low as $1.619 trillion, before ending Thursday around $1.66 trillion. That meant a more than 7.0% on the day drop, marking the worst single day for cryptocurrency markets since 21 January. Bitcoin fell nearly 8.0% on Thursday, reversing sharply back from earlier weekly highs around $40,000 per token and just above its 21-Day Moving Average in the $39,000s to hit fresh more than two-month lows in the mid-$36,000s. BTC/USD Chart. Source: FX Empire Ethereum fell a slightly more modest 6.5% but still hit fresh lows since mid-March under the $2,700 per token mark. According to data on crypto derivatives and data analytics website Coinglass, Bitcoin long positions worth $164.763M were liquidated on Thursday, the most in more than three months. Ethereum saw a more modest $60.33M in long positions liquidated, the most since 26 April. Story continues Bitcoin liquidations. Source: Coinglass Markets Brace For US Jobs Data Conditions have calmed on Friday. The total cryptocurrency market cap has stabilized around $1.65 trillion, about $150 million below earlier weekly highs, with BTC/USD and ETH/USD changing hands in the mid-$36,000s and just above $2,700 respectively. Trade has entered its typical pre-US non-farm payroll (NFP) data release lull. Traders typically refrain from placing large, market-moving bets ahead of important economic events that could trigger two-way volatility. The US Bureau of Labour Statistics releases the April labor market report at 1230GMT. According to a Reuters survey of economists, the median expectation is that US non-farm payrolls rose at a robust pace in April of just under 400,000. The median economist forecast for the unemployment rate is for a drop to 3.5%, while the YoY pace of Average Hourly Earnings growth is seen moderating slightly to 5.5% from 5.6% in March. All in all, the data should show that the US labor market remains very tight, supporting the idea that labor demand, as the March JOLTs survey earlier in the week demonstrated, remains very robust, with the major constraint right now on jobs gains being a shortage of workers. The data will be viewed in the context of how it impacts inflation risks in the US economy and, ultimately, the risk of a higher Fed “terminal” interest rate. Wage growth will likely be the most important metric to look at in this context. Anything that pushes further upside in US yield would likely cause further pain for crypto markets. Higher yields raise the “opportunity cost” of holding non-yielding assets like cryptocurrencies. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Crude Oil Markets Continue to Threaten the Downtrend Line During the Week UK newspapers at risk as investors shun the sector, report finds ‘War has reached us’ – Strike shocks village in southeast Ukraine Health insurer Cigna boosts forecast as COVID costs recede Ukraine announces new prisoner exchange with Russia Danone reorganises China assets in deal with Yashili || Bitcoin dips below $40,000 as Panama moves closer to crypto regulation: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) continued a downward spiral on Friday after lawmakers in Panama approved a bill to regulate the use and commercialisation of crypto assets.
On Thursday, the Central American country's National Assembly passed the bill which covers the use and trading of crypto assets, issuance of digital securities, new payment systems and the tokenisation of precious metals — when rights to an asset are converted into digital formats.
The world's biggest cryptocurrency fell below the key $40,000 (£31,825) level as the bill opens the door to private and public use of crypto assets. It fell 2.5% to $38,715, while ethereum (ETH-USD) was down 2.8% to $2,846 at the time of writing.
Read more:Live crypto prices
If the proposal is signed into law by Panamanian president Laurentino Cortizo, citizens will be able to buy goods and services and pay taxes using cryptocurrencies. It was passed with 38 votes in favour, two abstentions and no votes against.
"This bill seeks for Panama to become a hub of technology innovation in Latin America," said Gabriel Silva, a member of the National Assembly and one of the lawmakers promoting the bill.
It aims to promote "the use of distributed ledger technology and blockchain in the digitalisation of the identity of natural and legal persons in or from the Republic of Panama and as a means to make the public function transparent," atranslated version of the projectsaid.
However, analysts have warned the move could heighten Panama's reputation as a place lacking financial transparency as the country is on the European Union's list of tax havens.
"Panama was already in a bad position and these payment methods skip the due diligence processes that international organisations are asking Panama to embrace," said Romain Dromard, CEO at financial investment advisory firm K&B Family Office.
Silva added that the project goes beyond regulating individual tokens, aiming to provide a broader scope than El Salvador’s bitcoin as legal tender measure that was passed last year.
It comes after the Central African Republic became the second nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. The African country also plans to create a legal framework around the use of cryptocurrencies, focussing on defining how citizens can interact with digital assets.
In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt the crypto as a legal tender.
Read more:UK registering fewer crypto firms as FCA maintains tough stance
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS) offered its first bitcoin-backed loan in the latest sign that Wall Street is more open to adopting cryptocurrencies.
The US multinational investment bank's move follows other traditional finance giants moving further into the crypto market. Last month, Cowen (COWN) launched a digital assets unit and BlackRock (BLK) participated in the $400m funding round for USDC stablecoin creator Circle. || Bitcoin, crypto drop as stocks slump in the US: Bitcoin’s increasing correlation with risk assets meant it got caught up in the overnight market selloff in the U.S. Investors dumped shares of Target and Walmart after the American retailerscautionedabout possibly taking a margin hit from not being able to pass on price increases to customers.
See related article:Has Bitcoin become a victim of its own success?
• Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed down by more than 4% each, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 3.6%.
• It was the worst one-day loss for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average since June 2020,according to Reuters.
• It came after Target’s Q1 profit fell by half with its shares dropping about 25%, losing some US$25 billion in market capitalization. It was the American discount retailer’s worst session since the Black Monday crash on Oct. 19, 1987,Reuters said.
• Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, fell as much as 4.4% with Ethereum losing 6.2% in the past 24 hours.
• They were trading at US$29,147.89 and US$1,936.75 respectively at the time of publishing.
• Leading altcoins Cardano and Solana led the selloffs, however, both losing over 12% overnight before recovering slightly to trade at US$0.5163 and US$49.96 respectively at press time.
See related article:Cryptos slump over inflation, Shanghai lockdown and war concerns
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 31726.39, 31792.31, 29799.08, 30467.49, 29704.39, 29832.91, 29906.66, 31370.67, 31155.48, 30214.36
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies.
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange.
Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses.
But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition.
"Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment."
The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote.
Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it.
Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people.
That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said.
Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed.
The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) || Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) || Hacking group claims to offer cyber-weapons in online auction: By Joseph Menn
Aug 15 (Reuters) - Hackers going by the name Shadow Brokers said on Monday they will auction stolen surveillance tools they say were used by a cyber group linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.
To arouse interest in the auction, the hackers released samples of programs they said could break into popular firewall software made by companies including Cisco Systems Inc, Juniper Networks Inc and Fortinet Inc.
The companies did not respond to request for comment, nor did the NSA.
Writing in imperfect English, the Shadow Brokers promised in postings on a Tumblr blog that the auctioned material would contain "cyber weapons" developed by the Equation Group, a hacking group that cyber security experts widely believe to be an arm of the NSA. [http://reut.rs/2aVA7LD]
The Shadow Brokers said the programs they will auction will be "better than Stuxnet," a malicious computer worm widely attributed to the United States and Israel that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program.
Reuters could not contact the Shadow Brokers or verify their assertions. Some experts who looked at the samples posted on Tumblr said they included programs that had previously been described and therefore were unlikely to cause major damage.
"The data [released so far] appears to be relatively old; some of the programs have already been known for years," said researcher Claudio Guarnieri, and are unlikely "to cause any significant operational damage."
Still, they appeared to be genuine tools that might work if flaws have not been addressed. After examining the code released Monday, Matt Suiche, founder of UAE-based security startup Comae Technologies, concluded they looked like "could be used."
Other security experts warned the posting could prove to be a hoax. The group said interested parties had to send funds in advance of winning the auction via Bitcoin currency and would not get their money back if they lost.
The auction will end at an unspecified time, Shadow Brokers said, encouraging bidders to "keep bidding until we announce winner."
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman) || Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Lawyers for Murgio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) || This CEO says he was shut out by tons of investors in Silicon Valley for classifying his workers as W-2 employees: (Hometeam CEO Josh BrunoHometeam)
The debate about whether "on-demand" economy workers should be classified as independent contractors (who use IRS Form 1099) or employees (who use Form W-2) rages on, but one startup CEO found that for Silicon Valley venture capitalists, there was a clear preference for 1099s.
On-demand startups like ride-hailing Uber or delivery service Instacart generally rely on 1099 workers who aren't technically employees of the company.
And there's a simple reason: Having employees on your payroll can get expensive.
Last year, the food delivery serviceMunchery told Business Insiderthat hiring its drivers as employees instead of contractors adds an estimated 20-30% to cost per hour. That's a ton.
But having your workers on 1099s restricts the type of training and support a startup can give, and this can decrease efficiency. The cost-benefit analysis of 1099 versus W-2even causedvalet startup Luxe to switch from W-2 to 1099, and then back to W-2. It can sometimes be tough for a startup to decide which is best for it and its workers.
But Josh Bruno, the CEO of senior-care startupHometeam, said that for him it was always clear that Hometeam's1,000-plus caregiversneeded to be on W-2s. They needed a lot of training, and Bruno wanted to give them the sense that Hometeam was investing in them for the long haul.
But unfortunately, when Bruno was trying to raise money, that wasn't what Silicon Valley VCs wanted to hear.
"I was kicked out of every office on Sand Hill Road," Bruno said, referring to the iconic street that houses many famous Silicon Valley VCs. Bruno said he even had a verbal agreement with a "flashy name" VC, who then wouldn't go through with the investment unless Bruno put his workers on 1099s.
Why? One reason, Bruno said, is because big names like Uber and Lyft were doing it. Bruno's main competitor, Honor, which was named one of Business Insider'shottest San Franciscostartups to watch in 2016, originally used 1099s. It has since switched to W-2s.
But it wasn't simply because everyone was doing it, Bruno said. The deeper reason rested in what a 1099 represented.
Bruno said that to VCs he spoke with, a 1099 meant a job that was both easy and repeatable. The worker is a part that can be swapped in, which is good because it means the business will be easier to scale, Bruno explained. And it would be easier to get the kind of growth the VCs were looking for.
Not all VCs think this way, even among those whom Bruno was pitching. Hometeam has so far raised $43.5 million from Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Lux Capital, IA Ventures, and Recruit Strategic Partners.
Honor has raised $62 million total, andrecently raised $42 millionlong after switching its workers to W-2s.
But Bruno's experience raises useful points about how "gig economy" workers are conceptualized by both startups and VCs. The more that workers swing toward the W-2 side, the less they seem like cogs in a machine, but the less they feel like part of a startup that can use technology to scale itself rapidly, up and up.
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Tim Seymour was a buyer of Occidental Petroleum(OXY).
Brian Kelly was a buyer of the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund(NYSE Arca: XLF).
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Trader disclosure: On September 8, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DAL, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short HYG, IWM, UAL. Dan Nathan is long TWTR, IWM long Sept put, long PYPL call calendar, XOP Sept put spread, BAC long Sept put, Long FEZ Nov put spread, long EEM Nov put spread, long FB Sept put spread, AAPL long Nov 105/95 put spread. Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, CME, DXJ, GDX, KBE, SLV, TLT, VXX, XLF, XOP, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. || Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency: On Tuesday, Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex reported that it had halted all trade activity due to a security breach. Specifically, hackers took 119,756 bitcoins or about $72 million worth (at the time of attack). In response to the news, value of the crypto currency dropped 20% before recovering its losses. A crypto currency is a digital currency that is encrypted, or secured in a way that allows it to operate independently of a central bank. Bitcoin (BTC) is considered the first crypto currency, although some form of the concept did exist before its inception. It is however the first decentralized digital currency. There are still many who do not fully understand bitcoins or virtual currency, so let’s get to the bottom of it. What is Bitcoin? As previously mentioned, bitcoin is a crypto currency. It exists only virtually, and a growing number of institutions accept it as payment. Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto, who published a paper on the invention on October 31 st of 2008. Many believe that Nakamoto is a pseudonym for multiple people. It was released in January of 2009, and has since gained recognition and acceptance around the world. Bitcoin was released as open source code, meaning anyone could figure out how it was created. As a result, other crypto currencies started to emerge from 2011 onwards. Bitcoin is known as an anonymous currency due to the fact that it is possible to send and receive the currency without revealing any personal information. Transactions are tied to a bitcoin address, a series of numbers and letters. All transactions are stored in the so-called blockchain, which records and verifies transactions. The blockchain ensures that a unit of bitcoin is not spent more than once, and is operated by a network of bitcoin “miners,” who use computers to make the calculations to validate each transaction. As a reward, these miners receive newly issued bitcoin. Bitcoin is still both controversial and volatile. Towards the end of 2013, China’s central bank prohibited financial institutions from using bitcoins, which dropped its value significantly. Bitcoin hacks such as the one announced on Tuesday have also occurred before, and negatively impact price. Story continues Bitcoin can be purchased both online and offline. Online, transactions occur through buy and sell bids that occur on an exchange. Offline, they can be purchased from an individual or a bitcoin ATM. Bitcoin Alternatives As I mentioned, the rise of bitcoin also saw the rise of dozens of alternative crypto currencies as well. These include litecoin, peercoin, primecoin, namecoin, ripple, quark and many others. Each of these trade at different prices and attract different audiences. Furthermore, they boast certain features that bitcoin does not have. For example, litecoin trades faster than bitcoin, and claims to operate in a way that does not reward miners who have specialized software, aiming to level the playing field. Bottom Line Both bitcoin and the idea of crypto currency are still very much in their fledgling state. Although a growing number of institutions now accept them, it still has some ways to go before hitting the mainstream. Still, the concept of a peer-to-peer currency network that bypasses the need for big banks and governments is enticing to many, and could potentially gain further traction, even if it is not through bitcoin but rather another currency. Welcome to the joys of the 21 st century. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days . Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is the world's largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users' accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. "The bitcoin was stolen from users' segregated wallets," he said. The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins. Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals. "Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers," BitGo said in a Tweet. "With users' funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire," said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare. The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies. BITCOIN SLUMP Tuesday's breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers' Bitcoins in a hacking attack. Story continues Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not "expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain", the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers. "The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems," said Singapore-based Antony Lewis. The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation. It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex's Tackett said he was "nearly 100 percent certain" it was no one in the company. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong's bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal. The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small. "For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I'm getting the pot?" said Leonhard Weese. (Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman) || Bitcoin Plunges, Hong Kong Exchange Says Millions Stolen in Hacking: DailyFX.com -
Talking Points:
• Bitcoin extends fall as news of an exchange hack reignited cybersecurity fears with cryptocurrencies
• Chinese Bitcoin exchange halts trading to investigate hack resulting in $65 Million in losses
• Bitcoin prices rebound on open exchanges following the hack, only one exchange was effected
Having trouble trading Foreign Exchange? Thismay be why.
Bitcoin suffered one of its worst declines in years through the open of this week. News that trading was halted on “Bitfinex” exchange after a hack resulting in $65 million theft unnerved traders. Bitcoin fell a little over 24 percent through Tuesday’s low following the announcement of the hack. Bitfinex remains closed, howeverforthough open exchanges the Bitcoin-USD pair (BTC/USD) rallied by more than 20 percent from lows through Wednesday. The hacked exchange is expected to remain closed for the next few days as investigations continue to uncover more information. Volume in BTC/USD trading spiked significantly through the decline and on the news of the hack. Average volume on for the cryptocurrency pair on the Bitstamp exchange rose to more than 22,000 on Tuesday and over 15,000 Wednesday – the 20-day average before these large movements was a comparatively restrained 4,400.
Cybersecurity remains a chief concern for the cryptocurrency and its numerous exchanges worldwide, as it is traded and used entirely over a network.The recent hack on the Hong Kong exchange is not the first. The largest bitcoin exchange in the world “Mt. Gox”, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and admitted to being hacked, resulting in the loss of $460 Million in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has become extremely popular since it was first introduced 7 years ago, to better understand its role in the financial markets check out DailyFX’sForex Trading Instructor Tyler Yell piece onBitcoin.
original source
DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromFXCM. || 'Grumpy hold-outs' could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft: By Clare Baldwin
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex's plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers.
The Hong Kong-based exchange said on Aug. 2 that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoins from some clients' accounts, the second-biggest such hack in dollar terms, and later said it would spread the losses across all its customers, whether or not they had been hacked or even held bitcoin.
It said customers would forfeit 36 percent of their holdings and be given "BFX tokens" instead that could be redeemed by the exchange or converted to shares in its parent company iFinex.
Both elements of the plan are open to legal challenge, lawyers said.
Imposing losses on customers who were not hacked appears to go against the company's terms of service, said Ryan Straus, a Fenwick & West lawyer who advises financial technology companies on regulation and co-authored the U.S. chapter of a book on bitcoin law.
The terms state "bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you", which Straus said implied a special banking relationship with clients that the Bitfinex plan would breach.
"The depository ... is obligated to return, on demand, the same monetary objects deposited," he said, quoting a line from his book.
The exchange's tokens could also be problematic, said Zach Zweihorn, a lawyer at DavisPolk who specializes in U.S. securities and trading laws.
The way they are currently being described - redeemable by the exchange or convertible to shares in iFinex - places them somewhere between a bond and a security and makes it highly likely that issuing them and trading them would require licenses in the U.S. that Bitfinex doesn't have.
"If they are issuing an equity interest in their parent company, I don't really think the fact that it's evidenced through an electronic token ... really changes the analysis of whether it's a security," said Zweihorn.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not return a request for comment.
Bitfinex did not respond to requests for comment on either issue.
"ROBBED"
Bitfinex's website acknowledges there are "protocol level details" still to be worked out for the tokens, and that U.S. residents can sell but not buy them for the time being.
"I feel like I was robbed," a 33 year-old investor who had a five-figure U.S. dollar amount on the platform told Reuters.
He said he took a 36 percent "haircut" across all assets, including U.S. dollar reserves, and as a U.S. trader he couldn't properly deal in the IOU token.
"Basically they took customers' funds in order to try to stay afloat. Nowhere in their terms of service did it mention that this was a possibility," said the user, who works in the financial services industry.
Bitfinex is nevertheless hoping that traders will be patient and accept that they won't get a better deal if legal challenges force it into liquidation.
"This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context," it told traders in a blog post a week ago, while the tokens gave them some hope of ultimately recovering their losses.
Traders will be aware of the fate of Tokyo-based crypto-currency exchange Mt Gox, which suffered the biggest bitcoin theft of all time in 2014, and consequently went bankrupt. Traders have not recovered any losses, and court proceedings are still ongoing.
"People are afraid to see their assets completely frozen if they sue Bitfinex too early," said 28-year-old Nathan Bourgeois, who is based in France and moderates a 2,000-member traders' messaging group called Whaleclub under the username dr Helmut.
He said he thought people would agree to the deal if there was a chance of getting some of their money back.
But Patrick Murck, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said the Bitfinex plan was unlikely to survive a legal challenge.
"It might be a pyrrhic victory. You might still end up with less money," said Murck, who is also co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and its former general counsel, but the "odds are fairly low" that nobody will test it in court.
"It takes one grumpy hold-out ... to blow the whole thing up,” he said.
(Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Additional reporting by Hera Poon and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Bitfury Research Seeks to Shine Light on Bitcoin Mixing Methods http://bit.ly/2bCyPry t.co/8gnMImL || #CANN 0.00000394 BTC(1.78 %) | Market Cap 304 BTC | Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC | Available Supply 77,230,285 CANN || Save your bitcoin in one of these! Now @shapeshift_io compatible! https://keepkey.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=1&aff_id=1117&file_id=29 … $bitcoin || $572.50 #btce;
$574.48 #bitfinex;
$573.00 #bitstamp;
$575.17 #GDAX;
$575.70 #itBit;
$572.19 #OKCoin;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || Bitstamp: $614.00
Bitfinex: $618.91
Coinbase: $614.35
Get a #Bitcion loan today https://goo.gl/smQBq1
#btc #FreeBitcoin || #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000006 (0.67 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00 %) || LIVE: Profit = $43.10 (17.20 %). BUY B0.50 @ $520.10 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $587.00 (#Kraken) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || $565.00 #bitstamp;
$564.00 #btce;
$571.20 #GDAX;
$566.44 #itBit;
$562.42 #OKCoin;
$565.00 #kraken;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || $604.99 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $592.46 - $606.41 Volume: 3768 BTC] || 1 #bitcoin = $10328.00 MXN | $570.59 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 18.1MXN http://www.bitapeso.com
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Trend: up || Prices: 610.89, 612.13, 610.20, 612.51, 613.02, 617.12, 619.11, 616.75, 618.99, 641.07
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Gaza's Ruling Group Hamas Seeks Funding in Bitcoin to Combat Financial Isolation: The militant arm of Hamas — the de facto ruling authority of the Gaza Strip in Palestine — has appealed to its supporters to send it funds using Bitcoin ( BTC ). The appeal was made via the official Telegram channel of Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on Jan. 29. Hamas — which comprises social service arm “Dawah” and militant faction “Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,” is deemed to be a terrorist organization, in whole or in part, by several countries and international organizations — including the United States and the European Union . Russia , Turkey and China are among those major world powers who do not designate the group as a terrorist entity. In his message, Abu Obeida called upon “all lovers of the resistance and the supporters of our righteous cause to support the resistance financially using ‘Bitcoin’ currency,” adding that an exact funding mechanism for transacting the crypto would be announced later. He continued: “The Zionist enemy is fighting the resistance by trying to cut its support by all means, but the resistance lovers in all the world are fighting these Zionist attempts and are seeking to find all possible support for the resistance." Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, after winning a military conflict against the Palestinian nationalist political party Fatah — a struggle for power that ensued from the latter’s defeat in the parliamentary elections of 2006. The Gaza Strip notably continues to be subject to a land, air and sea blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt in the wake of Hamas’ victory, which severely restricts the movement of people and goods. Abu Obeida’s turn to Bitcoin comes in the immediate context of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to temporarily freeze millions of dollars in Qatari aid — including $15 million a month to pay the salaries of Hamas civil servants — from entering the Gaza Strip, in retribution for a recent flare-up in border tensions between Israel and Hamas. Aside from the Gaza Strip blockade, given Hamas’ designation as a terrorist entity in many Western countries, many global banks bar services to the group via their anti-money-laundering ( AML ) and illicit terror financing prevention mechanisms. As reported, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last September that would establish a crypto task force to combat terrorist use of cryptocurrencies. A congressional hearing earlier that month had nonetheless concluded that while al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and other such terrorist groups have all attempted to raise funds through crypto, their success has been limited — and that in many instances, fiat currencies provide more robust anonymity for illicit fundraising. Story continues Related Articles: Singapore: Regulator Warns of Online Scam Claiming Gov’t Adoption of Crypto Coinbase Adds Cross-Border Wire Transfers for High-Volume Customers in Europe, Asia Swiss Bank Falcon Launches Crypto Wallet With Withdrawals to Fiat Bitcoin Hovers Under $3,450 as All Top Cryptos See Moderate Losses View comments || Report: Canadian Crypto Exchange Coinsquare Lays Off 40 Employees: One of Canada ’s top crypto exchanges, Coinsquare, is reportedly laying off almost 30 percent of its staff, including its chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO). The news was reported by Canadian startup and technology news platform BetaKit on Jan. 31. Coinsquare did not return Cointelegraph’s request for comment or confirmation by press time. Citing multiple sources, BetaKit estimates the total number of redundancies at around 40 team members — representing 27 percent of the company’s formerly 150-head workforce. A LinkedIn post from Coinsquare’s head of talent, Martin Hauck, published yesterday, noted that “the ever-evolving digital currency/cryptocurrency space has been volatile and unpredictable,” and that Coinsquare is one of many industry firms being forced to make tough choices. BetaKit notes that some of the exchange’s top-ranked employees — including COO Robert Mueller and CFO Ken Tsang — are among those to have had their contracts terminated. Both executives were reportedly hired around a year ago. After the layoffs were reportedly announced to staff yesterday morning, Coinsquare CEO Cole Diamond conducted an interview with BetaKit. He said that despite the fresh redundancies, the firm had onboarded 23 new employees this year — 14 of which joined as a result of Coinsquare’s acquisition of blockchain-based loyalty rewards company Tipcoin. Diamond stressed that unlike other Canadian exchanges, “Coinsquare is in absolutely no trouble, [but needs to] responsibly manage its resources” as: “We’re in the most volatile market that you or I have ever seen. As a result, we’ve scaled up in the last 21 months from three people to a high of 150 people. We’ve decided to make some cutbacks to make sure we protect our strong position in the market.” Diamond claimed the company’s balance sheet featured $40 million in company funds and assets, mostly in cash. Story continues As reported , Coinsquare’s portfolio-management subsidiary launched two new exchange-traded funds ( ETFs ) on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) last fall — both pegged to the performance of indices based on stock issued by blockchain companies. In December, Coinsquare expanded its platform to the European market. The company had also announced plans for a $120 million IPO on the TSX exchange, originally slated for last September. Coinsquare is not alone in opting to reduce its head count to survive the crypto market slump; mining giant Bitmain , blockchain software firm ConsenSys and decentralized social network Steemit have all made significant cuts in recent months . Founded in 2014, Coinsquare is currently ranked the 73rd largest exchange globally by adjusted daily trade volumes, seeing roughly $7.4 million in trades over the 24 hours before press time. Related Articles: Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX Missing $145 Mln After Death of Founder Top 5 Crypto Performers Overview: Litecoin, Binance Coin, Ripple, Bitcoin, Tron Unconfirmed: CoinLab Increases Mt. Gox Claim from $75 Million to $16 Billion Hodler’s Digest, Jan. 28 – Feb. 3: Top Stories, Price Movements, Quotes and FUD of the Week || This Chinese Crypto Mining Guru Predicts the Bitcoin Price Will Surge 20,000%: bitcoin price A Chinese crypto mining pool founder predicted that the next bull run would unleash the markets full potential, enabling the Bitcoin price to ascend to unfathomable heights before the euphoria cools down. Bitcoin Market Cap To $12 Trillion? This crypto market bull isnt ready to give up on the flagship cryptocurrency yet. | Source: Shutterstock News 8BTCs Lylian Teng reports : Zhu Fa, co-founder of crypto mining pool Poolin, recently made a bullish statement on bitcoins price, predicting that bitcoin would surge to new highs at 5 million Chinese yuan (roughly US$740,000). Read the full story on CCN.com . || Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, TRON, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, February 18: The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange.
CNBC commentator and CEO of digital currency investment firm BKCM LLC, Brian Kelly, believes that, “Bitcoin is about50 percentundervalued.” However, just because it is undervalued is not a good enough reason for it to move up. Kelly opines that due to extreme negative sentiment, he will not be surprised even if Bitcoin drops to $1,500.
While it is difficult to predict where the current bear market will bottom out, various experts believe that the next bull run will be a strong one. Zhu Fa, the co-founder of Poolin, a Chinese-based crypto mining pool, is extremely ambitious as he expects Bitcoin to reach$738,000during the next bull phase. However, he also warns that the next bull run might be the last.
Though astronomical price targets look enticing, we are currently looking for fundamental developments to carry crypto prices out of the bear market. Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten is likely to integratecrypto paymentsin its mobile app that will be released on March 18. If this happens, it will be a welcome step in bringing crypto closer to mass adoption.
There have been a few recovery attempts in the past few months but they have not sustained. Will the current recovery signal a bottom? Let’s look at the charts to find out.
Unlike previous occasions, the tight range in Bitcoin (BTC) has resolved to the upside. Currently, the price is attempting to break out of the downtrend line, which has been a stiff resistance since the end November 2018. A break out of this resistance will indicate strength and attract buyers.
Traders can wait for a close (UTC time frame) above the downtrend line and buy 30 percent of their desired allocation. The stop loss can be kept just below the lows at $3,200. The next level to watch on the upside is $4,255.
A breakout above $4,255 will complete a double bottom pattern, that has a target objective of $5,273.91. Traders can add the remaining 70 percent position on a breakout and close above $4,255.
Contrary to our expectation, if the bears defend the overhead resistance of $4,255, theBTC/USDpair will remain range bound for a few more days. Our bullish view will be invalidated if the pair turns down and plunges below $3,236.09.
Ethereum (ETH) broke out of the overhead resistance at $134.50 on Feb. 17 and has soared higher. Its next target is $167.32. Traders who havelongpositions can trail half of their stops closely so as to protect about 75 percent of paper gains. The remaining position can be held with the stop at the breakeven. We do not recommend booking complete profits because we anticipate a move to $167.32 and higher. Hence, we will give some wiggle room for half of the positions.
The 20-day EMA is gradually sloping higher and the RSI has reached the overbought zone. This shows that the bulls are in command. The pair is in the early stage of forming an ascending triangle pattern. Our bullish view will be negated if theETH/USDpair turns down from the current levels and plunges back below $134.50.
Ripple (XRP) has broken out of the 20-day EMA and the 50-day SMA, which is a positive sign. It can now move up to $0.33108. The price has stayed below $0.33108 since Jan. 10 of this year. Hence, a break out of this level signifies bullishness. Traders can enter long positions on a breakout and close (UTC time frame) above $0.33108. The stop loss can be kept at $0.275. The target objective of this trade is $0.40 and higher.
Contrary to our assumption, if theXRP/USDpair turns down from the overhead resistance, it might remain range bound for a few days. The downtrend will resume on a breakdown of critical zone of $0.27795 and $0.24508. The flattening moving averages and the RSI close to 50 point to a consolidation in the near term.
EOShas broken out of the overhead resistance zone of $3.05–$3.2081. Its next target objective is $3.8723 and above it $4.4930. The gradual up-sloping 20-day EMA and the RSI in the overbought zone shows that bulls have the upper hand. Traders who arelongcan protect half of their positions with a tight stop and trail the rest with a stop at $2.50.
We anticipate some resistance at $3.8723 but it is likely to be scaled. The target objective on theEOS/USDpair remains at $4.4930.
Our bullish assumption will be invalidated if the bears reverse direction sharply and push the price back below $3.2081.
After inching higher for the past three days, Litecoin (LTC) finally broke out of the overhead resistance at $47.2460. If the bulls sustain the breakout, the next target is $56.910. The uptrending moving averages and the RSI close to overbought territory shows that the path of least resistance is to the upside.
Nonetheless, if the bulls fail to sustain above $47.2460, the traders can book partial profits on theirlongpositions and raise the stop loss on the rest to $40. A break below this level can result in a fall to $35 and lower. TheLTC/USDpair will turn bearish if it breaks down from the critical support at $27.701.
After staying close to $121 for the past six days, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has started its journey northwards. It is currently facing some resistance at $141.
However, after breaking out of $141, we expect it to pick up momentum. Therefore, traders can buy on a close (UTC time frame) above $141 and keep the stop loss below the recent lows of $116. The first level to watch on the upside is $163, above which the up move can extend to $175. TheBCH/USDpair might consolidate or correct closer to $175. However, the pair has a history of vertical rallies. If the bulls pierce through $175, it will open the door for a rally to $220.
All our bullish expectations will be negated if the pair turns down from $141. The trend will turn negative if the bears sink the virtual currency below $103.
The bulls are attempting to stabilize TRON (TRX) for the past five days but are facing resistance at the 50-day SMA. The moving averages are on the verge of a bearish crossover, which will indicate weakness. A breakdown of $0.02344160 can drag it to $0.02113440 and below it to $0.01830000.
On the other hand, if theTRX/USDpair scales above both the moving averages, it will face selling at the downtrend line and above it at $0.02815521. The pair will pick up momentum if it sustains above $0.02815521. The targets to watch on the upside are $0.0380 and above it $0.040. Traders who arelongcan keep their stops at $0.0230.
For the past three days, Stellar (XLM) had been attempting to break out of the 20-day EMA. Though unsuccessful, we liked the way it did not give up any ground. A breakout above the 20-day EMA can carry it to the downtrend line and above it to the 50-day SMA. But as the digital currency has not participated in the recent pullback, we will wait for it to form a bullish setup before suggesting a trade in it.
Contrary to our expectation, if theXLM/USDpair fails to scale above the overhead resistances, it will enter into a consolidation. The 20-day EMA has flattened out and RSI is also inching towards the midpoint. This points to a range formation in the short term.
The pair will turn negative if it plummets below the recent low of $0.07256747. Following a breakdown, the next support on the downside is at $0.05795397.
Binance Coin (BNB) has again risen close to the overhead resistance of $10. We anticipate strong selling in the $10–$12 zone. From mid-August to mid-November, it had struggled to break out of this range on two occasions.
Still, if the price sustains above $10, it will signal strength. A consolidation between $10 to $12 will be bullish for theBNB/USDpair because a breakout can push it to $15 and above it to $18.
Conversely, if the pair turns down from the current levels and breaks below the 20-day EMA, it can slide to the 50-day SMA, which is a critical support. We do not find any reliable buy setup with a good risk to reward ratio, hence, we are not suggesting any fresh long positions in it.
Bitcoin SV has broken out of the 20-day EMA. This had been a major roadblock since Jan. 3 and the price had repeatedly turned down from it.
TheBSV/USDpair is currently facing resistance at $71.412 and the 50-day SMA. Traders can initiate a long position on a close (UTC time frame) above the 50-day SMA, with a target objective of $102.580.
The failure of the bears to capitalize on the weakness and sink the price below $57 shows demand at lower levels. Our bullish view will be invalidated if the pair turns down from current levels and breaks down of $57. If that happens, a drop to $38.528 is probable.
Market data is provided by theHitBTCexchange. Charts for analysis are provided byTradingView.
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, TRON, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, February 15
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Tron, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, Feb. 13
• Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, TRON, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, Feb. 11
• Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, EOS, Bitcoin Cash, Tron, Stellar, Binance Coin, Bitcoin SV: Price Analysis, Feb. 8 || Op Ed: Bitcoin Mining Attacks Are Overblown: Whenever I claim thatbitcoinis the only decentralized cryptocurrency, I get one of two arguments:
1. My X coin is also decentralized.
2. Bitcoin isn’t decentralized because of Core and/or miners.
I’ll leave 1 and the first half of 2 for another day, but the “mining centralization” argument is what I want to tackle in this article.
The questions I’ll be answering are:
• Is Bitcoin mining centralized?
• In what way do miners “control” Bitcoin?
• What are the risks of a 51% attack?
• Are the altcoiners right?
Decentralization is a key property of Bitcoin. If you remove decentralization, it’s not an interesting project. There have been lots of centralized issuers of money — that’s what causes inflation and why your savings lose purchasing power daily. The response by altcoiners is to argue that decentralization is a spectrum or, barring that, that Bitcoin is centralized.
First, decentralization is not a spectrum. It either has a single point of failure or it doesn’t. Centralized things are called centralized because there’s a single point at which everything can fail. You either have a centralized point of failure or you don’t. There’s no real in-between like altcoiners would have you believe. Altcoins all have one or more of these properties which create a single point of failure:
1. A creator that’s still involved;
2. A development team that forces upgrades on all the users (hard forks); or
3. A foundation/organization which directs what the coin will do.
Some have more than others (ETH has all three vs. XMR which has just the second); in that sense, you can say something hasmoresingle points of failure than others. Nevertheless, the fact is that if at least one single point of failure exists, the token is centralized. A government could very well control the coin with whatever regulations it wants through that single point of failure. They could, for example, arrest the creator, tax the dev team or nationalize the foundation or organization. The method by which an authority can take over doesn’t really matter here: The fact that itcanis what is of concern. Centralized coins have the potential to be taken over relatively easily.
The question here is whether bitcoin mining is a single point of failure. Could a government or other authority control Bitcoin through controlling a single entity in mining? Much has been speculated about this and that is the subject of this article. What would it actually take to “take over”?
The miners’ job is to secure the network. They do so by finding proof of work. Having 51% of the network hash power gives a single miner the ability toattackthe network. That, however, is not the same ascontrollingthe network. The attack is limited in nature and affects only the account holders attacked (say, an exchange). This is in contrast to forcing upgrades on the network, which can reset entire balances, inflate the currency or change all sorts of incentives. The latter is real control of the entire network, a real choke point, as the network rules are dictated by a single group. The former is a possible way in which some participants become vulnerable. These are two different things!
This distinction is crucial as altcoiners often conflate the two. The two vulnerabilities are not the same. The first is anattack vectorwith a lot of conditions required to execute, affecting a limited number of people; the latter is thepossibility of complete takeover. Think of the former as a weakness in your army defenses and the latter as a takeover of the army for whatever purposes the conqueror pleases. The former still requires the attacker to fight out in the open. The latter is something that can be accomplished without the knowledge of anyone but the inner circle.
It is with this in mind that we call altcoins centralized. They can be taken over, conquered, changed by the whims of a few people. Controlling a large amount of mining hash power is not the same as that and the vulnerabilities are limited, not to mention very expensive to execute. This is the difference between a single person in charge of a bank account (who can thus embezzle, run away with the money, etc.) vs. a possibility that a valid wire transfer can be forced to wait a long time before being deposited.
To bring this home, let’s go through how a 51% mining attack must be executed. In order to execute a 51% attack, you first need more hashing power than the rest of the network. This means getting lots and lots of mining equipment, which costs a good deal of money. The equipment currently has long lead times and acquiring the latest generation of miners is notoriously difficult as such equipment tends to be very profitable. Using old equipment is an option, but the savings and convenience of such equipment is more than offset by the inefficiency. Either way, obtaining and running the equipment necessary is really costly. This requires incredible capital investment in order to compete with miners who are mining honestly and making a good deal of money doing it.
Furthermore, not only do you need the equipment, but you also need the electricity. Most bitcoin mining is done at the margins of electricity profitability for power suppliers. Mining tends to move to where the power is and not vice versa. So using hydroelectric dams, solar panel farms and geothermal at the margins tend to be how mining equipment is powered. Typical miners get rates of anywhere from $0.025/kWH to $0.06/kWH. These tend to be the absolute lowest rates, and most power companies require very long contracts to supply at rates this low.
Due to the increasing price and, thus, energy requirements, obtaining sufficient electricity to run a mining farm has become much harder over the past few years. When the Bitcoin network was small, it was perhaps possible to obtain enough electricity to run equipment that could supply 51% of the hash power, but that’s become less and less feasible over time. The power consumed by the Bitcoin network continues to grow, and an attacker would need to obtain a significant amount of electricity in order to successfully execute the attack.
There probably are some power companies that can supply 51% of the total network energy consumption at once, but good luck trying to convince them to sell you that much in a single burst. The power business is one where consumers are locked into lots of long-term contracts: A short-term, intense burst of power for a week or two is not practical, and if it is possible, it tends to be very expensive. Remember, there are factories, businesses and farms — not to mention homes — that rely on the electricity that these power plants supply to continue operating. These can’t simply be shut off to supply a hypothetical attacker with electricity.
In other words, as an attacker, you’re going to need access to some serious amounts of electricity, which is not likely going to be available to you without controlling the power source yourself. So not only do you have to control 51% of the potential hashing power, but you’ll likely need to generate the electricity yourself.
The capital costs of doing a 51% attack are enormous. You’ll need a large supply of really good mining equipment and a ton of electricity, neither of which you can buy off the shelf. This means that you’ll likely need to produce your own mining equipment and possibly produce your own electricity. This likely requires years of lead time to produce the equipment and long-term contracts to get the required electricity. Economically, investing this much capital would only make sense if you could profit enough from the attack as to make the venture worthwhile. There are several ways to attempt to profit from this, including shorting the market or attempting a double spend, but they all require some off-ramp to take the money and run. This used to be much easier but is no longer due to the AML/KYC laws surrounding most exchanges.
Furthermore, getting an operation like this together means that the attacker has enormous revenue potential through honest mining. This is much less risky and requires much less capital investment up front as you don’t need 51% of the network.
In other words, economically, it really doesn’t make any sense to do a 51% attack due to the costs and risk involved. Altcoins with a much lower hash rate are much more economical to attack this way.
The only real potential for 51% mining attacks come from state-level actors. Assuming it’s a single sovereign, such an entity would need to not care at all about the cost, have access to incredible amounts of energy and have motive to attack Bitcoin. Again, this does not give the attacker control of the network, just the ability to attack a small slice of it. Leaving aside motivation, let’s look at the practical logistics.
In order to pull off something like this, even a sovereign nation would need to coordinate a lot of pieces to make it work. A government would need to get a large supply of hashing power, either through its own factories or through commandeering the needed equipment. This is not likely to be secret for very long and the community would likely be able to prepare. Similarly, a government would need to get a large supply of electricity in the same way. Again, this is not likely to be secret for very long. The coordination necessary would be at military levels and this is not something that most governments know how to do.
And all this for what? A single double-spend that screws over a particular exchange? Again, such an attack does not destroy Bitcoin. The rest of the network keeps chugging along and if the attack is sustained, there are decentralized ways to nullify even the most hash-heavy attacks. This is not a single point of failure in the least because, simply speaking, Bitcoin won’t fail that easily.
So the question then turns to why so many altcoiners bring this up so often.
First, it’s one of the only things that’s even slightly perceived as a vulnerability in Bitcoin. Remember, altcoins are competition to bitcoin and like any good competitor, it helps to FUD your competition to make yourself look better. It’s a great way to distract people from the shortcomings of the centralization that their altcoin clearly has.
Second, they’re usually trying to sell proof of stake or proof of storage or some other nonsense. This is their way of showing the benefits of their system. Most altcoiners support their altcoin because they really want their coin to be bitcoin. They want to be rich like Trace Mayer but withtheircoin. That’s another whole article I need to write, but it’s an understandable emotion driven largely by envy.
Mining attacks are overblown, mostly by people that are trying to print their own money (or at least be the elite in the new currency). 51% attacks are too costly to be economical, have too little a payoff to generate much money and are too limited to hurt more than perhaps a few companies or individuals.
It’s even possible that a 51% attack that screws an exchange out of 100 BTC or so wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Bitcoin. Much like the BCH hard fork, it’s possible such an event would prove Bitcoin’s antifragility and cause a large rally.
This is a guest post by Jimmy Song. Views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Bitcoin Magazine or BTC Inc.
This article originally appeared onBitcoin Magazine. || Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum: Defying JP Morgan's FUD As The Technical Picture Remains Complicated - Confluence Detector: For the second day in a row, cryptos defied downbeat news, this time from JP Morgan. Technical levels are posing challenges to digital coins. Here are the levels to watch according to the Confluence Detector. Earlier in the week, cryptocurrencies defied the news that the CBOE withdrew its request for a Bitcoin ETF. The move was triggered by the ongoing government shutdown and may be temporary, but yet another delay is never good news for cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, digital coins took the reports with stride, showing their resilience. And now, further depressing institutional news comes from JP Morgan. The major commercial bank led by Jamie Dimon, who has been outspoken on blockchain technology said that BTC/USD could fall below $1,260. This would represent a loss of roughly two-thirds of its value. Analysts from the influential bank said that the value of cryptocurrencies is still unproven and would only make sense in a total dystopia. They dismissed digital coins and said that in the event of a crisis, there are more liquid, less-complicated for hedging, investing, and transacting. Blockchain technology did receive some positive words as a means to cut costs, but this may take quite a few years for banks to benefit. Back to the present, bears did not benefit from these downbeat words. When something does not fall on bad news, it is set to rise on good news. bitcoin_ethereum_ripple_january_25_2019-636840021572876377.png BTC/USD still battles $3,577 Bitcoin, the King of Cryptos, is trading in a narrow range, struggling around $3,577, a "groundhog day" reaction. The dense cluster consists of the following technical lines: the Bollinger Band 4h-Middle, the Simple Moving Average 50-1h, the SMA 200-15m, the Fibonacci 38.2% one-month, the SMA 100-15m, the SMA 5-15m, the SMA 10-15m, the BB 15min-Middle, the BB 1h-Middle, the SMA 5-1h, the Fibonacci 38.2% one-week, the SMA 5-4h, the SMA 100-1h, the Fibonacci 38.2% one-day, the BB 15min-Upper, and more. If the granddaddy of digital coins overcomes this level, it can run to around $3,850 where we find the convergence of the Pivot Point one-week Resistance 2 and the Fibonacci 61.8% one-month. Story continues Looking down, the only substantial support for BTC/USD is around $3,132 where the yearly low meets the PP one-month Support 1. ETH/USD struggles with $118 Ethereum is also battling a dense cluster of levels. The $118 region is humming with stringent levels including the BB 1h-Middle, the BB 15min-Middle, the SMA 5-1h, the SMA 50-1h, the SMA 200-15m, the SMA 10-1h, the Fibonacci 23.6% one-day, the SMA 50-15m, the SMA 100-1h, the BB 4h-Middle, the SMA 5-1d. The next target is $120.50 is the confluence of the SMA 50-4h, the SMA 200-1h, the BB 4h-Upper, the SMA 50-1d, and the SMA 10-1d. Looking further above, $125 features the Fibonacci 61.8% one-week. On the downside, support for ETH/USD awaits at $115 which is both last week's low and yesterday's low. Further down, $112.50 is a juncture including the Fibonacci 161.8% one-day, the Fibonacci 61.8% one-month, and the Pivot Point one-day Support 2. XRP/USD has an uphill battle at $0.32 Ripple remains restricted at around $0.32. It is the convergence of a long list of technical lines including the SMA 5-15m, the SMA 200-15m, the SMA 50-1h, the Fibonacci 38.2% one-day, the SMA 10-15m, the BB 1h-Middle, the BB 4h-Middle, the SMA 5-1h, the BB 15min-Middle, the SMA 100-1h, the SMA 10-1h, the Fibonacci 23.6% one-day, and the SMA 5-1d. If XRP/USD conquers that level, the next cap is quite close. $0.3250 is the confluence of the SMA 50-4h, the SMA 200-1h, the Fibonacci 23.6% one-month, and the SMA 10-1d. Only after overcoming the aforementioned hurdles can Ripple run all the way to $0.3512 where we see the Fibonacci 38.2% one-month, and the SMA 200-4h converge. Some support awaits at $0.3131, a juncture of lines including the Pivot Point one-month Support 1, the previous day's low, and the BB 4h-Lower. See more from Benzinga EUR/USD Forecast: Only A Dead Bounce As Downside Risks Dominate USD/CAD Forecast: Canadian Data Curbs CAD's Enthusiasm, GDP Eyed Top 3 Price Prediction Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum: Showing Resilience After The CBOE ETF Withdrawal © 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || China Data Disappoints as Focus Shifts to NFP Data and the U.S Dollar: Economic data released through the Asian session was on the heavier side this morning. January household spending and 4thquarter GDP numbers out of Japan kicked off the session. Later on in the morning, China’s February’s trade data was released.
Household spending increased by 2% in January, year-on-year. Forecasts were for a 0.5% fall, following a 0.1% rise in December.
According to figures released bythe Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,
• Notable increases in household spending were reported on housing (+18%) and education (+17.7%).
• There were also sizeable increases in spending on transportation and communication (+6.1%); culture & recreation (+3.8%); furniture & household utensils (+3.6%).
• Household spending on food increased by just 0.1% year-on-year.
• Notable decreases in household spending were on fuel, light & water charges (-8.3%); medical care (-4.6%) and clothing & footwear (-4.1%).
• Household incomes rose by 3.6% year-on-year, with disposable income rising by 3.9%, supporting the uptick in household spending.
• Month-on-month, household spending rose by 0.7%, reversing the previous month’s 0.1% decline.
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥111.585 to ¥111.623, against the U.S Dollar, upon release of the figures, which preceded the GDP numbers.
Japan’s economy grew by 0.5% in the 4thquarter, quarter-on-quarter. Forecasts were for a 0.4% rise, following a 1stestimate 0.3% rise. The economy had shrunk by 0.7% in the previous quarter.
Year-on-year, the economy grew by 1.9%, which was better than a forecasted 1.8% and prelim 1.4%. The economy had contracted by 2.6% in the 3rdquarter.
According to figures released by theCabinet Office, notable contributions to growth include:
• Private non-residential investment (business inv.) rose by 2.7%, which was better than a 1stestimate 2.4% increase.
• Both private and domestic demand figures were also revised upwards in the final numbers.
The Japanese Yen moved from ¥111.621 to ¥111.604, against the U.S Dollar, upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Japanese Yen stood at ¥111.4, up 0.16% for the session.
The trade surplus narrowed from $39.16bn to $4.12bn in February.
• Dollar-denominated exports fell by 20.7%, which was worse than a forecasted 4.5% decline. In January, exports had risen by 9.1%.
• Imports fell by 5.2%, which was worse than a forecasted 1.4% fall. Imports had fallen by 1.5% in January.
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.70283 to $0.70133 upon release of the figures. At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar stood at $0.70120, down 0.06% for the session.
Key stats scheduled for release through the day are on the lighter side today. Germany’s January factory order figures will provide the EUR with direction through the early part of the day. Forecasts are for a pickup in orders, though whether it will be enough to shift sentiment towards the Germany economy remains to be seen.
Outside of the numbers, market risk sentiment will have an influence as the markets continue to respond to Thursday’s ECB press conference. This morning’s trade figures out of China will likely limit any chance of any recovery from Thursday’s sell-off
At the time of writing, the EUR up by 0.04% at $1.1197.
There are no material stats scheduled for release through the day to provide direction for the Pound. With the 12thMarch meaningful vote rapidly approaching, all eyes will be on Brussels and parliament. It looks like Brussels is looking to test the British government’s resolve.
While there had been hopes of support for Theresa May’s deal on Tuesday, recent chatter suggests otherwise.
A no-deal outcome, however unlikely, remains the worst case scenario for both sides.
At the time of writing, the Pound was up by 0.06% to $1.3093.
The economic calendar is on the busier side throughout the day. Key stats scheduled for release includes February’s nonfarm payroll and wage growth figures. While the focus will be on the nonfarm payroll and wage growth figures, expect the Dollar to respond to any fall in the unemployment rate.
Outside of the numbers, chatter from the Oval Office will need to be monitored through the day.
At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down 0.10% to 97.566.
February employment figures will provide direction to the Loonie through the day. A slide to $1.34 levels following the Bank of Canada’s dovish outlook could continue if the numbers disappoint, however.
Forecasts are for the unemployment rate to fall from 5.8% to 5.7%, a positive for the Loonie. In contrast, employment is forecasted to fall, which would offset any upside for the Loonie.
Outside the stats, market risk sentiment and crude oil prices will provide direction, though sensitivity will depend upon this afternoon’s numbers.
The Loonie was flat at C$1.3455, against the U.S Dollar, at the time of writing.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – March 8, 2019 Forecast || Bitcoin Analysis: Bullish Correction Still Possible if Price Holds Above $3,550: bitcoin price bullish Bitcoin Price Quick Take: The bitcoin price dropped more than 8 percent on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. The cryptocurrency is attempting a pullback from a historically strong support area above $3,550. Further breakdown action could lead to a double bottom scenario. The bitcoin price on Thursday plunged more than 8 percent across the Asian and European trading session, according to aggregated market data at CoinMarketCap.com. The BTC/USD pair is trading at $3,635 on Coinbase at press time, up 2.7 percent from its session low at $3,556. It formed an inverse relationship with the US dollar , which appeared stronger owing to favorable macroeconomic fundamentals. The US Dollar Index, which measures the US dollar with six leading global fiat currencies, rose by 0.34 percent to 95.11 after dropping to a three-month low. Bitcoin Price Technical Indicators The bitcoin price has broken below its bearish pennant formation . The pennants dotted blue trendline represented as (B) indicates the failed support, while the upper trendline (A) is still looking strong as the session resistance. There are now two possible price actions left for bitcoin from here: either it could attempt a pullback or could further extend its downtrend. Lets discuss the first scenario first. Pullback Scenario In our opinion, bitcoin is trading inside a false breakout area. There are six separate instances whereby this area had proven to be decent support and resistance (depending on the direction of the trend). The small square boxes in blue indicate how bitcoin price has tested the area between $3,556 and $3,652 before. During a majority of the sessions, traders have treated the range as a signal to purchase. The most recent purchasing action can be seen in squares (5) and (6). The price action between Dec. 24 and Dec. 27 also reflects a similar trading sentiment. Therefore, just because bitcoin has broken below (B) does not mean that it will extend its bearish momentum. The cryptocurrency might see a throwback to push the price inside a medium-term sideways consolidation area defined by $4,000 as resistance and $3,652 as support. Story continues Breakdown Scenario An extended breakdown action could lead bitcoin near its temporary bottom area above $3,110, forming a double bottom. Earlier, analysts have predicted that bitcoin will break below the bottom area to establish fresh lows towards $2,500. From the technical perspective, a double bottom scenario has more likelihood to reverse a trend than to extend it. Generally, the longer duration between the two bottoms would ensure more probability of a bounce back. Bitcoin Price Intraday Targets The selling action has modified our intraday targets per the new range, which is defined by $3,555 as our interim support and $3,686 as our interim resistance. We will begin the day by opening a short order towards the support while maintaining a stop loss position 1-pip above the entry position. On a bounce back from or ahead of support, we will open a long position towards $3,686 while maintaining a stop just 1-pip below the entry point. In the event of a breakdown, such that bitcoin breaks below the interim support level, we will open a short order towards $3,369. A stop-loss at $3,565 would minimize our risks in case the price action reverses. Similarly, a break above $3,686 would have us enter a long position towards $3,817, our upside target. A stop-loss order at $3,676, meanwhile, will protect us from potential interim bias switching. Featured Image from Shutterstock. Charts from TradingView . The post Bitcoin Analysis: Bullish Correction Still Possible if Price Holds Above $3,550 appeared first on CCN . || Bitcoin Can’t Handle to $4000 Mark: The rapid growth to $4,200 for bitcoin launched an active profit taking, taking away immediately $400. Thus, no matter how crypto-optimists would like to believe in reaching the bottom and reversing the market, we are still faced with the usual speculations. All altcoins sold out after Bitcoin, showing drawdown magnitude of 10-20%, and the mark of 4000 remained a serious resistance.
No matter how strange it may sound to crypto enthusiasts, the best thing that can happen with the crypto market is a moderate dynamic in which all participants can concentrate on the development and implementation of technologies, rather than on prices jumps. Experts calculated that the current phase of the cryptocurrency ice age lasts for 435 days, which is longer than last time, and this is good news for the industry as a whole, although bad for investors who have staked in the period of general excitement at higher price levels.
Presumably, at the end of February, we’ll see Ethereum hard fork. The event is very long-awaited, it is difficult to predict what kind of reaction it will cause, however, you need to understand that market participants are unlikely to get something unexpected, and predictability rarely becomes a catalyst for market dynamics.
Quite unexpected was the news that Bitmain releases a new, more energy-efficient chip for Bitcoin mining. Experts believe that this may be due to IPO plans. New ASIC miners production at the moment is a very risky event. Nevertheless, judging by the number of extensions that have appeared for cryptocurrency transfers, payment applications, protocols, and services integrations, during the last year market participants built the infrastructure for digital assets, making it possible to speculate that crypto market players still want to become an alternative to the banking system.
This article was written byFxPro
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• AUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian dollar pulls back || Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin: The City should 'embrace' crypto: The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Peter Estlin, boards his ceremonial coach. Photo: John Stillwell/PA The Lord Mayor of London believes the UK should embrace cryptocurrency and related technologies to help power future economic growth. “Fundamentally, it’s a nascent technology,” Peter Estlin told Yahoo Finance UK in a recent interview. “It’s got some bad raps associated with things like bitcoin. But there is a fundamental value in that innovation — blockchains etc. “I think we need to embrace it, I think we are embracing it but perhaps with a degree of caution, ensuring we understand it.” The Lord Mayor’s comments come amid growing scrutiny of crypto businesses in the UK. The government said in December that it would consult this year on whether to introduce new regulation for cryptocurrency businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority has also been investigating at least 50 UK crypto businesses. READ MORE: Europe’s banking watchdog says EU laws on crypto may be needed The Lord Mayor told Yahoo Finance UK: “A s technology advances, we can either shape it, or let it shape us. And I prefer to be in the former category. So that’s the focus: how do we shape it so that we’re shaping it for good purposes and including defensive mechanism for those trying to do it damage?” Cryptocurrencies were first popularised with the creation of bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin spawned a whole host of copy-cat cryptocurrencies that exploded in popularity in 2017 before a price crash in 2018. However, many tech investors and analysts still believe that the technology that underpins crypto — blockchain — may have promise. Blockchain is a form of shared database that has the potential to bring greater transparency and reduce the number of intermediaries needed in transactions and processes. The technology could have particularly transformative effects in things like supply chain finance and tracking the source of food and goods. READ MORE: Crypto projects promise decentralisation — the data shows that’s far from true Estlin said: “ I do think it has a role to play. Exactly how it will manifest itself is still under development and we’ll see more over the next few years. I for one will be championing how we shape that so that we all get the benefit of it.” Story continues The Lord Mayor of London heads the City of London corporation, which runs London’s central financial district. The Lord Mayor’s main role is to promote the city as a hub for business. Lord Mayors are elected by the City’s historic guilds and the post is a year-long term. The office is distinct from the Mayor of London. Estlin’s agenda for this year is promoting digital skills and digital growth in the city. “The nature of services is changing and it will continue to digitise,” he said. The Lord Mayor said Britain was well-positioned to capitalise on this shift, and highlighted the success of fintech in London as an example. “Look at Revolut or Monzo ,” he said. “If one wants to put a flavour around where is the strength of the UK in the 21st century, as we saw with insurance being the hallmark of the 17th century, the whole incubator business environment, particularly in financial and professional services, is very much where I think the UK will play well.” The Lord Mayor said in the same interview with Yahoo Finance UK that Brexit would be a “disaster” for financial services but the UK would ultimately recover. ——— Oscar Williams-Grut covers banking, fintech, and finance for Yahoo Finance UK. Follow him on Twitter at @OscarWGrut . Read more: The challenge for cryptocurrency firms in 2019: don’t die There’s a new buzzword in crypto: the ‘STO’ 1,000 jobs are at risk at M&S — it’s just the start of a massive retail jobs cull this year Goldman Sachs gives £75m boost to lending fintech Capify Investment banks radically scaling back estimates of Brexit job losses
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Bank for International Settlements argues #Bitcoin ‘is not sustainable without block rewards’ http://twib.in/l/eExgBzd4Mj96 #blockchain #cryptopic.twitter.com/smT2M7ltnL || 【仮想通貨】【暗号資産】01.18 ビットコイン横ばいまだ続く！40万円台回復なるか リップル短期線上抜けで期待も 志塚洋介の仮想通貨予報 #btc #xrp #xem #bitcoin http://vcoin.tokyo/2019/01/%e3%80%90%e4%bb%ae%e6%83%b3%e9%80%9a%e8%b2%a8%e3%80%91%e3%80%90%e6%9a%97%e5%8f%b7%e8%b3%87%e7%94%a3%e3%80%9101-18-%e3%83%93%e3%83%83%e3%83%88%e3%82%b3%e3%82%a4%e3%83%b3%e6%a8%aa%e3%81%b0%e3%81%84/ …pic.twitter.com/BeyIGYQx41 || #Bitcon
#BitcoinFam
#BitcoinFamItaly
#Btc
#BitcoinFamItaliahttps://twitter.com/albertodeluigi/status/1085598767779381248 … || まだ時が早かったんですな…！ || Aspencoin upgrades $18 million token issuance to Securitize compliance platform http://twib.in/l/ogMKd4qBRM4a #blockchain #bitcoin #cryptopic.twitter.com/Zp4hh89wqA || Russia’s Not Buying Bitcoin, http://Dx.Exchange ’s Shady Past, and Ethereum’s Hard Fork That Wasn’t: This Week in Cryptohttps://www.ccn.com/russias-not-buying-bitcoin-dx-exchanges-shady-past-and-ethereums-hard-fork-that-wasnt-this-week-in-crypto/ … || So good to see people are enjoying the app
http://appstore.com/moonscapecryptotracker …
$BTC $cryptopic.twitter.com/si3XjJ0rk0 || A $XMR is worth 0.01256838 BTC || But Bitcoin didn't disappoint him till Dec 2017 futures launch, now onwards we will see how bitcoin perform, rise up and make new ath or kneel before bankers' gang. || C4L-BTC market added!
#C4L #BTC @Crypto4LikeCoin
https://crex24.com/exchange/C4L-BTC …
https://crypto4likes.com/
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5095486.0 …https://discord.gg/Jy7R6T4
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Trend: up || Prices: 3905.23, 3909.16, 3906.72, 3924.37, 3960.91, 4048.73, 4025.23, 4032.51, 4071.19, 4087.48
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-02-01]
BTC Price: 989.02, BTC RSI: 64.97
Gold Price: 1205.60, Gold RSI: 57.72
Oil Price: 53.88, Oil RSI: 57.68
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Malware study shows people still falling for old tricks, but there’s hope: Too many of us still fall for the old “click this attachment” email trick, and get our computers infected with malware or viruses. The result: our data is increasingly being taken hostage by ransomware creators.
Santa Clara, Calif.-basedMalwarebytes’new“State of Malware Report 2017”brings that and more bad news about security to light. But a chat with one of the people behind the study offered a few reasons to be optimistic, as well. Specifically, that a lot of today’s software, if properly updated, can help protect itself.
Ransomware, or apps that encrypt your data and then demand you pay a ransom (usually in Bitcoin) for a decryption key, have become a big business. In fact, the malware has afflicted everything fromhospital computer systemsto the occasional“smart” TVto themore than 100 surveillance cameras in Washington hacked days before President Trump’s inauguration.
Malwarebytes’reportwhich is largely based on data from the company’s Windows and Android anti-malware apps, helps provide some context as to how bad the ransomware problem has become.
According to the report, in January 2016, ransomware constituted 18% of all malware delivered by email or through exploits of existing software. By November 2016, it had climbed to 66%, which the report labels “an unprecedented domination of the threat landscape.”
The U.S. is the top target, while Russia, the home of many ransomware developers, is one of the least popular targets.
In a phone interview, Malwarebytes director of malware intelligence Adam Kujawa noted the pickiness exhibited by the two major families of ransomware, Cerber and Locky: “Both avoid any systems that appear to be coming from Russia or the surrounding countries.”
But that’s not the depressing part of this report if you’ve been following the virus business for a while. That comes when you learn that Malwarebytes still sees a lot of malware getting on computers via in email attachments, many of which are Microsoft(MSFT)Office attachments withembedded macros whose code will attack your computer.
Those techniques date back to the days of dial-up internet, when Office was much more lenient about running macros in random documents anddefending against them was harder.
And yet here they are again. As Kujawa put it: “Where are we, 2005?”
Today’s malware spam often comes personalized for particular users and tries to fool them into thinking that clicking a button in a Word document or Excel spreadsheet will unlock it for viewing, when in reality it will start a download of malicious code that can then take over their computers.
(You can read a detailed breakdown of one such attack inthis December post from Sophos researcher Paul Ducklin.)
The Malwarebytes report also calls out a few other growing hazards online. One “ad fraud” malware, which can generate a decent amount of income for cybercriminals, proved nearly as popular as ransomware. Ad fraud malware commanders a victim’s computer to visit sites and click on ads placed by the authors of the malware attack or their business partners.
The report further nods to the rise in “botnet” software taking over computers — including“Internet of Things” devices like connected security cameras— and using them as part of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Unlike ransomware, however, the U.S. isn’t seeing the worst of this form of malware. According to Malwarebytes, 61.2% of all botnets are found in Asia, while about 15% are found in Europe.
Interestingly, the U.S. was the leading venue for Android malware, with 12.74% of all detections happening here. But if you stick to Google’s (GOOG) Play Store for downloading apps — the default in the U.S. — your odds of being the victim of an attack are exceedingly low.
Kujawa noted that Google does a good job of quickly yanking the occasional malware app that sneaks into its app market. He further added that Apple’s (AAPL) iOS, which can’t connect to alternative app sources, is even safer.
While Malwarebytes’ report leaves it to the reader to figure out how to avoid being a victim of malware, Kujawa pointed out that many of these attacks can be thwarted by using current software.
“A lot of these exploit kits, the vulnerabilities they target, they’ve been patched for a long time,” he said. For example, he noted one common way criminals attack people’s computers is through an Adobe (ADBE) Flash flaw from 2012 — but his advice for thatfast-fading media plug-inremains to “disable it entirely.”
(FollowAdobe’s instructions to uninstall Flash.)
The operating system you run matters, too. Youmay feel comfortable with Windows 7, but Kujawa called Windows 10 “a more secure operating system at the base level,” andother security researchers have come to the same conclusion.
The Mac remains relatively more secure, even after incidents likelast year’s brief ransomware outbreak. Said Kujawa: “Every year, we say… this is the year when Mac malware is going to be huge, and it has yet to come to fruition.”
But more secure software doesn’t mean that malware authors will give up and get real jobs. They’ll just switch their attention to attacking our brains instead of our apps, trying various forms of social engineering to get us to pause our skepticism and click the wrong link just this one time, because it’s really important.
More from Rob:
• Comcast now lets you watch cable on your Roku
• Study finds most people are scarred of being hacked, but don’t do much about it
• Why you can’t stream this year’s Oscar nominees on Netflix
• President Trump’s tech policy is a mystery
• How carriers will keep D.C. online during the inauguration
• What you should really know about every major hacking story
• Outgoing FCC chair: Don’t go backward on net neutrality
• Selfie drones and more fly into CES 2017
• Faraday Future’s FF91: Electric speed at a vaporous price
EmailRobat rob@robpegoraro.com; follow him on Twitter at@robpegoraro. || Why hyperinflation is coming: By Yves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. The stage is being set for a central bank-fueled hyperinflation to take place in several years. Our position has remained the since calling the next turn of hyperinflation in 2012. Here is our epic piece on Zero Hedge . And while we are at it, we fully matched it with our bond call , which is the first pre-requisite. Yes, we are currently in deflation. I could not agree more, but this time it is different, as assets will fork at a juncture and move beyond the expected behavior—the results of a failed monetary transmission mechanism. Recall the London whale. What have we learned from it? That unless you bought the whole market, the remaining 5% not owned could derail prices—a situation where the tail wags the dog. The point is that unless central banks buy 100% of the government debts, they will still lose control of the fight. What fight? The mismatch of debts to savings globally. Gold must first go through a few related hoops and revert to a positive correlation with the US dollar. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies may be one of the newest benefactors of the hyperinflationary wave. Bitcoin had a great run since we started our analysis at $300 (not unlike our analysis of gold, which coincidentally began when it was at $300). And we expect this march to last well beyond the next two decades—finally ending in a massive bond crash and the subsequent flare-up of gold (as physical gold is default-free). S&P 500 PE Ratio Source: Robert Shiller Once the current correction passes, outflows of bonds will precipitate a sharp move up in stocks over the coming decade. And in a hyperinflationary environment, central banks will also be buying stocks. This will cause the supply of stocks to drop and P/E ratios to remain in a new elevated range of 25 to 50. Prior articles: Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader Story continues By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. || Yuan Eyes on China 4Q GDP, Davos Forum: DailyFX.com -
Fundamental Forecast for the Yuan:Neutral
• Yuan, FX Policy Force Major Bitcoin Volatility
• USD/CNH: Is a New Trend Setting In?
• Check outDailyFX analysts' top trading ideas for 2017
This week, the offshore Yuan remained stronger than the onshore Yuan and the PBOC’s guidance. On Friday, the USD/CNY closed at 6.8984, slightly weaker than the Yuan fix set on Friday of 6.8909; the USD/CNH traded at 6.8419 as of 3:30pm EST, 0.8% stronger than the onshore pair.
Looking forward, the headline event on China’s economic calendar will be the 2016-4Q Gross Domestic Product (GDP) print that is scheduled to release at 21:00 EST on January 19th. China’s Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told a week ago that he is confident that the economy will maintain a 6.7% growth, as in the previous three quarters, or above this level. A consensus forecast from Bloomberg agreed with a 6.7% increase. The GDP print itself seems less likely to turn into a surprise on Thursday. More importantly, traders will want to take a close look at the breakdown of China’s major sectors, in the effort to find out more clues on the economic outlook in 2017. Also, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next Tuesday, which is expected to attract global attention.
China’s industrial sector has shown improvements in the third quarter with multiple enhanced indicators: Both the official PMI and Caixin PMI reads in the fourth quarter stayed above 50, in the expansion territory. In specific, the Caixin PMI in December 2016 hit 53.5, the highest level in 45 months. Electricity consumption by the industrial sector,a major component in Keqiang Index, grew from October to November (December read is not available yet). In terms of investment, total investment picked up from a 16-year low of 8.1% reached in July 2016 to 8.3% in both October and November. Also, companies began to increase borrowing according to the December New Yuan Loans report: newly issued corporate medium-term to long-term loans increased to $695.4 trillion, rising +71% month-over-month or +50% year-over-year; this indicates that companies may have started to expand their businesses. In 2017, the Chinese government will maintain proactive fiscal policy with increasing expenditures and tax cuts, which are expected to further support domestic industries.
On the other hand, China has been facing growing challenges in international trade, including the weak global demand as well as rising trade disputes with major partners. In December 2016, China’s exports plunged -6.1% in Dollar terms, not only worse than a -3.8% forecast from Bloomberg but also marking the largest fall since 2009. Based on the breakdown of trading figures provided by China’s Customs, the growth of China’s exports to U.S. slowed down by -2.1% in December in Yuan terms and the growth of imports from U.S. slowed down by -13.5%. Trump’s pick on trade could put China on an even more difficult spot. This is one of the major risks that may impact the country’s growth. According to China Academy of Social Science, a leading Chinese think tank,the economic expansion is expected to drop to 6.5% in 2017, which means it may provide limited support to the Chinese Yuan.
Next week, Chinese President Xi will attend Davos’ Forum as the first Chinese president. When there is a major national event for China, Yuan volatility tends to drop, such as what was seen during the G20 meetings in China last September. Also, at the Davos’ meeting, President Xi may address major Chinese policies as well as comment on China’s global role, both worth keeping an eye on. Currently,the USD/CNH is waiting for justifications for a new trend; China’s economic outlook and policy in 2017 may provide more clues.
original source
DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromIG. || Sprint Still Has Plenty Of Short Squeeze Potential In 2017: While Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ ) and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T ) continue to dominate the U.S. mobile carrier market share, another carrier dominated Wall Street in 2016. Sprint Corp (NYSE: S ) shares surged 145.8 percent in the past year despite its positioning as the smallest of the “big four” U.S. carriers in terms of subscribers . A major part of Sprint’s move may be due to the massive number of traders that have been betting on Sprint to fail. It’s likely no coincidence that the entire time Sprint shares were skyrocketing in the past year, the stock’s short interest was plummeting 36.6 percent. Short sellers have spent much of the last year unwinding their positions, and short covering has contributed a significant amount of Sprint's volume during its run-up. The good news for Sprint bulls is that there appears to be plenty more potential short covering volume out there. Despite the 2016 short squeeze, Sprit remains one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the entire NYSE. According to shortsqueeze.com, Sprint still has an elevated short percent of float of 21.7 percent. There are currently a mind-boggling 142.1 million Sprint shares held short with 5.8 days to cover. If the slow-burn Sprint short squeeze continues in 2017, the stock’s 145 percent one-year gain may only be the beginning. See more from Benzinga Don't Blame Millennials For Being Terrible Employees Gartman: Bitcoin Is Nearly Incomprehensible At This Point Apple Kicks Off 2017 With News Of 'Blowout' App Store Sales © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments || Gartman: Bitcoin Is Nearly Incomprehensible At This Point: After skyrocketing 43.7 percent in the final two weeks of 2016, the Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC: GBTC ) has made a sharp reversal in the past two days. On Thursday, the ETF plummeted 11.6 percent . In early Friday trading, the GBTC is down another 7.7 percent. According to Dennis Gartman , author of The Gartman Letter, a Bitcoin selloff was inevitable. Gartman says the recent runup in Bitcoin came from Indian and Chinese citizens rushing into the currency to avoid weakness in their native denominations. “These sorts of things always...ALWAYS...end badly and they ended yesterday amidst early buying panic and then even greater panic selling,” Gartman writes. Gartman adds that he hasn’t ever seen anything like the trading action in Bitcoin in the past 48 hours. He predicts that the panic-selling is not yet over and Bitcoin investors could be staring at significantly more downside in coming days. He also hints that the complexity of Bitcoin’s technology may be scaring off potential investors. “Bitcoin may be the currency of the future but quite honestly we find it quite nearly incomprehensible at this point,” Gartman concluded. The GBTC ETF was up roughly 90 percent in 2016. A new big-board-listed Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF could be launched sometime in 2017. See more from Benzinga How Did Bitcoin Perform This Year? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin exchange operator pleads guilty in U.S. case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Nate Raymond
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he conspired to operate an illegal bitcoin exchange, which prosecutors said was owned by an Israeli who oversaw a massive scheme to hack companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co<JPM.N>.
Anthony Murgio, 33, entered his plea in federal court in Manhattan to three counts, including conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, a month before he was to face trial.
Under a plea agreement, Murgio agreed not to appeal any prison sentence of about 12-1/2 years in prison or less. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan scheduled his sentencing for June 16.
The Tampa, Florida-resident is one of nine people to face charges following an investigation connected to a data breach that JPMorgan disclosed in 2014 involving records for more than 83 million accounts.
Prosecutors said Murgio operated Coin.mx, which without a license exchanged millions of dollars into bitcoin, including for victims of ransomware, a computer virus that seeks payment, often in the virtual currency, to unlock data it restricts.
Prosecutors said Coin.mx was operated from 2013 to 2015 through several fronts, including one called "Collectables Club," to trick financial institutions into believing it was a members-only group interested in collectables like stamps.
Coin.mx was owned by Israeli citizen Gery Shalon, according to prosecutors, who say he and Maryland-born Joshua Samuel Aaron orchestrated cyber attacks on companies. An attack on JPMorgan resulted in the information of more than 100 million people being stolen.
Prosecutors said the men carried out the cybercrimes to further other schemes with another Israeli, Ziv Orenstein, including pumping up stock prices with sham promotional emails.
Murgio, who was not accused of engaging in the hacking scheme, was tied not only to Shalon but also to Aaron.
Both men attended Florida State University, and in 2008 they formed a business together. On his website, Murgio called Aaron "my friend" and said he "showed me the ropes to online marketing."
Aaron was deported from Russia in December and taken into U.S. custody, while Shalon and Orenstein were extradited from Israel in June. All three have pleaded not guilty.
Five other individuals have been charged in connection with Coin.mx, including Murgio's father. Two individuals linked to it are scheduled to face trial on Feb. 6.
The case is U.S. v. Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-769.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Dan Grebler) || Bitcoin slides as China's central bank launches checks on exchanges: By John Ruwitch and Jemima Kelly
SHANGHAI/LONDON (Reuters) - China's central bank launched spot checks on leading bitcoin exchanges in Beijing and Shanghai, ratcheting up pressure on potential capital outflows and knocking the price of the cryptocurrency down more than 12 percent against the dollar.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said its probe of bitcoin exchanges BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin was to look into a range of possible rule violations, including market manipulation, money laundering and unauthorized financing. It did not say if any violations had been found.
Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to stem capital outflows and relieve pressure on the yuan.
While the yuan lost more than 6.5 percent against the dollar last year, its worst performance since 1994, the bitcoin price has soared to near-record highs.
That, and the relative anonymity the digital currency affords, has prompted some to believe bitcoin has become an attractive option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and skirt around rules limiting how much foreign exchange individuals can buy each year.
The PBOC in Beijing, where officers visited the offices of OKCoin and Huobi on Wednesday, said in a statement that "spot checks were focused on how the exchanges implement policies including forex management and anti-money laundering".
Separately in Shanghai, the PBOC said it visited BTCC, noting its checks "focused on whether the firm was operating out of its business scope, whether it was launching unauthorized financing, payment, forex business or other related businesses, whether it was involved in market manipulation, anti-money laundering or (carried) fund security risks."
On the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, the price of bitcoin (BTC=BTSP) fell as much as 12.5 percent to a 3-week low of $800.
On China's Huobi exchange, the price slid more than 16 percent to 5,313 yuan (CNY=CFXS), equivalent to around $766, putting the yuan/bitcoin rate at a discount to the rate on dollar-based exchanges.
Normally, bitcoin trades at a premium in China, with a lack of trading fees encouraging volumes and boosting demand.
"Selling is being driven by China. The fear is that ... this investigation could lead to, worse-case scenario, funds being withheld from them (Chinese investors) or one of the exchanges being found to have acted improperly," said Charles Hayter, CEO of digital currency analytics firm Cryptocompare.
"This is a ratcheting up of the rhetoric from the Chinese authorities - instead of 'we're watching' you, it's now 'we're investigating' you," he said.
According to his analysis, Hayter says trading between the yuan and bitcoin accounted for around 98 percent of the total market in the past six months.
"The long term implications of this are positive as more rigor in the Chinese market only matures and brings respectability to the industry - but in the short term this could effect volumes which have been one of the key drivers of the recent rally," Hayter added.
"FRUITFUL MEETING"
Bobby Lee, CEO of Shanghai-based BTCC, confirmed the PBOC visit, but said he believed the company was not out of line.
"We're definitely vigilant. We think we are in compliance with all the current rules and regulations of running a bitcoin exchange in China," he told Reuters by phone.
"I wouldn't call it an investigation. I think they are working closely with us to learn more about our business model and the bitcoin exchange industry. We had a very fruitful meeting today," Lee said.
A Huobi executive, who declined to be named, confirmed the PBOC visited its office on Wednesday, but declined to provide details. A spokeswoman for OKCoin told Reuters its platform was operating normally, and the exchange was working with the authorities.
Last week, PBOC officials met with the three exchanges, and the central bank publicly urged investors to take a rational and cautious approach to investing in bitcoin.
(Additional reporting by Winni Zhou, Brenda Goh and Samuel Shen; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) || Investors bide their time as Trump prepares to talk—after more tweets: Investors are sitting tight as they wait to hear what President-elect Donald Trump says at his news conference this morning. Stock futures are pointing to a mixed open on Wall Street. Here are some of the other stories the Yahoo Finance team is covering for you today. Trump, Russia and BuzzFeed The focus on Russia’s role in the US presidential election intensified after CNN reported that Trump and President Obama were briefed last week on unverified allegations that Russian operatives claimed to have compromising personal and financial information about Trump. BuzzFeed has gone ahead and published 35 pages of memos. How is BuzzFeed defending publishing unsubstantiated claims while other news organizations hold back? Tillerson’s ties to Putin, Exxon The Senate begins confirmation hearings of former Exxon ( XOM ) CEO Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State. Much of the attention will focus on Tillerson’s ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In prepared remarks, Tillerson says Russia poses a danger, but that Russia’s resurgence happened in the “absence of American leadership, ” and that he will call for open and frank dialogue with Moscow. What will senators think? Bitcoin’s China slide Bitcoin fell by about $50, or 5%, after China’s central bank said it had launched investigations into bitcoin exchanges. The investigations involve possible market manipulation and money laundering. What does this tell us about the volatility of the digital currency? || Your first trade for Monday, January 17: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day.
Brian Kelly is a buyer of Tesla.
Steve Grasso is a buyer of Nvidia.
Guy Adami is a buyer of Amazon.
Tim Seymour is a buyer of the iShares MSCI Emerging Market ETF (EEM).
Trader disclosure: On(DATE HERE)the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:
GUY ADAMIis long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
STEVE GRASSO'S FIRM IS LONG: AGN, BIIB, CHK, COG, CUBA, DIA, FCX, GLD, ICE, KDUS, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, REGN, RIG, SPY, TITXF, VIRT,WDR, WLL, ZNGA. GRASSO IS LONG: CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MON, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, SPY, T, TWTR. GRASSO'S KIDS OWN: EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. NO SHORTS.
BRIAN KELLY islong: FCX, TSLA, SLV, Bitcoin
TIM SEYMOUR is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT;
Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM || 'Fast Money' traders debate merits of riding tech wave with Intel, Microsoft: The " Fast Money " traders defended their technology picks after big names in the sector reported earnings Thursday. Intel reported earnings of 79 cents per share, beating the 74 cents expected by Wall Street. Revenue came in at $16.37 billion, beating estimates of $15.75 billion, according to Thomson Reuters consensus. Shares of Intel ( INTC ) moved 2 percent higher in after-hours trading before paring those gains. "This company is doing everything they're supposed to do," Trader Tim Seymour said, noting that his only issue is that the chipmaker's stock valuation hovers around $38. Seymour owns Intel and recommended interested investors buy it for the long term. The semiconductor giant's move into the autonomous-car space intrigued trader Brian Kelly. Still, he's waiting for the stock to break out above a $39 stock price. Trader Guy Adami prefers Microsoft ( MSFT ) over Intel. He was discouraged by Intel's weak guidance for the first quarter of 2017. Microsoft beat its earnings estimates and moved up 1 percent in after-hours trading. Trader Dan Nathan said he would be more interested in buying Intel in the mid-$30s. Disclosures: GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long FCX, Bitcoin DAN NATHAN Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb put. XLI long Feb put spread, FXI long Feb put spread TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is longABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX,FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA,SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE,PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG,HYG, IWM More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
How to Invest in HYIP With Bitcoin Wallet? christmas eve traditions . http://ow.ly/1VN1307d52o || 1 KOBO = 0.00000195 BTC
= 0.0015 USD
= 0.4725 NGN
= 0.0211 ZAR
= 0.1529 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-12-18 06:00pic.twitter.com/RH4tsAFi5D || #Bitcoin price right now: USD$791.00 || These Women Love To Be Provocative <:/7N> http://www.btcgallery.com/07af5ac7f585 || 1 EGC Price: Bittrex 0.00001450 BTC #EGC #EverGreenCoin http://bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=BTC-EGC … 2017-01-21 09:00 (EST) pic.twitter.com/cPhhnYfAwz || One Bitcoin now worth $903.62@bitstamp. High $928.74. Low $875.00. Market Cap $14.540 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/7VH0vYJnfs || MMMBTC || MMMBTC || Moms Thatll Stop At Nothing To Take The Sexiest Selfie
<epaS> http://www.btcgallery.com/07af5ad09cb6 || MMMBTC
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 1011.80, 1029.91, 1042.90, 1027.34, 1038.15, 1061.35, 1063.07, 994.38, 988.67, 1004.45
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2018-06-25]
BTC Price: 6249.18, BTC RSI: 34.84
Gold Price: 1265.60, Gold RSI: 29.15
Oil Price: 68.08, Oil RSI: 54.08
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Alcoa's Environmental Breakthrough Could Change the Face of the Company: In 1886, Charles Hall invented the modern process for manufacturing aluminum in the shed behind his Ohio home. Two years later, he co-founded the Aluminum Company of America, which was later renamed to its acronym:Alcoa(NYSE: AA). While a lot has changed over the last 130 years or so, a critical part of aluminum smelting remains the same: the requirement to burn a carbon-based material in the final step.
Because the step is a process-related chemical reaction, carbon dioxide is emitted even when the overall process is powered by renewable energy. It's a big deal. That single chemical reaction accounts for 20% of all emissions from global aluminum production, which accounts for 1% of the planet's total carbon emissions -- equivalent to the greenhouse gas output of the United Kingdom. Aluminum's importance as a material, used in everything from your iPhone to your fuel-efficient car, largely forces manufacturers to accept the environmental burden. But that will soon change.
Alcoa created a new process for manufacturing aluminum that produces oxygen, rather than carbon dioxide, in the final reaction step to yield the world's first truly carbon-free aluminum production process. While the environmental breakthrough has major implications for the industry and planet at large, it could also transform the business as investors know it today.
Image source: Getty Images.
It shouldn't be understated: Removing direct carbon dioxide emissions from the smelting process has been the holy grail of the aluminum industry for decades. It's fitting that Alcoa was the company to discover the breakthrough, but the technology wouldn't have left the lab without some help.
During its global search for lower-impact materials,Applestumbled onto the Alcoa lab in Pittsburgh toiling away at aluminum processing improvement. The technology giant is one of the world's largest consumers of aluminum and has worked hard in recent years to source all of its energy from renewable sources, in addition toencouraging its materials suppliersto implement greener, cleaner, and more ethical production processes.
In fact, Apple facilitated the partnership between Alcoa andRio Tinto(NYSE: RIO). The miner came on board to form a joint venture called Elysis (from "electrolysis," the process that was altered to remove carbon dioxide emissions) that will license the technology package to global aluminum smelters by 2024.
To do that, a little more research and development is required. So, the nation of Canada and province of Quebec are contributing a combined $92.5 million for additional research, while Apple is throwing in $11 million to go along with $42 million from the JV partners. That's a small price to pay for the possibility of forever altering the aluminum company's business.
Image source: Getty Images.
After splitting away fromArconicto focus on the aluminum supply chain, which includes bauxite and alumina, Alcoa has made tremendous progress transforming itself. That transformation has largely focused on improving its financial strength by lowering debt, reducing its pension obligation shortfalls, and maintaining the cash kept on the balance sheet above $1 billion.
So far, so good. The aluminum leader ended 2017 with $1.36 billion in cash on hand and generated $2.68 billion in total adjustedEBITDAfor the year -- easily the highest total in years. It's expected to get even better this year, as the company's full-year 2018 guidance calls for adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion.
The transformation comes at a pivotal time in Alcoa's history. The company has recently turned its reliance on hydroelectric power, which provides 70% of its electricity consumption, into a competitive advantage by creating the premium Sustana brand of "green aluminum." Although it produces about 2.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide per metric ton of aluminum, it's the lowest-carbon aluminum on the market. Rio Tinto's RenewAl brand emits 4 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of metal, while coal-fired smelters in China cough up 18 tons of carbon dioxide per ton.
Image source: Getty Images.
That said, green aluminum is relatively new, so it's difficult to determine the significance of the trend in the near term. But the emergence of Elysis creates the possibility for truly carbon-free aluminum for all smelters using renewable energy in the long term. The new smelting process's potential to act as a force multiplier for the fledgling green aluminum market could encourage major producers to invest in cleaner production ahead of 2024. Customers may even demand it, and no producer will want to be left behind.
That could help the technology packages sold by Elysis to sell like hotcakes in several years -- and reposition the North American aluminum industry as the center of the global industry in the process. In fact, that seems to be a crucial part of the long-term strategy for Alcoa and even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As stated in thepress release: "When fully developed and implemented, it will eliminate direct greenhouse gas emissions from the smelting process and strengthen the closely integrated Canada-United States aluminum and manufacturing industry. The new joint venture company will also sell proprietary anode and cathode materials, which will last more than 30 times longer than traditional components."
The key here for investors is that the technology packages will include process know-howandmaterials required to enable the carbon-free smelting process. Those will be provided by Elysis (and sourced from the United States), opening the door for substantial technology licensing revenue for Alcoa through its equity investment. That could provide a steady foundation of profits in an industry known for volatility and high costs. And that's on top of the company's ability to implement the technology at its own smelters worldwide to provide the world's first global supply of carbon-free aluminum products.
Image source: Getty Images.
While 2024 is several years away, the announcement of Alcoa's carbon-free aluminum smelting process couldn't have come at a better time. The company is the strongest it has been in years, thanks to severe imbalances in the global market for alumina and aluminum. That provides it financial flexibility to ramp up investments in Elysis, if necessary.
Meanwhile, most major producers just began offering green aluminum brands created using renewable energy, but can't market them as "carbon-free" because of the emissions involved in the final smelting step. That could change in 2024 should they license the technology package from Elysis -- and customers such as major automakers or Apple may even demand it.
If that results in a race to increase renewable energy in the aluminum industry in the next few years, then investors should take it as a proxy for the eventual success of the new process technology. It could be truly transformational for Alcoa, and forever change the face of the company.
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Maxx Chatskohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AAPL. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL and short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || AMD Keeps Chipping Away At Intel’s Dominance: Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) recently crushed Wall Street expectations thanks to the growing demand for its new chips. The Santa Clara, California-based company's revenue shot up 40% year-over-year, driven by the popularity of its Ryzen CPUs (central processing units) and Radeon GPUs (graphics processing units). AMD's computing and graphics revenue almost doubled year-over-year thanks to the Ryzen and Radeon product lines. Meanwhile, sales of the company's EPYC server processors nearly doubled quarter over quarter, as more OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) decided to offer AMD's chips in place of Intel 's (NASDAQ: INTC) for data centers and cloud computing. AMD, however, believes that it isn't done growing yet. Management is confident that the sales momentum of Ryzen and EPYC processors won't be dying down any time soon, and it has valid reasons to believe so. This could spell trouble for Intel's businesses. Abstract representation of a processor on an integrated circuit board. Image Source: Getty Images AMD's CPU clout is increasing Various reports suggest that AMD's CPU market share has been steadily climbing over the past few months. The chipmaker reportedly controlled 12% of the CPU market at the end of 2017, up from 9.9% at the end of 2016. Now, a 2.1 percentage point increase in the market share wouldn't be a big deal for Intel at this point, but Chipzilla investors shouldn't forget that AMD's Ryzen processor line-up wasn't out in full force in the market last year. The first wave of Ryzen chips for desktop PCs went out in March 2017, followed by the launch of the enterprise-centric Ryzen PRO and the laptop-focused Ryzen Mobile toward the end of the year. The latest market share numbers aren't available just yet, but it wouldn't be surprising to see AMD shaving Intel's lead further in this space as Ryzen adoption is taking off. AMD claims that 60% of its client processor revenue was delivered by Ryzen last quarter, up from the low-40% range in the final quarter of 2017. So, the launch of the entire Ryzen line-up just in time before the holiday season last year has been a boon for AMD. To keep up Ryzen's terrific momentum, AMD unveiled its second-generation Ryzen processors last month at extremely attractive prices. For instance, the flagship Ryzen 7 2700X has a retail price of $329, which is substantially lower than last year's flagship 1800X and 1700X chips that were priced at $499 and $399, respectively. With a 17% performance boost over last year's flagship, AMD has built an impressive value proposition. Story continues More importantly, AMD's latest flagship is cheaper than Intel's i7-8700K that carries a price of around $350, and is equipped with six cores instead of AMD's eight. A higher core count is indicative of a superior performance, so AMD is potentially undercutting Intel once again. Additionally, the launch of a new Ryzen generation means that the previous generation's offerings are getting a steep price cut. For instance, the Ryzen 7 1800X can now be had for just $319. Not surprisingly, AMD is optimistic that 25 new Ryzen-based systems will hit the market this quarter, and the number could go up to 60 by the end of 2018. So, Intel will be forced to lower prices to keep AMD at bay, like it had done last year before the inaugural Ryzen chips came into the market. This sounds like bad news for Chipzilla's client computing group, which saw a 4-percentage-point drop in operating margin in the recently reported first quarter, while revenue increased just 3%. The opposite movement of the revenue and the operating margin means that Intel could be feeling the heat from AMD's aggressive pricing tactics. Additionally, Intel's processor shipment volumes were flat year over year, while AMD management claims that Ryzen shipments grew in the double digits during the first quarter of 2018. This provides a clear indication that Intel is losing ground to AMD in the CPU market, a trend that could continue because of the latter's strategy of undercutting its bigger rival. EPYC is on a roll Chipzilla reportedly controlled 99% of the server chip market that was worth $17.2 billion back in 2016, but AMD has started making inroads over here ever since its EPYC server processors hit the market last year. In fact, there are more than 40 EPYC-based systems now available in the market. Not surprisingly, AMD is confident that it will be able to eke out a mid-single-digit share of the server chip market by the end of the year, potentially stalling Intel's growth. For instance, if server chip market is worth $20 billion in 2020 and Intel's market share over here drops to 95%, its server chip revenue will be $19 billion. This means that Intel's server chip revenue would rise just 10% over a period of three years. AMD, meanwhile, could generate nearly a billion dollars in annual server chip sales, provided it hits its market share target this year. This will be a big win for AMD as it was almost non-existent in servers just a couple of years ago. But AMD can exceed its server market share targets once the second-gen EPYC processors come into volume production in early 2018. The new processors are expected to be based on the 7-nanometer (nm) node as compared to the current generation's 14nm process node. Chips based on a smaller process node are typically less expensive to make and are more efficient in terms of power consumption and performance. So, AMD is possibly looking to deliver a massive gain over the previous EPYC generation, which will allow it to eat further into Intel's server dominance as Chipzilla's move to the more superior 10nm process has been delayed to 2019. Should Intel investors start worrying already? Well, not right away. Intel is still the big fish in both the CPU and server processor markets by a fair distance. It has got huge financial muscle, superior margins, and a solid client base. AMD, on the other hand, is trying to make inroads into areas where Intel is already dominant. But AMD could keep chipping away at Intel's lead thanks to its well-priced products and the potential technology lead that it could gain thanks to the latter's 10nm delay. Now, Intel can respond by turning up its product development moves or lower the prices of its chips to quell AMD's rise. But it needs to take quick steps as its smaller rival is making impressive progress within a short time of its products hitting the market, else Intel's growth in these markets will hit a speed bump in the long run. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments || The Best Cash-Back Credit Cards in March: This article was updated June 18, 2018.Making purchases can be fun, but paying for those purchases generally isn't. A cash-back credit card can take some of the pain away. If you choose your credit card(s) wisely, you can reap significant financial rewards.
Here's a look at the best cash-back credit cards. They're suited for people who want significant cash-back rewards, but will vary in how perfect each one may befor you.
Image source: Getty Images.
What to know aboutcash-back credit cards
First off, understand that cash-back credit cards vary in what they offer. Some offer a flat percentage back on all purchases. Others have tiers of percentages applying to different expense categories. Still others offer big rewards on purchases in specified spending categories that rotate every few months. Some cards offer a combination of these features.
Below are seven of the best cash-back credit cards that can help you keep more cash in your coffers. Each offers a suite of other benefits, as well.
1. Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express:This credit card offers some of the most generous terms: led by 6% cash back at supermarkets (on up to $6,000 in annual spending, after which it becomes 1% cash back), 3% cash back at gas stations, and 1% cash back on everything else. If you spend $6,000 or more at the supermarket (that's about $115 per week), you're looking at $360 or more in cash back just for that. The card does sport a $95 annual fee, but many people will find it well worth that. If you're not one of those, you might prefer theBlue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, which charges no annual fee and offers 3% back at the supermarket, 2% back at gas stations, and 1% back on everything else. The card also has a special offer in effect as of this writing: If you apply by May 3, 2017, you can earn 10% back on what you spend at U.S. restaurants in the first six months -- up to earnings of $200. On top of that, you can earn $150 if you spend $1,000 on the card in your first three months. (Read our full review of theBlue Cash Preferred from American Expressto learn more.)
2. Citi Double Cash Card:The Citi Double Cash Card looks like it offers 1% cash back on just about all purchases, but it actually offers 2%. It pays you 1% cash back when you make a purchase -- and then another 1% back when you pay off that sum. Better still, there's no annual fee. TheCiti Double Cash Card also offers access to your FICO credit score, which can be helpful if you're working on beefing up your score or if you're keeping an eye on it before, say, taking out a mortgage. (Read our full review of theCiti Double Cash Cardto learn more.)
3. Chase Freedom Unlimited:This card offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases, with no limit. You can collect a $150 bonus once you spend $500 in your first three months. There's no annual fee, either. This card also gives you the option of later getting a fancierChase Sapphire Preferredcard, and moving your accumulated points there, where they can be redeemed for travel at $0.015 per point. (Read our full review ofChase Freedom Unlimitedto learn more.)
4. Chase Sapphire Preferred:This card is best suited for travelers. A key appeal is its sign-up bonus -- awarding you 50,000 points once you spend $4,000 on the card in your first three months. Those points are worth $625 in travel expenses when you redeem them through Chase Ultimate Rewards. It's also good for those who like to eat out, as you'll earn double points for spending on travel and meals at restaurants. There's a $95 annual fee -- but it's waived in the first year. (Read our full review ofChase Sapphire Preferredto learn more.)round stamp-like image that says "cash back"Image source: Getty Images.
5. Discover it Cash Back:This card offers a hefty 5% back on up to $1,500 spent over three months in categories that you activate (such as restaurants, gas stations, home improvement stores, orAmazon.com). That alone is worth up to $75 per quarter, but on top of that it also offers 1% back on all other spending. Note, too, that you get to specify the categories for your extra rewards -- many other cards choose the categories themselves, which can be inconvenient if you expect to spend a lot on the current category next quarter instead of this one. The Discover it Cash Back has one more big benefit: It will match all the cash-back money you earn in your first year, paying you that same sum again. The card charges no annual fee and it includes your FICO score on each statement. You might also consider theDiscover it Milescard, which offers 1.5 miles for each dollar spent on purchases. You can redeem your points for a credit on your statement that can cover travel-related expenses such as flights, hotels, car rentals, travel agents, commuting expenses, and so on. As with the Discover it Cash Back, this card will match all your miles earned in your first year. (Read our full review ofDiscover it Milesto learn more.)
6. AARP Credit Card: This card offers a hefty 3% back on spending at restaurants and gas stations, and 1% back on all other purchases. It offers a $100 bonus (in the form of 10,000 rewards points) after you spend $500 on the card in the first three months. There's no annual fee, and each time you make a purchase, the card will send $0.10 to the AARP Foundation to support the Drive to End Hunger -- a program feeding hungry older people. That might not seem like much, but together, all card holders have raised more than $6.5 million for the cause since 2011.
7. Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card:This card offers a simple 2% cash-back reward -- with a catch. The 2% will be deposited in a Fidelity account. That can be perfect if you've got a Fidelity savings account, retirement account, brokerage account, or other account. There's no annual fee, either.
Don't just apply for or own any old credit card. They may all look similar, but some will serve you better than others. Be sure to read the fine print and terms for any card of interest, too -- as some might delight or dismay you. Some, for example, may limit how big a balance transfer you can make, while others might be offering an enticing sign-up bonus. Many of the terrific cards above also require a good or great credit score -- so you might want to beef up your score before applying.
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Selena Maranjianowns shares of Amazon, American Express, and JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool recommends American Express. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || How General Electric Has Changed in the Last 2 Years: It was July 2016, andGeneral Electric(NYSE: GE)was on top of the world. The government had just removed its Systemically Important Financial Institution (SIFI) status, which was projected to unlock major value from the company's troubled GE Capital arm. GE had just sold its underperforming appliances unit to Chinese companyHaierfor $5.6 billion. Its stock was trading at its highest level since 2008. The company seemed to be at a turning point.
Unfortunately for investors, it was indeed at a turning point: a turn for the worse. Here's what's happened over the last two years, and what it tells us about how GE's future might unfold.
2017 saw General Electric's stock underperform all of its Dow peers. Image source: Getty Images.
In July 2016, it looked like CEO Jeff Immelt was finally catching a break. But fast forward to today, and the market has cut GE's share price by more than half. It's now trading below $15. Immelt resigned in modest disgrace, and his successor John Flannery has struggled to right a floundering ship. The company is the worst performer on theDow Jones Industrial Average, and there are rumblings that it may not be a Dow company much longer.
Here's how GE's share price changed from then to now. Note the July 2016 spike that took GE to its highest level since before the Great Recession, and how the bloodbath began in earnest in 2017:
GEdata byYCharts
Part of the problem was GE's status as a conglomerate comprised of many different business units that function largely independently of one another. Usually, this helps to stabilize a company, as weakness in one unit can be offset by strength elsewhere in the portfolio. Unfortunately for General Electric, the strength it was showing in its aviation unit -- still its strongest business by far -- was more than offset by its tepid power unit, its ailing oil and gas unit, and a transportation unit that soldno locomotives at allfor the entire year of 2016.
It's worth pointing out that GE's rival industrial conglomeratesSiemens(NASDAQOTH: SIEGY)andHoneywell(NYSE: HON), although far from crushing the market, have both significantly outperformed their larger peer:
GEdata byYCharts
Even with the obvious problems in the company's transportation and oil and gas units, the writing on the wall was tricky to spot.
With its SIFI status removed, GE's management was able to move money from its GE Capital unit into the parent company's coffers. It then used that money -- as well as money from the sale of assets like GE Appliances -- to buy back shares, which boosted 2016 earnings per share.
In 2015, GE had made a major purchase of the energy unit of French company Alstom, so the growth in GE Power's 2016 revenue -- indeed, the company's revenue -- was due to that acquisitionas opposed to organic growth. And, of course, the company wasn't going to be able to keep that up forever (if you really want to get into the numbers on this, check out my colleague Lee Samaha's excellent write-uphere).
In Q1 2017, industrial cash from operations missed expectations by $1 billion, largely due to weakness in the power unit. Energy markets were still tepid, resulting in a 33% decline in earnings from the oil and gas unit. It wasn't long afterwards thatImmelt announced he was stepping down.
When new CEO Flannery took over from Immelt in summer 2017, I thought the market would take a "wait and see" attitude toward the stock, and give the new guy a chance to get up to speed and roll out his vision for the company. Alas for investors, I was wrong.
Flannery apparently uncovered more of a hornet's nest than he -- or I -- was expecting in the C-suite, In the company's Q3 2017 earnings report, annualearnings guidance was slashedfrom the $12 billion to $14 billion range down to just $7 billion, and CFO Jeff Bornstein announced his departure shortly afterward.
Shortly after that, Flanneryhalved the company's dividend, and in January of this year, he announced that after an insurance review, the company would need to take a $6.2 billion charge plus set aside $15 billion in reserves to cover legacy long-term care insurance policies that were still being held by its GE Capital unit, which would effectively end the gravy train of dividend payments to the parent company. Other announcements included the intent to sell the company's consumer lighting and transportation units.
That's a lot of changes in just two years, even for a massive company like General Electric. But those changes give a good sense of where Flannery might take the company from here.
After divesting underperforming units and spinning off its oil and gas business, GE is going to be left with its high-margin aviation and healthcare units, its middling renewable energy unit, and its struggling power unit. And, of course, GE Capital, which is unable to assist the parent company.
Besides continuing its ongoing restructuring and cost-cutting, it's unclear exactly what Flannery can do to significantly grow organic revenue and boost earnings. Siemens' power unit has seen the same weaknesses as GE's, so the problem doesn't seem to have an obvious solution.
However, it's worth noting that, thanks to the collapsing share price -- which finally seems to have stabilized -- GE is currently yielding more than 5% again, far better than Siemens or Honeywell. There may be a good argument for buying in now just for the dividend, but unless and until Flannery and company can outline a compelling vision for returning GE to growth, expect more of the turbulence of the last two years for this troubled conglomerate.
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John Bromelsowns shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin markets unravel on Friday: Bitcoin markets brokedown significantly during the trading session on Friday, slicing through the $9000 level like it wasn’t even there. As I record this, we are approaching the $8500 level, an area that will cause a certain amount of psychological support, but on the longer-term charts I believe that there is much more support to be found at the $8000 level. We are already down roughly 6% as I record this, and there is nothing on this chart the tells me we’re going to turn around for any length of time. I believe that we will continue to see selling pressure over the next session or so, especially considering that the US dollar has been a bit soft in the Forex markets, but the US dollar has certainly been stronger than Bitcoin here. That’s a very negative sign.
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Bitcoin of course fell against the Japanese yen as well on Friday, breaking through the ¥1 million level with ease. The market looks likely to reach towards the ¥900,000 level underneath, but I think there’s more support to be found at the ¥800,000 level, and of course the ¥700,000 level as it is the bottom of the overall consolidation that we have seen for ages. At this point, it’s likely that rallies are to be sold, at least until we can prove some strength, breaking above the ¥1,020,000 level. I think that this market has shown itself to be failing yet again, and I think that the sellers will continue to take advantage of any signs of exhaustion.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Bitcoin Bulls Look to Steady the Ship || After Booking Holdings' Fall on First-Quarter 2018 Results, Is Its Stock a Buy?: Lackluster investor response to great earnings reports have been common for the first quarter of 2018. Many shareholders worry that current growth rates are as good as they'll be and will cool off. Such was the case after Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) reported a knockout start to the year . The rub was guidance, which indicated a slowdown is in order. Total gross travel bookings are expected to grow "only" in a range of 10% to 14%, or 5% to 9% when adjusted for currency fluctuations. Earnings per share should be $15.50 to $16.15, or up 10% year over year at the midpoint of guidance. Those numbers are hardly worth losing sleep over, and it's worth bearing in mind that Booking underestimates all the time, and is constantly reminding investors to expect decelerating growth as the company gets bigger. Even though some are nervous about a few other factors, smart investors don't need to worry much about them either. A woman sitting in a chair on a white sand beach looking out at the ocean. Image source: Getty Images. Don't fret the numbers The first problem is currency. The company got a big boost from the dollar devaluing against other currencies (most of Booking's business is overseas). Management said it has hedges in place to protect its profits, but currency fluctuations will continue to impact gross bookings and revenue. Some years that will be good, others not so much, but it should all wash out over the long term. Taxes are the second problem. While tax rates for companies that do business in the U.S. dropped after the tax overhaul late last year, Booking expects its tax rate will increase from its prior 17% to a new level of 21% in the second quarter. That's due to its activity outside the U.S. There were other tax increases elsewhere in the world -- the Netherlands was cited specifically -- that will hit the bottom line, too. The increases look modest, though, and are manageable. The third and final issue is timing. Easter is a busy travel time around the world, and last year that holiday fell in the second quarter. This year it was in the first quarter. That means the holiday bump came early, so Booking is lapping a difficult comparable period that isn't apples-to-apples. Also in quarter No. 2 is the World Cup, which could cause slowdowns in travel. It all ultimately depends on which countries' teams do well (if developed nations' teams advance, expect more travel bookings). Story continues Is it a buy? All of the above factors are out of Booking's control and will ebb and flow over time. As for factors it does control, the company is making the most of them. As the world develops, an increasing number of people are traveling and using the internet to find accommodations. With a heavy international presence, Booking is positioned to capitalize on that growth in the emerging world. In developed countries, where booking online is already common, increasing inventory of unique places to stay is a key factor. While Airbnb helped pioneer the trend away from hotels and resorts, Booking.com is actually the leader in the space with 5.2 million homes, apartments, and other unique listings. That number continues to grow at a healthy double-digit percentage rate. Plus, Booking is working on making itself a one-stop shop for vacations by integrating travel, accommodations, and in-destination activities in one place. A burlap sack with $100 bills sticking out the top. Image source: Getty Images. All of that said, a detractor might say Booking is already a big company; market cap is currently $100 billion. However, even as the leader in online travel services, it musters only single-digit market share. Thus, there's plenty of room for improvement, and the company continues to make its online experience better for customers and make strategic acquisitions to consolidate more market share. Plus, trailing price-to-free-cash-flow is only at 22.6 after the report, and one-year forward P/E is under 20, all for a company that consistently posts double-digit top- and bottom-line expansion every year. Management said it believes its stock is worth buying at these valuations, too, having made $1.5 billion in repurchases last quarter. There is another $10 billion left in the current share repurchase plan -- representing 10% of what the company is currently worth -- which will be used in the next two to three years. That's another reason to give investors cheer. In short, after Booking's first-quarter beat and subsequent pullback, this stock looks like a great buy. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Nicholas Rossolillo and his clients own shares of Booking Holdings. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Booking Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || A Foolish Take: The World's 5 Biggest Video Game Companies: The world's top 25 gaming companies generated $94.1 billion in combined software revenue last year, according to Newzoo , marking a 29% jump from 2016. Mobile gaming revenue accounted for 46% of the total, followed by console games at 33% and PC games at 21%. Chart showing the top five gaming companies in the world. Data source: Newzoo. Chart by author. Sony , Microsoft , and Activision Blizzard are well-established game publishers. However, market leader Tencent (NASDAQOTH: TCEHY) isn't a household name in the United States. The Chinese tech giant's video game portfolio includes top e-sports title League of Legends , as well as mobile hits like Arena of Valor , Clash of Clans , and PUBG Mobile . Tencent has a 40% stake in Fortnite publisher Epic Games, and smaller stakes in Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft . Meanwhile, many people forget that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , which takes a 30% cut of all sales of iOS games in its App Store, is also a leading game publisher. Though $8 billion equals just 3.5% of its 2017 revenue, that growth clearly complements the expansion of its services ecosystem , which includes Apple Pay, Apple Music, iTunes, and other services. The Mac maker is aiming to double its fiscal 2016 services revenue by 2020. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Leo Sun owns shares of Apple and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends ATVI, Apple, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Why Enphase Energy Inc's Shares Popped 38% Today: What happened Shares of microinverter Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ: ENPH) jumped as much as 38.4% in trading Wednesday after the company announced an important acquisition of SunPower 's (NASDAQ: SPWR) microinverter business. Shares held steady with their gains throughout the day and were up 34% at 11:50 a.m. EDT. So what Enphase is acquiring SunPower's microinverter business for $25 million in cash and 7.5 million shares of stock. The deal announcement says Enphase will exclusively co-develop microinverters for SunPower's residential solar panels, expecting to add $60 million to $70 million in annualized revenue in the second half of 2019 at a gross margin of 33% to 35%. However, it looks like Enphase will shut down SunPower's microinverter business after buying it, moving to its own IQ line of products instead . Home with rooftop solar panels. Image source: SunPower. The acquisition could add 20% to Enphase's revenue and bring the company close to breakeven financially. That would be an incredible turnaround from a year ago, when it looked like Enphase might not be financially viable much longer. Now what Enphase is spending a lot of money to add big customers, but adding SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels to the product portfolio is a nice win for the company and gives some product validation for other buyers as well. The deal also looks like it's a win for SunPower, which is getting $25 million in cash and about $45 million in stock at today's valuation. Sometimes deals are a win-win for companies, and that looks like the case for these two solar manufacturers today. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Travis Hoium owns shares of SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Bitcoin Poised to Make a Move, the Bulls in Search of $8,500: Bitcoin gained 2.34% on Friday, partially reversing Thursday’s 3.37% fall, to end the week down 2.69% at $8,243.4.
It was a particularly choppy day for Bitcoin, which had endured 4 consecutive days of losses ahead of Friday’s open, with a start of the day intraday low and new swing lo $7,925 certainly not helping the cause.
In spite of the early tumble, holding above the day’s first major support level at $7,864.27 led to a break back through to $8,000 levels, with a 2ndrally through the afternoon seeing Bitcoin hit an intraday high $8,277.2 before a slight easing back through to the day’s ending $8,243.4.
The new swing lo and failure to test the day’s first major resistance level to have a run at the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $8,415 affirmed the near-term bearish trend formed at 5thMay’s swing hi $9,999, the bears continuing to run the show in spite of Friday’s gains.
Good news for the Bitcoin bulls will be Bitcoin’s resilience through the bearish week however, the losses minor relative to its peers, with Bitcoin recovering some lost ground over crypto rival Bitcoin Cash.
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At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 0.27% to $8,216.8, with Bitcoin managing to recover from an early morning dip to an intraday low $8,164.1.
With support and resistance levels left untested on Friday, the morning’s low held above the day’s first major support level at $8,019.87, with the morning’s $8,277.8 falling short of the day’s first major resistance level at $8,372.07, in what could be yet another day where Bitcoin fails to test major resistance levels, Bitcoin having last tested major resistance levels on Monday.
For the day ahead, Bitcoin will need to move back through to $8,250 levels to support a run at $8,300 levels to bring the day’s first major resistance level at $8,372.07 into play, though the bulls will need to take control for Bitcoin to break through to $8,300 levels
Failure to move through the morning’s $8,277.8 high to $8,300 levels will likely lead to another slide to reverse Friday’s gains, with the day’s first major support level at $8,019.87 a certain target for the Bitcoin bears, Bitcoin having managed to avoid closing at sub-$8,000 levels since 18thApril.
For the bulls, a shift away from Friday’s start of the day swing lo $7,925 should provide some support, while side lined investors find little cause to jump back in, a roll out of regulations in key jurisdictions expected at any time.
Current levels may look attractive, but when considering Bitcoin’s 2018 sub-$6,000 low that came off the back of heightened regulatory risk, there could more red to come in the coming weeks before the dust settles and the bulls take control.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin Cash continued to slide, down 2.32% at the time of writing, with NEM’s XEM, Stellar’s Lumen and Monero also seeing notable losses, while DASH and NEO were one of a few to buck the trend, up 0.64% and 0.09% respectively in the early hours.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Crude Oil markets rallied during the week again making fresh highs
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• USD/CAD Fundamental Analysis – week of May 21, 2018 || Emerge Energy Services Earnings Don't Matter Until This Happens: Sometimes there are things that will impact a company's earnings that management can't control. This past quarter reflected that for Emerge Energy Services (NYSE: EMES) . Even though the company sold more sand than ever before, earnings results didn't follow suit because of lower selling costs and some logistics issues railroad companies had moving frack sand to demand centers. Fortunately for Emerge, it has a new facility up and running that should fundamentally change its results from here on out. So let's take a brief look at this quarter's results and see what's in store for the rest of the year. By the numbers Metric Q1 2018 Q4 2017 Q1 2017 Revenue $106.7 million $103.1 million $75.3 million EBITDA $16.9 million $17.0 million ($3.5 million) EPS (diluted) $0.05 $0.18 ($0.38) Distributable cash flow $8.7 million $13.4 million ($4.2 million) Data source: Emerge Energy Services earnings release. EPS = earnings per share. EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. If we were to judge this past quarter on sales alone, this was a good performance from Emerge. Total sand volumes were up 20% compared to this time last year to 1.5 million tons. Unfortunately, the average selling price per ton declined slightly, which compressed margins. Management noted that continued issues related to congestion and delays on Canadian National Railway 's network had a significant impact on pricing, so it elected to ship more on other networks to make it less reliant on a single freight operator. To make things a little tougher, overhead costs and interest expenses were up significantly compared to the prior quarter as the company ramps up operations at its new sand facility in San Antonio. This 2.4 million ton per year facility started up at the end of the April and should lead to even larger volume and revenue gains in the coming quarters. It will be worth watching to see if margins can rebound as this new facility ramps up. Story continues Sand mine in operation. Image source: Getty Images. What management had to say In the press release, Chairman Ted Beneski gave an overview of the company's current situation and the profound impact that this new facility will have on earnings and guidance for the year: The demand for frac sand remains strong, and the market continues to face supply shortages due to constrained railroad service and construction delays for several new in-basin plants. We are proud that we delivered on our construction timeline for the new San Antonio plant, and our customers value our dependability as they have signed new contracts. In response to the constructive supply and demand picture, prices for frac sand increased in the first quarter, and we have implemented further price increases for the second quarter. We are highly confident that we will achieve the 2018 full year guidance of $120 million in Adjusted EBITDA and $60 million in net income. Our newly opened San Antonio plant will drive volume and margin growth while we expect the demand for northern white sand will remain resilient. EMES Chart EMES data by YCharts . Investor takeaway With the new sand mine starting up in the past month, Emerge's first-quarter results aren't a great barometer for the company's stock. Not only will this new facility add sand volumes, but its close proximity to the Eagle Ford shale basin means lower transportation costs and higher realized prices for each ton sold. The Eagle Ford may not be getting the same amount of attention as other shale basins, but sand demand in the basin is projected to increase 36% annually this year and next. So for now, it looks like Emerge should get a pass for this less-than-stellar earnings report. If it continues to post middling results with this new facility up and running, though, then it's hard to see the value here when other sand producers are doing much better . More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Tyler Crowe owns shares of CNI. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends CNI. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
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Trend: up || Prices: 6093.67, 6157.13, 5903.44, 6218.30, 6404.00, 6385.82, 6614.18, 6529.59, 6597.55, 6639.14
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
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5 things everyone gets wrong about artificial intelligence and what it means for our future: (Luis Perez-Breva is a Research Scientist at MIT’s School of Engineering.Alex Kingsbury)
There are a lot of myths out there about artificial intelligence (AI).In June, Alibaba founder Jack Ma said AI is not only a massive threat to jobs but could also spark World War III. Because of AI, he told CNBC, in 30 yearswe’ll work only 4 hours a day, 4 days a week.
Recode founder Kara Swisher told NPR’s “Here and Now” that Ma is “a hundred percent right,” adding that “any job that’s repetitive, that doesn’t include creativity, is finished because it can be digitized” and “it’s not crazy to imagine a society where there’s very little job availability.”She even suggested only eldercare and childcare jobs will remain because they require “creativity” and “emotion”—something Swisher says AI can’t provide yet.
I actually find that all hard to imagine. I agree it has always been hard to predict new kinds of jobs that’ll follow a technological revolution, largely because they don’t just pop up. We create them. If AI is to become an engine of revolution, it’s up to us to imagine opportunities that will require new jobs. Apocalyptic predictions about the end of the world as we know it are not helpful.
So, what may be the biggest myth—Myth 1: AI is going to kill our jobs—is simply not true.
Ma and Swisher are echoing the rampant hyperbole of business and political commentators and even many technologists—many of whom seem to conflate AI, robotics, machine learning, Big Data, and so on. The most common confusion may be about AI and repetitive tasks. Automation is just computer programming, not AI. When Swisher mentions a future automated Amazon warehouse with only one human, that’s not AI.
(The humanoid robot AILA (artificial intelligence lightweight android) operates a switchboard during a demonstration by the German research centre for artificial intelligence at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover March, 5, 2013.REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
We humans excel at systematizing, mechanizing, and automating. We’ve done it for ages. It takes human intelligence to automate something, but the automation that results isn’t itself “intelligence”—which is something altogether different. Intelligence goes beyond most notions of “creativity” as they tend to be applied by those who get AI wrong every time they talk about it. If a job lost to automation is not replaced with another job, it’s lack of human imagination to blame.
In my two decades spent conceiving and making AI systems work for me, I’ve seen people time and again trying to automate basic tasks using computers and over-marketing it as AI. Meanwhile, I’ve made AI work in places it’s not supposed to, solving problems we didn’t even know how to articulate using traditional means.
For instance, several years ago, my colleagues at MIT and I posited that if we could know how a cell’s DNA was being read it would bring us a step closer to designing personalized therapies. Instead of constraining a computer to use only what humans already knew about biology, we instructed an AI to think about DNA as an economic market in which DNA regulators and genes competed—and let the computer build its own model of that, which it learned from data. Then the AI used its own model to simulate genetic behavior in seconds on a laptop, with the same accuracy that took traditional DNA circuit models days of calculations with a supercomputer.
At present, the best AIs are laboriously built and limited to one narrow problem at a time. Competition revolves around research into increasingly sophisticated and general AI toolkits, not yet AIs. The aspiration is to create AIs that partner with humans across multiple domains—like in IBM’s ads for Watson. IBM’s aim is to turn what today’s just a powerful toolkit into an infrastructure for businesses.
The larger objective for AI is to create AIs that partner with us to build new narratives around problems we care to solve and can’t today—new kinds of jobs follow from the ability to solve new problems.
That’s a huge space of opportunity, but it’s difficult to explore with all these myths about AI swirling around. Let’s dispel some more of them.
Myth 2: Robots are AI.Not true.
(A worker guides the first shipment of an IBM System Z mainframe computer in PoughkeepsieThomson Reuters)
Industrial and other robots, drones, self-organizing shelves in warehouses, and even the machines we’ve sent to Mars are all just machines programmed to move.
Myth 3: Big Data and Analytics are AI.Wrong again. These, along with data mining, pattern recognition, and data science, are all just names for cool things computers do based on human-created models. They may be complex, but they’re not AI. Data are like your senses: just because smells can trigger memories, it doesn’t make smelling itself intelligent, and more smelling is hardly the path to more intelligence.
Myth 4: Machine Learning and Deep Learning are AI.Nope. These are just tools for programming computers to react to complex patterns—like how your email filters out spam by “learning” what millions of users have identified as spam. They’re part of the AI toolkit like an auto mechanic has wrenches. They look smart—sometimes scarily so, like when a computer beats an expert at the gameGo—but they’re certainly not AI.
Myth 5: Search engines are AI.They look smart, too, but they’re not AI. You can now search information in ways once impossible, but you—the searcher—contribute the intelligence. All the computer does is spot patterns from what you search and recommend others do the same. It doesn’t actually know any of what it finds; as a system, it’s as dumb as they come.
In my own AI work, I’ve made use of AI whenever a problem we could imagine solving with science became too complex for science’s reductive approaches. That’s because AI allows us to ask questions that are not easy to ask in traditional scientific “terms.” For instance, more than 20 years ago, my colleagues and I used AI to invent a technology to locate cellphones in an emergency faster and more accurately than GPS ever could. Traditional science didn’t help us solve the problem of finding you, so we worked on building an AI that would learn to figure out where you are so emergency services can find you.
By the way, our AI solution actually created jobs.
AI’s most important attribute isn’t processing scores of data or executing programs—all computers do that—but rather learning to fulfill tasks we humans cannot so we can reach further. It’s a partnership: we humans guide AI and learn to ask better questions.
Swisher is right, though: we ought to figure out what the next jobs are, but not by agonizing over how much some current job is creative or repetitive. I would note that the AI toolkit has already created hundreds of thousands of jobs of all kinds—Uber, Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, and so on.
Our choice is continuing the dystopian AI narrative about the future of jobs. or having a different conversation about making the AI we want happen so we can address problems that cannot be solved by traditional means, for which the science we have is inadequate, incomplete, or nonexistent—and imagining and creating some new jobs along the way.
Luis Perez-Breva is the head of MIT’s Innovation Program and a Research Scientist at MIT’s School of Engineering. He recently published ‘Innovating: A Doer’s Manifesto for Starting from a Hunch, Prototyping Problems, Scaling Up, and Learning to Be Productively Wrong.’
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• Bitcoin splits in 2
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• We compared 9 online mattress companies to show you what each is best at || Tesla sinks after getting downgraded by Goldman Sachs: Tesla is sinking on Wednesday after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock based on what it thinks is plateauing demand. The drop of 5%, or $17.84 a share, is the biggest drop by dollar amount this year. Shares had been on a tear, up 55.59% in 2017, leading up to the release of Tesla's Model 3. Goldman has been bearish on Tesla in the past. The firm had a price target of $190, before lowering its target to $180 on Wednesday. The new target is 46% lower than Tesla's current price of $334.64. Deliveries are one of the most important metrics for Tesla, and the company fell short of Wall Street estimates in the second quarter. It is set to start delivering its Model 3 sedan, targeted at mass-market consumers, later this month. The company hopes its new Gigafactory will help with the production of the new vehicles and plans to be producing 20,000 a month by the end of the year. Click here to read more about Tesla ... Tesla Stock Price (Markets Insider) NOW WATCH: An economist explains the key issues that Trump needs to address to boost the economy More From Business Insider GOLDMAN: It looks like demand for Teslas has peaked GOLDMAN SACHS: Bitcoin could see a big drop then surge to almost $4,000 The best Amazon Prime Day deals members can get starting today || Google Must Take Down Some Search Listings Globally After Canadian Lawsuit: Google must remove a company website from its global listings as the result of a ruling Wednesday from Canadas Supreme Court. The 7-2 ruling in Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc. involves the networking hardware company Equustek Solutions, which is based in British Columbia. Equustek won an initial case against competing company Datalink Technology Gateways, which Equustek accused of relabelling and selling one of its products. Read: Google Will No Longer Scan Gmail Content For Targeted Advertising At first, Google voluntarily removed Datalinks search results on Google.ca the Canadian variant of its search engine but Equustek pushed in a secondary injunction to have the results further removed from Googles global search results. The internet has no borders its natural habitat is global, the court wrote in its decision. The only way to ensure that the interlocutory injunction attained its objective was to have it apply where Google operates globally. In response to the decision, several digital rights groups criticized the courts ruling. Canadian advocacy group OpenMedia, which acted as an intervenor in the case, said free expression rights should be prioritized in cases involving the potential restriction of online content. In a blog post , the group argued the court did not emphasize this distinction in its ruling strongly enough. The internet is a global phenomenon, and there is great risk that governments and commercial entities will see this ruling as justifying censorship requests that could result in perfectly legal and legitimate content disappearing off the web because of a court order in the opposite corner of the globe, OpenMedia said. That would be a major setback to citizens rights to access information and express ourselves freely. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was similarly critical in a statement , arguing the Canadian court had potentially established a precedent for restricting online content that could be abused by foreign governments and courts. The ruling largely sidesteps the question of whether such a global order would violate foreign law or intrude on internet users free speech rights, the foundation said. Instead, the court focused on whether or not Google, as a private actor, could legally choose to take down speech and whether that would violate foreign law. This framing results in Google being ordered to remove speech under Canadian law even if no court in the United States could issue a similar order. Read: Canada Bans Phones Locked To Carriers, Removes Unlocking Fees Story continues However, the decision was championed by Equustek and others in Canada. Graham Henderson, president of Canadian trade group Music Canada, told CBC News he was pleased with the courts ruling. Platforms like Google and YouTube have traditionally cited their position as general hosting platforms against claims that theyve helped support illegal or pirated content. "Today's decision confirms that online service providers cannot turn a blind eye to illegal activity that they facilitate, Graham told CBC News. On the contrary, they have an affirmative duty to take steps to prevent the internet from becoming a black market." As for Google, the company cannot appeal the court ruling at the moment. But in a statement, the company said it is carefully reviewing the court's findings and evaluating our next steps. Related Articles Google Pixel 2 Specs Might Have Already Been Revealed Google Ventures Invests In Bitcoin Startup Blockchain View comments || Weekly outlook: July 24 - 28: Investing.com - The U.S. dollar fell to its lowest level in more than a year against a basket of the other major currencies on Friday, pressured lower by the stronger euro and persistent concerns over U.S. political uncertainty.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, ended down 0.32% at 93.78, the lowest close since June 22, 2016.
The index ended the week down 1.32%, marking its second straight weekly decline.
The euro rose to its highest level in nearly two years against the dollar, with EUR/USD hitting highs of 1.1683, the most since September 2015. It was last at 1.1663, having gained 1.65% for the week.
The euro was propelled higher by expectations that the European Central Bank is moving closer to tapering its bond-buying program.
On Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi saidthe bank will discuss when to trim its asset purchase programin the fall.
The dollar was also hit by fresh political turmoil in Washington.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported thatthe investigation into alleged links between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russiain last year’s election is extending into his business.
Earlier in the week, Republican lawmakers pulled the plug on the latest version of a contentious bill to replace Obamacare, delivering a major policy blow to the Trump administration.
Thefailure to deliver on healthcare reformindicated that Trump’s other legislative efforts, such as overhauling the tax code and implementing fiscal stimulus could face difficulties.
Hopes for tax reforms and fiscal stimulus under the Trump administration helped drive the dollar to a 14-year high after the November election. The dollar has now given up all of its post-election gains.
Doubts over the Federal Reserve’s plans for a third rate hike this year have also fed into dollar weakness. The Fed is to hold itsnext meetingon Wednesday and is widely expected to hold policy steady.
Against the yen, the dollar fell to a more than one-month low of 111.02. USD/JPY was last at 111.12.
Sterling was a touch higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.15% to 1.2993 late Friday.
In the week ahead, investors will be awaiting the outcome of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, ahead of data on Friday which will give the first look at U.S. second quarter growth.
Survey data from the euro zone on Monday will help gauge the strength of the ongoing recovery in the euro area. The UK is to release data on second quarter growth on Wednesday.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Monday, July 24
The euro zone is to publish survey data on private sector business activity.
Canada is to report on wholesale sales.
The U.S. is to release figures on existing home sales.
Tuesday, July 25
The Ifo Institute is to report on German business climate.
The U.S. is to release data on consumer confidence.
Wednesday, July 26
Australia is to release data on consumer price inflation.
The UK is to release preliminary data on second quarter economic growth.
The U.S. is to report on new home sales.
The Fed is to announce its benchmark interest rate and publish a rate statement which outlines economic conditions and the factors affecting the monetary policy decision.
Thursday, July 27
The U.S. is to release data on jobless claims and durable goods orders.
Friday, July 28
In the euro zone, Germany is to release preliminary inflation data.
Canada is to release monthly data on economic growth.
The U.S. is to round up the week with advance data on second quarter growth.
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Dollar falls to 13-month low amid renewed US political uncertainty || Bitcoin splits in 2: Bitcoin (Bitcoin-themed balloons at the "Inside Bitcoins: The Future of Virtual Currency Conference" in New York.Reuters/Lucas Jackson) Bitcoin power brokers were unable to come behind a single solution that would have preserved a unified cryptocurrency by Tuesday morning's deadline. As such, the digital currency has officially forked and split in two: bitcoin cash and bitcoin. Miners were able to seek out bitcoin cash beginning Tuesday morning, and the cryptocurrency-focused news website CoinDesk said the first bitcoin cash was mined at about 2:20 p.m. ET. "There seems to be some technical issues that might be slowing it down, but yes, the fork has happened," Peter Borovykh of Blockchain Driven, a blockchain technology company, told Business Insider earlier on Tuesday. Miners are the folks who solve complex computer problems using software to unleash digital coins into the market. It took a couple of hours after the official fork for miners to unlock the first bitcoin cash coins. "It seems as if people overestimated the mining power, or the support from miners hence, it is taking far longer than most expected," Iqbal Gandham, the UK managing director at the social investment network eToro, said in a statement sent to Business Insider just before the split. Bitcoin was the first digital currency built on blockchain technology, in which transactions are independently verified by the network without the need of a middleman like a bank. Bitcoin cash is built on the same blockchain network as bitcoin, but the new software increases the size of the "blocks" that make up the network to allow it to process more information. Supporters of the newly formed bitcoin cash believe the currency will " breath new life into " the nearly 10-year-old bitcoin by addressing some of the issues facing bitcoin of late, such as slow transaction speeds. Bitcoin power brokers have been squabbling over the rules that should guide the cryptocurrency's blockchain network. On one side are the so-called core developers. They are in favor of smaller bitcoin blocks, which they say are less vulnerable to hacking. On the other side are the miners, who want to increase the size of blocks to make the network faster and more scalable. Until last week, the solution known as Segwit2x, which would double the size of bitcoin blocks to 2 megabytes, seemed to have universal support. Servers for data storage are seen at Advania's Thor Data Center in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland August 7, 2015. REUTERS/Sigtryggur Ari (Servers for data storage seen at Advania's Thor Data Center in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland.Thomson Reuters) Then bitcoin cash came along. The solution is a fork of the bitcoin system. The new software has all the history of the old platform; however, bitcoin cash blocks have a capacity 8 megabytes. Story continues Bitcoin cash came out of left field, according to Charles Morris, a chief investment officer of NextBlock Global, an investment firm with digital assets. "A group of miners who didn't like SegWit2x are opting for this new software that will increase the size of blocks from the current 1 megabyte to 8," Morris told Business Insider. To be sure, only a minority of bitcoin miners and bitcoin exchanges have said they will support the new currency. Investors who have their bitcoin on exchanges or wallets that support the new currency will soon see their holdings double, with one unit in bitcoin cash added for every bitcoin. But that doesn't mean the value of investors' holdings will double. Because bitcoin cash will initially draw its value from bitcoin's market cap, it will most likely cause bitcoin's value to drop by an amount proportional to its adoption. Bitcoin was already trading down by 5.78% at $2,715 on Tuesday following word that bitcoin cash had gone live . Morris told Business Insider that bitcoin cash was trading in the futures market for about $200 to $400 last week, suggesting that's the range it would fall in during regular trading. Kraken , a bitcoin exchange, tweeted Tuesday morning that it was experiencing delays getting bitcoin cash to show on user's accounts. "Please note," the exchange said , that bitcoin cash "balances have not been credit yet." It added that it was "working to credit as soon as possible." Numerous exchanges have said they won't back bitcoin cash. "In the event of two separate blockchains after August 1, 2017 we will only support one version," David Farmer, the director of Biz Ops at Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, wrote in a blog post . "We have no plans to support the bitcoin cash fork." Coinbase has served nearly 9 million customers across 32 countries, according to the firm's website . The firm has enabled the exchange of over $20 billion worth of digital currency. But just because some big players won't get behind it doesn't necessarily mean bitcoin cash will be a dud or that it couldn't eventually usurp the original bitcoin. Miners may rally behind bitcoin cash if it turns out to be the better digital currency. "Bitcoin cash has a chance to become the dominant cryptocurrency contingent upon its ability to gain trust and support from both current and new players as well as security of its network," Borovykh of Blockchain Driven said. "Due to, at least temporary, solution of the scalability issues, bitcoin cash could attract more new capital to the entire crypto space, thus helping increase overall market cap." Arthur Hayes, the CEO of BitMEX , a bitcoin derivative exchange, told Business Insider he thought a fork would benefit the cryptocurrency in the long run after some short-term volatility and confusion. "There are people with billions of dollars of skin in the game," Hayes said. "And they will ultimately go with the superior bitcoin network, and the market will follow." NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: New record highs for stocks and a deep dive into Apple's iPhone More From Business Insider Bitcoin's meteoric rise is costing some investors billions Bitcoin cash is crashing Bitcoin cash may be a house of cards that comes crashing down View comments || Yes, It's Confusing: Bitcoin Forking Explained: Forks have been in the news a lot recently due to controversy in the bitcoin community.
There was the potential fork that threatened to split bitcoin into two cryptocurrencies after a lengthy “civil war” between miners and developers. That came and went with little issue.
Then there was the sudden fork that actually did permanently split the blockchain on Tuesday,spinning Bitcoin Cash out of bitcoin.
In truth, forks, or splits, in the blockchain happen constantly and usually pass with little news. But unless you actively follow cryptocurrency news, you may not even know what a fork is or why they can be so controversial.
Related Link:As Crisis Is Averted, 3 Takes On The Rise Of Bitcoin
What Is A Fork?
Simply put, a fork is when a cryptocurrency’s blockchain splits into two possible chains either because of a transaction or new rule for what makes a transaction valid.
When they occur, users have to decide which route to follow. The decision is made when a new block is added to either chain. The longer chain will become the legitimate successor to the original, while the other will be “orphaned.”
Only one chain can ultimately be correct, and so transactions that occur on an orphaned chain will be ignored and lost.
This is why miners will typically only want to work on the longer, valid chain and why cryptocurrency owners are advised not to made transactions until a fork can be resolved.
A fork happens any time two miners discover a new block at nearly the same time. These tend to resolve themselves, but can still lead to anxiety among cryptocurrency holders.
Other times, a fork is purposefully introduced so developers can change the rules used to determine a transaction’s validity.
These instances are much more controversial and have to potential to permanently split the chain with both surviving as independent currencies.
There are several specific kinds of forks — user activated, miner activated, software, git, etc. — but they all essentially fall into two categories: hard forks and soft forks.
Hard Forks
As defined by the glossary on bitcoin’s website, a hard fork is “a permanent divergence in the blockchain, commonly occur[ing] when non-upgraded nodes can’t validate blocks created by upgraded nodes that follow newer consensus rules.”
For a hard fork to be successfully implemented, every node must be upgraded to the new rules.
Problems arise when a portion of the cryptocurrency’s community opposes the changes and decides to stick with the old chain.
Theethereum blockchain’s splitinto Ethereum and Ethereum Classic is a perfect example of that occurring and two variants staying alive.
Here’s a visualization of how hard forks work:
Image: Investopedia
Soft Forks
Bitcoin’s glossary defines a soft fork as a change to a blockchain “wherein only previously valid blocks/transactions are made invalid. Since old nodes will recognise the new blocks as valid, a soft fork is backward-compatible.”
When a soft fork occurs, non-upgraded nodes will still register new transactions as valid but cannot be used to mine new blocks, as the upgraded nodes will reject them.
A soft fork requires the majority of users to support the change, otherwise the upgraded nodes could wind up being on the shortest chain and orphaned by the network.
Soft forks typically present lower risk and therefore are most commonly used to change a blockchain’s rules.
Bitcoin Improvement Protocol 91, which introduced the rule change known as Segwit2x, is an example of a major soft fork that was recently successful, with almost 100 percent of users supporting the change and the holdouts becoming orphaned.
If, however, a significant number of users are dedicated to the change but fall short of a majority, the soft fork could become a hard fork with the upgraded nodes starting a new cryptocurrency.
An example is Bitcoin Cash splitting off from bitcoin. A large group of users still unsatisfied with BIP 91 chose to launch bitcoin Cash to make the blockchain closer to digital cash than digital gold which, while tradable and valuable, is not easily spent.
Related Link:Coinbase Is Courting Serious Legal Trouble By Not Supporting Bitcoin Cash
Its proponents will have to prove in the coming weeks that the there is enough support to keep it alive and growing.
Regardless of the reason or method behind a fork, the best bet for investors who trade and use cryptocurrencies is to hold off on making any transactions until it is resolved.
Here’s a visualization of how soft forks work:
Image: Investopedia
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© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin cash is already the 3rd largest cryptocurrency: (Bitcoin cash has cemented its position as a top player in cryptocurrency spaceThomson Reuters)
Bitcoin cash has already secured its place as a top cryptocurrency, just a day after it entered the marketplace.
According toCoinmarketcap.com, the cryptocurrency is trading at about $490 per coin and its marketcap now stands above $8 billion. As such, it is the third largest cryptocurrency by marketcap, surpassing big name coins such as Ripple ($6.7 billion) and Litecoin ($2.2 billion).
Bitcoin cash came to fruition Tuesday afterit split from the original network that powers its crypto-cousin,bitcoin. To recap, the split was preceded by ayears-long war between power brokers in the bitcoin space over the rules that guide the digital currency's network.
Supporters of the newly formed bitcoin cash believe the currency will "breath new life into" the nearly 10-year-old bitcoin by addressing some of the issues facing bitcoin of late, such as slow transaction speeds.
And it looks like investors are singing the same tune. Bitcoin cash is up about 80% since its inception. That's a higher appreciation than any of the other top 10 cryptocurrencies.
Because bitcoin cash will initially draw its value from bitcoin's market cap, according to Charles Morris, the chief investment officer of NextBlock Global, an investment firm with digital assets, it will most likely cause bitcoin's value to drop by an amount proportional to its adoption.
Bitcoinis currently down 3.7% at $2,690.
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• Billionaire investor Howard Marks says cryptocurrencies 'aren't real' || This Is the Cryptocurrency Mark Cuban Is Backing: Entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who previously helped Bitcoin’s value drop after calling it a “bubble,” is now interested in another digital currency. And no, it is not Ethereum, but the UnikoinGold . According the Coindesk , Cuban is participating in another fundraising round of one of his portfolio companies , a sports-betting blockchain platform dubbed Unikrn, via an initial coin offering. An ICO is a crowdfunding method that has grown in popularity as of late among blockchain startups, with more than 30 ICOs already this year. Companies sell their own digital currencies and use the proceeds to fund their businesses . Unikrn has already raised some $10 million from investors, including Ashton Kutcher. The company allows anyone to place bets with its digital token, the Unikoin, according to Coindesk. Investors will be allowed to register for the pre-sale starting mid-July. About 1 billion UnikoinGold tokens will be up for grabs. The company has yet to establish a price for the UnikoinGold, though investors will be able to exchange digital currency for Ether, the token under Ethereum. || Stocks clawing back losses after three-day plunge: Stocks ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) are slightly up at the midday mark, having given up some earlier gains. The tech ( XLK ) and health care ( XLV ) sectors are up the most, while real estate ( XLRE ) and energy ( XLE ) are the most in the red. Jonathan Corpina of Meridian Equity Partners joins us live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. To discuss the other big stories of the day, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland and Jen Rogers. Today, on Midday Movers we discuss: How to play defense in the current market and where to buy Amazon promises more disruption in food space Amazon wants to dethrone Ticketmaster Buying a TV: How NOT to get ripped off HBO’s hackers demanding $250K in Bitcoin || North Korea hacking increasingly focused on making money more than espionage: South Korea study: By Christine Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is behind an increasingly orchestrated effort at hacking into computers of financial institutions in South Korea and around the world to steal cash for the impoverished country, a South Korean state-backed agency said in a report. In the past, suspected hacking attempts by North Korea appeared intended to cause social disruption or steal classified military or government data, but the focus seems to have shifted in recent years to raising foreign currency, the South's Financial Security Institute (FSI) said. The isolated regime is suspected to be behind a hacking group called Lazarus, which global cybersecurity firms have linked to last year's $81 million cyber heist at the Bangladesh central bank and the 2014 attack on Sony's Hollywood studio. The U.S. government has blamed North Korea for the Sony hack and some U.S. officials have said prosecutors are building a case against Pyongyang in the Bangladesh Bank theft. In April, Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab also identified a hacking group called Bluenoroff, a spin off of Lazarus, as focused on attacking mostly foreign financial institutions. The new report, which analysed suspected cyber attacks between 2015 and 2017 on South Korean government and commercial institutions, identified another Lazarus spinoff named Andariel. "Bluenoroff and Andariel share their common root, but they have different targets and motives," the report said. "Andariel focuses on attacking South Korean businesses and government agencies using methods tailored for the country." Pyongyang has been stepping up its online hacking capabilities as one way of earning hard currency under the chokehold of international sanctions imposed to stop the development of its nuclear weapons programme. Cyber security researchers have also said they have found technical evidence that could link North Korea with the global WannaCry "ransomware" cyber attack that infected more than 300,000 computers in 150 countries in May. Story continues "We've seen an increasing trend of North Korea using its cyber espionage capabilities for financial gain. With the pressure from sanctions and the price growth in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum - these exchanges likely present an attractive target," said Luke McNamara, senior analyst at FireEye, a cybersecurity company. North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyber attacks against other countries. The North Korean mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment. ATM, ONLINE POKER The report said the North Korean hacking group Andariel has been spotted attempting to steal bank card information by hacking into automated teller machines, and then using it to withdraw cash or sell the bank information on the black market. It also created malware to hack into online poker and other gambling sites and steal cash. "South Korea prefers to use local ATM vendors and these attackers managed to analyse and compromise SK ATMs from at least two vendors earlier this year," said Vitaly Kamluk, director of the APAC research centre at Kaspersky. "We believe this subgroup (Andariel) has been active since at least May 2016." The latest report lined up eight different hacking instances spotted within the South in the last few years, which North Korea was suspected to be behind, by tracking down the same code patterns within the malware used for the attacks. One case spotted last September was an attack on the personal computer of South Korea's defence minister as well as the ministry's intranet to extract military operations intelligence. North Korean hackers used IP addresses in Shenyang, China to access the defence ministry's server, the report said. Established in 2015, the FSI was launched by the South Korean government in order to boost information management and protection in the country's financial sector following attacks on major South Korean banks in previous years. The report said some of the content has not been proven fully and is not an official view of the government. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Michael Perry)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 #bitcoin está custando R$12898.97 na FoxBit. Acesse http://bit.ly/FoxBit e negocie com as menores taxas do Brasil. || Game of Bluffs? With Bitmain Plan, Bitcoin Scaling Becomes Digital ‘Missile Crisis’ http://ow.ly/Kov350cbtFI || $2739.21 at 17:45 UTC [24h Range: $2701.00 - $2800.00 Volume: 9214 BTC] || Let's go to the BitCasino!!
登録するだけで参加できる！
入金不要の 1 BTC 抽選会
http://bitcasinopromo.io/id1v17-en-av/?ref=7kGBxKFNRTowXSs2D … || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$2376.85/$2378.98 #Bitstamp
$2331.00/$2339.99 #BTCe
⇢$-47.98/$-36.86
$2365.00/$2388.88 #Coinbase
⇢$-13.98/$12.03 || .@JihanWu we aren't going to let you steal #bitcoin and it's network effect. https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-segwit2x/2017-June/000027.html … || #DocGoy - Online-Marketing Grundlagen: Bitcoin, Gaming, Werbung http://ht.ly/myKV30eiQk1 || Децентрализация улучшает ВСЕ Децентрализовали валюту-получили Bitcoin. Пидоры из ЦБ теперь не делают инфляций Децен http://a2ch.ru/2017/08/14/decentralizaciia-uluchshaet-vse-decentralizovali-valiutu-poluchili-bitcoin-pidory-158974090.html … || شرح انشاء محفظة بيتكوين السؤال الذي يتردد دائما لأصحاب العملات الألكترونيه والمستثمر http://arab-btc.net/btwt/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost … || 1 KOBO = 0.00000681 BTC
= 0.0167 USD
= 5.8283 NGN
= 0.2179 ZAR
= 1.7276 KES
#Kobocoin 2017-07-02 18:00
|
Trend: down || Prices: 4325.13, 4181.93, 4376.63, 4331.69, 4160.62, 4193.70, 4087.66, 4001.74, 4100.52, 4151.52
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-06-30]
BTC Price: 673.34, BTC RSI: 55.76
Gold Price: 1318.40, Gold RSI: 64.69
Oil Price: 48.33, Oil RSI: 50.49
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Winklevoss brothers choose BATS over Nasdaq for bitcoin ETF listing: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Wednesday filed to switch the listing of their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund to BATS Global Markets from Nasdaq, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins, had filed their first application for a listing three years ago. The proposed ETF, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, will list 1 million shares at $65 each, according to the filing. That is up from a list price of $20.09 per share given in the first filing. The filing did not say why there was a change in trading venues, but over the last year BATS has emerged as one of the fastest-rising trading venues for ETFs. BATS is the second largest U.S. equities market operator. If approved by the SEC, the Winklevoss ETF would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity. The ETF would trade under the ticker symbol COIN. Gemini Trust Company, the Winklevoss brothers' trust company, which runs a bitcoin trading venue, has been designated the custodian of the ETF. There was no designated custodian in the previous filings. Gemini operates a trading platform for bitcoin and for another digital currency, ether. The ETF's bitcoin will be valued using the Gemini's spot price as of 4 p.m. Eastern time each business day, according to the SEC filing. Bitcoin's value has been highly volatile, having peaked at over $1,200 in late 2013 before crashing after the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange. It has since recovered, hitting a more than two-year high of nearly $780 last week in the run-up to the British referendum whether the country should leave the European Union. As of late Wednesday, one bitcoin was worth $634.24 (BTC=BTSP) on the Bitstamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Leslie Adler) || This founder launched a $14,000 smartphone immediately after laying off employees at his other startup: (Mirage)Moshe Hogeg and team.
People in Israel's tight-knit startup community are talking about the reported death, and the odd life, of the once high-flying startup Mobli.
Mobli raised $86 million in venture funds in six years, including from some big names.
But the company made cuts this week in layoffs first reported by theIsraeli business newspaper Calcalistand confirmed by Business Insider.
Mobli's CEO, Moshe Hogeg, told us that the company had cut 15 employees this week and was closing its Israeli research-and-development center.
Sources are telling us that this represents all of Mobli's remaining Israeli employees, though Hogeg insists that the company is not being closed down entirely. He says he is retaining an R&D team in Europe.
Mobli employed about 50 people at its height, but sources tell us only a handful remain.
In Israel, the shock isn't so much that Mobli is struggling — it's that people don't understand how the company has stayed alive as long as it has. It jumped from one failed product to the next.
Mobli sprang to life in 2010 as a photo-sharing social-media site backed by high-profile angel investors including Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams, and Tobey Maguire. It later landed $60 million from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, it said, for a total of $86 million raised.
(Mobli.com)Lance Armstrong.
Perhaps the highest-profile photo shared using Mobli was Armstrong's notorious photo of himself with hisTour de France jerseys after he was barred for life by the International Cycling Unionfor doping.
But then Instagram came along and Facebook bought it, and that pretty much killed Mobli as a photo-sharing social network.
The company pivoted to other apps. In 2015 it launched an app called EyeIn, a photo service for publishers that let them find pictures of events shared on social-media sites.
It shut EyeIn down just two months after it was launched when Instagram blocked the app from using Instagram photos.
"We had to shut down EyeIn two months after launch because Facebook/Instagram blocked us from their API, rendering our technology useless,"Hogeg confirmed to us.
Mobli then moved on to Slant, a news site based in New York for freelance articles. Writers got professional editing, and Slant took a 30% cut of any advertising revenue their articles generated. Slant hit 4 million readers in a month and published 9,000 stories from 1,400 writers, but its editor, Amanda Gutterman, announced in her farewell letter in April that Slant was being shut down, asreported by Politico.
(www.galaxia.co)Mobli's Galaxia.
A former employee told us that much of this traffic was generated through paid-ad campaigns by services likeOutbrain.
Slant later told Politico that it was not closed for good but would be back once the company figured out a new business model.Guttermanhas moved on to a new job at The Dose, however, and the site is not functioning.
Mobli now has a new project,a social-network app called Galaxiathat launched in March, in which people are encouraged to take on different "personas."
Mobli says Galaxia's tech came from a startup it acquired called Pheed. The rumor was that it paid $40 million in cash for Pheed, butHogeg tells us that the true price was really "just a few million."
The people we talked to have marveled that Mobli says it is still in business and can't understand how.
Hogeg says Mobli has been clear where its money has come from: venture investors.
"We've always been very transparent about our funding," he says. "Amongst are investors: Carlos Slim, Leo DiCaprio, and Kenges Rakishev and all that info is readily available. We raised sufficient funds to allow us to stay in business thus far."
Mobli was also known for beingone of the first startups to use Nasdaq's private market, allowing early employees to cash out their shares in the company by selling them to other private investors.
In the meantime,Moshe Hogeg is focused on a new company,Sirin Labs, where he is president, investor, and cofounder but not CEO. The CEO is Tal Cohen.
Right after employees were let go at Mobli, Sirin launched its product on Tuesday in London: a smartphone forabout $14,000, or9,500 pounds.
The phone is aimed at wealthy people who want a fast and stylish phone that also encrypts all their data.
Sirin says it raised$72 million in funding and has 85 employees based in Switzerland, Sweden, England, and Israel.
NOW WATCH:This smartphone works by bending it
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• Doubts about Domo? Insiders say the $2 billion startup that came out of nowhere is full of hype || Bitcoin has a governance problem, no matter who created it: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - As one would-be father of bitcoin falls by the wayside, squabbling among the web-based currency's lead developers is exposing a fundamental flaw: it must evolve to meet growing demand, but may lack a governance structure to achieve this. The latest bickering erupted after Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright promised to prove he was the mysterious creator of bitcoin - which allows users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously - but then said on Thursday he could not provide further evidence to back this up. Wright stopped short of reneging on his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, assumed to be a pseudonym for the person or people who launched the digital cryptocurrency in 2009. However, he apologized for damaging the reputations of bitcoin experts who had believed him. Many members of the bitcoin community reckon this is all a distraction and agree with Wright when he said that the identity of Nakamoto "doesn't, and shouldn't, matter". "Satoshi's biggest achievement was to create a system that doesn't require his participation to run," said Peter Todd, one of bitcoin's core software developers. "That's what makes all this stuff kind of funny. It's like searching for the creator of a system that's designed not to require a creator." While gray-suited central bankers print conventional currencies and commercial banks control transactions in them, no one person or entity is in charge of bitcoin. Instead it runs on a decentralized system of shared trust without any third-party verification of transactions - one reason why many people are attracted to it. Critics, however, say it needs a "benevolent dictator" or at least some "adults" to manage the expansion that it needs to cope with the increasing number of transactions. Someone, or some group, must decide how to meet users' requirements, they say. Trades are handled by thousands of "mining" computers around the world which validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. Story continues The first computer to solve the puzzle clears the transaction and is currently rewarded with 25 new bitcoins, now worth around $11,250. (BTC=BTSP). This is how the computers' owners cover their costs - largely power bills - and make a profit. The system also ensures there is no single point in the system that might fail. CIVIL WAR In practice, there do appear to be people who can make decisions, but it is also possible to be excluded from this magic circle. One of the bitcoin experts who initially believed Wright's claim is Gavin Andresen. Nakamoto handed control of bitcoin's software to Andresen when he stepped aside in 2011, a transfer that kept the creator's identity a mystery as it was conducted in cyberspace without human contact. Andresen later shared that control with others. But when he stated publicly he believed Wright, skeptical developers responded by revoking his "commit access" to a shared repository of bitcoin rules. Initially, these developers justified their move on security grounds, saying his computer must have been hacked - something Andresen denied. When Reuters asked Todd whether Andresen's access would be reinstated, he responded: "Heck no", saying a belief in Wright amounted to "inexcusable incompetence". Andresen admitted to bewilderment over whether he still believed Wright's claims. "Ask me in six months; I don't trust my own judgment right now after all the drama," he said on Twitter. The squabbling is not new. One of the lead developers, Mike Hearn, stood down from bitcoin in January because of a power struggle nicknamed the "bitcoin civil war". Hearn and Andresen had proposed increasing the size of the blocks in which transactions are processed but the other developers opposed this. In quitting, Hearn said that "what was meant to be a new, decentralized form of money that lacked systemically important institutions" had now become "a system completely controlled by just a handful of people". Many investors and start-up firms remain optimistic about bitcoin and are making money from it. But Emin Gun Sirer, a computer science professor at Cornell University, said the appearance of internal conflict was undermining it. "For bitcoin to retain its value, it's important to have hope that there's good management in charge, that there are adults in charge," Sirer said. "When we see opportunistic moves, that's a problem." BENEVOLENT DICTATORS But Sirer also said that any open-source project such as bitcoin, which runs using software that anyone can access, change, and distribute, faces the challenge of governance. "Is it a pipe dream to expect to be able to build a currency system that is completely decentralized and free of any control whatsoever? The short answer to that is yes, but that's not what anyone should have expected anyway," he said. Sirer added that he was concerned that his brightest young students at Cornell were being deterred from getting involved with bitcoin because of the in-fighting and the appearance that developers were unable to agree on change. One other digital currency system which is attracting bright young minds is Ethereum, created in 2013 by Russian-Canadian Vitalik Buterin when he was just 19. It works with the "benevolent dictator model", as Sirer calls it, with Buterin holding the decision-making power. "Over the last couple of years it's become apparent that having a static protocol is just not a viable approach," Buterin told the Consensus bitcoin conference in New York earlier in the week. "Software has to evolve ... and there has to be some mechanism for agreeing on how software is going to upgrade." Most, however, reckon that even if Nakamoto were to be found, the other developers - many of whom have written more code than he ever did in the seven years since bitcoin was launched - would not accept his having ultimate power. "(Nakamoto) would be thanked for creating this amazing thing, but if there comes a time when there's a technical debate over whether we should go one way or the other, his opinions would only be persuasive, not controlling," said Jerry Brito, executive director of bitcoin advocacy group Coin Center. (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; editing by David Stamp) || Bitcoin Services Inc. To Develop Blockchain Software with Emphasis on Online Marketplace, File Storage and Identity Management: GRANDVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / June 23, 2016 /Bitcoin Services Inc., (OTC Pink: BTSC) announced today that it plans to develop blockchain software with emphasis on online marketplace, file storage and identity management. In online marketplace Blockchain software will be applied to establish ownership over anything on the internet. This opens up the potential for ownership of tickets, merchandise, products, and subscriptions. On file storage blockchain software would allow a Peer to Peer file sharing network. It would remove the need for centralized databases and heavy storage areas. On Identity management blockchain software would allow users to create tamper-proof digital identities for themselves by being a blockchain-based identity service. These digital identities could be used to replace usernames and passwords online.
About Bitcoin Services Inc.:The issuer's business operations are each Internet based to the consumer and consist of three separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin escrow services, (2) bitcoin mining, and (3) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, proving escrow services for buyers and sellers of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is Worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet.
Safe Harbor StatementThis release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers and effectively compete against similar companies.
CONTACT:
info@bitcoinservices.biz
SOURCE:Bitcoin Services Inc. || Santander says first UK bank to use blockchain for overseas payments: By Andrew MacAskill and Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Santander is the first British bank to start using the technology behind virtual currency Bitcoin for recording international payments, and may start rolling out the service to customers next year, the head of innovation at its UK arm said.Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, creates a shared database in which participants can trace every transaction ever conducted. Its proponents say it has the potential to shake up how financial markets operate.Santander said about 6,000 staff in Britain would be eligible to begin using the technology internally in a pilot program that aims to make the transfer of money faster, more accurate and more transparent. The technology may eventually allow banks to settle the estimated annual $26 trillion of international transactions almost instantaneously. That compares with settlement times of days under the current systems used by banks. "The main customer benefits are certainty of timing, so you know when the payment is going to arrive and certainty of value," said Ed Metzger, head of innovation, technology and operations at Santander UK.Metzger said at the moment when customers transfer money overseas the charges between banks and delivery times are estimates, whereas with this technology when a customer hits send that will be the amount that reaches the recipient account. Blockchain is part of the growing financial technology sector being encouraged by Britain to keep the country's financial sector competitive with New York and Singapore. Santander and other banks such as Citi, BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs are investing in the sector to avoid being left behind by start-ups racing to apply blockchain in payments, and clearing and settlement of trades. Santander's pilot, however, underscores how the speed that blockchain could offer is shackled by being slotted into slower, legacy payments systems. Metzger said unless all the banks are using the same technology then the "last mile" of its pilot using blockchain will use slower, existing payments links. In March, broker ICAP said it was the first to distribute data on trades to customers using blockchain. (Editing by Mark Potter) || Banks Considering Digital Safeguards Against Fraud In $4T Trade Financing Market: Banks around the globe don't have a uniform system of communication, which has allowed the prevalence of fraud in the financial world. Especially in the trade financing market, fraudulent paper invoices have caused millions of dollars in losses for companies and banks. According to Bloomberg , Standard Chartered PLC lost $193 million at China's Qingdao port two years ago, a Singaporean businessman allegedly used the same invoices for metal stockpiles multiple times with different banks for hundreds of millions, and fake invoices in 2008 cost JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM ) almost $700 million. Banks are considering adopting a distributed-ledger technology similar to the software that backs bitcoin. A blockchain electronic ledger invoice service could potentially cut billions of dollars in costs for banks. It would also do away with paper invoices – the major source of fraud in the trade finance business. The main hurdle is: Are banks going to be willing to disclose their confidential transactions in order to form this system? Related Link: Can Bitcoin Resolve Central Bank Woes? HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE: HSBC ) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC ) in separate emails mentioned that they are involved in the pursuit of blockchain projects, according to Bloomberg. The changing digital landscape of the finance industry is forcing banks to collaborate with each other. But in order for a common invoicing platform to be adopted across the board, common standards have to be agreed upon. Owen Jelf, managing director of Accenture's capital markets practice, said, "Think of it like putting seven people who speak seven different languages in one room and try to settle a problem, in this case how to settle a trade finance transfer." Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, who is working closely with Standard Chartered and DBS, said, "Trade financing is borderless and banks that do adopt this technology will be able to benefit regardless of the country of origin." See more from Benzinga 8 Biggest Mid-Day Winners Bank Of America Initiates Coverage On Red Rock Resorts With A Buy Rating U.S. Lifts Arms Ban On Vietnam As Tensions Over The South China Sea Fester © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments || The controversy over Satoshi Nakamoto’s true identity is jeopardizing Bitcoin’s future: A new kind of wallet. Earlier in May, Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright made headlines with the claim that he was in fact the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, known as “Satoshi Nakamoto.” While Wright has yet to offer concrete public evidence to back up his claim, some in the Bitcoin community have insisted that even if Wright is Nakamoto, it doesn’t matter . This is a classic engineer’s fallacy. I say this with love—I’m an engineer myself—but it exemplifies a blinkered worldview which is both wrong and dangerous. The identity of the Bitcoin creator matters because if he or she were to come forward, they might have a real shot at finally uniting a fractious community. At the very least, the creator could provide some clarity on a host of unresolved, fundamental questions that are damaging Bitcoin’s credibility with investors and potential users alike. 20 misused English words that make smart people look silly The network is not the project is not the network It is true that Satoshi’s true identity is irrelevant to the Bitcoin network. The network was (brilliantly) designed so that its transactions require no trust or central authority. This will remain true as long as no entity controls too much of the “mining” computational power—more than one quintillion computations per second—that secures Bitcoin’s revolutionary blockchain. More than the sum of its code, the Bitcoin project has been divided by bitter disagreements. (Blockchain, for the uninitiated, is a digital platform that verifies and creates a permanent record of online transactions.) Nakamoto is believed to control 7% of all extant bitcoin, worth roughly $450 million today. That’s enough to influence Bitcoin’s spot price, but not enough to control it. But the Bitcoin network is a living, changing thing, composed of constantly evolving software. More than the sum of its code, the ongoing Bitcoin project has been divided by very public, bitter disagreements. These have at best slowed progress, and at worst dragged Bitcoin into something like a civil war. Story continues Raghuram Rajan explains why corrupt politicians win elections in India How Bitcoin is governed Final decisions regarding what software runs on the Bitcoin network are made by Bitcoin’s miners. Armed with cheap electricity and custom hardware, miners secure the blockchain and are rewarded with newly minted bitcoin. But miners do not (currently) develop new Bitcoin software; they merely choose what to adopt. This can be a fraught process. If different miners run fundamentally incompatible versions of the Bitcoin software—a situation known as a “hard fork”—then the blockchain will split in two. In theory the chain supported by the most mining power will ultimately be triumphant, but the outcome could be quite costly for those who choose the wrong side or fail to upgrade quickly. Bitcoin software is open source. Anyone can copy it, build on it, or release their own version. (Most “ altcoins ,” such as Litecoin and Dogecoin, adapt the Bitcoin code.) But in practice, for seven years, Bitcoin software was built by a small, tight-knit group of engineers—including Satoshi Nakamoto, until 2010, when he/she/they retired and vanished—whose code was universally accepted by miners. Then came 2015 . A brief and civil war Last year, the increasing popularity of the Bitcoin network began to threaten its capacity limit of roughly 7 transactions per second, and Bitcoin’s engineers fragmented into factions. One group, now known as Bitcoin Classic, wanted to immediately promote a hard fork that would double the bandwidth of the Bitcoin network. Another faction, Bitcoin Core, believed that this was too risky, and promoted a different short-term solution to the looming capacity crisis. As it turned out, however, the scuffle over capacity was only a symptom of a larger debate. To oversimplify: Bitcoin Classic and its backers believe the Bitcoin network should quickly scale to handle the same volume of transactions as mainstream platforms like Visa, regardless of the consequences. Bitcoin Core believes that Bitcoin should remain maximally decentralized and trustless, while new, more scalable solutions are developed that can handle millions of transactions per second. These solutions would be separate networks that use Bitcoin only sporadically, to settle large numbers of small transactions all at once. As it turned out, however, the scuffle over capacity was only a symptom of a larger debate. The argument was vitriolic and often very personal. Accusations of conflict of interest were flung around on Reddit like confetti. Several Bitcoin Core members are cofounders of the startup Blockstream, which has raised more than $70 million in pursuit of its vision of Bitcoin’s future. The CEO of the equally well-funded startup Coinbase threw his weight behind the hard fork strategy espoused by the Bitcoin Classic factions. One well-known developer publicly abandoned the project entirely, claiming “it has failed because the community has failed.” In the end, the miners chose Bitcoin Core’s solution rather than risk a hard fork—at least for now. But it seems unlikely that the debate has entirely ended , and its consequences were decidedly negative. Venture capitalists and tech media who once trumpeted Bitcoin as the Next Big Thing now seem far more skeptical . Data from Y Combinator indicates that the incidence of Bitcoin-related startups has plummeted over the last year. In some ways, everybody lost. It cannot be measured, and yet it exists This will not be the last Bitcoin battle, or the last stain on its public image. But the public perception of Bitcoin would certainly take another hit if, for instance, Nakamoto is revealed as Wright, whose public behavior has been inconsistent and confusing. Public perception filters into industry perception, and the attitudes held by venture capitalists and entrepreneurs alike. Simply put, the identity of the Bitcoin creator matters. Nakamoto’s secret identity has in some ways been very helpful to the Bitcoin project. Its mystery is alluring, and for those who dig deeper, the elegant brilliance of Nakamoto’s code and prose continue to inspire by example. But in the current environment, mystery may not be as helpful as clarity. If he/she/they were to reveal themselves, they could help resolve disputes before they become civil wars. As Mark Zuckerberg, who knows a thing or two about the merits of the iconic founder, says : The social capital and moral authority that comes from being the founder and having built many of the company’s key products means that on balance people trust you more and give you the benefit of the doubt more when you make tough calls. Fewer people complain and take your time to manage. Fewer people quit and slow your execution. Everything is easier with social capital. Bitcoin is an open-source project, not a company, but the same truth applies. The engineer’s fallacy is to assume that things that cannot be measured do not matter. Social capital is hard to measure, but it is extremely powerful. The attitude that technical projects are somehow beyond such human considerations is common, wrong, and dangerous. In the end, if Bitcoin ultimately fails to achieve its potential, it will be because of human failures, not technical ones. Follow Jon on Twitter at @rezendi . We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com . Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief , our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news. More stories from Quartz: The Bayer-Monsanto deal is a merger 4,000 years in the making Venmo is turning our friends into petty jerks || Bitcoin has a governance problem, no matter who created it: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - As one would-be father of bitcoin falls by the wayside, squabbling among the web-based currency's lead developers is exposing a fundamental flaw: it must evolve to meet growing demand, but may lack a governance structure to achieve this. The latest bickering erupted after Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright promised to prove he was the mysterious creator of bitcoin - which allows users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously - but then said on Thursday he could not provide further evidence to back this up. Wright stopped short of reneging on his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto, assumed to be a pseudonym for the person or people who launched the digital cryptocurrency in 2009. However, he apologised for damaging the reputations of bitcoin experts who had believed him. Many members of the bitcoin community reckon this is all a distraction and agree with Wright when he said that the identity of Nakamoto "doesn't, and shouldn't, matter". "Satoshi's biggest achievement was to create a system that doesn't require his participation to run," said Peter Todd, one of bitcoin's core software developers. "That's what makes all this stuff kind of funny. It's like searching for the creator of a system that's designed not to require a creator." While grey-suited central bankers print conventional currencies and commercial banks control transactions in them, no one person or entity is in charge of bitcoin. Instead it runs on a decentralised system of shared trust without any third-party verification of transactions - one reason why many people are attracted to it. Critics, however, say it needs a "benevolent dictator" or at least some "adults" to manage the expansion that it needs to cope with the increasing number of transactions. Someone, or some group, must decide how to meet users' requirements, they say. Trades are handled by thousands of "mining" computers around the world which validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. Story continues The first computer to solve the puzzle clears the transaction and is currently rewarded with 25 new bitcoins, now worth around $11,250.. This is how the computers' owners cover their costs - largely power bills - and make a profit. The system also ensures there is no single point in the system that might fail. CIVIL WAR In practice, there do appear to be people who can make decisions, but it is also possible to be excluded from this magic circle. One of the bitcoin experts who initially believed Wright's claim is Gavin Andresen. Nakamoto handed control of bitcoin's software to Andresen when he stepped aside in 2011, a transfer that kept the creator's identity a mystery as it was conducted in cyberspace without human contact. Andresen later shared that control with others. But when he stated publicly he believed Wright, sceptical developers responded by revoking his "commit access" to a shared repository of bitcoin rules. Initially, these developers justified their move on security grounds, saying his computer must have been hacked - something Andresen denied. When Reuters asked Todd whether Andresen's access would be reinstated, he responded: "Heck no", saying a belief in Wright amounted to "inexcusable incompetence". Andresen admitted to bewilderment over whether he still believed Wright's claims. "Ask me in six months; I don't trust my own judgement right now after all the drama," he said on Twitter. The squabbling is not new. One of the lead developers, Mike Hearn, stood down from bitcoin in January because of a power struggle nicknamed the "bitcoin civil war". Hearn and Andresen had proposed increasing the size of the blocks in which transactions are processed but the other developers opposed this. In quitting, Hearn said that "what was meant to be a new, decentralised form of money that lacked systemically important institutions" had now become "a system completely controlled by just a handful of people". Many investors and start-up firms remain optimistic about bitcoin and are making money from it. But Emin Gun Sirer, a computer science professor at Cornell University, said the appearance of internal conflict was undermining it. "For bitcoin to retain its value, it's important to have hope that there's good management in charge, that there are adults in charge," Sirer said. "When we see opportunistic moves, that's a problem." BENEVOLENT DICTATORS But Sirer also said that any open-source project such as bitcoin, which runs using software that anyone can access, change, and distribute, faces the challenge of governance. "Is it a pipe dream to expect to be able to build a currency system that is completely decentralized and free of any control whatsoever? The short answer to that is yes, but that's not what anyone should have expected anyway," he said. Sirer added that he was concerned that his brightest young students at Cornell were being deterred from getting involved with bitcoin because of the in-fighting and the appearance that developers were unable to agree on change. One other digital currency system which is attracting bright young minds is Ethereum, created in 2013 by Russian-Canadian Vitalik Buterin when he was just 19. It works with the "benevolent dictator model", as Sirer calls it, with Buterin holding the decision-making power. "Over the last couple of years it's become apparent that having a static protocol is just not a viable approach," Buterin told the Consensus bitcoin conference in New York earlier in the week. "Software has to evolve ... and there has to be some mechanism for agreeing on how software is going to upgrade." Most, however, reckon that even if Nakamoto were to be found, the other developers - many of whom have written more code than he ever did in the seven years since bitcoin was launched - would not accept his having ultimate power. "(Nakamoto) would be thanked for creating this amazing thing, but if there comes a time when there's a technical debate over whether we should go one way or the other, his opinions would only be persuasive, not controlling," said Jerry Brito, executive director of bitcoin advocacy group Coin Center. (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; editing by David Stamp) || Chinas Cyber Spying on the U.S. Has Drastically Changed: Last year United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping entered into a dubious agreement during Xis first state visit: No more hacking one anothers businesses. Military and political espionage? Fair game. Industry? Hands off. Hackers allegedly sponsored by China had been ransacking U.S. companies for economic advantage for years, as any computer forensics pro who has helped clean up one of these data breaches will tell you. The hackers goal: Intellectual property theft. With the recent truce, the heads of state agreed that their countries could break into one anothers computer networks for traditional state on state espionage, but no more hacking for profit. For skeptics, heres the shocker: The parties appear to be keeping their word--for the most part. Cybersecurity firm FireEye released a report earlier this week that found that the number of breaches by China-based groups on U.S. businesses has dropped off a cliff. The number of network compromises has not fallen to zero, but it has plummeted 90% in the past two years . Get Data Sheet , Fortune 's technology newsletter. Fortune spoke to Laura Galante, director of the threat intelligence at FireEye , as well as Kevin Mandia, the companys recently appointed CEO, about the reports findings. (Mandia makes his appearance at question 12.) Among the topics discussed: How the threat of economic espionage has changed, what this means for U.S. businesses, and whether everyone may now breathe a sigh of relief. (Spoiler: The answer is no.) Heres what the two said, edited and condensed for clarity. Fortune: This report seems to be a follow-up to Mandiants original report on Chinese economic cyberespionage from a few years ago. [Editors note: FireEye purchased Mandiant, Mandias computer forensics firm, for about $1 billion in 2014.] What does the new report find? Laura Galante: We've tracked all of these groups for years before the APT1 report that you probably remember from back in 2013. Here we found the percentage of incidents and number of incidents we've seen over time from groups that are based in China, and how thats changed. We came up with a pretty deep understanding of how we've seen President Xi undertake reforms in the military and also in the party since he came to power. We have some analysis around how he is probably centralizing and refocusing some of the cyber operations that China sponsored. We also think that widespread exposure from private sector disclosures was another impetus that really changed how Beijing was thinking about cyber operations. Finally the punitive measures--the indictments of several military officers back in 2014, and then the threat of sanctions right on the eve of President Xi coming over to the U.S--these were all factors that, in the aggregate, have really changed the way we've seen intellectual property theft conducted from China based groups. Story continues Fortune: It seemed like the key line in the report was that the attacks are less voluminous, but more focused. Galante: Thats what we're seeing. When we do see compromises--and we have seen compromises since last year--we're seeing the groups conduct a variety of different activity at different targets, not just in the U.S., but also in Japan and abroad in Europe. We're seeing compromises of networks still. What we aren't seeing is data theft at such a volume as before--back in 2013, even 2014. We're seeing that they'll go in and they'll package up data, which is something that we typically see right before they would steal it, but we haven't observed instances of data theft, per se, in 2015 and 2016. Fortune: You're still seeing intrusions and breaches, but not the actual exfiltration of data. Is that accurate? Galante: That's right. What that doesn't necessarily mean is that it's not happening. We're not seeing the actual data theft in the recent examples that we've had here, but we're still seeing the compromise. If you're able to compromise the network, get in, move laterally to different parts of the network, and see the files that you want, that's still a very effective way to get at the information you want without the level of risk and evidence left behind of actually transferring the data out of a network. Fortune: So its a shift from smashing-and-grabbing to quietly and passively surveilling? Galante: That's a way to characterize what we've seen. And I think that fits too with what's definitely a higher cost of doing business that has risen in the last three and a half years. The risk of exposure from security firms, from security researchers, which is happening left and right, and the measures that the U.S. government has taken, paint a very different picture of risk when groups are operating--whether they be sponsored by the government, by a military entity, by an intelligence agency, or simply by opportunistic entrepreneurial groups who are looking for a way into a network to find something valuable to sell. We think that the scene in China really runs the gamut in terms of different types of sponsorship. Fortune: In the report you discuss how it's hard to make out the difference between these groups. Do you have any speculation as to whom--which groups--might be the ones remaining? Is it a mix? Does it weight toward government, or toward the enterprising hacker? What is the breakdown here--is there any way to know? Galante: It's hard to give a percentage. We have examples where we've seen what we call patriotic hackers, people who are aligned with state interests, but not necessarily on the payroll. We've seen everything form the patriotic hacker to the cybercriminal to groups that act in a very regimented 9-to-5 way. We see their tools built on a schedule that parallels Chinese federal holidays. We've seen really disciplined groups that operate in a way that's hard to not see that there has to be a ton of resourcing behind it, and probably a government entity. Another aspect that we've traced for years is how long we've seen groups operate. With some groups out of China, especially the ones that have been conducting the more traditional political espionage, we've seen those groups operate for over a decade with almost the same tools and infrastructure, too. Fortune: Part of this deal between Obama and Xi was that China would stop its attacks on U.S. enterprises. Obviously there are still attacks going on, as your report says, but is there any way to know whether, in fact, the state sponsored attacks are down? Galante: It's hard to say. The network visibility that we have just shows us what's compromised. What we don't know is when data is taken. In our cases, we haven't seen data theft. But when data has been taken in the past--to know that the data has been used and given to an entity, to an industry, or to a company in an industry that can then use it to put a product on the market--that would start to fulfill the definition of what theyre getting at with this economic espionage agreement. From our side were reluctant to say that this equates to economic espionage, because we simply see one part of a much longer chain of what would equate to economic espionage. What we can say is that we're still seeing compromises into corporate networks. Fortune: You mentioned that you're not seeing the same levels of data theft now. Is that because it's not happening, or because they're eluding detection in some way? Or perhaps FireEye doesn't have the visibility to see that? Galante: I think it's a couple factors. To set the premise though, it's very rare that you see data theft happening. When we're called in to do investigations, we're frequently looking into network logs and into network activity that, on average, happened almost 200 days before. [Editors note: the average breach takes 201 days to detect, according to a recent IBM study .] When you're investigating what happened previously, you have to consider, How well does the company keep logs? How do we go back and look at that activity and see what happened outside the network? There are a variety of factors that hamper understanding when the actual data was stolen, or if it was stolen. There are other cases where we've thwarted the detected compromise before the group could go any deeper into the network. So there are a couple of different wonky factors that keep the data theft from eluding our ability to have seen it when it happened. Now one thing were seeing is these groups go in and hack data and look for specific items. With the semiconductor firms, we were seeing attackers get into the files that had the manufacturing data about semiconductors and the chemical components used in the production. They're not just getting into a network, they're able to get in and navigate to data that would be useful. So that says a little bit more about their intent. If you're able to go in and locate a project that you need, that says a little bit more about what you're interested in. Fortune: Are there any cases that seem more grey in terms of what the hackers were going after? Galante: The navigational projects were interesting. This is a grey area. GPS navigation is right in that area of not knowing if it's for military or for civilian use. Traditionally, something for military use would fall into political espionage or military espionage, something that states have done since the beginning of time, versus something like the blueprints of a green energy or a coal cleaning plant, which we've seen before. When those are taken, that's a situation where it's pretty hard to see the military application of it. In the cases that we have here, in the cases that we've seen recently, we see semiconductors, we see high-tech corporations, we've seen an aerospace company, and a logistics company. These are all arguably targets and data that could fit either a military or a civilian use. So, tough to say whether that would trend more toward economic espionage versus political. Fortune: Have you been sending this report around government quarters? Galante: We frequently give a variety of government partners a heads up when we're able to do that before a report goes live. Fortune: What has been their reaction to this? Galante: This tracks fairly well with the visibility that they've had as well. Fortune: Last year a cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike issued a report saying there had been continued intrusions on U.S. companies after the China-U.S. deal . How does the FireEye report differ? Galante: That report came out in early October. It was really a first sense that activity still continued. But there's a ton of ways to look at activity. What we're very careful to parse here is that we wanted to know when a corporate network has been entered remotely, not just when the malware or the commands to the malware in a network has been live, which was one of the main indications used in that report from October to say that activity continued. We wanted to see that a group actively went into a network, and that was the bar that we used when we made the chart that you see, and also the graph. [Editors note: See, for example, page 11 of the report .] Fortune: So whereas CrowdStrike was asking--is there malware active on the network?--your report was asking, is there remote access happening? Galante: Is there an actual compromise of a network, yes. There is always remote access happening--so, is there a remote compromise happening of a corporate network. I think we're being more specific about how we want to define a piece of this, whereas CrowdStrike was looking just generally for any sort of beaconing or indication that infrastructure or malware were still living. We wanted to see something that reasonably made us conclude that an operator is still sitting there with fingers on keyboard, sending a command and entering networks. Kevin Mandia: Robert, this is Kevin Mandia. I've actually been on the line for the past 10 minutes and just staying quiet because Laura is crushing it. I don't know what CrowdStrikes criteria is for saying compromise or not compromise. I do know that we at FireEye have over 350 incident responders, we have nearly 350 iSight intel analysts [Editors note: FireEye acquired the threat intelligence firm iSight Partners for $200 million earlier this year], and we have well over 3,000 customers where we have appliances deployed. Those are the sources for where we find these compromises. We've had our threat database in existence since 2006, so thats the scale and scope at which we operate. When I look at the all the investigations we've done and all the intel we get from iSight, that's the data were reporting on. From the observables we have here at FireEye, the activity and counterespionage intrusions from China have gone down. Fortune: Because the attacks have dropped off precipitously, it seems, does this mean U.S. companies should breathe a sigh of relief? Mandia: Well, you've still got a bunch of other threats to worry about. So the answer is you still have to safeguard yourself from rogue states, which may be less responsible than China. I've always said this: the Chinese were the most polite hackers in cyberspace. They would break in, but I don't think they had exceptionally great counter forensics, they weren't destructive, they didn't go public with the data they stole. In many ways, if you were hacked, and you knew it, and it was the Chinese that did it, you breathed a sigh of relief. If it was some other group, you had to worry about public disclosure, about extortion, about a ton of other things. So the polite hackers have narrowed their targeting. That's how I look into this. I wouldn't breathe a sigh of relief. What I do see is that public exposure of Chinese cyber espionage by the private sector as well as by government officials--potentially the indictments and all the things Laura has put in the report--all of these factors did have an impact on the scale and scope of Chinese cyber espionage against the U.S.A. I see that as a positive thing. The unfortunate reality is that you still have to build your moat of defend against the other threats that are still out there. Fortune: During one recent quarter, Dave DeWalt, who was then FireEyes CEO, said that attacks by China on U.S. companies had been decreasing. A bunch of people took issue with the statement . They said that attacks are still going on. Where does FireEye stand on that? Because it seems the report is saying that, yes, the number of attacks has decreased a lot. Mandia: Yup, we just stand by exactly what were publishing. Based on our observables, that's what we see. This isn't like the TTPs [Editors note: TTPs is cyberspeak for tools, tactics, and procedures--the idiosyncrasies of hacking methods] of Chinese cyber espionage changed over night. When we do see them, the TTPs are largely the same. There are going to be those naysayers out there who say, well, maybe FireEye is just missing it. I've been locked onto these guys virtually my whole career. I'm not convinced anyone has been responding to Chinese cyber espionage breaches longer than I have--and if there is somebody I'd like to find them. We dealt with this back when I was in the military in the '90s, and we're locked on still. The TTPs will change, but they're not surreptitious. We're not missing it. That's my opinion. Fortune: How do you persuade companies to continue to invest in cybersecurity when it seems that maybe the threats are not as drastic or immediately pressing as they might have been? Galante: I would say at this point you're taking a roll of the dice if you're a corporate entity or a government entity with strong intellectual property. Especially something that could be dual-use. Particularly, if you're in one of the many industries that's producing cutting edge R&D, you're now rolling the dice and have been for a long time, on whether you're going to be compromised. Were seeing a maturation of China's military and political means to use cyber operations. To think that the decline in activity that we're seeing now is endemic of the future would be a misread. I think what we're seeing is a period of recalculating how to go with a precision force and a focus to get exactly the access that is needed, whether for political or military gains. Fortune: What prompted this report? Mandia: We went public in 2013 with the APT1 report. The government indicts soldiers in 2014. The president and the heads of state meet and they have discussions, and what does it lead to? What we hoped it would lead to--a reduction in the targeting of the private sector. I think that's a positive result. And that's why we're really doing this--to report on a positive result. Fortune: How have things changed for you since becoming CEO? Congrats on the promotion, by the way. Mandia: Thanks, it doesn't change much at the end of the day. PR person: Lets keep off that for now. Fortune: Okay, what else is interesting--is North Korea behind the SWIFT bank hacks? Mandia: First thing I would say as a general citizen--and I don't have the data to opine one way or another--but boy, wouldn't you want to know who stole $81 million dollars from the bank of Bangladesh? Fortune: Oh yeah. Mandia: I mean if we can't pierce anonymity behind that as an international community, both behind the hack and behind the laundering of the money, don't we have a challenge here? $81 million is gone and we don't know who did it? That's not a good indicator for whether were going to catch who hacks a utility in Mississippi and shuts it down. We've got to get attribution right. If we can't get it right for Ashley Madison, fine, I get that. But if we can't get it right for stealing $81 million--that's not a good indicator. I think that's the interesting story right now. Can the international community can the pierce anonymity behind folks who steal $81 million, and if they can't, what else can they not do? Fortune: Indeed. Thanks for your time. Mandia: Take care, Robert. Fortune: You too. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Everything You Need to Know About North Korea's Suspected Bank Blitzkrieg Senate Rejects Proposal to Expand FBI Spying Power This Ad Firm That Tracked Kids Got Smacked With a $4 Million Fine Why the Senate Will Likely Give the FBI More Spying Power After Orlando Winklevoss Brothers Expand Their Bitcoin Exchange to the U.K. || A Q&A With The New CIO Of OptionsHouse: The 2016 Benzinga Fintech Awards is the only event in fintech dedicated to recognizing innovation in financial services and capital markets. Ahead of the May 24th awards show and gala, meet the industry leaders who will be in attendance. Who he is: Lance Braunstein, recently named CIO of Aperture Group, owner of OptionsHouse . What attracted you to OptionsHouse? Braunstein: The combination of a great investor, General Atlantic, a world-class management team, and the opportunity to innovate solutions on the base of a leading platform. What ideas can you offer for how you'll shape OptionsHouse’s technology strategy going forward? Braunstein: Our technology strategy will unfold in a number of phases. First, we will continue to evolve our core execution platform to be best-in-class. This will include a new mobile app for iOS and Android as well as a new responsive website by the end of the year. We are also developing a rich services framework for more nimble software development and to allow our clients to interface with us programmatically. The second phase of our strategy involves the evolving needs of the active trader. We are exploring a number of new products and services to ensure we can deliver the most timely data in the best channel to meet our client's needs. Braunstein : I continue to see data management, analytics and visualization as a key driver for our markets. Being able to consume and make sense of the massive amounts of data and derive a signal from the noise is more pressing than ever. I also think that startups and established firms alike are starting to take up the idea of blockchain, with an understanding of its differences from Bitcoin, and leveraging it in a number of new and creative ways. I'm excited about automated advisory services. There's still a long way to go in developing intelligence in this space and I suspect we'll see continued innovation here. One trend that I suspect will fade is the idea that fintech firms can fly under the regulatory radar--this just seems short-sighted. Tackling regulatory requirements like retention, supervision and information barriers is key when providing solutions in regulated industries. One piece of advice he’d offer to people trying to break into fintech: Braunstein : A VC friend of mine once said ‘You should always be able to articulate your value proposition on the back of a business card.’ My piece of advice is make sure that your messaging is crisp so if you find yourself on an elevator and you have 30 seconds, you’re able to very succinctly articulate the space, problem, and commercial value. That’s something typically an engineering minded person might overlook. If you want to meet Lance, get a ticket to the Benzinga Fintech Awards next Tuesday, so get your tickets now! See more from Benzinga Russell Simmons' Prepaid Debit Card Just Cost Him Million Who's The Most Outstanding Military Veteran In Fintech? Angel Investing Is Now Available To Pretty Much Everyone. Yes, Even You. © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
$632.00 at 10:15 UTC [24h Range: $621.09 - $654.99 Volume: 7338 BTC] || LIVE: Profit = $762.00 (9.52 %). BUY B19.39 @ $420.00 (#VirCurex). SELL @ $452.90 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || Bitstamp: $667.20/BTC - last trade of USD/BTC at https://www.bitstamp.net/ (high: 714.26, low: 625.00) #bitcoin #BTC http://bitcoinautotrade.com || Jam keberangkatan dari BTC 06.00/ 08.00/ 10.00/13.00/ 16.00/ 18.00
Jam keberangkatan dari CILEUNYI 07.00/ 09.00/ 11.00/ 14.00/ 17.00/ 19.00 || 【5名が検討中!!】
防弾少年団 2016 BTS LIVE 花様年華 on stage epilogue Japan Edition
譲）大阪府 7/13 19:00 2枚
席）BTCファンクラブ最速…
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#BTS #防弾少年団 || #bitcoin #miner Bitmine AntMiner S4 2000Gh/s @ 0.69W/Gh ASIC Bitcoin Miner $275.00 http://ift.tt/25QlGTK pic.twitter.com/OwfWbl4qkv || Bitstamp: $576.84/BTC - last trade of USD/BTC at https://www.bitstamp.net/ (high: 594.44, low: 563.00) #bitcoin #BTC http://bitcoinautotrade.com || #bitcoin #miner BFL Monarch Bitcoin Miner 650+ GH/S $75.00 http://ift.tt/20iVFFr pic.twitter.com/AQOhIn3w78 || $443.36 at 05:00 UTC [24h Range: $437.40 - $443.51 Volume: 2480 BTC] || 1 KOBO = 0.00001000 BTC
= 0.0046 USD
= 0.9156 NGN
= 0.0709 ZAR
= 0.4632 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-05-14 00:00 pic.twitter.com/VU50EIPTki
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Trend: down || Prices: 676.30, 703.70, 658.66, 683.66, 670.63, 677.33, 640.56, 666.52, 650.96, 649.36
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Verizon is making a foray into the 'game changer' technology Wall Street is pumped about: verizon (REUTERS/Steve Marcus) Verizon Communications, the largest telecommunications company in the US, is experimenting with blockchain technology. Blockchain technology, which powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, depends on a distributed ledger that allows users to verify transactions without an intermediary. Autonomous Research has called the technology a " game changer ," and Goldman Sachs has said that the technology " has the potential to redefine transactions ." Blockchain has tons of applications that are being explored by banks, startups, exchanges, and corporations that want to get in on the action. Business Insider obtained a copy of the US patent, filed on May 10, for a passcode blockchain that Verizon has apparently been working on for three years. The patent relates to digital content think an e-book or a digital-music or video file. Verizon declined to comment. Here is a passage from the filing: "The DRM (digital rights management) system may maintain a list of passcodes in a passcode blockchain . The passcode blockchain may store a sequence of passcodes associated with the particular digital content and may indicate a currently valid passcode. For example, a first passcode may be assigned to a first user and designated as the valid passcode. If the access rights are transferred to a second user, a second passcode may be obtained and added to the blockchain , provided to the second user, and designated as the valid passcode. Thus, the first passcode may no longer be considered valid. If the second user transfers the access rights to a third user, a third passcode may be obtained and added to the blockchain , provided to the third user, and designated as the valid passcode. Thus, the first and second passcodes may no longer be considered valid. "Furthermore, the expiration date associated with the key may continue to be in effect with respect to the second user and/or any subsequent users. Thus, if access rights for a particular digital content are associated with a rental period, or a subscription period, users may continue to transfer the rights to other users during the rental period." There is quite a bit of excitement about having digital rights on a blockchain-type system. It could allow for pay-per-usage, for example, while smart contracts the contractual clauses that form part of a transaction could provide automatic payment distributions, according to a Moody's Investors Service report. A blockchain of digital rights for consumer products music and news articles, among others could ensure that artists or authors are paid immediately once a consumer reads an article or listens to a song, with funds proportionally distributed as per contractual clauses. Story continues Given lower transaction costs on a blockchain, micro-payments through a blockchain would be more feasible, allowing for a pay-per-usage setup each time an article is read or a song is listened to. NOW WATCH: Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam explains why he bought AOL More From Business Insider GARTNER: The blockchain 'hype' has peaked Blockchain and bitcoin companies raised $290 million in the last 6 months World Economic Forum releases blockchain report View comments || Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is the world's largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users' accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. "The bitcoin was stolen from users' segregated wallets," he said. The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins. Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals. "Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers," BitGo said in a Tweet. "With users' funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire," said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare. The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies. BITCOIN SLUMP Tuesday's breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers' Bitcoins in a hacking attack. Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not "expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain", the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers. "The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems," said Singapore-based Antony Lewis. The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation. It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex's Tackett said he was "nearly 100 percent certain" it was no one in the company. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong's bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal. The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small. "For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I'm getting the pot?" said Leonhard Weese. (Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman) View comments || Understanding What Bitcoin & Gold Have In Common in Financial Markets: DailyFX.com -
Talking Points:
• Is It Time To Take Bitcoin Seriously?
• How Can Understanding Bitcoin Help Traders Interested In The Direction of Spot Gold?
• Following BTC/USD
“I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.”
-Satoshi Nakamoto, November 1, 2008
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The cryptocurrency Bitcoin appears to be back in a big way. Calling Bitcoin (Trading View Ticker: BTCUSD) a cryptocurrency can be enough to make most people turn the page in search of a lighter read. However, a quick introduction can help you see how this innovative coin that is now ~7.5 years old has gone from a coder’s coin and known by only a few hobbyists to an asset class in a class of itself.
Is It Time To Take Bitcoin Seriously?
Only a handful of people have been following Bitcoin since the creator, Satoshi Nakamoto introduced and explained how and why Bitcoin could work first introduced the digital asset on the cryptography mail archive. However, now many people have at least heard of the Bitcoin though few fully grasp the implications of both commerce and financial markets if Bitcoin can hit the proverbial ‘Tipping Point.'
Regardless of whether or not we’ve hit the tipping point, it is worth taking Bitcoin seriously as it has not only stood the test of time, but the technology that is underlying BTC, the blockchain, has garnered the attention of Goldman Sachs, Citibank, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas and many more as the ‘Next Big Thing’ in Financial Markets. Developed markets with some of the most distraught monetary managers like Brazil have recently seen Bitcoin Trading surpass Gold trading per Cryptocoin News.
Make no mistake; some will call Bitcoin a fad who will fade away into the oblivion of Financial Innovation in a similar fate of Adjustable Rate Mortgages, while others will say the Bitcoin has and will continue to change everything. While I lay to closer to the ‘Change Everything’ extreme, it has yet to be fully adopted, and likely will not be fully adopted as a replacement of fiat currency for multiple reasons.
At the top of the list for reasons a developed economy would refuse to adopt Bitcoin over the local currency is that the global amount of BTC is fixed at 21 million bitcoins, with ~14 million in existence today. That means if the economy is to grow, the government would need to spend less, and save more in order to buy BTC to build the economy or tax citizens on the BTC they hold, which is inherently difficult. However, it would be an unlikely event to see governments willingly give-up the desire to print and tax in hopes of re-election.
How Can Understanding Bitcoin Help Traders of Spot Gold?
This section could have easily been titled, how I came to respect Bitcoin. It is hard to say that we’ll look back on the creation of the Bitcoin in the same light as the Guttenberg press or the Internet, it’s fair to say that it inspires the same ‘Animal Spirits’ that causes Gold (CFD: XAUUSD) to go bid when investors look for a haven asset as a store of value.
It doesn’t appear to be coincidence when that Bitcoin came onto the seen as banks were being bailed out as the initial or genesis block with the first transaction referenced a Times article dated 03/01/2009 titled, ‘Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks.’ A few days later the source code of Bitcoin was released by Satoshi.
Either way, the spirit behind buying gold and buying bitcoin appears to be very similar. In a ‘doomsday scenario’ where you desire an asset to hold value while other fiat-priced assets are plummeting in value, BTC like Gold is ideal for bartering. The difference is that BTC can allow bartering to be done digitally thanks to the blockchain (more on that in a later post for the geeks out there like myself), whereas gold would most likely be bartered face-to-face in the event of an economic collapse.
As you can see on the chart above, this mutual symbiotic relationship can be seen with an overlay of Gold (CFD: XAUUSD) and BTCUSD. As a note, FXCM does not provide liquidity for Bitcoin, but its development and price direction can be invaluable for seeing another market in the same spirit as Gold that can enhance your analysis on precious metals.
[Warning: A Bit of Technical Info Ahead]
One last note before moving on (kudos for reading this far), Bitcoin’s network and maintenance is what sets it apart from fiat currencies, and places it in a similar league as precious metals such as Gold. First, the ledger, known as the blockchain is considered trustless in that it must be verified my multiple nodes called miners that verify, validate Bitcoin transactions. Typically, this is done by a bank, which acts as a one trusted third-party (see opening quote from Satoshi,) whereas Bitcoin utilizes a distributed network of miners to confirm transactions so there cannot be a single point of failure or misuse as we’ve seen with Rogue Traders or Bank Executives cheating out bondholders/ equity holders. Lastly, the base algorithm is cryptographic and is known as an asymmetric encryption that allows public and private keys to validate a transaction that is then validated by the network.
In this manner, Bitcoin is allowed to act as a digital barter currency without the need for banks and helps to accomplish what Gold has accomplished for millennia by acting as a store of value in bad times and good times, and accepted at all times if the price is right.
[You May Now Turn-Off Your Hard Thinking Cap]
Following BTC/USD
Lucky you, DailyFX will begin covering Bitcoin. Historically, we’ve covered Bitcoinin relation to sharp price increases in the wake of Brexit or the Eurozone crisis, or the Yuan Devaluation. However, given the correlation of XAUUSD & BTCUSD and the rising popularity of BTCUSD, we felt you’d be interested in learning more about the development of this pseudo-currency / neo-haven asset as it turns toward its awkward growth years of potential adaptability into everyday utilization.
If you’re interested in seeing price trends of Bitcoin, the best place to keep an eye on these moves throughout the day is theDailyFX Chart Pagewhere you can keep an eye on BTCUSD or BTCEUR if you wish. However, if you’re keeping an eye on BTC trends in the desire to get a better understanding on the price direction of Gold, it’s likely best to look at BTCUSD. Both BTCUSD & Gold (CFD: XAUUSD) are priced in US Dollar so that a big move in the US Dollar can heavily influence both assets.
Thank you for your time, and we look forward to providing you with more information on this new type of currency where a desire for haven digital assets and technology meet.
Happy Trading & Please Let Me Know If You Have Any Questions
T.Y.
original source
DailyFXprovides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts fromFXCM. || JIM ROGERS: 'I'm not the only person who knows there's turmoil coming': Jim Rogers (Jim RogersREUTERS/Brendan McDermid) There's economic havoc on the horizon, but no safe haven, says legendary investor Jim Rogers. "I'm not the only person who knows there's turmoil coming," Rogers said in an interview with Real Vision TV released Friday. "And people are looking for ways to protect themselves." Rogers is worried about the increasing valuation of gold and the US dollar, as well as the US stock indexes, which he said are up despite most underlying stocks being down. Meanwhile, many investors are seeking shelter in gold and the US dollar, but neither are safe, Rogers said. "I own a lot of US dollars, though," he added. "Not because it's a safe haven, but because people think it's a safe haven. And when the world falls apart, people will put their money into the dollar. That's going to mean the dollar's going to go up." In turn, the dollar's increase is going to hurt a lot of other currencies, Rogers said, including the euro, the UK pound, and the Chinese currency. Rogers warned against seeing strength in the strong US stock market, which has continued to rise. "Everybody thinks, well, things are great because look at the S&P," he said. "Well, look under the S&P, and you would say, 'Oh, my God, look what's going on here.' We've got problems, and that's happening this year as well." Rogers joins other notable investors who have raised concerns about potential market turmoil. Stan Druckenmiller said earlier this year that investors should move their money to gold, and 36 South's Jerry Haworth, who runs a black swan fund, said he also expects chaos to come . NOW WATCH: Kobe Bryant is starting a $100-million venture capital fund More From Business Insider The man who accurately predicted 5 market crashes has 3 more dates we need to worry about THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined || Why Ethereum is the hottest new thing in digital currency: Just when you were (maybe) beginning to get a basic understanding ofthe digital currency bitcoin, a second-place digital currency is gaining steam and growing in value. It’s called ether, it is the token of a blockchain network called Ethereum, and less than one year after launching, its market cap now exceeds $1 billion.
On Thursday, Ethereum hit another business milestone whenCoinbase, the leading mainstream platform for buying and trading of bitcoin,added support for ether. Coinbase customers—there are 4 million of them in 32 countries—can now easily buy and trade ether using the Coinbase web site or mobile app.
But would they want to? First they’d have to understand it.
If bitcoin, which runs on adecentralized, permission-less, peer-to-peer blockchain, is still in its infancy—a pointbitcoin believers love to make—then Ethereum is barely out of the womb. As theNew York Timeswrote in March, the network “is complicated enough that even people who know it well have trouble describing it in plain English.”
Ethereum’s creator isVitalik Buterin, a 22-year-old Russian tech-wunderkind who began working on the concept at age 19. A presentationButerin made at Ethereum’s developer conferencelast year listed use cases such as: issuing assets; crowdfunding; domain registration; title registration; gambling; prediction markets; and theInternet of Things, among others.
Ethereum is not without troubling security issues: Last month a decentralized network called The DAO, built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, was attacked, in a theft of $50 million worth of ether. After the attack, an SEC officialexpressed grave concernover the network’s security.
Still, many in the cryptocurrency world say Ethereum is even more exciting than bitcoin because of the ability to smore smart contracts on its network. Many developers are already runningearly-stage apps on top of Ethereum, for all manner of services including blockchain payments via Slack and placing bets on which tech startups will get popular first.
Coinbase had already added ether to its more formal cryptocurrency exchange site for institutional investors, GDAX, back in May. “We saw individual as well as developer interest in Ethereum rise at the end of 2015, and by the early part of 2016 our customers on GDAX were saying, ‘Give us the ability to sell ether,'” says Adam White, VP of business development and strategy for Coinbase. Bringing ether to its mainstream wallet product was the obvious next step.
Coinbase adding ether (everywhere but New York) also means that all partners using the Coinbase “buy widget” can do the same. One such partner isLawnmower, a mobile app that originally launched as a “roundup” service that invests your spare change into bitcoin, using Coinbase.
Lawnmower recently changed its model to allow users to set an auto-purchase of bitcoin once a month at a set price, and it just updated its app this week to include a news hub for intel on many cryptocurrencies, including ether, litecoin, and ripple. In other words: Lawnmower, like Coinbase, saw ether pulling into second in the crypto race.
“Some of these assets recently, like ether, our users have made it clear they want to learn more about it,” says Alex Sunnarborg, Lawnmower CFO. “So we just said, ‘Let’s move as fast as we can on it.'” Lawnmower added an index that shows ether’s price over time, compares it against bitcoin, and even has the full original white paper on Ethereum. What it couldn’t add was the ability to actually buy ether. Now that Coinbase has implemented that, it can.
All of the momentum for ether reflects that bitcoin will not be the only digital currency of interest. It was the first to come along, in 2009, but there is room for more. And indeed, there were more—like dogecoin, litecoin (whose inventor now works for Coinbase), and ripple—but White says, “Nothing uniquely differentiated itself until Ethereum. While bitcoin is a fantastic global transaction network, we see Ethereum offering a worldwide computational network.”
Coinbase was the first bitcoin wallet to get mainstream recognition. It was also by far the best-funded bitcoin startup until themysterious 21 Inc. raised $116 million in a single roundlast year. Adding Ethereum to Coinbase, White says, “required a fresh look at how we design the platform. We wanted to keep it super simple, easy to understand, so that people like my dad, when they hear about Ethereum in the paper, and he wants to buy $100, he can go to Coinbase and it’s still a very simple process.”
If the casual investor does want to dip a toe into ether, Coinbase now allows it through a bank account, credit or debit card. Ether currently trades at around $12.
Coinbase expects to see “a very significant amount of interest.”
—
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
Read more:
The latest Bitcoin price hike is not all about Brexit
British bitcoin market sent incredible signals ahead of Brexit
Here’s why 21 Inc. is the most exciting bitcoin company right now
How early bitcoin leader Coinbase is staying relevant amid the blockchain craze || 'Grumpy hold-outs' could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex's plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers. The Hong Kong-based exchange said on Aug. 2 that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoins from some clients' accounts, the second-biggest such hack in dollar terms, and later said it would spread the losses across all its customers, whether or not they had been hacked or even held bitcoin. It said customers would forfeit 36 percent of their holdings and be given "BFX tokens" instead that could be redeemed by the exchange or converted to shares in its parent company iFinex. Both elements of the plan are open to legal challenge, lawyers said. Imposing losses on customers who were not hacked appears to go against the company's terms of service, said Ryan Straus, a Fenwick & West lawyer who advises financial technology companies on regulation and co-authored the U.S. chapter of a book on bitcoin law. The terms state "bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you", which Straus said implied a special banking relationship with clients that the Bitfinex plan would breach. "The depository ... is obligated to return, on demand, the same monetary objects deposited," he said, quoting a line from his book. The exchange's tokens could also be problematic, said Zach Zweihorn, a lawyer at DavisPolk who specializes in U.S. securities and trading laws. The way they are currently being described - redeemable by the exchange or convertible to shares in iFinex - places them somewhere between a bond and a security and makes it highly likely that issuing them and trading them would require licenses in the U.S. that Bitfinex doesn't have. "If they are issuing an equity interest in their parent company, I don't really think the fact that it's evidenced through an electronic token ... really changes the analysis of whether it's a security," said Zweihorn. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not return a request for comment. Bitfinex did not respond to requests for comment on either issue. "ROBBED" Bitfinex's website acknowledges there are "protocol level details" still to be worked out for the tokens, and that U.S. residents can sell but not buy them for the time being. "I feel like I was robbed," a 33 year-old investor who had a five-figure U.S. dollar amount on the platform told Reuters. He said he took a 36 percent "haircut" across all assets, including U.S. dollar reserves, and as a U.S. trader he couldn't properly deal in the IOU token. "Basically they took customers' funds in order to try to stay afloat. Nowhere in their terms of service did it mention that this was a possibility," said the user, who works in the financial services industry. Bitfinex is nevertheless hoping that traders will be patient and accept that they won't get a better deal if legal challenges force it into liquidation. "This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context," it told traders in a blog post a week ago, while the tokens gave them some hope of ultimately recovering their losses. Traders will be aware of the fate of Tokyo-based crypto-currency exchange Mt Gox, which suffered the biggest bitcoin theft of all time in 2014, and consequently went bankrupt. Traders have not recovered any losses, and court proceedings are still ongoing. "People are afraid to see their assets completely frozen if they sue Bitfinex too early," said 28-year-old Nathan Bourgeois, who is based in France and moderates a 2,000-member traders' messaging group called Whaleclub under the username dr Helmut. He said he thought people would agree to the deal if there was a chance of getting some of their money back. But Patrick Murck, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said the Bitfinex plan was unlikely to survive a legal challenge. "It might be a pyrrhic victory. You might still end up with less money," said Murck, who is also co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and its former general counsel, but the "odds are fairly low" that nobody will test it in court. "It takes one grumpy hold-out ... to blow the whole thing up,” he said. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Additional reporting by Hera Poon and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman) || 'Grumpy hold-outs' could sink Bitfinex recovery plan after Bitcoin theft: By Clare Baldwin HONG KONG (Reuters) - Crypto-currency exchange Bitfinex's plan to impose losses on all its trading clients for the theft by hackers of $72 million in Bitcoin rests on two flawed pillars, according to lawyers. The Hong Kong-based exchange said on August 2 that hackers had stolen 119,756 bitcoins from some clients' accounts, the second-biggest such hack in dollar terms, and later said it would spread the losses across all its customers, whether or not they had been hacked or even held bitcoin. It said customers would forfeit 36 percent of their holdings and be given "BFX tokens" instead that could be redeemed by the exchange or converted to shares in its parent company iFinex. Both elements of the plan are open to legal challenge, lawyers said. Imposing losses on customers who were not hacked appears to go against the company's terms of service, said Ryan Straus, a Fenwick & West lawyer who advises financial technology companies on regulation and co-authored the U.S. chapter of a book on bitcoin law. The terms state "bitcoins in your multi-signature wallets belong to and are owned by you", which Straus said implied a special banking relationship with clients that the Bitfinex plan would breach. "The depository ... is obligated to return, on demand, the same monetary objects deposited," he said, quoting a line from his book. The exchange's tokens could also be problematic, said Zach Zweihorn, a lawyer at DavisPolk who specialises in U.S. securities and trading laws. The way they are currently being described - redeemable by the exchange or convertible to shares in iFinex - places them somewhere between a bond and a security and makes it highly likely that issuing them and trading them would require licences in the U.S. that Bitfinex doesn't have. "If they are issuing an equity interest in their parent company, I don't really think the fact that it's evidenced through an electronic token ... really changes the analysis of whether it's a security," said Zweihorn. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not return a request for comment. Bitfinex did not respond to requests for comment on either issue. "ROBBED" Bitfinex's website acknowledges there are "protocol level details" still to be worked out for the tokens, and that U.S. residents can sell but not buy them for the time being. "I feel like I was robbed," a 33 year-old investor who had a five-figure U.S. dollar amount on the platform told Reuters. He said he took a 36 percent "haircut" across all assets, including U.S. dollar reserves, and as a U.S. trader he couldn't properly deal in the IOU token. "Basically they took customers' funds in order to try to stay afloat. Nowhere in their terms of service did it mention that this was a possibility," said the user, who works in the financial services industry. Bitfinex is nevertheless hoping that traders will be patient and accept that they won't get a better deal if legal challenges force it into liquidation. "This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context," it told traders in a blog post a week ago, while the tokens gave them some hope of ultimately recovering their losses. Traders will be aware of the fate of Tokyo-based crypto-currency exchange Mt Gox, which suffered the biggest bitcoin theft of all time in 2014, and consequently went bankrupt. Traders have not recovered any losses, and court proceedings are still ongoing. "People are afraid to see their assets completely frozen if they sue Bitfinex too early," said 28-year-old Nathan Bourgeois, who is based in France and moderates a 2,000-member traders' messaging group called Whaleclub under the username dr Helmut. He said he thought people would agree to the deal if there was a chance of getting some of their money back. But Patrick Murck, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said the Bitfinex plan was unlikely to survive a legal challenge. "It might be a pyrrhic victory. You might still end up with less money," said Murck, who is also co-founder of the Bitcoin Foundation and its former general counsel, but the "odds are fairly low" that nobody will test it in court. "It takes one grumpy hold-out ... to blow the whole thing up, he said. (Reporting by Clare Baldwin; Additional reporting by Hera Poon and Tris Pan; Editing by Will Waterman) View comments || This infographic shows the questionable effectiveness of UN Peacekeeping missions: UN soldiers (French UN soldiers run from Sarajevo's Radio and Television building on July 27, 1993 after it came under attack by artillery shells.Chris Helgren/Reuters) The United Nations has long been a purported force for change in developing countries and other international crises. Public opinion on their undertakings have been mixed at best, with the role of UN Peacekeeping missions particularly under the microscope. Wearing their recognizable light blue berets and helmets, UN peacekeepers have been both successful in resolving conflicts and criticized for their lack of action during life-threatening emergencies. The following infographic from Norwich University Online explains UN Peacekeeping missions and seeks to explain if the missions are even effective in the long run. Norwich University Online Masters in Diplomacy NOW WATCH: The Pentagon made a move that will revolutionize thousands of soldiers' lives More From Business Insider The man who accurately predicted 5 market crashes has 3 more dates we need to worry about THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined || JIM ROGERS: 'I'm not the only person who knows there's turmoil coming': (Jim RogersREUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
There's economic havoc on the horizon, but no safe haven, says legendary investor Jim Rogers.
"I'm not the only person who knows there's turmoil coming," Rogers said in an interview withReal Vision TVreleased Friday. "And people are looking for ways to protect themselves."
Rogers is worried about the increasing valuation of gold and the US dollar, as well as the US stock indexes, which he said are up despite most underlying stocks being down.
Meanwhile, many investors are seeking shelter in gold and the US dollar, but neither are safe, Rogers said.
"I own a lot of US dollars, though," he added. "Not because it's a safe haven, but because people think it's a safe haven. And when the world falls apart, people will put their money into the dollar. That's going to mean the dollar's going to go up."
In turn, the dollar's increase is going to hurt a lot of other currencies, Rogers said, including the euro, the UK pound, and the Chinese currency.
Rogers warned against seeing strength in the strong US stock market, which has continued to rise. "Everybody thinks, well, things are great because look at the S&P," he said. "Well, look under the S&P, and you would say, 'Oh, my God, look what's going on here.' We've got problems, and that's happening this year as well."
Rogers joins other notable investors who have raised concerns about potential market turmoil.
Stan Druckenmiller said earlier this year that investors should move their money to gold, and 36 South's Jerry Haworth, who runs a black swan fund, said he also expectschaos to come.
NOW WATCH:Kobe Bryant is starting a $100-million venture capital fund
More From Business Insider
• The man who accurately predicted 5 market crashes has 3 more dates we need to worry about
• THE PAYMENTS INDUSTRY EXPLAINED: The Trends Creating New Winners And Losers In The Card-Processing Ecosystem
• Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined || Exclusive - LexisNexis and start-up join to curb bitcoin money-laundering: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - A company that provides banks with anti-money-laundering controls has teamed up with a bitcoin security firm to try to curb nefarious uses of the digital currency, such as drug trafficking and terrorism financing. LexisNexis said the new service it has created with London-based startup Elliptic would bring bank-grade AML controls to bitcoin transactions, making the virtual currency more attractive to those who might want to use it for legitimate transactions LexisNexis, part of multinational analytics firm RELX Group, helps banks comply with AML regulation, using a database of 2.7 million global entities that could be involved in illicit transactions, such as those on sanctions and other watch-lists. It has shared that database with Elliptic, which monitors bitcoin transactions and can alert its clients - ranging from bitcoin exchanges to U.S. and European intelligence agencies - when money moves from bitcoin addresses that have been identified as bad actors. "This is a step towards making it (bitcoin) more mainstream and more acceptable," said Thomas Brown, of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Bitcoin is a web-based digital currency that relies on complex algorithms to move money around quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. That has made it attractive to a variety of users, including those who want to get around capital controls and those who support a currency that is free from government control for ideological reasons. But it has also attracted criminals, such as drug dealers and arms traffickers. "Today, if you see bitcoins transacting, you almost assume they're from someone who wants to be off the grid, or they're proceeds from illicit transactions," said Brown. Last month Elliptic said it was working with the Internet Watch Foundation to clamp down on the use of bitcoin for online child pornography. "The single biggest thing keeping mainstream financial services out of the (bitcoin) ecosystem is the inability to do bank-grade anti-money laundering controls," said Elliptic's head of business development, Kevin Beardsley. "The hope is that this will unlock a whole wave of companies being able to enter financial services with bitcoin." (Editing by Robin Pomeroy) View comments
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 #bitcoin = $11155.00 MXN | $600.93 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 18.56MXN http://www.bitapeso.com || Investment same time only 0.02 BTC,
Win your 2,00,000 BTC inone month.
Access - http://ln.is/www.bitcoin4u.biz/wMgsA … || #THC 0.00000042 BTC(10.53 %) | Market Cap 85 BTC | Volume(24h) 0.00 BTC | Available Supply 202,413,297 THC || Current price of Bitcoin is $662.00. || $575.16 #btce;
$576.01 #GDAX;
$573.52 #bitstamp;
$574.90 #itBit;
$575.21 #bitfinex;
$574.00 #OKCoin;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00001600 BTC YoBit 0.00001341 BTC Bleutrade 0.00001555 BTC #BTAprice 2016-08-04 18:00 pic.twitter.com/O1DAbSjSR9 || BTCTurk 1992.9 TL BTCe 659 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 669.00 $ Cavirtex $ CEXIO 667.07 $ Bitcoin.de 613.33 € #Bitcoin #btc || #bitcoin LumbridgeCity http://dlvr.it/M5pssh || 1 KOBO = 0.00000200 BTC
= 0.0012 USD
= 0.3780 NGN
= 0.0170 ZAR
= 0.1216 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-08-26 10:00 pic.twitter.com/mPAlyIpVGa || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00001101 BTC YoBit 0.00001200 BTC Bleutrade 0.00001100 BTC #BTAprice 2016-08-23 20:00 pic.twitter.com/U0gf1iPHoM
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Trend: no change || Prices: 606.72, 608.24, 609.24, 610.68, 607.16, 606.97, 605.98, 609.87, 609.23, 608.31
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Half of Americans Are Ready for Another Market Drop: Anyone who's familiar with the stock market knows what a volatile beast it can be. Case in point: The Dow dropped a historic 1,175 points on a single day back in early February, and it followed that up with an 1,100-point plunge over a three-day period beginning later last month. It's not surprising, then, that roughly a quarter of Americans expect the market to lose value over the coming year. In fact, COUNTRY Financial reports that 52% of Americans say they have a plan for dealing with another major market plunge. But whether that's really necessary is a different story. Table of stock prices with red and green arrows indicating gains and losses IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Market tumbles are extremely common If you're new to the stock market, the idea of a major decline might easily throw you for a loop. After all, nobody wants to face the prospect of losing money. But anyone who's had money in the market for quite some time will tell you this: Plunges are actually quite common. In fact, since 1950, there have been 36 stock market corrections in which values dropped 10% or more. This figure includes the current correction the Dow and broader S&P 500 have recently undergone. But here's the thing about those corrections: Not only are they common, but with the exception of the one currently under way, the stock market has recovered each and every time. So, what's the best way to deal with a stock market correction? Do nothing. Don't make a plan to sell off assets or move money around. Just let things play out. When the market takes a dive and your portfolio value goes down, what you're really looking at is a loss on paper (or, these days, a loss on your computer screen). Yes, you might log on to your account and see that your investments are worth less than what they were valued at a few days prior. But remember this: Until you actually go and sell off investments, you haven't lost a dime. The best way to deal with a stock market dive, therefore, is to not react. The reason? You're highly likely to lose money by unloading investments when their value drops. On the other hand, if you sit tight and wait things out, your portfolio value is likely to recover, and then some. Story continues Remember, too, that if history tells us anything, it's that we spend more time in an up market than a down one. Incidentally, that's why it pays to take a long-term approach to investing. If you're looking to make a quick buck in the stock market, you're likely to get burned. But if you're in it for the long haul, you're more likely than not to come out ahead -- provided you leave your investments alone when things go sour. Will there be another market downturn? If you're wondering whether you should brace yourself for another market tumble, the answer is: Absolutely. Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after that is almost irrelevant. Over time, the market will fall. But the best thing you can do to get ready for it is diversify your portfolio and prepare to be patient. This means investing in various sectors of the market, rather than putting all of your eggs into a single industry. It also means loading up on index funds , which offer built-in diversification. And, yes, it means putting some bonds in your portfolio, especially if you're older and nearing retirement. Speaking of which, though stocks remain a suitable investment for current or near-retirees, if you're older, you do need a backup plan to protect yourself from market downturns. This could mean moving more investments into bonds, or loading up on dividend stocks, which can serve as a source of income even when the market itself isn't doing well. But if you're younger and are heavily invested in stocks, then there's really not much action to take in the face of the aforementioned volatility other than amassing a diverse range of assets. Maybe the stock market will end up having a killer year in 2018. Or maybe not. Either way, be prepared to leave your investments alone as we all ride it out. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || RBA Holds as the USD Sees more Red over Trade Jitters: Economic data released through the Asian session this morning was limited to Australia’s AIG Manufacturing Index, which saw the largest pickup in activity on record in March. The manufacturing index rose from 57.5 to 63.1 in March, more than reversing February’s fall, while moving well ahead of the previous May 2002 62.1 record.
Employment, deliveries and new orders saw growth rates at record levels, with signs of rising margin pressures and wage growth also reflected within the survey responses.
The employment sub-index jumped 2.2 pints to 60.0, sitting well above the 12-month average 54.7, with new orders surging by 11.2 to 66.6, above the 12-month average 59.0, with average wages up 6.6 points to 63.4, also well above the 12-month average 59.9.
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.76585 to $0.76565, with the markets more focused on the RBA statement due out later in the morning, holding back any upside in response to the impressive numbers.
With the markets returning after the Easter weekend, the RBA interest rate decision and the rate statement was the main event of the session. The RBA held rates unchanged at 1.5% as had been widely expected, with the rate statement providing the markets with few surprises, salient points from the statement being as follows:
• Employment has grown strongly in the last 12-months, with further employment rises expected, while wage growth continues to lag and will likely continue to do so for some time.
• Inflation remains low, with both CPI and underlying inflation running a little below 2% and is likely to remain low for some time, reflecting low growth in labour costs and strong competition in retailing.
• An appreciation in the Aussie Dollar would be expected to lead to a slower pickup in economic activity and inflation than currently forecasted.
• Housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne have slowed, with additional supply expected to impact, while tighter credit standards have contained a further build-up of risk in house balance sheets, while household debt remains high.
• The low level of interest rates is continuing to support the economy, with further progress in reducing unemployment and having inflation returning to target being expected.
• The Australian economy grew by 2.4% in 2017 and the RBA expects growth to pick-up in 2018, supported by positive business conditions and increasing non-mining business and infrastructure investment.
• Uncertainty over the outlook for household consumption remains an issue, with household income growing slowly, while debt levels are on the higher side.
The Aussie Dollar moved from $0.76892 to $0.76878 upon release of the statement, with the relatively upbeat sentiment towards the economic outlook providing some support, in spite of the RBA giving little away on its outlook towards policy.
At the time of writing, the Aussie Dollar was up 0.27% to $0.7684, with the market panic of an escalation of trade noise doing little to pin back the morning moves.
Elsewhere, the Japanese Yen was down 0.04% to ¥105.93 against the U.S Dollar, with China’s response to the U.S trade tariffs having limited impact, while the equity markets struggled through the session, as the tech stock sell-off resumed.
The ASX200 was down 0.13% at the time of writing, with the Nikkei down 0.46% ahead of the close, pressured by the stronger Yen and tech sell-off, with fears of more trade tariffs later in the week weighing on the CSI300 and Hang Seng, the two down 0.83% and 0.61% respectively.
For the EUR, it’s a busy day ahead on the data front, following Monday’s holiday, with key stats through the day including finalized March manufacturing PMI numbers and Germany’s February retail sales figures
At the time of writing, the EUR was up 0.02% to $1.2305, with today’s moves not just dependent upon this morning’s data, but also trade chatter and market risk appetite.
Across Le Manche, economic data out of the UK is limited to this morning’s March manufacturing PMI, which will certainly provide direction for the Pound. Any uptick in wholesale prices and improvement in new orders will be key to the influence of the figures to the Pound, with the headline number forecasted to be Pound negative.
The inflation obsession that has gripped the U.S markets, will be felt in the UK markets in the coming weeks, with the BoE expected to lift rates next month, assuming there are no Brexit curveballs from Brussels and no economic meltdown in the UK or globally for that matter. A trade war capable of delivering both.
At the time of writing, the Pound was up 0.09% to $1.4056, with today’s PMI and Brexit chatter the key drivers.
Across the Pond, there are no material stats for the markets to consider, following some disappointing manufacturing PMI numbers rolled out on Monday, leaving the Dollar in the hands of FOMC voting members Kashkari and Brainard, with the Oval Office ever present to sink the Dollar in the event of any hawkish FOMC commentary.
Focus remains on trade, with China’s moves on the weekend expected to draw a response from the U.S administration this week.
At the time of writing, the Dollar Spot Index was down 0.07% to 89.991.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Oil Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Production News, Inventories Reports Will Set the Tone This Week || Five Below's Holiday Earnings Show Strong Momentum Heading Into 2018: It can be hard for any retailer to stay ahead of shifting consumer demands, but that challenge is even more pronounced when you're marketing "trend-right" products to younger shoppers.
Yet byanticipating its customers' needs lately,Five Below(NASDAQ: FIVE)has found room to expand its store footprint while still producing healthy sales and profit gains at existing locations. This week the teen-focused retailer revealed that those positive trends held up through the holiday season and are likely to continue into fiscal 2018.
Here's a look at how the headline results stacked up against the prior year period:
[{"Metric": "Revenue", "Q4 2017": "$505 million", "Q4 2016": "$388 million", "Year-Over-Year Change": "30%"}, {"Metric": "Net income", "Q4 2017": "$67 million", "Q4 2016": "$50 million", "Year-Over-Year Change": "35%"}, {"Metric": "EPS", "Q4 2017": "$1.21", "Q4 2016": "$0.90", "Year-Over-Year Change": "41%"}]
Data source: Five Below's financial filings.
Sales met management's upgraded projections for the holiday season while profitability held steady. Meanwhile, an improving cash flow position, brought on by recent tax law changes, convinced management to issue its first stock buyback plan.
Image source: Getty Images.
Here are some of the key highlights from the quarter:
• Comparable-store sales rose 6% to mark just a slight slowdown from the prior quarter'sstellar 8.5% increase. That result met the increased guidance that CEO Joel Anderson and his team issued in early January.
• Overall sales jumped 30% as Five Below's store base expanded by 20% compared to the prior year.
• Gross profit margin held steady at 41% of sales.
• Operating margin ticked up to 20.5% of sales from 20.3% a year ago as expenses rose at a slightly slower pace than revenue.
• The chain ended the quarter with $36 million of cash and $3.15 billion in debt.
Executives expressed optimism about their execution over the competitive holiday season and through the broader 2017 fiscal year. "We are extremely pleased with our strong fourth quarter results," Anderson said in a press release, "which capped an incredible year for Five Below, delivering outperformance on both the top and bottom line."
He continued, "Our solid financial and operational performance continues to reinforce the universal appeal of Five Below and the strength, consistency, and flexibility of our model."
Citing healthy momentum heading into 2018, management said they see comps rising by between 3% and 4% in the current quarter. They were more conservative with their full-year forecast, though, as comps are predicted to improve by between 1% and 2% in fiscal 2018.
The company plans to open as many as 125 new locations to mark an acceleration over last year's 100-unit expansion pace. That should help revenue rise to approximately $1.5 billion to keep its streak of 20% annual top-line growth intact. Five Below is aiming to boost both its revenue and profit figures at that 20% pace through 2020 as it continues marching toward its targeted base of 2,500 stores, up from 625 locations today. In another sign of their confidence in the long-run growth outlook, management announced plans to spend $100 million repurchasing its shares over the next three years.
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Demitrios Kalogeropouloshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Five Below. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Top 5 Things That Moved Markets This Past Week: What will next week bring? Investing.com – Top 5 things that rocked U.S. markets this week. 1. US Equity Markets on Path to Test ‘Powell Put’ A few turns higher in volatility as measured by the so-called fear index VIX triggered short-lived panic selling but similar to last week traders were prepared to buy the dips. That helped the benchmark US equity markets score a second weekly win – the first time since Jan. 26 – suggesting that the recent selloff was a correction and not the start of a prolonged bear market as some had initially feared. Falling bond yields were also said to have supported sentiment on equities this week as 10-year yields eased from a four-year highs. But others, warned, however, that with bond yields within touching distance of 3% equities could be set for a tough slog higher. CNBC reported, citing a note from Thomas Lee, founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, that 10-year yields at 3% “intersects a trendline that has led to crashes or bear markets since 1980.” The key difference now, however, was that interest rates are coming off record lows and “like 1950s to 1960s, this period saw higher rates [and] higher equity prices." The Dow Jones bagged 347 points on Friday en route to a two-week winning streak. 2. WTI Crude Added To Last Week’s Gains Crude oil prices settled higher this week after US crude supplies unexpectedly fell for the first time in four weeks while Libyan oil production also lifted sentiment. The fall in crude supplies was made all the more surprising as traders were expecting weaker refinery activity – which usually lowers demand for crude – would add to supplies. Some said, however, that the draw in crude supplies came amid added incentive to sell rather than store crude as current prices traded at a premium to forward prices – a market structure known as backwardation. Rising US output, meanwhile, showed little sign of abating as Baker Hughes reported Friday the number of US oil rigs rose for the fifth-straight week. The rise in oil rigs came a few days after the EIA reported crude production remained close to record levels at 10.27 million barrels a day. Story continues On Friday U.S. crude futures rose 78 cents to settle at $63.55 a barrel. 3. Political Uncertainty Left Euro Nursing Weekly Loss EUR/USD ended the week nursing losses amid political uncertainty in the Eurozone as traders fretted the outcome of the upcoming Italian election less than two weeks. Mizuho bank said safe haven demand grew Thursday, leading to an uptick in Treasuries and Bunds, as Italian election polls indicated the Five Star Movement is in the lead and a hung parliament potentially looms. GBP/USD also suffered a weekly loss after Q4 UK GDP was revised lower, reflecting a sluggish economy at a time when Brexit related uncertainty is muddying consumer and business confidence. 4. Gold Prices Struggled Amid Dollar Delight A rising dollar pressured gold prices to a weekly loss as the Fed’s minutes and monetary policy report released this week did little to jeopardize investor expectations of a March rate hike. The Fed’s monetary policy report suggested the central bank – under the new leadership of Jerome Powell – remained content with its gradual approach to rate hikes. Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to testify before Congress next week Feb. 27. Bank of Montreal (BMO) said it doesn’t expect any material change in the official tone from the Federal Reserve as the best near-term outcome for Powell is policy continuity until there is “clear evidence” that inflation is overheating or the real economy is stumbling. 5. Bitcoin: Where Art Thou, Hodlers? Bitcoin came under remained as the latest wave of selling saw traders ditch the “hodl” – the stock market equivalent term of ‘buy and hold.’ This week saw the return of central bankers jawboning on the need to curb bitcoin activity with Bank of England governor Mark Carney telling Reuters that bitcoin has “pretty much failed” as a currency. He further added that it was not a store of value because it is “all over the map.” While there wasn’t a clear reason for the latest selloff in the land of cryptos, some said bitcoin’s rise close to $12,000 was met with technical resistance – trading levels that trigger selling. Whether bitcoin’s latest plunge was on regulatory fears or technical resistance doesn’t really matter as traders responded in the same way: slashing their bullish bets on crypto. This was evident by the steep fund outflows close to levels last seen at the depths of the previous ‘bloodbath,’ when bitcoin fell to $6,000. The total cryptocurrency market cap fell to about $446 billion, at the time of writing, down 13% from this week’s high of roughly $510 billion. Bitcoin’s total losses over the last seven days was roughly 1% on the bitfinex exchange. Related Articles Dropbox files for IPO of up to $500 million Volkswagen settles U.S. diesel owner lawsuit on eve of trial Weekly ETF Gainers / Losers (2/23/18) || 5 Canadian Pot Stocks With the Highest Estimated Sales by 2019: The marijuana industry is growing like a weed in North America. ArcView, one of the leading cannabis research firms, has suggested that legal weed could grow by 26% on an annual basis between 2016 and 2021, leading to nearly $22 billion in annual sales. Even with regulatory restrictions, there's presumably a lot of money to made, which is why investors have piled into marijuana stocks and pushed their valuations substantially higher. Of course, no two cannabis markets are alike. For instance, even though U.S. legal weed sale are expected to soar in 2018 as a result of California opening its doors to adult-use sales, the environment isn't conducive to investor success. The federal government has dug in its heels and refused to budge on its Schedule I classification -- this means pot is wholly illegal, prone to abuse, and has no recognized medical benefits -- and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is effectively waging war on the industry. A jar of cannabis buds lying on a small stack of cash. Image source: Getty Images. Meanwhile, Canada is leading the charge in pot progressivism . Canada legalized medical cannabis back in 2001, and it's on track to possibly legalize the sale of recreational pot to adults by this summer. Doing so would make Canada only the second country in the world, behind Uruguay, to have legalized recreational marijuana. It'd also add billions in annual revenue for growers and other cannabis companies along the supply chain. These pot stocks should be generating the most annual revenue by 2019 Which Canadian marijuana stocks stand to rake in the most revenue? That's a question for Wall Street. Mind you, Wall Street's sales estimates for Canadian pot stocks are absolutely all over the map. In some instances, the high estimate for fiscal 2019 is double that of the low estimate. The reason for this wild divergence is that there's simply no precedent for a burgeoning pot industry, so Wall Street is left to guess almost as much as retail investors. Story continues But assuming analysts are remotely in the ballpark, the following five companies are set to rake in the highest estimated sales come 2019. An indoor cannabis grow farm. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Aurora Cannabis: $304.8 million In terms of total sales, Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQOTH: ACBFF) may be the likeliest to breach $300 million in 2019, per Wall Street estimates. Keep in mind that the above revenue figure includes an estimated $110 million in annual sales from CanniMed Therapeutics (NASDAQOTH: CMMDF) , which agreed to be acquired by Aurora Cannabis in January for $852 million, the priciest pot acquisition of all time. The CanniMed transaction adds 20,000 new medical patients to Aurora's network, along with 19,000 kilograms in funded capacity. By 2019, Aurora Cannabis should be ready to deliver between 240,000 kilograms and 270,000 kilograms of cannabis , depending on approvals from Health Canada. This includes more than 100,000 kilograms from its state-of-the-art Aurora Sky facility, as well as its joint venture partnership with Alfred Pedersen & Son in Denmark, known as Aurora Nordic, that'll yield around 120,000 kilograms a year. Jars of dried cannabis stacked on one another. Image source: Getty Images. 2. Canopy Growth Corp.: $251.2 million Though Canopy Growth Corp. (NASDAQOTH: TWMJF) is second in projected sales in 2019, it's by far the biggest wildcard of the bunch. According to the high estimate from Wall Street, Canopy Growth could generate more than $393 million in sales, under the right conditions. Even with Aurora's acquisition of CanniMed Therapeutics, that'd push Aurora to No. 2. According to Canopy Growth's latest operating results, it has a whopping 3.7 million square feet of greenhouse facilities under construction or in development in British Columbia. It also has a massive vertical channel of well-known brands, retail locations, and distribution partners that gives it substantive advantages over its peers. This is why most analysts agree that Canopy Growth will have the highest recreational and medical market share in Canada of any grower. An indoor commercial cannabis grow facility. Image source: Getty Images. 3. Aphria: $146.2 million + Nuuvera acquisition Next in line appears to be Aphria (NASDAQOTH: APHQF) , albeit this is where some added "guesstimating" comes into effect. On the surface, Aphria looks to generate about 230,000 kilograms of cannabis by 2019. This comes from its $100 million-plus, four-phase flagship project, which will generate 100,000 kilograms annually, as well as its joint venture with Double Diamond Farms, which should produce 120,000 kilograms of cannabis a year. Its acquisition of Broken Coast Cannabis will add another 10,500 kilograms. All told, this is expected to yield around $146 million in sales in 2019. However, it doesn't include the $670 million deal Aphria announced in January to acquire Nuuvera (NASDAQOTH: NUUVF) . Nuuvera doesn't bring a lot of new production into the mix, but it does increase Aphria's reach to 11 total countries. This improved distribution network will be worth something, but with no Wall Street estimates at present, it's tough to quantify. My guess would be for total sales of around $170 million to $175 million in 2019. A cannabis bud lying atop a messy pile of $100 bills. Image source: Getty Images. 4. Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp.: About $150 million Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (NASDAQOTH: CBWTF) is also a major wildcard, because there are no Wall Street sales estimates on this relatively new weed-based royalty stock . Rather than building and maintaining greenhouse facilities, Cannabis Wheaton acts as something of a silent partner. It provides up-front capital to small, medium, and large growers looking to expand, and in return receives a percentage of their crop at a well-below market cost. Cannabis Wheaton then sells this product at market rates, pocketing the difference as profit. With approximately 15 deals under its belt from all across Canada, Cannabis Wheaton estimated fairly recently that it could put 230,000 kilograms of marijuana on the market for sale in 2019. That would place it close to, but perhaps a tiny bit behind, Aphria, once Nuuvera is included in total production. While it's unclear what sort of product mix we'd be looking at (e.g., dried cannabis vs. oils), I'd estimate around $150 million in annual sales. A small vial of cannabis oil next to a cannabis leaf. Image source: Getty Images. 5. MedReleaf: $119.3 million Last but not least, MedReleaf (NASDAQOTH: MEDFF) is expected to generate a little bit over $119 million in annual sales. MedReleaf, which went public in 2017 and has used its initial public offering proceeds to expand its Bradford, Ontario, facility, should begin reaping the rewards of that expansion in 2019. When complete, Bradford will tout approximately 210,000 square feet in dedicated grow space, which should become its new flagship grow farm, displacing its Markham facility. MedReleaf may not be selling as much dried cannabis as its peers, but it's definitely invested in its extracts and oils business. At the end of 2016, it controlled almost 45% of the cannabis oils market in Canada. Though that figure has likely slipped as new entrants have hit the market, the company has still stuck with oils as a higher-price and higher-margin product. You can probably expect these sales estimates to change substantially in the months to come, but these are, for now, your marijuana sale kingpins in Canada. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || New Solutions Emerge to Replace Ethereum’s Premature DAO Experiment: For some, the word ‘cooperation’ represents an integral function of relationships. For others, cooperation is an elusive or unattainable state.
Either way, cooperation (or the lack of it) is an essential determining factor when it comes to the survival of any entity. The simple fact of the matter is that human beings are tribal animals, and as such, hierarchical structures being formed among human relationships – intentionally or unintentionally.
In most of the Western world, hierarchical structures are built in ‘pyramid’ formations – one individuals or a small group of individuals sit at the highest level of power; below them are a slightly larger group, followed by an even larger group, and so on.
This hierarchical model has beenintentionally replicated in most corporations. A CEO or another executive holds the most powerful position, and subsequently larger (and less powerful) groups sit below.
Efficiency has been the main sustaining factor of this model in a corporate context. Indeed, the practice of having small groups of individuals make decisions for large organizations of any kind is certainly efficient.
However, it isn’t always successful. When important decisions are made by small groups, individual biases often play a larger role. Additionally, a smaller group of decision-makers also means a smaller pool of knowledge that is used to make a decision.
Former US President Woodrow Wilson said that “I not only use all the brains that I have but all that I can borrow.” In other words, the ability to make wise and fruitful decisions is increased when a greater number of individuals (and the knowledge that each of them carries) are involved in the process.
Therefore, the decision-making process most ‘pyramid’ corporate hierarchies are inherently at a loss. What’s more is that the larger an organization is, the bigger the issue can be; the risk of social friction also increases with larger organizations. For any human organization, the preservation of trust, interest, and engagement among members is key to survival and success.
However, in the lightning-fast pace of the corporate world, efficiency is king. This kind of structure isn’t limited to internal corporate structures, either it translates directly into the products and platforms that they build.
For example, although the Internet is perfectly capable of supporting real-time, peer-to-peer information exchange, most internet platforms are governed by small groups of individuals; users often have little to no control over the platforms they engage with.
Despite the known flaws in the structure of most corporate entities, there seemed to be no ‘real’ better way of doing things. Corporate governance systems thatallow for more democratic methods of decision makinghave been inefficient or lacking appropriate security measures against hacking or manipulation.
However, the era of blockchain has brought forth secure and efficient platforms that are capable of facilitating the operation of DAOs: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. Hundreds of teams across the globe in the process of building DAOs for everything from social networks and investment platforms to collaboration spaces and space agencies.
DAOs allow for decentralized organizational hierarchies–they allow anyone who wishes to participate to be involved in organizational governance,which correlates to better decision makingand greater corporate success. Even entities or individuals who do not identify as or participate in DAOs themselves can use decentralized platforms for crowd-sourced wisdom and decision making, likeblockchain-based prediction marketsAugur and Gnosis.
Despite the brilliant innovation and dedication that goes into the creation of these DAOs, however, system design flaws can mean problematic governance practices.
Scalability has long been an issue in someblockchain networks– Bitcoin’s scalability issues are practically famous. In order for a blockchain-based governance system to work properly, scalability must not stand in the way of efficient decision making.
One company that is tackling scalability in blockchain-based governance systems is the Ethereum-basedDAOstack, a platform that has branded itself as “an operating system for collective intelligence and open collaboration.”
DAOstack uses what it has called ‘Holographic Consensus’ to eliminate the possibility of scalability problems. Essentially, Holographic Consensus divides an organization into small groups. These groups are granted decision-making power by an internal relative majority; the platform ensures that the decisions made in the groups are reflected in the overall consensus.
By design, there is no limit to the number of proposals that can be made and voted on in the DAOstack platform. This encourages fairness and equal discussion. By default, proposals made on DAOstack can only be confirmed if they reach an absolute majority.
To avoid Byzantine confirmation times for every proposal, DAOstack has included a ‘Boosting’ feature that will allow certain proposals to be confirmed by relative majority instead of an absolute majority. Therefore, proposals that are boosted are given the opportunity to be confirmed faster.
To determine which proposals can be boosted, each proposal is given a score based on how many individuals within an organization are willing to place bets using DAOstack’s native GEN token. If enough bets are placed on a certain proposal, that proposal will be Boosted.
Essentially, the DAOstack takes the decentralized governance capabilities of the Ethereum blockchain and makes them work at scale. In a corporate governance context, this makes the decision-making process much more informed and efficient when it comes to things like fund allocation, and facilitates intelligence-gathering.
Platforms similar to DAOstack certainly have the potential to change the way that corporations are run, but they also may have the potential to change the way that the planet is governed.
Combined with forces like theSovrin Foundationblockchain identity network, blockchain-based governance and decision-making platforms could be used to efficiently conduct elections, make community decisions, and institute national laws.
Since its inception, blockchain technology has been praised for its ability to take power away from centralized financial institutions and put it back into the hands of individuals. Let’s hope that the same can be said of government institution, and that we one day might see an Earth free of authoritarianism.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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I've personally benefited from taking the Buffett approach, having invested the bulk of my portfolio into stocks I hope never to sell. One of those isEnterprise Products Partners(NYSE: EPD), which is a high-yielding energymaster limited partnershipthat I've held for more than a decade. Over that time, the company has supplied me with an increasing amount of income, which I firmly believe will continue in the coming years.
Image source: Getty Images.
My first investment in Enterprise Products Partners came in 2007. That initial purchase has appreciated in value by 73%. Add in the steadily growing cash distributions -- Enterprise has increased its payout every single quarter for the last 13.5 years -- and my total return is a lofty 215%, which has vastly outperformed thatS&P 500's total return of 142% over that timeframe. Given that simply holding for the dividend fueled the bulk of my gains, it shows just how powerful compounding can be over a long period of time.
One thing that made Enterprise a great company to hold is its conservative approach to growth. The MLP has done two things that have set it apart from most others in the space. First, it doesn't distribute all the cash flow it generates each year to investors. Instead, it has always retained a sizable portion, usually about 20% of cash flow, to reinvest in expansion projects. Second, thanks in part to that head start, the company hasn't relied as heavily as rivals on the capital markets to finance expansion opportunities. Most notably, the company hasn't utilized as much debt as its peers to fund growth projects, which has allowed it to maintain one of the strongest credit ratings in the sector. While that more conservative approach prevented Enterprise from growing the payout as fast as some rivals over the past decade, it also didn't find itself stretched too thin when industry conditions deteriorated a few years ago, which forced several competitors to slash their payouts to pay down debt.
Image source: Getty Images.
While that past performance doesn't guarantee future success, Enterprise Products Partners appears poised to continue creating value for investors in the coming years. For starters, it has already lined up enough expansion projects to keep growing the payout through at least 2020. Meanwhile, it has more under development and should continue securing additional ones in the future. Driving that view is a recent study showing that the industry needs to invest about $26 billion per year on new energy infrastructure in North America through 2035 to meet future needs, which should provide Enterprise with ample opportunity to expand its network.
Complimenting the company's visible growth is its steadfast conservative approach to financing expansion. With so much growth coming down the pipeline, Enterprise could have opted to accelerate its distribution growth rate at a matching pace. Instead, it chose toslow it down in the near termto eliminate the need to issue new equity in funding the bulk of its growth in the future. As a result, by next year the MLP's retained cash flow can finance $1.25 billion in growth projects per year. That strategy will further reduce risk, adding another layer of sustainability to its high-yielding payout. It also increases my confidence that the company can continue paying a growing distribution for many years to come.
Finding great companies like Enterprise Products Partners, and holding them for the long term, has paid off for me over the years, more than making up for some missteps and losers along the way. I see that continuing given the company's conservative approach, which is why I hope to keep holding this exceptional income stock for the long haul.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Forecast – Prices Hit a Wall: The BTC prices have rebounded as expected but they now seem to have hit a wall and again, this is something that we have been forecasting. The region around $7400 was a strong support and the break through this region had led the prices to slide towards the lows of the range below $7000. Now the prices are back in this region but have been finding it difficult to get a way through this region due to the strong selling that we have been seeing. The prices are likely to continue to face some strong resistance for the time being and this is going to be the biggest challenge for the bulls in the short term.
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The bulls need to show purpose and momentum and prove to the rest of the market that the momentum is on their side for them to get convinced and join them. Else, it is likely that the BTC market would be hit with a lot of selling in the short term which would then push the prices lower. If and when the bulls do manage to break through, more traders are likely to join their side and this snowballing effect would help to make the passage to the $7800 region smooth and quick as well. It remains to be seen whether they would be able to make the breakthrough today.
The ETH market has also been generally buoyant but it has also faced a strong wall of resistance n the $420 region which is likely to keep the prices contained for the short term. Their founder, Buterin, has suggested for a cap on the size but it remains to be seen whether that would come to fruition.
Looking ahead to the rest of the day, we believe that the bulls would continue to batter at the resistance in the hope of breaking through. They need to make a quick job of it else the traders would get tired and would start reversing and then this would add pressure on the prices of both BTC and ETH as well.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Gold Prices Continue to be Buoyant || Bitcoin Falls on Bad News From Google and the IMF: On Wednesday morning, the price of one Bitcoin slipped back below the $9,000 mark for the first time this week, following several pieces of potentially worrying news for the cryptocurrency community.
First came ablog postfrom Christine Lagarde, in which the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged regulators around the world to crack down on cryptocurrencies’ potential to be a “major new vehicle for money laundering and the financing of terrorism.”
Lagarde raised the example of theAlphaBay “darkweb” marketplace, which was used to launder more than $1 billion before it was taken down. She also noted that the “extreme volatility” of crypto-assets could “easily create new vulnerabilities” in the financial system.
Then came Google’s early-Wednesday announcement that it will bebanning adsfor cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, or ICOs.Facebookmade a similar move earlier this year, so the two biggest digital ad players are shunning the cryptocurrency space.
At least, in theory. Facebook’s attempts have been less than successful, with some people using off-brand spellings such as “bitc0in” to evade the social network’s filters. Even without such tactics, it still seems a few scammy ICO-related pitches aremaking it onto Facebook.
At the time of writing, around 7 a.m. Eastern Time, Bitcoin was down 3.66% at a value of $8,830, according toCoinMarketCap.com.
While the recent news may not be so great for some in cryptocurrency circles, it wasn’t all bad. On the plus side, Lagarde suggested that the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could also be used for regulatory purposes.
“The technology that enables instant global transactions could be used to create registries of standard, verified, customer information along with digital signatures. Better use of data by governments can also help free up resources for priority needs and reduce tax evasion, including evasion related to cross-border transactions,” she wrote. || These 3 Stocks Shot Up 100% in 2017 -- Are They Still Buys?: 2017 was a great year for investors, with the S&P 500 gaining 19.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 25%. However, investors in First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) , KB Home (NYSE: KBH) , and Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SGMO) did even better. First Solar and KB Home shares were up 110% and 102%, respectively, while Sangamo Therapeutics investors captured an incredible 438% in gains last year. But what about now? Should investors put them at the top of their "buy" lists today? We asked three Motley Fool investors with the knowledge to break down the case for all three, and here are their insights. Man with a surprised look holds a toy rocket that is starting to launch. Image source: Getty Images. A solar leader for the long term Jason Hall (First Solar): Shares of solar panel maker First Solar did more than double in 2017, finishing the year up 110%. Even with this incredible run, I think investors with a long-term outlook -- and the willingness to hold for multiple years -- should do very well to buy First Solar now. What makes First Solar worth buying at a price that's so close to its recent peak? In short, as solar becomes a bigger and bigger part of the global energy mix, First Solar is one of the best companies in the industry to profit. It has been a technology leader for years, with its thin-film panels giving it an edge in large-scale solar projects, and has the resources to remain a leader. First Solar has almost $3 billion in cash and less than $400 million in debt, while nearly all of its panel-making competitors have far more debt than cash: FSLR Cash and Short Term Investments (Quarterly) Chart FSLR cash and short-term investments (quarterly) . Data by YCharts . In a highly cyclical industry like solar, it's hard to overstate the importance of a strong balance sheet. But it's more than just the cash: That's a reflection of how effectively First Solar management has allocated capital. There's no promise that First Solar's stock will go up in 2018, much less double like 2017. But looking years into the future, investing in the strongest, best-run solar panel maker out there should generate positive returns for shareholders -- even at current prices. Story continues Pass on the "other" gene-editing pioneer (for now) Maxx Chatsko (Sangamo Therapeutics): While the use of CRISPR systems as a gene-editing tool is taking the investing world by storm, investors have also noticed that Sangamo Therapeutics is positioning itself within the same discussion. That's because the biopharma aims to use zinc finger nucleases (ZFN) instead of CRISPR to alter the genetic sequences of patients. Although the technology has been around for quite some time, it's been granted new life thanks to several partnering agreements in the gene-editing space. In fact, Sangamo Therapeutics owns the distinction of being the first company to bring a gene-editing trial into the clinic. That, and a partnership with Pfizer , had a lot to do with the stock's 438% rise in 2017 . This year, the company went even further and linked up with Gilead Sciences . Does that make the stock a buy? A pipette dropping liquid into test tubes. Image source: Getty Images. Well, there's much left to prove for all gene-editing technologies when it comes to therapeutic applications. While investors will get the first look at clinical data for the Pfizer-partnered early-stage drug candidate near the middle of 2018, the initial data readout won't provide much in the way of certainty about the company's future. That will take a few more years and late-stage clinical trials with much larger patient populations (the current phase 1/2 trial dosed three people by the end of February). Therefore, even though Sangamo Therapeutics is exciting investors and Wall Street with an impressive string of partnerships and a revived pipeline, there's still a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the company. Given the incredible surge since the beginning of 2017 and the current $1.9 billion market cap, I think investors would be better off passing on this investment right now. Home, home on the range Chuck Saletta (KB Home): Homebuilder KB Home almost exactly doubled in price in 2017, an artifact of a housing market that had been woefully undersupplied with new entry-level homes. Still, despite that meteoric rise last year, the company currently trades at around 16 times last year's earnings and less than 10 times expected 2018 earnings, making it appear on the surface as a decent value even today. Still, when it comes to investing, it pays to remember that the fair value of a company is based on the entirety of its expected future earnings discounted to today's value, not just next year's earnings. As awesome and impressive as KB Home's valuation currently looks given its recent past and immediate future prospects, the longer term is not quite as certain. Young family standing in front of their home. Image source: Getty Images. Rising interest rates create strong headwinds for homebuilders like KB Home. Very few people pay cash for their homes, and rising rates make it more expensive to borrow money to buy. With the Federal Reserve actively hiking short-term rates, it's likely that rates for mortgages will follow suit. That means people will be able to afford to borrow less money, leading to smaller houses, fewer upgrades, or less homes sold overall. That translates to lower revenue and profits for homebuilders. In other words, the market is rationally pricing a downturn as part of the regular cycle that homebuilders face. KB Home will likely survive the next downturn, but that cyclical nature in the industry also means its shares may not be the bargain they appear by looking at backwards measures. Investors considering buying now should be patient as those headwinds from rising rates may take a while to clear. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Chuck Saletta has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jason Hall owns shares of First Solar and SunPower. Maxx Chatsko has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool has the following options: short May 2018 $85 calls on Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends First Solar. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
E-mail security is very important to safe your e-mail accounts and http://bit.ly/1SfJGVE #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/c0N4hXhvSX || How is $BTC trading like a low float micro cap now? What is happening? pic.twitter.com/JXHMPcBvXZ || #Bitcoin Price 9790.00 USD via Chain || The Verge Major #blockchain group says Europe should exempt #Bitcoin from new #Data #Privacy rule The Verge Since people can store personal #Data in blockchains, the #technology could fall under the purview of the upcoming European change to #Privacy… https://goo.gl/nSpCwZ pic.twitter.com/8Lgbv6mLUb || 27/03/2018 - 21:00
=========================
• -2.01 #Bitcoin: ₺31,711.23
• -2.52 #Ethereum: ₺1,824.52
• -2.08 #Ripple: ₺2.34
• -1.63 #BitcoinCash: ₺3,561.33
=========================
➜ Anlık fiyatlar için takip edin!
#BitcoinTürkiye || Good i saport crypto btc || Análise de preços, 6 de Abril: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash ... https://ift.tt/2qdeEqZ || ЕЖЕДНЕВНАЯ ПОДБОРКА НОВОСТЕЙ ОТ КРИПТО-МЕНЕДЖЕРА:
ITUBER
1 Падение Форков Биткоина. Обзор BitCoin BTC, BitCoinGold BTG, NEO, IGNIS, IOStoken IOST
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4520QirjU_w …
CRYPTODEALERS
1 Токен Бузовой....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4520QirjU_w … || 2018/03/22 00:30
#Binance 格安コイン
1位 #IOST 0.00000214 BTC(2.1円)
2位 #STORM 0.00000244 BTC(2.39円)
3位 #POE 0.00000377 BTC(3.7円)
4位 #XVG 0.00000386 BTC(3.78円)
5位 #NCASH 0.00000394 BTC(3.86円)
#仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン || England’s First Bitcoin Seizure Occurs at the Hands of Surrey Police
https://bitsonline.com/surrey-bitcoin-seizure/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare …
Surrey Police seized #bitcoin worth $70,000 USD from a cyber delinquent who misused his position as an IT worker at a company to steal the coins.
#BTC #NEO #XEM #XLM #XRP #ETC #OMGpic.twitter.com/wRvTcMQHs7
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Trend: up || Prices: 8058.67, 7902.09, 8163.42, 8294.31, 8845.83, 8895.58, 8802.46, 8930.88, 9697.50, 8845.74
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Exclusive: FanDuel launching NBA contest with cryptocurrency prizes: For this year’s NFL Playoffs, the daily fantasy sports company FanDuel offered a“Bitcoin Bowl” contest in which winners were paid in bitcoin. The winner received 1 bitcoin. It was FanDuel’s first foray into cryptocurrency.
Now FanDuel is doing it again, with fantasy NBA. FanDuel’s Crypto Cup will launch on Feb. 22, and the prize money will be paid in cryptocurrency—but inDash(DigitalCash), not bitcoin. The contest is “presented by Dash.”
Crypto Cupincludes two NBA contests: one is a free contest, the other has a $3 entry fee. Users will have until the start of the first NBA game onFeb. 22to enter their lineups. (Entry fees still have to be made in USD; FanDuel is not accepting entries in cryptocurrency.)
For the paid contest, the prize payouts are: 15 Dash to the winner; 10 Dash to 2nd place; 5 Dash to 3rd place; 4 Dash to 4th place; 3 Dash to 5th place; 2 Dash to 6th place; 1 Dash to 7th place. The free contest pays out 2 Dash to the winner, 1.5 Dash to 2nd place, 1 Dash to 3rd, and 0.5 Dash to 4th. Winners will need a valid Dash wallet address to receive the funds, and can use any exchange that supports Dash. (Coinbase, the No. 1 mainstream US brokerage for buying cryptocurrencies, does not.)
Dash is an open-source, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was forked from bitcoin’s source code. It first launched in 2014 under the name XCoin.
At the time of writing, 1 Dash is worth $690 USD and it’s the No. 12 cryptocurrency by market cap. Its value is up 3,450% in the past 12 months.
FanDuel takes a risk by committing to pay out prizes in cryptocurrency: the payout is not locked in at any set USD amount, so if Dash were to soar in the next week, the contest could cost FanDuel more than expected.
DraftKings has never paid out prizes in cryptocurrency.
So is FanDuel’s foray into crypto just a marketing gimmick, or does the company have bigger plans to integrate with digital assets or blockchain technology?
FanDuel CFO Andy Giancamilli will only say that it’s about innovating to keep things exciting for users.
“Our first cryptocurrency contest was a new experience and well-received by our users, so we wanted to continue to offer this unique prizing option,” he says. “We are at the forefront of the sports industry, so whether it’s Bingo or cryptocurrency as a prize, our goal is to innovate our contests and prizes to give more people more ways to play and win on FanDuel.”
Interestingly, DFS users may also over-index as cryptocurrency enthusiasts. When FanDuel launched its Bitcoin Bowl, Giancamilli said in a press release, “We’re recognizing that most of our users are early adopters of technology and have a significant interest in cryptocurrency.”
The entire daily fantasy sports industryfaces a crossroads in 2018.
Last year DraftKings and FanDuel had to call off their planned merger, and FanDuel founder and CEO Nigel Eccles left the company at the end of the year. This year, the entire sports industry awaits the results ofChristie et al vs NCAA et al.,a case that the US Supreme Court heard on Dec. 4. The outcome will have a major impact on the legalized sports betting landscape in America, and on daily fantasy sports platforms. If New Jersey wins the right to legalize and regulate sports betting, many other states are expected to follow suit in a domino effect.
It’s worth noting that DraftKings and FanDuel, the dominant market leaders in this business, generated only $327 million in revenue from September 2016 to September 2017, according to the research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. (Their “handle,” a term for the entry fees users paid, was over $3 billion, but $327 million is their revenue from contests—and the companies still aren’t yet profitable overall.)
Will jumping into cryptocurrency attract new users to these platforms? FanDuel says its Bitcoin Bowl was in the top five free contests for the year and that more than 50% of active FanDuel users entered.
—
Disclaimer: Yahoo offers its own daily fantasy sports product.
Daniel Roberts is the sports business writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
Read more:
DFS industry is at a crossroads heading into 2018
UK sports lawyer on DFS: ‘It looks like betting’
FanDuel doubles down on season-long fantasy model || Duluth Holdings Ends 2017 Strong, but Guidance Comes Up Short of Analyst Estimates: Duluth Holdings (NASDAQ: DLTH) , a retailer that caters to the needs of tradespeople, released its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results on Tuesday, March 20. New store openings and modest gains in the direct business segment helped drive record quarterly revenue and earnings results. Let's dig into the details to get a better sense of what happened at the clothing and gear company during the period. Inside view of a Duluth Trading men's department, with button-down shirts on display. Image source: Duluth Holdings. Duluth Holdings Q4 results: The raw numbers Metric Q4 2017 Q4 2016 Year-Over-Year Change Revenue $217.8 million $174.7 million 24.7% Net income $19.5 million $14 million 39.3% Earnings per share $0.60 $0.43 39.5% Data source: Duluth Holdings Inc. What happened with Duluth Holdings this quarter? Retail (store) sales doubled to $62.5 million while direct (online and catalog) sales grew by 9% to $155 million. Gross margins slipped 210 basis points to 53.3%. The decline was caused by an increase in free shipping to customers and increased promotional activity. Spending on SG&A (selling, general, and administrative expenses) fell 260 basis points to 39.7% of net sales and helped to offset the lower gross margin. Net income was artificially boosted by the recent passage of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act . When adjusting for the tax changes, net income would have been $17.6 million, or $0.55 per share. Zooming out to the full year, here's a look at the key numbers from fiscal year 2017: Sales grew 25% to $471 million. That was $6 million above the high end of management's guidance range . Net income jumped 10% to $23.4 million, or $0.72 per share. That was a penny higher than the top of guidance. However, if you exclude the impact of the Tax Act, then net income would only have grown by 1% to $21.5 million, or $0.67 per share. The company opened 15 new stores during the year, bringing the total store count at year's end to 31. What management had to say CEO Stephanie Pugliese noted that this was the 32nd quarter in a row of increasing net sales. This shows that the company's growth strategy is working: Story continues We continue to see higher sales growth in markets with an established store, which supports our long-term strategy to significantly expand our total market opportunity through continued strength in online capabilities and the full expression of the brand in a brick and mortar setting. Looking forward Here's management's guidance for the current year: Sales will be in the range of $555 million to $575 million. The midpoint of this range represents growth of about 20%. The growth is expected to be driven mainly by new store openings, but the direct segment is expected to post growth in the mid-single digits. Full-year gross margin is expected to be flat while spending on SG&A will increase 50 basis points to 100 basis points. EPS will land between $0.79 and $0.84 per diluted share. The midpoint of this range represents growth of about 14%. Fifteen new store openings are planned. While these numbers look good in absolute terms, they came in shy of Wall Street's expectations. Specifically, Wall Street was expecting $588 million in revenue and $0.95 in earnings per share. In response, shares of Duluth fell by double digits on the day earnings were released. On the call with analysts, Pugliese reiterated her plan to keep making investments in the company's omnichannel experience. Specifically, the company plans to complete work on its new order management system and make upgrades to its e-commerce platform in the first half of the year. Pugliese ended her prepared marks on the call by stating the company is making investments today to ensure that its growth will remain strong for years: We have a tremendous amount of runway for the future and are continuing to prove that our omnichannel model provides the strongest connectivity with our customers both current and future. Our investments this year focus on maximizing that model as well as differentiating our brand. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Brian Feroldi has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Duluth Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || These 3 Companies Could Be Huge Trade War Casualties: Wall Street hit panic-mode on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced a fresh round of tariffs on Chinese imports, with the S&P 500 down more than 2.5% on fears that rapidly escalating tensions could provoke a full-on trade war.
It's impossible to predict all the collateral damage that might come from an increasingly volatile situation, but investors trying to map out what companies might be hardest hit would do well to focus on big consumers of steel and aluminum. Layer in companies that both rely on China for revenue and face significant competition from foreign firms whose prices are unaffected by tariffs, and you have a viable danger list.
ALUMINUM ALLOY COILS AT ARCONIC'S DAVENPORT, IOWA, FACILITY. IMAGE SOURCE: ARCONIC.
Here's whyFord Motor(NYSE: F),Arconic(NYSE: ARNC), andTerex(NYSE: TEX)appear particularly vulnerable in a full-fledged trade war.
The entire auto sector is going to be hard hit by the tariffs, but Ford is particularly vulnerable due to its recently-announced plan to seize market share in China. That plan is now at risk of being collateral damage in a trade war.
At home,Goldman Sachsestimates Ford could lose about $1 billion in profits if the tariffs are implemented as planned, representing 7% of 2017 adjusted operating income. Automakers are major buyers of steel, and Ford uses an aluminum body on its popular F-150 pickup.
Longer-term, a trade war could damage the automakers by knocking back gradual progress the companies have made in selling more vehicles overseas. The industry does face onerous restrictions and tariffs that limit their ability to export vehicles to China, where historically they've had to partner with domestic companies to avoid levies. Chinese officials said last year they intend to relax foreign restrictions, for example lifting caps on how much foreign companies can own of their local joint ventures. In a full-on trade war, those restrictions are unlikely to be eased.
Arconic has been one of the biggest losers among the industrials since the tariff talk heated up, with shares down more than 25% since the end of January. Spun out from former parentAlcoain late 2016, Arconic is a maker of aerospace fasteners and other products made from metals that will be subject to higher prices.
It was alreadyshaping up to be a make-or-break year for the company, which is under new management after reporting results that have consistently underwhelmed market expectations. Arconic has not yet detailed to investors the exact hit to earnings to expect from Trump's plan, but Cowen & Co. analysts estimated that a $100 jump in the per ton price of aluminum would result in a $100 million EBIDTA decrease on an annualized basis. Because foreign competition will not be subject to the tariff, the higher prices could eat into demand and make it harder for the company to pass along price increases to customers.
Crane and construction equipment manufacturers are in the crosshairs because they use a lot of steel, and face global competition from companies not impacted by the tariffs. The entire sector, including industry leaderCaterpillar, will be impacted, but Terex can't match Caterpillar's scale.
It wasn't long ago that China looked to be a strength for Terex, a company thatspent the past few years restructuring after a period of declining sales. The company last November trumpeted a $250 million supply deal there for 5,000 aerial machines signed during a U.S. Trade Mission led by President Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
China is central to any construction growth story, but the country was already trying to build up local manufacturers. A trade war would likely boost the fortunes of Chinese manufacturers including Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology at the expense of Terex.
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Lou Whitemanowns shares of Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Ford. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || What Happened in the Stock Market Today: Stocks wavered between gains and losses on Friday, but the best week in years for the major benchmarks ended on a generally positive note. TheDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI)and theS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC)both posted small gains.
[{"Index": "Dow", "Percentage Change": "0.08%", "Point Change": "19.01"}, {"Index": "S&P 500", "Percentage Change": "0.04%", "Point Change": "1.02"}]
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Health care stocks took a turn in the lead today, with theHealth Care Select Sector SPDR ETF(NYSEMKT: XLV)climbing 0.7%. Rate-sensitive utility stocks rose as long-term interest rates eased; theUtilities Select SPDR ETF(NYSEMKT: XLU)added 0.9%.
As for individual companies,Deere & Company(NYSE: DE)reported a strong quarter and raised its outlook, whileArista Networks'(NYSE: ANET)guidance for 2018 sales didn't meet investors' high expectations.
Image source: Getty Images.
Deere & Company bulldozed analyst expectations when it released fiscal first-quarter results, and the stock rose 1.6%. Revenue grew 22.9% to $6.9 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.31, more than double the $0.61 in the quarter last year. Including one-time charges due to the new tax law, Deere's per-share loss was $1.66. Wall Street was expecting adjusted EPS of $1.20 on sales of $6.4 billion.
Deere also raised its forward guidance. Now the company forecasts 2018 equipment sales to grow 29% in fiscal 2018 and 30% to 40% in the second quarter, and adjusted net income for the year to amount to $2.85 billion. Earlier the company had guided to 2018 net income of $2.6 billion on a sales increase of 22%.
Equipment sales for the quarter were actually below the company forecast from three months ago, but Deere said that sales were hindered by bottlenecks in the supply chain and logistical delays in shipping products to dealers as it tried to meet the strong demand. The company said the improved outlook reflects confidence that it is in position to fulfill demand caused bystrengthening conditionsin the world's agricultural and construction equipment markets.
Arista Networks reported abetter-than-expected fourth quarterbut gave a forecast for the full year that didn't satisfy investors, and the stock plunged 19%. Revenue grew 42.7% to $468 million and non-GAAP earnings per share increased 64.4% to $1.71. That blew away the consensus estimate of $1.41 per share on sales of $453 million.
Non-GAAP gross margin improved from 64.4% last quarter to 65.9%. For the full year, sales increased 45.8% over 2016 and EPS soared 70%.
Looking ahead to Q1, Arista expects revenue between $450 million and $468 million, comparing favorably with the analyst consensus of $458 million. Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to fall between 63% and 65%, a slight decline sequentially. Where Arista might have triggered the stock price decline was in the conference call, when CFO Ita Brennan said that revenue will face some "tough comparables" in 2018 and that top-line growth will moderate to a "more typical" mid-twenties rate for the full year.
Investors have come to expect anything but "typical" as the company continues to ride the cloud computing wave andtake sharefrom industry giantCisco Systems. Although the guidance for growth to moderate to that level was not new -- CEO Jayshree Ullal discussed it three months ago -- it was still below analyst expectations of 27.5% growth.
Ullal said growth in artificial intelligence will increase demand for bandwidth, and Arista, now the market share leader in 100 gigabit Ethernet switching, will be entering the 400 gigabit Ethernet market next year. Investors had bid up the stock based on hopes for better numbers this year, though, so shares dropped back to levels seen early last month.
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Jim Crumlyowns shares of Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Arista Networks. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Here's How Much Lower Analysts Think Cryptocurrency Values May Go: Cryptocurrency is a market for the iron-stomached, if the assets most recent slide is anything to go by. With news of Google banning cryptocurrency-related ads and the International Monetary Fund advising increased regulation on the asset, the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple continued their slide Thursday, wiping out about $499.2 billion of the market value of over 1,500 cryptocurrencies since their collective all-time high in early January. For comparison, that loss is roughly equal to the value of Berkshire Hathaway , the $510 billion firm built by investing titan and Bitcoin skeptic, Warren Buffett . Those losses for cryptocurrencies are notably not since Bitcoins peak in December, when it reached $20,000 on some exchanges. Rather, thats nearly $500 billion lost based on when those 1,565 cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap collectively reached their all-time high in valuation. For the most part however, the smaller, so-called alt-currencies have largely followed the up-and-downs of Bitcoina trend that the most recent sell-off has maintained. And as far as one Bitcoin bull is concerned, the slide may have further to go before its comeback. When sentiment is this weak, the market is increasingly fire, ready, aimmeaning, any headline today is likely to trigger selling, wrote Thomas Lee, Fundstrat Global Advisors managing partner, in a note early Thursday. That comes as the price of Bitcoin reaches about $8,000, down 7% in the last 24 hours. Similary, the price of Ethereum dropped 9% below $600, while Ripple fell to 68 cents, falling about 8% during the same period. How much further might Bitcoins value fall, according to Fundstrat? Based on back of the envelope calculations and estimates from Fundstrat, Bitcoin valuation could shed another $37 billion in the near future, falling to about $99 billion in market capitalization. Thats based on technical analysis (an investing strategy with both its pros and cons ) from Fundstrat technical strategist Robert Sluymer, who wrote in that same note: Our expectation is Bitcoin will begin to show evidence of bottoming short-term closer to $5,873. Story continues After which, presumably, investors would once again buy in, allowing the cryptocurrency to bounce. But not all are so bullish about the asset. As it stands now, Bitcoin is not backed by any asset or institution. It still lacks widespread acceptance as a currency, and appears to trade largely on sentiment. As Allianz Global Investors wrote in a recent blog post Bitcoin is risky. Thats not to say investors cant gain from it in the short term. Speculation and hype may continue to lift the price of the asset. But trying to time that market, one Allianz thinks as a bubble waiting to pop, is no easy task. In our view, its intrinsic value must be zero: a Bitcoin is a claim on nobodyin contrast to, for instance, sovereign bonds, equities, or paper moneyand it does not generate any income stream, Stefan Hofrichter, head of global economics and strategy, wrote in the note. So is this the end of the hype about Bitcoin as the future of global currencies? Probably not yet, since speculation in Bitcoin and similar instruments appears set to continue for some time. || Chipmaker Soap Opera, Equifax Credit Freezes, Blockchain Definitions: Good morning, Cyber Saturday readers.
What’s happening in the chip industry is more sensational than a soap opera.
This week the U.S. Treasuryasked Qualcomm to postponeby 30 days an annual shareholder meeting that could have resulted in the company’s hostile takeover by Broadcom, a Singapore-based rival. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is now investigating whether Broadcom’s $117 billion conquest attempt could have national security consequences, given Qualcomm’s sensitive government work and the role it plays in developing technology behind next-generation 5G telecom infrastructure. Should the U.S. allow a foreign force to snap up a domestic concern so seemingly vital to its future?
The situation gets more complicated. The U.S. committee is less concerned about the firms’ geographies and more about their investment strategies. (Broadcom, formerly headquartered in the U.S., is already seeking to repatriate.) The big issue for the committee is Broadcom’s “private equity”-style approach to management which, the regulatory bodysaid in a letter, could mean reduced R&D investments in favor of “short term profitability.” Broadcom has attempted to assuage concerns bypromising to fund innovation.
Broadcom’s case is not helped, however, by its LBO-like raiding tactics. The firm, which has vied for months to consummate its proposed deal, is leading an effort to replace six members of Qualcomm’s 11-person board of directors—a move that, if successful, may as well seal the tie-up. They are, one could argue, acting like barbarians at the logic gate.
Qualcomm’s management team, meanwhile, prefers to maintain its independence and pursue a $44 billion purchase of NXP Semiconductors, a Dutch chipmaker. AndIntel, the big chip kahuna, isn’t sitting idly by either. Threatened by the prospect of a combined Broad-Qual, the company is said to bewaiting in the wings, ready to swoop in and make a bid for Broadcom if the Qualcomm coup looks likely to succeed. This is the stuff that corporate sagas are made of.
The subtext of all this is the U.S.’s fear of ceding power to China. The deal-reviewing committee has warned that foreign titans like Huawei and ZTE Corp. are poised to take the lead in 5G unless the U.S. takes steps to defend its silicon might. What may seem like arcane corporate infighting has the gravest implications for nation’s fortunes.
Tune in next time for more melodrama. Till then, have a great weekend.
Robert Hackett
@rhhackett
robert.hackett@fortune.com
Welcome to the Cyber Saturday edition of Data Sheet,Fortune’sdaily tech newsletter.Fortunereporter Robert Hackett here. You may reach Robert Hackett viaTwitter,Cryptocat,Jabber(see OTR fingerprint on myabout.me), PGP encrypted email (see public key on myKeybase.io),Wickr,Signal, or however you (securely) prefer.Feedback welcome.
Freeing up freezes.The U.S. Senate is set next month to approve a banking bill that includes a bipartisan measure arising from last year’s massive Equifax data breach:free credit freezes. The legislative move would eliminate a source of revenue for the big three credit bureaus, and make it easier for consumers to lock down their lines of credit, helping prevent identity theft. Some consumer advocates argue that the policy doesn’t go far enough to limit the operations of the bureaus, which maintain vast stores of personal information without people’s consent.
Have fake news, will travel.A new study that examines the flow of information on Twitter has found that people are predisposed toboost the signal of lies. “False news travels faster, farther and deeper through the social network than true news,” writes Steve Lohr atThe New York Times. Relatedly, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says the service wants to lets all usersverify their identities. The move could help counter the rise of propaganda bots and other scams.
Heroes and villains.Marcus Hutchins became an instant celebrity last year after stopping WannaCry, a global, business-crippling ransomware attack widely attributed to North Korea. His life turned upside down soon after when U.S. law enforcement arrested him for allegedly creating password-stealing malware.New York Magazinehas acompelling profileof the hacker, whose is now living on bail in Los Angeles.
Dark web takedown.In this piece,Wiredgoes inside last year’s internationalraid on dark web marketplaces. Once Dutch police found the servers of a popular market, Hansa, they plotted to take control of the operation. In coordination with the FBI, which shut down another such market, AlphaBay, the Dutch police seized and ran Hansa for a month, ensnaring its buyers and sellers in a surveillance dragnet. The team is still making arrests based on the trove of data it amassed.
I guess that’s why they call itseaweed.
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Blockchain (noun| block·chain | ?bläk-?ch?n): “a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network; also:the technology used to create such a database”
—Merriam-Webster has just added “blockchain” to itsdictionary, along with “cryptocurrency,” “initial coin offering,” and 847 other new words. If you’re looking for a more in-depth explanation of blockchain tech, I might be so bold as to recommendFortune’s“Blockchain Mania!” cover story from September 2017, whichthis weekearned an honorfrom the “Best in Business” journalism awards, administered by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
A Look at the Books of Billion-Dollar Tech Company Tanium, by Robert Hackett
Apple ID Logins on the Dark Web: Here’s How Much They Cost, by Don Reisinger
Elon Musk Blasts Steven Pinker Over Artificial Intelligence Comments, by David Z. Morris
Iceland’s ‘Big Bitcoin Heist’ Leads to 11 Arrests, by David Meyer
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman Acknowledges Users Shared Russia Propaganda, by Jonathan Vanian
Ripple’s XRP Could Improve Cross Border Money Exchanges, by Adam Lashinsky
Bitcoin: Coinbase Seeking M&A Deals With LinkedIn Hire, by Jen Wieczner
Astana, we have a problem.An urban explorer broke into a Kazak spaceport tophotograph Soviet shuttlesleft for scrap. The photos are magnificent, capturing the abandoned craft in all their dusty, derelict beauty. (The facility still serves as a launchpad for rockets bound for the International Space Station.) The trespasser says that Russian agents have been on his or her tail since. As they say, don’t try this at home, kids. || 3 Ways Lowe's Is Catching Up to, but Still a Step Behind, Home Depot: In 1962, a year after Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW) went public, the hardware chain operated 21 retail locations and reported annual revenues of $32 million. Fast-forward 56 years, and Lowe's runs 2,370 stores and has revenue over the trailing 12 months of about $69 billion. As evidenced by these remarkable numbers and a dividend Lowe's has increased in each of the past 56 years, few companies have given investors such sustained success delivered over decades of growth. Lowe's successful run doesn't appear to be in danger of ending anytime soon. In its most recently completed quarter, sales grew to $16.8 billion, a 6.5% increase year over year, and adjusted earnings per share rose to $1.05, a 19% increase year over year. Sales growth was fueled by a comparable sales increase of 5.7%. By nearly any metric, Lowe's is a company that has managed to thrive in a tough retail environment. Lowe's Metrics 3Q 2017 3Q 2016 Change (%) Net sales $16.77 billion $15.74 billion 6.5% Adjusted EPS $1.05 $0.88 19.3% Average ticket $72.63 $68.68 5.8% Customer Transactions 230.9 million 229.2 0.7% Data source: Lowe's Companies, Inc. Far from resting on its laurels, Lowe's is continuing to search for ways to make its business leaner and meaner. In recent conference calls, Lowe's management outlined three ways it hopes to generate greater returns for shareholders moving forward: (1) Increase its outreach to Pro customers, (2) improve its omnichannel capabilities, and (3) increase efficiency in its supply chains. A wide assortment of hand tools laid out against artificial turf in shape of a house. Home Depot still leads Lowe's in several important metrics. Image source: Getty Images. All of the initiatives management outlined above sound promising and, I believe, will drive growth in the quarters ahead. But every time I think about initiating a position in Lowe's, one nagging thought keeps me from doing so: Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) always appears to be one step ahead of its home-improvement rival. In fact, all these initiatives are steps in the right direction, and they also illustrate how Lowe's is still behind the times when compared with its larger competitor. Let's take a closer look at what Lowe's hopes to accomplish in these areas, why the steps are all good in and of themselves, but also how they demonstrate Lowe's is still lagging Home Depot in several key areas. Story continues A tough Pro-gram to follow Lowe's simply defines its Pro customer as "professional customers" and labels them as coming from two broad categories: construction trades and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO). This segment is especially important because Pro customers visit home-improvement stores more often than DIY weekend warriors and spend more per average visit. Pro customers represent about 30% of Lowe's overall business, and sales growth to Pro customers is outpacing the company's overall sales growth. At the 2017 Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference, Lowe's management stated this percentage could grow to as high as 35% in the next five years. In 2017, Lowe's finalized two acquisitions to better reach the MRO market: Central Wholesalers and Maintenance Supply Headquarters. Lowe's is currently integrating these two companies before turning to the task of integrating the combined entity's offerings with its store locations. Lowe's offers an exclusive website for its Pro customers, LowesforPros.com, and offers special fulfillment options for Pros, such as two-hour delivery time window options. A carpenter uses a saw to cut wood. A larger part of Home Depot's business comes from Pro customers than Lowe's. Image source: Getty Images. Still, despite all the company has done, Home Depot remains firmly in the lead in reaching Pro customers . Pros make up 40% of Home Depot's business, a greater percentage than Lowe's sees itself achieving in the next five years. And while Lowe's says its Pro growth is outpacing its overall sales growth, Home Depot's Pro business appears to be growing even faster. In Home Depot's 2017 first-quarter conference call, management said that Pro sales were growing double the amount of DIY sales, and that this gap only widened in the second quarter. In the third quarter, management stated Pro sales were again "outpacing" DIY sales growth. Finally, while its acquisitions should help Lowe's increase its market share in the MRO market, it appears it is only a reaction to Home Depot's earlier acquisition of Interline Brands . While Home Depot is already well into the process of Interline's integration with the rest of its business, Lowe's has not even begun to integrate its MRO acquisitions with the rest of its business. Omnichannel improvements Omnichannel is the latest retail buzzword and simply means retailers will look for ways to combine its brick-and-mortar with their online operations to deliver the best possible shopping experience to their customers. Lowe's is certainly no slouch in this arena. In its latest quarter, Lowe's online sales increased 33% year over year. Lowe's has not broken out how much of its total sales its e-commerce operations represent, but in 2016 it was 3.5% of all sales. In the third-quarter conference call , COO Rick Damron said: We are leveraging our investments in Lowes.com, providing an upgraded online shopping experience with enhanced functionality and display for touch screen devices to deliver an optimized mobile experience; improved product and content recommendations; refined search algorithms; optimized assortments informed by digital earned reviews; and expanded product views, including video content. Along with our flexible fulfillment options of "Buy Online, Pick Up in Store" and "Buy Online, Deliver from Store" and our enhanced digital marketing, our efforts combined to drive online comp growth of 33%. Damron went on to add that the company was working on further capabilities like adding inventory and order statuses. Yet for all its success in online retail, Lowe's is still playing catch-up to Home Depot in this area too. Home Depot's online sales now represent 6.4% of total sales, and for four consecutive years, the company has grown its online sales by approximately $1 billion. At its recent investor and analyst day, an analyst stated that 60% of all store traffic starts with a digital experience, and digital "visits" now almost equal in-store transactions. Supply chain efficiencies In the third-quarter conference call, Damron said the supply chain is "another productivity focus area", one that offers to "streamline cost." Damron continued, "For example, we are working to consolidate freight shipments from both in port and domestic freight to drive greater efficiency and optimize the flow of inventory, significantly reducing the number of trucks arriving at our distribution centers and stores, allowing us to reinvest labor in others areas." This is another area Home Depot has targeted previously and has seemingly already accomplished what Lowe's wants to in an effort Home Depot dubbed its Supply Chain Synchronization. At the 2017 Oppenheimer Consumer Conference, Executive Vice President of Merchandising Ted Decker said: [Y]ou've heard us talk about our Supply Chain Synchronization. ... [I]t's a multiyear journey for us to ultimately do joint business planning with our supplier base, joint forecasting, order expectations and timing, synchronized transportation, synchronized flow of product into the store to the shelf and having that just one seamless, end-to-end supply chain. Decker said the focus on a streamlined supply chain lowers costs and improves on-shelf inventory availability. Because of this focus on efficiency, Home Depot now only requires two trucks for the same amount of supplies that previously required three. Home Depot goes so far as to provide specific instructions to its employees on how to load and unload trucks, including a map of where workers should stand around the conveyor belt as the truck unloads. The Foolish takeaway Over the past three years, Lowe's has provided market-beating returns to shareholders, gaining 55% to the S&P 500 index's 41% and, over time periods of five and 10 years, that gap only widens. Investors certainly have nothing to complain about -- except that these returns are not quite as great as Home Depot's. HD Chart HD data by YCharts Clearly, Lowe's can't be accused of not working on innovation and staying on top of the latest retail trends. It just can't seem to keep up with its biggest rival. However, there is one area where Lowe's definitively beats Home Depot -- valuation. Given its trailing-12-month earnings per share of $4.51, Lowe's currently trades at a P/E ratio of 23.8. Home Depot trades at a steeper P/E ratio of 28.8. While some investors may disagree, I have happily decided to invest in Home Depot over Lowe's. All things being equal, I will happily pay a slight premium for a great company. To butcher one of my favorite Warren Buffett quotes , better to pay a fair price for a wonderful company than a slightly more fair price for a pretty good company. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Matthew Cochrane owns shares of Home Depot. The Motley Fool has the following options: short May 2018 $175 calls on Home Depot and long January 2020 $110 calls on Home Depot. The Motley Fool recommends Home Depot and Lowe's. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Almost Half of Retirees Spend More Than Expected on 2 Common Expenses: Let's face it: Planning for retirement is hard. There's no way to predict with 100% accuracy how much you'll need, so it's hard to determine exactly how much to save. In fact, over 80% of Americans don't know how much they'll need to save for retirement, according to a survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
And even if you do have a plan and a retirement number in mind, unexpected costs can still throw off your budget.
Unfortunately, a significant chunk of retirees have found themselves spending more than they expected during retirement, and most of those costs fall into two categories: healthcare and travel.
Image source: Getty Images.
Among retired baby boomers, 43% said they're spending more on healthcare than they expected, and 40% are spending more than anticipated on travel, according to a recent survey from investment management firm Capital Group.
This is understandable, as healthcare and travel are among the bigger expenses retirees will face. The average 65-year-old couple can expect to spend over$275,000 on healthcare expensesalone during retirement, and that doesn't include long-term care or other costs not covered by Medicare.
While travel costs vary widely, the average retiree spends around $11,077 per year on vacations. No surprise considering that the baby boomers surveyed said they planned to take an average of about five vacations per year.
These expenses can be tough to keep up with if you don't plan for them. Most soon-to-be retirees assume their expenses will decline during retirement. That's often true: During the first two years of retirement, around 39% of U.S. households spend less than 80% of what they did before retirement, according to a study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. But if you plan to take a few trips to Europe during the first year of retirement, you'll need to adjust your budget accordingly.
Although there's no way to predict exactly how much you'll spend on healthcare and travel during retirement, there are ways to manage these expenses.
Investing through ahealth savings account (HSA)is one way to manage your healthcare expenses. With an HSA, you can contribute pre-tax dollars, which lowers your taxable income. You can then let your savings grow over time and then withdraw them tax-free for qualified medical expenses (which include everything from prescriptions to eyeglasses to diagnostic tests). As a bonus, once you turn 65, you can use that money foranynon-medical purpose without paying a penalty (though you'll need to pay income taxes on withdrawals that don't go toward medical expenses).
An HSA is essentially an extra retirement fund made specifically for healthcare costs, and even small contributions can help pay for major expenses. For example, if you open an HSA at age 50 and contribute $100 per month, assuming you're earning a 7% annual rate of return on your investments, you'll have about $51,041 saved by the time you turn 70.
Simply being aware of how much you'll need to pay for healthcare can help, too. Medicaredoesn't cover everything, and you'll still be responsible for deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. Healthcare expenses for the average retiree over age 65 amount to around $18,424 per year, about 20% (or $3,684) of which is paid out of pocket, according to a report from the National Bureau of Economic Research. An HSA can help cover these costs, or you could build a buffer of a few thousand dollars into your annual budget as you're planning for retirement.
When it comes to travel expenses,discounts are your friend. For example, if you're an AARP member and over age 50, you can receive discounts from companies likeExpedia, British Airways, and Windstar Cruises. Airlines likeSouthwest AirlinesandUnited Airlinesoffer discounts exclusively to flyers aged 65 and older.
There are other ways to save on travel besides discounts. For example, traveling during the "shoulder season" -- or the slower times of the year -- can get you cheaper flights and hotel rooms. For example, the beginning of the school year and immediately after New Year's tend to be slower travel times in general, though it sometimes depends on the destination. If you're planning to visit Rome, for instance, early May is often the best time to enjoy mild weatherandbeat the summer rush.
Creating a savings account specifically for traveling expenses can help keep your spending in check. At the beginning of the year, set aside the amount you've budgeted for travel into a separate savings account, and be diligent about only pulling funds from that account when you travel. Also, using an app like Trail Wallet or Mint can make it easier to track your expenses while you travel, helping you determine where most of your money is going and where to cut back.
As a retiree, you may also be eligible for many everyday discounts for expenses like groceries, clothing, and public transportation. For example, atKroger, seniors age 60 and up receive 10% off their purchases the first Wednesday of every month.Kohl'shas a similar deal, offering 15% off to those 60 and up every Wednesday. And in Chicago, those 65 and up who are part of the Illinois Department on Aging's Benefit Access Program receive free bus and train rides in the city. By using all the discounts you can find, you'll have more money to put toward travel and other fun retirement activities.
Retirement should be your chance to relax and pursue the passions you never had time for before. But if you're not financially prepared, it will be just the opposite. Paying more than you expected for healthcare and travel expenses can eat away at your retirement savings, but with a little planning, you can save more and live the retirement you've dreamed about.
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Katie Brockmanhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Expedia. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || South Korea Won't Ban Crypto Trading, Says Minister: South Korea does not intend to ban cryptocurrency trading, the country's finance minister has said. In response to a question from a lawmaker on the government's plans for regulation of the industry, Kim Dong-yeon said, "there is no intention to ban or suppress cryptocurrency [market]," as reported by Reuters today. Rather than follow China's lead and take the drastic step of closing down domestic exchanges, the minister added: "Regulating exchanges is [the government]'s immediate task." Kim's comments come after the country has moved to increase scrutiny of cryptocurrency trading, to calm what it considers an overheated market. Yesterday saw the introduction of new rules preventing the use of anonymous virtual accounts for trading, meaning individuals must use real names on bank and exchange accounts. Further, authorities said people not complying with the change face penalties . Amid the government's moves to quell the market, statements from some officials had indicated that the country might be planning to ban cryptocurrency exchanges altogether news that was linked to a sudden drop in the prices of many cryptocurrencies. South Korea is one the the world's biggest markets for trading bitcoin and other digital currencies. However, officials soon started to move to calm the markets, and South Korea's presidential office said on Jan. 11 that a plan to ban trading cryptocurrencies "is one of the measures prepared by the Ministry of Justice, but it's not a measure that has been finalized." Bitcoin and Korean won image via Shutterstock Related Stories Korean Exchange Halts Trading Over KYC Concerns South Korea: North Korea Stole Millions From Crypto Exchanges Last Year Italian Crypto Businesses to Register Under Proposed New Rules Report: China Cutting Access to Overseas Crypto Trading || Viasat's (VSAT) Antenna to Boost SES Networks' Satcom System: Viasat Inc.’s VSAT solid-state, fully-electronic phased array flat panel antenna has been chosen by SES Networks for the O3b mPOWER satellite communications (satcom) system. The flat panel antenna will be employed in a new generation of customer edge terminals for several applications on the O3b network and improve the delivery of satellite-based connectivity globally.
Viasat's antenna technology culminates years of commercial innovation and investment in research and development (R&D). It is a compact, lightweight solution for fixed as well as mobile broadband terminals and is scalable. The antenna will allow SES Networks to target different types of users with varying broadband connectivity requirements.
The Viasat phased array leverages proprietary flat panel core technology, which includes a new radio frequency integrated circuit and a modular approach that supports multiple types of user terminals (ranging from residential broadband to in-flight Wi-Fi to connected car and backhaul applications) to meet increasing broadband connectivity demands.
In February, Viasat rolled out the fastest satellite internet available in the United States, powered by the new ViaSat-2 satellite system. ViaSat-2 is a $625-million high-capacity satellite launched by the company in June 2017. The satellite also powers fast in-flight Wi-Fi for JetBlue, American Airlines, United Airlines and other commercial carriers and government customers. ViaSat-2 satellite system provides service to North America, Central America, the Caribbean and a small part of northern South America.
ViaSat-2 is expected to have twice the bandwidth and seven times more broadband coverage. It is a massive improvement over ViaSat-1. Some other features which make it more powerful than ViaSat-1 include high-capacity connectivity, smaller gateway antenna and twice as many gateways. Viasat believes that these advanced smaller gateways can help it place the latest satellites in proximity of popular Internet access points, delivering greater network reliability and security.
Viasat is already building its next-generation high-capacity satellite system — ViaSat-3 — which is expected to expand its network worldwide.
The satellite business is a burgeoning space and is one of the fastest growing segments of the $350-billion space industry. Significant demand for higher speeds of broadband connectivity in residential, in-flight and government markets are likely to boost Viasat’s growth momentum in the near term.
In recent quarters, Viasat’s earnings have suffered due to R&D expenses. The primary dampeners are the ViaSat-3 payload, pre-flight development and testing, commercial in-flight connectivity, STCs and line-fit activity. This indicates that we can expect more pressure on profits in the upcoming quarters. Viasat’s shares have gained just 11.3% in the past year, underperforming the industry’s gain of 13%.
Further, costs related to the ViaSat-2 service launch activities and preparations for the large-scale in-flight Wi-Fi ramp are expected to dent the bottom line in the upcoming quarters. The company anticipates heavier advertising activity over the next several quarters, which will raise costs and hurt margins.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Viasat carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
A few better-ranked stocks in the same space include HP Inc. HPQ, Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI and Harris Corporation HRS, each holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
HP Inc. has a decent earnings surprise history. The company recorded an average positive surprise of 4.8% over the trailing four quarters, beating estimates thrice.
Motorola Solutions has a decent earnings surprise history for the preceding four quarters, beating estimates each time, with an average positive surprise of 11.8%.
With four back-to-back earnings beats, Harris Corporation has an average positive surprise of 6.7%.
Don’t Even Think About Buying Bitcoin Until You Read This
The most popular cryptocurrency skyrocketed last year, giving some investors the chance to bank 20X returns or even more. Those gains, however, came with serious volatility and risk. Bitcoin sank 25% or more 3 times in 2017.
Zacks’ has just released a new Special Report to help readers capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportHP Inc. (HPQ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportHarris Corporation (HRS) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMotorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportViaSat, Inc. (VSAT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Let's see how this goes. (Experimental) I expect a strong impulse for $BTC above $10K - From 03/14 15:00 UTC and 03/15 06:00 UTC. pic.twitter.com/VYNpLJ17Ib || BCDiploma’s ICO is Live: Hardcap = 1,800 ETH - http://bitcoinist.com/bcdiplomas-ico-is-live-hardcap-1800-eth/ … #btc #btcnewspic.twitter.com/SmmiHNWqvh || Algunos bancos británicos prohíben comprar bitcoin con tarjeta de crédito http://ift.tt/2FOLxQK || I find it funny how all this downward movement in both markets has people shocked. Only #crypto and #bitcoin can be manipulated right? || 01/25 12:00 Crypto currency sentiment analysis.
BTC : Neutral
BCC : Positive
ETH : Positive
ETC : Positive
https://goo.gl/5hp6Cz #BTC || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$10693.69/$10714.62 #Bitstamp
$10702.10/$10705.00 #Kraken
⇢$-12.52/$11.31
$10636.75/$10748.49 #Coinbase
⇢$-77.87/$54.80 || What if the btc value drops too ?? I would b getting the same no of shares down the line ..? Right || BTC Real Time Price: $10427.00 #GDAX;
$10409.00 #bitstamp;
$10422.00 #kraken;
$10425.50 #gemini;
$10564.17 #hitbtc;
$10565.10 #cex; || As Bitcoin Bubble Loses Air, Frauds and Flaws Rise to Surface http://timely.32hours.com/2018/02/06/as-bitcoin-bubble-loses-air-frauds-and-flaws-rise-to-surface/ … || Midnight Gaming is recruiting pro COD players for CWL Atlanta https://goo.gl/25HRog #gaming #MLG #CWL #PS4 #activision #games #sledgehammer #bitcoin #crypto #nytimes #newyork #atlanta #chicago #cnn #bet #foxnews #business #igaddict #sony #bo2 #playstation4 #follow #geekpic.twitter.com/jAvPUtOzpt
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Trend: down || Prices: 8495.78, 8209.40, 7833.04, 7954.48, 7165.70, 6890.52, 6973.53, 6844.23, 7083.80, 7456.11
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2016-07-25]
BTC Price: 654.10, BTC RSI: 48.55
Gold Price: 1319.30, Gold RSI: 50.53
Oil Price: 43.13, Oil RSI: 37.87
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Winklevoss brothers choose BATS over Nasdaq for bitcoin ETF listing: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Wednesday filed to switch the listing of their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund to BATS Global Markets from Nasdaq, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins, had filed their first application for a listing three years ago. The proposed ETF, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, will list 1 million shares at $65 each, according to the filing. That is up from a list price of $20.09 per share given in the first filing. The filing did not say why there was a change in trading venues, but over the last year BATS has emerged as one of the fastest-rising trading venues for ETFs. BATS is the second largest U.S. equities market operator. If approved by the SEC, the Winklevoss ETF would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity. The ETF would trade under the ticker symbol COIN. Gemini Trust Company, the Winklevoss brothers' trust company, which runs a bitcoin trading venue, has been designated the custodian of the ETF. There was no designated custodian in the previous filings. Gemini operates a trading platform for bitcoin and for another digital currency, ether. The ETF's bitcoin will be valued using the Gemini's spot price as of 4 p.m. Eastern time each business day, according to the SEC filing. Bitcoin's value has been highly volatile, having peaked at over $1,200 in late 2013 before crashing after the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange. It has since recovered, hitting a more than two-year high of nearly $780 last week in the run-up to the British referendum whether the country should leave the European Union. As of late Wednesday, one bitcoin was worth $634.24 (BTC=BTSP) on the Bitstamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Leslie Adler) || Ericsson to Provide World-Class Managed Services for Flow Mobile Networks in Caribbean: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jul 12, 2016) -
• Three-year contract for managed services of the Flow mobile network in the North Caribbean region
• Covers field services and a cutting-edge Network Operations Center (NOC) to monitor traffic in twelve markets
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) will extend its long-term relationship withC&W Communications, which operates the retail brand Flow, and its new owner,Liberty Global(LiLAC Group), to provide world-class managed services, including operating and managing the Flow mobile network and field services and monitoring the network management for Flow in the Northern Caribbean region.
C&W and Liberty Global's strategic partnership extension with Ericsson further strengthens their commitment in improving the quality and reliability of its services and strong network performance to customers. The three-year contract will include top-of-the-line field services (including corrective and preventive maintenance of the mobile core and radio equipment) and a Network Operations Center (NOC) to monitor and maintain the mobile network for Flow in the Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Turks & Caicos markets. With these enhancements, Ericsson will help Flow deliver a best-in-class level of performance, such as higher network availability and reduced outages. As a result, customers will see improvements in data and voice quality and overall mobile experience, aimed at helping Flow further improve their Net Promoter Score (NPS); a measure which gauges a customer's overall satisfaction with service as well as brand loyalty.
"This partnership with Ericsson is part of C&W's strategy to continually invest in our network, improve the quality of service and innovate technology for our customers throughout the region," said Carlo Alloni, Executive Vice-president and CTIO, C&W. "With this long-term business relationship with Ericsson, they will bring best practice processes, tools and methods to significantly improve our customers' experience throughout our mobile network."
"Continuing to provide managed services for Flow's mobile network builds on our regional leadership, supporting our customers so that they can capitalize on innovation to increase their operational efficiencies and explore new go-to-market models. Ericsson will maintain the network at a superior quality so that subscribers enjoy the best experience available," said Robert Pajos, Head of Network Services, Ericsson Latin America & Caribbean.
Ericsson is the global leader in telecommunications managed services, managing networks for multiple operators worldwide via a combination of global and local network operations centers. Ericsson employs 66,000 services professionals in 180 countries, and provides managed services for networks that serve more than 1 billion subscribers. In addition, Ericsson is present today in all high-traffic LTE markets including US, Japan, and South Korea, and is ranked first for handling the most global LTE traffic. Forty percent of the world's mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Cable & Wireless and Ericsson deliver world-class mobile broadband for Caribbean & Latin AmericaEricsson's Managed Services PortfolioManaged Services press backgrounder
For media kits, backgrounders and high-resolution photos, please visitwww.ericsson.com/press.
About EricssonEricsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society -- a world leader in communications technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.
Our services, software and infrastructure -- especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud -- are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.
With approximately 115,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the world's mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and development ensure that our solutions -- and our customers -- stay in front.
Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2015 were SEK 246.9 billion (USD 29.4 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.
Ericsson has been present in Latin America since 1896, when the company established an agreement in Colombia and delivered equipment for the first time in the region. In the early 1900s, Ericsson increased its presence in Latin America by signing commercial deals in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Today, Ericsson is present in 56 countries within South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean, which combined count the region as one of the few with complete Ericsson installations, including a Production Unit, R&D Center and Training Center. Ericsson is the market leading telecom supplier, with over 40% market share in Latin America and more than 100 telecom service contracts in the region.
www.ericsson.com/jmwww.ericsson.com/jm/newswww.twitter.com/EricssonCaribwww.facebook.com/EricssonLatinAmericawww.youtube.com/EricssonLatamwww.slideshare.net/EricssonLatinAmerica
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACTWendi Patrick, External CommunicationsPhone: +506 2519 0800E-mail:wendi.patrick@ericsson.com
About C&W CommunicationsCWC is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region -- in over 30 markets.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our customers who subscribe to over 59 million1television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over ten million1 mobile subscribers and offer Wi-Fi service across six million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a submarine fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com.
Footnote1: Subscriber statistics for Liberty Global (including the LiLAC Group) and CWC are as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, and are based on each entity's subscriber counting policies. CWC's subscriber counting policies may differ from those of Liberty Global. Accordingly, the combined subscriber statistics are not necessarily indicative of the actual number of subscribers to be reported by the combined operations once CWC conforms to Liberty Global's subscriber counting policies. || British bitcoin market sent extraordinary signals ahead of the Brexit vote: The price of the digital currency bitcoin rose 6.5% in the 24 hours directly after Britain voted to leave the European Union. And while the coin had already been on a ride over the two weeks before the vote (it's up 25% in the last month),for a number of factors besides the Brexit, it is likely that uncertainty over the situation stoked interest in the cryptocurrency, which is seen as an investment asset uncorrelated to the broader economy.
New data from Coinbase, which offers the leading bitcoin wallet and a popular bitcoin exchange, proves that the prospect of Brexit had an impact on bitcoin even before the referendum vote.
In the week leading up to the vote (June 13-20),Coinbase saw a55% increase in new account sign-ups from Great Britain, and a 350% increase in bitcoin purchases from UK customers.
On the day of the Brexit vote, Coinbase saw an 86% increase in Great Britain signups.
It's one of the largest spikes in activity Coinbase has ever seen from one region in one week.
The British bitcoin bump is a reminder, a Coinbase spokesperson says, that bitcoin "has long been a hedge against turmoil in Greece, capital controls in China, and macro-economic issues." Indeed, many compare the coin to gold as an investment vehicle. The current market cap of all bitcoins is $10.1 billion.
Coinbase, founded in 2012, has 4 million users and is now operable in 32 countries. Itlaunched in the UK just one year ago, giving Brits the ability to buy bitcoin using pounds, euros or dollars. In the US, it recentlyadded the ability for customers to buy bitcoin instantly using a debit card, making it even easier to buy up coin.
Expect the fervor around Brexit to show a continued impact on the price of bitcoin.
For a conversation with Coinbase cofounder Fred Ehrsam, watch the above video.
--
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
Read more of Yahoo Finance’s Brexit coverage:
The latest Bitcoin price hike is not all about Brexit
This crazy Brexit flowchart shows how the UK could still remain in the EU
Brexit might not be so bad for... Burberry
Harry Potter author JK Rowling unleashes fury at Brexit voters || How to Hedge Market Turns with Inverse ETFs: With the equities market exhibiting greater bouts of volatility, exchange traded fund investors can utilize inverse or bearish strategies to help protect against the turns and limit the negative effects of any further drawdowns. On a recent webcast, Managing Market Pullbacks with Inverse ETFs , Sylvia Jablonski, Managing Director and Head of the Capital Markets & Institutional Strategy Team at Direxion, explained that inverse ETFs typically replicate the inverse returns of a benchmark on a daily basis, allowing investors to easily gain short or bearish exposure to various areas of the market. Jablonski pointed out that traders have typically used inverse ETFs to maintain momentum strategies, capitalize on short-term opportunities or hedge against unforeseen risks. “Inverse ETFs can provide an easy means of short-term hedging for long-term investors,” Jablonski said. However, potential investors should be aware of the risks associated with these inverse products. Specifically, Jablonski reminded advisors that these ETFs rebalance on a daily basis, so the inverse funds may not perfectly reflect their intended strategies over long periods due to compounding issues as a result of the daily rebalancing. In Trending markets that move consistently in a single direction, compounding may benefit inverse ETFs. However, in more volatile markets when securities experience greater oscillations, an inverse ETF may underperform its intended -1x, -2x or -3x multiples compared to a benchmark.. Related: VIX, Bearish S&P 500 ETFs to Hedge Uncertainty Jablonski also pointed to a number inverse ETF strategies that could help traders hedge against potential market risks ahead. For instance, the he Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bear 1x Shares ( CHAD ) , Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 1X Shares ( LABS ) , Direxion Daily Financial Bear 1x Shares ( FAZZ ) , Direxion Daily Energy Bear 1x Shares ( ERYY ) , Direxion Dialy Technology Bear 1x Shares ( TECZ ) and Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 1x Shares ETF ( SPDN ) provide inverse or -100% exposure to some of the more volatile areas this year. Story continues On a survey of financial advisors who attended the webcast, 26.9% of respondents pointed to oil & gas as the area that could offer the most tactical opportunities in the next 6 months, followed by 16.4% pointing to Europe, 15.8% looking to gold related and 14.0% watching financials. Trending on ETF Trends 11 Surging Silver ETFs as Two-Year High Looms A Gold Boon for these Glistening ETFs As Bank of England Mulls Rate Cuts, More Pound Punishment Likely As Q3 Begins, Gold Miner ETFs Keep Shining Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Will Trade on BATS Tom Dorsey, Co-Founder of Dorsey, Wright & Associates, pointed to the relative strength technical indicator to help financial advisor and investors to gauge a securities’ momentum in the market. “This reading is plotted on a point and figure chart, which then tells us whether we can expect that stock or ETF to outperform or outperform the base index,” Dorsey said. Relative strength is a type of momentum investment technique that compares the performance of a security to that of the overall market. The indicator calculates which investments are the strongest performers compared to the overall market and suggests further investments for purchase. Related: Navigating Risks of Leveraged, Inverse ETF Play Along with the momentum indicator, investors can also utilize other trend following techniques. Jablonski pointed to a simple trend following strategy around the 200-day moving average indicator. For example, if the S&P 500 is trading above its 200-day, go long the S&P 500. On the other hand, if the index dips below its 200-day, go short or inverse S&P 500. Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about hedging strategies for a volatile market ahead can watch the webcast here on demand . || Traders say it might be time to buy into tech after NASDAQ hits 2016 highs: The " Fast Money " traders are keeping an eye on the big tech names, after the technology-heavy NASDAQ (NASDAQ: .IXIC) saw its highest levels of the year on Tuesday. Trader Pete Najarian said that technology and biotechnology companies could help drive the NASDAQ higher, especially if giants like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) start participating in the rally. Trader Dan Nathan said he likes PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) because of "interesting secular things going on in e-payments." Another stock he likes is JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) , even though the "fundamentals haven't been fantastic." Nathan said that JD is a company is well-positioned. Trader Brian Kelly said that he is less confident in tech's potential. "If you're buying into tech and you're buying into dividend stocks, you just need to know that you're buying into a bubble. That doesn't mean that it can't go higher. Bubbles go on for a long time, a lot longer than most people can stay short them," Kelly said. He said he would rather look at securities outside the United States, especially in Japan. "To me, what happened in Japan over the last couple days could be game changing, so I would look towards Japan," Kelly said, adding that in particular he would look at the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund (NYSE Arca: DXJ) . Disclosures: PETE NAJARIAN Long stock: AAPL, BAC, BMY, CSCO, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMI.A, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE, SAVE, VIAB, ZIOP Long Calls: AAL, AKS, AMJ, CHK, CLF, CNX, CSX, DAL, EGO, GSAT, HBAN, HOG, INTC, KGC, LLY, MT, MU, NLNK, P, SBUX, SLV, SLW, SVU, TMUS, WLL, XLE, YELP. Long Puts: BID, CS,GM, NAV, NLY TIM SEYMOUR Tim Seymour is long APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, EDC, EWZ, F, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GRMN, GE, INTC, LQD, M, MCD, MPEL, NKE, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, UA, VALE, VZ, XOM and short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CLF, EWZ, F, HD, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, YHOO, short HYG, IWM Story continues BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, DXJ, GLD, MOS, POT, SLV, XME, US Dollar UUP; he is short WTI crude, Swiss franc, euro and Japanese yen. DAN NATHAN Dan Nathan is Long JD Aug call spread, Long PFE, Long TWTR, BABA Aug put spread, IWM long Sept put, XLF long Aug put spread, XLK long Sept Put spread, FXI long Aug put spread, SMH long Aug put spread, long PYPL call calendar, long C Aug put spread, XOP Sept put spread, TGT long Aug calls, TSLA long Aug put, SPY long Sept put spread, BAC long Sept puts. More From CNBC Top News and Analysis Latest News Video Personal Finance || C&W Networks Selects Cologix to Unlock Traditional Connections Between North and South America: DENVER, CO and JACKSONVILLE, FL and MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jul 21, 2016) -Cologix™, anetwork neutral interconnectionanddata centercompany, announced today thatC&W Networks, a subsidiary ofCable & Wireless Communications, (C&W), one of the largest full service communications and entertainment providers in the Caribbean and Latin America region, has invested in the most advanced data center in its region by deploying a Point of Presence (PoP) in Cologix's JAX1 data center in Jacksonville (Florida) to further enhance C&W Networks' ongoing commitment in offering customers multiple routes for their traffic ecosystem and a robust industry leading network. Through their deployment in Cologix's Meet-Me-Room, C&W Networks can connect peers and customers to both their subsea and terrestrial networks. Last year, C&W Networks announced it was a member of the Pacific and Caribbean Cable System (PCCS) operating a 3,700 mile subsea cable system with its landing in the United States directly in Jacksonville. The submarine cable connects Aruba, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Panama, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and Tortola, and then terminates in Jacksonville, Florida.
Cologix operates the most connected data center and the Meet-Me-Room (JAX1) in the421 W. Churchcarrier hotel. Cologix's JAX1 facility offers connectivity to 30+ LECS, MSOs, backbone networks, regional fiber networks, long haul dark fiber network, ISPs, content providers and cloud service providers. Cologix recently connected JAX1 to its enterprise grade data center at4800 Spring Park Rd, JAX2, via a diverse dark fiber ring. The combined data center platform provides networks direct access to the largest and growing set of enterprises in the region and significant space and power capacity for growth.
"Jacksonville is gaining a reputation as one of the key peering and interconnection points in North America providing cross-border opportunities and diversity which are important in network design. Our customers are recognizing that Jacksonville is part of another regional alternative for traffic between North and South America. We are very proud to be the central and only hub in the region connecting all of the subsea cables and major network providers to each other," stated Graham Williams, chief operating officer, Cologix.
C&W Networks is a wholesale telecommunications service provider that offers broadband, IP capacity and a growing portfolio of managed services and integrated solutions to global, regional and local telecom carriers, TV cable companies, Internet Service Providers and Network Integrators. C&W Networks operates the largest subsea multi-ring, fibre-optic network throughout the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region along with the most comprehensive fully meshed MPLS network in the region.
"PCCS is our fourth international submarine cable landing in the United States and our third in Florida," stated Paul Scott, President of C&W Networks. The deployment through Cologix in Jacksonville enables us to offer even greater route diversity, redundancy and interconnection to our customers which further enables their business to expand and grow. Mr. Scott further states that "The Cologix facility provides us an ideal exchange and peering platform that is strategically diverse from our established gateways in South Florida and the Caribbean."
About Cologix Inc.Cologix Inc. is a network-neutral interconnection and colocation data center company headquartered in Denver. Cologix provides scalable interconnection services and secure, reliable colocation services. Cologix operates densely connected, strategically located facilities in Columbus, Dallas, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Minneapolis, Montreal, Northern New Jersey, Toronto and Vancouver. With more than 450+ network choices and 24 prime interconnection locations, Cologix currently serves over 1,600 carrier, managed services, cloud, media, content, financial services and enterprise customers. The company's experienced local service teams are committed to providing its customers the highest standard of local customer support. To arrange a tour of the center closest to you, contact us atsales@cologix.com. Follow Cologix onLinkedInandTwitter.
About C&W NetworksC&W Networks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications and a wholesale telecommunications service provider that offers broadband, IP capacity and a growing portfolio of managed services and integrated solutions to global, regional and local telecom carriers, TV cable companies, Internet Service Providers and Network Integrators. C&W Networks operates the largest subsea multi-ring fibre-optic network throughout the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region along with the most comprehensive fully meshed MPLS network in the region. Reaching 42 countries, the company's fully protected ringed submarine fibre optic network spans more than 48,000km. Cable routes include the Caribbean Optical-ring System (ARCOS-1), Colombia-Florida Express (CFX-1), EC-Link cable system, Fibralink, Maya 1, Eastern Caribbean Fiber Express (ECFS), Taino-Carib, East-West, Cayman-Jamaica Fibre system, Caribbean-Bermuda U.S (CBUS), Americas II, Gemini Bermuda, Pan America (PAN-AM), Antillas 1 and Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS). For more information visit:www.cwnetworks.com.
About C&W CommunicationsCWC is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region -- in over 30 markets.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our customers who subscribe to over 59 million1television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over ten million1 mobile subscribers and offer Wi-Fi service across six million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a submarine fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com.
Footnote1: Subscriber statistics for Liberty Global (including the LiLAC Group) and CWC are as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively, and are based on each entity's subscriber counting policies. CWC's subscriber counting policies may differ from those of Liberty Global. Accordingly, the combined subscriber statistics are not necessarily indicative of the actual number of subscribers to be reported by the combined operations once CWC conforms to Liberty Global's subscriber counting policies. || Bitcoin spikes as yuan hits five-and-a-half year low on Brexit: The price of global cryptocurrencybitcoin(: BTC=)spiked on Friday as the yuan dipped after Britain voted to leave the European Union.
Bitcoin moves are often counter-linked to the yuan because the majority of trade in the cryptocurrency comes from China. The yuan hit a five-and-a-half-year low on Friday, while the price of bitcoin jumped around 8.7 percent from the day's opening price, hitting highs of around $680.19, according to Coindesk which tracks the price of the cryptocurrency.
"We are seeing trading volumes almost $100 million traded in the past 24 hours, it's two or three times compared to a slow day," Bobbly Lee, chief executive of BTCC, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the world based in China, told CNBC by phone on Friday.
The value of bitcoin continues to be volatile. On Thursday, itplunged 25 percentsince hitting a two-and-a-half year high on June 17 of $774.94. It is still not back at that level.
But it's important to note that Brexit is just oneamong several factorsthat have affected the bitcoin price in recent times. Sentiment was dampened when earlier this week, Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex was closed for a few hours because of "networking issues" in the company's data center, it said on Twitter. The issues were fixed on the same day.
"The correction from a day or two ago had more to do with a technical correction that it did with Brexit," Lee said.
More From CNBC
• Top News and Analysis
• Latest News Video
• Personal Finance || U.S. tech company files bitcoin ETF application with SEC: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Nikhil Subba
NEW YORK (Reuters) - SolidX Partners Inc, a U.S. technology company that provides blockchain services, on Tuesday filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an exchange-traded product that tracks the price of bitcoin.
Blockchain is the technology that powers bitcoin, the digital currency. SolidX provides blockchain-based software relating to the recording of digital records, transfer of assets, and identity, according to its website.
The ETF product will be called SolidX Bitcoin Trust and will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol XBTC upon regulatory approval, SolidX Partners said on Tuesday.
SolidX is the second company to file for a bitcoin exchange-traded product with the U.S. regulator. The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, owned by brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, filed the first bitcoin ETF application three years ago.
In its SEC filing, SolidX said it will provide investors with exposure to the daily change of the U.S. dollar price of bitcoin. The value of bitcoin will be based on the price tracked by XBX, an index created by TradeBlock, a financial services company.
Bitcoin is a digital asset launched in 2009 that can be transferred among parties through the internet without the use of a central administrator or clearing agency. Its blockchain has gained global popularity due to its perceived usefulness in recording and keeping track of assets across practically all industries.
The exact size of the offering was not disclosed, but based on the filing, the company said the ETF will issue a basket of 10,000 shares.
Bank of New York Mellon has been tapped as the custodian of the cash held by SolidX Bitcoin Trust, while SolidX Partners will be responsible for the ETF's bitcoin holdings.
SolidX, in its ETF filing, said the bitcoin it will hold will be insured. The insurance will cover the loss of bitcoin through theft, destruction, or computer fraud.
Bitcoin's value has been highly volatile, having peaked at over $1,200 in late 2013 before crashing after the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange.
It has since recovered, hitting a more than two-year high of nearly $780 in the run-up to the British referendum on whether the country should leave the European Union. On Tuesday, bitcoin traded at $662.44 on the Bitstamp platform.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Chris Reese) || The Japanese yen is skyrocketing: (Investing.com)
Good afternoon!
TheJapanese yenis stronger by 0.8% at 106.12 per dollar as of 1:01 p.m. ET.
The yen is "breaking higher and more gains are in store from here with falling global and local bond yields working as the catalyst," wrote Morgan Stanley's Hans W. Redeker in a note to clients.
"The deeper global bond yields fall, the more investors express global growth concerns," he added.
As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard:
• TheBritish poundis down by 0.2% at 1.4228 after yet another poll showed support for leaving the EU.The latest pollfrom the Guardian and ICM found that 53% of respondents were pro leaving the EU, while 47% think that the UK should stay. Still, it's notably that the pound is only down by 0.2% right now — whereas last week the British currencycrashed after similar results.
• Bitcoinis up by awhopping9.5% at675.720 per dollar aheadof a"halvening" or "halving" later this month. This is a reduction in the amount of bitcoins produced by mining - the process whereby computers dedicate processing power towards creating new bitcoin.
• TheChinese yuanfell 0.4% to 6.5864 per dollar, and is nearing its weakest level since the first quarter of 2011. Also,China's fixed asset investment slowed to 9.6% through May, the first time it's been below 10% since 2000. Additionally, retail sales rose 10% year-over-year, just missing the 10.1% that was expected.
• TheUS dollar indexis down by 0.2% at 94.35 on a relatively quiet day for US economic news.
NOW WATCH:Japan has built a massive ice wall around Fukushima
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• The dollar is inching back up — here's what's happening in FX || LinkedIn founder and billionaire investor Reid Hoffman: 'I'm optimistic' about the next 100 years: Reid Hoffman Portrait LinkedIn Illustration (Mike Nudelman/Business Insider) Reid Hoffman was one of the first people to have the idea that the internet could be used to connect large numbers of like-minded people together, founding a short-lived social platform called SocialNet in 1997. After an executive stint at online payments innovator PayPal, Hoffman turned that insight into LinkedIn, which launched in 2002 and has since become the default online venue for job hunting and making professional connections, fetching a price tag of $26.2 billion when it was bought by Microsoft this June. Hoffman is still the chairman of LinkedIn, and has also become one of the most prolific investors in Silicon Valley, with early bets on big winners like Facebook and Airbnb. He runs an early-stage startup fund for Greylock, a top Silicon Valley VC, serves on the boards of a number of nonprofits like Do Something , and he's recently been teaching a course at Stanford, “ Blitzscaling ,” that shows startups how to grow fast. Hoffman is featured in our inaugural edition of the BI 100: The Creators , which celebrates business leaders who create many types of value in society. We interviewed him via email prior to the Microsoft-LinkedIn deal to learn more about his view of entrepreneurship, capitalism, and the future: Matt Rosoff: I've seen you quoted as saying you wanted to make a big impact on the world. Explain what that meant to you when you graduated from Stanford, and how your position evolved to encompass entrepreneurship. Reid Hoffman: As a child, I wondered often: “Why are we? What is the meaning of life?” These questions made me realize that life is what has meaning — not just individual lives, but all of our lives. Coming out of Stanford, I hoped to contribute to these questions as an academic and a public intellectual: to write essays and books about who we are and who we should be, both as individuals and a society. Then, at Oxford, I realized that being an academic conflicted with being a public intellectual: writing books on scholarship for dozens of people vs. writing books for society. Story continues On reflection, I realized that I could focus on software instead of books, business instead of the academy, and products informed by theories instead of just theories. With the change of focus, I could move from writing scholarship that dozens might read, to books that thousands might read, to software that millions to billions might use. Thus, I could help enable better meaning of life for many people at scale. PayPal was disruptive, it was democratizing, and it had universal appeal. Rosoff: PayPal was outsized in its later influence in Silicon Valley — it spawned a lot of great entrepreneurs and operators. Why? What was special about it? Hoffman: Even by Silicon Valley standards, PayPal's vision was massively ambitious. We described PayPal on our company t-shirts as “the global payment operating system.” We wanted to build a 21st century payments system that went beyond the credit cards, merchant terminals, and ATM infrastructure that the finance industry's established players had built. We wanted to create a service that would let people exchange money as easily as the internet was letting them exchange information. PayPal was disruptive, it was democratizing, and it had universal appeal. It gave power to millions and millions of individuals and reduced monopolist control from nations, banks, and other huge corporations. Our experience with PayPal showed us how to think big and how to keep massive ambition for impact. As the PayPal experience was very fast – about four years – we all graduated with experience, resources, ambition, and youth. Thus, a number of us went on to create Yelp, YouTube, Yammer, and LinkedIn. PayPal IPO (Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, two of the other top Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to emerge from PayPal.PAUL SAKUMA/AP) Rosoff: What did you personally learn at PayPal about impact that you've been able to carry forward? Hoffman: At PayPal, we had a window of opportunity – to scale up a new digital payments system on a global level before huge companies with far more resources and experience in the payments industry truly understood what was possible. So we learned to move boldly, decisively, and fast. At PayPal, we helped pioneer the idea that growth is the foundation for an internet company. The faster we got to scale, the stronger we created network effects, the more enduring business that we created. Another thing few people realize is that PayPal centrally depended on the power of networks. By 2001, we had a pretty big fraud problem, where international crime rings were using stolen credit card numbers to make payments to dummy accounts, and leaving us on the hook for these charges after withdrawing the money. But because all these transactions were happening on a single networked platform, we could map how all the different accounts were interacting with each other. So we were able to develop a fraud-monitoring system that identified the various patterns that were associated with fraud, and in time we got very good at preventing fraudulent transactions. And that was a key personal lesson to learn: a network of identities, communications, and transactions can be a platform for a number of applications. In PayPal, we had payment but also identity and anti-fraud. When you build a platform that creates all kinds of relationships and enables a huge number of interactions of one kind or another, the data that it generates ends up creating all kinds of strategic advantages. You see that in many of our post-PayPal businesses: Linkedin, Youtube, Yelp, Affirm, etc. Rosoff: You founded a social network, SocialNet, in the 1990s, well before Facebook, MySpace, and Friendster. Then again with LinkedIn. Why were you drawn to that kind of business? What's interesting about it? Hoffman: SocialNet emerged from those questions I mentioned earlier that have always compelled me. What is a meaningful life, and what kinds of social systems enable it? Broadly, the meaning of life comes from how we interact with each other. The internet can reconfigure space, so that the right people are always next to each other. The internet was this new medium where anyone could be a publisher, so what did that mean? What kinds of information would people want to publish about themselves? Traditionally, publishers had often built communities of interest around specific topics. But that didn't mean all the people who were subscribing to Golf Magazine could easily find each other. But the internet made that possible. Broadly, the meaning of life comes from how we interact with each other. The theory behind SocialNet was that the web wasn't just a place where traditional publishers could distribute content more efficiently, or where readers would just have more opportunities to comment on stories that professional writers had written. The web was a place where millions and millions of people would create their own media identities, share information about themselves, and look for opportunities to connect with each other in ways that could truly enhance their lives. Socialnet also started with a particular set of key relationships in human life: dating, work, social, and living (roommates). LinkedIn then focused on one deep aspect of life: work. Especially in its early days, a lot of people just thought of it as a place to post your resume when you were looking for a job. In reality, it was an identity platform for professionals, a place where you shared information about yourself so you could be found and find others, and thus develop connections and relationships that would enrich your professional life in all sorts of different ways. Your identity and network became the platform to amplify your professional life overall, to connect you with opportunity and success. Rosoff: Does LinkedIn have a larger mission than providing shareholder returns? What is it? And how does a company balance the need to provide profits and shareholder returns with larger missions? Hoffman: This question implies a tension between "a larger mission" and "shareholder returns." I disagree; instead, I see a synergy. First and foremost, our mission is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce, by building the world's best platform for sharing professional identity, finding job opportunities, learning more about specific companies and industries, and developing new skills. And because our larger mission has led to a product that brings hundreds of millions of users serious economic value, we're able to monetize it in ways that generate strong returns for our shareholders as well. Mission reinforces shareholder return; business model reinforces mission. Rosoff: How have you taken the lessons you learned at both PayPal and LinkedIn and applied them to your investment decisions? Hoffman: Because of my experiences with PayPal and LinkedIn, I look for ideas that can solve a need for hundreds of millions of people. While achieving scale fast was also a priority for both these companies, there were also strong long-term visions informing them from the very start. At LinkedIn, for example, you couldn't directly research companies or take online classes in the early years. But the founding vision of Linkedin did include these ideas and others not yet implemented. So I look for that too. Does the founder have both the bias to action that you need to get a product to market quickly, and also a persuasive vision for where the company and the market in general will be five years or even ten years out? Does success transform people’s lives and industries at scale? Jeff Weiner, Satya Nadella, Reid Hoffman (Hoffman (right) with LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (middle).Microsoft) Rosoff: One hundred years from now, will life be better for most people than it is today? How so? What could go wrong? Hoffman: We're still in the very early years of a massively transformative era, the beginning of what I call the Networked Age. The great news is that networks create compounding feedback loops that amplify the frequency, velocity, and reach of human communication and exchange. And that's the bad news too. The Arab Spring and ISIS are both products of the Networked Age. On the plus side, I believe that networks and the flows of capital, talent, and information they enable are going to make life more prosperous and more meaningful for billions of people. On the potential downside, we should ask what kinds of strain does that put on the planet and on society? As global standards of living rise because of increased interconnectivity, we're going to need more energy, more food, more global cooperation. Can we manage it? I'm optimistic. If you look at long-term trends, we're less violent than we were 100 years ago, more educated, and perhaps surprisingly, more tolerant of diversity. Of course, we're also going to be adding a lot of new elements into the mix, very quickly. Artificial Intelligence. Genome editing. If we think carefully about all the different pathways that are now emerging, I think we can ultimately navigate to a much better place. But the actual contours of that world are all but impossible to predict. If you think about how we went from the early web's "coffee cams" and dancing-baby animations to Facebook, Airbnb, Uber, Bitcoin, and countless other unforeseen services and technologies in less than 20 years, it seems impossible to predict specifics for 2116. Comparing the last 100 years to the next 100, however, it seems nearly certain that we will make a number of inventions and changes that will be magic and radically new. NOW WATCH: How to use Facebook’s awesome new 360-degree photo feature More From Business Insider GREEN BERET: This is how we're different from US Navy SEALs How to see everything Google knows about you MITT ROMNEY: My son emailed me yesterday telling me to run for president
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#Bitcoin last trade
@bitstamp $579.00
@coinbase $582.42
Set #crypto #price #alerts at http://AlertCo.in || Attualmente il valore del #Bitcoin è $678.00 via @Chain || #EuropeCoin #ERC $ 0.001963 (0.03 %) 0.00000304 BTC (0.00 %) || $768.99 at 01:00 UTC [24h Range: $689.80 - $773.07 Volume: 16337 BTC] || $662.61 at 04:30 UTC [24h Range: $660.00 - $674.16 Volume: 3892 BTC] || Bitstamp: $696.32/BTC - last trade of USD/BTC at https://www.bitstamp.net/ (high: 725.00, low: 655.79) #bitcoin #BTC http://bitcoinautotrade.com || #TrinityCoin #TTY $ 0.000006 (-50.09 %) 0.00000001 BTC (-50.00 %) || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00001035 BTC YoBit 0.00000750 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000864 BTC #BTAprice 2016-06-14 05:00 pic.twitter.com/PXOiQC6S7Z || 1 KOBO = 0.00001947 BTC
= 0.0146 USD
= 2.9091 NGN
= 0.2221 ZAR
= 1.4789 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-06-17 14:00 pic.twitter.com/aXe5llOTjL || 1 #bitcoin 1675 TL, 554.317 $, 497.959 €, GBP, 35250.00 RUR, 60069 ¥, CNH, CAD #btc
|
Trend: down || Prices: 651.78, 654.35, 655.03, 656.99, 655.05, 624.68, 606.27, 547.47, 566.35, 578.29
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-11-23]
BTC Price: 744.59, BTC RSI: 61.28
Gold Price: 1189.10, Gold RSI: 23.20
Oil Price: 47.96, Oil RSI: 56.06
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
At your service: cyber criminals for hire to militants, EU says: THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Cybercriminals offering contract services for hire offer militant groups the means to attack Europe but such groups have yet to employ such techniques in major attacks, EU police agency Europol said on Wednesday. "There is currently little evidence to suggest that their cyber-attack capability extends beyond common website defacement," it said in its annual cybercrime threat assessment in a year marked by Islamic State violence in Europe. But the internet's criminal shadow the Darknet had potential to be exploited by militants taking advantage of computer experts offering "crime as a service", Europol added: "The availability of cybercrime tools and services, and illicit commodities (including firearms) on the Darknet, provide ample opportunities for this situation to change." Overall, the report found, existing trends in cybercrime continued to grow, with some of the European Union's member states reporting more cyber crimes than the traditional variety. "Europol is concerned about how an expanding cybercriminal community has been able to further exploit our increasing dependence on technology and the internet," its director, Rob Wainwright, said in a statement. "We have also seen a marked shift in cyber-facilitated activities relating to trafficking in human beings, terrorism and other threats." "Ransomware" - programs which break into databases and demand payment for unlocking codes via virtual currencies such as Bitcoin - continued to expand as a problem, as did highly targeted "phishing" attacks to extract security data from senior figures - "CEO fraud" - and video streaming of child abuse. Attacks on bank cash-machine networks were also increasing, the report found, as were frauds exploiting new contactless payment card transactions, while traditional scams involving the physical presence of a card had been successfully reduced. (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald in Brussels; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) || Traders debate buying pullback in Intel after earnings: The "Fast Money" traders debated whether to jump on a dip in Intel(INTC)after the company gavecurrent-quarter guidance that slightly missedWall Street expectations.
Trader Guy Adami said Intel slightly lowered its gross margins guidance, which he found "potentially concerning."
Trader Pete Najarian said he would be a buyer of Intel shares, as the stock fell more than 5 percent in extended trading on Tuesday.
Trader Brian Kelly said he's concerned about Nvidia(NVDA), another semiconductor stock, and would be taking profits off the table in the company. He also said he would buy Intel.
Disclosures:
PETE NAJARIAN
Long stock: AAPL, BAC, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMIA, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE CALLS: AAL, ABT, AMD, ATVI, BABA, BAC, BBY, BHI, BSX, CNX, COP, COTY, CRM, CS, CSCO, CXW, DAL, DISH, ECA, ETP, GM, GS, HAL, INTC, JBLU, JCP, KBE, KGC, KMI, KO, LLY, LOW, M, MOS, MRO, MRVL, MUR, NAV, NBR, P, RIO, SBUX, SLV, TMUS, TTS, TV, TWTR, VRX, WFT, WLL, XLF and puts: CLF, EEM, MBLY, WFC
TIM SEYMOUR
Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM short: SPY, XRT. His firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM
BRIAN KELLY
Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP. He is short the euro and Japanese yen.
GUY ADAMI
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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• Personal Finance || Indian bitcoin company raises $1.5 million from U.S., Indian investors: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Unocoin, a Bangalore-based bitcoin startup, has raised $1.5 million in funding from a mix of Indian and U.S. investors, the company announced on Thursday. The company, which runs a trading platform to buy, sell, and store bitcoins for Indian customers, said the money raised was the largest for an Indian bitcoin startup. Unocoin, which has 100,000 users and more than 30 employees, has been in operation since December 2013. Unocoin describes itself as the Coinbase of India. San Francisco-based Coinbase is the largest U.S. bitcoin company and runs an exchange and a wallet service, among other businesses. Funding came from Indian entities such as Blume Ventures, Mumbai Angels and ah! Ventures along with U.S. investors such as Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, Bank to the Future, and FundersClub. Digital Currency Group was founded by one of the top U.S. bitcoin investors Barry Silbert, while Boost VC is run by U.S.-based Adam Draper, the son of billionaire entrepreneur Tim Draper. "We needed a separate exchange for India. A few years ago when we wanted to buy bitcoin, there was nothing available in India," Sunny Ray, Unocoin's co-founder and president told Reuters in an interview. "So if you want to buy bitcoin from an international exchange, you will have to do a wire transfer from India to these international exchanges and get your bitcoin and oftentimes it takes three to five days." Unocoin raised about $200,000 in its first financing round. It started from a small hometown called Tumkur, near Bengaluru. Bitcoin, a digital currency, was trading at $604.50 on the Bitstamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) || Costco is reaping the benefits of the transition from American Express to Citigroup and Visa: (BII)This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, pleaseclick here.
In its recent earnings report, Costconotedthat its payment card acceptance transition is progressing strongly.
The retailer’s portfolio, which was previously cobranded with American Express, was sold to Citigroup and Visa in June. And though there were some hiccups involved with the transition, Costco noted it’s “past that” and reported strong numbers.
The new card is “beating initial expectations” regarding conversion, new sign-ups, and overall use.
• Most cardholders have transferred their accounts.Of the approximately 11.4 million Amex Costco cards and 7.5 million accounts, nearly 85% of the accounts transferred over have been activated with Costco. That’s about the same amount that were active prior to the transition, which indicates that existing cardholders are receptive to the new card program.
• And the new card continues to grow, which could be a result of the strong rewards program.Since the shift in June, Costco said that 1.1 million members have applied for the new card and 730,000 accounts have been activated. For context, Citi noted that three-and-a-half weeks in, the new card had added 337,000 new accounts, so the Costco numbers mark somewhat slowing, but still strong, growth. This is a strong interest indicator for the new card specifically, especially because Costco now accepts any Visa-branded card, and it’s likely the majority of Costco customers already have one in their wallet. The card’s strong rewards offerings, which include better cash-back options for Costco purchases and have improved by 40-50% overall, could be driving customers to the product.
• It’s likely that spending is high.Costco didn’t provide specific spending numbers, only noting that its gross margin year-over-year (YoY) increased. But in Citi’s earnings call, held three weeks into the card transition, the product saw $5.7 billion in purchases made on Citi Costco cards, slightly beating the estimated $5.4 billion spend that would have been seen on the Amex card. Assuming that trend has continued, it’s likely the product is performing strongly.
The strong performance reported by Costco could be a needed boost for Citigroup. The strong performance is good news for Costco, because the retailer’s somewhat slowing sales could have been exacerbated if transition process frustration drove customers away from the retailer.
But ongoing usage and volume growth will be most beneficial to Citi, which has already seen modest gains in its North American “credit cards” segment as a result of the acquisition of the Costco portfolio, which accounted for $80 billion in 2015. If Costco continues to be a steady customer acquisition channel and volume source, Citi could further establish separation as the third largest US card issuer in 2016.
Costco's growth in this area is just one piece of the larger payments ecosystem, which includes card issuers, merchants, gateways, vendors, and more.
Evan Bakker and John Heggestuen, analysts atBI Intelligence, have compileda detailed report on the payments ecosystemthat drills into the industry to explain how a broad range of transactions are processed, including prepaid and store cards, as well as revealing which types of companies are in the best and worst position to capitalize on the latest industry trends.
Here are some key takeaways from the report:
• 2016 will be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are improving security, expanding their mobile offerings, and building commerce capabilities that will give consumers a more compelling reason to make purchases using digital devices.
• Payments is an extremely complex industry. To understand the next big digital opportunity lies, it's critical to understand how the traditional credit- and debit-processing chain works and what roles acquirers, processors, issuing banks, card networks, independent sales organizations, gateways, and software and hardware providers play.
• Alternative technologies could disrupt the processing ecosystem. Devices ranging from refrigerators to smartwatches now feature payment capabilities, which will spur changes in consumer payment behaviors. Likewise, blockchain technology, the protocol that underlies Bitcoin, could one day change how consumer card payments are verified.
In full, the report:
• Uncovers the key themes and trends affecting the payments industry in 2016 and beyond.
• Gives a detailed description of the stakeholders involved in a payment transaction, along with hardware and software providers.
• Offers diagrams and infographics explaining how card transactions are processed and which players are involved in each step.
• Provides charts on our latest forecasts, key company growth, survey results, and more.
• Analyzes the alternative technologies, including blockchain, which could further disrupt the ecosystem.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >>START A MEMBERSHIP
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >>BUY THE REPORT
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the payments ecosystem.
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• The top 5 fintech predictions for 2016 || Dave Nadig's Deep Dive On New ETF Liquidity Rules: When the SEC published draft rules for mutual fund and ETF liquidity last year, I was less than complimentary . I pointed out that, for instance, virtually all corporate and high-yield bond ETFs would fail to meet the requirements on illiquid assets. That rule is sailing through (with some small changes) for mutual funds, but the press is reporting that ETFs got a pass. That’s not quite true. Some Background The original proposal — and the current version—focused on all open-ended funds maintaining a liquidity risk management program with the intent to ensure that it could always meet shareholder redemptions in an orderly fashion. It was a clear response — or convenient timing at least — to the shenanigans that happened to Third Avenue’s mutual fund in the summer of 2015, when it closed for redemptions because it couldn’t sell its junk bonds fast enough. The original proposal received an enormous amount of industry commentary, and rather than publishing a revised rule for comment, the SEC simply published a final rule, which will go into effect for most funds in December 2018. The key components of the final rule are threefold: Rules that ensure a fund always have highly liquid securities to meet redemptions Rules that ensure a fund doesn’t have more than 15% of its investments in illiquid investment A reporting regime that has funds classify all of their positions at least monthly and report each security as belonging to one of four liquidity buckets (the two above and two in the middle) Much of what the SEC requested was pretty noncontroversial; however, the ETF industry argued in its various comment letters that since ETFs meet redemptions generally by in-kind transfer of underlying securities, it should be exempt from large swaths of the program. They got a small slice of what they wanted, and it will have significant implications. What About The ETF Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card? The SEC has defined for the first time a class of ETFs it refers to as “In-kind ETFs.” In-kind ETFs are those that use only a de minimis amount of cash in any redemption activity. The commission goes out of its way to say that it really means this: If you regularly use cash redemptions, you’re not covered here. Story continues The second big issue is that, to qualify, you must publish your complete portfolio every single day — the same transparency standard the SEC has so far held actively managed ETFs to. If you’re an in-kind ETF by this definition, you can sort of avoid two components of the program: You don’t have to hold a bunch of highly liquid investments to meet redemptions, and you don’t have to classify all your portfolio holdings. I say "sort of" because the wording of the final rule is, in my opinion, a bit different than the actual discussion of the rule in the SEC’s 400-page final rulemaking document. The actual rule simply says in-kind ETFs can consider the fact that they can redeem-out shares when drafting their liquidity risk management program. It doesn’t actually say in-kind ETFs are exempt from holding those highly liquid assets or that they don’t have to comply with the fairly onerous reporting process. I imagine that will get cleared up and clarified, but it’s frustrating when the final rule doesn’t match the stated intent. But let’s assume that ETFs get at least a little relief there. The Big Whammy: The 15% Rule So what’s the big deal? The 15% illiquid cap is problematic. There’s an enormous amount of wiggle room in how to meet the assessment that a given position can be liquidated without significant impact in seven days, and all that wiggle room lands on the fund board to interpret. The SEC discussion clearly shows that the commission understands it could be upsetting the apple cart, going so far as to say some funds will have to consider closing: “In circumstances in which it appears unlikely that the fund will be able to reduce its illiquid investment holdings to or below 15% within a period of time commensurate with its redemption obligations, a fund’s periodic liquidity risk review could lead the fund to reconsider its continued operation as an open-end fund.” So Who Could Get Hit Hardest Here? There are two groups that have an immediate problem. The first is ETFs that invest in less liquid securities. Funds that invest primarily in high-yield debt or bank loans may be able to argue that they can unload their whole portfolios without impact, but ultimately fund boards will have to decide how much risk they want to take in defining liberal interpretations of “illiquid.” The second issue is large funds. Because there’s no scaling here, funds that are very large have a much higher burden than small funds. I can own 100 shares of the most illiquid microcap and probably claim correctly that I could find a buyer in week. Not so for a $100 billion fund trying to own a proportionally similar position in the same company. This second issue is a big one, particularly for Vanguard. Vanguard’s ETFs are share classes of mutual funds. My assumption is that the root fund is what will have to make the test, not each individual share class, so it won’t get the pass on the reporting or highly liquid requirements. And Vanguard will be hit harder on the 15% illiquid cap than it would if its ETFs were in fact separate funds. While most of Vanguard’s 70 ETFs are in highly liquid corners of the market, it’s possible that funds like the Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund (VB) or the Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond Index Fund (VCSH) could face real hurdles. When I ran the volume numbers on VCSH holdings last year, I estimated that even swamping the market, it would take VCSH 16 days to trade out. So without market impact, that’s probably a multiple —c learly a fund that probably won’t be in compliance without a pretty liberal interpretation of how the short-term corporate markets can absorb big sales. Could Vanguard solve this problem? It would be tricky. It would need to spin the ETFs out and adopt full disclosure. That’s a lot of work to save a few funds. Then again, I’m not sure what the options are. In the end, it does seem like ETFs dodged a BB here, if not a bullet, but the ripples from this earthquake will be felt for quite some time. I’m not suggesting we’ll see a huge raft of fund closures, but at a minimum, it’s a good year to be a lawyer advising fund boards. At the time of writing, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Dave Nadig is the director of exchange-traded funds at FactSet Research Systems. You can reach him at dnadig@factset.com , or on Twitter @DaveNadig. Recommended Stories Swedroe: Cross Trading Boosts Mutual Funds Returns Dave Nadig's Deep Dive On New ETF Liquidity Rules SEC Approves Fund Liquidity Rules, Goes Easy On ETFs SEC Wants To Hear From You On Bitcoin ETF 6 ETFs To Gain From Money Market Mutual Fund Reform Permalink | © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved || Bitcoin is flying after Donald Trump's victory: Price of bitcoin since Oct. 20 In May, a Juniper Research study ( Will Bitcoins Bite Back? ) predicted that the price of the digital currency bitcoin would jump if Donald Trump were elected. On Tuesday, Trump was elected, and bitcoin jumped. The currency is up nearly 3% since Tuesday night, hovering around $725. If Donald Trump becomes President of the US, said Dr. Winslow Holden in a statement with the study , there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets
Bitcoin would thrive in such an environment. Bitcoin has in fact been on the rise all fall, not only because of the election . The price is up 19% in the last month, 23% in the last three months, and 68% in 2016. But in the next few days and perhaps months, the uncertainty after Trumps win will likely serve as an accelerant. Investors see bitcoin as a safe haven from fiat currencies (hence why it rises when the Chinese yuan falls), and an asset largely untied to mainstream markets. Gold typically behaves the same way, and indeed, gold shot up to $1,320 on Tuesday night as Trump closed in on the presidency , though it fell back to earth on Wednesday and is now at $1,275. Bitcoins October rise has been mostly due to heightened activity in China, where the yuan is falling and the government has tightened capital controls. Bitcoin prices also spiked during the bank shutdown in Greece last year. Juniper Research says the Brexit vote, back in June, is still having an impact as well: The ongoing ramifications around Brexit are also likely to act as an additional spur for higher activity levels. If Brexit helped contribute to a bitcoin bump , then Trumps win is likely to do it, too. Many were quick to compare the surprising result of the US election to the EU referendum result. Trump, in the days before the election, told crowds that his win would be like Brexit plus plus plus, and nicknamed himself Mr. Brexit. While Trump and bitcoin might seem to have something in common (Coin Telegraph made the case that Trump would eventually cozy up to the coin ), his campaign never accepted donations in bitcoin. Hillary Clintons campaign considered accepting donations in bitcoin, a leaked email thread revealed, but John Podesta was more intrigued by the digital currency Ven, writing that bitcoin suffers from a libertarian Ayn Rand schtick. Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Gary Johnson were the only two presidential candidates to accept bitcoin. Story continues It doesnt matter now: Trump won, and bitcoin benefited without his support. The coin doesnt need Trump to champion it in order to succeed. The defining word of this US election is the same word that defined the Brexit vote: uncertainty. As the Juniper Research report noted, bitcoins price rose in the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, then fell a little bit just before the vote when the outcome looked clear, then spiked when the outcome was, in fact, a big surprise. Expect the same to happen after Trumps win. Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite . Read more: The latest bitcoin price surge isnt just about Brexit Heres where big banks stand on blockchain Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever || Tips on How to Protect Your Private Information On Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Americans will line up around stores and standby their computers or smartphones to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, but protecting their private information should also be priority for shoppers. During the holiday season many shoppers are harmed by failing to take simple precautions, says Gene Richardson, COO of Experts Exchange , a network for technology professionals. In Store Vs. Online Retail stores are one of the top areas identity thieves go after, Richardson said in an email to the IBTimes. A large number of some of the biggest identity thefts in the past few years were at large retail stores, he says. Long lines and busy cashiers could potentially put your private information at risk. “All the clerk cares about is getting you through the line as fast as they can so they can deal with the next customer and hope that none of you are angry,” says Richardson. “So, if there is a hiccup with your transaction, they will take “backup” paths to complete your transaction like entering your credit card number by hand.” Richardson, who is also the former head of the data security teams IBM, Charles Schwab and Motorola, says customers should never give their credit card to someone to perform a transaction by entering a card number. “Hand transactions are a huge risk for identity theft,” he says. Customers should also avoid buying if a cashier’s computer is down or too busy, unless it’s with cash, or try to go back later. Credit card scanners are also a threat to customers, as some of them may be rigged to copy a person’s information so that a duplicate credit card can be made. People may be less exposed to this action in large retail stores, but the risk is higher in smaller boutiques shops, says Richardson. Customers should also make sure their credit card number is not printed on receipts and should instead have XXX's where the number is displayed. But online purchases can be riskier because of all the extra information customers hand over, like their name, address, phone number, credit card information, expiration date and CSV. Story continues “They ask for so much more information from you to validate who you are than a purchase in a retail store,” says Richardson. “You have no control of who or where that information is going.” Tips to Protect Yourself Here are Richardson’s tips for shoppers on how they can protect themselves on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Ensure that the website address is secure and has a valid encryption certificate. It will usually display a “locked, green” indicator in front of the website name. If it doesn’t have that, it does not have a higher level of security that has been guaranteed by a known entity like Verisign, Symantec and others. Ensure your system has the most recent recommended system and security patches. Always use a credit card that is not tied directly to your personal bank account(s), even if you are using PayPal, Bitcoin or some other payment method. Never give anything other than name, address and phone number. You should not need to answer security or privacy questions when making a purchase or checking out. If they ask, see if you can checkout as a “guest” instead. Monitor your credit through a third party for identify theft and have SMS and email alerts sent to you immediately. Set-up alerts with your credit card company that send both SMS and emails when any purchases are made and the credit card was not scanned (meaning, it wasn’t in someone’s hand when the charge was made). Set them as low as $25 per purchase. Also, set-up alerts for total purchases over $500 in a billing period to protect multiple $24.99 purchases. And if possible, a maximum amount of purchases allowed in a billing period such as $1500 before card will get declined. Ensure that you have a reputable Antivirus program running on your computer and that your browser has an Ad blocking plug-in. (Richardson recommends Norton, McAfee or ESET.) Ensure that the network your computer/device is on is secure and you know who has access to your network. This is usually done with your router. You want to lock down your router so that traffic can be initiated from the inside-out but you do not want traffic to be initiated from the outside-in. If you are using a WiFi connection, make sure that network is also secure and requires a password to join. If it is a public WiFi network that doesn’t require a password, then the traffic coming from your device can be monitored and stolen. (Link to onsite how-to article?) Any passwords that you use should be strong, hard to guess ones. Or, even better, hard to guess, but easy to remember . Don’t click on unfamiliar links to sites advertising sales, coupons, etc. Use two-factor authentication/verification, if it is offered. Shopping on Mobile Devices One in 10 mobile apps that are found through searching “Black Friday” are blacklisted as malicious, according to cyber security company RiskIQ An estimated 30 percent of purchases will be made on mobile devices, RiskIQ says. Shopping on mobile devices can substantially increase the risk of encountering phishing pages, malicious apps, and viruses that infect customers’ smartphones and tablets to steal money and private information. There are also fake apps out there that contain malware that can steal customers’ data or lock the device until the user pays a ransom, says RiskIQ. Other malicious apps may ask consumers to use their Facebook or Gmail logins, which could compromise their private information. Tips For Safe Shopping on Mobile Devices Here are some tips from RiskIQ: Ensure that you are only downloading apps from official app stores such as Google or Apple Be wary of applications that ask for suspicious permissions, like access to contacts, text messages, administrative features, stored passwords, or credit card info. Just because an app appears to have a good reputation doesn’t make it so. Rave reviews can be forged, and a high amount of downloads can simply indicate a threat actor was successful in fooling a lot of victims. Before downloading an app, be sure to take a look at the developer—if it’s not a brand you recognize or has a strange appearance or spelling, think twice. You can even do a Google search on the developer for more clues about its reputation. Make sure to take a deep look at each app. New developers, or developers that leverage free email services (e.g., @gmail) for their developer contact, can be enormous red flags— threat actors often use these services to produce mass amounts of malicious apps in a short period. Also, poor grammar in the description highlights the haste of development and the lack of marketing professionalism that are hallmarks of mobile malware campaigns. Check website addresses after following links on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media channels to be sure you end up on the true website of the retailer you want. Look for the “S” in HTTPS when you visit shopping sites. Beware of shopping sites that do not use HTTPS in their website addresses or do not display the symbol of a lock next to the web address. Secure sites use HTTPS, and without that, you’re dealing with unsecured connections or weak encryption of personal data. Never provide your credit card information unless you are in a secure online shopping portal. Sites that ask for it in return for “coupons” or to win “free” merchandise are almost always scams. Protect Yourself From a Major Headache For those who might not want to go through the hassle of setting up credit card alerts on purchases or locking down their router, it’s important to remember that it can and save consumers from a major headache. “Identity theft could cost you several thousand dollars in actual money and can cost you a lot more in your personal time and future anticipated losses cleaning up after the fact,” Richardson said. “The impact of identity theft could last years as you personally have to work to call all your creditors to fix your credit, loss of credibility for future purchases of a home, car, etc. as your credit scores will have been impacted, the effect on future employment opportunities as background checks are run and many, many more,” he added. Related Articles $100 Off HTC Vive On Black Friday and Cyber Monday American Consumers Prep For Cyber Monday || John Reid Confirmed as CEO of Cable and Wireless: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2016) - John Reid has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer ofC&W Communications("C&W", or the "Company") effective November 7, 2016. C&W serves 18 countries and is one of the largest full service telecommunications and entertainment providers in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Company was recently acquired byLiberty Globalplc "Liberty Global", the world's largest international TV and broadband company.
"This is a time of meaningful change and development for C&W, and I am excited for the expertise and continuity that John brings to this growing region," said Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. Reid is tasked with aligning the former UK-based company with Liberty's Latin America and Caribbean ("LiLAC Group") division, while strengthening the Company's growth opportunities, in particular triple-play, mobile data and fixed-mobile convergence, and seizing on the significant business-to-business and wholesale opportunities in the region.
"I am honored to lead C&W Communications into the next phase of our development. I look forward to achieving our growth objectives, creating greater value for our stakeholders, and transforming our employee and customer experience," Reid said.
Reid, a Canadian national, is uniquely positioned to take C&W to its next chapter as he has over 28 years of telecommunications and cable television experience, and has spearheaded complex integrations and pioneered a culture of transformation and engagement, first in Canada, and during the past 11 years, across the Caribbean. Prior to his role as Interim CEO of C&W, Reid served as C&W's President, Consumer Division and was part of the executive leadership team at C&W that achieved in excess of $100m in synergies in less than 18 months following the Columbus transaction.
At Columbus, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer, he led the Company to become a leader and innovator in the broadband and entertainment industry across the Caribbean and Latin America. Prior to Columbus John held various roles with Canadian MSO Persona, holding the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer.
John holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland, serves as the Chairman of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), a 49% subsidiary of C&W, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Caribbean Tales.
About C&W CommunicationsC&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Global invests in the infrastructure that empowers its customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Liberty Global's scale and commitment to innovation enables it to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect its 29 million customers who subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. Liberty Global also serves over 10 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service across seven million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for its European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com.
Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3082861 || The Linux Foundation Appoints Three Tech Industry Leaders to Its Board of Directors: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - November 02, 2016) -The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the appointment of Erica Brescia, co-founder and COO of Bitnami; Jeff Garzik, co-founder of Bloq; and Nithya A. Ruff, director of Western Digital's Open Source Strategy Office, to its Board of Directors. Ms. Ruff and Ms. Brescia join as At-Large Directors, and Mr. Garzik comes on board as the representative of Linux Foundation Silver members.
Ms. Brescia and Ms. Ruff will take the place of Larry Augustin and Bdale Garbee as At-Large Directors. Mr. Garzik replaces Matt Jones of Jaguar Land Rover.
"The Board of Directors and the entire Linux Foundation organization are delighted to welcome Nithya, Erica and Jeff," said Jim Zemlin, executive director. "They will help guide the strategy of The Linux Foundation, the home to some of the most successful open source projects and largest shared technology investment in history. The open source community at large and our nearly 800 members will benefit from the insight and expertise each of these individuals brings. We thank Larry, Bdale and Matt for their long and faithful service on the Board and look forward to their continued participation in the community."
New Directors Bring Diversity of Perspectives
Erica Brescia
Ms. Brescia is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Bitnami. With more than one million deployments per month, Bitnami provides the largest source of applications and development environments to the world's leading cloud service providers, such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Platform and Oracle Cloud Platform. Prior to co-founding Bitnami, Ms. Brescia held various sales and management positions at T-Mobile, as well as working as a consultant with Chekiang First Bank in Hong Kong. She holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Southern California.
Ms. Brescia has been a dedicated builder of diverse, globally distributed technology and business teams, and has been featured as a keynote speaker at OpenStack Summit and OSCON.
To further those goals, Bitnami founded the Bitnami Bootcamp, which provides free education and training on cloud, open source and containers, for recent college graduates and self-taught technologists living in southern Spain.
As a YC Founder, Ms. Brescia is also an active mentor of aspiring entrepreneurs in the technology and related industries, as well as being an angel investor in a number of early stage startups.
"Open source technologies make possible the incredibly rapid innovation that we see in tech-driven sectors today," Ms. Brescia commented. "Shared R&D in the form of open source helps companies like Bitnami thrive, while creating value for others. I'm proud to be a part of the organization that's propelling that collaboration."
Jeff Garzik
Mr. Garzik has long been at the center of developing and commercializing open source software surrounding bitcoin and blockchain. Before co-founding Bloq to develop enterprise-grade blockchain solutions, he spent five years as a Bitcoin core developer, and 10 years at Red Hat. His work with the Linux kernel is now found in every Android phone and data center running Linux today.
Mr. Garzik serves on the board of Coin Center and the advisory boards of BitPay, Chain, Netki and WayPaver Labs. He was also recently appointed to the World Economic Forum Expert Network as an expert in Information Technology.
"I'm excited to bring Bloq's expertise in developing blockchain software to The Linux Foundation," Mr. Garzik said. "Projects like Hyperledger are emblematic of the future of open source: bringing together the efforts of developers to fundamentally alter global finance, digital identity and beyond."
Nithya Ruff
Ms. Ruff first glimpsed the power of open source while at SGI in the 1990s and has been building bridges between hardware developers and the open source community ever since. She's also held leadership positions at Wind River (an Intel Company), Synopsys, Avaya, Tripwire and Eastman Kodak.
Ms. Ruff has been a passionate advocate and a speaker for opening doors to new people in open source for many years. She has also been a promoter of valuing diverse ways of contributing to open source, such as in marketing, legal and community. She is co-leader of the Women of OpenStack group and a liaison into the OpenStack Foundation, as well as a sponsor of the Women in Open Source (WIOS) Lunch at Linux Foundation events and an active leader of WIOS advocating for reducing barriers for women and underrepresented minorities. In 2015, Ms. Ruff was invited by Red Hat to be on a diversity leaders' panel at the "All Things Open" conference.
In recognition of her work in open source both on the business and community side, Ms. Ruff was named toCIOmagazine's most influential women in open source list. Ms. Ruff was also the founding president of the Women's Innovation Network at Western Digital, which is dedicated to the development of women's highest potential in the workplace.
Ms. Ruff said: "I've been fortunate to work in an environment at Western Digital that values the contributions of every individual and that encourages diversity in open source communities. Through its training, events and now projects, The Linux Foundation is working to create an inclusive open source culture that stretches across organizations. I anticipate being able to help deepen that work as more industry professionals of all backgrounds get involved in open source."
About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found atwww.linuxfoundation.org.
The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page:https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. || Your first trade for Wednesday, October 19: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day.
Pete Najarian is a buyer of Citi (C).
Tim Seymour is a buyer of Avon (AVP).
Brian Kelly is a buyer of Chevron (CVX).
Guy Adami is a buyer of SuperValu (SVU).
Trader disclosure: OnTuesday, October 18the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:
PETE NAJARIAN is long AAPL, BAC, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMIA, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE CALLS: AAL, ABT, AMD, ATVI, BABA, BAC, BBY, BHI, BSX, CNX, COP, COTY, CRM, CS, CSCO, CXW, DAL, DISH, ECA, ETP, gm, GS, HAL, INTC, JBLU, JCP, KBE, KGC, KMI, KO, LLY, LOW, M, MOS, MRO, MRVL, MUR, NAV, NBR, P, RIO, SBUX, SLV, TMUS, TTS, TV, TWTR, VRX, WFT, WLL, XLF. Puts: CLF, EEM, MBLY, WFC
Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM
Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#EuroCoin #EUC $0.000379 (-14.00%) 0.00000051 BTC (-13.12%) || BITSTAMP LAST 635.00$ AVERAGE 635.89$ at 8:09 UTC #Bitcoin #BTCUSD || 1 KOBO = 0.00000000 BTC
= 0.0000 USD
= 0.0000 NGN
= 0.0000 ZAR
= 0.0000 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-11-03 14:00 pic.twitter.com/IeTizJbf4n || 1 MUE Price: Bittrex 0.00000067 BTC YoBit 0.00000114 BTC Bleutrade 0.00000071 BTC #MUE #MUEprice 2016-10-28 06:00 pic.twitter.com/q6d8TOso2S || Compra #bitcoin en #Madrid a través un cajero con cash #blockchain #localbitcoins http://bit.ly/2b4ZNY9 pic.twitter.com/AnbYwFXq1C || 26Sep2016 18:00 UTC #Bitcoin #Blockchain status - Last 24h: 159 blocks mined - 2,010,719 BTC output - 218,845 transactions || Question about Slidejoy: Hey there, almost 24 hours ago i tried to redeem 2 $via btc ... http://bit.ly/2eCp1hy http://bit.ly/DigitalSEO || Average Bitcoin market price is: USD 633.00, EUR 573.94 || Current price of Bitcoin is $700.00 via Chain || 現在の価格は 62660円(http://blockchain.info )です。前回比は-3円(-0.00%)です。http://konvert.in/currency/1-bitcoin-to-japanese-yen … #ビットコイン #bitcoin via @konvertin
|
Trend: up || Prices: 740.29, 741.65, 735.38, 732.03, 735.81, 735.60, 745.69, 756.77, 777.94, 771.16
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2022-01-03]
BTC Price: 46458.12, BTC RSI: 40.35
Gold Price: 1799.40, Gold RSI: 49.87
Oil Price: 76.08, Oil RSI: 56.11
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Wall Street retreats from records, U.S. Treasury yields rise: By Chris Prentice and Saikat Chatterjee
WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Wall Street retreated from record highs on Monday, and shares of lenders rallied as two-year U.S. Treasury yields rose after President Joe Biden tapped Jerome Powell to continue as Federal Reserve chair.
European shares were flat, under pressure from fears of a resurgent coronavirus pandemic.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite touched all-time highs before ending lower. The S&P 500 lost 0.32% to end at 4,682.88 points, while the Nasdaq Composite finished down 1.26%, at 15,854.76 amid losses in technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.28 points, or 0.05%, to 35,617.83.
Biden nominated Powell as chair and Lael Brainard, the other top candidate for the job, as vice chair. Powell's current term has proven positive for risk assets, with the S&P gaining 69.7% since his appointment.
The S&P 500 banks index gained.
"The nominations signal continuity for policy at a critical time for the economy," said Arthur Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York.
The U.S. dollar rose 0.52% against a basket of other major currencies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished flat after falling earlier in the day when German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe's biggest economy needed tighter restrictions to control a wave of COVID-19 inflections. MSCI gauge of European shares fell 0.6% as traders weighed the likely impact of fresh European COVID-19 restrictions on economic prospects.
Europe's "growth potential is being derailed by COVID right now. You're seeing flows back to the United States as a result," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage OANDA.
French health authorities reported 5,266 daily new COVID-19 infections, pushing the seven-day moving average of new cases to an almost three-month high.
Austria powered down public life as its fourth national COVID-19 lockdown began.
High frequency data has already shown the European economy struggling to gain traction relative to its U.S. counterpart.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.11%.
The euro fell 0.57% and touched the lowest in more than 16 months. The common currency has been the prime mover in markets over recent sessions as investors bet Europe's economy will lag the U.S. recovery.
U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the two-year yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, hitting its highest level since early March 2020.
Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida said last week that quickening the pace of tapering might be worth discussing at December's meeting. Minutes of the Fed's November meeting are due for release on Wednesday.
In commodities, gold prices were under pressure as Powell's nomination drove expectations that the central bank will stay the course on tapering economic support. Spot prices were down 2.16% by 4:23 EST (2124 GMT) and U.S. gold futures settled 2.4% lower at $1,806.30.
Oil prices rebounded from recent losses on reports that OPEC+ could adjust plans to raise oil production if large consuming countries release crude from their reserves or if the coronavirus pandemic dampens demand.
Brent crude settled up 1.03% at $79.70 a barrel and U.S. crude finished up 1.07% to $76.75 per barrel.
"The Biden administration is serious about tackling inflation and we’re not going to have runaway inflation kill the U.S. economy," OANDA's Moya said, citing the expected tapping of strategic petroleum reserves.
Bitcoin dropped 4.5%, extending its rout after posting its worst week in two months last week.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice in Washington and Saikat Chatterjee in London; Editing by Catherine Evans, Alexander Smith, Dan Grebler and David Gregorio) || CoinPal Announces the Launch of Its Crypto Exchange: LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2021 / Recently, CoinPal has announced the launch of its crypto exchange, offeering a system for users' data and the best encryption technology to ensure maximum protection at exchanging Bitcoin. It provides a digital platform for exchanging assets with other valuable assets. There are various ways of making payments or doing a cash-out for users' asset value using CoinPal. Users can use their Bitcoin (BTC) on CoinPal and exchange the crypto coins for a very reasonable price. Unlike other crypto exchanges that charge a high amount of fees for their services from the traders or investors, Coinpal charges less than a 1% transaction fee (making it the most affordable option for investors). The fees vary depending on the transaction value. CoinPal sends the asset value directly to the account, from where it can be transferred to other pay services. In addition, the value of cryptocurrency assets can also be converted into different funds. Such assets are useful for cash out later. What are cryptocurrency exchanges? Cryptocurrencies are one of the essential hotspot topics of the current time. In the investment and financial world, cryptocurrency has been a considerable force. Even after all the volatile guesses and prejudices, cryptocurrency has been able to rise and grow. People must have heard about Bitcoin. It is one of the famous cryptocurrencies. With the rise of cryptocurrency in the financial world, crypto exchanges also came into existence. They provide a platform for exchanging digital assets. All the buying and selling of digital currencies like Bitcoin happens on these platforms. Other functions like Bitcoin to Paypal transfer or any other medium also occur on the same platform. For any new or old investor, understanding cryptocurrency exchanges are critical. Here, we will discuss every important concept of cryptocurrency exchanges. Segments of cryptocurrency exchange. Cryptocurrency exchanges are mainly divided into two segments. Story continues Centralized cryptocurrency exchange: This cryptocurrency exchange offers better reliability to the transactions. A company or organization backs all the transactions or exchanges. It also governs or advises new investors in the decision-making process. Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange: This cryptocurrency exchange segment is better for people who want more security and anonymity in their transactions. There is no third-party involvement in this type of cryptocurrency exchange. As a result, the transaction is done only through peer-to-peer means. In addition, encryption reduces the risk of hacking and manipulation of the market. Operation of Cryptocurrency exchange: In terms of legislation, cryptocurrency exchanges are not yet authorized by any government completely. There are various federal laws for managing such exchanges, but it depends on region to region. The cost of cryptocurrency in the current scenario doesn't affect the management of cryptocurrency exchanges. Find out more about the CoinPal at https://CoinPal.eu/ . Social Links https://www.instagram.com/coinpal.eu/ Media Contact: Brand: CoinPal Contact: Kim Musai E-mail: kim_musai@coinpal.eu Website: https://CoinPal.eu/ SOURCE : CoinPal View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/673589/CoinPal-Announces-the-Launch-of-Its-Crypto-Exchange || Young Wall Streeters are going wild for crypto. Their bosses don't know what to do about it.: Welcome back to Insider Weekly! I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Goldman Sachs polled its interns earlier this year on everything from posting to TikTok to the climate crisis. One takeaway: 21% said they'd invested in cryptocurrencies. Given that Wall Street and its workforce are typically heavily regulated and tracked, I found this striking. In the past, financial institutions have waged war on their staffers communicating on encrypted messaging apps, such as WhatsApp. Now, they're facing a generation that's bypassing brokerage accounts to make investments from their crypto wallets . At the same time, these firms are looking to get in on the crypto craze themselves, with Citigroup this week appointing an executive to lead a new crypto team. That could create new conflicts of interest and lead to a clampdown. Until then, as Reed Alexander and Alex Morrell reported this week, young Wall Streeters are making bank on crypto. Read on for a Q&A on their reporting. Also in this week's newsletter: April Koh built a $2 billion mental-health startup by age 29. But a fast-paced culture there created "a systemic issue of burnout ." Clubhouse went from the poster child of VC-backed hype to an app full of "drama rooms" and unhappy creators. This is the story of its rise and fall . The Reddit reckoning had short-sellers scrambling. Now they're back with a vengence. " I gave these meme guys, these Reddit guys too much credit ," one told Insider. Let me know what you think of all our stories at mturner@insider.com Sign up today and become an Insider for our lowest annual subscription rate ever just $38 for full access to everything we offer. Inside young Wall Street's crypto craze Man looking at stocks on multiple computer screens against a green background with pixelated dollar signs, Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens and rocket ship emojis Marianne Ayala/Insider Reed Alexander and Alex Morrell take us inside their reporting on how young Wall Streeters are making crypto trades and what banks' compliance departments are saying about it. Story continues What prompted you to look into young Wall Street trading crypto? Reed: Alex and I had seen headlines about senior folks on Wall Street making bank on personal crypto trades. We were curious what junior bankers and financial advisors were up to and how their firms might be thinking about oversight. Wall Street typically has a lot of rules around what workers can invest in, but we discovered that few have any guidelines in place right now that pertain to digital assets. How are these Wall Streeters able to get around red tape and invest in crypto? Reed: Cryptocurrency is still very much an emerging asset class, and many on Wall Street are scratching their heads over how to police it. Using digital wallets instead of their brokerage accounts is one avenue they're taking to buy crypto without having to turn over any information about their investments to their employers. But it's unclear how long this flexible environment may last. How are banks responding to these crypto trades their employees are making? Alex: It's something of a mixed bag, but primarily it's watch and wait right now. Since most banks don't have significant business operations involving crypto, they're not taking great pains to clamp down on employee trading. That could change if banks get the go-ahead from regulators to embrace digital currencies. We're already seeing some signs of this at places like Goldman Sachs, which has been more eager to pursue crypto than some of its competitors. Read the full report here. Turmoil at April Koh's $2 billion mental-health startup Spring Health co-founder and CEO April Koh with three different expressions with a spiraling line behind her on a light beige background. Samantha lee/Insider April Koh has built a mental-health unicorn backed by Tiger Global by age 29. But the irony of Spring Health, the startup she founded in her senior year at Yale, was that the mental health of some of its employees deteriorated amid a rush to take on more customers. In a moment when many are reevaluating their priorities and putting a greater emphasis on their mental health, the story reflects a broader debate about startup culture. At Spring Health, moving fast sometimes contradicted the self care it was selling. Read what current and former Spring Health staffers are saying. Inside the rise and fall of Clubhouse Marc Andreessen scratches his head during a live interview with the Atlantic. Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist and cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz, participating in an "Atlantic Exchange" interview at 1776 in The Penthouse on May 19, 2014, in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Clubhouse was the breakout app of the pandemic, a place for creators to talk over a trendy and social audio platform. But now, the app is struggling to stay relevant and keep its users happy. "No one really talks about it anymore," one venture capitalist said. And it isn't for a lack of funding. Its user base is dwindling, and so-called drama rooms are hobbling the app. Here's what happened to the VC-darling app of the pandemic. The death of Wall Street short-sellers has been greatly exaggerated A fist clutching a wad of cash emerging out of a grave that says "R.I.P. SHORT SELLERS?", against a night sky with rocket emojis flying towards the moon and the wallstreetbets reddit character popping out from behind the gravestone Marianne Ayala/Insider During the Reddit meme-stock boom earlier this year, retail traders slated short-sellers as sworn enemies. Many predicted the end of an era. "Wall Street's Most Reviled Investors Worry About Their Fate" blared one New York Times headline. But today, some short-sellers are thriving more than ever. Here's why the demise of short-sellers has been greatly exaggerated. More of this week's top reads Zillow's CEO took a hit over the recent iBuying fiasco. But he's probably "already planning the next thing." The last market bubble taught Henry Blodget how to approach speculation. He shares three lessons ahead of the next bubble. Having trouble with procrastination? This productivity hack can help you cut down screen time by 40%. Google Cloud salespeople are "frustrated" and worried about layoffs after finding out they might be ineligible for 25% of their huge cash bonuses. Amazon is struggling to break into the lucrative market for SaaS business applications. Happy hours, holiday parties, and office gossip are back. For remote workers, the FOMO is real . China's Xi Jinping is tightening his grip on the country. His plans impact the future of the entire world. Compiled with help from Phil Rosen. Read the original article on Business Insider || Users Still Withdrawing BTC From Exchanges as New All-Time High Looks Imminent: BeInCrypto –
At the time of this writing, the price of bitcoin is just a few hundred dollars below its all-time high, yet it appears that crypto investors believe that it is not the end of the bull market.
This storywas seen first onBeInCryptoJoin our Telegram Groupand get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories likethisonBeInCrypto || VanEck Bitcoin Futures ETF Finds Cool Reception: Investment firm VanEcks bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) started trading on the Chicago-based CBOE exchange Tuesday after weeks of delays, but the first-day reception looked chilly compared to launches of similar funds last month. The VanEck ETF (stock ticker XBTF), which is designed to roughly track the price of bitcoin, attracted a fraction of the trading volume witnessed when the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF went live on Oct. 19 . The VanEck ETFs shares ended the day around $59.73, with a trading volume of 44,698 shares, or about $4.8 million in dollar terms. By comparison, the ProShares ETF, with the stock ticker BITO, hit a trading volume of about $1 billion by the end of its first day. The VanEck vehicle did not really move the needle in attracting new investors, Edward Moya, senior markets analyst for the foreign-exchange broker Oanda, wrote Tuesday in an email. The new ETF is managed by VanEcks head of active trading, Greg Krenzer, and the launch comes several weeks after the application won approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late October. Notably, the VanEck ETF advertises a net expense ratio of 0.65%, lower than the 0.95% charged by the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF. The low fee will help but not in near term, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, wrote in a tweet on Tuesday. I do see it being successful, but it will take some time. The increase in ETFs listed in the U.S. indicates a growing degree of market maturity and acceptance from regulators, even though some analysts have warned that the new vehicles might not track bitcoins price as well as a direct investment in the cryptocurrency. All this is doing is compressing downwards the bitcoin ETF in the U.S. at a much faster rate than in Europe, said crypto ETF expert Laurent Kssis, director of CEC Capital. He added that XBTF is an actively managed ETF and many investors wont know how and when the futures contracts are purchased or sold. Theres also the risk that returns might be eroded by the need to constantly roll futures positions into new contracts at the monthly expiration. Story continues There are decent rolling cost (soon to expire) contracts to futures months which are passed on to the product and hence the investor, Kssis said. The VanEck fund is the third bitcoin futures ETF to start trading in the U.S., so its possible the frenzy for such investment vehicles may have subsided since last months much-hyped launches. In October, the SEC greenlit the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (stock ticker BITO), which subsequently listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The fund quickly gathered more than $1 billion in investor assets , the fastest an ETF has ever hit that milestone. Following ProShares much anticipated ETF launch, Valkyrie Investments bitcoin futures ETF started trading on the Nasdaq a couple weeks ago. Read more: Invesco India and CoinShares to Launch Feeder Fund of Blockchain Stocks || Bitcoin Decline Could Stabilize at $60K Support: Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $65,000 as buyers continue to take some profits. The cryptocurrency was trading at around $64,000 at press time and is down 2% over the past 24 hours.
Lower support is seen at about $60,000, which could stabilize the current pullback.
The relative strength index (RSI) on the four-hour chart is near oversold levels, similar to Oct. 27, which preceded a nearly 10% increase in price. This time, however, buyers could face resistance at around $65,000, given the loss of upside momentum this week.
Indicators suggest a period of consolidation could persist after upsideexhaustionsignals appeared on the charts yesterday. Further, a negativedivergenceon the daily RSI suggests limited upside over the short term.
The weekly chart shows improving price momentum, although a decisive breakout above $69,000 needs to be confirmed before projecting upside targets. || Crypto ‘red alert’ issued by UK’s advertising watchdog: Cryptoassets such as bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD) are a red alert priority for the UK’s advertising watchdog, it said on Wednesday, as it banned seven cryptocurrency ads for breaking its rules, including ones by Coinbase (COIN) and Papa Johns (PZZA).
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said its rulings follow proactive monitoring of cryptoasset ads, and form part of a wider project that will eventually shape specific guidance around advertising these products in 2022.
It added that consumers need to know about the risks of investing in cryptoassets and companies should make sure that their ads aren’t misleading or socially irresponsible, and don't take advantage of consumers’ lack of awareness around these "complex and volatile products".
A Twitter bio for a cryptocurrency trading platform Coinburp, cryptocurrency promotion by Papa John’s and a digital poster for online cryptocurrency exchange Payward were all banned, mainly for “irresponsibly taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience.”
The Coinburp ad also failed to illustrate the risk of the investment, ASA said.
A YouTube video promoting Exmo Exchange, an in-app ad for Luno Money, a paid-for Facebook ad for Coinbase Europe, along with an ad for eToro were also among the offenders.
“We’ll continue to review cryptoasset ads over the next few months, not just for cryptocurrencies but also for nonfunglible tokens and fan tokens, and this will feed into our future enforcement work and guidance,” the authority said.
“Cryptoassets are a red-alert priority issue for us, so we’re conducting proactive monitoring and interventions where we find issues,” said Miles Lockwood, director of complaints and investigations.
“Our rulings published today and over the next few weeks will shape follow-up enforcement work in the new year to bring all cryptoassets ads into line with our expectations and will form the basis of updated guidance.”
Read more:Solana launches $150m Web 3.0 gaming fund
“We won’t hesitate to take action against ads that break our rules. We encourage anyone with any concerns about ads they’ve seen to get in touch.”
Elizabeth Rayment, director at Your Mind Media, told Yahoo Finance UK the ban of the crypto-related ads by the UK watchdog "comes as regulators move to set up rules around the crypto industry in general, be it trading or advertising to protect retail users."
"While cryptocurrencies have gained significant popularity recently they are still unknown to many consumers. The understanding of cryptocurrencies, their financial impact and the risk they involve remains limited among the general public and as such, advertising to them can be seen as concerning."
Many regulators around the world are cracking down on cryptos, as they become increasingly popular and mainstream.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has previously warned on the risks of investing in cryptos, warning consumers they stand to lose all their money because the space is not regulated. It has launched an £11m ($15.2m) campaign, designed to help consumers identify the risks cryptos may pose.
Areportpublished in October showed that the majority (69%) of Brits believe the FCA is in charge of regulating cryptocurrencies. The survey also found that 58% of those investing in high risk financial products say hype on social media and in the news lies behinds their investment decisions.
Watch: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency? || Bitcoin supera los $47.000 a la espera de una reunión de la Reserva Federal: Bitcoin, la mayor criptomoneda del mundo por capitalización de mercado, estaba a la baja mientras el mercado espera la reunión de política monetaria que la Reserva Federal de los Estados Unidos (Fed, por sus siglas en inglés) realizará esta semana, donde se espera que decida ralentizar su inyección de dinero.
Se espera que la reunión de dos días, que comienza el martes y termina el miércoles, concluya con el anuncio por parte de la Fed deduplicar el ritmo de reducción de compra de activos, que pasaría de $120.000 millones al mes a $30.000 millones mensuales.
Algunos operadores e inversores en cripto afirman que el programa de estímulo ha reforzado el atractivo de bitcoin como instrumento de cobertura ante la inflación, por lo que una reversión de la política de dinero fácil podría ser bajista.
Bitcoin, que suele cotizar en paralelo a los mercados tradicionales, comenzó diciembre en torno a los $57.000 y ahora se encuentra en torno a los $47.800. La criptomoneda ha bajado más de un 30% desde su máximo histórico, en noviembre.
Lennard Neo, jefe de investigación de Stack Funds, atribuye la reciente caída de bitcoin a la incertidumbre del mercado, que lleva a los inversores a evitar el riesgo. Bitcoin es considerado por algunos inversores como un activo de riesgo —caracterizado por un grado significativo de volatilidad de precios—, como los metales industriales, las acciones y las materias primas. En igualdad de condiciones, una política monetaria más restrictiva haría teóricamente menos atractivos estos activos de riesgo.
Los inversores se muestran indecisos a la hora de comprar bitcoin en los niveles actuales, según el analista principal de mercados de Oanda, Edward Moya. Los operadores pueden anticipar un último gran impulso a la baja para la criptomoneda, el cual podría llevarla al nivel de $40.000 antes de que los inversores quieran volver a comprar agresivamente, dijo.
Laurent Kssis, experto en fondos cotizados (ETF, por sus siglas en inglés) de criptomonedas y director de CEC Capital, dijo que no anticipa un movimiento inminente hacia el alza para bitcoin, en base a las liquidaciones y los volúmenes de negociación. Dijo que una ruptura por encima de los $50.000 puede ocurrir a un ritmo mucho más lento de lo que varios esperaban.
“Estados Unidos se ha despertado y ha comprado al prever una caída de los precios de bitcoin, lo que ha hecho que el precio suba ligeramente. Pero sigue estando bajo presión”, concluyó Kssis.
“Parece haber una fuerte sensación de incertidumbre sobre la dirección del mercado, a pesar de los fuertes indicadores en varios gráficos”, dijo el analista de cripto de Quantum Economics, Jason Deane.
El sentimiento y los niveles de confianza a corto plazo para la criptomoneda —consultar elÍndice de Miedo y Codicia— parecen estar jugando un papel más importante que los fundamentos a largo plazo, como los máximos históricos de direcciones activas y elhash rate, según Deane.
El Índice de Miedo y Codicia, una herramienta utilizada por algunos inversores para evaluar el mercado, ha señalado “miedo extremo” durante casi un mes consecutivo.
La última vez que el índice leyó un sentimiento de miedo prolongado en el mercado fue al comienzo del verano en el hemisferio norte, cuando el sentimiento del mercado fue “temeroso” durante casi dos meses seguidos, según el informe semanal de Arcane Research.
“Esperamos que la incertidumbre siga siendo la consideración predominante por el momento, hasta que haya suficiente impulso para abrirse paso”, dijo Deane.
Ether, la segunda criptomoneda por capitalización bursátil, cotiza por debajo de los $4.000 y ha bajado un 12% en los últimos siete días. || Xinfin Network’s XDC Rallies by More Than 13% Despite Bearish Market: The cryptocurrency market has been underperforming over the past few hours, with the total market cap now below $2.2 trillion. One token that stands out is XDS, that has gained over 13% in the last 24 hours. XDC Eyes the $0.10 Psychological Point XDC , the native token of the Xinfin Network, has been rallying over the past few hours. The rally comes despite the broader cryptocurrency recording losses, with Bitcoin now trading around $46,000 per coin. XinFin is an enterprise-ready hybrid blockchain technology company designed to tackle challenges in the international finance and trading sector. Its native token, XDC, currently supports smart contracts, has a 2 seconds transaction time, a transaction speed of 2,000 TPS and uses XinFin Delegated Proof of Stake (XDPoS). Xinfin intends to be a highly scalable, secure, permission, and commercial grade’ blockchain network. XDC is recovering from a slump that affected its price earlier this year. Over the past three months, XDC’s value has dropped by more than 24%. However, the token has been performing excellently in recent weeks. Earlier this month, XDC/USD found support at the mid-July lows around $0.067, and this could allow it to eye the $0.10 mark over the coming hours or days. Despite its recent rally, XDC is still down by nearly 50% from the mid-August high of $0.20. XDC is Trading Above its 50-Day EMA XDC’s technical indicators show that the cryptocurrency is currently performing well and recovering from its recent losses. If the current momentum can be maintained, XDC’s value could soon soar. XDC targets the $0.10 resistance level. Source: FXEMPIRE The XDC/USD daily chart shows that the coin is trading above its 50-day moving average of $0.0837. The MACD line has just crossed over into the positive region, indicating a growing buying appetite for the coin. Furthermore, the 14-day relative strength index of 61 means XDC could soon enter the overbought region. XDC could surpass the $0.10 psychological level over the coming hours if the market conditions remain unchanged. However, it would need the support of the broader market to top the second major resistance level at around $0.144. Story continues This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Silver Price Daily Forecast – Silver Moves Higher As Gold Gets Back Above $1800 Best ETFs for 2022 GBP/USD Price Forecast – British Pound Hits Major Target Stocks to Deliver Positive Returns in 2022, But Not Like They Did in 2021: Fidelity AUD USD Price Forecast – Australian Dollar Continues Sideways Dance Price of Gold Fundamental Daily Forecast – Rebounding Dollar Exerting Pressure as Yields Chop Around || Stocks Lower for Second Straight Day on Hot CPI Data: SPECIAL ALERT: Remember, the November episode of the Zacks Ultimate Strategy Session is now available for viewing! Don’t miss your chance to hear: ▪ Tracey Ryniec and David Bartosiak Agree to Disagree on whether investors should still buy Bitcoin after hitting new highs ▪ Kevin answers several questions in Zacks Mailbag, including How will the stock market react if Congress fails to pass their stimulus bill? When would you expect a recovery in Chinese stocks? How can you avoid big losses? ▪ David Bartosiak and Daniel Laboe choose one portfolio to give feedback for improvement ▪ Market conditions from both fundamental and technical views ▪ The full list of top-performing stocks over the past 30 days ▪ New stocks added to the Zacks Ultimate portfolio ▪ And much more Simply log on to Zacks.com and view the November episode here. And please let us know what you think of these monthly episodes. Email all feedback to mailbag@zacks.com. And just like that, stocks have now dropped for two straight days after rallying to several new highs in the previous eight sessions. A hotter-than-expected CPI report has investors wondering if the Fed will need to alter its easy-does-it taper plan. Consumer prices in October were up 0.9% month over month, which was much higher than expectations of 0.6% and September’s 0.4%. It surged 6.2% year over year, also missing forecasts for 6% and jumping from the previous month’s 5.4%. As you’ve probably heard, it’s the fastest annual rise in more than three decades. Investors are wondering if the Fed’s “transitory” label for this sweltering inflation still holds water. Because if these rising prices don’t simmer down soon, the fear is that the Committee will have to accelerate its tapering plan and maybe even hike interest rates sooner than expected. “So, we have an issue here where the Fed is forced to possibly change their stance on transitory. The number is going up, not down. Traders will be watching what the Fed says and does next,” said Jeremy Mullin in Counterstrike. On Wednesday, the NASDAQ plunged 1.66% (or nearly 264 points) to 15,622.71, as Treasury yields spiked after the CPI report. The S&P dropped 0.82% to 4646.71. These indices both saw their eight-day record setting runs end yesterday, and got roughed up today for their technology exposure. The Dow slid 0.66% (or around 240 points) to 36,079.94. In other news, jobless claims continue setting pandemic-era lows. The number came to 267K last week, which was below the previous week’s upwardly-revised 271K and marks five straight weeks below 300K. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to offset the CPI news. (The report is coming out a day earlier than usual due to Veteran’s Day tomorrow.) Finally, shares of Disney (DIS) are down more than 4% afterhours, as of this writing. After the bell today, the entertainment giant missed on both the top and bottom lines in its fourth-quarter report. A slowdown in Disney+ subscribers was part of the problem... Story continues Today's Portfolio Highlights: Counterstrike: The portfolio added a couple Zacks Rank #1s (Strong Buys) on Wednesday that crushed earnings estimates in recent reports. Yelp (YELP) runs an online community that shares ideas on restaurants, shopping, nightlife, financial services, health and a variety of other topics. The company beat earnings expectations for six straight quarters, so now Jeremy will give it a try with hopes that it can move past $42 again. The other buy is Rocket Companies (RKT), which engages in the tech-driven real estate, mortgage and e-commerce businesses. The editor considers this a value play with a good risk/reward to get back above its post-earnings high around $18.70. The service added YELP with a 6% allocation and RKT with an 8% allocation. Read the full write-up for a lot more on these moves, including their targets and stops. Surprise Trader: Demand for Wi-Fi speakers are “through the roof” these days, which is a big reason why Dave added Sonos (SONO) on Wednesday. Of course, it also helps that this smart speakers company put together five straight quarters of positive surprises with the most recent beat surpassing 250%! And now this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) has a positive Earnings ESP of 200% for the report coming after the bell on Wednesday, November 17. The editor added SONO today with a 12.5% allocation, while also selling the underperforming PlayAGS (AGS) position. Read the full write-up for more on these moves. By the way, this service had a couple top performers today with GoHealth (GOCO) gaining 8.6% and CarGurus (CARG) rising 5.6%. Commodity Innovators: Sweltering inflation numbers are making the metals space look pretty attractive right now, so Jeremy added two names on Wednesday that should be resistant to surging prices. The editor thinks that the price of silver will catch up to the price of gold, but the portfolio didn’t have any exposure to that precious metal. Until now. iShares Silver Trust (SLV) was added today with a mid-term holding period. This fund tracks the daily move of silver (of course), which Jeremy thinks is headed toward its 200-day and could get back to $28 “quicker than most people think”. Meanwhile, the portfolio already had some gold exposure, but a little more can’t hurt as prices move higher. Jeremy added ProShares Ultra Gold (UGL) today as well, which offers 2X exposure to gold. He considers this a short-term trade. Read the full write-up for more on today’s moves. All the Best, Jim Giaquinto Recommendations from Zacks' Private Portfolios: Believe it or not, this article is not available on the Zacks.com website. The commentary is a partial overview of the daily activity from Zacks' private recommendation services. If you would like to follow our Buy and Sell signals in real time, we've made a special arrangement for readers of this website. Starting today you can see all the recommendations from all of Zacks' portfolios absolutely free for 7 days. Our services cover everything from value stocks and momentum trades to insider buying and positive earnings surprises (which we've predicted with an astonishing 80%+ accuracy). Click here to "test drive" Zacks Ultimate for FREE >> Zacks Investment Research View comments
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 45897.57, 43569.00, 43160.93, 41557.90, 41733.94, 41911.60, 41821.26, 42735.86, 43949.10, 42591.57
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2019-09-20]
BTC Price: 10181.64, BTC RSI: 46.52
Gold Price: 1507.30, Gold RSI: 52.97
Oil Price: 58.09, Oil RSI: 53.64
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September: Bakkt has announced the US launch of its heavily hyped platform for custody and physically-delivered daily and monthly Bitcoin futures contracts. We have some news https://t.co/ykUvQ31cGz — Bakkt (@Bakkt) August 16, 2019 Following the regulatory green light, this is scheduled for 23rd September and will be in partnership with ICE Futures US and ICE Clear US. The launch has been hugely anticipated, with the company first pencilling in August 2018 before being subject to delays over compliance issues. “Our contracts have already received the green light from the CFTC through the self-certification process and user acceptance testing has begun,” it says in a Medium post. “With approval by the New York State Department of Financial Services to create Bakkt Trust Company, a qualified custodian, the Bakkt Warehouse will custody Bitcoin for physically delivered futures. This offers customers unprecedented regulatory clarity and security alongside a regulated, globally accessible exchange in a market underserved by institutional-grade infrastructure.” Bakkt has hosted events in New York and Chicago, cities critical to the US futures market. “We gathered roughly 150 customers, regulators, and market participants to advance the dialogue in our industry, including a fireside chat with CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump,” the Medium post states. “In Chicago, we had a conversation on the regulation of digital assets with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce , and we invite you to listen in.” Further details here . The post Bakkt Bitcoin futures and warehouse to debut in September appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments || Lucien Chen’s VOL: the BTC of hard disk mining: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 14, 2019 /In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto proposed the idea of Bitcoin and published the open-source software of Bitcoin in 2009. Bitcoin’sjourney from 0 to 1is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and in a blink of eye, it has been 10 years. However, for the majority, Bitcoin appears to be an exclusive club whose dooris only open to a few.
In 2019, former CTO ofTron, Lucien Chen startedaproject called Volume in the hope of guiding more people into the world of digital currency. Theproject generates a new digital currency VOLviatheencrypted consensus algorithmbyhard disk capacity. VOL isacurrency like Bitcoin, but it is not a common public chain project, nor an application project.To some extent, VOL can be seen as the BTC of thehard diskmining industry.
When compared to all hit hard disk mining project, VOL had a better point than the recent hit projects Lambda and BHD, sitting at the top of the chart with the best overall performance.
What improvements has VOL made based on BTC?
VOL, the Volume Network, usesanencrypted algorithm related tohard disk capacityto guarantee the production of the currency. Similar to Bitcoin that usesanencrypted algorithmrelated to computing capacity, the circulation of the currency is fair and square; the difference is that instead of calculating therandom numberfrom the entire network like BTC does, VOL searches for that number inhard disks of the network. Compared with BTC, VOL stands out with its own edges:
1. Eco-friendlier mining: as we all know, BTC mining has been categorized as outdated production capacity due to its huge electricity consumption.By comparison,the POSThard diskmining mechanism of VOL does not consume massive amount of electricity, which not only avoids energy waste but also makes it convenient for users to mine at home. In addition, the life span ofhard diskexceeds that of ASIC chip and GPU used by BTC, which means that you don’t have to frequently update your devices.
2. Naturally anti-centralized:as BTC mining evolves from CPU to GPU to FPGA, the devicesbecomemore professional and thecomputingpower becomes more centralized; yet thehard diskmining of VOL is naturally anti-centralized.
3. Lower threshold:the VOL network is just atastarting point with its hard disk mining mechanism, which allows for mining with simply a household computer; while with BTC, you will be looking at thousands or even millions worth of investment! With VOL, it costs far less than BTC to mine, be it the earlier or the later stage of your investment.
4. Lower risks：the general blockchain market remains unstable. If another bearish market hits, many mines will crash and the mining machines of BTC will just turn into worthless pieces of metal. With the hard disk mining mechanism, even if the hard disk is not used for mining, it can still be used for household computers.
5. More robust economic model: to incentivize early adopters, Satoshi designed the halving mechanism of Bitcoin: the block reward halves every 210,000 blocks. In 2020, the reward will be halved down to 6.25 BTC. When you look at VOL, with a dynamic token producing mechanism, VOL’s economic model prevents problems like high threshold for the latecomers and centralized mining capacity, making it possible forenhanceddecentralization and userparticipation.
6. Healthier and more secure management of VOL mining pool: for BTC, the mining pool whichdistribute all the profitsto each miner in a centralized way,which is very likely to be anon-transparent and unfairprocess. With VOL, miners sign tojointheMiningPoolRepresentative Nodes (MPRN), and the mining pool does notholdthe private key of the miners.Pledgesare made on the chain toMPRNs, and the profits will be automatically distributed, guaranteeing the benefits of the miners in a highly secureway.
Lucien believes that VOL is still at its infancy, and the team is patiently welcoming more participants toitsecosystem. The team is confident that one day when a “consensus” is reached of VOL, it will become a basic currency justlikeBTC. Even BTC was unknown 10 years ago. Lucien and the team is very confident about the future of VOL.Lucien Chen’s vision for VOL: a “basic currency” like BTC
Statistics showthat by the end of Q1, 2019, mining digital currencies account for 68% of the general digital currency market. The mainstream projects are those based on the PoW consensus mechanism, and these projects are all faced with problems such as high energy consumption, centralized computing power and scaling challenges, making it harder and harder to see the future of BTC and other PoW-based tokens; other projects like ETH and GRIN are shied away from being mainstream options due to their high GPU costs. On that note, a project that is based on hard disk mining is one that truly has low threshold.
Lucien Chenhas his vision set for VOL: a “basic currency” like BTC, and the team is setting sail for an ambitiousjourney of integrity and intelligence.
Website：https://volumenetwork.io
Twitter：https://twitter.com/network_volume
Official Telegram：https://t.me/VolumeNetworkio
Contact:
VOLUME NETWORK FOUNDATION LTD.
Lucy Lee
feedback@volumenetwork.io
888.552.4466
SOURCE:VOLUME NETWORK FOUNDATION LTD.
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/555966/Lucien-Chens-VOL-the-BTC-of-hard-disk-mining || Binance US could go live before November, but wont serve NY residents initially: The U.S. entity of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is expected to go live before November, but wont serve New York residents initially. The updates were revealed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in an interview with Cheddar published on Thursday. He said: "There are a lot of things in flux, but I would say [we'll launch] in a month or two. Since the operator of Binance US, BAM Trading Services, does not yet have a BitLicense (issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services), the exchange wont serve to New York residents at launch, Zhao said. Binance initially announced its plans to launch a fiat-to-crypto exchange in the U.S. last month, before breaking the news that its main platform, Binance.com, would stop being available in the country in September. Binance US also recently hired Catherine Coley, former head of XRP institutional liquidity at Ripple, as its CEO. Earlier this month, the upcoming exchange also revealed a list of 30 tokens it is considering for listing, including its native coin BNB. So far, Binance has launched three international fiat-to-crypto exchanges - in Uganda, Jersey and Singapore - and on all the three platforms it supports only five cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and BNB. Binance Uganda, on the other hand, also supports PAX stablecoin. View comments || Curate Breaks into the Fashion Industry With Its Blockchain Platform: LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / July 27, 2019 / As the blockchain technology is gaining momentum in transforming industries across the globe, a culture to implement this technology in all walks of life is gradually taking shape. By far, the finance industry has been the most influenced by the potential of the technology. The fashion industry is one that was left unexplored by this disruptive technology, but of course, that wouldnt have been the case for long. It is rather exciting to experience the moment when glamour meets tech. Blockchain has the potential to provide solutions for the flaws inherent in the fashion industry. For instance, it can help protect the intellectual property of brand owners or designers against infringement, counterfeits or tampered products. Blockchain provides a sense of authenticity for the products as they can be easily tracked and verified by consumers, retailers, and designers. In todays world where the internet provides convenience to masses and makes it easier to search for anything and everything, it also feels like a vast ocean which makes it all the more difficult for users while searching for unique content. Moreover, the product feedback on various platforms may be deceptive and manipulated, therefore the users cannot trust the genuineness of the products. Therefore, these flaws create an opportunity for blockchain to address the concerns and enhance transparency and security of such platforms in the fashion or retail industry. Curate Leveraging Blockchain Technology Curate is a platform based on blockchain technology and ERC-20 token smart contracts, which rewards users with digital tokens such as BTC, ETH, and its native utility token CUR8, in return for curating fashion styles. Essentially, it is a style discovery decentralized app (DApp). It provides a trustless platform to its users to provide their feedback on a curated collection of fashion styles that the community can trust. The crypto-asset based fashion platform offers users a unique collection of brands and designer wear that they can purchase, provide their feedback or upvote. In fact, it rewards the users with digital tokens for engaging and contributing to the platform. With the help of blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence, the platform eliminates fake reviews or defaming comments and allows only trustworthy reviews through the verification of user ID. Story continues How Curate Works? The first step involves signing up on the platform after which one can access the dashboard which is a DApp. Users can then create content to sell their brand items. With the help of a unique remote frequency identification (RFID), users can scan the product they wish to purchase to confirm its authenticity and obtain information on the source of fabric. Therefore, it will not be possible for individuals to sell fake brands. Buyers and other users can upvote or provide feedback on the products based on which both the buyer and the seller will receive rewards and the item with the majority of upvotes would trend. Curate will charge a minimal transaction fee for all the transactions on the platform. How Will Retailers, Brands and Customers Leverage the Platform? Retailers and other designer brands can showcase their fashion items on the single discovery platform. In exchange for curating styles, the curators can earn rewards in BTC, ETH or CUR8. Retailers and small businesses can leverage the opportunity of increased brand awareness, conversions, and sales through access to 50,000 users on the platform. The platform provides assurance of legal transactions and no chargebacks through KYC verified users. Customers can easily find unique quality content and trust the genuineness of trending items. Customers have access to genuine products and are rewarded to upvote and provide reviews. Users can track the source of the product including the history of the material and the nature of the fabric. The project is soon to launch its IEO on exchanges such as P2PB2B, WHitebit, Livecoin, CoinExchange and ExMarkets with its CUR8 token based on Ethereum Blockchain ERC-20 wallet. Join the Curate IEO on 9th of August at P2PB2B. URL: https://p2pb2b.io/token-sale/CUR8/1 Media Contact: Name: James Hakim Email: james@curate.style Contact No: +44 7584066458 Website: https://curate.style/ TG Group: https://t.me/curate SOURCE: CURATE View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/553364/Curate-Breaks-into-the-Fashion-Industry-With-Its-Blockchain-Platform || Bitcoin May Be Building for Move as Price Volatility Nears 5-Month Low: • Bitcoin’s price volatility, as represented by Bollinger bandwidth, has hit the lowest level since May 3, and is closing on a level seen ahead of violent price swings in the past.
• While technical charts are increasingly favoring a downside move, bitcoin’s non-price metrics continue to call a bullish move, which, so far, has remained elusive.
• BTC risks falling to $9,855 (Sept. 11 low) in the next couple of days and could extend the decline toward $9,320 (Aug. 29 low).
• The bearish case would weaken above Sept. 13’s high of $10,458. The outlook, as per the daily chart would turn bullish above $10,956 (Aug. 20 high).
Bitcoin’s volatility has hit its lowest level in over four months – a price squeeze that may force a significant move either way.
BTC’s bull run stalled at highs above $13,800 on June 26 and prices have created lower highs and higher lows ever since.
Notably, the trading range has narrowed sharply over the last two weeks, with bitcoin consolidating between $9,850 and 10,950, as per Bitstamp data.
Related:Ether, XRP Rise to 1-Month Highs While Bitcoin Falls
As a result, the Bollinger bands – volatility indicators placed 2 standard deviations above and below the price’s 20-day moving average – have narrowed sharply.
More importantly, Bollinger bandwidth, an indicator used to gauge market volatility, has dropped to 0.11 – the lowest reading since May. 3, as seen in the chart below.
The volatility level has dropped steadily from 0.62 to lows near 0.10 in the 2.5-months.
Related:Will Bitcoin’s Price Rally After Federal Reserve Rate Cut?
In the past, BTC has witnessed big moves following drops to or below 0.10 (marked by arrows).
For instance, the bandwidth dropped to 0.06 a week before BTC broke into a bull market with a high-volume move to $5,000 on April 2. It also fell to 0.10 on May 2 – a day before BTC jumped above $5,600, marking an upside break of a three-week-long consolidation. And, in the days leading up to last November’s sell-off below $6,000, volatility dropped to 0.05.
If history is a guide, then BTC could soon witness a big move on either side. Technical analysis theory also states than an extended period of low volatility is often followed by a big move.
While the record high hash rate (miner confidence)is callinga bullish move, the technical charts are beginning to favor the bears.
As of writing, BTC is changing hands at $10,170 on Bitstamp, representing little change on a 24-hour basis.
Bitcoin jumped 2.6 percent on Sept. 12, confirming an upside break of a falling wedge pattern. The bullish breakout, however, failed to draw bids and the cryptocurrency has ended up creating another lower high at $10,458 (Sept. 13 high).
With the failed breakout, the bearish view put forward by Sept. 6’s big red engulfing candle has gained credence.
BTC risks falling back to the Sept. 11 low of $9,855 in the short-term. A violation there would open the doors for $9,320 (Aug. 29 low).
A few observers are calling for a deeper drop to levels below $8,000. That possibility cannot be ruled out as the cryptocurrency is looking heavy on the longer duration charts.
The back-to-back inside bar candlestick patterns on the monthly chart (above left) indicate buyer exhaustion following a stellar rally from $4,000 to $13,880.
A bearish “inside bar” reversal would be confirmed if prices close (UTC) below $9,049 – the low of the first inside bar created in July – on Sept. 30.
Further, a negative reading on the weekly moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicates scope for a deeper pullback.
The bearish case would weaken if prices rise above $10,956 (Aug. 20 high), invalidating the lower highs setup on the daily chart.
That said, a weekly close (Sunday, UTC) above $12,000 is needed for bull revival,as discussedlast month.
Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing.
Bitcoinimage via Shutterstock; charts byTrading View
• Bitcoin’s Record Hash Rate May Hint at Price Gains to Come
• What Bitcoin’s Valuation Says About Its Volatility || Dallas Mavericks to accept bitcoin as payment: Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks will support bitcoins as a method of payment, the NBA team announced via a press release on Tuesday. Specifically, the team is allowing fans to purchase tickets and merchandise online through a partnership with cryptocurrency payments processing firm Bitpay. This move makes the Mavs the second team in the NBA to accept bitcoin. In 2014, the Sacramento Kings became the first . “We want our fans who would like to pay with Bitcoin [to have] the opportunity to do so. BitPay allows our global fans to seamlessly make purchases with the Mavs,” said Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban. This is not Cuban's first foray into cryptocurrencies. In 2017, the American businessman backed 1confirmation, a venture capital firm dedicated to investing in crypto-related startups and projects. Back then, Cuban told CNBC that cryptocurrencies "is an interesting space that I [want] to get involved with and learn more." || Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets continue to grind at elevated levels: Gold markets of course have been back and forth during the week, and although we are forming a little bit of a negative candle, the reality is that we have been testing the $50 range for some time. The $1450 level above is resistance, just as the $1400 level underneath is support. Beyond that, the market has supported down to the $1390 level at that area, so I think that any bounce from there makes quite a bit of sense. After all we have had an impulsive move to the upside and now we are simply churning the gains to get a bit of a move to the upside in the end I believe. Price of Gold Video 29.07.19 If we did break down below the $1390 level, then it’s possible that we could go towards the $1350 level underneath. That’s an area that I think there should be massive amounts of buyers at, keeping the market to the upside. Ultimately, I think that this market continues to find plenty of reason to go higher, not the least of which will be the fact that the central banks around the world are going to be very soft with their monetary policy, driving the need for hard money higher. We are seeing in Exodus out of fiat currency in general as seen in the Bitcoin market, and of course Gold has the same fundamental drivers right now. If we can break above the $1450 level then we start looking towards the $1500 level which of course will attract a lot of attention but I think we not only break above there we go looking towards 2000 longer-term. I have no interest in shorting. Please let us know what you think in the comments below This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock markets continue to show strength Forex Daily Recap – DXY Bulls Cherished over Upbeat US Q2 Data Natural Gas Weekly Price Forecast – Natural gas markets continue to look bearish Gold Weekly Price Forecast – Gold markets continue to grind at elevated levels E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – Threatening Last Week’s Close at 27130 Gold Price Prediction -Gold Edges Higher Despite Solid GDP View comments || Three UK Men Busted Over Bitcoin-Based Drug Ring: Related:Dark Web Drug Dealer to Hand Over Bitcoin Millions After Plea Deal
• New York State Sees First Conviction for Crypto Money Laundering
• Canadian Court Rules Drug Dealer Must Hand Over $1.4 Million in Bitcoin || Fidelity’s charity unit includes XRP to its list of accepted cryptos for donation; hits $100 million-mark: Fidelity Charitable, the financial services giant’s charity unit, is now accepting XRP, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency, for donations.
Until now, the unit accepted only four cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH) and litecoin (LTC), having launched the form of donation back in 2015, according to an announcement shared with The Block late last week.
Since the launch, Fidelity Charitable has received more than $106 million in cryptocurrencies. Last year, it received a lesser amount at $30 million in crypto donations as the cryptocurrency market saw a significant hit.
Source: Fidelity Charitable2019 Giving Report
The charity organization further said that non-publicly traded assets such as cryptocurrencies and real estate help donors save 20% more in capital gains taxes. || XRP Soars 97% In Rally: Investing.com - XRP was trading at $9.35560 by 02:20 (06:20 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Friday, up 97.17% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since August 23. The move upwards pushed XRP's market cap up to $11.61358B, or 4.32% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, XRP's market cap was $79.53400B. XRP had traded in a range of $0.26774 to $9.36570 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, XRP has seen a rise in value, as it gained 3.55%. The volume of XRP traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $1.02776B or 1.89% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.2581 to $9.3657 in the past 7 days. At its current price, XRP is still down 0.11% from its all-time high of $9.37 set on August 23. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $10,107.0 on the Investing.com Index, up 1.28% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $189.86 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 2.11%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $181.50092B or 67.55% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $20.54830B or 7.65% of the total cryptocurrency market value. Related Articles Stellar Climbs Above 15.84462 Level, Up 100% Stellar Soars 100% In Rally Litecoin Tumbles 21% In Bearish Trade
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
$Nickjb92 || Don’t trust those who say Bitcoin is!!! Just do what they don’t want you to know that they do “buy bitcoin “ || Trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with up to 100x leverage. Fast execution, low fees, Bitcoin futures and swaps: available only on BitMEX.
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https://t.co/ycU8NvSh0p https://t.co/pyj8bOkhhQ || I've donated for the BitcoinCash dev fund... https://t.co/za7BuTuapN https://t.co/3sxqLlPS9o - TheLegendaryTwatter https://t.co/tqcS0lLzaA || BTC
finexの乖離がまだ異常水域です。
ペナントの収束タイミングに合わせた大口の仕掛けです。
前回の高値をギリギリ超えてきたことや、フィボナッチの重要ライン(過去の高値は2度フィボナッチライン上で止められています)を突破していることから大口の本気度が伺えます。 https://t.co/2Qg4Yri1K5 || $ETH is now worth $216.72 (-0.06%) and 0.02159607 BTC (-0.43%) #ETH
➡️ https://t.co/KYxFJ3q4Wc || Prices update in $USDT every 1 hour:
$BTC - 10237.10 $
$ETH - 189.90 $
$XRP - 0.27 $
$TRX - 0.0156 $
$DOGE - 0.00241104 $
$LTC - 67.95 $
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Trend: down || Prices: 10019.72, 10070.39, 9729.32, 8620.57, 8486.99, 8118.97, 8251.85, 8245.92, 8104.19, 8293.87
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-12-07]
BTC Price: 17899.70, BTC RSI: 94.30
Gold Price: 1249.80, Gold RSI: 36.41
Oil Price: 56.69, Oil RSI: 52.44
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Interview with the Bonpay Founder & CEO Alex Blazhevych: If you are thinking of buying cryptocurrency or already are a happy owner of digital coins, you surely have thought about spending it. And that is not so easy. But while crypto supporters forecast free use of crypto in future, there are services that make it possible nowadays, so you don’t have to wait years. Bonpay is the best solution, where you can manage, convert, store cryptocurrency in a wallet and freely spend it with a card. Secrets of creating such project we will learn today from company’s CEO, Alex Blazhevych. How was the idea of Bonpay born? Mr. Blazhevych: Cryptocurrency is understood and accepted by more and more people, and sooner or later each of them, ask the same question: how can I spend cryptocurrency in the real world? The indicator of easiness of spending is whether you can or can’t buy a cup of coffee with crypto in a small cafe near your house. Our team was fascinated by the idea of cryptocurrency, but the problem was how to connect crypto and the real world. We want people to be sure that they can use their cryptocurrency funds in the real world, so we decided to create Bonpay , which allows spending digital currency everywhere by instant and seamless conversion to fiat money, without any hidden fees. Our main goal is to provide our clients with simple, convenient and secure service. How does Bonpay differ from similar services? Mr. Blazhevych: Firstly – DLN, Decentralized Liquidity Network and it is aimed to solve main problems of cryptocurrency world – lack of liquidity and high exchange rates. It’s a breakthrough technology that is being developed by our team. DLN guarantees that the most favorable rates will be used during conversion. Secondly, it is a LIVE version of the website that clearly shows that we know we do and what we are going to improve and create in the nearest future. Thirdly – the experience of our team and willingness to bring to the market the most secure product with the lowest fees. You can learn more about DLN in our whitepaper . Story continues Bonpay 2 Why do you need Token Sale? Mr. Blazhevych: Unlike many similar services, we already have a live product – wallet and card. Currently, our cards are available for EU only, but we are working on the solution for other regions. We are negotiating with 3 huge card issuers and trying to find the best solution for our customers. And that is why we launched our ICO , to be able to provide cards not only for EU members. But cards are only the beginning for us to be able to develop a product in a fast way according to the milestones in the whitepaper. You can check our milestones in a white paper to see all benefits we will give the community. Token Sale is mutually beneficial for project and clients. Engaged clients, who believe in future of Bonpay, can participate , buy BON Tokens and get benefits. And we are able to raise funds for making our service better. How is Token Sale going? Mr. Blazhevych: Bonpay Token Sale started on October 31st and will last until November 28th, but we have already raised more than $6 million. We are grateful that people believe in Bonpay and offer extra bonuses for our Token Sale participants. The earlier you make an investment in Bonpay, the more benefits you get. We still have a great offer for people who can send over 20 ETH and also appreciate and are willing to provide special conditions for the products as well as for a number of tokens who willing to send over 200 ETH. What are your plans after ending of Token Sale? Mr. Blazhevych: Firstly we will try to bring the market crypto card solution outside EU, so crypto enthusiasts from Asia, Africa, South America regions as well as Canada, Australia and CIS countries could use our cards too. As for now, crypto cards from each program you know are available only for EU region only. We are working on setting partnerships with card-issuing companies and exchanges to improve our services. Raised funds let us focus on making Bonpay more secure and simple in use. We have clearly stated roadmap, where our goals and time for their implementation are described. In the nearest future, we will launch Android and iOS apps, so clients can control their funds by finger touch. We want to bring cryptocurrency in every corner of the world and make its usage as simple as possible. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: New Opportunities for Cryptocurrencies Investors Bitcoin2X and How It Will Impact The CryptoCurrency Markets Bulls Running Wild in Crude Oil Market Daily Market Forecast, November 7, 2017 – EUR/USD, Gold, Crude Oil, USD/JPY, GBP/USD Three great trading setups on EURUSD, Gold and NZDSGD USD/CAD Daily Fundamental Forecast – November 7, 2017 || Disney's new streaming service shouldn't scare Netflix: Disney (DIS) is set to launch its own streaming service in late 2019.
On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Igersaidit would price this service “substantially below” where Netflix (NFLX) is right now, which for its most popular plan is $11 per month.
For some, this might indicate a future where Netflix’s preeminence in the streaming video space is overtaken by Disney, which is also set to pullsome its programmingfrom Netflix when its own service launches. On this outline, it might seem like Disney is developing a Netflix killer.
Speaking Thursday, Iger said explicitly that Disney isnottrying to make a Netflix killer, saying on the company’s conference call that, “Our goal here is to be a viable player in the direct-to-consumer space, [a] space that we all know is a very, very compelling space to be in.
“We also believe that our brands and our franchises really matter, as we’ve seen through Netflix and all our other platforms. And so that gives us an opportunity as well.”
And Iger’s comments that online streaming is a “very, very compelling space” also make clear that it isn’t Netflix which is being most directly impacted by the rise of other streaming services, but the traditional cable providers.
If the traditional cable bundle were where Iger thought Disney could derive the most value for its content, it wouldn’t be breaking out its content into separate offerings, a laits forthcoming ESPN bundle next year.
With his comments on Thursday, Iger echoed whatNetflix CEO Reed Hastings said back in January, when he argued that the proliferation of competitors in the internet video space only helps to solidify Netflix’s standing in the industry.
“It’s becoming an internet TV world,” Hastings said, “which presents both challenges and opportunities for Netflix as we strive to earn screen time.”
So while some might see competitors like Amazon (AMZN) Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Go, and now Disney’s forthcoming offering as a threat to Netflix, the building out of the internet video space serves to solidify Netflix’s position — and to weaken that of the traditional cable bundle.
Netflix has already established itself as a pillar of the entertainment industry and shows like “House of Cards” and “Stranger Things” have shown the company is a major cultural force. The company’s name has also become a verb (“Netflix and chill”), a sign that while its position might seem available to disruption, it is actually an entrenched consumer preference.
Disney’s new service, then, doesn’t really pose a risk to Netflix in terms of subscribers jumping ship, or even all that large of a threat that folks won’t sign up for Netflix. This service just makes it more likely that a consumer looking to avoid a cable bundle will be able to do so, and get even more of the content they actually want.
—
Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@MylesUdland
Read more from Myles here:
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• America’s shortage of workers is about to get ‘much worse’ || UK pushing to include Bitcoin under money-laundering rules: LONDON (Reuters) - Britain wants to increase regulation of Bitcoin and other digital currencies by expanding the reach of European Union anti-money-laundering rules that force traders to disclose their identities and report suspicious activity. With demand for Bitcoin surging, fuelling a 1,000 percent rally in its value so far this year, the British finance ministry said it expected negotiations over changes to the EU rules would conclude later this year or in early 2018. Stephen Barclay, economic secretary to Britain's Treasury, told parliament in a notice dated Nov. 3 - but only reported by media on Monday - that the amendments "bring virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers into Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing regulation." That would mean those companies would be overseen by national competent authorities, the statement said. The main U.S. derivatives regulator said on Friday it would allow CME Group Inc (CME.O) and CBOE Global Markets Inc (CBOE.O) to list Bitcoin futures contracts, opening the door to added regulation. Australia has also said it would strengthen its money- laundering laws by bringing Bitcoin providers under the government's financial intelligence unit. (Writing by William Schomberg) || You Don’t Need a Rally to Profit From the Energy SPDR ETF (XLE): Year-to-date, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSEARCA: XLE ) is down 10%, but of late it’s has a nice rally. So am I too late betting bullish XLE at these levels? No. Today I am betting that there is an opportunity to profit on the bullish side of it and with no out-of-pocket risk. Not every trade fits well in every portfolio. This one tucks in nicely in mine as I have been long Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM ) stock, but recently booked my profits. XLE trades inline with the energy equities. Specifically XOM and Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX ), as they constitute almost 40% of the exchange-traded fund. Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE: SLB ) ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP ) and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE: EOG ) make up another 16% of the XLE. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips 10 Small-Cap Stocks to Buy for Big-Time Growth Potential The risk of committing long XLE is that most of these companies have been in breakouts for weeks, so they could be due for a dip. For example, CVX is now 13% higher than late August. So timing may not be ideal but that’s why I use options to build a buffer just in case. Fundamentally, XLE component companies are no longer cheap, so market-timing could become an issue. Long term, they are the likely winners in the sector, but that is no comfort from the stock entry precision perspective. There are likely to be better entry points. However, it is important to note that with today’s write up, I am not chasing the XLE rally this late in its cycle. Instead, I am betting that prices will hold for a bit longer. There are two aspects of this energy price rally that I believe will continue to lend support to oil stocks and XLE. First, the situation with the tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Rhetoric is ugly and not likely to end soon. So the added premium in oil prices is likely to persist a bit longer. Second, the world is anticipating that OPEC, mainly Saudi Arabia will want to keep oil prices propped up until they execute the initial public offering of their state oil company. Higher oil prices will likely mean higher stock IPO price release. Story continues Special circumstance aside and left on its own, oil prices are limited at these levels. OPEC will rapidly lose market share to the west if prices continue to rise. But for now, the aforementioned reasons should keep us hovering above $50 per barrel for a few more weeks. And therein lies my opportunity. Click to Enlarge Today I am selling downside risk against the support that these situations created. Time will do the rest as premium decays in my favor as time elapses. But if my thesis is wrong then I must own XLE shares. The Trade: Sell Dec XLE $65 put and collect 70 cents per contract to open. Here I have an 80% theoretical chance that prices will hold above my strike so I can retain maximum gains. Otherwise, I accrue losses below $64.30. Selling naked puts carries a big risk. For those who want to mitigate it, they can sell a spread instead. The Alternate Trade: Sell the Dec XLE $65.50/$63.50 credit put spread where I can yield 25% on risk. Both trades have about the same odds of winning but here I have limited risk. ESPN's Woes Just One Reason You Should Avoid Walt Disney Co (DIS) Stock Ultimately, regardless of how careful I am, investing in stocks is fraught with danger, so I never risk more than I am willing to lose Learn how to generate income from options here . Nicolas Chahine is the managing director of SellSpreads.com . As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. You can follow him as @racernic on twitter and stocktwits . More From InvestorPlace 7 Investments Every Retirement Investor Should Own How to Trade Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) Stock After Earnings Bitcoin Isn't Money -- It's Like Diamonds The post You Don’t Need a Rally to Profit From the Energy SPDR ETF (XLE) appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Twitter Inc Stock Is a Sell at 52-Week Highs: The Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR ) bulls are back and TWTR stock is trading at its highest levels since October 2016. When the stock exploded from $18 to $25 on rumors that Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS ), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT ), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG ,NASDAQ: GOOGL ), and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE: CRM ) were interested in buying the social media company. Takeover rumors aside, TWTR stock price is as high as it has been since late 2015. Why the sudden bullishness on a name that has been depressed for so long? InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips It all started with a big quarter wherein TWTR showed signs of operational improvement. Revenue growth, which has been negative for several quarters, is approaching an inflection point and will likely turn positive again next year. Margins are soaring higher. The company is on the verge of finally becoming profitable on a GAAP basis. Moreover, Twitter ditched its long-standing 140-character Tweet limit in favor of a 280-character Tweet limit. According to management, users who take advantage of the 280-character Tweet limit receive more engagement, get more followers, and spend more time on the social media platform. All in all, the Twitter growth story looks about as good as it has in a while. But Twitter does not deserve to trade north of $20. That is far too big of a price tag for this struggling company. Where should it trade? Below $16. Here’s why. Twitter Isn’t the Same Company It Was Two Years Ago Twitter is trading at its highest level since late 2015 (disregarding the takeover-inspired bounce in Oct. 2016). But Twitter had much more robust growth prospects at the end of 2015 than it does today. Back then, revenues were growing around 50-60% year-over-year. Today, revenues are down 4-8% year-over-year. The 10 Best ETFs to Buy for Yield-Starved Investors Back then, the user base was growing at a high single-digit to low double-digit rate. Today, the user base is growing at a mid single-digit rate. Story continues Granted, profit levels are higher now (adjusted EBITDA was almost 50% higher last quarter than where it was two years ago), but those higher profits have been driven by huge expense cutting. Management said on last quarter’s earnings call that most of that expense cutting is in the rear-view mirror, implying that higher profits will be driven almost entirely by revenue growth going forward. But revenue growth is negative. And if it does turn positive soon (which it should), growth won’t be big. Analysts are modeling for just 6% growth next year. With expense-cutting in the rear-view mirror and muted top-line growth, TWTR’s growth prospects today are actually about as bleak as they’ve been in a while. This isn’t a 20-30% earnings growth story. Mid single-digit revenue growth on top of some margin expansion implies that this is just a 10% earnings growth story. TWTR Stock Price Deserves to Be Below $16 The problem here is that Twitter isn’t priced as if it were a 10% earnings growth story (for what it is worth, the Street is also modeling for only 10% earnings growth over the next several years). The S&P 500 is also expected to grow earnings around 10% per year over the next several years. The S&P 500 is trading at under 20x this year’s earnings. Shares of Twitter are trading at over 50x this year’s earnings. That valuation discrepancy doesn’t make any sense. Moreover, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB ) and Alphabet both trade around 32-33x this year’s earnings, 40% lower than TWTR’s 54x multiple. But Facebook is expected to grow earnings at a 17% clip over the next several years (almost double Twitter’s expected growth), while Alphabet is expected to grow earnings at a 23% clip over the next several years (more than double Twitter’s expected growth). In other words, both FB and GOOG have much larger growth prospects than TWTR, but trade at a 40% discount to TWTR. That valuation discrepancy also doesn’t make any sense. At the very best, TWTR deserves a 40x multiple. A 40x multiple on this year’s earnings implies a fair value of around $16. More realistically, Twitter deserves a valuation in line with FB and GOOG, so a 30x multiple. That gets you a $12 TWTR stock price. Bottom Line on TWTR Stock It is way, way overvalued above $20. Twitter stock has failed to consistently trade above $20 since late 2015. I think this trend will remain intact. I expect TWTR stock to fall from here. As of this writing, Luke Lango was long FB, GOOG, and DIS. More From InvestorPlace 5 Blue-Chip Stocks to Buy for December 8 Bitcoin Stocks That You Won't Lose Your Shirt Over 7 Stocks to Double Your Money The post Twitter Inc Stock Is a Sell at 52-Week Highs appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Metatron ($MRNJ) Announces Initial Coin Offering Tracker App And Live CEO Interview Today!: DOVER, DE / ACCESSWIRE / October 25, 2017 / Metatron (OTC PINK: MRNJ), an emerging pioneer of releasing Marijuana & CBD-related apps on iTunes and Google Play, is pleased to announce it has in development a crypto-currency based app that will track all the tokens and coins existing now and ones coming out in the near future. Metatron is exploring a CBD/Hemp based coin and has laid the foundation for its release, but due to the unclear legal environment related to cryto- currency the company is in a holding pattern. In the meantime as the developer of over 2000+ apps with over $3.5M+USD in historical sales, the company is developing an app/portal that will track the prices and market conditions of current virtual coins and initial coin offerings. "Cannabis and Crypto-Currencies like Bitcoin and Etherium will be some of the biggest dollar markets in history and we here at Metatron intend to be a part of these ever growing industries," stated CEO Joe Riehl. Metatron is working with potential partners to expedite this move into the medical aspect of the Cannabis revolution that has established grow and extraction capabilities established and producing. If you would like to submit questions to the Metatron CEO Joe Riehl and listen in on a live interview please tune into the popular Patricia Steere talk show today at 3pm PST. Direct live link: http://bit.ly/metatronceo Download her app: http://apple.co/2gGQF2F The company is also pleased to announce a formal offer to Buzzlink.com , a cannabis e-commerce platform for dispensaries and consumers. Buzzlink.com will be financed partially by the issuance of preferred B series shares. Metatron approved investors can acquire Series B shares in blocks of various sizes starting at 1k and recently increased discounts. The first round investors will receive the highest discount. Series B shares can be redeemed through the Company, are immune to reverse splits, and will convert at 1 B share to 50,000 common shares at a 60% discount. There are a limited number of B shares available and Metatron reserves the right to end offering at any time. Story continues We would also like everyone to to a look at up and coming app http://wherewedrink.com a new app that will revolutionize the bar industry. Metatron does not currently have a financial interest in the app or company but likes to support the work of great local app developers. "Get on board early...this one will is a game-changer" states Joe Riehl. Details available at http://metatroninc.com/series- b/ or http://www.metatronstock.com . Metatron's Apps: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/i-mobilize-inc./id325075390 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer? id=Metatron+Inc Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/metatroninc Twitter: http://twitter.com/metatroninc News: http://metatroninc.com/blog Forward-Looking Statements: Any statements made in this press release which are not historical facts contain certain forward-looking statements, as such term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, to differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the company's need for additional financing, which is not assured and which may result in dilution of shareholders, the company's status as a small company with a limited operating history, dependence on third parties and the continuing popularity of the iOS operating system, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, receipt of revenues, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such statements, and we disclaim any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. Metatron does not grow, sell or distribute any substances that violate United States Law or the Controlled Substances Act. Metatron, Inc. 302-861-0431 ir@metatroninc.com SOURCE: Metatron, Inc. || Bitcoin has gone beyond the absurdity of the 17th-century tulip bulb mania: Dennis Gartman: Bitcoin is in a "classic bubble" and has even gone beyond the "absurdity" of Holland's tulip bulb mania in the 1630s, widely followed investor Dennis Gartman told CNBC on Thursday. The cryptocurrency rocketed above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply from its record high. "What we're seeing in the past 48, 54, 72 hours … is utter and complete nonsense," the editor and publisher of The Gartman Letter said in an interview with " Closing Bell ." Bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) began the year below $1,000. On Tuesday night, it topped $12,000 after dropping 20 percent the week before. Between 5 and 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, it jumped past $15,000. On Thursday, bitcoin hit a high of $19,340 on the Coinbase exchange, which accounts for about a third of the digital currency's volume on any given day. It then fell more than 20 percent from that level to $15,198.63.At 5:39 p.m. ET, the digital currency traded at $16,315.03. The price on Coinbase has traded at a premium to the level on other exchanges. Gartman isn't the first to compare bitcoin's bubble to the tulip craze, which is considered the first major financial bubble. Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin told CNBC recently , "Bitcoin right now has many of the elements of the tulip bulb mania we saw back hundreds of years ago in Holland." Back then, tulips become such a prized commodity that they were being traded on many Dutch stock exchanges in 1636 and many people traded or sold possessions to get in on the action, according to Investopedia . The bubble came to an end in 1637, which resulted in bulbs trading at a fraction of what they once had, "leaving many people in financial ruin," the article said.Even bitcoin investor Richard Johnson is surprised by the digital currency's wild ride."I generally consider myself a bitcoin fan and crypto bull but even the action of the last few days has made my eyes water," the analyst at Greenwich Associates said in an interview with "Closing Bell." However, the addition of futures contracts should help moderate the market over the long term, said Gartman, who in the past has called bitcoin a market for criminals and millennials.Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets is set to launch bitcoin futures on Sunday, and CME, the world's largest futures exchange, is planning to launch its futures product next week. Both exchanges are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission."With the advent of the futures markets, it will tend to stabilize this. It will probably send prices lower. It will take out some of the volatility. But it won't happen for a week or two," Gartman said.— CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.WATCH: Bitcoin could be biggest bubble in history Bitcoin is in a "classic bubble" and has even gone beyond the "absurdity" of Holland's tulip bulb mania in the 1630s, widely followed investor Dennis Gartman told CNBC on Thursday. The cryptocurrency rocketed above $19,000 for the first time on Thursday before falling sharply from its record high. "What we're seeing in the past 48, 54, 72 hours … is utter and complete nonsense," the editor and publisher of The Gartman Letter said in an interview with " Closing Bell ." Bitcoin (Exchange: BTC=) began the year below $1,000. On Tuesday night, it topped $12,000 after dropping 20 percent the week before. Between 5 and 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, it jumped past $15,000. On Thursday, bitcoin hit a high of $19,340 on the Coinbase exchange, which accounts for about a third of the digital currency's volume on any given day. It then fell more than 20 percent from that level to $15,198.63. At 5:39 p.m. ET, the digital currency traded at $16,315.03. The price on Coinbase has traded at a premium to the level on other exchanges. Gartman isn't the first to compare bitcoin's bubble to the tulip craze, which is considered the first major financial bubble. Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin told CNBC recently , "Bitcoin right now has many of the elements of the tulip bulb mania we saw back hundreds of years ago in Holland." Back then, tulips become such a prized commodity that they were being traded on many Dutch stock exchanges in 1636 and many people traded or sold possessions to get in on the action, according to Investopedia . The bubble came to an end in 1637, which resulted in bulbs trading at a fraction of what they once had, "leaving many people in financial ruin," the article said. Even bitcoin investor Richard Johnson is surprised by the digital currency's wild ride. "I generally consider myself a bitcoin fan and crypto bull but even the action of the last few days has made my eyes water," the analyst at Greenwich Associates said in an interview with "Closing Bell." However, the addition of futures contracts should help moderate the market over the long term, said Gartman, who in the past has called bitcoin a market for criminals and millennials. Chicago-based Cboe Global Markets is set to launch bitcoin futures on Sunday, and CME, the world's largest futures exchange, is planning to launch its futures product next week. Both exchanges are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. "With the advent of the futures markets, it will tend to stabilize this. It will probably send prices lower. It will take out some of the volatility. But it won't happen for a week or two," Gartman said. — CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report. WATCH: Bitcoin could be biggest bubble in historyMore From CNBC
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• Personal Finance || Global markets: Inflation weighs on yields, dollar; stocks lacklustre: By Sinead Carew NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields dipped and the dollar rose slightly on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. inflation data while Wall Street stock indexes fell as earnings season kicked off with a whimper. U.S. Treasury prices gained after the Treasury Department saw strong demand for a sale of 30-year bonds. While investors cheered an increase in the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for last month announced Thursday, inflation concerns were still in focus ahead of consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday after Federal Reserve minutes showed a more guarded view. After four straight days of declines, the dollar index, tracking the greenback against a basket of major currencies <.DXY>, rose 0.07 percent. "The move in the dollar index this week is primarily a correction to the big move that we had in September," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman. "It's largely corrective as the market awaits fresh signals." Adding to this pressure, sterling jumped to its highest since Oct. 4, with analysts citing a report in Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that the European Union could offer Britain a two-year transitional Brexit deal. Sterling was last trading at $1.3261, up 0.30 percent on the day. In U.S. stocks, banks and media companies were the biggest drags on the S&P 500 as AT&T Inc fuelled concerns about video subscribers and investors took fright at comments from JPMorgan and Citigroup's earnings calls. "People got a little bit spoiled by the very nice advances we saw in the first and second quarter, but keep in mind that earnings started perking up in the third quarter of last year so the year-over-year comparisons might not look as robust," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 31.88 points, or 0.14 percent, to end at 22,841.01, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 4.31 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,550.93 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 12.04 points, or 0.18 percent, to 6,591.51. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 0.01 percent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe <.MIWD00000PUS> gained 0.04 percent. The MSCI index reached a record high, as it has for seven of the past eight trading days. Benchmark 10-year notes were last up 7/32 in price to yield 2.3195 percent, from 2.345 percent late on Wednesday. The 30-year bond was last up 15/32 in price to yield 2.8483 percent, from 2.876 percent late on Wednesday. Also in currencies, the euro was down 0.15 percent to $1.1839 snapping four straight days of gains after rising to its highest since Sept. 25 earlier in the session. Bitcoin smashed through the $5,000 barrier for the first time and was up 10.1 percent. Oil prices fell after the U.S. Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories and a falloff in weekly production. U.S. crude fell 1.29 percent to $50.64 per barrel and Brent was last at $56.32, down 1.09 percent. Spot gold added 0.1 percent to $1,293.37 an ounce. (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch, Karen Brettell and Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York, John Geddie and Dhara Ranasinghe in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish) || Petmed Express Inc (PETS) Stock Skyrockets on Stellar Q2 Earnings: Petmed Express Inc (NASDAQ: PETS ) shares were skyrocketing on the company’s impressive second-quarter earnings. Petmed Express Inc (PETS) For the period, the online pet pharmacy owner said its quarterly profit came in at $8.76 million, or 43 cents per share, which is considerably higher than the $4.98 million, or 24 cents per share Petmed Express posted in the year-ago’s second quarter. Anaysts were calling for earnings of 30 cents per share, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters . The figure excluded special items. Revenue for the quarter was also higher at $66.71 million. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips A year ago, Petmed Express reported sales of $60.79 million, which marks a 9.7% surge year-over-year. The Wall Street consensus estimate for revenue was $63 million. The company — which has been around since 1996 — conducts its business through 1-800-PetMeds. Petmed Express said the average order value increased to $85 for the quarter , a $3 increase compared to the year-ago period. “The trend we have seen in the last two quarters continued with increases in both new order and reorder sales during the quarter, along with an accelerated increase to net income for the third consecutive quarter,” said Menderes Akdag, Petmed CEO, in prepared remarks. The company’s online sales for the quarter amounted to roughly 84% of all sales, which is also a bump compared to the 82% of all sales garnered online in the year-ago quarter. Online sales were 12% higher this period, Petmed Express added. PETS stock surged 19.7% Monday. More From InvestorPlace 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits 7 Stocks to Buy Before the Holidays Kroger Co Stock Has Way More Upside Than You Think The post Petmed Express Inc (PETS) Stock Skyrockets on Stellar Q2 Earnings appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Bitcoin soars to new record despite reported security breach: Another day and another record rally for bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency on a seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory despite reports of a security breach at a cryptocurrency-mining service.
Bitcoin climbed above $15,000, a new record, early Thursday morning, but the rally didn’t stop there. At 11:45 a.m. ET, bitcoin was above $19,000 according to Coinbase.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, nearly $70 million of bitcoin was stolen from cryptocurrency-mining service NiceHash following a data breach.
NiceHash’s website is currently down, and on it they have a statement: “Unfortunately, there has been a security breach involving NiceHash website. We are currently investigating the nature of the incident and, as a result, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours. Importantly, our payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen. We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken.”
According to NiceHash’s Twitter, the company is regularly conducting maintenance on its website, or is experiencing a delay in submitting payments.
While NiceHash did not indicate the amount of bitcoin impacted in this data breach, the company regularly updates bitcoin payments on “payday Fridays.” Usually, the company reports about 1,000 bitcoin payouts. Last Friday, the company tweeted about a 1,000 bitcoin payout worth $10 million “at this moment.”
Bitcoin opponents have voiced concerns about security and the potential for bitcoins to be stolen. But, this latest hack does not appear to be deterring investors.
The CBOE is scheduled to launch bitcoin futures trading on Dec.10, and on Dec. 17 the CME will launch bitcoin futures trading.
In a FOX Business interview, Jalak Jobanputra the Founder and Managing Partner at FuturePerfect Ventures and an investor in bitcoin since 2013, noted that when Japan moved to regulate bitcoin, a price increase followed.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Dec 04, 2017 13:30:00 UTC | 11,043.90$ | 9,314.60€ | 8,174.40£ | #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/LvWyyWqcz8 || NAGA Q&A Live Event – Friday 1:00 PM CET - http://bit.ly/2A5aB7l - #bitcoin
Advertise your #ICO: https://goo.gl/1yd8MW pic.twitter.com/rtRecjQMbJ || Japonya faturaları Bitcoin ile ödemeye hazırlanıyor - http://po.st/RWiO3Q || Art in the Age of Bitcoin http://ift.tt/2wIan0x #reddit #bitcoin || What exactly is Bitcoin, and should you invest in it? http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/savingandinvesting/what-exactly-is-bitcoin-and-should-you-invest-in-it/ar-AAt9A4i?ocid=ob-tw-enus-689 …pic.twitter.com/gsW0FKoIik || Coincheckは、日本で一番簡単にBitcoinを買える取引所らしい ⇒ http://bit.ly/2krV8Xk イーサリアム、リップル、モネロ、ファクトム、オーガー など他の仮想通貨も豊富に取り扱っているのでうれしい！ いつでも日本円にもできる。 || #bitcoin non si ferma più? Analisi tecnica || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies
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Trend: up || Prices: 16569.40, 15178.20, 15455.40, 16936.80, 17415.40, 16408.20, 16564.00, 17706.90, 19497.40, 19140.80
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Gemini Plots Singapore Expansion With Appointment of New Asia Director: The problem with paying gas to run transactions is that it discourages lots of transactions. The advantage of paying gas to run transactions, though, is that it discourages lots of transactions.
This contradiction is captured well in anew paperexamining transactions on EOS, Tezos and XRP Ledger (XRPL) over a seven-month period ending in April. Researchers from Imperial College London and University College London found the overwhelming number of transactions on these three networks either have no value attached or are passing it back and forth within one entity.
Titled “Revisiting Transactional Statistics of High-scalability Blockchain,” by Daniel Perez, Jiahua Xu and Benjamin Livshits, the report explains these findings in detail.
“Our analysis reveals that only a small fraction of the transactions are used for value transfer purposes,” the authors write. “In particular, 96% of the transactions on EOSIO were triggered by the airdrop of a currently valueless token; on Tezos, 76% of throughput was used for maintaining consensus; and over 94% of transactions on XRPL carried no economic value.”
Read more:A Mysterious Airdrop Called EIDOS Is Clogging EOS to Make a Point
The authors’ latest version came out Wednesday, following up on two prior versions, with this one including several more months of data. It immediatelysparked discussion, with its findings that high-throughput blockchains don’t necessarily have a lot of payment activity.
It also illuminated the fact that transparency doesn’t necessarily equal legibility.
Related:Free Transactions Invite Systemic Attacks on Blockchains, Researchers Find
So many records can pile up on a blockchain that needed information can become needles in a very large haystack. As Perez, a Ph.D. candidate at Imperial College London told CoinDesk in an email, “When the level of spam activity is very high, the size of the history gets disproportionately large given the amount of useful activity on the network. This makes such blockchains much more difficult to analyze and reason about.”
That said, the authors’ analysis is based on a careful examination of each blockchain, looking at the kinds of transactions and characterizing what kind of work they represented. Then they looked at the biggest users of the networks, which generally corresponded to most of the usage, and dug deeper into what was going on in their transactions.
As the authors note, there has been a dearth of academic investigation into blockchains besides that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. This analysis of EOS, XRP Ledger and Tezos covers the period from October 1, 2019 to April 30, 2020, using data collected by the open source tool,Blockchain Analyzer. Here’s what they found for each chain.
Last November, CoinDesk reported ona mysterious airdropon EOS that gave users an incentive to make as many low-value transactions as they could, called EIDOS, which overall made the blockchain more expensive to use, making it look very much like a denial of service (DoS) attack (also evidenced by the fact that “DOS” is part of the airdrop’s name).
The researchers found that most of the transactions taking place on EOS, at least through the end of April, were related to the EIDOS stunt.
The authors write, “Before the arrival of the EIDOS token, approximately 50% of these are transactions to betting games. … The launch of EIDOS increased the total number of transactions more than tenfold, resulting in 96% of the transactions being used for token transfers.”
To recap: The EIDOS smart contract sends a token to any EOS wallet address that sends it any amount of EOS. The smart contract instantly returns any EOS sent along with the token. The smart contract rewards transactions, not value, so it doesn’t matter how much EOS gets sent. It sends the same number of tokens back no matter what.
EIDOS was worth a little less than $0.02 when we last reported it on it. It currently trades for about $0.0008,according to CoinGecko.
Read more:Tron Dapps Saw $1.6 Billion in Volume in Q1 2019, Driven By Gambling
Additionally, the authors also found that most of the transactions on one of EOS’s large apps, WhaleEx, look suspicious.The WhaleEx websitesays it is the “#1 Decentralized Exchange in the World,” yet the authors looked at its transactions and found:
“Firstly, and most obviously, we notice that in more than 75% of the trades, the buyer and the seller are the same. This means that no asset is transferred at the end of the action. Furthermore, the transaction fees for both the buyer and the seller are 0, which means that such a transaction is achieving absolutely nothing else than artificially increasing the service statistics, i.e. wash-trading.”
WhaleEx could not be immediately reached for comment.
Block.One, the creators of the EOSIO software that runs EOS among a few other blockchains, declined to comment directly to CoinDesk. Instead, they directed CoinDesk to anew Medium postby CTO Dan Larimer, which does not directly address the questions about EIDOS and WhaleEx, but instead dwells on how the report’s authors define throughput.
The paper makes a theoretical argument that the true throughput on each of these chains is very low in terms of transactions with actual value, a point which Larimer disputes. In other words, Larimer emphasizes what EOSIO softwarecouldbe used for. Potential aside, the researchers’ findings are about what it is currently used for.
Larimer writes:
“How the media chooses to report on this paper will reveal whether or not they have integrity to differentiate technological capability and recognize EOSIO as being the most demonstrably scalable.”
Again, Block.One declined to further comment.
XRP is periodically beset by spam. The authors write:
“The ledger experienced two waves of abnormally high traffic in the form of Payment transactions in late 2019, the first between the end of October and the beginning of November, the second – at a higher level – between the end of November and the beginning of December.”
Why such traffic occurs, however, is unclear. “It remains something of a mystery how such an expensive form of ‘spam’ benefited its originators.”
Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz addressed this point when a prior draft of this paper was under discussion.He wrotein May:
“If you have a cheap, high-capacity public blockchain that was designed for maximum censorship resistance, it’s going to get a lot of spam. There’s no real disincentive and no authority to stop you. What are you willing to give up to stop it given that it doesn’t do much harm?”
That said, they also found that most XRP holders do very little. “The distribution of the number of transactions per account is highly skewed. Over one third (71 thousand) of the accounts have transacted only once during the entire observation period, whereas the 35 most active accounts are responsible for half of the total traffic,” they wrote, thoughsuch Pareto distributionsare not unusual, especially when money is concerned.
Ripple has not yet provided further comment to CoinDesk on this latest draft.
On Tezos, the authors find that most activity on the network is related to governance and staking.
They write, “Tezos has a high number of ‘endorsements,’ which are used as part of the consensus protocol, and only a small fraction of the throughput are actual transactions.” Further, a large portion of the transactions appear to be bakers (the validators) making payments to users who have delegated XTZ.”
Later, the paper notes:
“Tezos has not yet come close to maximizing its actual capacity.”
It does not, however, find suspicious or malicious transactions in any real volume on Tezos. TQuorum, an entity that promotes Tezos, had not yet provided comment as of press time.
As most people who follow cryptocurrency know, the Bitcoin blockchain debuted what’s come to be known as the internet of value. The paper’s analysis then is based on how frequently users actually transfer value, as opposed to making other kinds of transactions.
It raises questions about whether it is wise to design a blockchain so that valueless transactions are free or nearly free. The authors write:
“While on XRPL the consequences of such a spam attack are limited, on EOSIO they forced the network to enter congestion mode, causing regular users to be unable to use the network because transactions which used to be free started to cost a fee.”
In short, the authors write, “The massive potential of those blockchains has thus far not been fully realized for their intended purposes.”
Read the full paper below:
• XRP
• EOS || Gutemberg Dos Santos, a Crypto Billionaire, Has 5 Tips for Surviving the Recession: PANAMA CITY, PANAMA / ACCESSWIRE / April 27, 2020 / Gutemberg Dos Santos , a billionaire from the crypto industry, has been pro-actively coming along with the entrepreneurs to help them in these unfavourable economic conditions. In my financial career, I have seen big bubbles bursting with people having no idea about the outcome. Usually, when there is a recession, people won't know for sure that they're living in a recession until a big financial institution informs them with statistics' - Gutemberg. The Brazilian-American businessman claims 2020 to be the most brutal year for the corporate world. Saving money will buy you time but not financial security', Gutemberg has penned down a bunch of tips aiming to help entrepreneurs in any way he could, and needless to say he has spent $5 Million in charities and donations in the last 60 days. Performing his humanitarian duties from Peru, below are the notes he sent us to publish. Please note that the notes below are in active voice as we clipped them as it is: 1. Debt is a time ticking bomb : Paying debt creates a lot of breathing room in your budget. People usually start their financial career to achieve financial freedom, but I started my financial journey to lead a debt-free life (education loan, mortgages, etc.). According to a study published on Bankrate, 13 percent of Americans aren't saving more because of the amount of debt that they owe, but I say the number is more. Entrepreneurs around the world would not be as stressed as they are today if they had zero debt. 2. Maintain positive cash flow : Today, one of my e-business, Airbit Club, can pay its employees for the next 12 months without any issues. Our business motto has been maintaining a positive cash flow so that we can survive any significant crisis without even taking a step back. These are the mini points you can follow to keep your cash flow in check: Track cash flow with a budget; Keep spending in check; Track your receivables; Late payments imply penalty; Set Up a Line of Credit. 3. Invest in Technology: Since 2002, it is the technology that has made me millions of dollars. Then came Bitcoin, and it made me a fortune. The bottom line is, no matter how bad things go, Technology never disappoints. Bitcoin came after the 2008 crash, now the nerds' or tech-heads' who were on loop with tech-trend grabbed the opportunity offered by cryptocurrencies and look where they are today! Airbit Club started in 2015, back when Bitcoin was just trending at around $200-$400. The business made billions, and the associates who joined us made seven figures. Story continues 4. Learn new skills that instantly rewards you: There are always plenty of things to learn. Some of them pay instant rewards, and some take time. If you make the right choices, you will be able to earn as you learn. For me, Network Marketing is still #1 when it comes to making money online. It is something that takes less time to learn, and the reward may be recurring and never-ending. It's a business where you use your skills to create several income streams. Always focus on a skill that makes you a fortune and not someone else (like your boss). 5. Deleverage before the shit hits the fan: Ships and Jets often drop heavy payloads to increase their speed. In these times, we are clueless about how long it will take for things to settle down. Flying light and decreasing our financial appetite will add months to our survival time. Gutemberg is a blockchain influencer from South America and has spent the last 11 advising fintech companies. His advisory firms work with traditional tech unicorns and top 20 crypto projects. Other Useful Resources A collection of Educational Material, Analysis & Reports regarding Blockchain & Cryptocurrency on Blackchain a Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Marketing Company. Crypto & Blockchain Related Interviews with TOP Influencers on Blockspeak , a Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Podcast . Keep yourself up to date on Coinsflare with the latest Cryptocurrency listings across exchanges and markets opportunities. Contact Name : Jacob Dominguez Organization name: Airbit Club Email : marketing@airbitclub.com Phone number : +1 5622755586 Website URL : https://www.gutembergds.com SOURCE: Bitfoliex View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/587133/Gutemberg-Dos-Santos-a-Crypto-Billionaire-Has-5-Tips-for-Surviving-the-Recession View comments || BIGG Digital Assets Inc. Subsidiary Blockchain Intelligence Group Enters into Partnership with IX Asia Limited: VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIGG Digital Assets Inc. ("BIGG" or the "Company")(CSE: BIGG; OTCQB: BBKCF; WKN: A2PS9W) , owner of Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG), a leading developer of Blockchain technology search, risk-scoring and data analytics solutions, is pleased to announced today that it has entered into a Partnership Agreement with IX Asia Limited. The incorporation of BIGs tools will offer powerful AML and CFT solutions to IX Asia and they will be able to pass them on to the consumer in the creation of a more risk averse customer experience. As fintech technology continues to advance, so does the pace of new cybersecurity risks especially around crypto transactions. BitRank Verified ® will scan crypto addresses and transactions for connections to illicit activities and nefarious entities. Similarly, QLUE TM will enable the ability to peer into the details around cryptocurrency transactions. This enables the ability to track and trace crypto transactions and activities while at the same time being notified of any changes or movement adding another level to management and enhanced due diligence for client monitoring. In addition to BitRank ® and QLUE, BIG has created the Cryptocurrency Training Academy to help companies such as IX Asia broaden education to compliance and risk managers to learn how to bring security and accountability to cryptocurrency. The Training Academy draws on years of experience from their in-house investigators and Certified Bitcoin Professionals. BIG is excited to introduce its sought-after training program through IX Asia to the Asian marketplace to help develop the cryptocurrency marketplace and allow it to mitigate suspicious and nefarious activities. The training would be a way for users to gain a solid, in-depth understanding of how to track, trace and monitor cryptocurrency transactions and crimes involving virtual currencies. Blockchain Intelligence Groups President, Lance Morginn, commented, By partnering with industry leaders like IX Asia it will allow us to further establish our presence in the APEC region. IX Asia has well established relationships and connections and won the Fintech Awards 2019 for Wealth Investment and Management. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with IX Asia to bring education and other technical solutions for their current and future business initiatives. Story continues The Partnership will see Blockchain Intelligence Group and IX Asia work closely together on cybersecurity offerings and new business development and will concentrate on marketing initiatives for these services throughout Asia. On behalf of the Board, Lance Morginn President / Director lance@blockchaingroup.io T:+1.778.819.8702 About BIGG Digital Assets Inc. BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (BIGG) believes the future of crypto is a safe, compliant, and regulated environment. BIGG invests in products and companies to support this vision. BIGG owns two operating companies: Blockchain Intelligence Group (blockchaingroup.io) and Netcoins (netcoins.ca). Blockchain Intelligence Group (BIG) has developed a Blockchain-agnostic search and analytics engine, QLUE TM , enabling Law Enforcement, RegTech, Regulators and Government Agencies to visually track, trace and monitor cryptocurrency transactions at a forensic level. Our commercial product, BitRank Verified ® , offers a risk score for cryptocurrencies, enabling RegTech, banks, ATMs, exchanges, and retailers to meet traditional regulatory/compliance requirements. Netcoins develops brokerage and exchange software to make the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency easily accessible to the mass consumer and investor with a focus on compliance and safety. Netcoins utilizes BitRank Verified ® software at the heart of its platform and enables crypto transactions via retail locations globally, a self-serve crypto brokerage portal and an Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading desk. About IX Asia IX Asia Limited is a Fintech start-up company established in June 2015. It aims to improve the client engagement process of derivatives products by promoting financial literacy and new option information platform. As a key participant of the Cyberport Hong Kong, IX Asia launched the award winning ixOption App in August 2018, building on its success, launched the ixCryptoIndex in 2019 with growing subscription. For more information, on the Company, visit: https://www.IX Asia.com/ BIGG Investor Relations Anthony Zelen anthony@blockchaingroup.io 778-388-5258 For more information and to register to BIGGs mailing list, please visit our website at https://www.biggdigitalassets.com . Or visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include completion of the search technology software and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as may, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, believe and continue or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIGG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIGG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIGG disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BIGG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this Press Release. || Prance Gold Holdings Enables Portfolio Growth to Overcome Economic Uncertainty Caused by the Recession: TOKYO, JAPAN / ACCESSWIRE / May 23, 2020 / Volatility has been one of the characteristics of digital asset prices. In early May 2020, for example, price levels have reached the highest price since "Black Thursday" even amidst the current economic situation. It is challenging for some investors and traders to keep on pushing especially with the current volatility that can pose threats to growing one's portfolio. Nonetheless, some trading strategies can still help ensure profits during these trying times. For most digital asset traders, holding appears to be the safest method. This is when a trader holds on to the asset for a long time. Holding requires patience, and unfortunately, it can take years to actually get a profit. Take Bitcoin as an example. People who have held onto the coin for years ended up as the biggest winners. However, the challenge with this technique is knowing whether it is the right time to sell. Trading, on the other hand, can be extremely risky and is accompanied by a massive amount of stress. It is a very dangerous game especially if there's not much knowledge about it. Traders must stand the mental pressure and can say "stop" at the right time while waiting for a price bounce. Many traders who are trying to compensate for their losses can end up losing more than their accumulated capital. Is there any strategy that does not involve a long and uncertain wait or risk of severe losses? Yes. There exists a strategy that is both low-risk and short-term. Increasing digital assets through arbitrage trading "Arbitrage is the concurrent buying and selling of an asset on different markets to profit from the price difference. This is the best strategy for trading, especially when there are so many price movements and asymmetries in the market," says Andre Gerald, Chief Executive Officer of Prance Gold Holdings , a trading platform specializing in algorithmic trading. Significant price differences arise for the same digital asset on multiple exchanges because there are hundreds of different exchanges on the market to date. These price differences can range from 3% to 5% on average, although it can go as high as 20% in some cases. These price discrepancies allow traders to generate a huge profit with little to no risk and no advanced market knowledge. "The main purpose of arbitrage is to maximize investors' profits, based on their assets, with zero risks," according to the Journal of International Studies . Story continues However, this process is time-consuming and requires traders to have the right equipment to fully take advantage of all the arbitrage opportunities in different markets, especially with digital assets. Leveraging on digital asset arbitrage The most basic and straightforward way to start arbitrage in digital assets is to do everything manually. You can monitor exchanges for price differences and then place trades and transfer funds accordingly. However, "What these programs do is to initiate a trade instantly once an arbitrage opportunity is spotted. This offers traders reduced risks and increased profitability of their digital assets", explains Jeffrey Guo, Fintech Veteran and Seed Investor of Prance Gold Holdings . In addition, there are two distinct methods of arbitraging in digital assets: regular and triple-directional arbitrage. The former refers to buying and selling the same coin on different exchanges with significant price differences. The latter involves three coins in the same exchange. "Triple-directional (also referred to triangular arbitrage) is the act of exploiting an arbitrage opportunity resulting from a pricing discrepancy among three different assets or currencies in the exchanges. This strategy involves three trades, exchanging the initial digital currency for a second, the second currency for a third, and the third currency for the initial," says Prance Gold Holdings' Gerald. Arbitraging manually can be tedious and requires a lot of time. To fully take advantage of this strategy, there are arbitrage bots that are designed to make it as easy as possible to leverage these price differences. This means there will be no need to hold on to a coin for years. You can grow digital assets short term with little to no risk. The takeaway Among all digital asset trading strategies, arbitrage can be proven as a sustainable way to grow one's portfolio. Although it requires a lot of information to process and to make the strategy work for you. Fortunately, there are certain platforms you can take advantage of that offer software or trading bot to help you find arbitrage opportunities. Arbitrage takes advantage of multiple small gains from price differences in markets. Therefore, it will generate profits even amidst volatility and even through economic uncertainties. For traders, this will be an opportunity to take advantage of the asymmetric nature of markets. About Prance Gold Holdings Prance Gold Holdings is a technology firm focused on the growth of digital assets for retail and corporate firms through transparent, short to mid-term cryptocurrency arbitrage on world-renowned major exchanges around the world. The company offers everyone ultra-short-term investment opportunities as short as seven hours, simply by parking their idle balances in its high performance and secure platform for risk-free arbitrage trading to grow their individual wealth. Media contact For inquiries, please get in touch with Linda Fairbrother at lindafairbrother@prancegoldholdings.com . Image credit: Pxfuel SOURCE: Prance Gold Holdings View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/590856/Prance-Gold-Holdings-Enables-Portfolio-Growth-to-Overcome-Economic-Uncertainty-Caused-by-the-Recession || Market Wrap: Bitcoin Steady at $7.5K as Short Sellers Back Off: Since Thursday’s jolt in bitcoin prices, the cryptocurrency has traded in a tight range close to the $7,500 level. It has not only come back from the losses suffered in March, it’s also showing some upward momentum.
The price for oneBTCis currently above 10-day and 50-moving averages on the daily charts, a bullish technical signal. “Despite the mid-March 2020 bitcoin sell-off when we saw a close to 50 percent drop, it has now, within a month, recovered 95 percent,” said Antoni Trenchev co-founder of crypto lender Nexo.
Thursday’s jump in bitcoin price,briefly as high as $7,800 on some spot exchanges,hurt short sellers in the crypto derivatives market. Those trades betting on crypto prices going downward have not returned to derivatives exchanges like BitMEX, said Vishal Shah, an options trader and founder of exchange platform Alpha5.
Related:Bitcoin Hits Highest Level Since Black Thursday Amid Halving Buzz
“What we saw yesterday was a collapse in open interest, and no real premium being built into the futures curve,” he told CoinDesk. As short sellers were wiped out on BitMEX Thursday during the bitcoin price spike, open interest dropped and it hasn’trecovered.
“It’s tough for me to digest that there’s new capital funneling in; it’s likely capital within the ecosystem sloshing around and targeting pain points,” Shah added. “It feels pretty firm, with the next battle trench likely in the $7,850 – $8,000 region.”
Inflows are needed to push crypto prices higher. Bitcoin’s year-to-date high was $10,510 on spot exchanges like Coinbase back on Feb. 13 and more capital into crypto will be needed to push the markets higher.
“Demand continues to be steady. You have to remember that for bitcoin to stay at these levels, you need inflows of new dollars matching supply of new coins,” said Daniel Masters, chairman of U.K.-based asset manager CoinShares.
Related:First Mover: Ether Trounces Bitcoin as Network Sees Surge in Stablecoins
That being said, Masters anticipates most investors holding rather than selling ahead of the bitcoin halving in mid-May – with the exception of miners, who need cash to pay for operational expenditures like energy costs and data center leases.
Read More:Bitcoin Halving, Explained
“Analysis of wallets shows most tourists and speculators have sold, meaning we don’t expect many folks to sell into the halving except for miners who may be anticipating some pain around and are trying to lock in opex costs,” said Masters.
As bitcoin remains in sideways trading and price is flat,ether(ETH) has lost less than 1 percent in the past 24 hours.
Digital assets on CoinDesk’s big board had mixed performances Friday. The biggest winners Friday includecardano(ADA), up 4.2 percent,neo(NEO), higher by 3.9 percent, andtron(TRON) gaining 2.8 percent.
Losers Friday includezcash(ZEC) off 2.9 percent,stellar(XLM) slipping 1.8 percent anddecred(DCR) in the red less by than a percent. All price changes are as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT).
Oil was in the green Friday, up 1.3 percent as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT) Friday after a historic week of lows in the spot and futures markets. For the past two months,the fossil fuelhas actually been more volatile than bitcoin.
Gold dipped sharply in trading Friday but recovered a bit but is still down less than a percent as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. EDT).
In the United States, the S&P 500 index climbed 1.3 percent as Federal Reserve data recently published shows its balance sheet has jumped sharply on stimulus.
U.S. Treasury yields are all down on the day as investors jump to the safety of bonds. Yields, which move opposite to price, on the two-year fell by the most on Friday, down 4.7 percent at market close.
Read More:Bitcoin Jumps as Fed Assets Top $6.5T and Traders Focus on Halving
The FTSE Eurotop 100 index of largest companies in Europe closed in the red 1.1 percent ashopes for a coronavirus treatmentfrom Gilead Sciences were dashed on a failed clinical trial for the drug Remdesivir.
In Asia Nikkei 225 index closed down less than a percent on news that Japan’smanufacturing output dropped and business sentimentthere is at its lowest in seven years.
• Ether Futures Activity Grows Ahead of July Protocol Upgrade
• Why Global Deflation May Not Be Bad News for Bitcoin || Money Reimagined: Designer Money for a Machine-Run Post-COVID World: A headline in MIT Technology Review caught my attention this week:“The pandemic is emptying call centers. AI chatbots are swooping in.”
COVID-19’s perfect storm – a global public health crisis, an economic meltdown and a surge in online connectivity – could accelerate what World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab calls theFourth Industrial Revolution. In creating imperatives for both cost-cutting and software-dependent innovation, the pandemic is bringing us closer to an economy dominated by integrated networks of digital devices.
This raises all sorts of vital questions. But here we’ll just drill down into one: what kind of money will this new society need?
Related:USV’s Albert Wenger on the World After Capital
It’s likely that long-term unemployment will be a defining condition of this emerging machine-dominant economy. We’re not just talking about cyclical, recessionary layoffs but net job losses that are structural and permanent.
You’re readingMoney Reimagined, a weekly look at the technological, economic and social events and trends that are redefining our relationship with money and transforming the global financial system. You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk’snewsletters here.
If so, the situation could confirm the so-called “end of work” thesis, which foresees new technologies leaving employers with an ever-declining need for human labor. It proved largely unfounded during the 20th century, as each fresh technological wave created new jobs that offset the old ones. Butthe thesis is gaining weight againin response to a new, self-advancing phase in computer technology. Machine-learning algorithms mean our periodic competitions with new technologies are no longer one-off events. Humans are now engaged in an endless battle with computers that are constantly getting smarter. As machines acquire the very cognitive and creative skills that previously allowed us to reinvent our employment opportunities, the battle may be unwinnable.
If we are indeed approaching the end of work, expect a surge of interest in universal basic income.
Related:Where Bitcoin Fits in the New Monetary Order
UBI is the idea that the government should pay a basic living wage to all citizens. It has been thrust into public consciousness by COVID-19 and the sudden, massive expansion in unemployment that came with it – 36 million alone in the U.S. On Thursday, its advocates got a boost when Twitter founder Jack Dorsey announced a$5 million donation to former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s Humanity Forward nonprofit, which is using $250 microgrants to make the case for UBI.
We don’t have space here for a deep debate about UBI. Just please don’t narrow-mindedly reject it as “socialism.” UBI backers range from liberals who want to expand public safety nets to conservatives who see potential to reform inefficient and highly politicized welfare distribution. Others see UBI as correcting for the power of big tech by redistributing revenue gained through personal data mining. The system should compensate them for those vital resources.
If UBI is to be part of our new digital economy, it would seem logical to make it digital too.
We’ve already seen U.S. lawmakers propose that, rather than mailing out checks for COVID-19 relief, funds should be sent directly asdigital dollars via special Federal Reserve wallets.The proposal didn’t pass, but having central banks establish a digital currency for social distribution payments is, remarkably, now a mainstream topic.
There are clear benefits to digitizing UBI: Direct-to-consumer payments could improve efficiency, prevent confiscation by middlemen, create parity for the “unbanked,” and, provided the rollout goes smoothly, legitimize the direct connection between a government and its people. Programmability could also allow authorities to constrain how the funds are used. Software designs could, say, allow supermarkets or landlords to accept the funds, but not barmen. (To be sure, this is inconsistent with the spirit of pure UBI, but it would likely to resonate with some politicians.)
On the other hand, as European Central Bank executive board memberYves Mersch noted in a presentation to Consensus Distributedlast week, citizens could see their civil rights undermined if central banks don’t build privacy protections into direct-to-consumer digital currency accounts.
With this infrastructure, central banks could directly manipulate the value of people’s personal money, creating a more powerful mechanism for managing consumer spending and inflation than the current solution, which relies on banks and financial markets as indirect conduits for monetary policy. Whether you think that’s a good thing depends on how you feel about central banks’ being empowered to manipulate the value of money to manage economic conditions.
Another challenging issue is that involving central banks in governments’ fiscal distributions may make their economic policymaking dependent on political interests. That would be a radical departure from the independence principles upon which central banking has been founded for the past four decades. It might make central bankers more accountable to the public interest, as their actions would directly impact voters’ pocketbooks. But they could also be forced to pursue the self interests of politicians.
You get the idea: Inevitable or not, digital currency-based UBI brings many complications.
I hate to say this, but we humans aren’t the only constituents in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must also consider the interests of the digital machines.
As social distancing becomes normalized, expect cities to ease ordinances on things like delivery robots, self-driving taxis and other autonomous devices. Next, expect urban planners to draw up sweeping blueprints for smart cities that combine the data generated by such devices with network-driven dynamic pricing so that everything from traffic flows to renewable energy sharing can be managed in a self-correcting system.
To optimize such systems, devices owned by different individuals and companies would be given autonomy to interact and exchange data, goods and valuable services, and to receive, hold and send digital, programmable money as standalone entities. For this to happen, the system’s unit of value, its currency, must function as a digital token exchanged peer-to-peer – in this case, machine-to-machine – without the interference of a banking intermediary. Whether such a system would use central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, native blockchain tokens like bitcoin, or all three is yet to be determined.
China is surging ahead with such a model, incorporating itsDigital Currency Electronic Paymentsystem, or DCEP, into a network of smart cities that deploy tools provided by the nationalBlockchain Services Network. In due time, the efficiencies China extracts from that will put competitive pressure on Western countries to follow suit.
When that happens, we must ensure that optimizing such systems doesn’t compromise the interests of those they are supposed to serve.
The money of the future can serve the interests of machines, but only if they align with the interests of us humans.
You know how it is: life in lockdown has you staring constantly at a screen. Not just 9-to-5, but always. Almost every single human interaction outside of your immediate family and almost every commercial transaction you make is done online. And how many more hours of streaming videos are watching?
So, how much more busy is the internet these days?
John Graham-Cumming, the Chief Technology Officer of Cloudflare, answered that question by treating the traffic flowing through his network security company’s systems as a proxy for overall usage. Sure enough, global traffic is up 40% on the year, as per the chart above that Cloudfare provided us.In a blog post addressing earlier data last month, Graham-Cumming highlighted what this says about the resilience of the internet, which has had no real interruptions despite the surging usage. “Overall the Internet has shown that it was built for this: designed to handle huge changes in traffic, outages, and a changing mix of use,” he wrote.
There are lessons here for blockchains. To scale them, look to the layered design of the internet. The base layer protocol, known as TCP/IP, is sometimes described as a one trick pony. It only does data switching, but it does it really well. The single task design means it can deal with the challenges of heavy traffic. All the other functionality of the internet – email, web sites, file transfer, etc. – isn’t forced on that main load-bearing system but enabled by higher level open protocols such as SMTP and HTTP, and then by proprietary applications even further “up the stack.” It’s relevant to the bitcoin versus ethereum debate, with the latter more sophisticated, multifaceted and powerful for running things like smart contracts but, according to its critics, entailing a complexity that makes it more prone to breakdowns and security breaches.
$91 million.That’s the current value of the 10,000 bitcoin Laszlo Hanyecz gave up topurchase two pizzason this day 10 years ago. It was the first time bitcoin was spent on a good or service, giving the event canonical relevance in the cryptocurrency’s history. Ever since, it has been memorialized on this date as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” The outside world tends to focus on the massive fortune Hanyecz left on the table by not “HODLing” his bitcoin, which after exchanging them for $25 worth of pizza were valued at a mere quarter of a cent at the time. He tends to respond with a shrug, arguing that he did something to help legitimize bitcoin. And, indeed, his act helped set off a price rally that has continued to today. But Hanyecz’s pizza order is also important for the value it ascribed to bitcoin for its utility as a payment vehicle. Hanyecz has continued to take an interest in initiatives to help make bitcoin more usable for payments, even as the narrative has shifted toward its value proposition as “digital gold.” Two years ago on this day he made a point by using the Lightning Network, which seeks to make bitcoin transactions more efficient and viable for low-value transactions, to make a certain, iconic purchase: a pizza.
The Fed is “not out of ammunition by a long shot.”So said the man in charge of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell,in a gloomy interview on CBS 60 Minutes last Sunday. Markets rallied in response, which should have left heads scratching. I mean, of course, the Fed has loads more ammunition left – it has unlimited printing power. The question is whether that ammunition is effective. Is it firing blanks? The bigger risk is that the real limit to its effective power won’t reveal itself until some indeterminate time in the future, when it’s too late. But at some point – after the Fed has flooded trillions of dollars into markets, after it has acquired huge swaths of corporate debt to find itself politically compromised, after it has restored the wealth of hedge funds but has left ordinary Americans living hand to mouth – confidence in the dollar will disappear. At that moment, everyone will finally realize that the ammunition was useless all along.
Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, is one of the most influential financial journalists of all time. So when an article of his comes out with the title“Why inflation might follow the pandemic”it’s time to sit up and take notice. The headline suggested a countervailing view to that of the economic mainstream, with its persistent argument that the demand contraction from the COVID-19 crisis will produce long-lasting deflation. But if you’re expecting this to align with the forecasts of those in the crypto community who believe the central banks’ aggressive stimulus will result in debased money and hyperinflation, think again. Wolf puts all the variables on the table – huge government debt ratios, rapidly expanding broad money supply measures potentially offset by a slowing money velocity, and the end of the disinflationary effect of globalization – to argue, that inflationmightfinally return, but also might not. Bottom line: we live in chartered territory. No one really knows. Not even someone who earned himself a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for his services to financial journalism.
• Money Reimagined: No, Secretary Summers, Financial Privacy Is a Vital Freedom
• The Rise of the Dollar Killers || Bakkt, Galaxy Digital to Offer Bitcoin Trading, Custody Solution for Institutions: Two New York-based crypto companies hope to scoop up growing institutional demand for physical bitcoin. Announced Wednesday , Galaxy Digital’s trading arm and regulated bitcoin futures provider Bakkt said the service will offer asset managers and other institutional investors a “white glove” trading and custody solution. As part of the collaboration, Galaxy will provide all the trading services and functionalities, leveraging its existing plugins to 30 different exchange venues. Meanwhile, Bakkt will offer custody services through its Bakkt Warehouse, which it currently uses to facilitate physically settled bitcoin contracts. Designed to work around the clock, the idea, according to Tim Plakas, Galaxy Digital Trading’s head of sales, is to offer a “safe, efficient and well-regulated route into physical bitcoin access, one that has been already proven successful in the macro hedge fund space.” “We designed this partnership to service the uptick in demand our two firms have received from traditional asset managers seeking access to physical bitcoin,” Plakas added. See also: Novogratz’s Crypto Investment Firm Galaxy Digital Shrinks Workforce 15% While the idea of two big-name companies teaming up like this may seem like a titillating prospect, both Bakkt and Galaxy Digital have struggled to make much headway this year. Related: Bakkt, Galaxy Digital to Offer Bitcoin Trading, Custody Solution for Institutions As a merchant bank that invests in crypto companies as well as trades digital assets, Galaxy Digital has failed to make much, if any, revenue since it first launched in January 2018. It reported a net loss of $32.9 million in the final quarter of 2019 and warned further losses from the coronavirus. It was Galaxy Digital Trading, the branch now hooking up with Bakkt, that was responsible for pretty much wiping out Galaxy’s other revenue streams, losing a total $32.1 million in Q4. Story continues See also: Bakkt CEO Mike Blandina Steps Down 4 Months After Taking Role Bakkt, on the other hand, has struggled to attract much footfall. Launching in September 2019 after more than a year of delays, the exchange’s volumes have remained low. For example, there was a week in January, and two weeks in late February , where not a single one of its options contracts traded. That contrasted with a broader derivative space that reported record volumes during the same timeframes. So far this week, for instance, Bakkt’s total volume for monthly options contracts was stuck at zero. Bakkt’s futures have seen more volume, reaching record levels last month during Bitcoin’s halving, though it’s now returning to more typical levels. UPDATE (June 10, 2020, 20:30 UTC): This article was updated for clarity. Related Stories Galaxy Digital Behind ‘Prime Broker’ Buzzword Lies a Complex Strategy Game for Crypto Firms || 10 Years After Laszlo Hanyecz Bought Pizza With 10K Bitcoin, He Has No Regrets: If you owned a share of an experimental technology, how much of it would you give up to help that technology grow? Startup founders do this calculus whenever they raise capital. Ten years ago today, a developer named Laszlo Hanyecz did it with bitcoin.
Hanyecz is known as the first person to usebitcoinin a commercial transaction. On May 22, 2010, when bitcoin was a little over a year old, hebought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC. The day is now known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” With one bitcoin now worth $9,500, this is apparently a joke and Hanyecz’s $45 million pizzas are the punchline.
The joke is also a parable, illustrating the competition and interplay between three potential uses of bitcoin. The first is speculation. Bitcoin’s nosebleed-inducing decade of upward price movement is what drives CNBC headlines and motivates participation: People see it as a way to get rich. “Bitcoin is a way to harness greed,” said Hanyecz in a recent interview from his home in Jacksonville, Fla. It’s greed that underpins the delicate balance of incentives that keeps bitcoin running.
Related:Blockchain Bites: Iran and Russia Revisit Crypto Regulations, Bitcoin Pizza Day 10 Years Later
Hanyecz understands that balance well, having been a contemporary of bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto (he says they messaged a few times), and an early bitcoin miner whotinkered to mine more efficientlyand earn more bitcoin.
“Speculation” is sometimes treated as though it were not a legitimate use. It is, and it has been, an important part of bitcoin’s DNA from birth. Even U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has spoken respectfully of bitcoin’s role as a “speculative store of value.”
The volatility that makes bitcoin attractive to investors also makes it difficult to use as money, or “electronic cash,” as theBitcoin white paperspecifies. Hanyecz’s solid-gold pizzas show us that if CoinDesk paid me in bitcoin, one of us would likely get rekt.
Or would we? Hanyecz works for apparel brandGORUCKas a developer and, partly because he is internet-famous, the e-commerce company is one of a handful that accepts bitcoin. It’s a small volume, about two or three orders per week over the past two years, Hanyecz told me. But it’s working out.
Related:He Paid How Much?! CoinDesk Releases ‘Bitcoin Pizza Day’ Price Tracker
“We’ve just been holding it and we’re actually up a significant amount,” he said. “We had some people check out at $3,000, we had some people check out at $11,000. The dollar cost averaging people talk about, it works really well.”
That doesn’t mean bitcoin for everyday purchases is really a thing most businesses can support, although there are projects,like Lightning Pizza, to make it easier for consumers.
“It’s common knowledge that anybody who held for four years is in the money,” Hanyecz said. “But businesses can’t generally afford to just hold for four years and not pay their rent.”
Bitcoin as digital gold, or a store of value to accumulate and hold for the long term, has proven more attractive than commerce, as a pair of recent events underscore. First,bitcoin’s halvingshowed in real time bitcoin’s inviolable issuance schedule all while central banks test just how much money they can print on demand. Then, on Wednesday, as I was writing down questions for Hanyecz and trying to home-school my kids,someone moved bitcointhat had been sitting in the same place since February 2009.
Hodling is part of what drives the value of bitcoin up, as low velocity can do for any currency. But low velocity can’t be the whole story, as Hanyecz realized early on, looking at bitcoin as an experiment.
“It was a really interesting system but nobody’s using it,” he said. “If nobody’s using it, it doesn’t matter if I have it all.”
As widely known and held as bitcoin may be, it’s still an experiment. Withhedge fund household names placing long-term betson its viability as “digital gold,” that narrative seems set in stone. In fact, it’s malleable, like the metal. Ten years from now, it may seem as absurd as a $45 million pizza.
• Bitcoin Pizza Day 2: How A Lightning Payment Made History
• Bitcoin in the Headlines: Rolling With the Punches || Public Opinion Shifts on Big Tech and Privacy During Pandemic: Recent polling finds the COVID-19 pandemic has softened the backlash against big tech firms. A majority of Americans now support tech firms being involved in tracing COVID-19, for example. The recent round of polling is a turnaround from 2019. In 2015, 71 percent of Americans said tech companies had a positive impact on the United States, with that number falling to only 50 percent by 2019, according to the Pew Research Center. Over those same years, negative views of tech went from the high teens to 33 percent. But during the pandemic tech companies are stepping into a new field — public health. Google and Apple have announced an initiative to support contact tracing through Bluetooth technology, which tracks when people come in contact with an infected person. MIT researchers have developed an app to serve a similar purpose, and other tech companies are lending their support to help combat COVID-19 in a variety of ways. Related: Lightning Network Messaging, Political Expediency and What Crisis Has Revealed Taken together, the results from a number of different polls raise questions about a continued desire for products and services that focus on privacy and security, which were the beneficiaries of an estimated $124 billion in spending on this industry in 2019, according to Gartner estimates. A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll covering late April found 68 percent of Americans would now share their COVID-19 test results with officials using an app, though that dropped to 45 percent if the app tracks with whom they come into contact and sends them alerts if one of those people tests positive for coronavirus. Such measures are currently on the table in the U.S. and Europe. See also: For Contact Tracing to Work, Americans Will Have to Trust Google and Apple Even so, people have an improved view of tech companies generally during the pandemic. Related: US Authorities Freeze COVID-19 Website Alleged Scammer Tried to Sell for Bitcoin Thirty-eight percent of Americans say their view of the tech industry is more positive since the start of the outbreak, according to a Harris/Axios poll. Forty percent said the tech industry should be providing solutions, and an overwhelming 81 percent said they support large tech companies helping with contact tracing. The results are heartening for public health officials given that any contact tracing app in the U.S. would likely not be mandatory, and a recent study said any such app would need to be adopted by 60 percent of a population to be effective. The question is whether these positive feelings hold when the pandemic passes. To companies that have built their businesses around the notion of privacy as a commodity that’s here to stay, that seems unlikely. Previous distrust of big tech companies that came to a head as a result of data and privacy violations have expanded the Overton window , a publicly acceptable range of policy proposals, in such a way that makes privacy a fixture of our world, not a passing fad. Story continues The question is whether these positive feelings hold when the pandemic passes. Tor Bair, the Head of Growth at Enigma, a decentralized, open source protocol, said privacy and security will always be essential, even if user attitudes towards privacy fluctuate over time. “If big tech firms commit to defending the privacy and security of their users by default, then users will expect privacy as a universal value,” said Bair. “Anyone who then takes advantage of that trust will be punished by users, not to mention regulators. In this world, privacy technologies become an essential core of any product.” And while consumer views go back and forth when it comes to trusting Apple or Google, for example, there are still industrial clients such as oil or shipping companies that see the ability to share data privately and securely as a fundamentally part of their businesses, according to Duncan Greatwood, CEO of Xage Security. His company provides a decentralized platform for protecting the industrial internet of things, among other data security measures. “I think that a crisis like this does give people a bit of a pause and say, ‘Maybe privacy isn’t quite as important as I thought it was,’” said Greatwood. “But I do believe that once this crisis is past, people will care about their privacy. That’s certainly the case in the industrial world we operate in.” Looking beyond the pandemic, a National Research Group polling report published just days ago found two out of three Americans are excited about how technology can “accelerate positive trends on the other side of the curve.” Related Stories COVID-19 Tracing Apps Have to Go Viral to Work. That’s a Big Ask Bitcoin Messenger Explores Censorship Resistance During Coronavirus Crisis View comments || Blockchain Bites: Paul Tudor Jones, Open Options and Why Bitcoin Looks Strong Heading to the Halving: Yesterday, it came to light that Paul Tudor Jones II, a titan investor, is considering bitcoin as a hedge against inflation. While it’s unknown where he intends to make his allocation or how much he’ll invest over what period of time through his flagship fund, we do know why. Bitcoin is what gold was in the 1970s, he thinks.
“I am not a millennial investing in cryptocurrency, which is very popular in that generation, but a baby boomer,” he said in a letter to investors. “In a world that craves new safe assets, there may be a growing role for bitcoin.”
Next week asConsensus: Distributedkicks off,Blockchain Biteswill be your guide to the event. We’ll publish twice daily, providing adetailed schedule of eventsas well as a daily recap. I hope you can join us for the completely free and virtual event. You can subscribe to this and all of CoinDesk’snewsletters here.In other news, Bixin is launching a $66 million fund of funds, Massive Adoption organizer Jacob Kostecki is getting sued and Filecoin is delivering physical hard drives. Here’s the story:
Related:Most Bitcoin Buyers Are in the Money Ahead of the Halving, Data Suggests
Industry Head Looking to HedgePaul Tudor Jones II, a pioneer of the modern hedge fund industry, is ready to bet onbitcoin’sprice as an inflation hedge. Jones’ flagship $22 billion Tudor BVI Global Fundhas been authorized to hold as much as “a low single-digit percentage exposure percentage”of its assets in bitcoin futures, according to a note sent to investors this month. It is not clear whether the fund has begun buying futures, what kind (physically delivered or cash-settled), on which exchange it would do so or whether it plans to also trade the underlying commodity.
Bitcoin Halving Interest Doubles (Five Times Over)With fewer than four days left till bitcoin’s halving, popular interest in the once-every-four-years event is reaching a fever pitch.Google Trends, a barometer for gauging interest in trending search topics, shows searches for “halving” or “bitcoin halving” at five times the peakin 2016, when the blockchain underwent its previous halving event. CoinDesk’s First Mover team takes a deeper dive, you cansign up for the newsletter here.
Serious TensionsMicree Ketuan Zhan, the exiled co-founder of Bitmain, has moved to reinstate his position granted the right to recover his status as legal representative of Beijing Bitmain Technology by the Beijing Haidian District Justice Bureau. When Zhan went to the bureau to collect his new registration license, he was met by a cadre of Bitmain executives seeking to block his move.Tensions escalated into a physical brawl,as reported by Chinese daily Caixin and a video circulating on WeChat.
Filecoin Delivers… a PackageFilecoin is mailing out hard drives of climate data, world literature or the human genometo kick-start its file-storage network.In a program called Filecoin Discover, the Filecoin Foundation will deliver these tomes to future miners physically, on eight-terabyte hard drives, with instructions on how to link the devices to the Filecoin system to go live this year.
Related:The Men Who Stare at Charts
Fund of FundsBixin, one of the earliest bitcoin miner operators and wallet startups, isdedicating 6,600 bitcoin, worth $66 million, to a new fund of funds.The company will target global quantitative trading funds whose strategies are based on arbitrage, bitcoin futures contracts and trend analysis.
Domination DerivativeAnew derivative from Bitfinexallows investors to take a position on bitcoin’s overall share of the cryptocurrency market. The BTCDOM contract would allow investors to place a perpetual swap (a future without expiry date) based on bitcoin’s dominant value versus the value of other cryptocurrencies.
Contours of FinanceHDBank has tapped blockchain network Contourto digitize and streamline trade finance. Contour uses R3’s Corda blockchain tech for the issuance and settlement of trade contracts, a process still done with pen and paper by some firms.
Shifting Trade Finance?Tradeshift, the digital trade finance platform that uses blockchain to make payments instant and transparent, has proposed a scheme to the government of Denmark that mayfree billions of dollars from supply chains.The plan offers lines of credit – backed up by the Danish government – to big companies to pay their suppliers instantly, as supply chains around the world calcify during the COVID-19 crisis.
ATM BoostCoinstar, the coin counting kiosk maker hosting 3,500 Coinme bitcoin ATMs, is looking todouble its bitcoin-capable supermarket locations.Placed in grocery stores and other businesses allowed to remain open during the COVID-19 shutdowns, Coinme reports a 40% bump in transaction volume since February.
Mass’ Adoption Class ActionThe organizer of the canceled Massive Adoption crypto conference,Jacob Kostecki, is being suedover allegations that ticket refunds are too slow. The putative class action lawsuit was filed by a would-be attendee alleging fraud, breach of contract, conversion and unjust enrichment. Storied crypto lawyer David Silver is handling the case pro bono, while Kostecki claims refunds will be paid out by July 31, after announcing delays.
‘Massive Fraud’The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued a Miami resident and two Israeli nationals Thursday over two “massive fraudulent solicitation schemes,” one of which focused on cryptocurrency services.
Exemption LegislationA key lawmaker in the California Assembly has proposedexempting “digital assets”that are “presumptively not an investment contract” from the state’s definition of corporate securities. Exactly how to treat digital assets under securities law has been a resoundingly inconclusive, and sometimes contradictory, debate in the U.S.
Series ASwiss crypto broker Bitcoin Suisse is raising a $280 million. (The Block)
Keybase Kayfabe?Zoom, the popular-by-necessity video conferencing service, hasacquired crypto key directory Keybasein a bid to bring end-to-end encryption to its paying customers. The acquisition comes at a time when Zoom has been criticized for privacy and security issues, and is part of Zoom’s 90-day push to make the platform more secure. Meanwhile, manyBitcoiners and cryptographers(Decrypt) are not happy with the acquisition.
Next Stop AheadAnotherEth 2.0 testnet, Schlesi, is live,bringing the network one step closer to its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Eth 2.0. Named after a rail line stop in Berlin, the testnet is the first multi-client testnet for Eth 2.0’s beacon chain.
#NYBWGivesCoinDesk has joined Gitcoin, The Giving Block and Ethereal Summit to support charities helping communities in difficult times. We’re raising $100,000 and giving you a voice through the quadratic funding model. CoinDesk is matching $25,000 of funds raised.Learn how it worksand how to donate.
Open InterestOpen contracts onbitcoin options rose to record highs above $1 billionon Thursday as the cryptocurrency’s price rose into five figures, surpassing the previous all-time high of $970 million registered on Feb. 14, according to crypto derivatives research firm Skew. The surge in open interest looks to have been caused by increased demand for put options, or bearish bets.
CoinDesk Monthly Review: April 2020
CoinDesk Research’s monthly review of crypto markets overviews returns, volatility and correlations of bitcoin, ether and other crypto assets – all in a macro context. Plus, we track growth in stablecoins and look at what past halvings can tell us about the upcoming one. The report isfree to download.
Could a new currency challenger the dollar’s supremacy in the international system? Airing May 8, episode 2 ofThe Breakdown: Money Reimaginedexamines a set of challengers — from Libra to the Chinese DCEP — seeking to reshape the global monetary order in their image.
The Breakdown: Money Reimaginedis a podcast crossover micro series exploring the battle for the future of money in the context of a post COVID-19 world. The four-part podcast features over a dozen voices including Consensus: Distributed speakers Niall Ferguson, Nic Carter and Michael Casey. New episodes air Fridays on theCoinDesk Podcast Network.Subscribe here.
Heading Into the HalvingOn this episode of The Breakdown, NLW looks atnine reasons why Bitcoin has never been strongergoing into the halving.
• First Mover: Search Interest in Bitcoin’s Halving Reaches Fever Pitch as Price Hits $10K
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin at $9.9K as Halving Chatter Increases
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 9386.79, 9450.70, 9538.02, 9480.25, 9411.84, 9288.02, 9332.34, 9303.63, 9648.72, 9629.66
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2018-04-24]
BTC Price: 9697.50, BTC RSI: 70.52
Gold Price: 1331.40, Gold RSI: 47.97
Oil Price: 67.70, Oil RSI: 60.18
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
3 Dividend Aristocrats With Embarrassingly Low Yields: Investors like dividend stocks that aren't stingy with their payouts. Yet even among the elite ranks of theDividend Aristocrats-- stocks that have increased their annual payments to shareholders for at least 25 straight years -- you can find some companies with dividend yields that are embarrassingly low. Below, we'll look more closely atRoper Technologies(NYSE: ROP),S&P; Global(NYSE: SPGI), andSherwin-Williams(NYSE: SHW)to see why they give investors a somewhat mixed picture when it comes to dividends.
Roper Technologies is one of the newest members of the Dividend Aristocrats, with annual increases dating back exactly a quarter-century, to 1993. Yet the amount that it pays in dividends is unusually low, with a current yield of just 0.6% even after a sizable 18% dividend boost earlier this year.
The main justification for the low yield stems fromRoper's long-term strategy. The company is a conglomerate of several different types of businesses. Its radio-frequency technology gets used in areas like toll road electronic payment collection systems and remote monitoring, while it also makes diagnostic and lab software solutions, control systems, and a host of other industrial technology products. Roper grows by making frequent acquisitions, and it believes that it can better put its ample cash flow to work by finding new business opportunities instead of returning huge amounts of capital in dividends. That's been a solid long-term strategy for shareholders who value share-price appreciation above income, even if some dividend investors might prefer a bit more attention to the payout side.
S&P Global is the company behind well-known stock market benchmarks like the Dow and S&P 500, providing a wealth of information and analysis of the financial markets across the globe. Credit ratings assess bond quality, while the S&P Dow Jones Indices segment tracks key indices both for the stock market and other financial markets. The company also has an impressive database of market data and proprietary research that it offers to clients.
For dividend investors, S&P Global's yield of just over 1% stands out as being barely half what the overall market pays on average. Yet S&P has been aware of the potential disconnect, deciding to increase its quarterly payout by 22% earlier this year. That still leaves the 45-year veteran of annual payout increases with work to do to catch up to its peers on the yield front, but S&P Global is riding the wave of interest in financial markets higher and hasdelivered strong overall performanceto its long-term shareholders.
Image source: Sherwin-Williams.
Finally, Sherwin-Williams is probably the most familiar household name among these three Dividend Aristocrats. The paint specialist runs its own chain of retail stores as well as offering paint and coatings products to third-party home improvement retailers. Dividend investors like the fact that Sherwin-Williams has increased its annual dividend payouts every year for the past 40 years, but they're less than excited by the stock's 0.9% yield.
What's especially troubling is that Sherwin-Williams doesn't seem to see any problem with its dividend strategy, having made just a 1% increase to its quarterly payout in February. Yet investors in the stock don't have a lot of reason to complain, as thepaint specialist has taken maximum advantageof favorable conditions in the housing market to generate strong earnings and impressive share-price gains recently. As long as total return remains solid, Sherwin-Williams can justify its behavior even to income investors who would prefer to see more generous payouts.
Dividend Aristocrats have a positive reputation because they've proven that they can boost their dividends through good times and bad. Yet especially with these three stocks, you can't necessarily count on any given Dividend Aristocrat to generate impressive or even average yields. That's an important thing to know if you count on the income your dividend stock portfolio provides.
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Dan Caplingerhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Roper Technologies and Sherwin-Williams. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin Provides Freedom, Says New PBoC Chief as China Opens Doors to $27 Trillion Payments Market: For the first time in history, the Chinese government and its central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), has opened its $27 trillion payment market to the world. Foreign firms are now allowed to apply for licenses to operate within China, competing against local service providers.
In China, homegrown companies have complete dominance over the internet and finance industries. Alibaba’s AliPay is said to have nearly 70 percent of the payment market share, while Tencent’s Tencent Pay is responsible for the remaining 30 percent. Ever since the launch of AliPay and the emergence of Tencent Pay, the two conglomerates have retained control over the local payment market.
However, overseas firms will soon be able to operate within China, serving users that are already accustomed to local payment applications. Hypothetically, US-based Square, a payment app developed by a team led by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and KakaoPay, a South Korean payment app developed by KakaoTalk developers Kakao, could operate in China if they register with the PBoC and obtain licenses.
“The domestic market is quite saturated with very strong domestic players, and it is relatively hard for foreign companies to get a piece of the pie. But there is a chance for them to compete in the cross-border payment market,” Iris Pang, a Hong Kong-based economist at ING Groep NVtold Bloomberg.
The decision of the PBoC and the Chinese government to enable foreign firms to operate in its payment market came after the appointment of the new PBoC head Yi Gang, an American-educated economist well known for his pro-market philosophy.
Earlier this month, WSJ reported that senior officials in the Chinese government stated that the PBoC intends to provide foreign firms with an opportunity to target the local financial sector. The WSJ report noted that the Chinese government has been planning to bring in foreign companies to its insurance and payment market, to free up the two industries.
“Liu and Yi have a shared understanding of the need for financial market reforms and liberalization, coupled with more effective regulation,” Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University professor and former China head for the International Monetary Fund,told the WSJ at the time.
On March 19, according to a South Korean media outlet TokenPost, new Chinese central bank head Yi Gang stated that “bitcoin is a currency that provides freedom to anyone that uses it,” and emphasized that the cryptocurrency is transparent.
The optimistic viewpoint towards bitcoin from Yi was somewhat expected by analysts, given his pro-market philosophy and his plans to liberalize the Chinese financial industry. Potentially, the appointment of Yi and the re-election of President Xi Jinping could lead to the regulation of cryptocurrencies and legalization of trading.
Wei Chun, a local analyst,stated:
“In summary, the Chinese government have shown a positive attitude towards blockchain technology despite its enforcement on cryptocurrency and mining operations. China wants to control cryptocurrency, and China will get control. The repeated enforcements by the regulators were meant to protect its citizens from the financial risk of cryptocurrencies and limit capital outflow.”
Featured image from Wikimedia.
The postBitcoin Provides Freedom, Says New PBoC Chief as China Opens Doors to $27 Trillion Payments Marketappeared first onCCN. || Pool Corporation Posts Record Revenue and Profit in the First Quarter of 2018: Pool and irrigation products distributorPool Corporation(NASDAQ: POOL)released first-quarter 2018 earnings Thursday before the start of trading. The company achieved record first-quarter revenue, net income, and earnings per share (EPS), despite uncooperative weather over the last three months, which effectively delayed the beginning of the industry's pool season.
We'll cover these details below, but before jumping off the diving board, let's first review the headline numbers from Thursday's report:
[{"Metric": "Revenue", "Q1 2018": "$585.9 million", "Q1 2017": "$546.4 million", "Year-Over-Year Growth": "7.2%"}, {"Metric": "Net income", "Q1 2018": "$31.3 million", "Q1 2017": "$22.3 million", "Year-Over-Year Growth": "40.4%"}, {"Metric": "Diluted earnings per share", "Q1 2018": "$0.75", "Q1 2017": "$0.52", "Year-Over-Year Growth": "44.2%"}]
Data source: Pool Corporation.
• Pool Corporation's top-line increase of 7.2% was led by growth of roughly 5% in "base business," a comparable sales number that excludes new acquisitions of sales centers. The company sells pool supplies and equipment through 354 sales centers located in North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. To phrase the above in a manner that may be more familiar to investors, organic sales expanded by 5% in the quarter, with acquisitions contributing the remaining two percentage points of sales growth.
• Brisk demand for discretionary year-round items, such as heaters and lighting, propelled the top-line gains. These were timely sales, since, according to the company, unfavorable weather conditions peeled off $10 million in potential sales during the quarter.
• Gross profit increased by $12.4 million over the prior-year quarter, to $166.1 million.Gross marginrose by a mere 20 basis points to 28.3%. Thus, the increase in gross profit dollars was mostly due to the improved revenue versus the first quarter of 2017. Management attributed the slight change in gross margin to variances in product mix.
• Operating expenses ticked up 8% versus 2017 thanks to higher labor, technology, freight, and employee insurance-related costs. Management also noted that costs tied to acquisitions were higher than normal during the quarter. Since December of 2017, Pool Corporation has acquired three companies, resulting in the addition of seven new sales centers.
• The combination of recent U.S. tax legislation and Pool Corporation's adoption of a new stock compensation accounting standard in January of last year resulted in a net tax benefit of $1.3 million in the first quarter. This represented a swing in direction from a net tax provision (or expense) of $5.1 million in last year's first quarter.
• Management estimates that the positive impact of the new accounting standard, known as Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2016-09, equaled $0.22 in diluted per share earnings during the last three months, and $0.14 in the first quarter of 2017. Even after adjusting for (i.e., removing) this benefit in both years, though, diluted EPS would still have expanded by 33%, to a record $0.52 in the first quarter of 2018.
Image source: Getty Images.
Pool Corporation's CEO, Manuel Perez de la Mesa, offered illuminating commentary on the quarter in the company's earnings release:
Following a strong finish to 2017, we are poised for continued solid growth in 2018 as consumer demand for outdoor living products remains high. We generated record sales and income in the first quarter of 2018 despite inclement weather in Texas and seasonal markets, which resulted in a slower than expected start to the 2018 swimming pool season.
A long winter season across the U.S. has pushed back pool projects in many regions, and it's possible that some of this industry backlog may also benefit Pool Corporation as far as the third quarter. As a point of clarification,Pool Corporation primarily sells products, not services. So, the deferred sales de la Mesa refers to above shouldn't be mistaken for deferred revenue already in hand for the company. Instead, de la Mesa is simply discussing purchases customers have hit the pause button on for the time being.
In its earnings release, Pool Corporation increased its outlook for 2018 diluted EPS from a previous range of $5.36 to $5.61, to a new band of between $5.45 and $5.70. However, this slight bump is technical in nature, reflecting additional tax benefits expected to be derived this year from adoption of ASU 2016-09. While the first quarter of the year was particularly impressive given the poor weather, investors hoping for an upward revision to earnings estimates will have to wait and see what the high pool season (over the next two quarters) brings.
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Asit Sharmahas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Pool. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Apple and Blockchain: Together at Last?: In one corner, we have Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) , the largest publicly traded company in the U.S. based on market cap and a business that likely needs no introduction. In its most recently reported quarterly operating results , it generated $88.3 billion in sales, sold 77.3 million iPhones at an average selling price of $796, tallied 240 million paid subscriptions via its App Store, and ended the quarter with "just" $285 billion in cash, $269 billion of which is held in overseas markets. It's rightly a tech mammoth. In the other corner, we have blockchain technology , which is being touted as the greatest thing since sliced bread for industries ranging from financial services to retail and technology. Blockchain describes the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger that's responsible for transparently and immutably (i.e., in an unchanging manner) recording all transactions without the need for a financial intermediary, which is often a bank. A person touching a single encrypted blockchain on a digital screen that's part of a larger blockchain. Image source: Getty Images. Initially, when bitcoin debuted in 2009, the buzz about blockchain primarily revolved around its uses for the financial services industry. It was believed to be a means to improve the peer-to-peer payment process by reducing transaction fees as a result of cutting out the middleman (banks), and dramatically speeding up the validation and settlement process of payments relative to the current banking system. But there's much more to blockchain than this. Blockchain is also being examined as a means to more effectively control supply chains, as well as quickly locate inefficiencies within logistics operations. Additionally, it can be used to immutably log medical records, create digital IDs, and act as a loyalty-rewards platform for retailers, to name a few of its noncurrency projects. Now, the world's most valuable company and the buzziest concept in the business universe may be joining forces. Apple and blockchain? Yeah, that might be a thing Back on Dec. 7, 2017, it became public information that Apple had filed a patent application (officially, " Obtaining and Using Time Information on a Secure Element ") with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a timestamp verification system that would potentially incorporate the use of blockchain. Keep in mind that patent applications are usually made public 18 months after they've been filed, meaning that Apple has probably been tinkering with the idea of a blockchain-based timestamp verification system for a good two years, if not longer. Story continues A key inside of a lock that's surrounded by digital information. Image source: Getty Images. According to the filing, Apple would use multicheck architecture that incorporates Public Key Infrastructure and blockchain to verify the authenticity of timestamps and protect secure elements (SE), such as SIM cards or microSD cards that could contain critical information. In the third scenario described in the filing: Because of distributed consensus, attempted alteration of the blockchain by a malicious node in terms of the time value will be detected by honest nodes. In the third scenario, a maliciously altered block in the blockchain will not be recognized by the device and will not be recognized by the SE and thus a bogus time value will not corrupt the state of the SE. In plainer English, because blockchain transactions are transparent and unchanging, dishonest actions taken by a malicious individual or group of individuals to alter a timestamp would allow all persons on that network to see this occurring. It would also create unauthorized blocks that wouldn't be properly recognized, thus invalidating those blocks and reauthenticating the proper timestamp. Why timestamps? Though there could be a host of reasons not mentioned in the patent application filing for focusing on timestamps, it specifically points out how global positioning systems (GPS) and network serves reliant on NTP (network time protocol) could be impacted by a malicious user aiming to disrupt a timestamp before it reaches the secure element. A woman holding a tablet and examining a business server. Image source: Getty Images. For example, NTP network time servers likely aid in the control of these basic functions around today's modern businesses: Network accelerators: These accelerators rely on accurate timestamps to determine the most current piece of data. Data backups: Without proper timestamping, backing up data could become impossible. Network intrusion: NTP servers aid with pinpointing malicious attack times, so businesses can determine what, if any data, was compromised. Network management systems: Timestamps provide an easy means for network administrators to locate and fix problems. Trading systems: It probably goes without saying that electronic trading systems are dependent on clocks. In short, the ability for a hacker to alter timestamp data could have drastic consequences on businesses of varied sizes. Additionally, even though it's merely glanced over in the patent filing, this multi-check architecture that incorporates blockchain may also prove worthwhile for expiring public-key certificates. Blockchain data, being immutable, would render these expirations a moot point and create so-called "timeless guarantees." It's also possible an even broader application of this technology would be to protect vendors from malicious attacks that would alter the expiration date of licensed software, but that's mere conjecture on my part. Apple isn't alone Of course, Apple is far from the only tech giant to "tinker" with the idea of using blockchain technology. Both Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) have been prime advocates of its testing. A person holding a glowing golden lock, surrounded by latticework that's representing blockchain. Image source: Getty Images. Last month, Microsoft announced via a blog post that it would be tackling the identity challenge that more than 1 billion people face worldwide by developing blockchain-based IDs. Believing that blockchain represents the best way to protect digital IDs and allow individuals control over their own digital identities, Microsoft is developing a decentralized system that could more efficiently verify personal credentials . In particular, this blockchain project would allow developers to customize apps and services that rely on attestations -- i.e., claims about a person's identity that other entities endorse -- which would require less of a user's personal info to be processed. Meanwhile, IBM has its hands in a little bit of everything when it comes to blockchain. In October, it partnered with Stellar to use the latter's digital tokens, known as Lumens, on its blockchain in the South Pacific. A dozen major banks in the region are testing cross-border payments over IBM's blockchain with Lumens being used as the intermediary currency. Even more recently, IBM and shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk announced their intention to form a separate company via a joint venture to develop blockchain-based solutions for the shipping industry . The duo believes that the start-up-like environment of being a separate entity will bode well for innovative purposes. In short, big tech companies are really beginning to embrace the possibilities of blockchain technology. The big question is: Will 2018 finally be the year we move beyond proof of concept and into real-world testing? With the biggest name in tech now involved, we could be closing in on an answer. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks or cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple, but has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool is short shares of IBM and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Warren Buffett Wants You -- If Your Business Meets These 6 Tests: Warren Buffett is one of the best investors of all time, and his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) has passed on the rewards of his prowess to shareholders for decades. But Buffett has a big problem: He has more money than he knows what to do with right now. Berkshire Hathaway just reported that it holds a whopping $116 billion in cash, making up almost a quarter of the company's market capitalization. Buffett isn't happy about it, and as he said in his letter to shareholders , he'll feel a lot better once he's put that cash to work. In fact, Buffett laid out exactly what acquisition criteria he's looking for in a prospective purchase, and if your business meets the following six tests, then the Oracle of Omaha wants to hear from you. Warren Buffett close up with people out of focus behind him. Image source: The Motley Fool. 1. Size With such a huge amount of excess cash on hand, Buffett's in a mood to spend big. Ideally, he'd like to purchase private companies for somewhere between $5 billion and $20 billion. However, Buffett is willing to consider smaller purchases if the fit is good. At a minimum, Buffett says that a business should have at least $75 million in pre-tax income unless it can fit within one of the wholly owned business units that Berkshire already has under its corporate umbrella. Still, with so many different types of businesses already represented within the Berkshire organization, even many smaller businesses can at least make a reasonable pitch. 2. Consistency Buffett has no interest in beaten-down companies in need of huge transformations, with no certainty of success. Instead, the ideal acquisition involves a business with a demonstrated track record of solid earnings on a consistent basis. It's not enough for Buffett to see hopes for future success from not-yet-established start-ups. He also doesn't want to get involved in turnaround situations. But if your business has brought in profits and looks poised to keep doing so, Buffett could be interested. Story continues 3. Good unleveraged performance Buffett knows that it's easy to produce attractive financials if you use a lot of debt to generate them. What's more difficult is to produce impressive returns on equity while using little or no leverage in the form of debt. A lack of debt also makes acquisitions simpler. Rather than dealing with assumption of existing obligations, Buffett can just send cash to shareholders and be done with a transaction once and for all. 4. Strong management Buffett isn't interested in personally running all of the businesses that Berkshire owns. One of Berkshire's hallmarks is that the conglomerate typically leaves management in place even among its largest holdings. Therefore, business owners need to understand that selling out to Berkshire Hathaway isn't an exit strategy. They'll need to stay on as managers well into the future to prove to Buffett that his investment in them makes sense. 5. Simplicity Buffett is a sophisticated investor, but he doesn't want to invest in things that he can't understand. For years, Berkshire refused to make major investments even in well-known technology companies, as Buffett simply said that technology was outside of his wheelhouse as an investor. Sticking with what's simple is also a safer way to invest. All too often, companies that come up with complicated ways to make money prove to be too good to be true, when the foundation of their strategic vision proves to be flawed. The simpler it is to understand why a company makes money, the more confidence you can have that it'll continue to do so. 6. A set price Finally, if you want to sell to Buffett, you should have a fair price in mind. The Oracle of Omaha isn't interested in speculating about whether purchasing a business makes sense without knowing what it'll cost him, and he's especially averse to getting involved in bidding wars or auctions with other potential buyers. Also, business owners should keep in mind that Buffett prefers to pay cash. Occasionally, Berkshire has done deals involving stock, which can have favorable tax impacts for sellers. With so much cash available, though, it's obviously more helpful right now to be willing to take it off his hands. Doing a deal with Warren Buffett isn't easy. But if you have what Berkshire Hathaway's looking for, then you might be able to persuade the famous billionaire to take your business under his wing -- for the right price. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Dan Caplinger owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Coinbase Suspends WikiLeaks Shop for Terms of Service Violation: digital currencies warrning In one fell swoop, US-based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has blocked WikiLeaks Shop from transacting on the exchange. As a result, Coinbase “can no longer process brokerage orders via their banking relationship,” according to a letter sent to WikiLeaks that was published in Gateway Pundit . According to WikiLeaks on Twitter, the move was sudden and Coinbase offered no explanation. WikiLeaks has directed its Twitter followers to donate bitcoin on the website, where other digital currencies including Litecoin, Zcash, Monero and Ethereum are listed with the message that “additional cryptocurrency options will be announced.” Below is the tweet by WikiLeaks Shop. Notice the added the hashtag #ReconnectJulian, which is in reference to WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange’s internet access having been suspended in the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he resides. ANNOUNCE: Coinbase has blocked the official @WikiLeaks shop from its platform without notice or explanation. You can continue to donate #Bitcoin to WikiLeaks at https://t.co/lvhoyhlqUa . #Coinbase #DefendWL #Cryptocurrency #Ethereum #BitcoinCash #ReconnectJulian pic.twitter.com/4BSS023OOk — WikiLeaks Shop (@WikiLeaksShop) April 21, 2018 Global Blockade WikiLeaks isn’t taking the ban sitting down and is calling for a “global blockade” of Coinbase. Story continues WikiLeaks will call for a global blockade of Coinbase next week as an unfit member of the crypto community. Coinbase, a large Californian Bitcoin processor, responding to a concealed influence, has blocked the entirely harmless @WikiLeaksShop in a decision approved by management. https://t.co/PAldF8b12P — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 21, 2018 WikiLeaks Shop’s followers were quick to defend the controversial publishing site, with some of them saying that they would leave Coinbase in response. Gateway Pundit reports that the WikiLeaks Shop has been blocked from receiving cryptocurrency payments since March, about the same time that Assange lost access to the web. WikiLeaks staff reportedly reached out to Coinbase for an explanation but appears to remain dissatisfied with a lack of details surrounding the decision. “It’s a threat to WikiLeaks, a similar thing happened a few years ago when PayPal and MasterCard launched a blockade,” according to a staff member at the WikiLeaks shop cited in Gateway Pundit. Coinbase, which is registered with the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, only said that the WikiLeaks account “had engaged in prohibited use in violation of our terms and service and we regret to inform you that we can no longer provide you with access to our service.” The WikiLeaks shop was then advised to redirect its remaining balance to an external digital wallet. WikiLeaks, which was founded by Assange in 2006, depends on donations to keep the site running so that it can continue to publish censored data. The WikiLeaks Shop is where you can buy WikiLeaks merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies and an Edward Snowden “blow the whistle” poster. They also have a CryptoKitties promotion running. The website says they accept payments via CoinPayments.net. Coinbase’s decision to shut down WikiLeaks Shop’s account occurs even as rival Robinhood Crypto is making an expansion push into the United States, with the trading platform most recently having opened in the state of Colorado. Perhaps some of the disgruntled Coinbase users will be jumping ship. Featured image from Shutterstock. The post Coinbase Suspends WikiLeaks Shop for Terms of Service Violation appeared first on CCN . || Why CryptoKitties matters: A blockchain-based game that lets you birth and trade digital kittens raised $12 million in new funding last week from some of the most revered tech venture capital firms in America. Huh? The game is called CryptoKitties, and it runs on Ethereum, a blockchain network created specifically to execute smart contracts, which are scripts that carry out immutable agreements and exchanges of value. Bitcoin runs on its own blockchain, a decentralized ledger maintained by miners who upload bundles of transactions; Ethereum is a separate blockchain and has its own digital token, ether. The price of ether (ETH) is down 46% in 2018 so far, but up 800% in the past 12 months. The excitement around Ethereum is all about its potential for storing and keeping track of anything that relies on authentication and verification: think real estate deeds, job contracts, resumes, or even autographed sports memorabilia . And it just so happens that a digital kitten game is the first product to demonstrate that potential. Cryptokitties.co home page That may sound silly, but forget what the game is aboutthats not the point. The appeal is what the game proves: that Ethereum is perfectly suited for digital collectibles, any digital-only item that is unique, one-of-a-kind, and cant be duplicated or stolen. It is often games that first demonstrate the potential of a new technology. And people are really playing CryptoKitties. Users have spent more than $23 million to create or buy kittens, at an average sale price of $69 per kitten, according to a page that tracks CryptoKitties data . Thus: $12 million in new funding. The round was led by the Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz , which has invested in major bitcoin startups like Coinbase and Earn.com , and the New York firm Union Square Ventures, whose founder Fred Wilson is a huge bitcoin believer. We think digital collectibles is one of many amazing things that blockchains enable that literally could not be done before this technology emerged, Wilson writes at the USV blog about the CryptoKitties investment. We also think digital collectibles and all of the games they enable will be one of the first, if not the first, big consumer use cases for blockchain technologies. Story continues Who else participated in the investment round? Naval Ravikant , the founder of AngelList, who is involved in stealth cryptocurrency hedge fund MetaStable along with Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures, and Fred Ehrsam , a cofounder of Coinbase. In other words: Everyone in crypto is gaga about CryptoKitties. Daniel Roberts covers bitcoin and blockchain at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ readDanwrite . Read more: How the Ethereum blockchain could be used for sports memorabilia Blockchain CEO on Just Hold mantra: I dont believe in that ICO funding exploded in December Bank of America CEO: We have a ton of blockchain patents || Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 26/03/18: Bitcoin Cash managed to avoid a loss on Sunday, in spite of Bitcoin sliding into the red, gaining just 0.02% to end the day at $970.8.
In stark contrast to previous weekends, Bitcoin Cash moved through a relatively tight range on Sunday, with an intraday high $992.1 and low $960 seeing Bitcoin Cash hovering at around the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level throughout the day.
Major support and resistance levels were left untested through the day, the day’s $992.1 high falling short of the first major resistance level of $1,013.87, with the day’s low $962 holding above the day’s first major support level of $945.57
For the week, Monday through to Sunday’s close, Bitcoin Cash saw a gain of just 4%, which came off the back of solid gains at the start of the week, before Bitcoin Cash turned bearish at Wednesday’s swing hi $1,084.
The bearish trend remains intact, in spite of a bounce back through to the day’s 62% FIB Retracement Level on Friday, failure to break out ultimately pinning Bitcoin Cash back to sub-$1,000 levels and unable to break back through to $1,000 levels for the first time since Tuesday’s $999.99 high.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin Cash was up 0.14% to $970.7 through the early part of the morning, with a morning low $960 holding above the day’s first major support level of $957.83, in what has been a relatively range bound start to the day.
For the day ahead, a move back through to the morning’s $975.4 high would support a run at the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $986.44 and the day’s first major resistance level of $987.93, though for Bitcoin Cash to break through and make a run at the day’s 2ndresistance level of $1,005.07, broader market sentiment will need to be positive through the middle part of the day.
Failure to break through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level would likely see Bitcoin Cash pull back to the morning’s low and test the day’s first major support level. How much support is in place will ultimately be dependent upon the news wires. Negative regulatory news likely to soften support through to the day’s 3rdsupport level of $914.77.
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Things were not much better for Litecoin Cash on Sunday, a 0.75% gain to end the day at $160.18 certainly not enough to offset Saturday’s 6.01% tumble.
There was a little more life in Litecoin through the day, with Litecoin managing to hit an intraday high $163.08 in the final hours of the weekend, leading to some profit taking on the approach to the day’s 38.2% FIB Retracement Level of $164.1.
An intraday low $157.60 failed to test major support levels through the day, with Litecoin’s failure to move through major resistance levels through the day affirming the bearish trend formed at last Wednesday’s swing hi $175.5.
Market concerns over a ramp up in regulatory chatter going into the week pinned back investor appetite, as Binance awaits punishment from Japanese regulators and South Korean banks open their doors to regulators to check AML adherence.
For the week, Litecoin gained 4.01%.
Through the early part of this morning, it’s been relatively uneventful with Litecoin flat at $160.18 at the time of writing, Litecoin seeing a particularly range bound start to the week, an intraday high $160.62 and intraday low $159.05 pegged in between the day’s major support and resistance levels.
For the day ahead, a move through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $161.4 would support a run at the first major resistance level of $162.94, though for more material gains, investors will be in the need of some improved sentiment across the markets, as Litecoin’s bearish trend remains intact at the start of the week.
Failure to break through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level could see a shift in sentiment and a pull back to test sub-$160 support levels, the day’s first major support level sitting at $157.55.
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That was quite a week for Ripple’s XRP, with Sunday’s 1.24% gain bringing to an end 5 consecutive days of declines that ultimately led to a 2.36% loss for the week, Monday through to Sunday’s end of day $0.63488.
The slide through the week bucked the trend across the majority of the cryptomarket front runners, with Ripple’s XRP continuing to struggle for direction following the most recent tumble in response to Coinbase’s announcement that XRP would not be included.
A run at the day’s FIB Retracement Level of $0.6558, with an intraday high $0.65369, faced a build-up of selling pressure, with the regulatory uncertainty that continues to shroud the cryptomarket, seeing investors sell-off late in the day.
On the bright side, Ripple investors managed to avoid testing the day’s first major support level of $0.6004, with last Monday’s $0.53656 low likely have tested even the most resilient of Ripple investors.
Following Sunday’s gains, the bearish trend resumed through the early part of this morning, with Ripple’s XRP down 0.94% to $0.6286 at the time of writing.
A morning $0.64126 high moved through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $0.6385, leading to a pullback to current levels, the early uptick falling short of the day’s first major resistance level of $0.6524.
The morning has certainly been more volatile than for the likes of Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin, with an early intraday low $0.6159 testing the day’s first major support level of $0.6178 early in the day.
For the day ahead, the bearish trend remains intact, with Ripple’s XRP needing to move through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $0.6385 and the day’s first major resistance level of $0.6524 to shift sentiment towards, Ripple’s XRP unlikely to find material support from the broader markets, in the event of an afternoon rebound.
Failure to move through the day’s 23.6% FIB Retracement Level may well see another selloff, with the day’s first major support level of $0.6178 likely to be back in play through the middle part of the day.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Ethereum Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis || Will Apple Offer 5G iPhones in 2019?: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to launch three new iPhones later this year: a successor to the current iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus (a device that I believe will simply be called "iPhone"); a successor to the current iPhone X; and a larger-screen version of the successor to the iPhone X, which I'll refer to as the iPhone X Plus. All three new iPhone models are expected to support gigabit LTE speeds, enabled by Intel 's (NASDAQ: INTC) new XMM 7560 modem . Apple's latest iPhone models support peak download speeds of 600 megabits per second, so the jump -- at least on paper -- should be quite significant. Next year, many smartphone vendors are expected to introduce smartphones with support for the wireless standard that succeeds 4G LTE, known as 5G . Indeed, wireless chip specialist Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) recently announced a list of partners that intend to sell smartphones powered by its upcoming Snapdragon X50 5G modem. There is some speculation that Apple may be late to offer iPhones with 5G connections, something that wouldn't be without historical precedent. Apple was also late in offering 4G LTE-capable smartphones, though it's worth noting that its ability to invest in new technologies has grown by leaps and bounds over the last seven years. However, I think that there's a good chance that Apple will offer 5G-capable iPhone models in the second half of 2019, especially as it faces the risk of falling behind the competition if it doesn't. Here's how I expect Apple to do it. Apple's iPhone X lineup Image source: Apple. 5G for the iPhone X line, LTE for the standard iPhone I think that for the 2019 iPhone lineup, Apple will continue to segment its devices based on price. At the high end, I expect direct successors to what I think will be this year's iPhone X and iPhone X Plus. For the mainstream, it seems reasonable to bet on Apple introducing a cost-optimized successor to what I'm calling simply the iPhone. I believe the standard iPhone won't come with a 5G modem and will instead -- to save on costs and drive effective product segmentation -- use an upgraded LTE modem from Intel, the XMM 7660 . Intel's XMM 7560 LTE modem next to a penny and a pencil eraser. The model is smaller thant the penny; bigger than the eraser. Image source: Intel. The successors to the iPhone X, however, could come with 5G modems. Apple could use a solution from Qualcomm, or Intel's upcoming XMM 8060 5G modem (which Intel says will "ship in commercial consumer devices in mid-2019"). Perhaps Apple could even sell some with Intel modems and others with Qualcomm modems, as it does with the iPhone 7-series, iPhone 8-series, and iPhone X smartphones. Story continues From a risk-management perspective, it might be smart for Apple to use multiple modem suppliers in the early innings of the 5G transition, in case one fails to deliver. Not only would limiting 5G capability to the more expensive models make sense from a financial perspective -- cheaper devices get less sophisticated cellular subsystems while more expensive devices get more advanced ones -- but it would also be helpful from a product segmentation perspective. Apple will want to find ways to drive iPhone average selling prices as high as possible, to drive revenue growth in a stagnant smartphone market. By limiting 5G capabilities to its most expensive devices, the company would be giving customers a reason to buy higher-end smartphones. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Ashraf Eassa owns shares of Intel and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm and has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments || The NSA Has Been Tracking Bitcoin Users, Snowden Papers Reveals: Not to be mistaken for another Jason Bourne thriller, the Edward Snowden papers show a US government/bitcoin connection. The Interceptis reportingclassified documents leaked by Snowden prove that the US National Security Agency (NSA) in fact was keeping tabs on bitcoin users globally, as evidenced by a report that’s surfaced from March 2013. The timing is curious, with the ink barely dry on an executive ordersigned by President Trumpto ban Americans from transacting with Venezuela’s Petro coin.
In true spy agency style, the report is filled with code names and numbers as well as the cataloging and cross-referencing of data that ultimately helped them to “track down the senders and receivers of bitcoins,” top secret excerpts reveal. The NSA called its bitcoin spying project Oakstar, and the initial focus of the mission was counterterrorism-focused.
It doesn’t appear that the NSA was randomly targeting people. They at least appear to have been monitoring groups that were using the level of anonymity allowed by bitcoin transactions for clandestine purposes, such as money laundering activities. If you’ve ever wondered what a top-secret NSA entry looks like, here’s a glimpse:
“[NSA agent] is hoping to use the access for their mission of looking at organized crime and cyber targets that utilize online e-currency services to move and launder money. These illicit finance networks provide user access to international monetary systems while providing a high degree of anoymity.”
Here’s how it went down. The NSA was seemingly able to use the sophisticated tools available to the US spy agency to collect and analyze internet data, capabilities that were bolstered by let’s call it a super software program that protected the identity of users.
Bitcoin was one of three areas of activity that were being watched, in addition to Liberty Reserve, which has since been shuttered amid money laundering with cryptocurrencies, and one other. Even though bitcoin isn’t the most anonymous cryptocurrency out there, it was the “No. 1 priority” of the NSA.
While the blockchain is a public ledger, the NSA didn’t stop there. They apparently gained access to user computer systems, collecting information such as passwords, user sessions and a media access control address. They also seem to have captured personal info such as billing details and IP addresses. The agency was set on uncovering the connection between what they called “bitcoin targets” and the data they had.
As for the timing of the reveal, it could just be a coincidence. But regardless, the more that the government tries to get its grips on the blockchain movement, the more it seems to only embolden the cryptocurrency community to distance themselves further from the centralized financial system.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
The postThe NSA Has Been Tracking Bitcoin Users, Snowden Papers Revealsappeared first onCCN.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
still seeing the portfolio of my bitcoin before i spent it on a twitter handle 5 years ago >>> || [PATROCINADO] BitCoin, conheça e invista http://mon.net.br/1tyr1 | RT @LinhaAmarelaRJ: 7:48 Sentido Barra trânsito lento do acesso da L Vermelha à saída 9, Av Brasil, (fluxo intenso) || Coincheck Accepts Monex Acquisition Bid Which Will Inject It With Billions of Yens https://ift.tt/2uQPwfc #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/Yfiw5W8nPh || #BTC inverted head & shoulders target $7899 pic.twitter.com/0bkMXdOntZ || The #Digitize public #presale is NOW OPEN. Head to our website http://DigitizeCoin.com to be part of the first #blockchain startup that allows you to convert loose change and cash into #cryptocurrency at the point of transaction!
Website: https://digitizecoin.com
#DTZ #ICO #BTC https://twitter.com/DigitizeCoin/status/982213015805161474 … || Should bitcoin be a democracy, republic or anarchy? #bitcoin #BCH #bitcoincash #BTC #democracy #anarchy #republic #crypto #government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFXuGIpsdE0 … || Bitcoin Could Suffer The Same Fate As The Tech Bubble, Only Faster https://lnkd.in/eyU3zhB http://flip.it/96-2K4 || 今のビットコイン（BTC）相場で勝ってる人 http://bittoyaji.blue/2018/04/07/%e4%bb%8a%e3%81%ae%e3%83%93%e3%83%83%e3%83%88%e3%82%b3%e3%82%a4%e3%83%b3%ef%bc%88btc%ef%bc%89%e7%9b%b8%e5%a0%b4%e3%81%a7%e5%8b%9d%e3%81%a3%e3%81%a6%e3%82%8b%e4%ba%ba/ …pic.twitter.com/NLcYZx35Wq || 502 Bad Gateway Tokenほしい！
0xffce5376AB37B219e69fB3916c843f642673Abad
#Z502Token || Şimdi sırasıyla yazalım :
a) Bitcoin - Blockchain teknolojisi öğrenilecek,
b) Alternatif Coinler araştırılacak,
c) Smart Contract ne iş görür,
d) Tezos neyin nesidir,
e) OCAML nasıl bir dildir
Çöz bunları gardaş ÇÖZ! 2020de konuşuruz tekrar ..
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Trend: up || Prices: 8845.74, 9281.51, 8987.05, 9348.48, 9419.08, 9240.55, 9119.01, 9235.92, 9743.86, 9700.76
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
XBT Provider AB (Publ) Publishes 2021 Audited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2021: XBT Provider AB Stockholm, 8 June 2022 -- XBT Provider AB (Publ) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Annual Report and Audited Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 are now posted on the Company website. The audited accounts for the Guarantor, CoinShares Capital Markets (Jersey) Limited, for the year ended 31 December 2021 are also available on the website. Interested persons may access electronic copies of these documents at www.coinshares.com/etps/xbt-provider/ --- About XBT Provider XBT Provider AB (Publ) (“XBT Provider”), a CoinShares company, is the Swedish-domiciled issuer of the Bitcoin Tracker One (SE0007126024), Bitcoin Tracker Euro (SE0007525332), Ether Tracker One (SE0010296574), Ether Tracker Euro (SE0010296582), series of certificates (collectively, the “Certificates”) which are designed to synthetically track the performance of the price of the relevant underlying crypto-asset, bitcoin or ether, (in Swedish Kronor or Euro, respectively), less a fee component. In 2015, Bitcoin Tracker One became the first bitcoin-referenced security available on a regulated exchange when it listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. In 2017, Ether Tracker One became the first ether-referenced security available on a regulated exchange when it listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. The Certificates are available and traded in the same manner as any other share or instrument listed on their respective exchanges. XBT Provider’s Prospectus is approved by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Sw. Finansinspektionen) and the Certificates are governed by Swedish law. XBT Provider is not a licensed financial advisor. The views presented in this release are the opinions of the Board of XBT Provider and no other party. Bitcoin and ether, are volatile assets and their prices (and the price of securities that are referenced to them) can move quickly, positively or negatively. Prospective investors in the Certificates should carefully consider the suitability of such an investment and whether they have sufficient financial resources in order to be able to bear the risks associated therewith and, in connection with such a determination, should carefully read XBT Provider’s latest Prospectus (including, in particular, the risk warnings set out therein). The Certificates do not confer on the holders thereof any claim to or against the relevant underlying crypto-asset to which they are referenced. The value and any payment due under the Certificates will be affected by the exchange rate between the US Dollar and the Euro or, as the case may be, between the US Dollar and the Swedish Kronor. Any returns upon the Certificates will not be the same as the returns which a direct investment of an equivalent sum in the relevant underlying crypto-asset could produce. The Certificates are non-equity linked, non-principal protected, unsecured and unsubordinated and do not bear interest. || 5 Oversold Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy Now: • These oversold cybersecurity stocks are well-positioned to capitalize on the strong spend forecast for securing networks and data
• Zscaler(ZS): Technology and execution make it an attractive buy
• Cloudflare(NET): Massive global data center network and consistently strong revenue growth
• SentinelOne(S): Leveraging strong market opportunities and growing both organically and inorganically
• Datadog(DDOG): Simplifies surveillance job for customers
• Rapid7(RPD): A beneficiary of the best-of-the-worlds of security and IT operations
Source: Shutterstock
Investors oversold cybersecurity stocks in response to a volatile market, but cybersecurity is now an essential need for many businesses. This software plays a key role in the evolving scenario of digital transformation, cloud computing and Web3.
The need for cybersecurity solutions is only going to grind higher amid the rapid changes in technologies, especially since the hybrid work environment is here to stay.
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The global cyber security market, estimated at $184.93 billion in 2021, remains poised to grow at acompounded annual growth rate (CAAGR) of 12%from 2022 to 2030.
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Estimates collated by McKinsey show that about$101.5 billion would be spend on cybersecurity service providersby 2025.
Costs related to cybercrime will increase 15% annually to reach $10.5 trillion in 2025. The management consultancy firm also noted that 85% of small- and mid-size enterprises plan to increase IT security spending until 2023.
[{"ZS": "NET", "Zscaler": "Cloudflare", "$128.09": "$53.36"}, {"ZS": "S", "Zscaler": "SentinelOne", "$128.09": "$21.59"}, {"ZS": "DDOG", "Zscaler": "Datadog", "$128.09": "$88.07"}, {"ZS": "RPD", "Zscaler": "Rapid7", "$128.09": "$66.82"}]
Source: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com
Zscaler(NASDAQ:ZS)is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) security cloud platform and scalable cloud architecture.
The company’s total serviceablemarket opportunity is estimated at $72 billion.Between 2017 and 2021, revenue grew at a CAGR of 52%.
Zscaler’s “Zero Trust” is a framework for securing organizations in the cloud and mobile. It is different from the conventional security options such as firewall/VPN, which work well for on-premise network security.
Sell-side analysts recently took down their price targets for Zscaler stock even while maintaining their bullish stances. Analysts attributed the downward price target adjustments to broader market correction in valuations. Still, this is one of the oversold cybersecurity stocks you really want to keep an eye on.
Zscaler stock has pulled about 55% in the year-to-date period. The average analysts’ price target, according to TipRanks is $286.87, which suggests more than 100% upside from current levels.
Source: IgorGolovniov / Shutterstock.com
Cloudflare(NYSE:NET) provides users with resources to make their sites, apps and blogs safe and efficient through the use of its powerful edge network.
The company also provides security from malicious activity like DDoS attacks, malicious bots and other nefarious intrusions.
Datadog claims that95% of the world population is within 50 meters of a Cloudflare data center. This helps maximize customers’ website efficiency, security, and performance.
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Cloudflare’s revenue grew at a CAGR of 51% between 2019 and 2021, and it derives more than 50% of its revenue from large customers. The company has over 154,000 paying customers. Total addressable market will be around $115 billion in 2022, the company said in a recent presentation.
The broader market sell-off has dragged the stock lower by about 56% year-to-date. Going by the average analysts’ price target of $104.46, there is scope for over 100% upside potential.
Source: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com
SentinelOne(NYSE:S) is an SaaS provider of technology to keep enterprises safe from cyber threats. Founded in 2013, the company has an AI-driven autonomous cybersecurity platform called Singularity XDR.
It also runs an advanced threat research division called SentinelLabs.
Revenue growth for the fiscal year 2022 that ended January 2022 was at a strong 120% to $204.8 million. The topline growth was aided by a 123% jump in annual recurring revenue and margin expansion.
Apart from organic growth, SentinelOne has been vigorous with acquisitions. Its recent buys include high-speed logging startup Scalyr, and identity threat detection and response technology provider Attivo Networks.
The company isoptimistic of the momentum continuing into the coming years.It said in a letter to its shareholders that its expanded offerings have positioned the company “for further success.”
The shares of SentinelOne, which went public in June 2021, have lost more than 47% year to date. Analysts, on average, have a price target of $47, suggesting nearly a 100% upside from current levels.
Source: Karol Ciesluk / Shutterstock.com
Datadog(NASDAQ:DDOG) is a SaaS monitoring and security platform for cloud applications.
The platform integrates and automates infrastructure monitoring, application performance monitoring and log management to provide “unified, real-time observability” of the entire technology stack of clients
At the end of the March quarter, the company had 19,800 customers, with 2,250 of them contributing annual recurring revenue of over $100,000.
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Annual revenue climbed 70% to $1.03 billion in 2021 and the non-GAAP net income was at $0.48. Datadog’saddressable market opportunity is around $42 billionin 2022, the company said in its recent investor presentation.
Datadog upwardly revised its 2022 expectations recently, with the new guidance calling for nearly 60% revenue growth and over 50% improvement in non-GAAP earnings per share.
The stock has shed about 42% since the start of the year. The average analysts’ price target of $167.06.
Source: TierneyMJ / Shutterstock.com
Rapid7(NASDAQ:RPD) is a provider of SecOps, a term used to denote both security and operations.
The company’s “Insight” platform collects data across a clients environment, making it easy for them to manage vulnerabilities, monitor for malicious behavior, investigate and shut down attacks and automate operations.
The company grewrevenue by 30% to $535.4 million in 2021and average recurring revenue increased 17%. The guidance for the next fiscal calls for 27-29% revenue growth to $686 million to $692 million and a reversal to a profit on a non-GAAP basis.
Rpaid7 stock has slumped over 40% year to date. At current levels, this is one of the oversold cybersecurity stocks because of its upside potential. The average analyst price is $122.55.
On the date of publication, Shanthi Rexaline did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.
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The post5 Oversold Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy Nowappeared first onInvestorPlace. || GameStop Stock Is too Risky for Most Investors: The stock market closed in strong fashion last week. This comes after seven straight red ones, so investors welcome the relief. This does not, however, indicate that the correction is over. It is just one good step in the right direction. While theS&P 500was up +2.5%,GameStop(NYSE:GME) stock was almost three times stronger.
GME stock is back to its old ways of dropping jaws on Wall Street. This is not a good thing because it creates potential havoc for retail investors. In fact,billionaire hedge funds have lost their businessestrying to fight that action. Yet, they keep trying and create these massive short squeezes. One would think that eventually they would learn their lesson and stay away from it all together. This, indeed, is my conclusion as the best course of action, especially going into an earnings report.
Generally speaking, the knee-jerk reaction to an earnings report is more about human expectations than a scorecard. Otherwise, every reaction toApple’s(NASDAQ:AAPL) earnings reports would be positive. Yet, they have only had one positive reaction in seven quarters. Investors should accept that fact to save themselves a lot of potential heartache.
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[{"Ticker": "GME", "Company": "GameStop Corp.", "Price": "$127.50"}]
GME stock rallied almost 70% in three days last week. If you go back a week further, the rally is 90%. These are astonishing numbers, especially since there was no catalyst for it. From their unofficial headquarters onReddit, the trading apes are still in charge.
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I pride myself on having strong charting skills, but these wild moves put me at a disadvantage. I don’t spend much time on Reddit, so I shouldn’t even mess with the stock. At some point, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will have to address this phenomenon. Until then, I am a spectator.
GME stock is now going into its earnings report this week with a ton of momentum. This makes the job of rallying even further tougher under normal circumstances. However, this isn’t an opportunity to short it. My goal today is to scare retail investors from “investing” into that event. I make a distinction between that and “trading” the event. Risking a little bit of money on a speculative bet is totally okay. Taking a full investment position is not because it involves accepting extreme risks.
Technically, GME stock has consistently spiked “to the moon,” but given it up. What it hasn’t done is maintain them on a monthly level. That’s why I am sharing an unusual style chart that delivers my message. These gains are too fleeting for the slower general trading public. Since I am not a glutton for punishment, I resist the itch to short it. I have done it in the past, but only through options, where the risk is finite. I have also traded on the positive side just as well.
But this week is about to get bumpier than usual because of the earnings report. I consider the outcome as having coin flip odds. Options would be the only way I would trade it because that way, experts can game the differential in implied volatility.
Click to Enlarge
Source: Charts by TrendSpider
Judging by the last three month’s chart candles, I would place resistance zones around $153 and above $208 per share. Investors should avoid chasing GME stock into these zones because they will face sellers. When the rally was even stronger last March, the sellers rejected $190 harshly. Coincidentally, the bulls lost that neckline last December. This is an interesting lower-high trend to monitor this year.
The fundamentals have not mattered much to the stock price action for a while. If it did, GME would be falling to track its business progress. This is a verifiable fact from the financial reports that they publish with the SEC. Sales have declined since 2015 and as a result, they are now 34% below that mark. These are not statistics to celebrate by spiking the stock price to high heaven.
Moreover, last year, management created a negative half a billion dollar cash flow from operations. In an environment where rates are rising, this could be problem. Issuing more debt to operate is difficult under the rule of a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve.
At the very best, the financials are not a reason to own the stock. At the very worst, they hide a weakening situation that could blow up in investors’ faces. For now, it is an extremely volatile trading opportunity for those who can handle it. Most retail investors should avoid it and watch from the sidelines. Active traders, on the other hand, can have at it with a helmet and a neck brace.
On the date of publication, Nicolas Chahinedid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.
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The postGameStop Stock Is too Risky for Most Investorsappeared first onInvestorPlace. || Stock Market Today: May Delivers One Final Roller-Coaster Ride: Roller coaster Getty Images May's final session was a fitting one for a wild month, with the major indexes swinging up and down Tuesday before closing in the red. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said during a speech in Germany that he expects 50-basis-point interest-rate increases to continue into the later part of the year – a departure from previous dovish statements from Fed members suggesting hikes of that magnitude would be limited to the next two summer meetings. SEE MORE 12 Cheapest Small Towns in America That sent bond yields spiking Tuesday, with the 10-year Treasury yield reaching as high as 2.88%. "It is really too bad that the Fed can't learn to speak with one voice on this," says Dean Smith, portfolio manager and chief strategist of investment technology platform FolioBeyond. "The constant seesaw from hawkish to dovish is increasing uncertainty in the market and in the economy. The 'buy-the-dip' mentality that has been nurtured in a generation of investors is being supported and encouraged by these carelessly dovish Fed speakers. In the end, all it does is make their job harder." Also Tuesday, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation – the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index – rose by 4.9% year-over-year and 0.34% month-over-month, which was more than expected. "The April increase represents the third month of more muted, but still solid, increases," UBS analysts note. Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. The consumer discretionary (+0.5%) and communication services (-0.1%) sectors were the best performers in a largely down day. That was largely thanks to Amazon.com ( AMZN , +4.4%), whose shareholders on Friday approved a 20-for-1 AMZN stock split set to take effect June 6; that lifted spirits at Alphabet ( GOOGL , +1.3%), which intends on executing its own 20-for-1 GOOGL/GOOG stock split in July . (Indeed, 2022 is shaping up to be quite a busy year for stock splits .) Story continues SEE MORE 5 Chinese Stocks Still Worth a 'Ni Hao' That helped the Nasdaq Composite deliver the smallest loss among the major indexes Tuesday: a 0.4% decline to 12,081. However, the tech-heavy index posted a 2.1% decline for the entire month. The S&P 500 (-0.6% to 4,132) finished May marginally higher, however, as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.7% to 32,990). stock chart for 053122 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 slid 1.3% to 1,864. Gold futures declined 0.5% to $1,848.40 ounce, clinching the yellow metal's second consecutive monthly decline. U.S. crude oil futures were down 0.4% to $114.67 per barrel, good for a nearly 10% gain in the commodity across May. Oil had a back-and-forth session; gains from the European Union's agreement to ban most Russian crude oil imports were negated after a report that OPEC+ was considering suspending Russia from its oil-output deal. Bitcoin rebounded hard during the long weekend, improving by roughly 10% to $31,649 from its Friday afternoon prices. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) As Red Flags Mount, Stock Up on Quality A few cracks are starting to show in the American economic engine. Wealth management firm Glenmede's Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds say that several U.S. leading indicators are signaling slowing growth. SEE MORE The 15 Best Value Stocks to Buy Right Now "Last week, the Flash Composite PMI, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, fell," they say. "The latest round of retail earnings reflects slowing demand as consumers grapple with higher costs and pivot their spending from goods to services. The housing market is starting to show signs of softening as sales of newly built homes fell 16.6% in April from March (rising mortgage rates are reducing buyer demand)." This has Glenmede's recession model projecting a 10% probability of recession within the next 12 months, up from 0% projections to start the year. That's the kind of environment that, unlike the year-plus of rip-roaring gains out of the COVID bottom, necessitates selectivity – every stock pick isn't just going to stick to the wall, so to speak. Defensively minded investors, for instance, will want to focus on stocks that seem best positioned to perform in bear markets . Dip-buyers will need to make a distinction between "cheap" and "undervalued" – the latter you're likely to find in these high-growth-potential stocks boasting low prices . And on the whole, it pays to invest in the best of the best. These 10 S&P 500 stocks , for instance, represent the best the index has to offer right now, in the eyes of Wall Street's analyst community. Each of them is teeming with bullish pros who believe they have anywhere between 20% to 110% upside over the next year. SEE MORE The 22 Best ETFs to Buy for a Prosperous 2022 You may also like 20 Dividend Stocks to Fund 20 Years of Retirement Your Guide to Roth Conversions Why Are Gas Prices Still Going Up? || Crypto world stabilizes after rocky week shakes stablecoins: By Alun John, Elizabeth Howcroft and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss HONG KONG/LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Cryptocurrencies steadied on Friday, with bitcoin recovering from a 16-month low after a volatile week dominated by the collapse in value of TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin. Crypto assets have been swept up in broad selling of risky investments on worries about high inflation and rising interest rates, but have started showing signs of settling. Although the near-term trajectory of the crypto market is challenging to predict, the worst may be over, said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. "Perhaps now that all the obstacles to global growth along with monetary tightening are clear, perhaps we will start seeing swings upwards," he said. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, last rose 4.85% to $29,925, rebounding from a December 2020-low of $25,400 which it hit on Thursday. Although it hit a high of just under $31,000 on Friday, bitcoin remains far below week-earlier levels of around $40,000 and unless there is a huge weekend rally it is on track for a record seventh consecutive weekly loss. Stifel chief equity strategist Barry Bannister said bitcoin still has further downside to about $15,000. "Bitcoin is also GDP-sensitive, because bitcoin falls when the PMI Manufacturing index drops, as we expect (into the third quarter of 2022), indicating that a last, capitulatory bitcoin drop may be still ahead," he added. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, also gained, climbing 6.48% to $2,051. Tether, the biggest stablecoin whose developers say is backed by dollar assets, was back at $1, after falling to 95 cents on Thursday. TerraUSD, however, the stablecoin that is also supposedly pegged to the dollar, continued to languish, at 14 cents, according to data tracker CoinGecko. It has remained de-pegged from the U.S. currency since May 9. The crypto sector's overall market capitalisation rose 6.6% to $1.35 trillion on Friday, CoinGecko data showed. Story continues Broader financial markets have so far seen little knock-on effect from the cryptocurrency crash. Ratings agency Fitch said in a note on Thursday that weak links to regulated financial markets will limit the potential of crypto market volatility to cause wider financial instability. "Crypto is still tiny and crypto integration within broader financial markets is still infinitesimally small," said James Malcolm, head of FX strategy at UBS. BEYOND BITCOIN Crypto-related stocks have taken a pounding with the meltdown in the market, but on Friday, broker Coinbase rose 16% to $67.87, although it is still down 28% on the week. Selling has roughly halved the global market value of cryptocurrencies since November, but the drawdown turned to panic in recent sessions with a squeeze on stablecoins. Stablecoins are tokens pegged to the value of traditional assets, often the U.S. dollar, and are the main medium for moving money between cryptocurrencies or for converting balances to fiat cash. Cryptocurrency markets were rocked this week by the collapse of TerraUSD (UST), which broke its 1:1 peg to the dollar. The coin's complex stability mechanism, which involved balancing with a free-floating cryptocurrency called Luna, stopped working when Luna plunged close to zero. "For these types of stablecoins, the market needs to trust that the issuer holds sufficient liquid assets they would be able to sell in times of market stress," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a research note. The operating company of another stablecoin called Tether said it has the necessary assets in Treasuries, cash, corporate bonds and other money-market products. But stablecoins are likely to face further tests if traders keep selling, and analysts are concerned that stress could spill over into money markets if there is more and more liquidation. Fitch said cryptocurrencies and digital finance could face "significant negative repercussions" if investors lose confidence in stablecoins, as many regulated financial entities have increased their exposure to the sector in recent months. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore, Alun John in Hong Kong, Elizabeth Howcroft in London, and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Additional reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Bradley Perrett, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Bernard Orr) || First Mover Asia: Singapore’s Distaste for Retail Crypto Spooks Institutional Money: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. Good morning. Here’s what’s happening: Prices: Bitcoin returned to where it started the weekend. Insights: Singapore's growing crypto regulatory scrutiny has raised concerns among institutional investors. Technician's take: BTC's trading range could persist into the following week. Catch the latest episodes of CoinDesk TV for insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. And sign up for First Mover , our daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Prices Bitcoin ( BTC ): $38,594 +2.2% Ether ( ETH ): $2,844 +3.9% Biggest Gainers Asset Ticker Returns DACS Sector Filecoin FIL +8.5% Computing Ethereum Classic ETC +7.3% Smart Contract Platform Internet Computer ICP +6.8% Computing Biggest Losers There are no losers in CoinDesk 20 today. Bitcoin returns to late Friday levels Bitcoin investors continued their recent dour mood this weekend amid macroeconomic uncertainty and a widely expected, half-point interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank this week. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap was recently trading at about $38,400, up 2.2% for the past 24 hours, but approximately where it started the weekend. Bitcoin finished April down 17%, its worst month yet in a ragged 2022 for cryptos. Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap, followed a similar weekend pattern and was trading at roughly $2,840, up about 3.9% over the previous day but little changed from late Friday. Most other major cryptos were recently rising. Terra's luna token and SOL climbed over 5% and 7%, respectively at one point. Popular meme coin DOGE jumped nearly 6%. Trading was light as is often the case on weekends. "At the moment, there are no major bullish catalysts on the horizon and BTC is likely to grind in this range or break down lower before more aggressive accumulation can begin," Joe DiPasquale, CEO of fund manager BitBull Capital, wrote to CoinDesk. "The lack of bullish catalysts is still evident and U.S. equities have shown weakness as well as the U.S. dollar index rose. All these factors continue to weigh down BTC." Story continues DiPasquale noted that the Federal Reserve's likely decision to try to tame inflation through a more hawkish rate increase "could result in price volatility." The Fed is also expected to explain how it will reduce its portfolio of mortgage and Treasury securities, which ballooned to $9 trillion during the pandemic. Bitcoin vs. other assets (CoinDesk Research) Crypto declines in recent days have largely dovetailed with major stock indexes as investors veer away from riskier assets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 4% on Friday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 3.6% and 2.7%, respectively. Gold was up slightly. The Nasdaq 100, an index of mostly tech, biotech and health-care companies, plummeted 13% in April. Economic growth has slowed worldwide, a result of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, the European Union reported that the economies of 19 countries that use the euro grew by just 0.2% during the first quarter. The news followed the announcement that the U.S. economy had grown by a sluggish 0.4% over the same period. Rising energy prices and supply chain delays exacerbated by the Russian offensive have hampered businesses worldwide. With bitcoin failing to hold the $42,000 level last week, DiPasquale was measured in his expectations for the coming days. "We have continued to see $38K levels acting as support but continued testing of this range may result in a breakdown toward $35K-$32K," he wrote, adding: "Bulls will want to see the bleeding stop and serious buyers stepping in before they can be confident of a trend reversal." Markets S&P 500: 4,131 -3.6% DJIA: 32,977 -2.7% Nasdaq: 12,334 -4.1% Gold: $1,896 +.08% Insights Singapore's less crypto friendly environment Three Arrows Capital is the latest crypto firm that’s decided to call Singapore quits and move to Dubai. “The energy in Dubai’s digital asset industry is electric right now,” fund co-founder Su Zhu told CoinDesk during the Crypto Bahamas conference. “We have decided to move our Three Arrows headquarters to Dubai, and I’m looking forward to meeting more technology startups.” “For a while, Singapore was making pro-crypto decisions, but now something’s changed course,” added Kyle Davies, the fund’s other co-founder. To be sure, on paper Singapore hasn’t advanced any new rules that would affect a fund like Three Arrows Capital. The government has been clear that its policy position is to create a “conducive environment for such activities to flourish in Singapore.” But that is for institutional capital. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has also been clear that it doesn’t approve of retail investors getting deeply involved in crypto. “We have taken a tough line on unfettered access to retail public because retail investors should not be dabbling in cryptocurrencies. Many global regulators share similar concerns about retail exposure to cryptocurrencies,” Ravi Menon, the agency’s managing director, said in a recent interview , adding that it has granted retail crypto licenses but they come with strict terms and conditions. Funds like Three Arrows Capital don’t deal directly with retail crypto, as they aren’t open to non-institutional or non-accredited investment. So why the long face? It might have something to do with DeFiance Capital, one of Three Arrows’ peers in the city. In March, DeFiance Capital was placed on an Investor Alert List by MAS. DeFiance Capital isn’t sure why that happened, and MAS won’t give CoinDesk a clear answer. Putting a fund on an investor alert list, which has negative connotations, and not explaining the reasoning, isn’t a good look. It also might be the beginning of problems in doing business in Singapore. Visas for foreign staff are increasingly difficult to attain, and the logical narrative of the city being a massive beneficiary of Hong Kong’s capital and talent flight isn’t necessarily shaping up with those in traditional finance also looking at Dubai as the next hub instead of Singapore. At the same time, Dubai is making the relocation process as easy as possible with visas sponsored by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) special economic zone processed in less than a week. Plus, the DIFC has a parallel legal system Technician's take Bitcoin Momentum Weakens; Support at $35K-$37K Bitcoin's weekly chart shows support/resistance (Damanick Dantes/CoinDesk, TradingView) Bitcoin is testing support at around its 100-week moving average, although upside momentum has slowed over the past month. The cryptocurrency could remain in a wide trading range until a decisive breakout or breakdown occurs. BTC is on track for an 18% decline this month and is down about 40% from its all-time high of nearly $69,000 reached in November. Most technical indicators are neutral on the daily and weekly chart and bearish on the monthly chart. That could increase the risk of a breakdown in price, especially if support at $37,500 fails to hold. A series of higher price lows since Jan. 24 has supported buying activity on dips. Still, resistance at $46,710 has capped rallies over the past three months. For now, BTC is on watch for a countertrend reversal signal next week, per the DeMARK indicators , which typically precedes a brief upswing in price. Important events 8:30 a.m. HKT/SGT(12:30 UTC): Jibun (Japan) Bank manufacturing PMI (April) 9:30 a.m. HKT/SGT(1:30 a.m. UTC): Australia and New Zealand Banking Group job advertisements (April) 1 p.m. HKT/SGT(5 a.m. UTC): Japan consumer confidence index (April) CoinDesk TV In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of "The Hash" on CoinDesk TV : Ukraine Launches Website for NFT Donations, Panama Passes Crypto Law and More Earlier this week, "The Hash" hosts discussed top stories, including the Ukrainian government's new initiative to use NFT ( non-fungible token ) donations in the war against Russia, Panama's new crypto law and private equity investment firm Apollo's new hire for its digital asset division. Headlines Swiss National Bank Owns No Bitcoin, but Could Buy in the Future, Chairman Says: While bitcoin today doesn't meet norms for currency reserves, said Thomas Jordan, there's no technical bar to purchases. Please Don’t Buy a 'KYC’d' Wallet for the Bored Apes Team’s Otherside Mint: Yuga Labs’ long awaited “Otherside” NFT sale has spawned a secondary market for specially registered Ethereum addresses. Caveat emptor. Dubai Real Estate Developer to Accept Crypto Payments Amid UAE Push for Crypto Hub Status: Several of the world's biggest crypto exchanges have flocked to the emirates in the last few months. NFT Subscriptions Are Better Paywalls: Turning subscriptions into a bearer asset is better for everyone, says our media columnist. This article is part of CoinDesk's Payments Week. Bitcoin Payments Remain in Their Infancy but There Are Green Shoots Everywhere: Can cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and CBDCs coexist as methods of payment? Industry leaders shine a light on the future of crypto payments. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Payments Week. Longer reads How Human-Centered Design Can Fix Crypto Payments: Web 3 should steal design ideas from Web 2, Grace “Ori” Kwan says in a CoinDesk Payments Week op-ed. Today's crypto explainer: How to Stake LUNA on the Terra Protocol Other voices: Crypto Is Winning, and Bitcoin Diehards Are Furious About It (The Verge) Said and heard "There’s a fascinating discussion to be had about whether what Hwang did was full-blown fraud, but I won’t bother trying to outdo Matt Levine on that front. Instead, I want to focus on the financial mechanics of what Archegos was up to, and why it’s extremely important for cryptocurrency holders or traders to understand." ( CoinDesk columnist David Z. Morris ) ... "Yet, that surface-level assessment misses some striking new adoption trends that aren’t easily apparent to mainstream commentators. Minorities and various other marginalized groups are turning to crypto as a tool and developing unique, new innovative uses for it – often at a faster pace than communities that have traditionally had more privileged access to resources. This experience demands a careful approach to fostering diversity. We must not throw the baby out with the bathwater." ( CoinDesk Chief Content Officer Michael Casey ) ... "The broad selloff has erased trillions of dollars in market value from the tech-heavy gauge, with investors souring on shares of everything from software and semiconductor companies to social-media giants." ( The Wall Street Journal ) ... "The closings and demands for constant checks and vigilance, especially in Shanghai, have ignited public frustration, exhausted local officials and medical workers, and sapped economic momentum." ( The New York Times ) CORRECTED (May 2, 06:21 UTC) : Corrects name of Three Arrow co-founder in the third graph of the "Insights" sub-header. || Hard Times in Crypto Lead to Price and Macro Risk: Don't miss CoinDesk's Consensus 2022 , the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12. There is, in general, a lot of what we call grift in the space, where 99.9% of the crypto projects out there probably dont solve anything. some guy Oh, gosh, here we go
except that some guy was this guy. It was me. I said that. I went on TD Ameritrade Network to chat crypto, and given the breadth of things I wanted to discuss Im co-opting that appearance to power the next few newsletters because there wasnt enough time to cover everything. I want to cover the big risks as we enter Hard Times in Crypto, now that bitcoin is down over 50% in 2022. The main, big risks Im paying attention to are: Price and macro risk Platform and protocol risk Public company risk Ill take each of these week by week for the next three newsletters: This week is price and macro risk, next week well cover platform and protocol risk, and the week after public company risk, just in time for CoinDesk Layer 2s Future of Work Week. So
from the top. George Kaloudis Before that though, it's worth mentioning theres a lot of general market stress. There arent many places to hide. Even cash is being gobbled up by 8.6% inflation, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Unless youre strictly invested in commodities (which you arent), your portfolio is probably not having a good time. Youre reading Crypto Long & Short , our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Sunday. Price and macro risk Bitcoin ( BTC ) is flirting with price levels that would have been considered highs in December 2017. That was when bitcoin first touched up against $20,000, only to fall precipitously, then scratch and claw for three years to reach $20,000 again by December 2020. Bitcoins price has fallen out of the $30,000 range over the last week and it has come dangerously close to breaking down below $20,000. Story continues It might sound painfully obvious to point out that bitcoins price going down is not good, but
uh
bitcoins price going down is not good. This is true for all assets, but its especially true for bitcoin. In late 2020, there was lots of chatter about institutional adoption of bitcoin . Much of the response from institutions was we cant take bitcoin seriously until its at least a $1 trillion asset. But then bitcoin did become a $1 trillion asset ; so BlackRock (BLK) entered the chat and people started talking about bitcoin as a new type of reserve asset . Counterintuitively, as the value of bitcoin goes up, it becomes more, not less, investable. Coupled with the price risk is macro risk: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting last week signaled a 75 basis point increase to interest rates. And, as expected, the stock market surged . Except. Thats literally the opposite of what youd expect to happen. Perhaps the market was happy that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell called the 75 bps move unusually large. In any event, stocks went up during Powells prepared remarks. And so did bitcoin, which I guess is good. But with inflation proving itself a formidable foe and the possibility of recession looming, keeping a close eye on the Fed is critical. Its important, not only from the angle of assessing if the U.S. can right the ship, but also from cryptos perspective, given bitcoins vascillation from risk-on to risk-off to neither at a moments notice. If the worlds biggest economy struggles to recover, that could spell doom or opportunity for bitcoin, depending on how you view it. Time will tell. Meanwhile, while trawling through data to back up the notion that interest rate increases should lead to lower stock prices I came across something interesting. Looking at the 30-day correlation of bitcoin to 10-year U.S. Treasury yields and the Nasdaq to 10-year U.S. Treasury yields, these relationships have been scattered in the second quarter. These correlations moved from somewhat negative to somewhat positive correlation and moved sharply toward somewhat negative in the last few weeks. (CoinDesk Research, TradingView) When Treasury yields go up, thats either because interest rates have increased or demand for Treasurys has fallen. This might be counterintuitive, but in order to get someone to buy a Treasury the seller would have to sell it for less if fewer people want it, which increases the yield (since yield takes the price you paid for the instrument into account). Higher interest rates mean that investors could get higher interest on Treasurys from the government, so theyll pay less for already issued Treasurys with lower interest rates. All said, given we are in a rising interest rate environment, I expected this relationship to be negative. At least, I expected it to be consistent. As yields go up because of increased interest rates, risk-on assets like stocks (and sometimes bitcoin) should go down. Perhaps investors remain unconvinced that we are headed toward a recession so yields are up because of suppressed demand for Treasurys. Maybe investors believe that a supply-driven economic slowdown will prove less potent than a demand-driven one. My take is that markets were expecting higher interest rate hikes and signaling that more heavy hikes were on the way, so the previously priced-in doomsday scenario was undone after the announcement. Like I said above: Time will tell. || Bitcoin Falls Below $35,000 as Tron Continues Its Rally: • BTC’s price fell to as low as $34,200, on May 8.
• Fee reward ratio presented a dominantly bearish market-like situation for the larger crypto market.
• However, Tron’s TRX token rallied on bullish sentiment.
Bitcoin (BTC)made lower lows, over the past four days, slipping past some of its crucial support zones as volatility and losses knew no bounds. As highlighted in a previousFXEmpire article, most top tokens likeAVAX,LUNA, andAAVEregistered losses on their daily and weekly charts.
Strangely, however, Tron’sTRXmade a power-packed comeback, rallying even as the global crypto market cap continued its downtrend.
The Tron ecosystem has been on fire lately, which has ensured a bullish narrative for TRX even as the largercryptomarket falls in heavy losses. Tron’s algorithmic stablecoin USDD went live last week and has since been listed on several platforms for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Tron DAO Reserve subsequently announced that it purchased 504.6 million TRX to back the algorithmic stablecoin, as the project aims to leverage a decentralized forex reserve similar to Terra’sUSTreserves.
On Saturday, Tron’s founder Justin Sun revealed that the team behind the project had purchased 504,600,250 TRX at an average price of 0.07727 per unit. According to the Tron DAO Reserve, this buy aims to “safeguard the overall blockchain industry and crypto market.”
Notably, TRX’s price rose in tandem with the ecosystem-centric announcements. TRX’s price jumped by almost 47% since May 1 amid heightened positive social sentiment for the ecosystem and its native token.
At the time of writing, TRX traded at $0.09067, noting 7.77% daily and 32.64% weekly gains.
Notably, Tron following Terra’s UST reserve system for its USDD stablecoin has acted in favor of TRX’s trajectory. However, the question remains whether TRX gains could be sustained. Well, sustaining long-term gains could depend on the larger crypto market, so let us look at BTC and the larger trajectory.
One of the reasons for the recent BTC losses could be short-term investors taking quick profits or exiting the market too soon. Looking at the exchange inflows for BTC, it was clear that inflows involved coins dormant for a maximum of three months and thus likely to be owned by more speculative investors.
Additionally, CryptoQuant analysts suggested that the Fee/Reward Ratio indicated that we are in a bear market. Miner’s Fee to Reward Ratio is usually high during the bull market, while at its lowest point during the bear market.
After BTC registered $65,000 ATH, the Fees to Reward Ratio has dropped significantly, indicating a bear market and miners’ incentive to sell their reserves to cover their expenses.
Looking at the larger market’s bearish condition, it would be interesting to see how TRX’s rally pans out.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• Bulgaria says will veto EU oil sanctions on Russia if it does not get derogation
• G7 to phase out Russian oil, U.S. sanctions Gazprombank execs over Ukraine war
• Bitcoin Falls Below $35,000 as Tron Continues Its Rally
• Last wave of Azovstal plant evacuees reaches Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia
• Russian attacks on rail system fail to paralyze ‘lifeline of Ukraine’
• Britain to increase tariffs on Russian platinum, palladium in new sanctions || First Mover Asia: When Crypto Rebuilds After This Cold Winter, Firms Like Three Arrows Capital Won't Have a Place; Bitcoin Sinks Toward $20K: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:
Prices: Cryptos sink again.
Insights:After the eventual crypto thaw, firms like Three Arrows Capital won't find a place.
Technician's take:In place of Technician's Take, First Mover Asia is republishing an essay for CoinDesk by Tusk Venture Partners co-founder Bradley Tusk.
Catch the latest episodes ofCoinDesk TVfor insightful interviews with crypto industry leaders and analysis. Andsign up for First Mover, our daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context.
Bitcoin (BTC):$20,311 -10.2%
Ether (ETH):$1,059 -15%
[{"Asset": "USD Coin", "Ticker": "USDC", "Returns": "+0.0%", "DACS Sector": "Currency"}]
[{"Asset": "Polkadot", "Ticker": "DOT", "Returns": "\u221217.3%", "DACS Sector": "Smart Contract Platform"}, {"Asset": "Gala", "Ticker": "GALA", "Returns": "\u221215.5%", "DACS Sector": "Entertainment"}, {"Asset": "Chainlink", "Ticker": "LINK", "Returns": "\u221213.8%", "DACS Sector": "Computing"}]
Bitcoin and Other Cryptos Tumble
So much for the rebound.
Cryptos, which had risen Wednesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a determined inflationary tone, returned their gains Thursday amid fresh investor worries about rising prices, global tumult and a looming recession.
Bitcoin was recently trading just above $20,300, down more than 10% over the previous 24 hours and again raising questions about whether it might soon break support at $20,000 and spur a fresh round of liquidations. Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap after bitcoin, was testing the $1,050 waters where it last waded over a year ago, and was off over 15%. Other altcoins assumed various shades of red, with DOT and UNI recently down over 16% and 13%, respectively.
"Investors and traders should be prepared that [Wednesday’s] rebound could choke out rather quickly," FxPro senior analyst Alex Kuptsikevich wrote early Thursday. He said investors need to be ready because "cryptocurrencies and risky assets in financial markets are unlikely to reliably bounce back before there are signals the economy has stopped slowing."
Cryptocurrency prices, which have correlated with stocks in recent months, once again tracked major equity indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, despite its bevy of blue chip stocks, plummeted below 30,000 for the first time in 18 months after closing down 2.4% for the day. The S&P 500, which entered bear market territory earlier in the week (meaning it has fallen at least 20% from its previous high), was off 3.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged a whopping 4.1%.
Gold, a traditional risk-off asset, rose 1.2%.
For the cryptocurrency industry, the day was another forgettable one. Celsius watchers continued monitoring the latest fallout from the lending platform's decision to halt withdrawals and other news. CoinDesk reported that Texas, Alabama and other statesare investigatingCelsius' decision in light of investor needs. “I am very concerned that clients – including many retail investors – may need to immediately access their assets yet are unable to withdraw from their accounts,” RotundatoldReuters. “The inability to access their investment may result in significant financial consequences.”
Meanwhile, Crypto lender BlockFi confirmed Thursday it recently liquidated a “large client”amid reportsthat troubled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital failed to meet margin calls. The crypto hedge fund (see Insights below) has historically been among the industry’s most prolific investors in new protocols and is also a large borrower. And exchange giant Coinbase's (COIN) stock tumbled more than 7% to a new closing low just two days after announcing the layoff of about 1,100 employees. Other crypto exchanges, including the Winklevoss twins-led Gemini and Latin America-based Bitso and Buenbit, have also recently cut jobs.
Entrepreneur and Shark Tank host Kevin O'Leary told CoinDesk TV that Celsius' strategy was proving wrong. "It looks like when it came time for a liquidity event, they weren't able to provide liquidity," he said. "The concept of gating, shutting down is completely against the concept of decentralized finance. If I had an account there, I'd be a pretty pissed off cowboy."
O'Leary sees bitcoin continuing to drop, perhaps 20%, yet he struck an optimistic note about crypto's future, noting among other developments WonderFi Technologies becoming the first crypto exchange to list on a major institutional stock exchange in Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange, and similar initiatives in other countries. He was also encouraged by the introduction of three, bi-partisan, crypto bills in recent months in the U.S. and called crypto's recent problems and price drop "the beginning of a bottoming out process."
"It's a birthing thing," he said. "It's the beginning of a nascent industry. The bad ideas need to be weeded out. You need to strip the Band-Aid off the wound. This is all good."
S&P 500: 3,666 -3.3%
DJIA: 29,992 -2.4%
Nasdaq: 10,646 -4.4%
Gold: $1,857 +1.2%
After the Crypto Thaw, Firms Like Three Arrows Capital Will Struggle to Find a Place
In market downturns, cash will always be king. That was true for firms battling liquidations at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, and firms caught in the crossfire of this summer’s crypto meltdown.
Singapore-based Three Arrows Capital is now at the center of everyone’s attention. The crypto hedge fund has historically been one of the industry’s most prolific investors in new protocols and is also a large borrower. But now it’s in trouble:Facing $400 million in liquidationson its positions, it’s nowghosting its counterpartiesandliquidity providers.Messari’sfund profilersays the firm is down approximately 58% on the year, which has no doubt compounded its problems.On-chain data suggeststhefund is trying to pay down debtby liquidating staked ether.
The question is, how much cash does Three Arrows Capital have? What’s the value of its assets under management?
Both those questions are hard to answer. The best clue to Three Arrows’ cash position comes from its registration with theMonetary Authority of Singapore. There, MAS says that it’s registered to manage assets under S$250 million (US$179.9 million). A December 2020filing with the Securities and Exchange Commissionshows that Three Arrows’ position in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust – worth $1.2 billion at the time – was split between its Singapore and British Virgin Islands entity.
(New York-based Grayscale is owned by Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.)
But again, this doesn’t demonstrate how much cash Three Arrows has. Using leveraged bitcoin has always been an option to buy-in to GBTC and for the longest time it was possible topremium harvestGBTC and churn it into a source of yield.
The fund has always been coy with its assets under management (AUM), never disclosing it in public and never denying estimated numbers published by research houses.
On-chain analytics house Nansenat one time put that number at $10 billion, but it would be difficult to get an exact number without being able to identify all of Three Arrows’ wallets. Nansen has identified many, but not all, making it impossible to determine this number precisely – or figure out how much leverage is being used.
What we do know about the black box of Three Arrows is that virtually every lending platform from Celsius to Aave has exposure. After all, that’s how they were able to generate the double-digit yield on their deposits. An eventual haircut from Three Arrows will be tough, especially as it comes during a general market drawdown.
Of course, if Three Arrows had a cash position that was more reflective of its crypto AUM, there would be less of an issue overall (let’s not count stablecoins in this as many are fighting hard to maintain their peg).
When crypto rebuilds after this deep correction there will certainly be less tolerance for these black boxes. The entire industry is based on transparency; it’s the defining attribute of the blockchain. Future hedge funds will have no problem putting everything on-chain for the world to see, making surprise liquidations a thing of the past – in theory.
(Editor's Note: In place of Technician's Take, First Mover Asia is republishing a column by Tusk Venture Partners co-founder Bradley Tusk and head of legal at Dibbs, Thomas Mack)
The cliche is that the only things unavoidable in life are death and taxes. We can probably add new technology to the list, too. Artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse, autonomous vehicles, flying cars – they’re all coming.
Lawmakers, if they want to be on top of a paradigm shift, should approach tech regulation in a way that isthoughtful, perceptive and comprehensive. But reaching consensus in our statehouses is challenging and finding any sort of common ground in Washington, D.C., is virtually impossible.
This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk's daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the fullnewsletter here.
Making matters worse, a comprehensive approach to tech policy typically occurs only after some crisis forces legislators’ hands and the media is all over them, only increasing the risk that the law is hasty or ill-conceived.
While new regulatory frameworks will be needed in some areas of Web3 – the version of the internet driven by blockchain – there are other areas where innovators and investors can move the ball forward on the basis of existing laws and regulations, all the while simplifying the task for policymakers.
So let’s talk about technological neutrality.
By “technological neutrality” in the context of Web3 and tech innovation, we mean this: If new technology enables activities that are mostly the same as existing activities, let’s start with an assumption that the law treats the two activities similarly.
Said differently, wherever possible, the law should be neutral to the tech and any variations in legal treatment should come from (and be tailored to) material variations in the business or risks associated with the technology.
U.S. President Joseph Biden’s recentexecutive orderon crypto, while leaving a whole lot unsettled, gives an implicit nod to this approach when declaring, “same business, same risks, same rules.” The crypto community will likely hate the approach the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) takes, but at least it’s now in a context we can all understand.
See also:As Federal Agencies Organize, US States Continue to Lead in Digital Asset Regulation| Opinion
In Web3 and crypto, regulators and innovators alike have at times gotten this backward. For instance, in the midst of the initial coin offering (ICO) boom; an SEC chaironce saidevery ICO token he had seen was a security. That suggested, although digital tokens on distributed ledgers are infinitely variable and could represent anything from book club points to stock in a corporation, legal risks in Web3 stem from the technology rather than what lawyers call a substantive activity.
Under this paradigm, tokens on distributed ledgers were/are “high risk.” However, that hardly makes sense. This type of thinking is no doubt part of the U.S.’s inability to effectively regulate crypto currently and – if we don’t learn from it – Web3 in the future.
Seeking a unified regulatory scheme to oversee “distributed ledgers” – a general purpose technology with highly variable uses – is like seeking a unified regulatory scheme for uses for spreadsheets.
Appropriate oversight
Rather than starting with the technology as the bucketing function, let’s start with how people actually use the technology (their substantive activities), and the presumption that blockchain tech is irrelevant.
What is the business? What rights are being created between parties? How are those rights communicated from seller to buyer? What risks are associated with the business?
If we start with these questions, we usually find that there is relevant precedent in the existing laws, regulations or case law. And more importantly, if innovators, investors and regulators can use this as a shared starting point, we could take a couple of significant steps.
First, tech innovators and investors should have a common framework to assess risk associated with leading edge businesses. A vague sense that Web3 businesses are “risky” can be replaced by targeted questions and answers. What existing businesses does this most resemble? How are those businesses regulated? How is this business different from those businesses? Which of those differences are legally significant, and what are you doing to address risks stemming from that? What here actually impacts regular people and how?
Second, the task for policymakers can be simplified. With a technology as broad as Web3 and crypto, asking a regulator for clarity on Web3 and crypto is understandably daunting. The internet is a broad technology, and regulation would, of course, change depending on whether you’re discussing ecommerce or social networking, consumer protection or data privacy, etc.
If our starting point of technological neutrality can get us good answers on most issues associated with a particular Web3 activity, we can then rely on policymakers for a smaller subset of truly novel issues.
See also:Dragonfly's Haseeb Qureshi Is Still Optimistic in the Crypto Winter| The Node
There will inevitably be areas where comprehensive rulemaking and legislation are needed – and industryshould not be shyabout advocating for that. But there will also be vast swaths of Web3 and crypto that are simply new ways to do the same old things. Not everything is revolutionary. And where that’s the case, let’s lean in on what clarity does exist under the law.
In other words if the government’s failure to properly understand and regulate Web2 has taught us anything, it’s that we need to make this a lot easier for them. Even if we do, they still may drop the ball. Or their politics may cause them to favor entrenched interests regardless of the impact of any particular Web3 business.
Protecting consumers, protecting businesses from fraud is what matters. Not passing value judgements on the merits of one technology over another.
1 p.m. HKT/SGT(3 a.m. UTC): Bank of Japan interest rate decision and monetary policy statement
4 p.m. HKT/SGT(8 a.m. UTC): Speech by Huw Pill, Bank of England chief economist and executive director for monetary analysis and research.
In case you missed it, here is the most recent episode of"First Mover"onCoinDesk TV:
Kevin O’Leary on Crypto Market Bottom and Future of NFTs, Decentraland Exec on Metaverse Outlook
"Shark Tank's" Kevin O'Leary, aka "Mr. Wonderful," joined "First Mover" to discuss his crypto market outlook and why he thinks a "panic event" is needed before crypto bottoms. Crypto lending protocol Euler XYZ raised $32 million from Haun Ventures. Plus, Sam Hamilton of Decentraland Foundation discussed the outlook for the metaverse amid recent market volatility.
How Crypto Lender Celsius Overheated:Celsius rapidly became more brazen in its attempts to generate yields, using decentralized lending protocols and aggregators to juggle around client funds for the best return.
DeFi Protocol Inverse Finance Exploited for $1.2M:Attackers used a flash loan attack to drain the open-source protocol outfit of bitcoin and tether.
BlockFi Liquidated Three Arrows Capital: Report:CEO Zac Prince tweeted that the crypto lender “exercised our best business judgment.”
Texas, Other States Open Investigation Into Celsius Network Following Account Freeze:The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has had the lending platform in its crosshairs for nearly a year.
Russia's Gazpromneft and BitRiver Partner to Develop Crypto Mining Operations:The oil-producing subsidiary of state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom will provide energy to data centers set up by BitRiver.
Why We Need Crypto Payments to Work:In a word: competition. This post is part of CoinDesk's Payments Week.
Today's crypto explainer:15 Ways to Stay Sane While Trading Crypto
Other voices: El Salvador:The country where you can buy anything with Bitcoin(BBC)
"I’ve been seeing a lot of speculation about BlockFi’s risk management practices that I want to address. While our policy is to not comment on specific counterparties, we are committed to providing as much transparency as possible, and it’s important to know the following:" (BlockFi CEO Zac Prince) ... "Spot ETPs have launched in other countries without incident and with great investor interest. In Canada, for example, the first spot bitcoin ETP reached $1 billion Canadian dollars in assets under management a month after launch in 2020.[17] Spot crypto ETPs are also popular in Europe, where there are more than 70 crypto ETPs with an estimated total of $7 billion in assets.[18] ETPs in these other jurisdictions have functioned, even in volatile markets. Why is the SEC a holdout? At what point, if any, does the increasing maturity of the bitcoin spot markets and the success of similar products elsewhere tip the scale in favor of approval? Of course, the facts and circumstances of each application matter, but will I ever stop hearing that well-worn question: “When a spot bitcoin ETP?” (SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in a June 14 speech) ... "interview today, asked if BTC can scale for payments for transparency, my answer: 1) BTC can absolutely be payment asset, on lightning, L2, or wrapped 2) BTC chain not intended to scale to millions of TPS, so won't be global payments directly 3) bullish on blockchain payments." (FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried/Twitter) || Finland Plans to Donate Seized Bitcoins to Help Ukraine: Report: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Finland is planning to donate bitcoin (BTC) seized from various criminal investigations undertaken by its government to Ukraine, Finnish paperHelsingin Sanomat reported, citing government sources.
• The amount of bitcoin to be donated has not been determined yet, but the potential amount could be worth as much as 73 million euros ($77 million) at current prices, according to the report.
• Finland began looking into the use of bitcoins to help Ukraine in early March, the report said. Finland has also considered donating 1,981 bitcoins seized by its customs department directly to Ukraine.
• Donating cryptocurrency has become apopular and efficient way to donate moneyto Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: down || Prices: 20710.60, 19987.03, 21085.88, 21231.66, 21502.34, 21027.29, 20735.48, 20280.63, 20104.02, 19784.73
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-06-25]
BTC Price: 242.80, BTC RSI: 56.02
Gold Price: 1171.50, Gold RSI: 42.36
Oil Price: 59.70, Oil RSI: 50.80
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
The 21st Century Cures Act Gets A Mixed Reception: Last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a new bill that will help fund medical research and relax regulations related to the discovery, development and delivery of new drugs. While some consider the new bill as a major step forward for the industry where the cost of developing new drugs has skyrocketed, others say the bill puts the public in danger as it doesn't require the meticulous testing that has been necessary in the past. Funding Change The bill offers incentives for scientists working on drugs that are important to the industry as a whole. The act dedicates government dollars to researchers working to develop precision medicine drugs and antibiotics that combat resistant strains. The legislation also supports the creation of a massive genomic database that will use large volumes of genetic data in order to help in the push toward developing precision drugs that target a specific gene. Related Link: Bio Applauds Approval Of 21st Century Cures Act Safety Questions Public safety groups have questioned the safety of such a bill, saying that allowing drugs to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration without full clinical testing creates a risk for patients. If passed, the bill would allow high-risk medical devices like pacemakers to gain approval without a full clinical study, something many say could create a dangerous precedent. Biotechs On Board? Biotech companies initially saw the bill as good for the industry as an initial draft extended market exclusivity rules for new drugs. However, those offers were dropped in the final version of the bill, leaving the biotech industry with little reason to back the bill. The Energy and Commerce Committee recently requested financial support for the bill from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, something the group is unlikely to offer without any benefits. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Despite Warnings About A Grexit, Investors Remain Calm Should The UK Regulate Bitcoin Wallets? Federal Government Reminds Workers That Marijuana Is Still Off Limits © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments || Which Tech Billionaires Donate the Most to Charity? (Infographic): When you’re sitting on billions, even millions, you can easily afford to give generously to charity and should, and not just for the tax breaks. Whether fueled by a genuine desire to make a difference or out of sheer vanity -- or, yes, to greedily ease the tax blow -- today’s tech titans are showering their favorite charities with cash.
Bill Gates, easily the most famous philanthropist among the tech elite, is back on top again as therichest man in the world, clocking an estimated net worth of$79.7 billion. He’s also arguably the most generous soul on earth.
Related:How the World's First Bitcoin Charity Is Harnessing the Cryptocurrency to Change Lives (VIDEO)
The Microsoft co-founder, a Harvard dropout, founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife in 2000. The aim of the nonprofit is to improve U.S. education and global health. To date, he’s donated$29.5 billionto what is now the world’s largest private foundation. Gates also launchedThe Giving Pledgewith his wife, Melinda, and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett. The initiative encourages the world’s wealthiest to give the majority of their fortunes to charity.
One tech billionaire you might not have heard of, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, the visionary behindMoore’s Law, is also one of the globe’smost prolificphilanthropists. He and his wife, Betty, joined The Giving Pledge in 2012, eleven years after donating half of their wealth to their own namesakefoundation.
Related:Why Bill Gates Is Backing Impact Entrepreneurs in India
For a deeper dive into Gates’s and Moore’s exceptional charitable giving efforts -- along with those of four more of today’s leading tech billionaires -- check out the fact-packed infographic below, care ofWho Is Hosting This.
Image credit: Who Is Hosting This
Related:4 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Pay It Forward || Dutch Bank Issues Europe's First Certified Climate Bond: ABN AMRO Bank N.V. , a bank based in the Netherlands, issued the eurozone's first ever green bond on Wednesday, shortly after the Climate Bonds Standard for Low Carbon Buildings was unveiled at an investor meeting in London. The bond represents what many hope will be a growing push to lower carbon emissions throughout Europe and is expected to be the first of many bonds issued with this certification. High Demand Investor interest in the bond caused ABN AMRO to upsize the bond deal from €350 million to €500 million ($556 million USD), making it the largest Certified Climate Bond to have been issued to date. In late May, Australia and New Zealand Banking (ADR) (OTC: ANZBY ) issued its own Certified Climate Bond for A$600 million ($464 million USD). Both bonds were well received by all types of investors, though dedicated green investors made up the majority of the interested parties. Related Link: Is Bitcoin Bad For The Environment? What Does It Mean? A Certified Climate Bond means that the bond has been evaluated by an approved verifying party that ensures that the proceeds of the bond are used to further the development of low carbon buildings. This week at the RI Europe 2015 in London, the standards dictating what projects would qualify for use of Certified Climate Bond funds were unveiled. They included new rules regarding carbon standards for commercial and residential buildings as well as upgrade projects. Interest To Continue Both ANZBY and ABN AMRO saw investors oversubscribing for their green bonds, suggesting that there is a massive market for environmentally conscious investment options. Many expect that the growing number of green investors will prompt more banks to roll out their own Certified Climate Bonds and help push forward the initiative for sustainable construction. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Pre-IPOs Are The New IPOs The Hemp Industry Struggles To Find Its Place New York Issues BitLicense Rules To Mixed Reviews © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || 10 mobile payment systems you need to know: googlewallet.jpg Image: Marguerite Reardon/CNET Nearly every day I am confronted with the fact that I am a rarity, the last of a dying breed. I am someone who still regularly uses cash to make purchases. In today's society, that makes me a dinosaur. Mobile technology has driven advancements in the payments industry that are making it easier and easier to make purchases without ever opening your wallet. The plethora of options doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is on board. According to data collected by 451 Research , many users are still uneasy when it comes to mobile payments due to security concerns. Still, the technology is moving forward and more vendors are accepting mobile payments everyday. If you want to get started with mobile payments, you have to first understand all your options. Here are 12 of the top mobile payment systems available. Google Wallet One of the first major NFC-based payment systems, Google Wallet was released back in September 2011. You can use Google Wallet to make purchases online or in a store, and send money to friends and family. Some have argued that it will be overtaken by Apple Pay, but that may not be the case . In fact, Google recently acquired intellectual property (IP) from Softcard to better compete. Apple Pay Apple Pay debuted alongside the iPhone 6 in late 2014. Users with an iPhone 6 or later, or an Apple Watch, register existing credit or debit cards with the service and use it to make payments with one of those cards. To use Apple Pay, you place your device near a reader and place your finger on the fingerprint scanner to quickly make a purchase. PayPal Known as the go-to payment system for eBay, PayPal also has a pretty useful mobile app. Users can snap a picture of a credit or debit card to add it to their account and make purchases or send money straight from their phone. PayPal has integrations with Uber, Airbnb, and StubHub for convenient payments. Square Cash Square Cash is a mobile payment option that allows users to create a unique username known as a $Cashtag. According to the Square Cash website, users can tweet out their $Cashtag for donations, or use it to pay their rent. You can also use it to pay someone for their services or simply send them some money. Stripe A web and mobile payment system that is "built for developers," Stripe offers a host of tools and APIs to customize it for you or your business. Users can accept Bitcoin through Stripe. Additionally Stripe is integrated with companies such as Lyft, Instacart, and Postmates. Dwolla Dwolla is a payment network for moving money. It doesn't require a credit or debit card, rather, it connects directly to your checking account. Use an email address to transfer money for $0.25 per transaction. Or, if the transaction is $10 or less, it's free. Only one party pays the fee and you can use it to send money to people even if they don't have a Dwolla account. Story continues M-Pesa Vodafone launched M-Pesa back in 2007. It allows users to deposit or withdraw money, transfer money, and make payments with their mobile phone. The actual account for the money is stored on the user's phone, and they use secure SMS messages to send money or make payments. The transactions carry a small fee as well. Very popular in some African markets, M-Pesa is huge in Kenya where the service first launched. Venmo Connect your bank account or debit card to send payments with Venmo. According to the company's website, it's always free to receive money through Venmo and most of the time it is free to send money, depending on what credit card or debit card you're using. Sign up with Facebook or by using an email address. Lifelock Wallet After purchasing Lemon Wallet, Lifelock created the Lifelock Wallet. It acts as a cloud storage system for all the cards you'd normally see in a wallet. Your ID, insurance card, loyalty cards, and payment cards are all stored and accessed through the app. The app touts Lifelock's security protection and users can access their credit score through the app for $.99. Samsung Pay After acquiring the company LoopPay, Samsung will fold its Samsung Wallet to be replaced by Samsung Pay. A technology known as Magnetic Secure Transmission is embedded in Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, and it allows users to pay with their phone at a standard magnetic stripe reader. The service was only recently announced and will likely launch this summer. What do you think? Do you use a mobile payment system? Why or why not? Tell us in the comments. Also see What to learn from Apple's new Apple Pay mobile payment platform The liability shift and its impact on mobile payments Are people scared of mobile payments? Why Apple Pay won't be the death of Google Wallet View comments || Have Startups Seen Their Heyday?: There is a growing debate on Wall Street over whether or not U.S. equities have become dangerously overvalued. This month, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen weighed in on the issue, saying that the bank does see markets as overvalued, prompting many traders to begin worrying.
Tech Bubble?
Now, many are taking a closer look at the tech sector, where startups like AirBnb and Uber have taken the market by storm, fundraising at record paces.
However, with the Fed considering a rate hike before the end of this year, some analysts say the golden age inSilicon Valleyis about to come to an end.
Related Link:Does A Tech Bubble Exist
Traders Turn To Startups
The Fed's accommodative policy has kept borrowing rates in the U.S. near zero, which in turn has given investors license to make riskier bets and prompted many to invest their cash in the tech space in order to get a return.
For that reason, startups have seen major injections of cash from mutual funds who are interested in getting in on the ground floor. Hedge fund managershave begun to pay15 to 18 times a company's projected sales in funding rounds over the past five years rather than the 10 to 12 percent that used to be the norm.
Reminiscent Of The Dot-Com Bubble
Many worry that the growing amount of money being funneled into the tech scene could be reminiscent of the 2000 dot-com bubble.
Investors could be taking unfounded risks in search of a lofty payout, something that may come back to haunt them when the Fed rate hike takes place. If the market pulls back, some of those companies could lose up to a third of their value.
Related Link: Fed In The Spotlight: Rate Hike Bets Are Pushed Back
Better Businesses
However, others say the credibility of tech startups will keep markets from suffering.
The companies whose fundraising efforts have been successful typically have legitimate cash flows and a sound balance sheet, unlike the Internet-based companies of the '90s who were spending more than they were taking in.
Image Credit: Public Domain
See more from Benzinga
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• Move Over Diamonds, Bitcoin Is A Girl's Best Friend
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Security Thought Leaders at Cisco, HP, Identiv, Imageware, Nok Nok and Bosch Security Are Featured on SecuritySolutionsWatch.com: NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) -ImageWare Systems, Inc.(OTCQB:IWSY); Identiv (NASDAQ:INVE)
Cisco
Mr. Christian Matthews, Director of Product Management for IoT Software,Cisco, told us, "Simply monitoring high-value assets provides a general example. Video surveillance combined with other sensor output such as audio, motion, or building contacts is used to increase protection and monitor assets without constant human supervision. Threats of incidents are detected and the risks mitigated by alerting personnel or automatically initiating preventative actions. When combined with advance video analytics, benefits continue to grow. At theUniversity of San Francisco(USF), IP cameras and the Cisco Video Surveillance Manager deliver facial recognition to detect when unauthorized individuals enter an area and then notify appropriate staff.Dallas Area Rapid Transit(DART) use Cisco's IoT Physical Security solutions to increase effectiveness of the transit police. With better intelligence, first responders and their associated operations teams have increased productivity substantially. They have done this at scale with a centralized command center managing more than 1700 remotely deployed IP cameras. Recently the system has been extended across busses and emergency response vehicles."
For the complete interview with Christian Matthews at Cisco,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Cisco_Matthews.html
For more information:Connected Safety and Security(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/index.html)Cisco Case Studies(http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/physical-security/customer-case-study.html)
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HP Enterprise Services
Mr. Fred Duball, Data Center Practice Principal, Workload and Cloud Solutions, HP Enterprise Services, U.S. Public Sector, told us, "Many of our clients know that HP has a strong legacy of IT infrastructure support; we have more than 80 data centers worldwide supporting more than 1,300 customers. But here's what makes the Mid-Atlantic Data Center (MDC) different -- we have enhanced our security and compliance posture to accommodate and support the critical needs of the U.S. Federal Government, as well as commercial companies requiring stronger measures. The HP Mid-Atlantic Data Center has been designed to provide customers with high levels of security, reliability, compliance and cost effectiveness. In fact, the U.S. government has designated this facility as being a part of our nation's critical infrastructure, guaranteeing priority restoral of services in the event of a natural or manmade disaster."
For the complete interview with Fred Duball at HP,please click here, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_HP_FredDuball.html
For more information:Transform to the New Style of IT - HP Solutions for U.S. Public Sector
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Identiv
Identiv, Inc.(INVE) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to provide solutions for the Internet of Everything (IoE). The IoE is the intelligent connection of people, processes, data and things to the Internet, bringing unprecedented economic opportunities to both the private and public sectors. Initially, Identiv will deliver a next-generation, networked physical access control system (PACS) solution that interacts with other IoE elements, such as Cisco virtual supervisor module (VSM) cameras and Cisco voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony products.
Identiv will offer a completely network based access control system, including credentials, advanced networked uTrust TS door sensors, Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) door controllers and access control software. Identiv is committed to disrupting the traditional physical access market by offering a fully network-based solution that is easy to buy and use. Customers will gain enhanced value, lower installation costs and less complexity by using standards-based network cabling, leading to reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) and improved return on investment (ROI).
"Everything is connecting, and physical access is no different," said Jason Hart, Identiv CEO. "Identiv is allowing customers to view physical access control as another element of the Internet of Everything. Our focus on identity as the new security perimeter allows us to build connected systems linking buildings, mobile devices, cloud services, and information systems that are easy to use, standards based, cost effective, and most importantly, secure." Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. For more information please visitwww.identiv.com/ciscopartnership.
For our interview with Mr. Jason Hart, President, Identiv,please click hereor here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Hart.html
And, please also see our interview withMr. Paul Brady, Technology and Solution Evangelist Senior Director atIdentiv,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Identiv_Brady.html
For more informationwww.Identiv.com
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ImageWare Systems, Inc.
ImageWare Systems, Inc. (OTCQB:IWSY) (ImageWare) a leader in mobile and cloud-based, multi-modal biometric identity management solutions, recently announced:
Extenua and ImageWare Deliver Revolutionary Enterprise Secure Cloud Storage(www.iwsinc.com/extenua-and-imageware-deliver-revolutionary-enterprise-secure-cloud-storage/)
Agility and ImageWare Partner to Bring Biometric Solutions to New Markets(www.iwsinc.com/agility-and-imageware-partner-to-bring-biometric-solutions-to-new-markets/)
ImageWare Systems Joins as an Advanced Partner in the CA Technologies Tech Partner Program(www.iwsinc.com/iws-joins-as-an-advanced-partner-in-the-ca-technologies-tech-partner-program/)
ImageWare To Combine Technologies with TransUnion(www.wsinc.com/imageware-to-combine-technologies-with-transunion/)
For our complete interview with Jim Miller, ImageWare Systems, Chairman and CEO, please click hereor here:www.securitystockwatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_ImageWare.htmlFor more information:www.iwsinc.com
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Bosch Security Systems
Mr. Daniel Murray,Director Key Accounts, Systems Integration,Bosch Security Systems, told us, "Cyber security is a major area of concern for integrators, and future success is tied to the integrators' ability to meet their own cyber security needs and those of the customers they support. One of the most startling facts is that the vast majority of cyber vulnerabilities can be mitigated by appropriate password implementation and process management. This is common practice in the IT world and an area for improvement in the arena of physical network security. Many of the thousands of cameras installed globally are done so with default, insufficient and missing passwords. This is an easy 'first step' in securing the physical security network which is missed by many dealers. At the PSA Cybersecurity Congress, discussion focused on multiple factors of network integrity that will change the face of our industry in the next 3-5 years."
For the complete interview with Mr. Daniel Murray atBosch Security Systems,please click hereor here:http://www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_Bosch_Murray.html
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Nok Nok Labs
Nok Nok Labs, an innovator in modern authentication and a founding member of the FIDO Alliance, and DDS, Inc., a leading Japanese biometric company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly drive adoption of Nok Nok Labs' products in the Japanese market, meeting the need for a more secure online environment. The two companies are working together to support Device Manufacturers, Mobile Network Operators and Online Service Providers and to drive the adoption of the FIDO Ready™ NNL™ S3 Authentication Suite with the goal of making online and mobile transactions more secure.
"The need for a more secure, easy to use, scalable online authentication ecosystem is a global concern," said Phil Dunkelberger, President & CEO of Nok Nok Labs. "Joining forces with DDS provides us with a strong partner in the Japanese market to meet the needs of the region and to drive the growth in the market for FIDO-based authentication."
DDS joined the FIDO Alliance in April 2014 becoming the first Japanese member. DDS has driven various activities to increase FIDO awareness in Japan such as the FIDO TOKYO Seminar and FIDO 1.0 PR event. "Nok Nok Labs and the FIDO Alliance have done a great job in promoting the FIDO movement in the U.S. and other global markets," says Kenji Miyoshino, CEO of DDS. "Partnering with Nok Nok Labs will help drive significant business opportunities in the Japanese market, helping to create a more secure online environment on a global level."
For more information, please clickhereor here:https://www.noknok.com/what-they-say/press-releases/nok-nok-labs-and-dds-inc-form-strategic-partnership-drive-adoption-fido.
WATCH THE VIDEO, please click here, or here:https://www.youtube.com/embed/gHDM4Yv3u18?rel=0&wmode=transparent&autoplay=1&width=1280&height=720&iframe=true
Mr. Ramesh Kesanupalli, Founder of Nok Nok Labs, Founding Member, FIDO Alliance, told us, "Prevailing password authentication has proven to be insecure and risky amidst a world of escalating security threats, cyber crime and targeted attacks, not to mention increasing vulnerability associated with so many more vectors of attack coming through the Internet of Things (IoT). Right now, we are moving from informational access to a major life style change where we can access everything digitally. We're at the threshold of using authentication to pay at retail stores with our phones, to open and start our cars, to manage home networks, appliances, and security systems all through connected devices. Authentication is the FIRST step we must perform to begin to effectively use IoT."
For the complete interview with Ramesh Kesanupalli please clickhere, or here:www.securitysolutionswatch.com/Interviews/in_Boardroom_NokNok_Ramesh.html
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TRADE SHOWS
CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA 2015May 5-7, 2015Washington, DCwww.cartes-america.com
-- The fourth edition of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA will take place May 5 - 7, 2015 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event will feature 70 sessions, 5 keynotes, 125 exhibitors and 2,000 attendees.
Hot topics such as EMV Integration, Mobile Payment Technologies and The Future of Digital Currencies will be the center of discussion at the upcoming 2015 CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS AMERICA in Washington, DC. Each day of the event is kicked off with keynote presentations.
Tuesday Keynotes:Patrick Murck, Executive Director,Bitcoin FoundationDavid Keenan, Senior Vice President Network Solutions, Fiserv
Wednesday Keynote Panel:Carolyn Balfany, Senior Vice President of Product Delivery - EMV, MasterCardwill moderate and lead a panel of experts from all over the industry -- issuers, retailers and manufacturers -- with first-hand knowledge of chip adoption that will address EMV questions.
Thursday Keynotes:Scott Hagstrom, Senior Director, Financial Cards & EMV Strategy, ABnoteKaren Czack, Vice President of Global Chip Products, American Express
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Cyber Security Summit
The Cyber Security Summit is an exclusive "By Invitation Only" Summit series connecting C-Level & Senior Executives responsible for protecting their companies' critical infrastructures with cutting-edge technology providers and renowned information security experts. The one day event, being held on June 3rd in the DC Metro Area, September 18th in New York City & October 9th in Boston will focus on educating attendees on how to best protect their highly vulnerable business applications, intellectual property and discover the latest products and services for enterprise Cyber Defense.www.CyberSummitUSA.com
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The World of Cloud Computing All in One Place!Cloud Computing - Big Data - Internet of Things - DevOps - WebRTCJoin Us at Cloud Expo New York June 9-11http://www.cloudcomputingexpo.com/
Cloud computing is now being embraced by a majority of enterprises of all sizes. Yesterday's debate about public vs. private has transformed into the reality of hybrid cloud: a recent survey shows that 74% of enterprises have a hybrid cloud strategy. Meanwhile, 94% of enterprises are using some form of XaaS--software, platform, and infrastructure as a service. Cloud Expo is the single show where delegates and technology vendors can meet to experience and discuss the entire world of the cloud.
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The 14th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government ConferenceSmart Strategies for Secure IdentityJune 9-10, 2015Walter E. Washington Convention CenterWashington, DC
The Smart Card Alliance Government Conference was established over a decade ago, following the landmark government-wide security directive signed in August, 2004. HSPD-12 established standards for verifying an individual's identity and issuing a tamper-proof credential that could be rapidly authenticated electronically. The conference has become the annual gathering place for the original leaders of this initiative as well as the current heads of federal agencies and industry leaders who continue to set the standards for identity credentialing and access security. This year's conference will look forward to future developments in policy and evolving standards for government-issued credentials and their use by relying parties in physical and logical access systems, including use with mobile devices.
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Money20/20October 25-28, 2015, The Venetian, Las Vegas, NV, United Stateshttp://money2020.com/register,http://money2020.com/,Info@Money2020.com, Organizer Email:Rob@Money2020.com
Money20/20 is the largest global event enabling payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology. With 10,000+ attendees, including more than 1,000 CEOs, from over 3,000 companies and 75 countries, expected at its 2015 U.S. event, Money20/20 is critical to realizing the vision of disruptive ways in which consumers and businesses manage, spend and borrow money. The next Money20/20 will be held in Las Vegas, October 25-28, 2015, followed by Money20/20 Europe in Spring 2016.
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TEC 2015| Westminster, CO | May 4-8, 2015 |www.psatec.com
TEC 2015, presented by PSA Security Network, is the premier education and networking event that is open to all professionals in the physical security industry.
TEC features an entire week of education, networking, dedicated exhibit hours that do not conflict with education sessions, and custom learning paths designed to benefit a company's entire team from the business owner to sales, marketing, operations and technical professionals. In addition to all new sessions, TEC 2015 will feature a NEW cybersecurity track designed to provide practical solutions and applications that build on the education program provided at the PSA Cybersecurity Congress held in January 2015.
TEC also boasts a comprehensive registration package that includes access to the keynote address, all networking events, meals, and all non-certification courses at no additional cost, ensuring attendees get access to all that TEC has to offer. Registration opens February 23 atwww.psatec.com.
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SDW 2015 - The Global Hub For Next Generation Citizen & Government ID SolutionsQEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London, UKConference: 9-11 June 2015 - Exhibition 10-11 June 2015
SDW 2015(Security Document World) -- the world's leading document security show -- focuses on ePassports, visas, driving licenses, national IDs, worker credentials, advanced border control, anti-counterfeiting, fraud detection, and much more. The event will provide a global showcase for next-generation human identity solutions, focusing on intrinsic document security and on the new cutting-edge secure infrastructure now required to produce and use these advanced documents in live situations. Plus, a special focus on Biometrics, Document Fraud Detection and Intelligent Border Control.
Contact: Janine Bill, Exhibition Sales & Sponsorship Manager at Tel No: +44 (0) 1189 843209 or by email at:j.bill@sciencemediapartners.comwww.sdw2015.com
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THIS PRESS RELEASE, AND ALL MATERIAL PERTAINING TO SECURITYSOLUTIONSWATCH.COM AND SECURITYSTOCKWATCH.COM, ONLINE OR IN PRINT, IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, CONDITIONS, AND DISCLAIMER HERE:http://securitysolutionswatch.com/Main/Terms_of_Use.html || Bitcoin Making Progress In Europe: Despite several setbacks, thebitcoinindustry is continuing to grow across the world as people in more countries take notice of the digital currency's benefits.
While the cryptocurrency is still far from becoming a mainstream payment method, European regulators are beginning to follow in the footsteps of the Bank of England by planning ahead and evaluating how to integrate the cryptocurrency into the region's financial system.
EBA Review
On Monday, the European Banking Association issued areportdetailing its findings on the use of cryptocurrencies.
The report stated that, although bitcoin still has a long way to go before it can be considered a viable currency, digital currencies are an important issue worth paying attention to in the future.
Related Link:NASDAQ Interested In Blockchain
Blockchain As A Viable Opportunity
The EBA acknowledged that despite bitcoin's volatility and security concerns, the technology that powers it could be applied to several different industries to improve their operations.
The report commended blockchain's ability to make processes faster and simpler, saying that it would be useful in fields like IT and contract law.
More Bitcoin Exposure
Shortly after the EBA's release, bitcoin platform Coinify announced that it was expanding throughout the eurozone to allow 34 European countries to buy and sell bitcoins.
Coinify is using the Single Euro Payments Area, or the bloc's payment integration scheme, in order to carry out the expansion.
Related Link: ItBit Became The First Cryptocurrency Exchange To Receive A Banking License
Making Europe Part Of The Digital Payment Revolution
Coinify's expansion is expected to put Europe in a position to take advantage of the growing popularity of digital currencies. Coinify's Chief Financial Officer Christian Visti Larsen said the company's next round of funding is expected to raise enough money "to make sure that Europe will be playing a leading role in this new payment space."
Image Credit: Public Domain
See more from Benzinga
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• Working From Home Could Become Even Easier
• The Rise Of Cyber Insurance
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || The Business Of Fertility Finance: When the U.S. economy was still lagging, lenders were struggling to find new clients as Americans tightened their spending and hunkered down for the remainder of the Financial Crisis. However while the economy slowed, Americans' biological clocks continued ticking, leading to the emergence of a multi-billion dollar industry that continued to thrive long after the recession ended – fertility finance. Fertility Lenders Back in 2012 when money was tight, lenders specializing in fertility treatments began to emerge. Couples who were unable to secure traditional loans or use credit cards to pay for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments had the option of taking out a loan with a "fertility finance" company. Related Link: OvaScience Shares Quiet After Co. Announces AUGMENT Fertility Treatment Continues To Show Improvement Companies like NBT Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB ) offered hopeful couples the opportunity to take out a loan by partnering with doctors at fertility clinics who could recommend the loan service. Still A Thriving Industry Fast forward to 2015 when economic improvement has been steady and oil prices have given most households a bit of extra spending cash, and the industry is still booming. IVF treatments remain expensive at upwards of $15,000 per attempt and the number of couples requiring treatment has been steadily rising. More Candidates For IVF Women have started to put off their plans for a baby until their late 30s or early 40s, upping the risk that they won't be able to conceive and making IVF an increasingly necessary option. However, with the chances of conception through IVF just 30 percent on any given attempt, many couples require several rounds of treatment. For that reason, companies like IntergaMed Fertility offer a wide range of loan options for couples who need to pay for IVF. Related Link: HRC Fertility In Orange County Announces Outstanding IVF Success Rates Making Fertility Treatment Accessible Most insurance companies don't allow for fertility costs, making IVF an out-of-pocket expense. Fertility finance companies are looking to make fertility treatments available for couples of any income and mitigate some of the risk that the treatments won't work at all. Story continues Some companies even give couples a "money-back guarantee" in case the treatment is unsuccessful. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Nuclear Deal With Iran Still In Limbo Bitcoin Gaining Support Among Do-Gooders McDonald's Back In The Firing Line Over Happy Meal Ad © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Goldman Sachs buys into Bitcoin and McDonald's new DIY burger: Another day of red arrows for the major stock indices ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) a day after the Fed left the door open, at least a little, for a June rate hike. A mixed bag of economic data this morning didn't help matters. Jobless claims came in lower than any other week in the last 15 years and consumer spending ticked higher. Still the cost of employing the average American worker ticked higher and personal income was flat. Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Here are some of the other stories Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today. McDonald's build-a-burger McDonald's ( MCD ) efforts to revitalize sales have been making headlines pretty much every day, and today is no exception. Now, the fast-food giant is reportedly test marketing custom-made meals, where diners can choose how their burgers and salads are made. Big banks and bitcoin Bitcoin is taking another step towards mainstream acceptance. Goldman Sachs ( GS ) is investing $50 million dollars in consumer digital currency company Circle Internet Financial, becoming the first big banking institution to get behind bitcoin. Secret no more It's no longer a secret--the Secret app is no more Co-founder David Byttow blogging that after a lot of thought and consultation with the board, he's shutting the company down after just 16 months. The once-hot app that allows users to share information anonymously has reportedly seen a big dropoff in demand despite a retooling a few months ago. Fastest growing retail app What retailer would you think had the fastest growing mobile app last year? Well, if you said Kohl's ( KSS ), you'd be right. Researcher Comscore finds the Kohl's app jumped 793 percent in 2014...second only to car service Lyft. More from Yahoo Finance McDonald's new menu, Apple becoming Microsoft and Budweiser's blunder Budweiser's 'no' must go: social media Microsoft developers conference falls flat, is Apple next? || New York regulator issues final virtual currency rules: By Karen Freifeld and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state issued on Wednesday extensive new rules for companies that operate in virtual currencies such as bitcoin but did little to accommodate complaints that overly tight regulation could hamper the nascent industry. The new rules, the first by a state, create comprehensive guidelines for regulating digital currency firms, according to the state's Department of Financial Services, which developed the regulations. It means that digital currency companies operating in New York state that hold customer funds and exchange virtual currencies for dollars or other currencies are required to apply for what is known as a state "BitLicense." "There is a basic bargain that when a financial company is entrusted with safeguarding customer funds and receives a license from the state to do so, it accepts the need for heightened regulatory scrutiny to help ensure that a consumer's money does not just disappear into a black hole," Benjamin Lawsky, superintendent of the New York state regulator, said in a speech Wednesday at the BITS Emerging Payments Forum in Washington. The "BitLicense" rules include consumer protection, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity protections. The regulations come as digital currencies have drawn criticism for attracting drug dealers and other criminal elements, while failing to safeguarding consumer funds. Last year, bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox collapsed after it claimed to have lost $500 million worth of customer bitcoins after being hacked. Overall, industry participants said New York's new rules are still problematic but nonetheless an improvement over the original proposals laid out in July and revised in December. Digital currency companies are required to obtain prior approval for material changes to their products or business models, such as wallet firms offering exchange services. They would also need approval for new controlling investors. Story continues But they would not need approval from the state for every round of venture capital funding or standard software updates. "We have no interest in micro-managing minor app updates. We're not Apple," said Lawsky. Companies that want both a BitLicense and a money transmitter license can work with the state regulator to have a "one-stop" application submission to cover the requirements for both. Jerry Brito, executive director of non-profit research group Coin Center, called the final regulations "far from perfect," specifically citing what he said were vague state-level anti-money laundering obligations that go beyond federal regulations. He said the group was working with other states "to ensure they do not repeat the mistakes made here." The rules do not apply to software developers, individual users, customer loyalty programs, gift cards, currency miners, or merchants accepting bitcoin as payment. Lawsky, meanwhile, has come under fire from the bitcoin community for issuing the rules shortly after announcing he was leaving the agency to set up a consulting company that will advise companies on financial matters that could possibly include digital currencies. The most prominent virtual currency now is bitcoin, often used as an investment or to pay for goods and services online. Bitcoin prices have been steady of late, at $225.77 on the BitStamp platform on Wednesday. The price rose as high as $1,123 in December 2013. "I think (the rules) are going to increase the costs to entry for businesses," said New York attorney Reuben Grinberg, who specializes in virtual currency. "But I think it's going to give consumers greater peace of mind and will end up promoting investment in this area much more so than it hurts." (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Steve Orlofsky)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $224.53, last changed Wed, 29 Apr 2015 11:36:00 GMT. queried at: 11:38:03 || #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges:
Cryptsy: 0.00000005
Bittrex: 0.00000005
Average $1.2E-5 per #reddcoin
16:00:06 || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 17 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,094.92 #bitcoin #btc || Bitcoin traded at $230.93 USD on BTC-e at 11:00 PM Pacific Time || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 18 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,284.73 #bitcoin #btc || LIVE: Profit = $803.69 (32.00 %). BUY B10.08 @ $248.00 (#BitStamp). SELL @ $270.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || current #bitcoin price (okcoin) is $219.0, last changed Mon, 27 Apr 2015 06:17:59 GMT. queried at: 06:18:00 || current #bitcoin price (okcoin) is $217.69, last changed Mon, 27 Apr 2015 08:58:00 GMT. queried at: 08:58:00 || #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges:
Cryptsy: 0.00000006
Bittrex: 0.00000005
Average $1.2E-5 per #reddcoin
00:00:01 || Current price: 161.38£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-09 06:00:05 BST
|
Trend: up || Prices: 243.59, 250.99, 249.01, 257.06, 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-03-10]
BTC Price: 1116.72, BTC RSI: 46.10
Gold Price: 1200.70, Gold RSI: 36.28
Oil Price: 48.49, Oil RSI: 27.42
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Why Small Businesses Should Consider Bitcoin: In 2015 bitcoin finally made its mark: More than 100,000 businesses , including industry giants like Microsoft, Overstock.com and Dell, accepted it. But, what exactly is this mysterious "cryptocurrency" everyone has been talking about for years? And, is it time your small business accepted it, too? Related: 5 Ways to Participate in the Bitcoin Revolution Here's what you need to know about what bitcoin is, its advantages and potential drawbacks. What is bitcoin? Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or an entirely digital form of money, invented in 2009. While that might not sound interesting, what sets bitcoin apart is that it's purely person-to-person , with virtually no banks, financial institutions or government bodies standing in the way between you and your money. Bitcoin relies on a technology system called blockchain that keeps your bitcoin wallet safe and secure from fraud. The currency's digital format also makes for faster, cheaper, easier exchanges of cash, from which many small businesses may benefit. Overall, Bitcoin's assets stem from its decentralization. Blockchain, the technology bitcoin was built on, allows you to not have to rely on a bank to process your financial transactions. Here are other reasons to consider bitcoin: 1. No fees If your 2 to 3 percent merchant transaction fees are a drain on your cash flow, then bitcoin has you covered. Bitcoin transactions typically cost between 1 percent and zero. That's no typo. You can send or accept bitcoins as payments with no fees attached. Since bitcoin doesn't require a bank to verify each transaction, you don't have to sacrifice your own revenue to the financial institutions that own your business loans or credit cards . However, you'll often have the option to pay an extremely small transaction fee, which can speed up your processing. 2. No wait Maybe those fees aren't bothering you, but waiting around for your money to arrive in your bank account does. Because there's no centralized institution that checks every bitcoin transaction -- its underlying technology, blockchain, does it for you -- there's no need to wait nearly as long to receive your payment. Bitcoin transactions are processed quickly, usually in a fraction of the time credit card transactions do. Story continues You can charge a customer, go for a walk around the block and receive your money. Bitcoin is that fast . 3. No borders If you export your goods and services or purchase supplies or materials from abroad, then bitcoin is a great solution for dealing with foreign transaction fees, exchange rates or currencies. Why? Because bitcoin is a global currency, not tied to a single government or company , it ignores border restrictions. As long as your customers or suppliers accept bitcoin, you're good to go. 4. No payment disputes Even though bitcoin is digital, it works more like cash than credit. Bitcoin transactions are final and can't be contested by a customer on the basis that he or she, for example, didn't enjoy the service you provided. If you have trouble with customers disputing their credit card payments, then accepting bitcoin could help. 5. An investment opportunity Like other currencies, bitcoin fluctuates in value. However, it's generally less stable than the payments in cash, gold or other commodities you're used to. Related: The Strange Positive Effect Political Uncertainly Has on Bitcoin While this fluctuation can be a drawback to accepting bitcoin, as we'll discuss below, it can also have a large upside. You can look at bitcoin as an investment: By accepting bitcoins, then waiting to cash them in, you're taking a chance on their value increasing. Bitcoin makes investing in a currency seem much less absurd or boring. From 2011 to 2013, the value of a single bitcoin rose from $2 to $1,242. Although it has since fallen back to around $800 today, there's still much potential for growth. Challenges of accepting bitcoin It's always important to be aware of the potential dangers, as well. Here are the three largest obstacles to running a business with bitcoin. 1. It's unregulated. Although its decentralization is a plus, bitcoin's lack of government support may scare some away. The U.S. government recognizes bitcoin as a valid commodity and possibly even a positive influence on financial regulation, but some other countries have restricted or banned the use of bitcoin. 2. It's unstable. Although bitcoin has become increasingly more stable over time, even recently beating out gold , it's still fundamentally a currency that isn't overseen by a single financial institution. If the economy requires it, the Federal Reserve can raise or lower interest rates, but no such option exists with bitcoin. Some observers point to this "unstable" quality as a good thing, since the bitcoin market has no interference, but it could also make things difficult for your small business if that market suffers. You'll want to figure out your aversion to risk before investing big in bitcoin. 3. It's tough to plan for. With a decentralized, volatile, purely digital currency, it can be difficult to plan financial statements, figure out taxes and determine your prices . How can you make projections that account for large fluctuations or changing government regulations? This is not an easy task, although it is do-able. You'll definitely need to speak with your bookkeeper and accountant before accepting bitcoin at your small business. Related: Bitcoin Is Money, U.S. Judge Says in Case Tied to JPMorgan Hack Overall, there's a lot that bitcoin can help your small business with, but also plenty of question marks involved in accepting the currency. If you're considering accepting bitcoin, sit down and determine why it can help your business and how you will deal with the challenges it may bring. || Trump's trade-war mongering is starting to rattle Wall Street: President Donald Trump made international trade, and his skepticism thereof, a centerpiece of his campaign.
Yet Wall Street, ever hopeful,saw those promises as bluster, choosing instead to focus on Trump's talk of corporate tax cuts and widespread deregulation.
Now that Trump is in power, markets are starting to realize he has a lot more leeway to enact his trade agenda unilaterally than he does to act on the tax and regulatory fronts, where legislators and the judiciary will have a much greater say.
(Peterson Institute for International Economics)
That's causing some economists to question the wisdom of the recent run-up in stocks, which were specificallycatapulted higher by bank sharesrallying on the hopes of a swift erasure of the postcrisis Dodd-Frank rules.
"Given President Trump's long-held views that the US has been losing out on foreign trade, the likelihood and consequences of a trade war are Top of Mind," Goldman Sachs economists wrote in a research note. "US action on China's currency policy and unilateral, targeted tariffs are likely, and China would respond proportionately." Trump has hired several ex-Goldman bankers as his top economic advisers.
A look at Trump's key economic appointments more broadly has alsoput investors on alertfor the possibility that the US will raise tariffs on trading partners like Mexico and China, unleashing retaliation with no clear end in sight.
"The incoming administration has a protectionist bend," says David Doyle, an equities analyst at Macquarie Capital Markets Canada. Peter Navarro, an economics professor from the University of California at Irvine, has been appointed to lead a newly formed National Trade Council. Navarro "has had an aggressive stance towards China," Doyle says. "For example, two books he has written are entitled 'Death by China' and ‘The Coming China Wars.'"
Leaving aside the possible nightmare of an actual war, what would be thecost of a US trade warwith major partners? If it escalated into a full-blown crisis, the damage would be difficult to tally. These are some of the proposals Trump made during his campaign.
(Peterson Institute for International Economics)
Economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics gave it a try ahead of the US elections and found that a trade war would bedeeply hurtful to US workers, "plunge the US economy into recession and cost more than 4 million private sector American jobs."
(Peterson Institute for International Economics)
Harvard economistKenneth Rogoff offers a stark warningto the Trump administration: "The US cannot win a trade war with China, and any victory will be Pyrrhic. The US needs to negotiate hard with China to protect its friends in Asia and deal with the rogue state of North Korea. And the best way to get the good deals Trump says he seeks is to pursue a more open trade policy with China, not a destructive trade war."
NOW WATCH:Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin
More From Business Insider
• Bitcoin is zooming higher
• Trump's push to roll back financial regulation is a 'big mistake' that threatens a new financial crisis
• DEUTSCHE BANK: Trump could name China a 'currency manipulator' in the coming weeks || Why bitcoin will surge to $25,000: By Yves Lamoureux, president and chief behavioral strategist of macroeconomic research firm Lamoureux & Co. Bitcoin is on a trajectory that will eventually catapult it into bubble territory, with an end target of $25,000 or more. Many of the key ingredients present in past bubbles are now present to create the next one in bitcoin. What makes this possible is the mathematics of finite supply, which we will show you in a chart and is at the core of our argument. One of the reasons people buy gold is to avoid the dilution of fiat money. In other words, gold investors care about keeping their purchasing power. The alternative is an unlimited supply of paper money over time. This is why we are convinced that digital money or cryptocurrencies will eventually find its appeal with hard asset investors — or a rare chance to get in on a venture capital style bet. We fought tooth and nails to get the media to cover gold when it traded at $300. These events work out over cycles measured in decades, which is the amount of time required to convince the majority. Whether tulips, housing or tech stocks, bubbles require public participation. And as blockchain becomes more ubiquitous, it lends credibility to the technology behind bitcoin. We feel that digital currencies, such as bitcoin, have now entered a similar cycle. It will take many years of great returns to remove the current skepticism on digital money. And there will be pressure from governments to regulate it, which in the end, will only lend it more legitimacy. People trade today as they did last year, as they did 100 years ago. The psychology remains the same. Behaviour does not change. Provide the same set of incentives throughout time and the Pavlovian bell rings the same. When I saw this chart, immediately I saw dollar signs. Source: stackexchange.com Over the lifetime of mining bitcoins, the final amount is set to be 21 million coins. Nothing more and nothing less. For the time being, it is way too early to ascribe a final end of the road valuation target to bitcoin, even if we hint at a level. Story continues Prior articles: Why hyperinflation is coming Why the crisis of 2019 begins now How to prepare for the next major selloff in stocks: trader By Yves Lamoureux, January 16, 2017 ©Copyright, Lamoureux & Co. This communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded as an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial product or service.This publication is proprietary and is intended for the use of the subscriber only. All information provided is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group or persons. Lamoureux & Co. shall not be liable for any claims. || Investors chained to bitcoin bets as U.S. ETF decision looms: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Trevor Hunnicutt
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors are betting market regulators will approve what would be the first U.S. exchange-traded fund to track the price of bitcoin.
From investment funds to wealthy individuals and even a Las Vegas strip club, the bitcoin ETF is generating a lot of buzz for a financial product. The surge in interest in the digital currency is driving upbeat outlooks from several gauges of investor sentiment on the proposed fund.
Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the digital currency ETF, which was filed nearly four years ago. The twins are expected to receive by March 13 the final decision on whether they can list their ETF on the Bats Exchange.
"We have spoken to a number of our investors, particularly from the U.S., who have indicated to us that they have been buying bitcoin," said Daniel Masters, portfolio manager of Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund Plc.
"They think the Winklevoss ETF and other bitcoin ETF listings will succeed."
If the SEC approves the listing, it would lend legitimacy to an asset that has been the province of enthusiasts and lay speculators. It could pave the way for other ETF listings and unleash the flow of institutional money.
The Legends Room, a Las Vegas strip club where bitcoin is accepted as payment for all services, is hardly institutional money, but it has been following the Winklevoss ETF.
"We are already supporters and expect to be investors as well," said Legends Room founder Nick Blomgren. "Good opportunities to expand the market for digital currency are rare but they are possible."
So far this year, bitcoin has surged more than 20 percent, largely due to speculation about the Winklevoss ETF, hitting a record high near $1,300 last Friday (BTC=BTSP). On Wednesday, however, it dropped below $1,200.
Spencer Bogart, head of research at Blockchain Capital, said at least $300 million could flow into the fund in the first week of trading if the Bitcoin ETF gets approved.
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
A contract created by Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange, a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform, to bet on the SEC's decision showed a 50 percent probability of approval on Tuesday, said BitMEX's chief executive, Arthur Hayes, compared to 34 percent late last month.
Another metric gauging investor sentiment on the bitcoin ETF ruling is GBTC, the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC.PK) backed by Grayscale Investments LLC, which does not trade on public exchanges.
Historically, GBTC has traded at an average of between a 30-40 percent premium to its officially calculated value.
The consensus is that the premium on GBTC shrinks if investors believe the bitcoin ETF will be approved by the SEC because they expect a better product to replace it.
GBTC premiums have dropped since the beginning of the year, Grayscale data showed. By February, the premium shrunk to single digits. Late on Monday, however, the premium has recovered modestly to 16.44 percent.
But strong interest has not convinced investors such as Michael Venuto, chief investment officer at Toroso Investments LLC, which holds bitcoin investments in some client portfolios.
"This could pop the market and I don't want to be anywhere near it," Venuto said of the ETF. "If you're going to buy this, it's a long-term thing and speculating is a bad idea."
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Megan Davies and Leslie Adler) || AT&Ts Union Deal Reverses Outsourcing 3,000 Jobs: Amid several more contentious labor negotiations, and its biggest union announced they had settled terms early for a unit that covers 20,000 workers in the south. The Communications Workers of America and AT&T said they had struck a tentative four-year contract deal for workers in the companys wired telephone, cable, and Internet business in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas a month before the old contract expired. A key piece of the deal, which still must be approved by the workers, is a promise by AT&T to hire 3,000 people locally for jobs that have been previously outsourced, mostly overseas. The agreement comes as AT&T is facing tougher talks with the CWA over contracts that have already expired for 21,000 workers in the companys wireless business and 17,000 workers in the phone, Internet, and cable units in Nevada and California. While negotiations continue in those cases, the workers have been protesting around the country and authorized a strike , if necessary. But AT&T has had mostly good relations with its workers in recent years-unlike Communications , which suffered a bitter, seven-week strike last year. Fridays announcement marks another in a long line of successful deals. Since the start of 2015, AT&T has completed 28 straight deals with its unions, covering 123,000 workers. The last strike at the company was in 2012, and just for two days. Get Data Sheet , Fortunes technology newsletter. Under the deal announced on Friday, workers will get wage increases totaling over 11% over the four years and two weeks of paid parental leave for mothers or fathers, AT&T said. The CWA highlighted that the deal included affordable healthcare plans, one of the sticking points in the two more contentious negotiations. But the commitment by AT&T to hire locally for jobs previously outsourced may have been just as important. Like the Verizon workers who went out on strike, AT&Ts workers have also lately been focused on their employers outsourcing of call center jobs outside of the country. The union charges that the carrier has moved 8,000 call center jobs since 2011 to countries including the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Philippines. Story continues Halting the offshoring of call center jobs has also been the focus of a growing number of Democratic lawmakers in Congress. They introduced legislation this week, with the backing of the CWA, to discourage call center offshoring , after a plea to President Donald Trump to take such action by executive order was ignored. AT&T said it committed to hire 3,000 people in the local areas to fill work that is currently mostly performed offshore. W e worked with the union to bring work opportunities to the region, a spokesman for the company tells Fortune . Regarding the type of jobs, we will make those decisions as we work through and evaluate the needs of our business-we will consider all areas of our operations in the Southwest and place them where it makes the most sense. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com This Scam Surpassed Identity Theft for the First Time Ever Last Year Why NBC's Snap IPO Investment Is One of Its Biggest Bets Ever Bitcoin Just Became More Valuable Than Gold Here's How Snap's IPO Just Proved We're In a Tech Bubble This Amazing Stat Suggests the Trump Bump Will Continue || The Fintech World Series: Canada: By:KurtosysHarvest ExchangeFebruary 28, 2017
Fintech is exploding.
It is a global industry, striving to change the future of finance.
…And the future is now. At Kurtosys, we’ve set out to cover exactly what’s happening in the financial industry the world over, one country at a time. With so many places contributing to the advancement of our digital world, each deserves their own time in the spotlight.
This time, heading away from Europe, we’re travelling toCanada. Whilst neighbouring the fintech giant that is the United States, this North American behemoth is steadily boosting its reputation of having one of the most secure banking systems in the world. Read on to discover how this affects their up-and-coming fintech landscape.
With a country boasting such incredible musical talent as Justin Bieber, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, it was naturally going to be on our fintech radar, eh? But seriously, Alexisonfire are awesome, and Canada was actually named by accident, when French Explorer Jacques Cartier mistook a native term for village – ‘kanata’ – for the country’s name as we see it today. It is a land that has birthed such funny people as Jim Carrey, Mike Myers and Leslie Nielsen, and big-time serious actors such as Malin Åkerman and Ryan Gosling*, with the latter achieving early stardom in Canadian cult-classic TV showGoosebumps. The less said about that the better. More should be said, however, about Canada’s rise to fintech prominence.
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According to a post in the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail, outside the technology life-blood of Silicon Valley, Canada’s province of Ontario (home to cities including Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton) has among the highest concentrations of technological firms. The reason for this being its low costs, and the universities in the Toronto and Waterloo area being abound with graduate engineers and developers. Deloitte awarded Canada a global financial centre rank of 21 in 2016.
There has recently been investment from both the financial and technological industries. Of note, Goldman Sachs invested in Financeit (based in Toronto, offering businesses a platform for customer payment plans) in 2015, as well as nanoPay in 2016, a “frictionless payments” service, also based in Toronto. Elsewhere, one of Japan’s world leading tech services companies NTT Data Corp has announced a partnership with MaRS Innovation lab (more about them later on), promising to support Canadian startups whose technologies can be used by NTT. Two notable startups from Canada that have achieved success are Shopify – a cloud-based e-commerce company that designs software for online stores for SMEs, founded in 2004 – and Hootsuite, a social media management platform used by over 15 million people, founded in 2008 in Vancouver, which similarly has a thriving fintech ecosystem like the cities in the East.
Despite the global financial crisis of 2007/08, Canadian banks remained unscathed according to the Canadian Bankers Association; none were in danger of failure or were bailed out. In fact, Canada’s banks have been rated amongst the soundest in the world for the past 10 years, rated highly due to them being well capitalised, managed and regulated. Should a similar crash occur in the future, each bank has developed “recovery and resolution plans” already – ahead of the curve. Plus, the development of regulatory frameworks for banks and insurers is being handled by both domestic and global organisations, so Canadians are clearly remaining resolute to keep their well-earned ‘sound banking’ tag.
The largest banks in Canada are referred to as the ‘Big Six’ by a report from PWC, and are as follows:
• Bank of Montreal (BMO)
• Scotiabank
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
• National Bank of Canada (NBC)
• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
• Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
As well as these established financial institutions, there is also the presence of online disruptor banks, which include Tangerine, PC Financial and Canadian Tire Bank. However, in 2014 it is noted that these banks only accounted for 3% of Canadians’ total deposits. Are digital financial companies still very much in the shadow of major banks, who retain brand recognition and consumer trust? Peter Aceto, CEO of Tangerine, believes that there is a social revolution occurring within the financial industry, with consumers losing trust in major banks and “expecting experiences that simplify their lives, that makes things easy”. Tangerine was the original disruptor bank that launched its first branchless bank in Canada. Truly, banks are responding to this revolution that Aceto outlines, and it turns out that many are making heavy investments in technology to “transform their customer experience, automate processes, comply with regulatory demands and enhance digital capabilities”, with many beginning the enablement and implementation of APIs.
Despite the regulators’ tendency to aim for stability (thus halting market innovation), Canadian fintech is still pushing to gain momentum. There are already more than 80 fintech firms in Canada, with the GTA (Greater Toronto Area)-Waterloo and Vancouver areas being the sites for a concentrated ecosystem of major banks, universities and tech startups. Whilst pension plans have recently attracted the most significant fintech investments, more is needed from the government, private investors and banks. To put things into perspective, since 2010 the Canadian fintech community attracted C$1 billion in capital since 2010. In 2014 alone, US fintech had US$9 billion. One Canadian dollar is roughly equivalent to 70 cents.
There is evidence from the Digital Finance Institute that Canadian banks are developing their own fintech solutions in-house. The Royal Bank of Canada is one example, but it also works externally as part of the US-based R3CEV-blockchain tech consortium. Additionally, the Big Six are in fact co-operating with fintech startups, accelerators and incubators to further their digital re-invention. Here are the most prolific examples of internal and external fintech stories:
• In 1996, it launched Mbanx, the first direct-to-customer bank.
• On January 16 2016, it launched SmartFolio, a digital portfolio management service, competing with traditional players and robo-advisers, built in-house with assets of $20 billion.
• It introduced Touch ID log-in (fingerprint recognition) to its BMO mobile banking app in Canada and the US.
• In the US, Mobile Cash was made available, allowing the withdrawal of money via smartphone.
• The BMO Banking and InvestorLine portal makes BMO the first Canadian bank to give customers access to personal banking and investments accounts in one place.
• BMO DepositEdge in Canada allows businesses to deposit cheques remotely.
• BMO Spend Dynamics gives corporate card clients access to transaction data.
• Invested in Kabbage, a US-based online small business lender.
• Has an internal Digital Factory focused on tech and mobile banking.
• Supposedly looking to partner with more external fintech startups.
• Partnered with MaRS in 2015.
• Partnered with Thinking Capital, another online small business lender.
• Developed a new marketing model, with segmented marketing campaigns with more personalised offerings, supported by data analytics teams, tech and tools to enhance tailored services for sales teams.
• Developed an Android and iPad tablet app, the latter ranking #1 in the financial services category.
• Planning to develop optimised tools for access to products and services and to implement a customer relationship management platform.
• Partnering with Nymi Wristband Technologies.
• Partnered with mobile-app-giant Uber for loyalty rewards.
• Established an innovation lab at Communitech.
• Partnered with Moven, a mobile personal financial management platform.
• Looking to collaborate on a tech solution for improved customerandemployee experience in Cisco’s Toronto Innovation Centre.
In the Digital Finance Institute (DFI) report, there is a further stress on fintech development in the province of British Columbia, so much so call that it is hashtag-worthy (much like in Estonia) – #BCTECH. The city of Vancouver is the main focus, as it houses some of the leading tech companies (Microsoft, EA, Amazon), as well as important fintechs, including Samsung Pay and SAP. Unsurprisingly, it is also the home of the DFI, which organises workshops, conferences and institutional education to bring Canadian fintech to the world, is a think tank for fintech and AI, encourages investment and partners for balanced regulation of digital payments and remittances.
Vancouver was actually home to the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in 2013, and by June 15 2015, there were 60 Bitcoin ATMs across the whole of Canada. What else? Vancouver-based Central 1 Credit Union provides fintech services to financial institutions such as payments and mobile banking services. The DFI notes that “the geographical position of Vancouver gives it an unparalleled advantage for trade and importantly, for FinTech to scale and exit not only to Asia but increasingly, to the Middle East.”
In British Columbia as a whole, the tech industry generated over $23 billion in revenue in 2013 and the Government of British Columbia recently launched the #BCTECH Strategy, investing $100m as part of a BC Tech Fund for early tech startups, and a Knowledge Development Fund to enable research projects.
As a whole, the FinServ industry in Canada only represents 27% of the Internet of Everything market, but 60% of Canadians are prepared to move money to access one or more IoE capabilities. All Canadian provinces have adopted regulations to facilitate e-commerce and protect e-payments, with the Bank of Canada having “responsibility for regulatory oversight of clearing, settling and recording of financial transactions.” Additionally, the Large Value Transfer System and Automated Clearing Settlement System are national systems for clearing and settlement of payments, operated by Payments Canada, based in Ottawa.
This, and the DFI, have launched national startup challenges. “The FinTech Cup”, for example, awards its winners with a $25,000 prize, and are provided a national startup platform to support their development. The private sector launched the annual Fintech Awards in 2015 to recognise key fintechs, innovators, advisors, and stakeholders that have contributed to the fintech ecosystem. In 2016, the Fintech Association of Canada was launched to engage the government with fintech to attract further investment and innovation.
To get an idea of just how expansive Canada’s fintech ecosystem is, here’s a comprehensive list for your viewing pleasure:
• Business Development of Canada (BDC) – Offers financing advisory services and venture capital, dubbing itself the “only financial institution dedicated exclusively to entrepreneurs”.
• Omers Ventures – Omers is one of Canada’s leading pension funds with $65billion + in net assets. It provides resources and expertise to tech, media and telecommunications startups.
• Power Financial Corporation – A management and holding company.
• MaRS Innovation lab – Based in Toronto, it supports over 1700 startups, with 300 being fintech-based. It has raised over $700m in venture capital funding.
• Communitech – Based in the Waterloo area, it is an industry-led innovation centre and a private-public partnership, founded in 1997.
• Ryerson DMZ – In Toronto, this is the top university business incubator, with entrepreneurs-in-residence, industry mentors, and 250+ startups and industry connections.
• OneEleven – A Toronto-based, data-driven tech startup scale-up hub, founded in 2013.
• Thinkubator – A collaboration between Ryerson University and Tangerine, it is an incubation space for fintech startups, founded in 2016.
Wealth management solutions & Robo-advisors
• Nest Wealth – Founded in Toronto in 2014, it is Canada’s first online wealth manager.
• Smart Money Invest – Also founded in 2014, it offers portfolio management services in equity and bond ETFs.
• Wealthsimple – An online investment startup, which expects over a billion dollars in AUM this year. It has 15,000 clients in Canada. It also offers “an affordable, millennial-focused, automated investing service”. Power Financial Corporation invested $10m in Wealthsimple.
• ModernAdvisor – an online financial advisor. If you would like to read more about Canadian robo-advisors, you can read our interview with ModernAdvisor’s Krysten Merriman here.
Payments
In 2014, 21% of Canadians made at least one online payment in the past six months (compared to 83% in China and 33% in the US). In 2015, the Canadian mobile payment transaction market grew 210%.
• Moneris – Founded in 2000 in Toronto, it offers payment solutions and processes credit and debit card transactions (more than 3 billion a year).
• VersaPay – With its HQ in Vancouver and founded in 2006, it is a cloud-based payment processing service.
• TIO Networks – Founded 1997 in Vancouver, it was acquired by PayPal very recently in Feb 17. It offers a bill payment service.
• Payfirma – Based in Vancouver, and founded in 2011, it is a multi-channel payment platform (mobile, in-store, online and e-commerce).
Investment & Asset Management
• Voleo – A social trading app, allowing the user to build an investment team with peers and collaboratively manage a portfolio.
• FrontFundr – Founded in Vancouver in 2013, it is a registered financial services firm which connects investors and entrepreneurs
Here are Canadian startups that made it into the KPMG Fintech100 2016…
#36 – League – Toronto-based, founded in 2014, it lets employers enable employees with health spending accounts and group insurance plans on a mobile app platform, plus you can find health professionals. It uses a digital wallet for payments.
#42 – SecureKey – Founded 2008 in Toronto, it is an identity and authentication platform for online consumer services.
…And the ‘Emerging stars’:
• Grow – Founded in 2014, it is a “complete fintech toolkit” for financial institutions, mainly focused on consumer and SME lending.
• North Side Inc. – A financial AI solution, letting you talk directly to your financial institution, a “personalised virtual telephone banker”.
• Overbond – Founded in 2015, this Toronto-based startup brings bond market participants together, making bond issuance secure and transparent.
You’ve made it – a list as extensive as Canada itself (did you know that it spans 6 time zones? Crazy). Seemingly, if Canadian banks and financial institution are willing to allow for innovation besides their stringent (albeit successful) regulations, then the pre-existing fintech ecosystems in the GTA and British Columbia combined will be able to move ahead with full force. A fintech revolution to match the size of its home.
*Credit to a good friend of mine for the incredible painting of Ryan.
If you have any thoughts about Canadian fintech, let us know in the comments below, or you can tweet us.
Check back soon for more instalments of The Fintech World Series!
The post The Fintech World Series: Canada appeared first on Kurtosys Blog.
http://hvst.co/2luINyhOriginally Published at:The Fintech World Series: Canada || Cable & Wireless Reports Preliminary Results for the Period Ended December 31, 2016: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Feb 16, 2017) -Cable & Wireless CommunicationsLimited ("CWC") is the leading telecommunications operator in substantially all of its consumer markets, which are predominantly located in the Caribbean and Latin America, providing entertainment, information and communication services to 3.5 million mobile, 0.4 million television, 0.6 million internet and 0.8 million fixed-line telephony subscribers. In addition, CWC delivers B2B services and provides wholesale services over its sub-sea and terrestrial networks that connect over 30 markets across the region.
Liberty Global's Acquisition of CWCOn May 16, 2016, a subsidiary of Liberty Global plc ("Liberty Global") acquired CWC (the "Liberty Global Transaction"). Revenue, Adjusted Segment EBITDA1and subscriber statistics have been presented herein using Liberty Global's definitions for all periods presented unless otherwise noted. Further adjustments to these metrics are possible as the integration process continues. The results for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016 ("QTD" and "YTD", respectively) have also been aligned to Liberty Global's IASB-IFRS2accounting policies and estimates. Significant policy adjustments have been considered in our calculation of rebased growth rates for revenue and Adjusted Segment EBITDA. For additional information on Liberty Global's definition of Adjusted Segment EBITDA and rebased growth rates, see footnotes 1 and 3, respectively. A reconciliation of net earnings (loss) to Adjusted Segment EBITDA is included in theFinancial Results, Adjusted Segment EBITDA Reconciliation & Property, Equipment and Intangible Asset Additionssection below. In addition, effective for the 2016 fiscal year, CWC has changed its fiscal year end from March 31 to December 31 to conform with Liberty Global.
Operating highlights:
• Organic increase (decrease) in RGUs of 2,000 YTD and (20,000) QTD were impacted by an adjustment that we recorded in Q4 to eliminate 30,000 non-paying subscribers from our subscriber countsInternet and telephony subscribers were up 7,000 and 2,000, respectively, YTD on an organic basis, as we increased penetration across our high speed networks and sold more bundled packages, particularly in Jamaica and Trinidad
• At December 31, 2016, 11% of our customers subscribed to a triple-play product, 33% to a double-play product, and 56% took only one product from us. While continuing to improve, our bundling ratio of 1.54 RGUs per customer remains relatively low, which provides ample runway for continued RGU growth as we seek to sell additional products to our customers
• Mobile subscribers grew by 11,000 on an organic basis YTD, and by 50,000 QTD as promotions drove increased sales during the holiday period, particularly in Jamaica and the Bahamas
• Highlights across our largest markets were as follows:In Panama, enhanced video subscriber growth accelerated QTD following the launch of our new "Mast3r" bundles during September 2016, and we added 14,000 video subscribers on an organic basis YTD. Of the customers taking our Mast3r products in December, 62% and 13% subscribed to a double-play or triple-play bundle, respectively. Telephony and internet subscribers fell due to continued fixed to mobile substitution as well as churn from our copper network. Our postpaid mobile subscriber base continued to grow, driven by the strength of our network and service quality, but was more than offset by prepaid subscriber losses due to the continued competitive intensityJamaica continued its mobile subscriber momentum with particularly strong growth QTD as mobile subscribers rose by 56,000, moving above 900,000 in total for the first time. We posted 21,000 organic RGU additions with growth across our internet and telephony services driven by improved bundling propositionsIn the Bahamas we grew subscribers across mobile, video and internet products YTD. Momentum is steadily building in our video RGU base through penetration of our newly constructed Fiber-to-the-Home (FttH) network. Despite the entrance into the market of our first mobile competitor in November 2016, we were able to grow our subscriber base by 6,000 QTD through increased data-led promotional activityBarbados mobile subscribers were broadly stable YTD with an improving trend QTD whereby our base grew by 3,000 following successful data-led promotions during the holiday period. Fixed-line telephony RGUs fell YTD due to a heightened competitive environment combined with customer experience challenges during our ongoing program to upgrade customers from our legacy copper to nationwide fiber based networkTrinidad RGUs were broadly flat YTD on an organic basis as a video decline of 12,000 resulting from increased competition was largely offset by growth in telephony and broadband
Footnotes
* The financial figures contained in this release are prepared in accordance with IASB-IFRS. CWC's financial condition and results of operations will be included in Liberty Global's consolidated financial statements under U.S. GAAP4. There are significant differences between the U.S. GAAP and IASB-IFRS presentations of our consolidated financial statements.
1 - Adjusted Segment EBITDA is the primary measure used by our management to evaluate the company's performance. Adjusted Segment EBITDA is also a key factor that is used by our internal decision makers to evaluate the effectiveness of our management for purposes of annual and other incentive compensation plans. We define EBITDA as earnings before net finance expense, income taxes and depreciation and amortization. As we use the term, Adjusted Segment EBITDA is defined as EBITDA before share-based compensation, provisions and provision releases related to significant litigation, impairment, restructuring and other operating items and related-party fees and allocations. Other operating items include (i) gains and losses on the disposition of long-lived assets, (ii) third-party costs directly associated with successful and unsuccessful acquisitions and dispositions, including legal, advisory and due diligence fees, as applicable, and (iii) other acquisition-related items, such as gains and losses on the settlement of contingent consideration. Our internal decision makers believe Adjusted Segment EBITDA is a meaningful measure because it represents a transparent view of our recurring operating performance that is unaffected by our capital structure and allows management to readily view operating trends and identify strategies to improve operating performance. We believe our Adjusted Segment EBITDA measure is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our performance with the performance of other companies in the same or similar industries, although our measure may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Adjusted Segment EBITDA should be viewed as a measure of operating performance that is a supplement to, and not a substitute for EBIT, net earnings (loss), cash flow from operating activities and other EU-IFRS or IASB-IFRS measures of income or cash flows. A reconciliation of Adjusted Segment EBITDA to net loss is presented in the Unitymedia section of this release.
2 - International Financial Reporting Standards, as promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), are referred to as IASB-IFRS.
3 - For purposes of calculating rebased growth rates on a comparable basis for the CWC borrowing group, we have adjusted the historical revenue and Adjusted Segment EBITDA for the three months ended June 30, 2015, September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2015 and the nine months ended December 31, 2015 to reflect the impacts in the three months ended June 30, 2016, September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2016 and the nine months ended December 31, 2016 of the alignment to Liberty Global's accounting policies and to reflect the translation of our rebased amounts for the three months ended June 30, 2015, September 30, 2015 and December 31, 2015 and the nine months ended December 31, 2015 at the applicable average foreign currency exchange rates that were used to translate CWC's results for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016. The most significant adjustments to conform to Liberty Global's policies relate to the capitalization of certain installation activities that previously were expensed, the reflection of certain lease arrangements as capital leases that previously were accounted for as operating leases and the reflection of certain time-based licenses as operating expenses that previously were capitalized. We have not adjusted the three and nine months ended December 31, 2015 to eliminate nonrecurring items or to give retroactive effect to any changes in estimates that have been implemented in the three and nine months ended December 31, 2016. The adjustments reflected in our rebased amounts have not been prepared with a view towards complying with Article 11 of Regulation S-X. In addition, the rebased growth rates are not necessarily indicative of the rebased revenue and Adjusted Segment EBITDA that would have occurred if the acquisition of CWC had occurred on the date assumed for purposes of calculating our rebased amounts or the revenue and Adjusted Segment EBITDA that will occur in the future. The rebased growth percentages have been presented as a basis for assessing growth rates on a comparable basis, and are not presented as a measure of our pro forma financial performance.
4 - Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States are referred to as U.S. GAAP.
About C&W CommunicationsC&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Global invests in the infrastructure that empowers its customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Liberty Global's scale and commitment to innovation enables it to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect its 29 million customers who subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. Liberty Global also serves over 10 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service across seven million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) and (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for its European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) and (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com. || 6 ETF Trends Likely to Take Centre Stage in 2017: Donald Trump’s win as the U.S. President and the most sought-after OPEC output deal has actually set the tone of 2017 investing. Many are bullish on the prospect of oil price this year though rising U.S. supplies can anytime thwart the winning momentum in the oil patch. However, Trump-backed hopes are still in fine fettle.
Added to these, there are plenty of other events – across asset class and regions – that could prove to be game-changers this year. In view of this, we intend to highlight a few ETF trends that are likely to be prevalent in 2017:
Stocks to Be Bullish Overall
The year can be attributed to stocks. The first and foremost reason for it is an end to earnings recession. Earnings growth entered into the positive territory in Q3 of 2016 following five consecutive quarters of decline. For the upcoming Q4 earnings season, the S&P 500 is expected to score 3.3% earnings growth on 4.1% revenue growth.
Earnings for Q1 of 2017 are expected to surge 10.3% for the S&P 500 on 7.5% higher revenues, as per the Earnings Trends issued on January 4, 2017. The earnings growth trend is expected to stay firm even for Q2, Q3 and Q4 of this year with an expectation of 9.8%, 8.2% and 12.5% on revenue growth of 5.7%, 5.5% and 4.8% (read: Ten Predictions for the ETF Industry in 2017).
Along with earnings recovery, stabilization in the oil patch after a prolonged rout and a Trump-induced fiscal boost along with lower taxes should augur well for stocks this year. Still, withmarkets appearing overvalued by some measure and the President-elect Trump yet to roll out promised measures, cautious investors with a long-term notion can opt for value ETFs over growth. Investors should also note that a stronger U.S. dollar is likely to take some shine off the S&P 500 index as the components are heavily exposed to foreign currencies.
Investors should note thatSPDR S&P 500 Value ETFSPYV has a positive weighted alpha of 23.00 whileSPDR S&P 500 Growth ETFSPYG has it at positive 13.90. This indicates a higher growth potential in SPYV.
Currency-Hedged Foreign ETFs to Rule
The U.S. dollar is presently at a multi-year high on bets over faster Fed policy tightening and an improving U.S. economy. On the other hand, foreign economies are also gaining momentum. Business and consumer sentiments in the European Union are at about six-year highs. Business conditions in the Japanese economy are also improving.
An upside is more likely for European and Japanese stocks given the ultra-easy monetary policy over there, which will keep their currencies low against a soaring greenback and boost those economies.
As a result, currency-hedged ETFs likeWisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity ETFDXJS,WisdomTree Japan Hedged Quality Dividend Growth ETFJHDG andO'Shares FTSE Europe Quality Dividend Hedged ETFOEUH will likely rule the year ahead.
More Factor-Based ETFs to Come On Line
Factor-based products have been quite a trend in 2016 as the fashion for plain vanilla ETFs is gone. Issuers are coming up with a more striking investment objective which can create a winning combination in the present investing environment. All in all, smart beta and multifactor ETFs will likely carry forward the legacy of the ETF world. An example of recently launched factor-based ETFs isALPS Dorsey Wright Sector Momentum ETFSWIN (read: 6 ETF Ideas Most Favored by Issuers in 2016).
More Players to Enter ETF Industry
Be it big banking giants or hedge fund managers, players are increasingly entering the ETF industry. We have already have seen J.P. Morgan and Goldman venturing into the ETF world and now Wells Fargo is also eyeing the space with its first-ever multi-factor ETF. Saba Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund manager, is also planning to foray into the ETF space with an ETF related to closed-end funds.
Expense Ratio Cut
With rising competition among issuers for market share, expense ratios are increasingly being slashed. So long, Charles Schwab and Vanguard ruled the world of low-cost ETFs. But last year, BlackRock and Fidelity enacted steep fee cuts for several of their products. A new set of rules under the Department of Labor’s “fiduciary standard,” which asked advisors to give precedence to their client’s interest over their own also played a role in this burgeoning trend.
For example, BlackRock lowered fees for its S&P 500 tracking ETF,iShares Core S&P 500IVV, from 0.07% to 0.04%. The fee cut made IVV less expensive than other popular ETFs in its domain. Even a relatively new-comer like Hartford Funds, which launched Lattice Strategies and its ETF operations earlier in 2016, announced that it will lower the expense ratio on four of its smart-beta funds effective January 1 (read: Buy These ETFs as BlackRock Cuts Fees).
Bitcoin ETF to Hit the Market?
Even if we are yet to have a bitcoin ETF, one is expected to hit the market in 2017. Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust has filed for one to make it easy for investors to bet on this soaring digital currency. As per CNBC, “bitcoin is a very volatile asset” but doesn’t have a strong correlation with other classes. Bitcoin’s value beat the $900 mark in late December for the first time since February 2014 (Also read: Explaining Bitcoin and Crypto Currency).
India's demonetization also gave a boost to bitcoin trading volumes. Moreover, trading volumes in China have been solid with the government taking proactive measures against illegal money transfer. With this, investors expect to see an approval of the first bitcoin ETF in 2017.
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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportSPDR-SP5 VL (SPYV): ETF Research ReportsISHARS-SP500 (IVV): ETF Research ReportsWISDMTR-JP HSCF (DXJS): ETF Research ReportsOS-FT EUR QDH (OEUH): ETF Research ReportsWISTR-JP HQD (JHDG): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-SP5 GR (SPYG): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report || Your first trade for Monday, January 17: The " Fast Money " traders gave their final trades of the day. Brian Kelly is a buyer of Tesla. Steve Grasso is a buyer of Nvidia. Guy Adami is a buyer of Amazon. Tim Seymour is a buyer of the iShares MSCI Emerging Market ETF (EEM). Trader disclosure: On (DATE HERE) the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: GUY ADAMI is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. STEVE GRASSO 'S FIRM IS LONG: AGN, BIIB, CHK, COG, CUBA, DIA, FCX, GLD, ICE, KDUS, MFIN, MJNA, MSFT, NE, REGN, RIG, SPY, TITXF, VIRT,WDR, WLL, ZNGA. GRASSO IS LONG: CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MON, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, SPY, T, TWTR. GRASSO'S KIDS OWN: EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. NO SHORTS. BRIAN KELLY is long: FCX, TSLA, SLV, Bitcoin TIM SEYMOUR i s long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EEM, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, TCEHY, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM || Here’s A Portfolio Based On JP Morgan’s 2017 Outlook: This article is part of a regular series of thought leadership pieces from some of the more influential ETF strategists in the money management industry. Today's article is by Corey Hoffstein, co-founder and chief investment strategist of Boston-based Newfound Research. J.P. Morgan recently released its 2017 long-term capital market assumptions, a valuable resource for investors looking to leverage institutional research in their own asset allocation decisions. For those unfamiliar, capital market assumptions outline the expected return, volatility and correlation parameters that can be fed into a portfolio optimization process. The full report sits at a hefty 94 pages. Before using the research, we believe it is prudent for investors to read the full report to understand the methodologies employed. For those less interested in narrative and more interested in implications, there is an easier way to gain insight: Build a portfolio. That is exactly what we have done. Using the capital market assumptions, we have built mean-variance optimal portfolios at varying risk levels. The results may surprise you. Hoffstein For a larger view, please click on the image above. While traditionally built portfolios rely heavily on stocks and bonds, portfolios built leveraging J.P. Morgan’s capital market assumptions steer away from them. For example, the portfolio designed to have a similar risk profile as a 100% global equity portfolio (the far right of the above graph) holds less than 50% in global equities. Alternative Income Favored Credit-based and alternative income asset classes dominate portfolios across the risk spectrum. These asset classes are emerging market debt (USD), emerging market debt (local currency), high-yield bonds, bank loans and REITs. Why the optimization ends up relying so heavily on credit-based asset classes can be seen in the below scatter plot of expected returns and volatilities. Hoffstein For a larger view, please click on the image above. Story continues With equity exposures in yellow and credit exposures in blue, we can see that similar return levels are expected to be achieved at significantly less risk. High-yield bonds, for example, are expected to only earn 0.5% less a year than U.S. large-cap stocks, but with 40% less volatility. Consider, similarly, that bank loans are expected to have a risk profile in line with intermediate-term U.S. Treasurys and investment-grade corporate bonds (the two green dots below bank loans in the above graph), but with nearly double the return. The result is that the optimizer ends up using credit in place of both stocks and bonds. Investment-Agnostic Part of the beauty of a completely systematic approach like portfolio optimization is that it is agnostic to what the investments actually are. While investors may be reluctant to go so far outside their own comfort zone, a computer simply sees numbers and performs rote calculations to find the optimal risk/reward trade-off. Why use riskier stocks when emerging market debt and high yield can be used instead? Why use lower returning bonds when bank loans fit the bill? This agnosticism to what the allocations represent results in what might seem, to many, a rather unusual—albeit thought-provoking—portfolio. So while on the one hand J.P. Morgan’s outlook provides evidence that investors should strive to incorporate many of these credit-based exposures, on the other, it may be totally untenable for most investors. We should acknowledge that the optimal portfolio is first and foremost the one an investor can stick to. We explicitly model this trade-off in our model research portfolios . Those interested in learning more about how we do it can read our white paper, “ A Modern, Behavior-Aware Asset Allocation .” Balancing Short-Term Risk & Long-Term Opportunity It is also important to recognize that not only are J.P. Morgan’s capital market assumptions estimates , but that they are estimates for annualized returns for the next seven to 10 years. Today if we use the BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Option-Adjusted Spread as a measure of “value,” credit-based instruments are not cheap. In fact, sitting at 3.93% at the time of writing puts us in the most expensive quartile of markets going back to 1996. In Newfound’s Multi-Asset Income portfolio , we seek to balance potential short-term risk and long-term opportunity in two ways. First, we strategically allocate using a Sharpe parity approach, dynamically emphasizing the asset classes that provide the most yield with the least volatility. We then apply a trend-following process to remove asset classes we deem to be exhibiting significant downside risk. We believe this dual approach to managing risk can help create a stable, balanced portfolio in healthy market environments while providing a means of de-risking in unhealthy ones. For do-it-yourselfers, there are a variety of ETFs available today in each of these credit categories that can be used to incorporate exposure. Bank Loans: SPDR Blackstone / GSO Senior Loan (SRLN) , PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (BKLN) , Highland/iBoxx Senior Loan (SNLN) EM Debt (USD): iShares JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (EMB) , PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio (PCY) EM Debt (Local Currency): SPDR Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Markets Local Currency (EBND) , VanEck Vectors JP Morgan EM Local Currency Bond (EMLC) High Yield: SPDR Bloomberg Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) , iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) , JPMorgan Disciplined High Yield (JPHY) REITs: Vanguard REIT Index Fund (VNQ) Regardless of approach, the implications behind J.P. Morgan’s capital market assumptions are clear: Credit-based exposures will be key to unlocking the optimal risk/reward trade-off for portfolios over the next decade. Newfound Research uses BKLN, SNLN, PCY, EMLC, HYG, JPHY and VNQ in its portfolios and may hold positions at the time of publishing. Founded in August 2008, Newfound Research is a quantitative asset management firm based in Boston. Investing at the intersection of quantitative and behavioral finance, Newfound Research is dedicated to helping clients achieve their long-term goals with research-driven, quantitatively managed portfolios, while simultaneously acknowledging that the quality of the journey is just as important as the destination. For more information about Newfound Research, call us at 617-531-9773 , visit us at www.thinknewfound.com or email us at info@thinknewfound.com . For a list of relevant disclosures, click here . Recommended Stories How To Build A Balanced Portfolio For Today’s Market How Revenue Weighted ETFs Work 3 Simple Rules For Tactical Asset Allocation Bitcoin ETF: A Fintech Marriage Ready To Happen Trump Trick & Tweets: These ETFs May Prosper Ahead Permalink | © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Coin.mx Bitcoin Exchange Trial Begins in New York - Despite a slight delay, the trial of two individuals tied t... http://ow.ly/RQ5r509B1L5 || btceUSD is trading at 1033 USD
Next USD update at >1075 or <1025 || Bitcoin sigue subiendo poco a poco http://bit.ly/2lWDZlN || Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price Technical Analysis for February 17, 2017 http://ift.tt/29GDCpw Bitcoin price recently br… pic.twitter.com/T9QHBb2fsV || Amid Bitcoin Price Recovery, http://Investing.com Suggests "Strong Buy" https://cointelegraph.com/news/amid-bitcoin-price-recovery-investingcom-suggests-strong-buy … || stock market definitions for dummies Receive 5000 BTC In 48 Hours. bitcoin double multiply . http://ow.ly/agaL3092XD6 || Bitcoin Supply Exchange 3500% of your deposit after 24 hours,bitcoin double multiply . http://ow.ly/bCaB3092Zpj || #Bitcoin #Crypto #BTCUSD H1 Trendline_BTCEUR_2017.2.17.13.6pic.twitter.com/lTv5aemMgI || $1018.00 #bitfinex;
$1018.65 #bitstamp;
$1020.49 #itBit;
$995.00 #btce;
$1019.92 #GDAX;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || Cost-free Bitcoins – #bitcoin Generator 2017 – Cost-free Bitcoin http://offers4points.com/cost-free-bitcoins-bitcoin-generator-2017-cost-free-bitcoin … #ResidualBitcoin
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Trend: down || Prices: 1175.83, 1221.38, 1231.92, 1240.00, 1249.61, 1187.81, 1100.23, 973.82, 1036.74, 1054.23
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-05-10]
BTC Price: 31022.91, BTC RSI: 28.00
Gold Price: 1839.90, Gold RSI: 34.36
Oil Price: 99.76, Oil RSI: 44.85
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bionano Genomics May Finally Offer a Reward for Your Risk: After surging to an all-time high early in 2021, Bionano Genomics (NASDAQ: BNGO ) stock is back down among the penny stocks. The first thing I do when I see a penny stock is look for a reason why. No, Im not a perma-bear, I just adhere to the advice that many penny stocks are that way for a reason. Bionano Genomics (BNGO) company logo on a website with blurry stock market developments in the background Source: Dennis Diatel / Shutterstock.com However, in the case of Bionano, I see a company with growing revenue and a product that is gaining adoption. Still, this is a small company. And BNGO stock has been a falling knife for over a year. This is not for investors with a low risk tolerance. But as I wrote above, if you can buy crypto, then you shouldnt be afraid to take a long position with a company on the leading edge of the genomic trend. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips BNGO Stock Has Lost Its Meme Mojo According to some sources, Bionanos stock shot higher in early 2021 in hopes that the companys flagship Saphyr system would be able to give researchers insight into the pathogenesis of the novel coronavirus. Its also fair to say its low price allowed BNGO stock to get caught up in the meme stock movement. However, those days are long since over. So is there an opportunity for BNGO stock? It can be easy to look at a penny stock and wonder, Why bother? However, investors could say the same thing about cryptocurrency. Yet, that didnt slow down the crypto craze. And even now, with crypto prices having dropped dramatically, there is a belief that a turnaround is only a matter of time. 7 Stable Energy Stocks for Uncertain Times That may be true. But if investors are going to take a flier on a risk/reward equity, BNGO stock may be a viable alternative. The company is growing its revenue as sales of its flagship Saphyr system exceed the companys own internal estimates. And the company is getting ready to launch the next generation of the Saphyr system in 2023. A Moonshot for a Cure In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden once again advocated for his signature moonshot to find a cure for cancer. If Congress provides funding for such an effort, it could be a catalyst for Bionano. Its Saphyr system is a genome imaging tool for high-speed, high-throughput structural variant detection and analysis with exceptional sensitivity and specificity. Story continues Thats a lot of words to digest. But as it relates to cancer, the company believes that a range of conditions can be detected through structural variations in a patients DNA. And one of those conditions would be certain types of cancers. Almost every person reading this article knows of someone who has been afflicted by cancer. And for many of us the list is too long to count. Cancer treatment today is truly astonishing. Many individuals are cancer survivors. Others are living or have lived far longer than in previous generations. One universal key to a patients prognosis and treatment is early detection. Thats where the Saphyr system comes in. Because of the pandemic, weve all received at least a high school level course in virology. And we know of the prevalence of variants. Many cancers have variants depending on an individuals DNA. Although the product is in its infancy, the Saphyr system is already proving itself effective in finding more DNA variants than other existing research tools. Further Growth Is the Key In its last earnings report, Bionano reported that sales of its Saphyr system increased by 69% on a year-over-year basis. That means the company installed 23 new systems in the quarter. This also meant that BNGO beat its internal forecast to install 150 systems for the full year (they delivered 164). And the companys quarterly revenue came in at $6.3 million, a 58% YOY increase. Full-year revenue showed an even more impressive gain. At $18 million, the company posted a YOY gain of 112%. Like several stocks, Bionano looks undervalued or properly valued depending on what metric you use. This isnt a stock to go all in on, but taking a part of your crypto portfolio and moving it to BNGO stock may be a worthwhile investment for investors with a long time horizon. On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks: With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. Thats because these penny stocks are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand that InvestorPlace.com s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks. Read More: Penny Stocks How to Profit Without Getting Scammed On the date of publication, Chris Markoch did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Get in Now on Tiny $3 Forever Battery Stock It doesnt matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2
Says Buy THIS Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade On Air The post Bionano Genomics May Finally Offer a Reward for Your Risk appeared first on InvestorPlace . || 40% of Bitcoin Investors Are Now Underwater – Can the Cryptocurrency Bounce Back?: Bitcoin continued its downward trend, decreasing in value 55% from its all-time high of $69,044, which was reached in November 2021. The crypto was hovering around $31,000 in the morning of May 10 and was down 4.3% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Now, 40% of holders are now underwater on their investments, CNBC reports.
See:Crypto Hiring Boom: Numbers Jump 73% but Lack DiversityFind:Best Metaverse Coins To Buy for 2022
However, a Glassnode report notes that while this represents a significant drawdown, it remains modest when compared to the ultimate lows of prior Bitcoin bear markets. Indeed, the bear markets of 2015, 2018 and March 2020 capitulated at lows between -77.2% and -85.5% off the all-time-high.
The Glassnode report added that during times of volatility and market stress, it is typical to see an influx of ‘urgent’ transactions, as investors seek to de-risk, sell, or re-collateralize their margin positions — and this week, there was a “burst of 42.8k transactions,”– the highest influx in transaction activity since mid-October 2021, Glassnode added.
In addition, during the sell-off this week, more than $3.15 billion in value passed in or out of exchanges, with a net bias toward inflows, which accounted for $1.60 billion — the largest aggregate exchange related volume peak since the market was made all-time-highs in October and November last year. It is also equivalent to the inflow/outflow levels at the 2017 bull market peak, Glassnode added.
This was echoed by CoinShares analysts, who said in their weekly report that digital asset investment products surprisingly saw inflows totaling $40 million last week in what they believe was investors taking advantage of the substantive price weakness.
POLL:Do You Think the Fed Raising Rates Will Help or Hurt the Economy?Discover:Senator Elizabeth Warren Questions Fidelity’s Offering To Allow Bitcoin for 401(k) Plans
“Bitcoin saw inflows totaling $45 million, the primary digital asset where investors expressed more positive sentiment,” CoinShares said.
In the midst of the downward trend, however, bulls will remain bulls, such as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), who tweeted on May 9, “It might be the first time and painful for you, but it’s not the first time for Bitcoin. It just looks flat now. This (now) will look flat in a few years too.”
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This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:40% of Bitcoin Investors Are Now Underwater – Can the Cryptocurrency Bounce Back? || Epazz’s CryObo NFT Solar Power Converted into Bitcoin Project will Launch its Mobile App in Third Quarter: Epazz, Inc. CHICAGO, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire – Epazz Inc. (OTC Pink: EPAZ), a mission-critical provider of blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, announced today that CryObo NFT Solar Power converted into Bitcoin project will launch its mobile app in the third quarter. The CryObo mobile app will provide token holders with the ability to exchange their tokens for fiat currencies and also track the income generated from mining operations or other income-generated operations. Token holders will be able to sign up for future projects. Epazz’s CryObo technology will use solar power for sustainable Bitcoin mining and NFT tokens for real estate tokenization. The company is creating a cooling technology to control the underground servers’ temperature. Shaun Passley, Ph.D., Epazz Inc. CEO and chairman, said, “Our mobile app will make it easier to earn income with our Bitcoin mining operations using solar power.” About CryObo Inc. CryObo Inc. will be enhancing its software to give early access to companies backed by tangible assets an easy way to access the token markets. The company's platform will change how people transact real estate, digital assets, corps, and raw materials by allowing companies to access the future value of their assets. The growth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is bringing new regulations for large financial service companies, which will require an intelligent solution to manage their growing portfolios. About Epazz Inc. ( www.epazz.com ) Epazz Inc. is a leading cloud-based software company specializing in providing customized cloud applications to the corporate world, higher-education institutions, and the public sector. Epazz BoxesOS v3.0 is the complete business web-based software package for small to midsize businesses, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and higher education institutions. BoxesOS provides a combination of many web-based applications that an organization would otherwise need to purchase separately. Epazz's other products are DeskFlex (room scheduling software) and Provitrac (applicant-tracking system). Story continues SAFE HARBOR The "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking languages, such as "may," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," and "continue," the negative thereof or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from future results or those implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz Inc. assumes no obligation and has no intention of updating forward-looking statements. It has no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by Epazz Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz Inc.'s public filings on SEC.gov and otcmarkets.com, including its unaudited and audited financial statements and its OTC Markets filings, which contain general business information about the results of its operations, and risks associated with the company and its operations. Contact For more information, please contact Investor Relations investors@epazz.net 312-955-8161 www.epazz.com || May WTI Oil Trying to Form Support Base at $94.14 – $86.52: U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are trading flat on Wednesday after giving back earlier gains. After a sharp break at the start of the week, the market may be attempting to establish a support base, but today’s early trade suggests investor indecision and impending volatility.
At 11:13 GMT,May WTI crude oil futuresare trading $94.86, up $0.07 or +0.07%. On Tuesday, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) settled at $68.57, down $4.27 or -5.86%.
Mixed fundamentals may also be behind today’s early two-sided trade. Helping to underpin prices are easing concerns over slowing demand in China, while signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks capped gains.
Traders will be watching today’s U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)weekly inventories reportamid supply concerns. It is expected to show a 1.8 million barrel drawdown.
Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an unexpected jump incrude stockpilesduring the week-ended March 11. Crude inventories rose 3.8 million barrels versus an estimate calling for a draw of 1.9 million barrels.
The main trend is up according to the daily swing chart. A trade through $85.81 will change the main trend to down. A move through $126.42 will signal a resumption of the uptrend.
The minor trend is also up. A trade through $88.49 will change the minor trend to down. This will shift momentum to the downside.
The main range is $61.86 to $126.42. The market is currently testing its retracement zone at $94.14 to $86.52. This zone stopped the selling at $92.20 on Tuesday.
On the upside, potential resistance is layers of retracement levels at $101.32 to $106.12 and $109.31 to $113.35.
The direction of the May WTI crude oil futures contract on Wednesday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to $94.14.
A sustained move over $94.14 will indicate the presence of buyers. If this move creates enough upside momentum then look for a surge into the retracement zone at $101.32 – $106.12.
A sustained move under $94.14 will signal the presence of sellers. The first downside target is $92.20. If this level fails then look for the selling to possibly extend into the minor bottom at $88.49, followed by a Fibonacci level at $86.52 and a main bottom at $85.81
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out oureconomic calendar.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Ethereum Focused ConsenSys Closes $450M Series D Funding Round || Designed by Gianni Versace, This $70 Million NYC Townhouse Was Restored to Its ‘La Dolce Vita’ Glory: New York City ’s townhouses are synonymous with luxury living, but a $70 million pad formerly owned and designed by the late, great Gianni Versace takes “la dolce vita” to extraordinary new heights. Located on East 64th Street, the six-story Manhattan mansion spans 14,175 square feet, with some 17 rooms spread throughout its haute interiors. Seven plush bedrooms, seven full baths and three partial baths account for more than half of the Italian Baroque-style abode, while the rest is dedicated to grand living and dining room spaces, a library, gym, game lounge, media room and office. Outside, meanwhile, there’s a stunning trellised garden spanning 3,025 square feet and a rooftop gazebo overlooking Fifth and Madison Avenues. More from Robb Report How a Beloved Canadian Fishing Lodge Transformed Into a Luxury Wilderness Retreat Lewis Hamilton Wore 3 Watches, Including IWC's Latest, in Protest of Formula 1's Jewelry Ban From Bitcoin to Dogecoin: Gucci Will Soon Accept Cryptocurrency at US Stores The limestone façade with Versace-style doors. - Credit: Eitan Gamliely Eitan Gamliely The neoclassical townhouse was built in 1950 and bought by the famed Italian designer for $7.5 million in 1995. As to be expected, the fashion icon fully redesigned the residence, adding plenty of his signature glitz and glamor. Custom touches include classical columns, intricate mosaics, marble floors and painted ceilings, to name but a few. The Great Room even features restored 19th-century panels on the roof that were sourced by Versace from a Florentine palazzo and depict an epic Elysian scene. Think of it as the Upper East Side’s Sistine Chapel. The grand primary suite - Credit: Travis Mark Travis Mark The manse is being sold by billionaire Swedish hedge funder Thomas Sandell and his wife Ximena. The couple bought the property directly from the Versace family for $30 million in 2005, according to records, before meticulously restoring it to its former glory. Nikki Field of Sotheby’s International Realty, who is co-listing the property with her daughter Amanda Field Jordan , told The Wall Street Journal that the Sandells are “Versace devotees” and that “this piece of art” will likely be snapped up by “someone who has that same reverence.” The luxe bathroom with double sinks, a black marble countertop and Italian-baroque details. - Credit: Travis Mark Travis Mark This isn’t the first time the townhouse has landed on the market, though. At one point, it was available as a rental with an asking price of $100,000 a month, according to WSJ . So, if you should ever tire of la dolce vita, you could always let Versace’s wonderland for a bit of extra dosh. Sounds like a win-win to us. Check out more photos of the property below: NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Living Room Side NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Stairs NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Dining NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Patio NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Living Room NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Bedroom NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Game Room NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Closet NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Gym NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Kitchen NYC Townhouse by Gianni Versace Hallway NYC Townhouse Exterior by Gianni Versace Best of Robb Report The 25 Most Expensive Homes in the World for Sale The 10 Priciest Neighborhoods in America (And How They Got to Be That Way) In Pictures: Most Expensive Properties Story continues Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . Click here to read the full article. View comments || The global social trading platform market is expected to grow from US$ 2,229.56 million in 2021 to US$ 3,774.17 million by 2028: ReportLinker It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7. 8% from 2021 to 2028. With the growing population, the number of internet users increased significantly. There are almost 4. 7 million internet users worldwide, i. New York, April 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Social Trading Platform Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Platform, End User, and Asset Class" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06270045/?utm_source=GNW e., 59% of the global population is net-savvy, as per the article published by the DataReportal in January 2021. Among this, 92.6% (4.3 million) users access the internet through mobile devices. The UAE, Denmark, and Sweden are a few countries with the highest internet penetration rate. Until 2020, Asia Pacific (APAC) had the most extensive user base with over 2.5 million Internet users, followed by Europe with almost 720 million users, as per the article published by Yahoo Finance. In 2020, China held the leading market share worldwide, followed by the US and India, as per the article published by Yahoo Finance. China had more than 854 million users, and India has around 560 million users, as per the article published by Yahoo Finance. A few Middle East & Africa countries, such as Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait, are still in the starting phase of digitalization and the internet penetration is relatively low.However, with increasing awareness, the number is increasing continuously. The significant surge in the internet user base enables industries to transform their business to the digital platform.Therefore, trading companies opt for social trading with the growing internet use, which is the cost-effective approach for trading. Also, during the COVID-19 outbreak, conducting online trading was the best-suitable medium. Thus, growing internet usage will contribute to the social trading platform market growth. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Social Trading Platform Market Due to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic situation, social trading platforms were prevalent in the growing digital transformation of financial institutes and banking solutions & services. For instance, in April 2019, according to the article published by Business Wire, the spending on digital transformation was US$ 1.18 trillion in 2019, an increase of 17.9% over 2018. The need for digital transformation supported the social trading platform market growth. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered social stress and led to economic disruptions worldwide.With the closure of production facilities and manufacturing units globally, the unemployment rate increased in several countries. These outbursts of the COVID-19 pandemic lead countries and the global economy towards recession.As the COVID-19 pandemic continued in 2020, it posed an exceptional challenge for an individual to spend over a social trading platform. Thus, the trading industry was negatively affected. Therefore, the overall COVID-19 impact on the social trading platform was negative in 2020. Further, in 2021 and 2022, the relaxation of lockdown measures and gain in the employment rates positively impacted the social trading platform market growth.The increase in the trend of investment in cryptocurrency positively impacted market growth. According to the Free Press Journal, Bitcoin boomed and astonished the whole world, from approximately US$ 7,000 in March 2020 to more than US$ 54,000 till June 2021. There was a negative impact on the social trading platform market, owing to the increase in the unemployment rates. However, the social trading platform market will grow due to increased investment in cryptocurrency during the forecast period, thereby creating further opportunities for the market. Based on platform, the social trading platform market is bifurcated into PC and mobile.In 2021, the mobile segment led the market, accounting for the largest share. Based on end user, the market is bifurcated into individual traders and professional traders.In 2021, the individual traders segment accounted for the largest market share. Based on asset class, the market is segmented into equity, commodity, derivatives, crypto, and others. In 2021, the crypto segment accounted for the largest market share. Geographically, the social trading platform market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). In 2021, North America accounted for the most prominent share in the market. The overall social trading platform market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market. The process also serves the purpose of obtaining an overview and forecast for the social trading platform market with respect to all the segments.It also provides the overview and forecast for the market based on all the segmentation provided with respect to five major regions—North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. Also, primary interviews were conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate data and gain more analytical insights into the topic. Participants in this process include industry experts, such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, national sales managers, and external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the social trading platform market. The key companies operating in the social trading platform market are eToro; A-Trade; ZuluTrade; Tornado; MetaQuotes; PrimeXBT; Pepperstone Markets Limited; Tickmill; Octa Markets Incorporated; Assetgro Fintech Pvt. Ltd (Stockgro); Public Holding, Inc.; Naga Group AG; and Snowball X. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06270045/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 || Top EU Official Calls for Global Crypto Agreement: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
The European Union's financial services commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, has called for a new "global agreement on crypto" to protect investors and limit the environmental impact of bitcoin (BTC) mining.
• McGuinness, the EU's most senior financial-services official, said she wanted to ensure "no product remains unregulated," and warned of risks like sanctions evasion and financial instability, writing inThe Hill.
• The EU is in the closing stages of passing new laws to regulate cryptocurrencies, including the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), and recently came close to heavily restricting theenergy-intensive proof of worktechnology that underpins bitcoin.
• Finance ministers from major jurisdictions warned of the risk of a regulatory gap back inFebruary. || Ukraine President Enacts a Law To Legalize Crypto As Donations Pour-In: • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill to legalize cryptos.
• Ukraine has received over $100 million in crypto donations to fund its war against Russia.
• The Finance Ministry is working on crypto tax regulations and other possible rules.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a virtual assets bill, legalizingcryptocurrenciesin the embattled country.
The signed law determines the ‘legal status, classification and ownership of virtual assets’ according to astatementfrom the Ministry of Digital Transformation. It also outlines the registration requirements for crypto exchanges and service providers.
Confirming the news in a Tweet, Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation said that exchanges and crypto companies can now operate legally, and banks will issue accounts for them.
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine will regulate the new crypto market.
The regulator will look into aspects including the formation of state policy for cryptos, determining the order of turnover, issuing approval and permits to crypto service providers, and financially monitoring the crypto market. The statement added,
“The signing of this Law by the President is another important step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine,”
However, it is essential to note that the law does not make crypto a legal tender but provides a regulatory structure for the digital asset class.
Additionally, the country’s Finance Ministry is also actively working to amend crypto tax regulations and other rules such as civil codes.
The bill waspassedon February 17 by the Ukrainian Parliament, legalizingBTCand other cryptos such asETHandXRP, after the President hadrejectedan earlier version of the bill in 2021.
The law arrives at a time when Ukraine has received at least $100 million incrypto donationsin the weeks since Russia invaded the country.
The new crypto law will enable the country’s top crypto exchange Kuna, which has been receiving millions of donations, to spend those funds with crypto-friendly suppliers directly.
The exchange has been responsible for aiding those donations to the armed forces of Ukraine.
Ukraine has made it easy for crypto inflows by legalizing crypto assets and helping exchanges like Kuna andFTXset up a donation website.
The website dubbedAid for Ukraineis currently accepting crypto donations in BTC, Ether,Tether,Polkadot,Solana,Dogecoin,Monero,Icon, andNeoto help the besieged country.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Daily Gold News: Thursday, Mar. 17 – Gold Price Bounces After the Fed Release || Stay Far Away From Cassava Sciences Amid Data Integrity Criticisms: After multiple neurology experts harshly criticized Cassava Sciences’ (NASDAQ : SAVA ) main thesis and the integrity of its data, I strongly recommend investors refrain from owning any shares of SAVA stock. In my many years of writing about pharmaceutical companies, I’ve never seen multiple experts criticize a drug maker so harshly. These professionals’ tremendous skepticism towards Cassava and its proposed Alzheimer’s treatment, Simufilam, combined with a previous negative report on Cassava, have made me extremely bearish on the firm’s shares. As I explained in a recent article about SAVA stock, scientists told The New York Times that Cassava’s theory regarding Simufilam’s mechanism of action is not supported by any independent studies. Specifically, no scientist other than Cassava’s employees and associates have ever presented any evidence that Simufilam will work as intended. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Moreover, one neuroscientist who spoke to The Times , Dr. Thomas Sudhof of Stanford, went so far as to label Cassava’s theory “implausible and contrived.” Making matters worse, scientific publication PLoS One has retracted five papers written by Hoau-Yan Wang, Cassava’s chief collaborator, according to The Times . The company’s CEO, Remi Barbier, issued a letter to the Science Editor of The New York Times , attacking the newspaper’s critical article . Barbier stated seven of the nine experts quoted by The Times had previously publicly criticized Simufilam in public forums. 7 A-Rated Dividend Stocks to Buy Forever The letter does make some valid points about The Times’ article. However, that doesn’t change the fact that eight experts were highly critical of Cassava and its drug. Nor did the CEO bring up any outside experts in the letter who do stand behind the company and its drug. Barbier brought up potential conflicts of interest regarding two of the nine scientists who spoke with The Times . He also pointed out one of the sources is a cardiologist, not a neurologist. Barbier also suggested other sources may have been paid by individuals with conflicts of interest. Story continues Still, the unusual nature of the scientists’ charges against Cassava, along with the disturbing report by short seller Quintessential Capital last year, make SAVA stock far too risky for any investor to own. On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Stay Far Away From Cassava Sciences Amid Data Integrity Criticisms appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Digital Euro May Get Easier AML Rules Than Bitcoin, EU Commissioner Says: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
The EU’s potential digital euro will face money laundering checks – but not necessarily ones as strict as those currently planned for regular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (BTC), the European Commission’s Mairead McGuinness told CoinDesk Tuesday.
In an exclusive interview, McGuinness, the Commission’s most senior financial services official, promised a role for private intermediaries like banks should a European central bank digital currency (CBDC) be implemented, and said there would be new laws ahead of any decision to issue.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has said it is exploring a digital form of state-backed currency to complement banknotes and coins as people’s lives and spending habits go increasingly online. The bank is currently working through a series of policy questions before deciding whether to press ahead.
In a recent, controversial vote, lawmakers at the European Parliament favoredtough anti-money laundering(AML) rules for bitcoin payments, requiring customers to be identified for even the smallest transactions. But privacy concerns could mean a different regime applies to the EU’s own digital currency, McGuinness said.
“A digital euro should comply with AML requirements but this is different to the current discussion on cryptoassets,” she said in a written interview. “We will be assessing whether a higher level of privacy should be made available, in particular, for low-value transactions, depending on the risk characteristics of the digital euro.”
While the ECB would issue the digital euro, payment service providers – typically the commercial banks that issue credit cards – will have a “key role” in finding and identifying customers, distributing the currency and offering extra services on top, she said.
“Intermediaries would have to ensure the onboarding of users and perform AML checks,” she said. “The digital euro is expected to be factored in to different payment solutions that payment services providers offer.”
A presentation given by ECB officials to finance ministers yesterday suggests in practice there could bemultiple different kinds of walletsavailable to hold a digital euro with fewer checks associated with lower-risk payments. Smaller payments could potentially be fully offline and private, the presentation said, analogous to how cash is used today.
But the ECB can’t make any formal decision to issue until new laws are in place, McGuinness said.
“The Commission plans to adopt a proposal for a regulation in Q1 2023,” she said.
Apublic consultationto prepare the ground for that law was published by McGuinness earlier Tuesday.
Read more:EU Consultation Looks at Issues With a Digital Euro
Read more:Europe's CBDC Designers Wrestle With Privacy Issues
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 28936.36, 29047.75, 29283.10, 30101.27, 31305.11, 29862.92, 30425.86, 28720.27, 30314.33, 29200.74
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Pentagon War Game Envisioned a Generation-Z Rebellion Funded by Bitcoin: Investors remain confident in bitcoin’s long-term prospects despite the cryptocurrency’s struggle to pass $10,000, according to a key on-chain metric. The seven-day moving average of the total amount of bitcoin held in exchange addresses declined to 2,313,749 on Sunday – the lowest level since December 2018, according to data from blockchain intelligence firm Glassnode . Exchange balances have declined by nearly 13% over the last four months – a change indicative of a shift to a long-term holding strategy. “This could be related to more investors HODLing [holding], moving their funds to cold storage and/or keys they control themselves,” cryptocurrency exchange Luno noted in a weekly email update. Investors tend to move cryptocurrency from their wallets to exchanges to be able to more quickly liquidate holdings during a price crash or when they expect a price rally to be short-lived. However, bitcoin’s price rise from the March low of $3,867 has been accompanied by a decline in exchange balances. Further, the metric has been dropping over the last four weeks despite the cryptocurrency’s repeated failure to establish a strong foothold above $10,000 and lackluster, range-bound trading. As such, it seems likely that investors expect the ongoing price consolidation to pave the way for a stronger bull run and are holding on to their investments in the hope of bigger gains to come. Related: Bitcoin Remains on Hunt for $10K as Holding Sentiment Gains Strength The prospects of a continued upward move look strong, as the diverging trends in bitcoin’s price and exchange balances seen this year are the opposite of what we saw in the second quarter of 2019. At that time, exchange balances rose along with prices, suggesting a lack of confidence in a longer rally. As the cryptocurrency rallied from $7,900 to $13,800 in the five weeks to June 26, 2019, the seven-day moving average of exchange balances increased by nearly 6%. But bitcoin’s uptrend ran out of steam in the following two weeks, and prices had dropped to $8,000 by the end of September. The slide continued in the fourth quarter with prices hitting lows below $6,500. Story continues This time round, it seems, investors are more confident. At press time, bitcoin is changing hands near $9,750, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index . The cryptocurrency has defended sub-$9,400 levels multiple times in the last four days. The repeated dip demand, coupled with bullish developments on the longer duration technical charts suggest the path of least resistance is to the higher side. “Long-term momentum analysis is definitely upside-oriented in my opinion. [The] monthly Stochastic oscillator has just crossed over in a bullish banner after almost a year of bearish impact,” said Adrian Zdunczyk, a chartered market technician and CEO of trading community The BIRB Nest. Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing . Related Stories Crypto Long & Short: Bitcoin’s Quiet Progress Is Pointing Toward a Better Future Market Wrap: Bitcoin Flat as Stocks Swell on Positive Jobs Report || Credit/Investments Turned Into End-User Risk Again: Continuing our research from Part I , into what to expect in Q2 and Q3 of 2020, we’ll start by discussing our Adaptive Dynamic Learning predictive modeling system and our belief that the US stock market is rallied beyond proper expectation levels. The Adaptive Dynamic Learning (ADL) modeling systems attempts to identify price and technical indicator DNA markers and attempts to map our these unique price setups. Then, it attempts to learn from the past DNA markers and apply that learned price behavior to future price DNA markers. In this manner, it learns from the past and applies that knowledge to the future. ES ADL PREDICTIVE MODELING On June 15, 2020, we published this article referencing the ADL predictive modeling system and how the US stock markets were, at that time, 12% to 15% overvalued based on this analysis. Continuing this research, our researchers still believe the ES (S&P500) is very likely to fall to levels near $2500 before finding support just below that level. These predicted ADL price levels strongly suggest that the true valuation levels for the ES are near $2500 – not near the overvalued levels closer to $3000. NQ ADL PREDICTIVE MODELING Additionally, an update NQ ADL Weekly chart suggests the NQ has rallied to levels that appear to be extremely overvalued. The current ADL prediction levels suggest the NQ ADL valuation levels should be near $6600 – not near $10,325 as they are now. This suggests a massive -36% price disparity between the current overvalued rally level of the NQ and the expected ADL price level based on our advanced predictive modeling system. Now that we’ve attempted to explain one of the core elements of our research estimates, let’s get further into the data that is likely to present a very real opportunity for skilled technical traders. ECONOMIC CYCLES As you are likely well aware of by now, a series of catastrophic economic events continue to unfold throughout the globe. Most importantly, the ability to earn revenues for consumers and corporations while dealing with hard fixed costs. In previous articles, we’ve suggested our belief that a unique event in localized economies is not much of a concern because global central banks can support the market well enough to allow economic activity to resume near fairly normal levels. We’ve suggested that the bigger problem is when an extended economic contraction takes place that is a global or more wide-spread economic event. This type of economic crisis is much more dangerous because of two factors: Story continues _ A. The continued lack of revenue generation increases the pressure on the individual or corporation to cut costs, employees, or other assets. Without the ability to earn, these individuals or corporations begin to eat up cash reserves very quickly and will quickly begin to identify their longer-term sustainability objectives. Unless the economy starts to recover quickly, this crisis for the individual or corporation could be a moderately slow and dangerous “bleed-out” event leading to bankruptcy. _B. The efforts of localized governments and global banking institutions initially attempt to mitigate the risks of such an event. This is usually done by providing greater capital resources to certain industries, the general banking system, and in other ways/sources. Currently, within the US, a number of forbearance programs have been initiated to take away certain pressures for homeowners and others. Still, the economy must continue to operate within normal boundaries and bills must be paid. With an extended economic collapse, such as we may be experiencing with the COVID-19 virus event, the problems for consumers and corporations grow bigger and more dangerous the longer the economic contraction event continues. When you really start to understand the cycle of these events and then begin to understand the domino-effect process that may already be playing out in some form, skilled technical investors should already be preparing for extended price volatility and unknowns over the next 6+ months or longer. Allow us to explain, in simple terms, how this cycle plays out… _ Local consumers/workers are laid-off or fired from jobs. This puts immediate earnings pressure on local families and individuals and it pushes them into a protective mode where they suddenly must decide between essential items (food, medicine, personal care, transportation, and other essentials) vs. non-essential items (movies, dining out, travel, discretionary purchases, and others). Currently, there are more than 35 million unemployed people in the US (roughly 10% of the total population. _ The COVID-19 shutdown within the US has disrupted the earning capabilities of many businesses over the past 3+ months. As consumers slow down their purchases and businesses close because of government shutdown orders, the problems amplify for many business owners and employees. If you have ever owned your own business, you understand the risks involved and the ongoing hard costs associated with owning a business. Just because the governor orders a “shutdown” doesn’t mean that your hard monthly costs are going away too. This ongoing problem sets up another crisis event in the making – the Business Owner risk factor. How long before these individual business owners simply can’t sustain their operations any longer and are forced into bankruptcy? _ Local governments derive their operating budgets from taxes and revenues generated within their communities. With the COVID-19 shutdown crippling these revenues, we estimate that Q3 and Q4 2020 will become a point of “bleed-out” for many local governments. They may be able to manage their budgets for a few months within the economic contraction period, but we believe the longer this economic contraction event continues, more and more pressure will be put on local and regional (city/state) governments where revenues have likely collapsed 25% to 45%+ recently. _ The bigger cycle start to take place. (A) With consumers laid-off and/or fired from their jobs, their income levels drop dramatically and their spending decreases dramatically. (B) With business owners struggling to survive with hard costs and payroll in a depressed economic environment, these businesses will either find a way to survive or fail – laying off more people and creating further disruption in earnings/revenues for workers and local governments. (C) With local governments slow to react to the economic contraction (and mostly hiring under contract), the decreases in revenue over time may present a very real issue for government agencies and become a real problem 4 to 6+ months into the economic contraction. _ When businesses and governments suddenly realize the scale and scope of the economic contraction , they will attempt to balance their books by adapting (developing new sources of revenue: products, services, taxes, fees) and/or begin to contract themselves. Either of these two options is fraught with risk and could potentially increase the risks of a more extended economic contraction event. Raising taxes or fees on consumers/businesses within a massive economic contraction event will likely push more individuals/businesses into bankruptcy – further decreasing the government revenues. Developing new products/services and marketing them to consumers requires capital and resources. If the product is not a success, the business takes a huge risk making these aggressive transitional moves – which may lead to increased economic concerns. As long as the consumer is struggling and not earning sufficiently, the foundation of the economic structure is at risk of collapsing even further. This cycle is sometimes called the “death cycle” in economic terms. It is a cycle where economic contraction leads to further economic contraction. The process of breaking this cycle is simple, the entire economic engine must “unwind” sufficiently to remove/reduce the overextended valuation and “fluff” within the system. Once this has happened, then a new economic foundation will begin to establish where growth and opportunity will resume within local and regional economies. IMPORTANT ECONOMIC DATA Now, let’s look at some of the data that supports our research. The World Uncertainty Index has recently skyrocketed above 50, the highest level over the past 60+ years. Since the low point, in 1985, the World Uncertainty Index has continued to rise with higher peaks and higher troughs over the past 30+ years. Currently, this index suggests there is a massive amount of uncertainty throughout the globe related to economic function, central banks, geopolitical issues, and humanitarian issues. Bay very close attention to the peaks in this index and the dates of these peaks (2004, 2013, 2020). The 2004 and 2013 peaks occurred roughly 3 to 4 years after a major stock market bottom setup. The current index high would suggest a market bottom may have set up in 2016 and a peak in this Uncertainty index may still be 12 to 24 months away. This suggests we may still experience a moderately high degree of uncertainty and a number of unknown global and economic crisis events over the next 12 to 24 months. The US Federal Reserve has recently begun another massive quantitative easing phase and actively begun to purchase various forms of debt, bonds, and equity within the financial markets. Paying attention to the rallies in the Fed buying activity and the World Uncertainty Index, you’ll see the peaks in the Uncertainty index align with the midpoints of the Fed activities. Generally, the uncertainty levels rise as the US Fed intervenes and executes QE policies to support the global markets. This Global Commodity Price Index chart highlights the recent collapse in raw commodity prices and illustrates the incredibly depressed level of commodities related to global economic activities. Over the past 20 years, the only time when commodity prices were lower was in early 2000~2005 – just after the 9/11 economic contraction. The current Commodity Price Index level suggests we have entered a new deflationary price cycle with the peak setup near August/September 2018 – just before the big downside price contraction started in October 2018. Our researchers have continued to highlight that point on multiple charts as the true peak in the US and global markets At this point in time, developing a safe and protected strategy to ride out these uncertain times is essential. We’ve been advising our clients to stay safely away from the global stock market trends and we issued a Black Swan warning on February 21, 2020, telling all of our clients to “get into cash immediately”. Since then, we’ve advised our clients to move their capital into selected sectors to take advantage of hedging opportunities and targeted trading opportunities over the past 3+ months. We continue to believe the best way to profit from these market trends is to develop a super conservative investment model where Cash is King and proper hedging is essential. There are plenty of great trades to select from – assuming we want to take on the additional risks associated with these trades. We believe the next 3+ months will result in a massive volatility spike, likely seeing the VIX move above 50~60 again, as Q2and Q3 earnings and expectations continue to shock the investment community. We do not believe this potential “V-Shaped” recovery is sustainable and continues to advise our clients to be prepared downside price reversion. Get our Active ETF Swing Trade Signals or if you have any type of retirement account and are looking for signals when to own equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to become a member of my Passive Long-Term ETF Investing Signals which we are about to issue a new signal for subscribers. For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar . Chris Vermeulen Chief Market Strategies Founder of Technical Traders Ltd. NOTICE: Our free research does not constitute a trade recommendation or solicitation for our readers to take any action regarding this research. It is provided for educational purposes only. Our research team produces these research articles to share information with our followers/readers in an effort to try to keep you well informed. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock Markets Cotinue to Show Life AUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian Dollar Continues to Be Choppy Facebook Testing All-Time High Despite Growing Boycott GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Breaks Towards Major Level Silver Price Daily Forecast – Silver Stays Below $18.50 BTC Aims At Further Growth || After the Twitter Hack, We Need a User-Owned Internet More Than Ever: CoinDesk columnist Nic Carter is a partner at Castle Island Ventures, a venture fund based in Cambridge, Mass., that focuses on public blockchains. He is also the co-founder of Coin Metrics, a blockchain analytics startup.
The dust is still settling, but July 15, 2020, already looks to be one of the worst days in Twitter’s 14-year history. A devastating hack, apparently taking advantage of internal tools, enabled hackers to take control of dozens of high-profile accounts and solicitbitcoindonations. Noteworthy was the delta between the scale of the attack and the financial reward; the hackers brought a $28 billion company to its knees but appear to have collected a paltry $120,000 in bitcoin.
The real fallout will be reputational. Details are still fuzzy, but one must imagine that the hackers may have had access to private communications for accounts that they penetrated. The contents of these DMs could easily be weaponized, either for extortion or embarrassment. While this particular crew of hackers seems to have operated in a fairly haphazard manner, starting with accounts on crypto Twitter and moving up the supply chain to Bill Gates and Elon Musk, a more sophisticated and determined group could have wreaked absolute havoc had it wanted.
Related:What Does the Twitter Hack Mean for Bitcoin? Crypto Reacts
Read More:Full Coverage of Twitter Hack 2020
And the hits just kept coming. Twitter’s response was slow and shambolic. The period of anarchy lasted several hours. Twitter personnel were undoubtedly aware but were either unable or unwilling to shut down the platform during the turmoil, as they should have. Verified accounts were unable to post for hours afterwards.
The blows to Twitter’s reputation are multifaceted. High-profile accounts were embarrassed and associated with scams, regardless of any security measures they may have taken. IfMotherboard’s reportingthat the hack relied on assistance from an insider is accurate, Twitter’s controls look exceptionally weak.
‘Trusted third parties are security holes’ isn’t just a slogan; it’s a concept that millions of people will have intuitively grasped for the first time yesterday.
Related:In the Aftermath of Hack, Lawmakers Blame Twitter, Not Bitcoin
Twitter will undoubtedly face questions from governments over this failure. Already, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley hasdemandedanswers from CEO Jack Dorsey. The Trump administration will likely see another means toapply pressure to Twitter, aggrieved by Twitter’s aggressive fact-checking. From now on, many users will not feel comfortable sharing information via DM, mindful of potential future hacks. It’s ironic that the same day as the hack, Twitter rolled out new DM features designed to make the experience more akin to Facebook Messenger.
And perhaps most damning,leaked screenshotsrevealed more information about Twitter’s secretive abilities to control accounts and narratives on the site. The leaked internal dashboards (evidence of which Twitter is aggressively deleting from the site) contain keywords like “trends blacklist” and “search blacklist,” seemingly an admission that Twitter does exercise some editorial judgment when it comes to which concepts receive algorithmic boosting and which don’t.
The hack plainly illuminates issues that cryptocurrency and Web 3.0 enthusiasts have been raising for years. “Trusted third parties are security holes” isn’t just a slogan; it’s a concept that millions of people will have intuitively grasped for the first time yesterday. The sheer centralization at play evidenced by the godmode key is striking.
One wonders why it’s even possible in the first place for Twitter employees to commandeer any account on the platform. Everyone knows that Twitter is the political discussion platform of choice for world leaders. Had the attacker been more inclined towards chaos rather than entrepreneurship, they could have used their access to contrive an international incident among hostile nations. While hacks of centralized services are standard fare these days, rarely are they broadcasted in such a direct, explosive manner in real time.
Additionally, the accidental reveal of Twitter’s long-rumored deboosting tools will intensify the view among critics that Twitter is a partisan, editorializing service rather than the neutral one it claims to be. The gradual insertion of more discretion into the internet’s most vibrant discussion forum is a recipe for disaster. As many have pointed out, it invites governments to pressure or infiltrate the platform to obtain efficient tools to control speech. These aren’t conspiracies; it’s a matter of public record that former Twitter employees have beencaught spying for Saudi Arabiaand that a current Twitter executive also happens to work for theBritish Army’s information warfare unit. How many more Twitter employees are proxies of foreign states seeking to gain enormous leverage by nudging the platform in a favorable direction?
Ultimately, there’s no assurances Jack Dorsey can provide to guarantee his platform will be free from future interference or capture. He has simply created too big a honeypot. Twitter is a platform with well over 300 million monthly active users globally. It has also been aggressively pursuing more controls alongside algorithmic (rather than chronological) timelines, more fact checking and more direct intervention in trending topics. All of these measures constitute an efficient toolkit to control speech. What more could a despot intent on censuring discourse want?
In response, many, including myself, have argued social media handles, as well as user-contributed content,ought to be understood as property. This contrasts with the established model in which the platform controls and owns everything, and retains the discretion to both monetize user-contributed content and kick users off the platform for any reason. The digital squatters rights argument holds that users generating the value for the platform, and by enclosing a handle and mixing it with their labor, should be entitled to a lasting and well-codified claim. Censorship and bans are better understood as expropriation and eminent domain.
Read more: Nic Carter –Your Property Rights Should Extend to Social Media
Mindful of the current balance of power between users and platforms, such an arrangement is unlikely to emerge within the current crop of internet oligarchs. Instead, it’s more likely that a wholesale reimagining of social platforms will need to take place.
For once, this use case represents a non-monetary application for public blockchains that makes sense. Social systems that piggyback on top of Bitcoin and Ethereum allow users to genuinely own their online selves through public key cryptography. This is more fragile at the individual layer, since key loss is a threat, but far more robust globally.
It’s impossible to compromise every Urbit or Blockstack user because the actual user registry is stored on-chain and users custody their own keys. The Urbit philosophy, in which users can freely associate and disassociate with – but not ban – other accounts, allows for the coexistence of mutually rancorous individuals without relying on top-down censorship.
Granted, such blockchain-based social systems are still immature despite years of work and advocacy, so their flaws are not yet fully evident. But as of yesterday, we can no longer claim they are a solution searching for a problem. A user-owned and operated social internet built on a public key infrastructure is an absolute necessity, if we are to resist tyrants both in the public and the private sector.
• After the Twitter Hack, We Need a User-Owned Internet More Than Ever
• After the Twitter Hack, We Need a User-Owned Internet More Than Ever || Blackballed by PayPal, Scientific-Paper Pirate Takes Bitcoin Donations: A quiet rebellion against copyright is being waged on a single website by a freelance coder, using cryptocurrency where PayPal won’t do.
Bitcoinas acensorship-free moneyhas been used by outlaws of all sorts, but this time the outlaw is a young scientist from Kazakhstan breaking through the paywalls of academic journals.
Alexandra Elbakyan, a 31-year-old freelance coder, neurobiologist and phylologist, is running a database of over 80 million articles from academic journals that are normally available only through subscriptions. What started out of frustration when she was a graduate student became a free research service funded only through donations. For most people in the world, bitcoin is the only way to support Elbakyan’s work.
Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Hits $9.6K as Bullish Crypto Sentiment Returns
The website, called Sci-Hub, has been sued by two science publishing houses and reportedlyinvestigatedby the U.S. Department of Justice for possible espionage on behalf of Russian intelligence. (Elbakyan said she never got contacted by the U.S. authorities about it.) This effectively cut Elbakyan off the mainstream financial services in the West.
Elbakyan told CoinDesk the website sees about 600,000 visits each day. Even for those researchers who have access to subscriptions via universities, Sci-Hub turns out to be the most convenient option to get content for their research, she said.
But her struggles underscore one of the fundamental value propositions of cryptocurrency: When people can’t use the mainstream payment ralis, crypto offers an alternative. It’s hardly a bellwether of a broad adoption coming, but it is “a good example of bitcoin as a niche payments rail,” economist John Paul Koning told CoinDesk.
“For most purposes, people prefer to use regular fiat payments because they are easy,” said Koning, aCoinDesk columnist. “But when they get locked out, either because they are engaging in illegal activities or legal ones that are deemed socially unacceptable, bitcoin becomes an option. People who have been locked out of these conventional systems are slowly discovering that bitcoin can serve them.”
Related:Liquidity on Bitcoin Perpetuals Exchange FTX Catches Up to Industry Leader BitMEX
See also:Tearing Down Monuments Isn’t Censorship – It’s Speech
Elbakyan says bitcoin only constitutes a small part of all donations. Most often, it’s the online payment service Yandex.Money that is available in Russia and nearby countries including Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. However, for all the other parts of the world, crypto is the only direct way to support Sci-Hub.
Sometimes, that can be an issue. Still few people trust bitcoin, Elbakyan says, and some countries prohibit crypto, such asBoliviaandEcuador.
“Somebody wrote to me recently saying that in his country only drug addicts use bitcoin, and asked if there were any other ways to donate,” Elbakyan said.
In 2018, University of Pennsylvania postdoctoral fellow Daniel Himmelstein and a group of other scholarsfoundthat Sci-Hub raised more than 94 bitcoin, worth about $900,000 at recent prices, before 2018. Speaking with CoinDesk, Elbakyan confirmed that the estimate was mostly fair.
The 2017 bitcoin rally was a good moment for her, Elbakyan says, as she could sell some bitcoin at a high price. But otherwise she’s nonchalant about all things blockchain and distributed tech. When asked if distributed file storage solutions currentlyin the workscould be useful for Sci-Hub, she says the site works fine as it is.
Elbakyan’s clash with the publishing industry cost her the ability to use any U.S.-based services. In 2015, Dutch science publishing house Elsevier, a publisher of 2,500 science journals, including The Lancet and ScienceDirect,suedSci-Hub for copyright infringement.
In 2017, a federal court, the U.S. Southern District Court of New York, sided with Elsevier and ruled Sci-Hub should stop operating and pay $15 million in damages. In a similar lawsuit, the American Chemistry Societywon a caseagainst Elbakyan and the right to demand another $4.8 million in damages.
In addition, both courts effectively prohibited any U.S. company from facilitating Sci-Hub’s work. Elbakyan had to migrate the website from its early .org domain, and the U.S.-based online payment services are no longer an option for her. She can no longer use Cloudflare, a service that protects websites from denial-of-service attacks, she said.
“When I opened a PayPal account, the donations would hit every minute. But after one day the wallet would get frozen,” Elbakyan said. She showed CoinDesk an email from PayPal in 2013, in which the company notified Elbakyan that Elsevier reported her for copyright infringement and she should either remove the violating materials from Sci-Hub or remove PayPal as a donation option.
See also:The Decentralized Web Has Plans, if Not Solutions, for the Misinformation Nightmare
“Payment processors are increasingly taking a keen interest in what their users are doing with their services; even going as far as banning political figures who they might disapprove of,” says Nic Carter, partner at Castle Island Ventures.
“In this world of politicized payment rails, the existence of a neutral alternative that treats everyone equally is a godsend,” Carter said, referring to bitcoin.
PayPal’s press office did not return CoinDesk’s request for comment by press time.
So now researchers in the U.S. who, just like Elbakyan, can’t afford costly subscriptions to access scientific content, can only thank her by using bitcoin. And they are using Sci-Hub, data shows.
Himmelsteinfoundthat Sci-Hub has been steadily growing in popularity since its inception in 2011, going from 185,243 downloads per day in February 2016 to 458,589 in 2017. The researchers found Sci-Hub usage has exceeded that of the University of Pennsylvania online library twentyfold.
As she was speaking to CoinDesk, 30 papers were being downloaded over the course of three minutes, Elbakyan said, adding that during the busiest hours, there can be thousands of papers downloaded in the same amount of time.
“If you’re working from home, you need to access the university’s server first. And many people told me that they needed to click through multiple links and even then the paper wouldn’t open up – this is how clumsy the legal access is,” Elbakyan said.
She first got frustrated with the cost of academic knowledge as a student, working on her graduate paper, Elbakyan wrote in herautobiographyon Sci-Hub. When she was a teenager she hacked websites for fun. When she was 16 she created a script allowing her to download books from the MIT CogNet website for free, despite the paywall, Elbakyan wrote.
Back then, she would rely on the network of researchers who would share papers they had access to via an online forum, she said in aninterviewwith the website Newtonew. Then, she decided to create an automatically updating database of academic knowledge, which became Sci-Hub.
The website is using other researchers’ credentials for university proxy servers – Elbakyan won’t say how exactly she gets the credentials – and automatically downloading papers onto Sci-Hub’s server, where people can find them using a web address or unique identifier of a paper they need.
Elbakyan is maintaining the website alone, believing it’s the safest way. “If you have a team, it can fall apart at some point, or you might have a mole,” she said.
But while she doesn’t need more people working on Sci-Hub, she would love to see a widespread discussion about free access to academic knowledge, she says. A self-described Communist in her political views, Elbakyan believes the paywall policy of science publishing is a kind of censorship.
“I had a dream that Sci-Hub gets discussed by the U.N.,” Elbakyan said, referring to the United Nations. “For example, Russia could tell the U.S. that it’s a violation of human rights [to ban Sci-Hub] because theU.N. Declaration of Human Rightssays everyone has the right to participate in scientific advancement. But that remained only a dream.”
See also:The New York Times Proves Why Civil’s Vision Is Still Vital
Elbakyan says she hasn’t approached any political parties or government bodies, thinking they could pick up on the censorship argument if they were interested. She does not believe most people are interested in discussing freedom of knowledge.
“There is no real community to discuss that, you hardly hear such voices. Not just in the mainstream media, but even on YouTube, for example. It all died by 2013, whenAaron Swartzdied,” she said, adding that even though many people are using her website or pirate websites such astorrent trackers, few care how and why they work.
“People don’t think about the [copyright] laws, about doing something about it or voting against it,” Elbakyan says. “When people reach out to me, they usually write to say ‘thank you’ or ask how to better donate.”
Sci-Hub’s standoff with the publishing industry is a good fight, Carter (who is also aCoinDesk columnist) believes. “The law and morality don’t always match up, and they certainly don’t in this case,” he said, adding:
“Sci-Hub has undeniably made the world a better place, and Alexandra has had to live as a pariah because of it. Funding her operations with bitcoin perfectly demonstrates its value proposition.”
• Blackballed by PayPal, Scientific-Paper Pirate Takes Bitcoin Donations
• Blackballed by PayPal, Scientific-Paper Pirate Takes Bitcoin Donations || BitMEX Owner HDR Appoints Former Bank of China Exec to Board: A former bank exec has said he will help “transform” BitMEX, just a week after the crypto derivatives exchange launched a new corporate service.
Announced Tuesday, BitMEX owner HDR Global Trading said David Wong – a former deputy CEO at Bank of China, the second-largest bank in Hong Kong – will join its board as a non-executive chairman to help grow and turn the Seychelles-based entity into a “world-class financial technology company.”
Wong had previously been the South-East Asian head of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, before heading up the financial markets division at Bank of China. Since leaving the latter bank in 2013, Wong has become a board member for a range of companies, including various real estate trusts and a life insurance company.
Related:To His Own Surprise, Crypto Volume Pumper's Business Is Still Thriving
According to hisBloomberg profile, he also sits on the board for Singapore’s Energy Market Authority, as well as its Civil Service College, which offers educational programs for government employees.
“Being able to attract someone of David’s calibre is a testament to the distance HDR has traveled,” said Arthur Hayes, HDR’s CEO and co-founder.
See also:BitMEX Sees Biggest Short Squeeze in 8 Months After Bitcoin Surge
In the same statement, Wong said HDR had an “inspiring vision for the future,” but didn’t elaborate on what that was or how he would help transform the company.
Related:Market Wrap: Bitcoin Traders Expect Big Move as Volatility Plummets
Last week, HDRlauncheda new account service for corporate customers, that comes with enhanced security and full-time relationship managers, liaisons between the exchange and clients, which are commonplace in traditional finance.
BitMEX declined to comment on the hiring when contacted by CoinDesk.
• BitMEX Owner HDR Appoints Former Bank of China Exec to Board
• BitMEX Owner HDR Appoints Former Bank of China Exec to Board || Market Wrap: With Low Volatility, Traders Seem to Like $9,000 Bitcoin: Over the past month, while market action has been relatively quiet, crypto traders have punched the buy button when bitcoin’s price drops below $9,000. Bitcoin (BTC) trading around $9,208 as of 20:00 UTC (4 p.m. ET), slipping 0.80% over the previous 24 hours. Bitcoin’s 24-hour range: $9,201-$9,379 BTC above 10-day and 50-day moving average, a bullish signal for market technicians, although trading volumes on Tuesday are lower than Monday. “Bitcoin managed to approach the level of $9,300, after which immediately rolled back to the $9,250 area,” said Constantine Kogan, partner at cryptocurrency fund of funds BitBull Capital. “The coin continues to trade in a narrow price range,” he said, adding that crypto markets are experiencing record low volatility. Read More: Exchanges See Drop in Volumes as Bitcoin Volatility Approaches 2020 Low Related: Introducing the CoinDesk 20: The Assets That Matter Most in Crypto “Such low volatility is uncharacteristic of bitcoin,” said Vishal Shah, an options trader and founder of derivatives exchange Alpha5. “However, this sentiment has permeated through the trading community.” Less volatility has translated into fewer options bets. Open interest has dropped since the June 26 expiration date and is now hovering at the $1.1 billion mark. That’s quite a bit off from where it was in June, when it hit a record $1.8 billion high, according to derivatives data aggregator Skew. The lack of action is causing vigilant traders to change their strategies. For example, there appears to be sentiment that bitcoin at $9,000 is a good price point for traders to buy. “Every time the market has poked its nose below $9,000, buyers have stepped in,” said Rupert Douglas, head of institutional sales at London-based broker Koine. Indeed, over the past month, when the world’s oldest cryptocurrency dipped below $9,000, traders scooped it up on spot markets like Coinbase. Story continues Related: As Gold Hits 9-Year High, Bitcoin Eyes Price Breakout Douglas says the narrow bitcoin price action might not last because most traders surely would like more volatility, which is what attracts many to crypto in the first place. “Bitcoin is coiled for a big move,” he told CoinDesk. “I still favor the upside. I think we will see bitcoin heading above $11,000 in short order when a move comes.” Read More: Lightspeed Invests $2.8M in Crypto Market Maker Wintermute Kyber DEX upgrade skyrockets token Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was in the red Tuesday, trading around $237, down 0.66% in 24 hours as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). Read More: Ethereum Activity Metric Hits Highest Level in 2 Years Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges, or DEX, have shined in 2020, with over $5 billion in volume this year so far, according to aggregator Dune Analytics. Kyber Network, a DEX and token project, recently upgraded to its Katalyst and KyberDAO protocol version. This has led to its governance token, Kyber Network Crystal, or KNC, to jump from $0.18 at the start of 2020 to $1.64 Tuesday. Traders are purchasing the Kyber token for its rewards as “staking” KNC generates an ether-based return on fees paid for using the DEX. “Kyber has upgraded to Katalyst,” said Peter Chan, a quantitative trader at Hong Kong-based OneBit Quant. “There has been a staggering 6 million staking in KNC already, very impressive.” Read More: Industry Group Seeks to Get Ahead on Staking Regulations Other markets Digital assets on CoinDesk’s big board are mixed Tuesday. Notable winners as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): cardano (ADA) +14.2% dogecoin (DOGE) +13% ethereum classic (ETC) +5.2% Read More: Cardano at One-Year High on Shelley Upgrade Notable losers as of 20:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): bitcoin sv (BSV) -3.8% tron (TRX) -3.8% xrp (XRP) -1.4% Equities: In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended the day down 0.44%. The index was dragged down by losses in the real estate and transportation sectors . The FTSE 100 index closed in the red 1.5%. Coronavirus concerns and fresh lockdowns sent European stocks lower Tuesday. The S&P 500 lost 1.1%. Losses in travel stocks ended the U.S. index’s five-day run of gains. Commodities: Oil is down 0.58%. Price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude: $40.35 Gold rallied in late trading Tuesday, up 0.78% at $1,796 per ounce Treasurys: U.S. Treasury bonds were mixed Tuesday. Yields, which move in the opposite direction as price, were down most on the 10-year, in the red 6.3%. Related Stories Market Wrap: With Low Volatility, Traders Seem to Like $9,000 Bitcoin Market Wrap: With Low Volatility, Traders Seem to Like $9,000 Bitcoin || Activists Document Police Misconduct Using Decentralized Protocol: Amid roiling protests over the police killing of George Floyd, activist-coders have launched a decentralized protocol to document police misconduct reports, which are usually difficult to obtain. The Police Accountability Now (PAN) Protocol is designed and built on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and the Ethereum blockchain, so it cant be shut down by any central entity. The aim is for civilians and police officers to file misconduct reports in an anonymous and searchable way. By giving people anonymity, the organizers hope to give officers a way to break the blue wall of silence, or police culture that discourages officers from reporting each other. This protocol is meant to enable anyone to create a gateway/front end and let anyone log complaints. If a police officer wishes to report misconduct anonymously, that is better for everyone because, as I understand it, police are supposed to serve their communities and reporting the misdeeds of their colleagues is part of that service, said the creator of the PAN protocol, who preferred not to give his real name but identified himself by the pseudonym Fred Hampton. (Fred Hamptonwas a Black Panther activist who was killed by law enforcement in 1969.) Related: Social Money Startup Inks Deal With Rapper Ja Rule, Releases Song With Lil B See also: Monero-for-Bail Project Sees Increased Demand During Protests Hampton said the idea for the protocol came about because, as a Black man in America, hed personally had to deal with police misconduct from a very early age and had an intimate relationship with the problem. Last Tuesday, the protocol launched on the Kovan testnet, a public Ethereum blockchain, covering police departments in the 50 most populous U.S. cities. It includes links to policies and procedures as well as department logos, with more information to come. The project asks users to file Freedom of Information Law requests to get officers names, badge numbers and other details to help populate the database. Story continues Police misconduct reports are hard to obtain for journalists, much less members of the public. Reports are rarely seen by people outside of the police department, and police unions have actively worked to put in place protections that make records hard to access. Some are even destroyed after a certain amount of time has lapsed. USA Today , in a recent expose, found 85,000 cops who had been investigated for misconduct in the last decade. Related: Status Keycard Now Works With Android Mobile Devices A project from WNYC , a New York City public radio station, found records are confidential in 23 states; another 15 provide limited accessibility. Only 12 states make the records public. Hampton said projects like the Chicago Reporters tracking of misconduct settlements are an after-the-fact documentation of the misconduct. And initiatives like the ACLUs apps to record police misconduct are not comprehensive. The goal with PAN protocol is to have an unstoppable database that is fully transparent and searchable. Anyone, such as police departments that wish to follow the latest executive order or local press, can monitor the chain for reports against their local department and act accordingly, said Hampton in an email. See also: Law Enforcement Data Requests Rose by Almost 50 Percent in 2019, Says Kraken While some may question the need for a decentralized approach, a previous example of monitoring police misconduct demonstrates why it may well be a necessity. A website launched in 2008 called RateMyCop acted as a review board for thousands of cops across the U.S. When it launched, it contained the names of over 140,000 police officers from more than 500 police departments across the United States. Akin to Yelp, it let users rate and leave reviews on cops. Having a website like that puts a lot of law enforcement, in my eyes, in danger because it exposes us out there, an officer told ABC at the time. The website did not list the identity of any undercover officers, nor did it contain information like home addresses. The goal with PAN protocol is to have an unstoppable database that is fully transparent and searchable. A few weeks later, the websites hosting company, GoDaddy, shut it down for suspicious activity. The project bounced between other hosting companies, but eventually shut down in 2015. A decentralized protocol wouldve stopped GoDaddy from being able to unilaterally take the website down. Essentially what youre doing with a website like this is youre providing an additional disincentive for officers to engage in this conduct, said Paul Hirschfield, a sociology professor at Rutgers University who is studying the social, political, and legal dynamics that explain why on-duty police violence rarely leads to criminal charges. This is potentially more organized than something like YouTube. Its saying we could put a whole sort of dossier together on you and if there is a pattern of behavior it would be exposed. See also: EUs Europol: Bitcoin Privacy Wallet Not Looking Good For Law Enforcement But he is concerned about the anonymity of people filing the reports though and the potential for people to make false reports . As it stands today, there is no mechanism to verify or verify reports posted. We leave vetting and verifying as an exercise to the reader, said Hampton. We highly encourage someone to build a follow on adjudication process/protocol that verifies/vets any claim put into the database. Such are the benefits and pitfalls of a decentralized protocol. There are also technical barriers to use that users would need to be overcome. The protocol lays out step by step instructions on how to access and post to the protocol on its website. Doing so involves getting a privacy protecting email address such as Protonmail, signing up for a free github account, claiming some free kETH, and if possible, use a VPN, or virtual private network. Hampton said he hopes that other people build on this protocol, making it easier for anyone to log complaints. Id recommend that they read the instructions carefully and do their best to educate themselves on the associated technologies before proceeding, said Hampton. Luckily no real money is at stake for them to report. Related Stories Activists Document Police Misconduct Using Decentralized Protocol Activists Document Police Misconduct Using Decentralized Protocol || Wyoming-Based Avanti to Open in October With a New Bank-Issued Digital Asset: Avanti Financial expects to open its doors this October with a new bank-issued digital asset.
Led by Wyoming blockchain advocate Caitlin Long, the crypto-friendly bank announced Thursday its application was accepted by the Wyoming Division of Banking on July 15. Avanti will open in the fall because the regulator accelerated the timeline of its application process.
In the same announcement, Avanti revealed its plans to issue Avit, a programmable digital asset that can only be issued by banks and will be treated as a cash equivalent. With Blockstream as the bank’s technology partner, Long said in an interview that “one could presume that the Bitcoin blockchain will be involved,” but could not comment further.
Related:Banks Won't Rush to Hold Crypto – But OCC's Regulatory Approval Makes It Harder to Ignore
Read more:Caitlin Long’s Avanti Raises $5M, Submits Wyoming Bank Charter Application Draft
If Avanti’s charter application is approved in October, the bank will be the only financial institution capable of issuing Avit. While Avit would not be pegged one-to-one to the U.S. dollar – because it’s a new digital asset, not a digital representation of a real-world asset – the currency would be 100% backed by a reserve of liquid traditional U.S. assets. (The bank requires this reserve for all the assets it custodies.)
Avanti claims Avit will not have the same delayed settlement and chargeback issues that traditional fiat payments face. Because an automated clearing house (ACH) transaction can be reversed several weeks after a payment has been made, exchanges and other asset service providers often hold traders’ cash for several days, Long said.
“There’s a lot of counterparty risk in OTC trading of digital assets,” Long said. “Everyone wants to settle second. What we’re doing is offering the ability for both sides to settle simultaneously.”
Related:Binance Enters German Market via Partnership With Crypto Investment Firm
The bank also claims Avit will not have the legal, accounting or tax issues associated with stablecoins.
“No one knows the legal enforceability of digital assets in the U.S. because they fall through the cracks,” Long said. “The legal clarity of all stableicons is not there. Tax and accounting is also far from clear.”
Read more:Banks in US Can Now Offer Crypto Custody Services, Regulator Says
Long argued that despite the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) letter clarifying that U.S. banks may provide crypto custody, the special purpose depository institution in Wyoming is still the most advanced framework for crypto custody in the U.S.
“The OCC and 49 other states do not yet have in place the comprehensive legal structure necessary for enabling digital asset custody without significant legal risk,” Long said in a press statement, adding:
“They also do not have a roadmap for courts to adjudicate disputes involving digital assets and do not provide the certainty in bankruptcy that Wyoming provides for digital asset custodians. Its prudential standards make Wyoming the only jurisdiction in the U.S. where digital asset custody in a bank can truly be executed in a safe and sound manner.”
The Wyoming Division of Banking did not return a request for comment by press time.
• Wyoming-Based Avanti to Open in October With a New Bank-Issued Digital Asset
• Wyoming-Based Avanti to Open in October With a New Bank-Issued Digital Asset || First Mover: Why Bitcoin Traders Couldn’t Give a Sat About the Twitter Hack: Cryptocurrency traders yawned at one of the year’s biggest news stories for bitcoin, with prices barely budging as the digital-asset industry became a primary victim of this week’s massive hack on Twitter accounts. The notoriously volatile bitcoin slid just 0.8% to about $9,100 on Thursday after slipping a meager 0.7% on Wednesday as the news hit. That’s in a market where it’s not uncommon, at least until recently , for prices to swing 8% in a day. You’re reading First Mover , CoinDesk’s daily markets newsletter. Assembled by the CoinDesk Markets Team, First Mover starts your day with the most up-to-date sentiment around crypto markets, which of course never close, putting in context every wild swing in bitcoin and more. We follow the money so you don’t have to. You can subscribe here . Related: The Origins of the World's Oldest Bitcoin Metric, Explained “It’s a non-event for price,” Matt Blom, head of sales and trading for the cryptocurrency firm Diginex , told First Mover in an email. Scamming people out of their bitcoin was, at least on the surface, the goal of what the social-media platform called a “coordinated social engineering attack.” The hackers took over the Twitter accounts of the cryptocurrency exchanges Binance, Coinbase and Gemini, as well as those of celebrities including former Vice President Joe Biden and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. CoinDesk got hit, too. As clues on the attack continue to trickle out, cryptocurrency analysts have begun to unpack the market implications for bitcoin – some positive and some negative – and why it all washes out. “I think you did not see much market reaction because it was unclear what narrative would develop following the breach, and so traders were frozen,” John Todaro, of the cryptocurrency research firm TradeBlock, wrote in an email. Story continues Related: Market Wrap: Derivatives, Altcoins Take Market Spotlight as Bitcoin Dozes at $9,100 1) The scale of the bitcoin obtained was relatively small. PRICE IMPACT: NEUTRAL. The bitcoin obtained through the hack amounted to roughly $120,000, a tiny fraction of the cryptocurrency’s $168 billion market capitalization . Less than one 10-millionth, in fact. That’s not too far off from the scale of the satoshi, or “sat,” which is the smallest unit of bitcoin, at one 100-millionth. Last year alone, there were at least seven major cryptocurrency exchange hacks , including $ 40 million from Binance and $49 million from South Korea’s Upbit . “The one thing that could have made it a bigger deal is if the hackers got more than $100K,” Martin Garcia, managing director at the cryptocurrency trading firm Genesis, wrote in an email. “If they had raised like $100 million, then I guarantee BTC would have sold off, as the market would have expected the hackers to sell to fiat somewhere, crushing the price. But given the amount, no big deal.” (Genesis is owned by the investment firm Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.) 2) No publicity is bad publicity. PRICE IMPACT: POSITIVE. The episode could aid bitcoin’s name recognition, which theoretically could accelerate consumer adoption, at least on the margin. News articles about the hack appeared in the New York Times , Wall Street Journal and many other mainstream U.S. publications. The story was widely discussed on Twitter . Interest in the keyword “bitcoin” briefly surged on Google . “While I don’t condone the incident in any way, I must admit I’m pleased to see the rapid surge in popularity of bitcoin it has caused,” Jay Hao, CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, wrote in a post on LinkedIn . “The hack itself is unfortunate, of course, but thanks to Twitter, bitcoin is grabbing the headlines again, and that can only be a good thing in the push to wider adoption.” 3) The episode could invite further regulatory and law-enforcement scrutiny of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. PRICE IMPACT: NEGATIVE. The FBI said Thursday it’s investigating the event . U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, called on Twitter to cooperate . New York Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the state to conduct a full investigation . “Yesterday’s attack targeted the Twitter accounts of virtual currency companies,” Linda Lacewell, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services, said in a statement. “The department will leverage its deep expertise to bring the facts to light.” 4) The attack highlights the benefits of bitcoin’s decentralized network. PRICE IMPACT: POSITIVE. The fact Twitter’s systems appear to have been hacked could redirect attention to the fact that the Bitcoin blockchain is a distributed network of computers, reducing central points of failure or weakness. “It showcases weaknesses in centralized systems and a need for more decentralized applications,” Lennard Neo, head of research at Stack Funds, told First Mover in a WhatsApp message. 5) Early efforts to track down the perpetrator and scammed bitcoin highlight the transparency of the blockchain network. PRICE IMPACT: POSITIVE. Private cryptocurrency-forensic firms including Chainalysis, CipherTrace and Elliptic have already started to probe the event, using publicly available data from the Bitcoin blockchain. As reported by CoinDesk’s Will Foxley, it appears the hacker was a trader on the crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX , and it’s pretty straightforward to document the inflows of bitcoin into the hacker’s listed account address as the scam unfolded. “You can track the crypto coming into the hacker crypto addresses,” the Binance-owned data website CoinMarketCap wrote Thursday in a blog post . 6) Bitcoin is worth stealing. PRICE IMPACT: POSITIVE. The billionaire investor Warren Buffett has said that bitcoin has “ no value .” If that was the case, why steal it? “If anything, it just proves that bitcoin is a form of a valuable money that a hacker might want,” Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer of the cryptocurrency investment manager Arca , told First Mover in an email. 7) Cryptocurrency is so frequently used in scams that the latest episode isn’t really all that surprising. PRICE IMPACT: NEUTRAL. “To say that everybody now knows that hackers prefer bitcoin has no effect, because everybody knows that already,” Mati Greenspan, founder of the cryptocurrency research firm Quantum Economics, said in a phone interview. 8) The event could raise awareness of the imperative for security precautions among new cryptocurrency investors. It also might scare some would-be investors away. PRICE IMPACT: NEUTRAL. CoinDesk’s Leigh Cuen reported Thursday that many authentic Twitter users were no longer able to tweet bitcoin addresses . “That has a huge silver lining, because it’s not good practice to publish your public key,” Greenspan said. “That’ll probably save a couple noobs from making noob mistakes.” Tweet of the day Bitcoin watch BTC : Price: $9,115 ( BPI ) | 24-Hr High: $9,157 | 24-Hr Low: $9,066 Trend : Bitcoin continues to stubbornly trade within a tight range above $9,000. The leading cryptocurrency hasn’t had a 5% daily move for 24 straight days, the longest stretch of such low daily volatility since the end of March 2019. Prolonged periods of price consolidation tend to end with a sudden violent move on either side. So far, however, the cryptocurrency has refused to wake from its multi-month slumber. Technical studies indicate scope for a price drop in the short-term. For instance, the four-hour chart shows a failed breakout, a bearish sign. Meanwhile, the daily chart MACD histogram, an indicator used to identify trend strength and trend changes, has crossed below zero in favor of the bears. In addition, put options (or bearish bets) expiring in one- and three-months are drawing higher prices (or stronger demand) than call options (or bullish bets). As such, it seems traders are anticipating a sell-off. Immediate support is located at $9,000, which if breached, would shift the focus to $8,630 – the support of the higher low created on May 27. Meanwhile, resistance is seen at $9,480 (July 8 high). A move above that level is needed to invalidate a bearish lower-highs setup on the 4-hour chart and open the doors for $9,800-$10,000. Related Stories First Mover: Why Bitcoin Traders Couldn’t Give a Sat About the Twitter Hack First Mover: Why Bitcoin Traders Couldn’t Give a Sat About the Twitter Hack || Bitmain Co-Founder Offers Share Buyback at $4B Valuation to End Power Struggle: Zhan Ketuan, the once-ousted Bitmain co-founder who returned to power earlier this month, is proposing a solution to end the firms internal war. In a letter Sunday, Zhan, who as Bitmains biggest shareholder owns 36% of its stock, offered to buy back shares possessed by rival co-founder Wu Jihan, several founding members and some of Bitmain employees, at a company valuation of $4 billion. Wu controls about 20% of Bitmain and three other founding members own about 15% in total. Bitmains employee stock option pool has another 19% and the remaining 10% belongs to external investors. Related: Bitmain Read more: How Was It Possible for Bitmain to Oust Its Largest Shareholder Overnight? But Zhans $4 billion valuation of the firm is significantly down from a market high seen in the summer 2018. Bitmain had been valued at around $1 billion in September 2017 during its Series A round. When it went into high-profile fundraising in August 2018, it was valued at $12 billion and eventually $14.5 billion in a pre-IPO round. The offer comes in an effort to bring about negotiations that could end the divisions that have been tearing the company apart since Zhan clawed his way back into the firm after being ousted by Wu last October. Chip threat In addition to causing division among employees, the power struggle is endangering the firms miner manufacturing processes. Related: Bitcoin Miner Maker Ebang Estimates $2.5M Loss for Q1 in IPO Prospectus Update Zhans letter had been in response to a Sunday statement on Beijing Bitmains official website, which is controlled by Wu, saying its Hong Kong parent entity had cut off the chip processor supply chain to its Shenzhen factory. Bitmain Hong Kong has suspended the chip supply for the time being to Century Cloud Core, which is now controlled by Zhans relatives, until we are assured, through negotiation with Zhans relatives, that they are committed to protecting the interest of Bitmains customers and of the company as a whole, the statement reads. Story continues Bitmain Technologies Limited in Hong Kong is Bitmains offshore sales and procurement center for crypto mining hardware. The bitcoin miners manufacturing business relies on computing chips supplied by semiconductor companies. Since Zhans forceful return to the firm, he had seized control of Century Cloud Core, Bitmains packaging factory and warehouse in Shenzhen, and paused shipments to customers. According to a former employee at Beijing Bitmain who is familiar with the matter, Zhans brother-in-law, Zhou Feng, has been placed in charge of the Shenzhen entity. In his letter, Zhan responded that, if necessary, he would procure chips directly via Beijing Bitmain, even if that would cause a great deal of loss for the company as a whole. He further accused Wu of, among other things, forging a resolution passed by a claimed shareholder meeting last November at the Bitmains Cayman Islands-based holding entity. In fact, the meeting was never held because several other shareholders including Zhan Ketuan as the biggest stakeholder never received a notice of such meeting ever, Zhan claimed. Read more: Bitmains Power Struggle Takes Toll on Customers as Co-Founder Halts Shipments Beijing Bitmain Technology Ltd. is a fully owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Bitmain Technologies Ltd. That, in turn, is fully owned by the ultimate controlling entity, BitMain Technologies Holding, which incorporated in the Caymans but also registered in Hong Kong. When ousting Zhan in October last year, Wu filed to the Hong Kong government to have Zhans name removed as a board director at the Cayman holding company. The two sides now have an ongoing legal case in the Cayman Islands with regards to disputes over Zhans 60% voting power at Bitmain. Related Stories Bitmain Co-Founder Offers Share Buyback at $4B Valuation to End Power Struggle Bitmain Co-Founder Offers Share Buyback at $4B Valuation to End Power Struggle
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 10990.87, 10912.82, 11100.47, 11111.21, 11323.47, 11759.59, 11053.61, 11246.35, 11205.89, 11747.02
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2018-02-14]
BTC Price: 9494.63, BTC RSI: 47.77
Gold Price: 1355.50, Gold RSI: 63.70
Oil Price: 60.60, Oil RSI: 41.89
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Better Buy: Himax Technologies, Inc. vs. Cypress Semiconductor: Sometimes deciding between two particular stocks is a no-brainer. When one stock is poised for years of growth and another is dying on the vine, the decision is an easy one. However, in the case of which is the better buy, Himax Technologies (NASDAQ: HIMX) vs Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ: CY) , the answer is far from cut-and-dried. Himax and its lineup of display drivers and wafer-level optics (WLO) have been on a fabulous roll recently, and all signs point to its positive results gaining momentum this year. Cypress and its wearables, automotive infotainment touchscreens, memory, and fingerprint security solutions are also humming along. So, which is the better buy? Though I'm bullish on both, one has a slight edge. Picture of a scale with one side weighed down by a gold ball. Image source: Getty Images. The case for Himax The end of 2017 and the first half of 2017 were undeniably rough. This time last year, CEO Jordan Wu warned investors that Himax had dropped the ball. The problems were inadequate capacity to meet WLO demand and delays in product development. The issues caused some investors to become even more bearish toward Himax. One naysayer went as far as to suggest Wu was guilty of fraudulent behavior, which was a head-scratcher and strongly denied by the company. Wu didn't couch Himax's troubles in CEO-speak as so many do: In fact, he did just the opposite. Himax demonstrated last quarter the return to growth Wu had promised has come to fruition: And 2018 will be even better. Virtually every one of Himax's business segments improved sequentially last quarter, led by a jaw-dropping 86% jump in non-driver business revenue to $55 million. Display drivers still account for the majority of revenue, but non-drivers now equate to a record 28% of total sales. The icing on the cake was news that Himax, in collaboration with Qualcomm , is close to delivering its new 3D sensing solution early this year. The SLiM 3D offering is billed as "the "only true 3D sensing total solution" available today for Android OS smartphones. The new product will be ready for mass production this quarter. Story continues Other than carrying $147.2 million in short-term notes, which Himax has restricted cash set aside as collateral, it's debt-free. With no debt and cash flow soaring more than five times to $16.9 million last quarter, Himax's 2.33% dividend yield is safe. Computerized image of a plane, garbage truck, and train all interconnected via lines and data points. Image source: Getty Images. The case for Cypress Not only is Cypress positioned to benefit from burgeoning IoT, fingerprint security, and memory solution markets, it's already leading the charge. Last quarter's $604.6 million in total revenue was a 14% increase compared to a year ago, and thanks to the company keeping a handle on overhead, per-share earnings soared 29% to $0.27, excluding one-time items. The balance of Cypress's three primary divisions, multipoint control units (MCU) -- used in programmable and IoT wireless solutions -- memory, and connectivity, also bodes well for the future. MCU accounted for 34% of Cypress' sales in the third quarter, memory 38%, and connectivity 28%. That product diversification acts as a buffer should a particular offering undergo pricing pressure or lower-than-expected demand in a particular quarter. Cypress' efficiency was also evident in last quarter's operating margin of 19%, well above 2016's 13.4%. Based on guidance for the current quarter, Cypress fully expects to keep its positive momentum going. At the $595 million midpoint of revenue expectations of between $580 million to $610 million, Cypress would generate a 12% bump in sales. Considering how well Cypress is delivering, don't be surprised if its total revenue is on the high end of guidance. It's no wonder Cypress stock is up 50% the past 12 months. Toss in its meager valuation of just 14 times forward earnings and 2.55% dividend yield, and Cypress is still a growth and income bargain despite its stellar stock price gains. The envelope please... Both Himax and Cypress offer outstanding upside potential, and with their 2%-plus payouts they're sound income alternatives as well. That said, Cypress' product diversification, the opportunities its core markets represent, and relative value earn it the ever-so-slight nod as the better buy More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Tim Brugger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends Cypress Semiconductor. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || The Great Bitcoin Crash May Only Be Getting Started (BTC): FromSteven Vannelli, CFA: Bitcoin prices have corrected severely in the last 48 hours. The newsflow suggests investors have concerns about increased regulation in China and South Korea.
No doubt these headlines have spooked investors, but I think there is something else at work.
Over the last year, Bitcoin has increased 1000%, going from $1,000 to $10,000. And this is after an almost 50% correction from peak to present.
Mainstream financial products now exist that allow investors to speculate on Bitcoin. Specifically, on November 25, the Chicago Board Option Exchange (CBOE) started trading Bitcoin futures. Then on December 17, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) starting trading Bitcoin futures as well. In the chart below showing Bitcoin over the last year at 60 minutes intervals, I call out the initiation of each contract. At the start of trading in each of these futures, Bitcoin gapped up by around $1,000. Soon after the CME contract started trading, Bitcoin prices closed the gap in a bearish fashion. It now appears that the gap created in the wake of the initiation of the CBOE futures may be filled as well.
We’ve noticed a few interesting cross asset relationships that have emerged since the start of the CBOE futures. First, Bitcoin is inversely correlated with gold prices. I inverted the left scale in the chart below showing that when gold rises, Bitcoin drops.
We see the same pattern when we look at the shorter history of the CME contract.
Next, Bitcoin is positively correlated to the US Dollar. Here again, we compared the USD Index to Bitcoin since the initiation of the CBOE contract.
A clearer picture emerges when we compare the CME contract to the USD Index.
The bottom line is that Bitcoin has matured quickly and for whatever reason, is now behaving a lot like the US Dollar. As inflationary pressures rise, the USD continues to fall and gold marches upward, Bitcoin prices may face continued pressure. My initial target price is $8,000, expecting the gap created in the wake of the CBOE contract to be closed. If the USD keeps falling, this may prove optimistic.
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This article is brought to you courtesy ofKnowledge Leaders Capital. || Is Making Less Money Better Than Making More Money?: If you were offered the choice of $1 or $0.83, no strings attached, I suspect you'd make the rational choice and take $1. After all, $1 is more than $0.83, and having more money is better than having less money, right? Well, some companies like KKR & Co. (NYSE: KKR) think that the answer isn't necessarily that obvious. The private equity giant is thinking about changing its corporate structure so it pays more in taxes, resulting in lower earnings, which might actually be good news for its stock. Maybe. Sometimes finance makes no sense Companies are valued based on their earnings, so a company that earns more should theoretically be worth more than a company that earns less, all else equal. That's the obvious, mathematical and logical conclusion. But the real world operates under different rules where sometimes things don't always make sense. KKR and its private-equity peers including Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) aren't normal corporations. They're partnerships, which gives them certain controversial tax benefits that result in exceptionally low tax rates. KKR's effective tax rate is normally in the neighborhood of 5% to 10%, much less than the 35% rate most corporations paid last year, and still less than the current 21% tax rate. Paying almost nothing in taxes is cool, but being a publicly traded partnership (PTP) has its disadvantages, of which the biggest is that some investors simply won't own them. Individuals don't like them because they don't want to deal with K-1 tax stuff . Mutual funds won't own them because pass-through entities make their funds score poorly for tax efficiency. Plus, most stock market indexes exclude partnerships for much of the same reason: The funds that track the indexes don't like the marketing problem of passing on a tax burden to people who invest in index funds. The people who make the indexes get paid by the people who run the funds that track them, so index makers largely serve the interests of the funds who pay them big licensing fees . No surprise there. Story continues Making money by losing it Stocks are priced based on earnings, but they're really priced based on supply and demand. If more people can buy your stock, then maybe your stock might trade at a higher price. At least that's what KKR, Blackstone, and Apollo -- as well as the analysts that follow them -- have been trying to figure out. KKR explained the issue pretty succinctly in its most recent conference call. In order for it to justify the conversion from a partnership to a C corporation, and thus pay higher taxes, its price to earnings ratio would have to increase from roughly 9.3 times earnings to about 11.2 times earnings to basically break even for its investors. In other words, if earnings drop 17%, the price-to-earnings multiple has to go up about 24% for the stock price to stay the same. Of course, it's entirely possible that KKR's valuation actually goes up even more after converting, in which case its existing shareholders are made wealthier by the fact the company will actually earn less money. Man putting $1 bill in a suit pocket. This guy doesn't know $0.83 is worth more than his $1 bill. Image source: Getty Images. Look, I know this all sounds really silly, but I'm not going to rule out the possibility that private equity stocks might trade at higher prices if they were ordinary corporations. After all, if they could get into stock market indexes, all the index funds that track the indexes would have to buy shares of the private equity companies. Since index funds do more holding than buying or selling, they'd take a lot of stock off the market, and would be forced to slowly increase their holdings as more money piles into index funds with each passing day. Index funds have become a powerhouse in the market, so it's not entirely unrealistic. Funds managed by Vanguard, State Street , and BlackRock are commonly ranked as the top three owners of public companies. (For perspective, funds managed by the "big three" own about 14% of Apple .) Actively managed funds obviously own a lot of stock, too, though like index funds they also tend to shun publicly traded partnerships, but they might buy KKR or Blackstone stock if they were structured as your everyday corporate entity. No one can say for sure, though. Barriers to the switch For now, the one thing standing in the way of a corporate conversion is that no private equity company wants to be the first one to take the plunge, preferring to wait for someone else to be the lab rat test subject for a study on whether making less money is actually a good thing. Who will go first? Some think Ares Management is a likely candidate to convert, since more of its income is derived from management fees, which don't get the preferential tax treatment that incentive fees do. Since this is the topic-of-the-hour in private equity, I'm sure we'll hear more about this issue on Ares Management's next conference call. Truthfully, this whole ordeal wouldn't be as interesting if it involved any other industry. Private equity firms are often portrayed as ruthless number crunchers who will do anything to turn $1 into $2, so it is kind of funny that KKR is starting to wonder if its next act should be turning $1 into $0.83. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Jordan Wathen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends KKR. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Why You're Probably Never Getting a Real Raise From Social Security: In 2018, Social Security recipients got a 2% raise thanks to the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA). While a 2% raise should theoretically result in about $27 more per month for seniors who received the average retirement benefit of $1,377 in 2017, many seniors will see no bump in income at all. For those whose Social Security benefits didn't rise in 2018, it'll be business as usual. Social Security raises have been small in recent years, if they've happened at all. And, even when seniors get a COLA that bumps up their monthly checks, the raise doesn't usually increase purchasing power -- which means it's not a real raise. Here's why this happens. Mature couple looking at financial papers and using a calculator. Image source: Getty Images. Cost-of-living adjustments aren't keeping pace with rising expenses Social Security raises come in the form of cost-of-living adjustments calculated based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) -- despite the fact that most seniors are neither urban wage earners nor clerical workers. CPI-W is a price index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that tracks how much prices rise on things like food, housing, and transportation. Unfortunately, CPI-W doesn't give as much weight as it should to rising prices on things seniors spend most of their money on -- like healthcare -- because it emphasizes the things urban wage earners do with their dollars, like paying for education, apparel, and entertainment. This chart shows the breakdown of expenditure categories given the most weight in CPI-W, along with two other consumer price indexes. Chart showing relative impact of expenditures for different consumer price indexes Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because CPI-W underweights categories of spending seniors actually spend a disproportionate share of their money on, seniors are getting cost of living adjustments that are too small given the realities of their spending patterns. Seniors have gotten an average cost of living adjustment of just 1.35% per year from 2010 to 2018, with no raises at all in two of eight years. In 2016 alone, out-of-pocket health spending grew by 3.9%, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Story continues A different index, CPI-E, which is tailored to measure spending habits of the elderly, has shown the actual cost of living for seniors is likely increasing faster than CPI-W suggests. In fact, from 1982 to 2011, CPI-E rose an annual average of 3.1% compared with CPI-W increases of 2.9%. Much of this discrepancy is explained by both shelter costs outpacing overall inflation and, more significantly, by a 5.1% annual increase in medical care costs compared with a 2.8% cost increase for all non-medical items. If you get an average raise that's lower than the actual increase in your cost of living, you haven't gotten a real raise even if the check looks bigger. And as long as CPI-W continues to be the metric by which Social Security raises are measured, COLA adjustments are likely to continue to be too low for seniors to actually increase their purchasing power. Medicare premiums typically increase faster than Social Security Speaking of medical expenses going up, it's not just rising copays and increasing prescription drug prices that make Social Security raises nothing more than a mirage. Rising Medicare premiums can literally cause your Social Security raise to disappear so you don't even get a bigger Social Security benefit deposited. When you're receiving Social Security and Medicare, as most seniors are, your Medicare Part B premiums are typically deducted right from your Social Security benefit. These Medicare premiums don't stay steady -- they regularly increase. Seniors don't always have to pay this increase right away. Medicare sets a standard premium, which was $134 in 2017 per month. However, if Medicare premiums go up more than COLAs, most seniors don't pay the full standard premium thanks to "hold harmless" provisions that prevent Social Security checks from getting smaller due to Medicare increases. Since seniors saw bigger Medicare increases than COLAs, most seniors in 2017 had only $109 deducted from their Social Security benefits for Medicare premiums -- $25 less than premiums actually cost. But, when seniors do get a COLA, those seniors protected by hold harmless provisions need to catch back up to paying the standard premium. This means all those seniors paying only $109 now need to pay the 2018 standard premiums, which remained at $134 per month. This $25 increase means the average $27 raise seniors were getting all but disappears, which explains why around 70% of retirees won't see any extra money in 2018 despite the 2% COLA. This problem is likely to reoccur in the future and again prevent seniors from getting a bigger benefits check. How can you maximize your Social Security benefits? Since Social Security raises probably aren't going to improve your standard of living, the only thing you can do if you plan to rely on Social Security for a large portion of your income is to try to get the maximum benefit possible. This often means working longer, as Social Security benefits decline if you retire before full retirement age but increase if you wait, up until age 70. Of course, even if you get the maximum Social Security benefits, living on Social Security alone is almost impossible . Saving and investing during your career so you have a big nest egg means you won't have to depend on Social Security and it won't matter so much if you receive a paltry raise or no raise at all. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || CNN Reporter Celebrates New Year’s Eve and Legal Recreational Pot by Lighting Reveler’s Bong: AsCalifornia prepared to legalize marijuana sales, CNN reporter Randi Kaye ended 2017 on a “high” note, covering New Year’s Eve in Colorado, where recreational cannabis has been legal since 2012.
Giving the Sunshine State a glimpse of its future, the CNN News fixture handled joints at a “paint and puff” party and even lit a gas mask bong for one reveler.
“I just want to point out, that this is all legal in Colorado,” host Anderson Cooper told co-host Andy Cohen.
While Kaye did not appear to partake in any drug use herself, Twitter users provided commentary as she rode a pot bus, which took revelers to various pot-related stops, including a marijuana grow house.
But not everyone was loving CNN’s cannabis-friendly coverage. Some people online noted their distaste of the report.
This could be, in part, because it’s become exceedingly rare to watch people even smoke tobacco on television. A 1971 law barred cigarette advertisements from the small screen, and a 1986 follow-up added smokeless products to the banned ads. Television programming followed suit, with fewer characters sparking their lighters in subsequent years.
But this isn’t the first time that CNN and Kaye teamed up on marijuana coverage. Here’s a 2014 clip about a previous Kaye “joint” investigation:
See original article on Fortune.com
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• Bitcoin, Pot Startups Embrace Regulations to Succeed || What to Expect From Alcoa Corp. in 2018: There's not much forAlcoa(NYSE: AA)shareholders to complain about when it comes to 2017. The stock nearly doubled in the year, which is no small feat for a company that began the year valued at just over $5 billion. It certainly earned the catapult ride higher.
The bauxite, alumina, and aluminum producer increased free cash flow from just $3 million in the first quarter of 2017 to $288 million in the third quarter of 2017. Its cash balance jumped past $1.1 billion. Revenue is climbing each quarter and profits are rolling in more consistently than in the past. By all accounts, Alcoaabsolutely crushed it in 2017.
Now it's time to look ahead. Here's what to expect from Alcoa in 2018.
Image source: Getty Images.
When the former Alcoa split into two companies,Arconicand the new Alcoa, I thought Arconic made off with all of the exciting businesses and growth opportunities dealing in engineered materials. The company focused solely on the aluminum value chain, which was comprised ofcommodity productsthat were oversupplied at the time. This seemed like a fragile strategy to me. Boy, have I been proven wrong.
The split turned out to be an awesome move for Alcoa. Arconic may have received the exciting products in the split, but it also got saddled with the lion's share of the former company's debt. That provided the new Alcoa a squeaky clean balance sheet and an opportunity to focus on improving operational efficiency. Management has delivered so far -- and the timing couldn't be better.
The global markets for bauxite, alumina, and aluminum are all expected to be relatively balanced at the beginning of 2018. That may not sound like a catalyst, but considering that each has struggled with oversupply in recent years, it's a bigger springboard than most people may realize.
Multiple factors are at play. Global demand for aluminum likely finished 2017 up 5.5% compared to 2016. China's hungry industrial complexes are continuing to fuel the expansion, but the country is also serving as the driving force for bauxite and alumina markets, too.
Image source: Getty Images.
New environmental regulations aimed at curbing pollution have resulted in significantly tighter markets and new seasonal trends in the bauxite market. Chinese alumina smelters are expected to take a significant amount of production offline this winter to meet new air-quality requirements. Additionally, China's two major bauxite-producing provinces are creating fresh concerns over supply availability as increased environmental inspections and stricter safety enforcement could disrupt mining.
That has and may continue to drive prices for bauxite, alumina, and aluminum higher as uncertainty in the world's largest market disrupts global trade flows both in and out of China. And that promises to be a great long-term opportunity for Alcoa. The company boasts attractive cost positions in bauxite, alumina, and aluminum with its global footprint.
Of course, the near-term impacts are completely dependent on balances in the three markets. Management currently expects all to remain relatively balanced in 2018, which could result in more modest selling-price gains for aluminum compared to the 17% rise witnessed in 2017. Then again, forecasting the equilibrium between supply and demand has proven more unpredictable recently than in years past, requiring updates in each quarterly period.
Alcoa spent 2017 rooting out operational inefficiencies and doubling down on growth projects. That strategy promises to continue to pay off in 2018, although likely not accompanied by a near doubling of the stock price as was the case in the most recently completed year.
The best-case scenario for the company would include proving that the recent operational improvements have staying power, and are not merely a fluke. That would allow Alcoa to continue bolstering its cash position -- $1 billion is the minimum level management thinks it needs to weather a market downturn -- and invest in growth opportunities or new technologies to drive costs down even further. Perhaps a few shuttered smelters could even be brought back online in the near term if market conditions allow.
All in all, 2018 could be another solid year for Alcoa, although just how sweet the outcome is will come down to policy decisions in China.
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Maxx Chatskohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Markus Heitkoetter's ''Bitcoin Trading Course Scam'' Video Gains Traction: AUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 30, 2017 /A recent Facebook video from Markus Heitkoetter, Founder and CEO of Rockwell Trading, got a lot of social media attention on Facebook. The video, which was titled ''Bitcoin Trading Course Scam,'' got mixed reactions from netizens as they weighed in on his opinions.
The video by Heitkoetter, a former IBM executive turned successful stock trader, openly called cryptocurrency trading courses as nothing more than a scam.
Showing BTC (Bitcoin) and LTC (Litecoin) charts from Yahoo Finance, Heitkoetter rationalizes his take on why Bitcoin trading courses are a scam by saying:
''Bitcoin went from a few hundred dollars to almost $20,000. Now let me ask you this. How much of a genius do you really have to be to trade this? All you need to do is buy it, and then in the next few days, it will go up.....until it doesn't. It (trading cryptocurrencies) is nothing more than a buy and hope approach, and has nothing to do with 'actual trading'.''
Though some of his statements were met with criticism, there is some sensible logic behind what Heitkoetter is saying. Unlike regular trading formats where traders and investors use company fundamentals as basis for their trades, trading cryptocurrencies only requires the demand for a specific ''coin'' to go up for its investors to make money. So with this very basic money making principle, it somewhat eliminates the need for any actual course or tutorial to invest in cryptocurrencies.
This simplistic approach makes it one of the key reasons why regular individuals, even those without any trading background, are in a mad rush to invest in cryptocurrencies.
To further cement his point, Heitkoetter sarcastically comes up with his own pseudo tutorial on how to trade cryptocurrencies on his video.
''Let me explain to you how to trade Bitcoin, or any cryptocurrency if you want to do this. It's very easy and simple, and only takes three steps.
You need to open an account with a 'vault' or 'wallet.' It doesn't matter which one you choose.
You then buy a cryptocurrency, because that's all you can do. You can't short it, all you can do is buy.
And the most important thing is, you 'spray and pray.' You buy these currencies and hope that one of them makes an explosive move just like Bitcoin.
This 'buy and hope' approach has nothing to do with 'trading.' And I don't know why these courses are even called 'trading courses'.''
As of writing this article, Heitkoetter's Facebook video ''Bitcoin Trading Course Scam'' has had 7,100 views, 28 shares, and 82 interactions.
The full video by Markus Heitkoetter is available at this link:https://web.facebook.com/markusheitkoetter/videos/119504802082392/.
Contact Rockwell Trading:
Markus Heitkoetter(512) 553-0835support@rockwelltrading.com5905 Rittenhouse Shore Dr.Austin, Texas 78734
SOURCE:Rockwell Trading Services LLC || Overstock and Coinbase briefly mixed up Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash: A glitch on Overstock's website allowed users to send amounts of Bitcoin Cash to Overstock when the system was expecting Bitcoin, leading to drastic discounts on many items. Given that BTC is about $14,000 and Bitcoin Cash is $2,400, the mistake could have been quite costly.
Originally reported byBrian Krebs, the exploit allowed you to send the required amount of BTC in Bitcoin Cash. Then, when you asked for a refund, the system would refund you in Bitcoin. This meant you could send, say, .048 ($135.91) in Bitcoin Cash on a .048 ($700) Bitcoin item, cancel the order, and receive .045 BTC back.
Wrote Krebs:
Logging into Coinbase, I took the bitcoin address and pasted that into the “pay to:” field, and then toldCoinbaseto send 0.00475574 in bitcoin cash instead of bitcoin. The site responded that the payment was complete. Within a few seconds I received an email from Overstock congratulating me on my purchase and stating that the items would be shipped shortly.
Krebs noted that this scam could have netted quite a profit. If a user had paid the BTC equivalent of a$100,000 diamond ringin Bitcoin Cash they could have sent over $15,000 and, after a refund, gotten $100,000 of Bitcoin. It's a funny -- and scary -- glitch that Coinbase has since fixed. || U.S. companies list blockchain ETFs as bitcoin proposals languish: By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors looking to profit from excitement surrounding bitcoin technology will get a new opportunity this week. Funds coming to market on Wednesday will purchase shares of companies, such as Hitachi Ltd <6501.T>, Accenture plc <ACN.N> and Overstock.com Inc <OSTK.O>, that may benefit from the digital asset's underlying technology. Rather than buying wild-trading "cryptocurrencies" themselves, the funds' tactic has mollified uneasy regulators who have denied or tabled more than a dozen proposals for funds that would own bitcoin or futures based on them. Amplify Investments LLC and Reality Shares Inc are each launching exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in companies betting on blockchain, the decentralized technology bitcoin uses to keep a running record of transactions. Companies from JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> to Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> and Intel Corp <INTC.O> said blockchain can help them streamline processes, such as settling financial transactions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) insisted the ETFs not include the word blockchain in their names if the stocks they hold do not directly collect a significant portion of their revenue from the technology, according to people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg News first reported the SEC's discussions with companies over their funds' proposed names. But the funds - Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF and Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF - will nonetheless trade with the tickers BLOK and BLCN. Bitcoin's 1,500 percent surge last year stoked investor demand for any product with exposure to the asset. Bitcoin <BTC=BTSP> last fell 15.5 percent to $11,500 on the Bitstamp exchange following reports suggesting South Korea could ban trading in cryptocurrencies. The Reality Shares fund's backers have said that buying companies that use blockchain to cut costs or start new business lines is a more conservative approach to investing than buying bitcoin directly because those companies are dependent on more factors than just that technology succeeding. Story continues Eastman Kodak Co <KODK.N> shares more than doubled last week after the one-time photography leader said it would launch a cryptocurrency called KODAKCoin. Soft drinks maker Long Island Iced Tea's shares have doubled since that company shifted its focus to blockchain and changed its name to Long Blockchain Corp <LBCC.O>. Three other companies have filed proposals for funds that invest primarily in stocks with blockchain exposure. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Andrew Hay) || North Korea may suddenly want talks because of how powerful it has become: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ignored recent peace overtures from Seoul but he's due on Tuesday to hold a formal dialogue with his southern neighbor for the first time in more than two years. The sudden interest in talks may have something to do with Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal."The North has made significant advances in its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program so I think they feel a bit more willing to engage in talks now that they've actually demonstrated an incipient nuclear capability that can strike the U.S.," said Taylor Fravel, associate political science professor at MIT. In November, the rogue state launched a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland . Known as the Hwasong-15, it can fly over 13,000 kilometers, or 8,080 miles. Speaking on the sidelines of the UBS Greater China Conference in Shanghai, Fravel said he isn't expecting much from Tuesday's discussion, which he believes will largely focus on potential North Korean participation at the Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of PyeongChang. Kim has said that he was open to sending a delegation to the sporting event . In response, South KoreanPresident Moon Jae-In's administrationoffered high-level talksto Pyongyang. "The key thing to watch is whether or not there's a second round of talks," said Fravel, who's also a member of the board of directors for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. "Certainly, not very much can be resolved in one meeting ... we'll have to see just how far the North is willing to go."For now, expectations of North Korean provocation during the Olympics are low.Kim is "clearly signalling a willingness not to disrupt the games and let them go forward," said Fravel. This is still a Korean event — albeit a South Korean one — and inter-Korean unity is still important to Pyongyang, he added.WATCH: Bitcoin mining — a new way for North Korea to make money North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ignored recent peace overtures from Seoul but he's due on Tuesday to hold a formal dialogue with his southern neighbor for the first time in more than two years. The sudden interest in talks may have something to do with Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal. "The North has made significant advances in its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program so I think they feel a bit more willing to engage in talks now that they've actually demonstrated an incipient nuclear capability that can strike the U.S.," said Taylor Fravel, associate political science professor at MIT. In November, the rogue state launched a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland . Known as the Hwasong-15, it can fly over 13,000 kilometers, or 8,080 miles. Speaking on the sidelines of the UBS Greater China Conference in Shanghai, Fravel said he isn't expecting much from Tuesday's discussion, which he believes will largely focus on potential North Korean participation at the Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of PyeongChang. Kim has said that he was open to sending a delegation to the sporting event . In response, South Korean President Moon Jae-In's administration offered high-level talks to Pyongyang. "The key thing to watch is whether or not there's a second round of talks," said Fravel, who's also a member of the board of directors for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. "Certainly, not very much can be resolved in one meeting ... we'll have to see just how far the North is willing to go." For now, expectations of North Korean provocation during the Olympics are low. Kim is "clearly signalling a willingness not to disrupt the games and let them go forward," said Fravel. This is still a Korean event — albeit a South Korean one — and inter-Korean unity is still important to Pyongyang, he added. WATCH: Bitcoin mining — a new way for North Korea to make moneyMore From CNBC
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
I was hooked from the days of bitcoin costing 10.00! The rise of alt coins block chain fascinated me! I am obsessed and always reading and researching || 07:10 saati Binance Borsasında (BTC - Bandında)
En Çok Yükselen 5 :
$GVT : %4.45
$CTR : %3.06
$VIB : %2.99
$SNM : %2.18
$REQ : %1.54
En Çok Düşen 5 :
$LINK : %-7.00
$XVG : %-5.16
$MDA : %-1.50
$QTUM : %-1.16
$WTC : %-1.00 || Travail a domicile: Bitcoin Challenge: « C’est la fin des crypto-haricots » http://travail-internet-domicile.net/bitcoin-challenge-cest-la-fin-des-crypto-haricots/ … || please help, been 50 hours long, and my BTC not arrive yet..
i send email not any respond..
are you pay the fees to blockchain or not??
Date
21.12.2017 14:42 UTC+07:00
Transaction ID
26576d7d3f34e4274bb1f4c7cd809b8bf45287bce3b922aec0d0228025b0b602 || Is it the best time to Invest in BitCoin | Cryptocurrency| Dad's Tricks: http://youtu.be/leoccUdKr1Q?a via @YouTube || not a very good idea to buy dips in a downtrend. but ya, that spare btc we all need. || Archillect Knows $BTC $DJIA $SPYhttps://twitter.com/archillect/status/960704625799294978 … || Bitcoin price
19th December: $17,608
26th December: $15,745
3rd January: $15,130
10th January: $14,890
17th January: $11,141
24th January: $11,399
31st January: $10,297
Now: $6,801 || https://buff.ly/2FSCaj7 5 #Good #News #Stories To #Cheer You Up During The #Bitcoin #Price #Drop pic.twitter.com/ir9exrTbZO || Japanese Electronics Retail Giant Launches Bitcoin Payments https://buff.ly/2nmyj6o #blockchain
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10166.40, 10233.90, 11112.70, 10551.80, 11225.30, 11403.70, 10690.40, 10005.00, 10301.10, 9813.07
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2020-02-13]
BTC Price: 10214.38, BTC RSI: 69.20
Gold Price: 1575.10, Gold RSI: 59.50
Oil Price: 51.42, Oil RSI: 37.37
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Whiplash: Bitcoin Slides Below $6,500, Surges Above $7,100 in 8-Hour Span: Bitcoin traders might need a neck brace right now. That’s because the price of the cryptocurrency took a sharp U-turn in the course of trading on Wednesday. The day started quite dreary for HODLers. Candlesticks slowly and solemnly strode across the bitcoin chart in the upper half of the $6 , 000 range for much of the early morning hours. Related: Chainalysis Report on PlusToken ‘Scammers’ Blamed for Monday’s Crypto Selloff Then, at precisely 7:51 a.m. ET, as New York traders were sitting on their desks and sugaring their coffees, another selloff began. On Binance, the largest BTC market, 1,000 bitcoins changed hands in two minutes, with prices falling $61.60 to $6,509.91. It slipped below $6,500 on other exchanges. Yet a minute later, 897 were traded on the exchange and prices seemed to stabilize at around $6,537. The lull was short-lived; another selloff with 986 bitcoins finding their way to new accounts. At 8:31 a.m. ET, the rally began. Related: Bitcoin Tumbles 4.7%, Most in Two Months, as China-Fueled Enthusiasm Wanes Buy orders flooded markets and bitcoin gained $74 in two minutes, closing at $6,595.94 at 8:32 a.m. The candlesticks that trudged through the mud minutes before suddenly had a quicker step. By 11:00 a.m., the cryptocurrency was trading hands at $6,900 apiece. It took a few hours from there but at that point, the excitement was in the air. Bitcoin poked around the $7,200 resistance level at around 3:30 p.m. but didn’t have the gumption to break above. Nonetheless, as New York equities markets close and volume tapers off, traders are once again eyeing that $7,200 like a snake who stumbled into a mouse hole. Related Stories Below $4K: Bitcoin Price Hits 400-Day Lows Bitcoin Futures Open Sees Price Spike, CBOE Crash || Bitcoin edges towards major bull market reversal: Bitcoin has shown initial signs of a bull market reversal following a six-month downtrend that has seen the worlds largest cryptocurrency decline from $14,000 to as low as $6,400. Consistent lower highs coupled with dwindling volume and open interest has culminated in bearish phases across all major cryptocurrencies, with several coins losing more than 60% in value. Bitcoin flirted with the possibility of a major breakdown in price at the start of the week, with the $6,400 level of support being tested before a ferocious rally back towards the $7,150 region. The most important hurdle for Bitcoin to clear is the 22 exponential moving average (EMA) on the daily chart. This EMA has been halting price action since November 11, with Bitcoin failing to trade above it on numerous occasions. The 22 EMA held strong once again following Bitcoins most recent rally this week, with BTC failing to close a daily candle above the critical level. If Bitcoin can break above the 22 EMA and the $7,350 level of resistance over the Christmas week, it will likely move up towards the $7,900 level before testing the confluence of last months death cross, which is at $8,650. Despite attracting criticism for failing to break its all-time high in June, Bitcoin is still more than 100% up from this time last year, and a bullish reversal over the coming weeks could well see a rally back above $10,000. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Bitcoin edges towards major bull market reversal appeared first on Coin Rivet . || The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – 02/02/20: Bitcoin rose by 0.43% on Saturday. Partially reversing a 1.53% fall from Friday, Bitcoin ended the day at $9,408.0. A bullish start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning intraday high $9,476.4 before hitting reverse. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $9,518.1, Bitcoin slid to a mid-day intraday low $9,318.0. Steering clear of the 38.2% FIB of $9,260.0 and the first major support level at $9,218.5, Bitcoin recovered to an afternoon high $9,444.3 before easing back. The near-term bearish trend, formed at late June’s swing hi $13,764.0, remained firmly intact, however, in spite of the January rally. For the bulls, Bitcoin would need to break out from $11,000 levels to form a near-term bullish trend. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the top 10 cryptos, it was a bullish day for the crypto majors. Cardano’s ADA and Litecoin led the way on the day, rallying by 4.07% and 4.02% respectively. Bitcoin Cash SV (+2.72%), Ethereum (+2.10%), and Tron’s TRX (+2.59%) also found strong support. Bitcoin Cash ABC (+1.41%), EOS (+0.11%), Monero’s XMR (+1.46%), Ripple’s XRP (+0.71%), and Stellar’s Lumen (+1.63%) trailed the front runners. Binance Coin bucked the trend, closing out the day flat. Through the current week, the crypto total market cap rose from a Monday low $237.76bn to a late Thursday high $263.46bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $257.55bn. Bitcoin’s dominance fell back to sub-66% levels after the modest gain from Saturday before rising back to 66% levels this morning. Trading volumes also picked up, rising from sub-$80bn levels last Sunday to $127bn levels on Friday before easing back. At the time of writing, 24-hr volumes stood at $99.60bn. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 0.62% to $9,350.1. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin fall from an early morning high $9,410.5 to a low $9,350.0. Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on. Story continues Elsewhere, it was also a bearish start to the day for the cryptos. Bitcoin Cash SV (-1.70%) and Litecoin (-1.60%) led the way down early on. Monero’s XMR (-0.90%) and Stellar’s Lumen (-0.96%) saw modest losses relative to the rest of the pack. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead Bitcoin would need to move back through to $9,400 levels to support a run at the first major resistance level at $9,483.60 Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from Saturday’s high $9,476.4. Barring another broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely leave Bitcoin short of Saturday’s high $9,519.9. In the event of another breakout, the second major resistance level at $9,559.2 will likely come into play. Failure to move back through to $9,400 levels could see Bitcoin fall deeper into the red. A fall through the morning low $9,350.0 would bring the first major support level at $9,325.2 into play. Barring a crypto meltdown, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of the 38.2% FIB of $9,260 and second major support level at $9.242.4. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Brent Crude Oil Price Update – There’s Enough Downside Momentum to Drive Prices into $54.80 to $52.78 AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – March 2009 Bottom at .6285 is on the Radar NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Sharply Lower Opening on Monday Will Target .6416 US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Tumble on Coronavirus Fears Aussie Dollar Plummets in Sympathy with Chinese Yuan; Recession Fears Drive Japanese Yen Higher USD/JPY Forex Technical Analysis – 107.651 is Trigger Point for Steep Break || More than 700 new blockchain companies launch in China in January alone: Recent data has revealed that the number of new blockchain and crypto start-ups in China is still growing at a decent pace despite fewer new companies formed throughout 2019. The data , released by blockchain research firm LongHash, has revealed that 714 new distributed ledger technology companies have emerged during January alone. Although there are over 79,000 blockchain companies registered throughout China, only 26,089 are considered as operating. Likewise, some companies could be shell corporations established in China but managed out of other jurisdictions. The data also shows that 57,257 blockchain companies have had their licences revoked or their legal status changed in China since 2009 – a stark warning of the dangers of starting up a business in a bleeding-edge industry. In 2018, alongside the ICO craze, over 19,000 blockchain companies launched in China compared to just 8,600 the previous year. This figure dropped during 2019 to just 14,000 start-ups , coinciding with the tail end of a prolonged bear market. Nevertheless, overall the data shows that despite some uncertainty in the Chinese blockchain industry, appetite for the technology is still strong, with the number of new blockchain start-ups per month still matching 2017 levels. Guangdong province, home to major tech hub Shenzhen on the border with Hong Kong, has attracted the most blockchain companies, with a huge 22,636 firms choosing the province as their base of operations – more than double that of any other province. ‘Blockchain, not Bitcoin’ While China has attracted a huge amount of cryptocurrency companies, the Chinese government has been quick to dismiss the usefulness of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. In November 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that blockchain technology adoption did not go hand in hand with “speculation in virtual currency” . Xi Jinping also reiterated his stance on blockchain technology, calling for a “blockchain, not Bitcoin” approach to the growing industry. Story continues As a result of China’s appetite for blockchain technology, prominent cryptocurrency firms have indicated they will increase their presence in the country. In October 2019, Binance said it would be “ scaling up ” its capacity for Chinese customers following Xi Jinping’s statements, which prompted individual web searches for ‘blockchain’ in China to spike to over 9 million . You can read more about China’s blockchain industry here . The post More than 700 new blockchain companies launch in China in January alone appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Binance Blockade of Wasabi Wallet Could Point to a Crypto Crack-Up: 2020 may see cryptos most consequential fork yet: A split between regulated exchanges and privacy-focused users. Late last week, Binances Singapore arm threw crypto Twitter into a frenzy with reports that it had allegedly suspended one users account. The problem? That user, @bittlecat , had tried sending their bitcoin to the hash-scrambling Wasabi wallet in an apparent violation of Binance SGs anti-money-laundering (AML) policies. Binance SG refused to transact directly or indirectly with a variety of often illicit-tied crypto services, especially darknet/mixer sites, according to @bittlecats tweets of their email exchange with Binance SG support. Related: Paraguay Audits Local Crypto Industry to Prepare for FATF-Style Regulations @bittlecats suspension was temporary. But if Binance SGs anti-mixing policy holds especially if it spreads to other exchanges developers and observers say it could cut the crypto ecosystem in two. I think the exchanges are slowly coming to a crossroads, said Gergely Hajdu, a developer with Wasabi wallet. Users of privacy-enhanced wallets may find it ever-harder to move coins to and from regulated exchanges. Some exchanges may be completely foreclosed, Hajdu said. It will be so bad that I cant express. Related: A Third of Crypto Exchanges Have Little or No KYC, Says CipherTrace On one side of this chasm: the crypto service providers embracing oversight from their local regulators and global watchdogs like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). And on the other side: privacy-conscious users, some of whom turn to shadowy-but-not-necessarily-illegal coin mixing services to shield what they hold. The big picture is more regulation is coming, and its gonna make this look, pretty normal in a couple of years, said Tom Maxon, Head of U.S. operations for blockchain security company CoolBitX. A regulatory sprint Observers see this as one battle in the larger war to determine cryptos direction. There are the spaces early ideals, its proponents preaching as they did a decade ago, that bitcoin will bring privacy and financial autonomy to millions irrespective of borders. Bitcoin, it was said, could be the decentralized answer to a world in seemingly constant consolidation mode. Bitcoin could be traded peer-to-peer. Bought on exchanges. Shuffled between wallets (essentially digital bank accounts) that carried no personal identifiers. Mixed on services like Wasabi Wallet to make tracing it hard. But that vision never sat well with governments. Nor with their regulators, wary of a financial instrument they could not control. Story continues Regulators are not comfortable with gray, Maxon said. And as millions then billions of dollars began flowing into bitcoin and other crypto assets, chief players around the globe began pushing for some way to regulate it. The laws came slowly at first. Now, however, intergovernmental organizations like the FATF have set the world up for a regulatory sprint . FATFs June guidance on a risk-based approach for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers gave financial regulators the world over a unified understanding upon which police the space. FATFs guidance hardly bans virtual assets. Nor does its global framework rule out mixing services. But it highlights their money-laundering risks, teeing up regional rule-makers for a crackdown on obfuscatory technologies that governments like Singapores have hinted at . Maxons firm is developing a tool to help exchanges deal with the FATFs travel rule, an outcome of the June guidance that pushes virtual asset service providers to share reams of customer data much like the requirements traditional banks face. He sees the potential split as almost inevitable. The regulators are going to move this forward more swiftly than weve seen before, Maxon said. And then the ramifications, like these other services like mixers are going to be harder to use. Its that kind of stuff thats going to peter out over the coming years. Mixing in the gray zone Mixing obscures the path ones cryptocurrency takes; in the case of Hajdus Wasabi wallet, a Chaumian CoinJoin mixer scrambles multiple parties unspent transaction outputs (UTXO) into a nearly untraceable cryptographic mess. Put simply: multiple parties send their coins to multiple receivers in one transaction, making it hard to suss out who sent what to whom. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has not thrown out mixing entirely. Its webpage on the FATF guidelines does, though, say that virtual asset service providers should take careful note of factors that could obfuscate transactions. But Binances global public relations head Leah Li said in an email statement that its Singapore exchange was following regulators lead. Binance SG operates under the requirements as set forth by MAS and our MAS regulated partner, Xfers. Hence there are AML CFT controls set in place for the Binance SG and the user triggered one of its risk control mechanisms, Li said. Casey Bohn, a law enforcement educator with Americas National White Collar Crime Center, said MAS hint-hint-nudge-nudge is more than enough for companies like Binance. From a corporate perspective, its a lot easier for me as a regulated money business to have a policy saying, Hey man, were not going to allow this [activity] even though its perfectly legal because we dont want heat from the regulators, said Bohn. Bohn said he believes the public has an inherent right to financial privacy. And though his cryptocurrency investigations often rely on the bitcoin blockchain, he nonetheless supports an individuals desire to live off the map. By the same token, he is skeptical that exchanges should be calling the shots over whats permissible, and whats not. He points out that right now an exchange has no way of knowing who controls a destined account once its user withdraws. Lets say the exchange takes action against me based only on their assumption that the next wallet is still under my possession. Do we really want the technology corporations to be the arbiter? he said. Real-time tracing Binance contracts with third-party service providers like Chainalysis to help it trace crypto transactions. These crypto-sleuths develop hefty tools to track asset movements; Chainalysis Know-Your-Transaction (KYT) software does so in real time . Wasabi transactions have a pretty unique identifier that makes it very easy to identify them in numerous ways, according to Wasabi developer Bálint Harmat. But he insisted that his mixer, and others, are not inherently illegal. He also noted that Wasabi has reached out to Binance and Chainalysis to clarify the situation and prevent future issues. A spokesperson for Chainalysis echoed that sentiment in an email statement. While mixers themselves are not illegal, we know that stolen funds from hacks and scams are often laundered through mixers. We recommend that our cryptocurrency exchange customers configure Chainalysis KYT to flag large transfers or high-velocity small transfers from mixers for further investigation because it could prevent criminals from cashing out stolen funds. Regulatory gears are already moving in radically anti-anonymity directions. Maxon, the CoolBitX executive, said FATFs travel rule will have the most visible and immediate repercussions. Exchanges, he said, will develop user-filled forms built into their interface. Who are you sending this crypto transaction to? What is their name? What is their account number on that exchange? he said, illustrating how those forms will appear. I think even people who are not that privacy-minded will think: Oh crypto is not decentralized anymore, Maxon said. It never really was on the centralized exchanges, but it kind of breaks the spell. Related Stories Another Crypto Exchange Is Dropping Privacy Coin Monero Over Compliance Risk Shyft Adds FATF Veterans as Advisors for Its Crypto Compliance Product View comments || Bitfinex trader profits $7 million as Bitcoin begins bearish descent: Bitfinex trader JOE007 has gained a staggering $6.95 million in unrealised profit by trading Bitcoin this week, according to the exchange’s leaderboard . In December, Coin Rivet reported on the same trader’s woeful loss of $26 million as he found himself caught in a long position during Bitcoin’s decline to $6,800. However, as Bitcoin began to claw its way back up after the turn of the year, his profit and loss flipped into the positive. Bitcoin is now more than 10% down in the past five days, indicating that JOE007 has been holding a short position during the decline. The daily candle closed beneath the $8,450 level of support yesterday as Bitcoin moves closer towards the 200 exponential moving average (EMA), which is currently at $8,200. Another close below this level would almost certainly result in a slump towards the $7,800 level of support, which will likely provide a period of calm as it did throughout October. However, if Bitcoin begins to rally to the upside with a bounce from the 200 EMA, it will bring upside price targets of $8,450, $8,830, and $9,050 into play moving into the weekend. Many thought that the recent talk of a central bank digital currency being launched by the Bank of England and five other central banks would spur the price of Bitcoin to the upside, but thus far it’s had the opposite effect. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Bitfinex trader profits $7 million as Bitcoin begins bearish descent appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments || Bitcoin as a Safe Haven? US-Iran Tensions Rekindle Debate: Bitcoin’s recent price jump after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general has rekindled a long-running debate among investors: whether it will work as a safe-haven asset like gold in times of heightened geopolitical and economic turmoil.
The cryptocurrency changed hands around $7,500 on Monday, up about 10 percent since Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a lethal drone strike authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump. U.S. stocks fell on the news as investors worried the conflict between the two nations might escalate into a prolonged and damaging war.
For some market analysts and investors, bitcoin’s rally served to underscore the digital asset’s perceived value as a hedge against inflation, historically an economic consequence of major wars. Oil prices jumped in the aftermath of the killing, given Iran’s status as one of the world’s major producers, potentially a harbinger of higher gasoline costs at the pump for U.S. consumers.
Related:Bitcoin Jumps 5%, Gaining With Gold, After US Kills Top Iranian Official
“Acts of violence and war can create inflation and have demonstrated that in the past,” said Greg Cipolaro, co-founder of Digital Asset Research, which analyzes crypto markets. So heightened violence now could portend higher demand for bitcoin, he said, adding a major caveat: “To the extent that bitcoin is a hedge against inflation.”
In traditional investing, a safe haven asset is one where the price typically rises when traders are fearful of increasing risk, or in the face of convulsing stock markets; money is pulled from riskier assets and shifted into “safer” like gold or U.S. Treasuries, expected to be a more reliable store of value.
One theory among bitcoin investors is that while the cryptocurrency lacks gold’s luster or long track record as a store of value, it shares the key property of being difficult to mine; the supply of new bitcoin is strictly regulated by its 11-year-old original programming code.
What’s more, some bitcoin advocates note the private data addresses, or “keys,” needed to spend the cryptocurrency would theoretically be far more portable than gold bars in a tumultuous, war-torn or even simply hyperinflation-racked world.
Related:Into the Ether: Majority of All ETH Wallets Now ‘Out-of-the-Money’
But even among fully committed crypto traders, it remains an open debate as to whether bitcoin actually trades like a safe-haven asset.
Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, which specializes in cryptocurrencies and foreign exchange, emailed clients a chart from the data provider CoinMetrics showing the correlation between bitcoin and gold – accepted by most investors as a traditional hedge against inflation – had recently swung from negative to positive.
But in a follow-up exchange with CoinDesk, Greenspan said the correlation looks “weak.”
“It’s not a very strong correlation at all,” according to Greenspan. Based on data compiled by CoinMetrics, the correlation coefficient over a one-year time period between gold and bitcoin is now a mere 0.15, up from -0.04 back in May 2018.
In the case of Iran, there’s speculation locals might try to shift money into bitcoin to shield their wealth from inflation. That might occur as the country becomes more economically isolated from global finance.
Even Iran’s leaders are contemplating using cryptocurrency as a way to offset pressure from sanctions. In lateDecember, President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech in Malaysia that Muslims need their own cryptocurrency to “save themselves from the domination of the U.S. dollar and the American financial regime.”
Michael Novogratz, CEO of the investment firm Galaxy Digital and one of the most closely watched investors in the crypto space, tweeted Sunday that the “the more I analyze this Iranian situation,” the more bullish the case becomes for gold and bitcoin.
“Mideast less stable,” Novogratz tweeted. “Equals more volatility.”
In an email to clients on Friday, Ryan Selkis of the data provider Messari acknowledged some of the most hyperinflationary periods of modern history occurred around the end of major violent conflicts like World Wars I and II and the Cold War.
However, Selkis argues bitcoin is a “risk asset” and would be among the first things investors liquidate “in the event of an uptick in global economic and regulatory uncertainty.”
“That cyclical pain could be exacerbated by further crackdowns on the industry,” Selkis wrote.
Not all cryptocurrency observers are convinced tensions with Iran have anything to do with the recent rally. Adam Vettese, U.K. market analyst for trading platform eToro, noted Monday in an email that while some market observers say the recent rally “affirms bitcoin’s status as a safe haven,” the price reaction might have simply been “a technical move off support at $7,000.”
That means the price was essentially just bouncing off a perceived price floor of $7,000, as determined by traders scrutinizing price charts for patterns, using a subjective practice known as technical analysis.
“There’s no way” the term safe haven applies “in the same sense as gold,” according to Vettese. “Cryptoassets in general are considered high risk and therefore such a description is a contradiction in itself.”
The safest bet is this debate in the bitcoin market won’t be settled anytime soon.
• Iran President: We Need a Muslim Cryptocurrency to Fight the US Dollar
• ‘Stacking Sats’ vs. ‘ETH Is Money’ – The Memes That Shaped 2019 || Market Recovery Fits Right in Bitcoin’s Plans: Bitcoin grew by more than 4% and traded close to $9,650 by 10:00 GMT on Thursday. Almost all altcoins have also moved to a steady upward trend. Especially worth mentioning is Ethereum (ETH), which has added 9% in the last 24 hours, reaching $208, having crossed the round mark. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) also shows an impressive growth of almost 14% to $440. As the crypto market grows, many analysts, including Josh Rager, announce a change of trend, and the new altcoin season. There is every reason for that, especially given the price dynamics related to the coronavirus and traditional market. At the beginning of the next bullish spiral, the crypto community linked this growth to the virus, geopolitics, overbought stocks, tying to gold dynamics, and other factors. So what do we see now? Panic around the epidemic has eased: Chinese scientists are actively convincing the international community that they have taken control of the situation and developed a vaccine. This news provoked further stock growth; oil bounced back while gold declined. Besides, there is extremely positive news about US-China trade war. In theory, all this could lead to a reversal of the Bitcoin and the entire market to a decline. So how could Bitcoin get a significant impulse on the background of the coronavirus spreading? It is quite possible to assume a scenario where the epidemic spreads to many countries of the world, provoking governments to close borders. This would immediately lead to a breakdown of all established supply chains and a drop in trade volumes. The end of broad free trade between countries could cause restrictions on capital movements, as panic provokes asset flight. In that case, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could indeed be considered beneficiaries of the “feast at a time of plague”. Nevertheless, the situation is improving, and we see active growth. All this suggests that Bitcoin for investors is in a border zone. It’s not a traditional risk asset, as its volatility is still off the charts compared to popular currencies and equities; and yet, it’s not a safe-haven. Story continues Most likely, we are witnessing a situation where investors, investing in stocks against the backdrop of growing optimism, diversify some funds towards Bitcoin. The first cryptocurrency, in its turn, is pulling the rest of the crypto market upwards. We can assume that BTC will follow the sentiment of large investors, receiving impulses depending on the general direction of the market. Price dynamics can be heated up by the participants of the crypto market themselves, who, however, probably, no longer have the same driving force, which once pushed the rate to $20,000. This article was written by FxPro This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Silver Price Forecast – Silver Shows Short-term Strength but Remains Stuck in Consolidation Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Go Back And Forth Yet Again S&P 500 Price Forecast – Stock Markets Continue To Grind To The Upside China Virus Could Be a Boon for Mexican Cattle Exports GBP/JPY Price Forecast – British Pound Continues To Grind Against Japanese Yen AUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian Dollar Runs Into Resistance || Bold Stock Market Predictions for 2020: As usual in the stock market, 2019 was another unpredictable year. In addition to the seemingly unending succession of new market highs, specific events also caught many market pundits by surprise. Consider the IPO of Uber one of the most anticipated market events of the year turned out to be a major disappointment for investors. On the other end of the spectrum, Beyond Meat priced its IPO at $25 in May, watched its stock price quickly soar above $230 and then watched it sink back down to around $75 toward the end of the year. The one certainty in the stock market is that there will always be surprises. Heres a look at some market predictions for 2020 and tools you can use to prepare for them . Last updated: Dec. 29, 2019 Prediction: The Market Will Be Up Again The stock market roared ever higher in 2019, with the S&P 500 posting a gain of 29.2% through Dec. 26. If you believe in the law of averages, you might expect 2020 to be a down year but that might be a mistake. History shows that when the market rises more than 20% in a single year, the following year is more likely to show positive returns than in other years. Action: Stay the Course If your portfolio has posted strong returns in 2019, then staying the course might lead to further gains in 2020. Although there will always be things to worry about when it comes to the stock market, this wall of worry can sometimes have a positive effect on Wall Street. For example, when everyone has already bought into the market, theres not much cash left to fuel further gains. But when some investors sit on a pile of cash out of fear that a bull market cant sustain itself, that money eventually has to go somewhere especially when fear of missing out kicks in. Investors who avoided the stock market in 2019 might jump back into the market in 2020. Prediction: The Year Will Be Much More Volatile Despite a few ups and downs, the U.S. stock market in 2019 was much less volatile than in years past. That could change in 2020 because of a few potentially market-moving events on the horizon. Art Cashin of UBS, who has had his finger on the pulse of the stock market for more than 50 years, warns of three p eriods when volatility could strike in 2020: in January, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to finally push Brexit through; in March, when Super Tuesday will bring a large chunk of the voting populace to the polls; and in July, when the Democratic Party might have a brokered convention. Story continues Find Out: Stocks To Keep In Your Portfolio for the Next 30 Years Action: Stay the Course But Put on Your Seat Belt Investors have notoriously bad timing when it comes to stocks, often selling out right before big rallies or piling in just before big selloffs. As long as you believe the long-term trend of the market is up, then settle in and prepare to ride out the ups and downs that 2020 might have in store. You might even want to invest more money when the market softens as long as you have the courage and conviction that the pullback is only temporary. Prediction: Value Stocks Will Come Back Stocks are broadly categorized into two types: growth and value. Growth stocks are the high flyers that grab the lions share of headlines, promise robust financial returns, and include high-profile names like Netflix, Uber and Facebook. Value stocks which include most energy, utility and basic materials companies are often dividend-paying, slow-growth firms with unspectacular share prices. Growth and value stocks typically run counter to one another on Wall Street, with the former performing better in up markets and the latter doing well in down markets. In terms of stock returns, growth stocks have been walloping their value counterparts since 2007. Some analysts think this trend is due for a major reversal starting in 2020. Action: Diversify Your Portfolio Its hard to sell stocks when they seem to go up every year. Market leaders like Facebook and Amazon have been helping drive this bull market for years, but how long can they continue to keep setting new highs? You dont have to unload all of your high flyers, but if you believe the growth/value cycle might be shifting, you owe it to yourself to pick up a few boring value names. At the very least, youre likely to make your portfolio less volatile. Prediction: The Bear Will Finally Come Out of Its Cave Market bears have spent the last couple of years predicting (incorrectly) that the bull run is due to end, but 2020 might finally be the year theyre proven right. Even though the current bull market has shown remarkable resilience in the face of a trade war, a yield curve inversion, recession fears and a presidential impeachment, it has to end sometime. Some pundits expect the market to turn bearish in 2020. Action: Take Some Profits/Hedge Your Risk An old adage in the stock market says that youll never go broke taking profits. If youve got big gains on the books, it might be time to cash those profits in. Booking large gains and preparing to reinvest during the next downturn might be a solid risk-avoidance strategy at this point in the game particularly if you believe, as many market observers do, that the next major selloff is right around the corner in 2020. Stash These Profits: Stocks That Would Have Made You Rich Today Prediction: GE Will Recover Poor old General Electric. Not only did the original member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average get unceremoniously dumped from that index in 2018, but the former blue chip stock also saw its shares plummet by about two-thirds since August 2018. From its all-time high of $60 in 2000, GEs stock had fallen below $8 in late 2018 and barely traded above $11 as of December 2019. But some analysts believe a turnaround might be afoot for GE in 2020. Action: Consider a Small Investment in GE GE shares probably wont be returning to their all-time high any time soon, but with a current price of about $11 per share, even a gain of $5 would translate into a nearly 50% gain. Its a risky play, but investing in GE might prove profitable in 2020. Prediction: Macys Will Recover Venerable department-store chain Macys is in nearly the same boat as industrial conglomerate GE. After trading above $72 per share as recently as 2015, Macys has taken the elevator straight to the discount floor, trading below $20 per share for the last few months of 2019. While the iconic sponsor of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade definitely has its issues not the least of which is competition from online retailers some analysts think the stock is a bargain play that might be worth investing in. Action: Consider a Small Investment in Macys Macys is definitely a risky play. The companys huge dividend has the potential to be cut, and sales trends have been weak for many years now. In fact, the stock was one of the worst performers on Wall Street in 2019. But if you believe, as some analysts do, that the dividend is covered by cash flow and the shares are undervalued, Macys could be a winner. If things dont pan out for Macys, however, it could wind up in bankruptcy like so many of its retailing peers in recent years. Prediction: Brexit Could Get Messy Whats with all the recent news about Brexit? Didnt that happen way back in 2016? Well, yes and no. Yes, the original Brexit vote passed (to much surprise) in 2016 by a 52% to 48% margin. However, after several delays, the official date of the UKs exit from the European Union was pushed back until Jan. 31, 2020. Brexit could have a big (and messy) impact on the global economy and stock markets, but for now no one is exactly sure what will happen. Learn More: Brexit Consequences and What They Mean for You Action: Review Your Risk Tolerance and Asset Allocation Theres not much you can do as an individual investor to stop Brexit. Nor can you predict with any certainty what effect it might have on your investments. In these cases, its usually best to stick with a diversified, risk-appropriate portfolio and just brace yourself for what could be a bumpy ride. Brexit might initially push markets down, but they might just as easily rise which pretty much sounds like any other day in the stock market. Prediction: The Recession Will Finally Hit Recessions are an inevitable part of the business cycle, so its no surprise that some economists have spent the last couple of years warning that the bustling U.S. economy would finally hit the skids. So far, that hasnt happened. In fact, the 2010s were the first decade in nearly 170 years in which there wasnt a recorded recession, which is commonly defined as two straight quarters of contracting GDP. Even so, 38% of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics in August said they expect a recession to begin in 2020. Another 34% said one will strike no later than the end of 2021. Action: Review Your Asset Allocation Since predicting economic cycles is an inexact science at best, its not usually prudent to adjust your portfolio on the expectations of a recession. But considering how long its been since the last recession and the fact that you likely have sizable gains in your investment portfolio if you stayed in the market throughout the bull run it might be a good time to review your current allocation to see if certain parts have gotten out of balance. For example, if your aim is to have 60% of your portfolio in stocks but found that theyve grown to around 90%, it might be a good time to trim your position in stocks so theyre more in line with your original investment objectives and risk tolerance. Prediction: Bitcoin Will Explode Bitcoin has had a wild ride. It rose from near-obscurity at the beginning of the decade to a peak of nearly $20,000 per coin in late 2017, then dropped below $3,200 a year later before rebounding to its current levels of about $7,200. Because Bitcoin is a confusing investment that doesnt trade on any publicly regulated exchange, many investors fear putting their money into it. However, some analysts predict Bitcoins price will soar well into the six figures within the next couple of years. Action: Own Some Bitcoin Before investing in Bitcoin, do your own research on how it works, what its used for and whether it matches your investment objectives and risk tolerance. Only then should you dabble in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies. In the meantime, consider this: Even with all its volatility, Bitcoins price has risen more than 20-fold over the past five years. Prediction: Uber and Lyft Will Beat the Market Uber and Lyft were two of the most highly anticipated IPOs of 2019. The ride sharing services epitomized unicorn stocks, those private companies with $1 billion valuations. For years, investors wondered when the companies would go public so they could buy in. But once the stocks finally listed in 2019, investor enthusiasm waned rapidly. Both stocks fell sharply soon after they went public and currently trade at considerable discounts to their IPO prices. Action: Pick Up Some Shares of Uber and/or Lyft Some analysts reckon Uber and Lyft have taken enough punishment already. While both companies still hemorrhage money, theres a reason they carried $1 billion-plus valuations as private companies. As innovators that are transforming an entire industry, Uber and Lyft still have the backing of analysts who expect a big rebound in both stocks in 2020. Nibbling on the shares at their current prices could prove profitable if these analysts are on the mark. Prediction: Historical Election-Year Trends Will Prove Accurate According to the Stock Traders Almanac, election years in which an incumbent is up for re-election tend to be good ones for the stock market. Since 1949, the average Dow Jones return under such conditions is 10.1%. However, in years in which there is no incumbent running, the Dow typically goes down by about 1.6%. Much of this probably has to do with the fact that the market hates uncertainty, and when an incumbent is running, the market at least knows how one of the major candidates would govern. Action: Stick With the Market With President Donald Trump up for re-election, historical trends support a continued rise in the market. If Trump were to be removed from office or otherwise drop out of the race ahead of the election, the markets could face turmoil. But as things currently stand, historical market trends support another double-digit rise for the Dow. If your portfolio did well in 2019, then historically speaking, its likely in line for another good year in 2020. Prediction: Youll Make (at Least) One Mistake This prediction is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but its also the one most likely to prove accurate. No investor can predict the future of the markets with certainty and this includes financial professionals whove been trading stocks for decades. Making mistakes is simply part of the game when it comes to investing. If you can mentally prepare yourself for this truism, you stand a much better chance of doing well over the long haul. Action: Stay the Course The key to riding out your inevitable mistakes is to keep your portfolio in line with your investment objectives and risk tolerance at all times. Although you should anticipate making mistakes, trying to fix them by making more like trying to time the market is a recipe for disaster. Understand that youre not going to bat 1.000. Just do all you can to ensure that your correct calls outnumber your wrong ones. More From GOBankingRates Best 401(k) Companies of 2019-2020 Citibank Review: One-Stop Banking Best Savings Accounts of 2020 Retirees Confess What They Wish Theyd Done With Their Money This article is produced for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Investing comes with risk to loss of principal. Please always conduct your own research and consider your investment decisions carefully. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : Bold Stock Market Predictions for 2020 || Was the crypto winter cold enough?: After the boom of 2017 Bitcoin crashed back down to earth with an almighty wallop. Yet the lows of $3,000 were still a lot higher than the dips which had gone before. Since then, Bitcoin has crept slowly but surely up to the $9,000 mark with a few choppy moments along the way. All the while, mainstream news has struggled to find its appetite for crypto sufficiently whetted – apart from when Libra and Facebook made their big announcement. So has the crypto winter been harsh enough to weed out the unnecessary projects that fill this industry? If it has not, then the question on many lips becomes: ‘If we see another price rise akin to 2017, will the altcoins follow and will this be a positive or negative?’ When Coin Rivet spoke to Marco Peereboom of Decred he made clear that he hoped for an extensive purge that would eliminate many of the projects that have infected the cryptocurrency industry. Even though the crypto winter has been harsh on many altcoins, they are not dead. Discussion has since turned to how a dramatic rise in the Bitcoin price would affect altcoins. Would they rise in union or will Bitcoin finally separate and prove itself as the only viable cryptocurrency. During 2017 numerous criminal cryptocurrency scams and also many that flirted with providing very little product but managed to rake in huge profits by riding the coattails of Bitcoin. Since then many of those projects’ leaders have walked off into the sunset with a healthy pocket. This debate predictably occurs between the Bitcoin maximalists and altcoiners. Whilst neither group are capable of predicting the future, it is difficult to ascertain that from their tweets such is their certainty and confidence. One of the main issues that arises with all cryptocurrencies boosting substantially in value over time is that mainstream media begins to pay interest once again. Under substantial scrutiny many of these projects then become clearly unfeasible. This in turn brings valid questions as to the value and importance of the industry as a whole. Story continues When the price inevitably crashes, the criticism from mainstream media becomes vindicated, and the cycle repeats itself. The cryptocurrency markets certainly have no need for more than 5,000 distinct cryptocurrencies. Even the most passionate of altcoin believers would find it hard to disagree. Yet as they continue to cling on to life despite a massive crash in price it appears that the crypto winter has not killed them off yet. The post Was the crypto winter cold enough? appeared first on Coin Rivet .
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10312.12, 9889.42, 9934.43, 9690.14, 10142.00, 9633.39, 9608.48, 9686.44, 9663.18, 9924.52
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-06-08]
BTC Price: 2805.62, BTC RSI: 71.96
Gold Price: 1276.30, Gold RSI: 57.29
Oil Price: 45.64, Oil RSI: 35.02
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Defense stocks soar to all-time highs on $110 billion US-Saudi Arabia weapons deal: Defense stocks took off on Monday after President Donald Trump signed a nearly $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. The deal will be worth $350 billion over 10 years. On Monday,Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) closed up more than 1 percent and General Dynamics ( GD ) closed up about 1 percent. These stocks, along with Raytheon ( RTN ) and Northrop Grumman ( NOC ) , hit all-time highs earlier in the day. Additionally, the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) (NYSE Arca: ITA) closed nearly 1 percent higher. Jet maker Boeing ( BA ) also signed a handful of deals with Saudi Arabia during Trump's weekend visit, involving the sale of military and passenger aircraft. Its stock closed up more than 1 percent. These types of arms deals have caused defense stocks to rally in the past, according to CNBC analysis using Kensho. One month after about 40 U.S.-Saudi Arabia arms deals — going back to 2009 — the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE Arca: ITA) was up 3.3 percent, on average, almost double the return of the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) , according to data compiled by Kensho. "The key, and as yet unknown, issue will be (1) when/if all the various items mentioned are put under contract and (2) when they are to be delivered," Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr wrote in a note to clients. "Given the generally extended period required to finalize foreign arms contracts, we'd expect little impact on 2017 results, with some potential benefit in 2018 and more in 2019," Rumohr said. Lockheed Martin is slated to be the biggest potential winner after this news, with Raytheon being a "potential dark horse winner," should its Patriot missile be purchased, Rumohr said. Trump's deal with the Saudis solidifies a decades-long alliance with the world's largest oil exporter and will be worth $350 billion over 10 years. Lockheed Martin said in a statement that the deal "will directly contribute to [Saudi Arabia's] Vision 2030 by opening the door for thousands of highly skilled jobs in new economic sectors." — CNBC's Javier David contributed to this report. CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho. Correction: President Donald Trump signed a nearly $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia. An earlier version misstated the figure. More From CNBC Bitcoin jumps $200 in single day on surging global demand Op-Ed: CEO ejection hardly gets Ford back in the race Tech rally may lead to calls to redistribute Silicon Valley's wealth: Strategist View comments || Get ready for a possible 'second wave' of that massive global cyberattack: Microsoft Windows users, brace yourselves. People are worried a second wave of cyberattacks could strike around the world on Monday as employees return to their desks and log onto their computers.
Security experts say the unprecedented ransomware attack that on Friday locked up computers across the globe including UK hospital, FedEx, train systems in Germany among other institutions in exchange for payment, could cause even more trouble as the work week begins. On top of that, copycat versions of the malicious software have already started to spread.
"We are in the second wave," Matthieu Suiche of the cybersecurity firm Comae Technologiestold theNew York Timeson Sunday.
SEE ALSO:Meet the 20-somethings who stopped a worldwide cyberattack
Officials urged companies and organizations to update their Microsoft operating systems immediately to ensure networks aren't still vulnerable to more powerful variants of the malware known asWannaCryor WannaCrypt.
The outbreak, which began last Friday, is already believed to be the biggest online extortion scheme ever recorded.
WannaCry locks up computers, encrypts their data, and demands large Bitcoin payments, which begin at $300 and rise to $600 before the software destroys files hours later. Cyber criminals targeted users in 150 nations, including the U.S., Russia, Brazil, Spain, and India, along with major government agencies, such as the U.K.'s National Health Service and Germany's national railway.
Two researchers in their 20's hadhalted the ransomeware attackon Saturday after discovering and activating the software's "kill switch." The temporary fix initially helped slow down the rate of infected computers.
But some networks may have caught the malicious bug after workers went home, meaning the malware is already there, waiting for employees to power up their computers.
"The way these attacks work means that compromises of machines and networks that have already occurred may not yet have been detected, and that existing infections from the malware can spread within networks," Britain's National Cyber Security Center said ina statementon Sunday.
"This means that as a new working week begins it is likely, in the U.K. and elsewhere, that further cases of ransomware may come to light, possibly at a significant scale," officials warned.
The cyber criminals, whose identities are still unknown, also rebounded from the kill switch activation by releasing a second variation of the malware.
Europol, the European Union's policing agency, said the attack remains an "escalating threat" whose numbers "are still going up" after a brief slowdown on Friday. The agency estimates some 200,000 victims — including 100,000 public and private sector organizations — have been affected since the start of the cyberattack.
The 22-year-old British cyber researcher who found the kill switch said he was now looking into a possible second wave of attacks.
"It's quite an easy change to make, to bypass the way we stopped it," MalwareTech, who uses an alias,told the Associated Press.
The WannaCry malware exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was reportedly developed and used by the U.S. National Security Agency. Experts said this vulnerability has been known for months, and Microsoft had fixed the problem in updates of recent versions of Windows. But many users did not apply the software patch, AP reported.
So, in case you needed another reminder, update your software often. And maybe change your passwords while you're at it. || Bitcoin rival Ripple is suddenly sitting on many billions of dollars worth of currency: Blockchain start-up Ripple is in a precarious position for a 5-year-old company. The business is still in its very early days but suddenly has billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Ripple, which built a digital payments network for real-time financial transactions, is also the creator and biggest owner of Ripple XRP , a digital currency that has increased in value by 40 times this year. There's a total of 100 billion XRP in existence, each priced at about 26 cents. The $26 billion of total value is second among cryptocurrencies, behind bitcoin , which is valued at $41 billion. Ripple owns about 61 percent or $16 billion worth of XRP. If that were factored into the company's valuation, Ripple would be worth more than all but four U.S. start-ups Uber, Airbnb, Palantir and WeWork. XRP is surging alongside bitcoin and ether as well as smaller digital currencies like dash and m onero . They're all benefiting from the surging interest in blockchain , a distributed electronic ledger that makes all transactions trackable. Unlike other cryptocurrencies on the market, XRP is tied to and majority-owned by a single company. That's led to concern among XRP investors and enthusiasts that Ripple will one day decide to capitalize on its massive stake and flood the market with currency. Some venture investors would surely welcome cashing in on some of that value after pouring about $94 million into the company. But for people with thousands (or millions) of dollars wrapped up in XRP, the fear of a sudden excess of supply has been unsettling, particularly considering the volatility of the currency. The price fell 13 percent late in the day on Thursday and double-digit daily moves are normal. 'Off the table' To create some long-term stability and ease those concerns, Ripple announced a plan last week for the structured sale and use of its currency. By the end of 2017, the company will put 55 billion of its XRP into escrow and will unleash up to 1 billion into the market every month. Thus, investors will have some sense of what's coming. Story continues "We decided to take the issue off the table," Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said in an interview. "We wanted to make sure we were combating any uncertainty about supply." Garlinghouse is a well-known name in Silicon Valley. He had senior executive roles at Yahoo ( YHOO ) and AOL and was CEO of Hightail (formerly YouSendIt) from 2012 to 2014. He joined Ripple in 2015, and earlier this year took over the CEO role from founder Chris Larsen, a serial entrepreneur, who previously started online lender Prosper. Garlinghouse likened Ripple's situation to Yahoo, which derives almost all of its current value from its large stake in China's Alibaba (: ) . (Yahoo's core business is being sold to Verizon ( VZ ) and the Alibaba stake is being spun out into a new holding company called Altaba .) The analogy only goes so far, as equity investors haven't ascribed a big multibillion dollar valuation to Ripple. The company last raised money in September , when the XRP currency was worth a tiny fraction of its current price. However, Ripple's business has picked up quite a bit of momentum since then, which helps explain at least some of XRP's rally. Last month, Ripple signed up 10 new financial institutions , including BBVA, to its payments platform that supports speedy transactions by eliminating all the friction that exists between various currencies and financial systems. Global banks including Bank of America ( BAC ) , RBC (Toronto Stock Exchange: RY-CA) and UBS (Swiss Exchange: UBSG-CH) are also customers. While bitcoin is the more established cyptocurrency , it's primarily used today as an investment vehicle and has run into big latency problems with handling transactions. Ripple and ethereum have emerged as the early leaders in enabling business arrangements, with Ripple trying to build the digital payments standard for the financial sector. "Some of those banks are all in and some are still in the early stage running a pilot," Garlinghouse said. "We have real customers touching real production systems. We're the only company you can say that about in our space." More From CNBC GameStop shares tank despite earnings beat Bitcoin rival ethereum is headed for a 38% correction, analyst says Nintendo adds $2.2 billion to market cap as shares rally after release of hit game || Your first trade for Wednesday, June 7: The "Fast Money" traders shared their first moves for the market open.
Tim Seymour was a buyer of Target(NYSE: TGT).
Karen Finerman was a buyer of Foot Locker(NYSE: FL).
Dan Nathan was a buyer of Intel(NASDAQ: INTC).
Guy Adami was a buyer of Restoration Hardware(NYSE: RH).
Trader disclosure: On June 6, 2017, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Tim Seymour is long ABX, AAPL, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, C, CLF, CVX, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWN, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD, MAT, MOS, MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, SQ,T, TWTR, VALE, VRX, VZ, XOM. short: EEM, SPY, XRT. Karen Finerman is long AAL, BAC, BAC short calls, Bitcoin and other digital currencies, C, DAL, EEM, EPI, EWW, DVYE, FB, FL, GLMP, GLNG, GM, GOGO, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, LYV, KORS, KORS calls, KORS puts, MA, SEDG, SPY puts, TACO, WIFI, WFM. Her firm is long ANTM, BAC calls, C, C calls, FB, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, GLNG, GMLP, JPM, JPM calls, KORS puts, LYV, PLCE, SPY puts, SPY put spreads, WIFI, UAL, her firm is short IWM, MDY.Dan Nathan is short SPY, long June XLV, XLI and XRT puts. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
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• Your first trade for Tuesday, June 6
• Vacation stocks a buy? 4 trades || Cybersecurity stocks jump after major 'WannaCry' attack: Cybersecurity stocks surged on Monday following a Friday cyberattack whichhit at least 150 countriesand affected computers in factories and hospitals.
Palo Alto Networks(NYSE: PANW)closed down more than 2 percent, while Symantec(NASDAQ: SYMC)closed about 3 percent lower. FireEye(NASDAQ: FEYE)closed up more than 7 percent. The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK)(NYSE Arca: HACK)gained more than 3 percent by Monday's close.
Experts fear the WannaCry malwaremay worsen into this weekas people log back on to their computers Monday.
Even if the malware attack is contained, cybersecurity stocks may perform well in the coming week and month as companies beef up their defense systems against another hack.
CNBC analyzed the last 15 major cyberattacks using analytics tool Kensho. A week following the hacks, shares of Barracuda Networks(NYSE: CUDA), F5 Networks(NASDAQ: FFIV), and Fortinet(NASDAQ: FTNT)posted the biggest average gains.
A month after an attack, the major cybersecurity players did even better as demand for their services increased. Barracuda, FireEye, and Fortinet, along with Proofpoint(NASDAQ: PFPT), were big gainers, on average, a month out.
— CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho.
More From CNBC
• Value investor Klarman just bought big stakes in two Apple suppliers
• Snap shares surge more than 8% after filings reveal big hedge funds bet on the stock
• Bitcoin plunges $200 after cyber attackers demand ransom using it || Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High: A year ago, one Bitcoin could be had for about $450. On Thursday, the cryptocurrency peaked at just over $1,340, as measured by theCoindesk price index, before retrenching slightly to $1318 by this morning. That’s still a return of nearly 200%.
Bitcoin has seen a remarkably steady rise since early 2016, fueled by globalregulatory normalization, broad interest in the technology fromenterprises and banks, and rising transaction volumes. Cryptocurrency analysts, according to Coindesk, think the trendwill continue, citing among other factors that most Bitcoin investors are long-term bulls who will take profits conservatively.
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But the very transaction volume that is Bitcoin’s key fundamental also presents a serious medium-term threat, as the system has struggled to keep up. Transaction speeds have become impractical for merchant payments, and fees have risen, making the system less competitive with conventional payment systems such as credit cards. Struggles over how to fix the problem have raisedthe spectre of a network split-though that could, at least theoretically, give holders additional value in a manner akin to a stock split.
Bitcoin had a notable previous peak of around $979 way back in November of 2013 (Coindesk’s number seems conservative here-Coinmarketcaprecords a 2013 peak of $1149). That push was fueled by a wave of mainstream media attention, but prices slumped through 2015 on the realization that the tech’s promise would take some time to fulfill, dipping as low as $204 that August.
This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com || Will Pricey Bitcoin Just Make The Rich Richer?: Bitcoin has been one of the hottest investments on the world in recent years, doubling in value once again in the month of May alone. However, despite its roots in technology and its focus on transparency, it seems bitcoin is demonstrating the same wealth-concentrating patterns that other global currencies experience.
Bitcoin’s fresh all-time highs have been accompaniedby headlinesabout how $100 of bitcoin in 2010 is now worth $75 million. Unfortunately, it seems as if the vast majority of thatwealth creationis going into the pockets of a very small number of people.
Wealth Distribution Study
Because the history of all bitcoin transactions has been logged and is publicly available, researchers at theEotvos Lorand Universityin Hungary were able to study the financial history of every bitcoin account holder in order to model bitcoin wealth creation over time.
Related Link: Battle Of The Cryptos: Bitcoin Vs. Ethereum
The study found clear evidence of a phenomenon known as the Matthew Effect, which many economists believe is the driver of the 80:20 distribution of global wealth (in which 80 percent of the wealth is controlled by 20 percent of the population). The researchers found that bitcoin accounts which linked to the most other accounts tended to grow more quickly than others.
“The ability to attract new connections and to gain wealth is fundamentally related,” the researchers said. “The ‘rich get richer’ phenomenon is indeed present in the system.”
The end result is highlighted in the surprising graphic below.
As of 2014, the top 0.7 percent of bitcoin accounts held 55 percent of the total bitcoin available, according to WhoIsHostingThis. By contrast, the bottom 70 percent of accounts held just 1 percent of the total bitcoin. These numbers suggest wealth in the bitcoin world is even more unevenly distributed than it is in the rest of the world.
See more from Benzinga
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© 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || WannaCry: Everything You Need To Know About the Ransomware Sweeping the Globe: A massive cyberattack has been spreadingacross the globe since Friday, hitting hundred of thousands of computers and crippling major government and corporate operations. The malware is known as WannaCry, and here’s what you need to know.
Absolutely not. There were widespread reports on Saturday that a security researcher haddiscovered a "kill switch"that stopped the ransomware from spreading, but that's only partly true. The kill switch certainly slowed WannaCry down, but it only stopped some of the ways the malware could spread. And Kaspersky Lab security researchers confirmed within hours that new versions of the malware had been detected which werenot stopped by the kill switch. The ransomwarespread to thousands more computers on Monday morning, as companies continued to cope with the fallout of the initial attack, the Associated Press reported.
WannaCry is ransomware, a growing category of extremely heinous malware. Once it has activated on a machine, it encrypts the files on that machine so they are inaccessible. Then it instructs the owner to pay a ransom in Bitcoin in exchange for unlocking the files.
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Broadly speaking, WannaCry exploits vulnerabilities in older Windows operating systems, including Windows XP. issued a patch for those systems on Friday, but that didn't stop it from hitting more than200,000 machines in 150 countries. That has included dozens of large institutions and companies, including the U.K.’sNational Health Service, China's National Petroleum Corporation, andRenault factories in France.
If any of your personal or corporate systems run an older version of Windows (XP, 8, or Server 2003 specifically),you or your adminsshould immediately install Microsoft'snew security update. You should also, as always, remain extremely careful about opening any email attachments, from known or strange sources. But the truly scary thing about WannaCry is that it can reportedly spread over local networkswithout user interaction. Some authorities--including thegovernment of Indonesia--are suggesting disconnecting unprotected machines from the Internet.
Short answer: No. Security firms are getting better at decrypting files from ransomware attacks, but there are as yet no reputable decryptors (tools for removing ransomware) for WannaCry--though that could change at any time. And don’t get tricked twice. Hackers could even use the promise of a WannaCrypt fix as bait for further infections, so be extremely skeptical. Also, according to McAfee researchers, WannaCrydeletes so-called 'Volume Shadow' backupsthat can sometimes be used to restore files.
That said, there is one unsavory option here: pay the ransom. WannaCry demands $300 in Bitcoin to unlock files on a machine, and hackers running ransomware have historically proven remarkably trustworthy in fulfilling their end of that bargain. (Whether paying is the ethical move is abig, thorny debate.)
WannaCry is believed to have been created with the (unintentional) assistance of the U.S. National Security Agency. An NSA exploit known as EternalBlue, part of anApril releaseby a hacking group called the Shadow Brokers, is at its core.
To make money, though that doesn't seem to be working out so well. While global financial damages from the attack could easily climb into the hundreds of millions, the (publicly viewable)Bitcoin addressescollecting ransom for the attackers are almost comically light: at this writing, they contain barely over $34,000 worth of Bitcoin.
See original article on Fortune.com
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• Ransomware Attack Sends Cybersecurity Stocks Soaring
• Microsoft Windows Now Patched Against WannaCry Ransomware Attack
• Ransomware Attack Targeting Microsoft Windows Hits Spanish Telco Giant Telefonica
• Exclusive: Dell Technologies Is Selling This Cloud Group
• How to Protect Yourself From Ransomware || This Trump ETF Trade Completely Unwinds: Swirling controversy about President Trump's conversations with ex-FBI director James Comey sent stocks and interest rates spiraling lower this week. Many of the "Trump trades" that performed so well in the wake of the president's surprising victory on Nov. 8 reversed course, erasing a chunk of their post-election moves. One of those trades is ahead of them all in its fade. Not only has it reversed course, but the U.S. dollar has completely erased all of its gains since Election Day. On Wednesday, the widely followed U.S. Dollar Index fell for its fifth-straight session, bottoming out at 97.43, the lowest point since the election. The buck is now down 4.5% year-to-date, while the largest ETF tracking the currency, the $659 million PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund (UUP) , is down 4.8%. YTD Return For US Dollar Index & UUP Pro-Growth Agenda Pushed Back It's not hard to figure out why the greenback is falling. The latest allegations against Trump, regardless of whether they are true or false, will likely push back his pro-growth economic agenda. Health care reform, tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending all become more difficult when the president is having to defend himself on a near-daily basis. Less growth translates into a weaker dollar. That's without even accounting for the effect on the Fed's tightening schedule. If the central bank slows down its rate hikes in light of the latest events, that's another big weight on the U.S. currency. Overseas Outlook Brightens All that plays into why the dollar fell most recently. But the greenback has been falling steadily for much of the year, ever since peaking at 14-year highs during the first few trading sessions of January. Since then, the outlook for overseas economies has brightened considerably, giving a boost to nondollar currencies at the expense of the buck. In the case of Europe, expectations are rising that the economy has improved enough for the European Central Bank to put together an outline for winding down its 60 billion/month quantitative easing program as early as June. Meanwhile, data from the International Monetary Fund indicates emerging markets could see their fastest economic growth in four years in 2017. Story continues That's all positive for dollar rivals and the ETFs that track them . Just to name a few, the $274 million CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE) returned 5.6% so far this year; the $258 million CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust (FXB) returned 5%; and the $47 million WisdomTree Emerging Currency Strategy Fund (CEW) returned 6.3%. Familiar Pattern Where does the dollar go from here? That's hard to say; currency markets are some of the most difficult to forecast, as evidenced by how ill-timed the bullish dollar calls at the beginning of the year now look. The current downtrend in the buck could reverse in a flash if Trump can show he's an effective president, and he along with the Republican Congress are able to pass their pro-growth economic measures. Moreover, a look at the chart for the U.S. Dollar Index reveals that the currency hasn't yet broken any critical levels. The index has been essentially range-bound between 93 and 100 since early 2015, with a brief breakout above the top of that range in the aftermath of the election. US Dollar Index In fact, the dollar is following the same pattern from 2015 and 2016, when it peaked early in the year, sold off during the middle of the year and then staged a comeback late in the year. So far, this year fits that mold perfectly, though of course, eventually the pattern will break. Contact Sumit Roy at sroy@etf.com . Recommended Stories This Trump ETF Trade Completely Unwinds 3 ETFs For Surprise Drop In The Dollar Emerging Market Local Debt ETFs Shine Big Bitcoin ETF Decision Coming Today, Or Maybe Not The Most Interesting New Gold ETF Since GLD Permalink | © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved || 10 things you need to know before the opening bell: (A warden guards Sudan, the last surviving male northern white rhino, at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia national park, KenyaReuters/Baz Ratner)
Here is what you need to know.
The jobs report is coming.The US economy is expected to have added 190,000 nonfarm jobs in April as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6%, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Additionally, average hourly earnings are expected to have held steady at up 2.7% year-over-year. The data will cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Oil plunges suddenly.In a matter of 20 minutes, West Texas Intermediate crude oil tumbled 3.6% to a low of $43.76 a barrel. However, it has recovered its losses, and now trades little changed near $45.55.
Bitcoin is swinging violently.The cryptocurrency gained as much as 9% on Thursday, putting in a record high of $1,652 a coin before plunging below $1,500. On Friday, bitcoin trades up 6.4% at $1,598.
The 1st large Chinese-made passenger jet took off on its maiden voyage.The C919 took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, making China the fourth jumbo jet producer after the US, Europe, and Russia, Reuters says.
Warren Buffett unloads some of his IBM stock.Buffett sold one-third of Berkshire Hathaway's 81 million shares saying he "revalued it somewhat downward" from six years ago. Berkshire's annual meeting will take place on Saturday, and Business Insider will have full coverage.
ChemChina clinches its $43 billion takeover of Syngenta."At the end of the main offer period on May 4, based on preliminary numbers, around 80.7 percent of shares have been tendered," the companies said in a joint statement. "Subject to confirmation in the definitive notice of interim results scheduled for May 10, the minimum acceptance rate condition of 67 percent of issued Syngenta shares has been met."
Shake Shack same-store sales whiff.The burger chain said sales at stores open at least a year fell 2.5%, missing the 0.2% growth that Wall Street analysts were expecting. Shake Shack shares sank more than 7% in extended trading on Thursday.
Stock markets around the world are lower.Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.8%) lagged in Asia and Germany's DAX (-0.3%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,391.
Earnings reporting slows down.Cigna, Cognizant, and Fannie Mae are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell.
Aside from the jobs report, US economic data is light.Consumer credit will be released at 3 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.35%.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 15 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $455.31 #bitcoin #btc || #BITCOIN ahora:
$1,784.57 USD
€1,640.83 EUR
$33,733.82 MXN
@Bitso $34,396.00 MXN
@Volabit $34,463.60 MXNpic.twitter.com/MeZfDnxFSr || Las Vegas Club Installs Bitcoin ATM, Records Memberships on Blockchain - http://ift.tt/2oQ4X2x || New all time #bitstamp #bitcoin high of $1986.00 || If you lose you are not necessarily a loser, if you call yourself a loser no one will be able... $ell/฿uy http://bit.ly/2mdYD3U #Bitcoin || BTC Real Time Price: ThePriceOfBTC: $2252.00 #GDAX;
$2242.90 #bitstamp;
$2245.99 #gemini;
$2222.00 #btce;
$2210.00 #kraken;
$2245.10 #itBit… || $2399.91 at 13:00 UTC [24h Range: $2180.00 - $2401.34 Volume: 16253 BTC] || $1850.75 at 15:15 UTC [24h Range: $1745.00 - $1892.00 Volume: 13415 BTC] || " Regaee Jam session"
part 1
20 Mei 2017
at BTC Mall
16:00-22:00
Guest Star with : Nath the Lions
GASRUX... http://fb.me/1mmXuGHQZ || New all time #bitstamp #bitcoin high of $2020.00
|
Trend: down || Prices: 2823.81, 2947.71, 2958.11, 2659.63, 2717.02, 2506.37, 2464.58, 2518.56, 2655.88, 2548.29
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Lucrazon Global Helps Merchants by Integrating Cryptocurrency With Bitcoin Payment Acceptance: IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - May 4, 2015) - California-based Lucrazon Global (http://www.lucrazonglobal.com/), a fully integrated Ecommerce platform and Global Business Network designed specifically for Internet entrepreneurs, Work from Home and Network Marketing professionals, and businesses of any type, reinforces its services offered by accommodating encrypted digital currency Bitcoin payments. The integration of Bitcoins aims at protecting merchants from online fraud and other threats, and comes shortly after Californian Governor, Jerry Brown, passed a bill to approve Bitcoins as a legitimate form of currency for financial transactions in the state (source:http://cointelegraph.com/news/113235/bitcoin-becomes-legal-tender-for-transactions-in-california).
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that is managed and utilized with the help of encryption techniques such as cryptography (source:http://www.investopeia.com/articles/forex/091013/future-cryptocurrency.asp). The technology is increasingly popular among ecommerce vendors who use it to process transactions and verifications with the help of networks. After initial security hiccups, Federal Reserve recently declared it a trustworthy alternative to paper money. The fact that cryptocurrency is irreversible allowsLucrazon Globalto protect paying customers against chargebacks -- a type of fraud that is possible through more conventional transaction methods like credit card payments.
Lucrazon Global's introduction of the encrypted currency comes at a favorable time that holds a lot of potential for international merchants in circumventing certain risks: According to an annual report by LexisNexis merchants incurred a loss of about $3.4 billion in 2011 through online fraud alone (source:http://btctheory.com/2013/10/30/fraud-chargebacks-and-Bitcoin/). Alex Pitt, CEO ofLucrazon Global, knows that chargebacks have been the bane of ecommerce ventures for years. These can be filed against a customer's billing statement on his credit card if a charge is disputed. Since there are no chargebacks in cryptocurrency, Lucrazon Global's incentive is designed to protect merchants from such malicious schemes thereby keeping transactions secure.
Bitcoins are originally bought from exchange companies by investors and traders by using valuable currencies. Online businesses that utilize the technology require customers to store the digital funds in online storage software such as eWallets, on their PCs, or on the web. Payments with the currency are enabled through "Pay with Bitcoin" options on these sites. In 2013, Bitcoins grew exponentially and have become a preferred currency for several types of ecommerce transactions. A number of online stores have adopted the currency as their payments of choice. Brands who have gotten on the Bitcoin trend include Target, Victoria's Secret, the car company Tesla, Zynga, Apple's App Store, Home Depot, Wikipedia, and Subway to name a few (source:http://www.Bitcoinvalues.net/who-accepts-Bitcoins-payment-companies-stores-take-Bitcoins.html). By offering Bitcoins as a payment option, Lucrazon Global now introduces the cryptocurrency to smaller stores and businesses.
A fully integrated e-commerce platform and Global Business Network, Lucrazon Global is designed specifically for Internet Entrepreneurs, Work from Home and Network Marketing professionals, and businesses of any type. Specializing in providing multi functional websites such as ecommerce stores, the company offers solutions like product inventories, integrated shopping carts, drop shipments, access to multiple suppliers, and real time account activation. The company has become a leader in ecommerce solutions by working closely with suppliers, manufactures, fulfillment centers centralizing opportunity making it simple for anyone to become an online business professional.
For more information or to become a Brand Partner, visit:http://www.lucrazonglobal.com/
Lucrazon Global's blog:http://lucrazonglobalnews.com/
Lucrazon Global Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/LucrazonGlobal
Lucrazon Global - Twitter:https://twitter.com/lucrazon
Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2815608Embedded Video Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2815611 || Microelectronics Plans Expansion Through Reduced Electrical Expense: MONARCH BAY, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 29, 2015 / Microelectronics Technology Company ( MELY ) announces pending planned expansion in its Bitcoin server mining operation. The Company is moving forward in the next phase of its planned expansion of its Bitcoin mining operation, as it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire electricity at the lowest price available to a bitcoin mining operation in the United States. The letter of intent outlines up to 10 Mega Watts of electrical power dedicated specifically to the needs of Microelectronics Technology Company. The electrical rate for this power averages 2 cents per kilowatt, the lowest rate in the Country. The electrical provider rates reliability of the electrical power at 99.99%. "With this amount of electrical power available to the Company we can now move forward with our expansion plans of a site designed and constructed with a bitcoin mining operation in mind," stated Brett Everett, President of the Company. "With the new chip technology coming to the market, this also increases the amount of Hash Rate the Company can run with 10 Mega Watts of electrical power, providing us with some very unique options." The timing for finalization for delivery of the contract for the power is June 16, 2015 in accordance with the terms outlined in the Letter of Intent. https://www.facebook.com/btcpoolparty Additional photos and videos can be viewed at the company's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MELYPK . Forward-Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these statements are made to convey Company progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. Whereas management believes such representations to be true and accurate based on information and data available to the Company at this time, actual results may differ materially and are subject to risk and uncertainties. Factors that may cause actual results to differ include without limitation: dependence on key personnel and suppliers; MELY's ability to commercialize its technology; ability to defend intellectual property; material and component costs; competition; economic conditions; consumer demand and product acceptance, and availability of growth capital. Story continues Additional considerations and risk factors are set forth-in reports filed on Form 8-K and 10-K with the SEC and other filings. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements; historical information is not an indicator of future performance. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements. CONTACT: For further Information: Microelectronics Technology Company President: Mr. Brett Everett 888-681-9777 ext. 5 info@melypk.com www.melypk.com SOURCE: Microelectronics Technology Company || STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know: Car stuck (REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn ) Stocks were all over the place on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and the Dow rallied above the record highs set on Monday, and slid in the final 90 minutes of trading. But the Dow rebounded to make a new record high. First, the scoreboard: Dow: 18,312.39, +13.51, (0.07%) S&P 500: 2,127.83, -1.37, (-0.06%) Nasdaq: 5,070.03, -8.40, (-0.17%) And now, the top stories on Tuesday: In economic data, housing starts surged to the highest level since November 2007 . Starts rose 20.2% in April to an annualized pace of 1.135 million, crushing expectations for a 9.6% rise to an annualized rate of 1.01 million. Building permits rose 10.1% to an annualized pace of 1.143 million, versus forecasts for a 2.1% rise to an annualized pace of 1.06 million. "The uptick in mortgage rates over the last month will be a headwind going forward," wrote Nomura analysts in a note. "However, today's data reinforce our basic view that housing will contribute to stronger growth this year and that we should expect stronger growth in the US going forward." US government bonds sold off. As their prices fell, yields rose; the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed to a year-to-date high of 2.303%, a rise of about 5 basis points. The long 30-year bond yield also rose about 5 basis points to as high as 3.09%. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell more than 3.5% to as low as $57.95 per barre l. The American Petroleum Institute is due to report on US crude stockpiles after the closing bell, and the Energy Information Administration will release its tally on Wednesday. Inventories have declined in the past few weeks. Over the weekend, Goldman Sachs slashed its price forecast for the next five years. The New York Stock Exchange has launched a bitcoin index . NYXBT will reflect data from the Coinbase bitcoin exchange, which the NYSE made a minority investment in earlier this year. The NYSE said in a statement: "NYXBT utilizes a unique methodology that relies on rules-based logic to analyze a dataset of matched transactions and verify the integrity of the data to ultimately produce an objective and fair daily value for one bitcoin in U.S. Dollars as of 16:00 London time." Bitcoin is currently worth $233, down almost $3 from yesterday. Shares of Chinese sports lottery site 500.com surged as much as 30% despite the company announcing a first-quarter loss, the resignation of its CEO and one director, and saying it is currently generating no sales. The company saw an earnings per share loss of 6 cents, much less than the expectation for a profit of 28 cents, and sales of $15.9 million versus $24.7 million expected. It saw a net loss of $8.4 million. Last month, 500.com suspended all online lottery sales in agreement with the Chinese government. And in the earnings report Tuesday, it said it is not generating revenues due to the suspension. TJX Companies beat estimates on earnings and revenues in the first quarter – something that's been unusual for retailers this season. The parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.69 (versus $0.66 expected) on sales of $6.9 billion (versus $6.8 billion.) The company saw a 5% year-over-year rise in same-store sales, and raised its full-year guidance based on these results. Its stock rose as much as 3%. Macy's and JCPenney are two of the retailers that reported weaker-than-expected earnings. Urban Outfitters also missed expectations, and its stock tanked by up to 16% . It reported first quarter sales of $0.25 ($0.30 expected,) and record sales of $739 million (still below $757.58 expected.) Analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to "Perform" from "Outperform," citing several lackluster quarters, and "fashion misses" at Anthropologie in their note. Shake Shack shares rallied by more than 5% , bringing the stock's gains since reporting earnings after the close last Wednesday to around 12%. After the company's initial public offering priced at $21 in January, the stock has more than tripled and was trading at around $76 on Tuesday. There's been no big news since the earnings results that one analyst described as a " historically impressive 'beat and raise quarter.' " Shake Shack's flagship location in Madison Square Park in New York will reopen on Wednesday May 20. Story continues DON'T MISS: This demographic trend will be bullish for stocks for years » NOW WATCH: Here's exactly when you should 'cc' someone on email More From Business Insider STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know STOCKS HIT ALL-TIME HIGHS: Here's what you need to know STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know || These 2 indie movies are going to give the summer blockbusters a run for their money: DOPE2 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") "Dope." You’ve seen “ Avengers: Age of Ultron, ” “ Mad Max: Fury Road, ” and “ Jurassic World. ” Though you concede they are all thrilling and visually stunning, you’re still searching for movies this summer with a little bit more … story. Thankfully there are two movies in theaters that can help feed that need. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon ’s “ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl ” and Rick Famuyiwa ’s “ Dope ” on the surface look like two very different movies, from where they're set to dialogue and characters. But they have a lot in common. me and earl and the dying girl1 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." Both films played at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and walked away with awards (for “Me and Earl” the prestigious Audience Award and Grand Jury prizes, and for “Dope” best editing), they both look at modern-day high-school life, and they have both been thrust in the middle of the summer blockbuster season (“Me and Earl” is in theaters; “Dope” opens Friday). Distributors Fox Searchlight (“Me and Earl”) and Open Road Films (“Dope”) are using the classic counter-programming maneuver in the hopes that audiences who aren’t into Hollywood blockbusters, or by mid-June are ready for something new, will give these indie darlings a try. This was a play Searchlight had success with when releasing the cult comedy “Napoleon Dynamite” in mid-June 2004. Building off the success of the film-festival circuit without a star or name director, the film had an impressive opening weekend take of $117,000 and went on to have a total domestic gross of over $44 million (the film’s budget was around $400,000). napoleon dynamite (Fox Searchlight) "Napoleon Dynamite." In its opening weekend “Me and Earl” took in similar numbers with over $196,000 . For this weekend, “Dope” is also getting creative in their purchase options, allowing tickets to be purchased via Bitcoin , making it the first time digital currency has ever been allowed for ticket sales. Story continues But strategic placement and gimmicks aside, the movies are strong enough to grab the attention of even the most dedicated Hollywood blockbuster moviegoer. In “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” we follow the senior year of outsider Greg (Thomas Mann). With a daily existence that includes staying friendly with all the different cliques at his Pittsburgh high school (but not committed to any) and making ultra-low-budget knocks-offs of classic films with his buddy Earl (RJ Cyler), Greg’s priorities change when he befriends Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. me and earl and the dying girl2 (Fox Searchlight/"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl") Thomas Mann and Olivia Cooke in "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl." The story has a been-there-done-that feel, but the style is a fresh one to the high-school dramedy genre with its creative use of stop-motion animation and high IQ in movie geekdom. “Dope” is set in the Inglewood neighborhood (known to those who live there as “The Bottoms”) of Los Angeles and follows another geek, Malcolm (Shameik Moore), and his two friends Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Unlike Greg and Earl, who have zero aspirations, Malcolm and his crew have high hopes for the future. Keeping away from the gang culture of South Los Angeles and completely obsessed with ’90s hip-hop, their main goal is to leave the 'hood and get into college, especially Malcolm, who has aspirations to attend Harvard. Dope1 final (Open Road Films/"Dope") Shameik Moore in "Dope." But things get complicated when Malcolm goes to the party of the neighborhood drug dealer and unknowingly leaves with drugs. Malcolm and friends then embark on an adventure through LA to get rid of the goods. If you listened to hip-hop in the ’90s, you will likely love “Dope.” It’s filled with nostalgic tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Public Enemy, Digital Underground, and Naughty By Nature, curated by executive producer Pharrell Williams. They are perfectly placed and elevate the enjoyment of the story that’s part “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” part “Friday.” What both films exemplify is that movies with strong stories (and without massive explosions) can survive in the summer months. Whether the hook is geek culture, or a killer soundtrack, once you’re watching, it’s the excellent crafting of these characters by Gomez-Rejon and Famuyiwa that keep you engrossed for the next few hours. This weekend, take a break from the CGI-fueled blockbusters and check out one of these films instead. And if you need more convincing, here are the trailers for both films. More From Business Insider 'Jurassic World' has a ton of hit and miss ideas — but it's a wild ride For the first time a movie will accept Bitcoin for ticket purchases 'Jurassic World' just surpassed 'Avengers' for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever || Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson went on a big rant about having to pay his executives too much: (Reuters)
Sheldon Adelson is one of the 20 wealthiest people in the world,according to Forbes.
But the casino magnate thinks his employees get paid too much.
According toThe Guardian, "while testifying on Wednesday in a civil suit rooted in allegations that his casino operation in Macao made improper payments to a Chinese official and had ties to Triad organized crime, Adelson unexpectedly enlightened the court on his feelings about the bonus culture."
The casino magnate thinks even his own executives working abroad are paid too much:
The billionaire complained that his expatriate executives, deployed to postings such as Macao or Singapore, were sending their children to school on the company shilling at $30,000 a year in fees for each child. Then some of them were getting Adelson's Las Vegas Sands company to pay $50,000 a year for college education. Adelson called that "offensive."
On top of that there's the housing allowance — $25,000 a month in Singapore, he stressed — and a car.
"Not a Toyota like they would drive here," he thundered.
The judge listened in what looked like bemused silence as Adelson shifted to the high cost of flying executives' families around the world.
"Sending whole families home four times a year is not acceptable," he said. "When it comes to flying, it has to be first-class when the whole family could fly coach."
Adelson also had an interesting answer to a question from the opposing counsel about a signature irregularity on a form, according to The Guardian: "You want to send me to jail? I just bought a big home. I don't want to move to smaller quarters."
Billionaires: You can't send them to jail because there isn't enough square footage.
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• Uber and Lyft are inching toward becoming the next big mass-transit providers || The Next $10 Bill Will Feature a Woman: The next generation of the $10 bill will have a woman on the face of it.
The new $10 bill won’t be out until 2020, but when it is released, a woman will replace Alexander Hamilton as the primary image, according to anannouncement from U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
The release of the new bill willhonor the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
The woman hasn’t been selected yet, but she will be chosen for her work building and supporting democracy. “America’s currency is a way for our nation to make a statement about who we are and what we stand for. Our paper bills—and the images of great American leaders and symbols they depict—have long been a way for us to honor our past and express our values,” Lew said.
Related:Bill Gates: Bitcoin Is 'Better Than Currency'
The $10 bill will be the first U.S. currency in more than 100 years to have a woman on it, according to Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin.Martha Washington was on the back of the $1 Silver Certificate, alongside her husband, the first U.S. President, from 1896 through 1901.
Meanwhile,three U.S. coins in circulation have a woman on their face. Helen Keller is on the back of the Alabama quarter, Sacagawea is on the face of the dollar coin currently in production and Susan B. Anthony was on the face of the dollar coin produced from 1979 to 1981.
The final announcement of the woman to be on the front of the $10 bill will come later this year. In the meantime, the Treasury is collecting feedback from the public through meetings, roundtables and other public forums to hear who Americans would select for the new $10 bill. The Treasury is also collecting feedback on social media with the hashtag#TheNew10.The first $10 bill was issued in 1914and featured President Andrew Jackson.
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If you are interested to contribute your thoughts about which lady should be on the new $10 bill, keep in mind that to be depicted on a U.S. currency,a person must be deceased.
In addition to increasing the representation of women on U.S. money, paper currency has to be updated and replaced periodically tomake it harder for counterfeiters to replicate the designs. The last time the $10 bill was redesigned was about 10 years ago.
Being on the face of the $10 bill is one way to get a whole lot of face time. Post-mortem fame, but nonetheless. At the end of last year, there were 1.9 billion $10 bills in circulation and for 2015, the U.S. government ordered more than 627 million $10 notes to be printed.
Related:5 Powerful Rules for Women Entrepreneurs to Live By || Which Tech Billionaires Donate the Most to Charity? (Infographic): When you’re sitting on billions, even millions, you can easily afford to give generously to charity and should, and not just for the tax breaks. Whether fueled by a genuine desire to make a difference or out of sheer vanity -- or, yes, to greedily ease the tax blow -- today’s tech titans are showering their favorite charities with cash.
Bill Gates, easily the most famous philanthropist among the tech elite, is back on top again as therichest man in the world, clocking an estimated net worth of$79.7 billion. He’s also arguably the most generous soul on earth.
Related:How the World's First Bitcoin Charity Is Harnessing the Cryptocurrency to Change Lives (VIDEO)
The Microsoft co-founder, a Harvard dropout, founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife in 2000. The aim of the nonprofit is to improve U.S. education and global health. To date, he’s donated$29.5 billionto what is now the world’s largest private foundation. Gates also launchedThe Giving Pledgewith his wife, Melinda, and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett. The initiative encourages the world’s wealthiest to give the majority of their fortunes to charity.
One tech billionaire you might not have heard of, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, the visionary behindMoore’s Law, is also one of the globe’smost prolificphilanthropists. He and his wife, Betty, joined The Giving Pledge in 2012, eleven years after donating half of their wealth to their own namesakefoundation.
Related:Why Bill Gates Is Backing Impact Entrepreneurs in India
For a deeper dive into Gates’s and Moore’s exceptional charitable giving efforts -- along with those of four more of today’s leading tech billionaires -- check out the fact-packed infographic below, care ofWho Is Hosting This.
Image credit: Who Is Hosting This
Related:4 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Pay It Forward || President of Bit-X Financial Corp. (OTCQB: BITXF) Talks About Pending Launch of Company's Bitcoin Exchange and How Bitcoin Is Gaining Recognition in Major Financial Circles: POINT ROBERTS, WA and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 28, 2015) - Investorideas.com, a global news source covering leading sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology issues an exclusive interview with Mr. Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Corp. ( OTCQB : BITXF ). Brad shares insight on the history of his company, the pending launch of the company's Bitcoin exchange and recent developments in the Bitcoin sector that have legitimized Bitcoin in the financial community, making some predict that it may replace traditional currency in the future. As one of the few publicly traded companies in the space, Brad talks about the future of Bitcoin as a digital currency and how his company is posturing to be part of the evolution of currency. Interview: Q: investorideas.com Brad, can you start by giving us a brief history of your company and why you decided to participate in the Bitcoin market? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial After several years of evaluating various technology start-up opportunities, in 2012 I became aware of Bitcoin and the Blockchain. It was exactly what I wanted to get involved with; a new decentralized technology that combined finance, currency, trading and the ability to transfer a store of value (money) between end users instantly, with no intermediaries, at a very low cost. This was also a brand new segment of innovation that is positioned for massive growth, unlike other stagnant industry sectors like traditional banking. This seemed like a really good idea -- world changing potential -- and I became fascinated with the technology and its potential, whereby anyone could become their own bank. Q: investorideas.com For investors unfamiliar with the technology behind Bitcoin can you explain what Blockchain is and how significant it is? I have heard quotes that it is considered "as important of an opportunity as the creation of the Internet itself." A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial The Blockchain (created 2009) is very powerful invention and could become as big as the internet itself. It is a public ledger of all Bitcoin transactions that have ever been executed. It is constantly growing as "completed" blocks are added to it with a new set of recordings. The blocks are added to the Blockchain in a linear, chronological order. Bitcoin is the financial application of the Blockchain and the most important. Story continues Q: investorideas.com The New York Stock Exchange launched a Bitcoin index last week. Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs, Richard Branson and other big names in the financial markets are all getting on board with Bitcoin. What does that mean for a company like yours and the industry overall? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Many of these large institutions including the Nasdaq, NYSE and Goldman provide awareness about Bitcoin to the masses. It validates the technology and says to the market, "pay attention, there is something special here." A start-up such as Bit-X Financial stands to gain tremendously from these endorsements and large-scale investments into the Bitcoin ecosystem, as it can lead to price increases in Bitcoin and overall consumer awareness. BITXF is a digital exchange whereby users can buy & sell Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Blue chip participants will become a catalyst for BITXF to launch successfully and become universally acceptable. Q: investorideas.com You are about to launch your Bitcoin exchange in June. What can users expect to see once it's live in terms of service features? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Some of the service features of the proprietary trading and matching engine have been pioneered from the ground up, leveraging the skills of experienced developers with respected and long-standing careers working for low latency software development firms. It is designed to manage high volume, high throughput, and low latency trading and was modeled on the same LMAX pattern now also leveraged by the world's largest Investment Banks. This investment grade trading platform has a simple and user-friendly UI for users to buy and sell all major crypto currencies. It also features one consolidated shared order book for blended multi-currency settlement in addition to real time FX pricing and risk management. The order engine delivers pre-scan indicative pricing and users can choose to either fix the quantity of Bitcoins or fix the price paid for every order. Lock in a guaranteed execution or alternatively lock in the ultimate price you're prepared to pay for your order; the choice remains yours. And this all relies on an order engine that achieves low latency performance along with the reliability of an exchange that has been verified in supporting millions of daily transactions. At the start, our platform will offer trading in Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Stellar and Ripple. As we grow, we will earn listing fees to other crypto-assets who are seeking access to a trading platform and liquidity. Q: investorideas.com For any users concerned about security, how is your exchange addressing this issue? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial BITXF takes security very seriously. Security is the cornerstone of the platform which is the most secure on the market today. We provide a 3-level login verification that includes a 2-step process to login, 3 levels of verification for withdrawals. This provides our users extra protection to prevent accounts from unauthorized access. Other than your regular password, you will be asked to enter a real-time password generated by Google Authenticator. To provide you an extra level of security, when you withdraw, you will need to activate a link on the verification email to complete the request. SSL ENCRYPTION We use 128-bit encryption to encrypt all communication between you and our website. This is the highest encryption available and is used as the gold standard for all secure communication on the net. DDOS PROTECTION We leverage one of the world's strongest forms of protection against Distributed Denial of Service attacks. We do not pretend to do this by ourselves and partner with multiple third-parties who have proven to mitigate some of the largest DDOS attacks in Internet history. PASSWORDS We do not use MD5 hashing to encrypt your password. To avoid common weaknesses, our proprietary procedures are designed to provide you, our valued clients, with the peace of mind that comes from our Next Level security implementation. DB SECURITY Our databases are encrypted and protected against SQL injection attacks. We also do hourly backups where we send the backups off-site to multiple locations. STATE OF THE ART INFRASTRUCTURE The platform is hosted in Tier 3+ ISO 27001/9001 compliant data centers. Digital currencies are not stored with cloud providers. MULTI-FIREWALL PROTECTION We closely monitor all incoming and outgoing traffic in a very stringent manner to ensure we prevent our network from malicious attack and injection as well as data threats. BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING We have process and controls in place to deal with outages or attacks. Emails will be sent out to notify you of alternative ways to get back into our site. Our site and funds are totally segregated so you can be assured your funds are safe with us. REGULAR STRESS & SOAK TESTING Our technology is immediately scalable. Our regular stress testing has proven it achieves low latency processing and we've soak-tested to over 10 million transactions within a 24 hour period. Translation: our engine and underlying infrastructure can handle load, and lots of it. COMPLIANCE FRAMEWORK We insist on a comprehensive and thorough KYC (Know-Your-Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) compliance framework. This includes the monitoring of suspicious transactions and obligatory reporting to local regulators and other compliance bodies. Our AML and KYC policies differ depending on the country of origin of which our clients are located, and furthermore recorded through the BITXF registration process. Our specific policies are detailed within our Terms of Use and which you must accept as per the new user registration process. Our robust compliance framework ensures that regulatory requirements are being adhered to at both a local and global level, providing the highest levels of trust and ensuring the Site continues to operate reliably for the long term. Q: investorideas.com Can you tell us about the significance of your Exclusive Bitcoin Exchange and Services Agreement with Hong Kong based ANX, announced in April? Will the coin exchange be called Bit-X Financial or will there be a different trade name and branding concept? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Partnering with ANX, a Bitcoin Exchange industry leader, will provide BITXF and our shareholders a turn-key solution to gain immediate exposure to Bitcoin while leveraging the ANX technical and support assets as we prepare to go live. Among the many initiatives occurring with our Company at the moment we have yet to announce what the exchange trade name and branding will be. We want to be original and come up with something unique, something that has not been done before and we plan to release that in the upcoming weeks prior to our go-live date. The public company (BITXF) will be the parent company that owns 100% of the newly branded exchange. Q: investorideas.com In closing what are your goals following the launch and roll out of the site in June and how do you see your company playing an integral role in the future of Bitcoin? A: Brad Moynes, President of Bit-X Financial Our go-live date is on track and we fully expect to launch our world-class proprietary trading platform and provide our users a simple efficient way to trade Bitcoin. Our goals following the launch will be to provide our users a safe, secure and fully compliant Bitcoin exchange experience at a low cost. We are a customer service orientated company and we expect to be the best when it comes to customer support responses and solutions. We are also in the planning and development stage of a new Blockchain technology concept that may see BITXF become the first public company to offer such a technology and offer it to third parties worldwide. More details regarding this excited new concept will be provided as they materialize. About BIT-X: ( OTCQB : BITXF ) Bit-X Financial Corp is a Vancouver; British Columbia based Company listed on the OTCQB under the trading symbol BITXF. Bit-X Financial Corp is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC." www.bitxfin.com About Investorideas.com InvestorIdeas.com newswire is a global investor news source covering multiple sectors including Bitcoin and payment technology. Follow Investorideas.com on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Investorideas Follow Investorideas.com on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Investorideas Sign up for free news alerts at Investorideas.com http://www.investorideas.com/Resources/Newsletter.asp Disclaimer/ Disclosure: The Investorideas.com newswire is a third party publisher of news and research as well as creates original content as a news source. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Investorideas is a news source on Google news syndication partners. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investment involves risk and possible loss of investment. This site is currently compensated by featured companies, news submissions, content marketing and online advertising. Contact each company directly for press release questions. Disclosure is posted on each release if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and is published for the sole interest of our readers. Disclosure: BITXF is a PR client of Investorideas.com and compensates us for news publication, PR and media.( two thousand five hundred per month and 144 shares ) More info: http://www.investorideas.com/About/News/Clientspecifics.asp and http://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp BC Residents and Investor Disclaimer : Effective September 15 2008 -- all BC investors should review all OTC and Pink sheet listed companies for adherence in new disclosure filings and filing appropriate documents with Sedar. Read for more info: http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=6894 . Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. || Buffett holds court in Omaha, Mayweather and Pacquiao bring in big bucks: Sell in May? No way! After a rough ride on Thursday stocks are bouncing back today with all three indices ( ^DJI , ^GSPC , ^IXIC ) up more than half a percent. Some good news for consumers and automakers seems to be at least partly responsible for traders positive start to May. Get the Latest Market Data and News with the Yahoo Finance App Here are some of the other stoires Yahoo Finance is keeping an eye on today. Berkshire shareholders flcok to Omaha Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK-A , BRK-B ) is holding its annual shareholder meeting this weekend. In what has become an annual ritual, the financial world will be listening for hints as to when 84-year-old CEO Warren Buffett might step down...and who might replace him. Mayweather vs. Pacquia Tomorrow night...it's the big fight! Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are squaring off for the world welterweight title in Las Vegas. The purse--estimated at $300 million dollars--is the most ever for a boxing match. HBO and Showtime are charging $99 dollars a pop to customers like our own Mike Santoli to watch it on pay-per-view. There are sure to be plenty of winners regardless of who wins the bout. What to watch next week Finally...it's Friday. Time to look at what we'll be watching next week. Andy Serwer: Cinco de may Aaron Task: Jobs report Akiko Fujita: British elections More from Yahoo Finance The department store app that outpaced Uber, Tinder and Nike Bitcoin goes mainstream with Goldman Sachs' backing Microsoft developers conference falls flat, is Apple next? || Decentralized Application Network Corona Promotes Bitcoin 2.0 Technologies and Provides Funding for Developers Worldwide: A Newly Launched Community Network for Developers of Decentralized Applications (Dapps), Corona Encourages Breakthroughs Using Blockchain Technology, Offering Funding and Resources for Entrepreneurs Worldwide
SAN FRANCISCO,CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2015 /Corona is a global hub for Dapp developers and entrepreneurs in search of educational resources and financial support. Corona believes that "positive and tangible change in the world" is possible as Dapps proliferate across the web. By creating a community driven network Corona hopes to encourage the creation of socially and economically disruptive applications.
Corona strives to advance cutting edge open-source software and decentralized business models by providing a collaborative environment and funding possibilities for Dapp projects.Developers and entrepreneurs who wish to build the next generation of internet applications can apply for funding on the Corona website https://corona.info/.
Corona is a crypto-technology neutral organization that supports a diversity of decentralized development platforms and technologies such as those offered by Ethereum, Maidsafe, Codius, and Eris amongst others. Corona also supports other decentralization and smart contract technologies such as Bitcoin, Counterparty, Sidechains, Bitshares and NXT. All of these platforms share the same common goal of creating autonomous, distributed and secure systems.
Founded by Daniel Greene and backed by a talented team of developers and advisors, Corona aims to make Dapps easier to develop while promoting the new possibilities of their use.Dapps operate on the basis that their users agree on common rules and protocols which cannot be dictated upon them by a central authority. Additionally, they reduce the need for centralized control therefore can provide the user with much higher levels of security, trust and privacy.
According to Daniel, Dapps can be built, "in a shorter time period compared to standard applications because of the turnkey infrastructure, lowered barrier to entry, and simplified deployment."
The increasing ease of creating such software will lead to the rapid expansion of decentralized services. These peer-to-peer services are revolutionizing the internet economy, "offering alternatives to centralized corporate monopolies."
Dapps are anticipated to have a significant disruptive effect on the way companies do business by shifting power back to the consumer. The next generation of desktop and mobile internet applications will provide services such as peer-to-peer insurance, identity and reputation, secure messaging, and decentralized marketplaces. These applications are expected to be highly dependent upon one another "and it is this concept, that Dapps can act like cells in a larger organism, which is a core motivator for the Corona network."
By building a networking hub for Dapp developers in need of funding and resources, Corona is poised to advance new blockchain technologies, open-source software solutions and disruptive decentralized business models that may benefit billions worldwide.
About Corona:
Corona is a highly collaborative development network promoting and funding the building of platform agnostic decentralized applications and services. The Corona network will accelerate adoption, increase awareness, and optimize the creation of the new decentralized web.
Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice.
For more information about us, please visithttps://corona.info.
Contact Info:
Name: Daniel GreeneEmail:team@corona.infoOrganization: Corona
SOURCE:Corona
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
One Bitcoin now worth $234.42@bitstamp. High $240.00. Low $231.31. Market Cap $ 3.308 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/4fhJKQfB1d || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 22 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $1,006.26 #bitcoin #btc || #Bitcoin last trade
@bitstamp $242.00
@bitfinex $242.16
@coinbase $243.20
Set #crypto #price #alerts at http://AlertCo.in || current #bitcoin price (bitfinex) is $234.48, last changed Thu, 30 Apr 2015 10:28:00 GMT. queried at: 10:28:05 || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 15616.00 INR Sell : 15137.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin || LIVE: Profit = $897.12 (24.83 %). BUY B15.37 @ $234.75 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $246.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || Current price: 158.71£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-05-13 03:00:03 BST || One Bitcoin now worth $249.61@bitstamp. High $252.01. Low $240.00. Market Cap $3.560 Billion #bitcoin || Bitcoin traded at $241.61 USD on BTC-e at 02:00 AM Pacific Time || current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $233.05, last changed Sat, 02 May 2015 10:13:00 GMT. queried at: 10:16:03
|
Trend: up || Prices: 257.06, 263.07, 258.62, 255.41, 256.34, 260.89, 271.91, 269.03, 266.21, 270.79
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-12-16]
BTC Price: 784.91, BTC RSI: 66.18
Gold Price: 1135.30, Gold RSI: 27.80
Oil Price: 51.90, Oil RSI: 58.98
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Winklevoss brothers name State Street as bitcoin ETF administrator: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Tuesday filed amendments to their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund, naming State Street as administrator, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins, had filed their first application for a bitcoin ETF called Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust three years ago.
Investors have shown keen interest in the Winklevoss ETF. If approved by the SEC, this would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity.
According to the amended filing, State Street will provide the fund administration and accounting services, including calculating the bitcoin trust's net asset value (NAV).
Another major change involved the ETF's custodian, Gemini Trust Company, doing monthly "proof of control" exercises and publishing the reports on the ETF's website.
"Custodian's cold storage system was purpose-built to demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys associated with its public bitcoin addresses," the filing said.
"The sponsor and the custodian have engaged an independent audit firm to verify that the custodian can demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys that control the Trust's on a monthly basis."
Burr Pilger Mayer, based in San Francisco and known for working with venture-backed digital currency companies, has been named the ETF's auditor, the filing said.
In addition, the SEC filing said Gemini's daily auction price at 4 p.m. EDT will now be used to price the NAV of the ETF. The previous pricing mechanism was the Gemini spot price. Gemini runs a digital currency trading venue.
Since its launch in September, the Gemini auction has transacted more than 19,00 bitcoin on average per business day, which represents more than 16 percent of all U.S.-based bitcoin exchange volume during the 4 p.m. period, Gemini said on Tuesday.
The daily auction along with Gemini's expansion has increased the company's market share to about 9 percent of all U.S. dollar-denominated exchange-traded bitcoin volume.
The ETF would trade under the ticker symbol COIN.
Late on Tuesday, bitcoin traded at $632.88 on the BitStamp platform.
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss) || Winklevoss brothers name State Street as bitcoin ETF administrator: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Tuesday filed amendments to their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund, naming State Street as administrator, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins, had filed their first application for a bitcoin ETF called Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust three years ago. Investors have shown keen interest in the Winklevoss ETF. If approved by the SEC, this would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity. According to the amended filing, State Street will provide the fund administration and accounting services, including calculating the bitcoin trust's net asset value (NAV). Another major change involved the ETF's custodian, Gemini Trust Company, doing monthly "proof of control" exercises and publishing the reports on the ETF's website. "Custodian's cold storage system was purpose-built to demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys associated with its public bitcoin addresses," the filing said. "The sponsor and the custodian have engaged an independent audit firm to verify that the custodian can demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys that control the Trust's on a monthly basis." Burr Pilger Mayer, based in San Francisco and known for working with venture-backed digital currency companies, has been named the ETF's auditor, the filing said. In addition, the SEC filing said Gemini's daily auction price at 4 p.m. EDT will now be used to price the NAV of the ETF. The previous pricing mechanism was the Gemini spot price. Gemini runs a digital currency trading venue. Since its launch in September, the Gemini auction has transacted more than 19,00 bitcoin on average per business day, which represents more than 16 percent of all U.S.-based bitcoin exchange volume during the 4 p.m. period, Gemini said on Tuesday. The daily auction along with Gemini's expansion has increased the company's market share to about 9 percent of all U.S. dollar-denominated exchange-traded bitcoin volume. Story continues The ETF would trade under the ticker symbol COIN. Late on Tuesday, bitcoin traded at $632.88 on the BitStamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss) || The Linux Foundation Appoints Three Tech Industry Leaders to Its Board of Directors: SAN FRANCISCO, CA --(Marketwired - November 02, 2016) - The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the appointment of Erica Brescia, co-founder and COO of Bitnami; Jeff Garzik, co-founder of Bloq; and Nithya A. Ruff, director of Western Digital's Open Source Strategy Office, to its Board of Directors. Ms. Ruff and Ms. Brescia join as At-Large Directors, and Mr. Garzik comes on board as the representative of Linux Foundation Silver members. Ms. Brescia and Ms. Ruff will take the place of Larry Augustin and Bdale Garbee as At-Large Directors. Mr. Garzik replaces Matt Jones of Jaguar Land Rover. "The Board of Directors and the entire Linux Foundation organization are delighted to welcome Nithya, Erica and Jeff," said Jim Zemlin, executive director. "They will help guide the strategy of The Linux Foundation, the home to some of the most successful open source projects and largest shared technology investment in history. The open source community at large and our nearly 800 members will benefit from the insight and expertise each of these individuals brings. We thank Larry, Bdale and Matt for their long and faithful service on the Board and look forward to their continued participation in the community." New Directors Bring Diversity of Perspectives Erica Brescia Ms. Brescia is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Bitnami. With more than one million deployments per month, Bitnami provides the largest source of applications and development environments to the world's leading cloud service providers, such as Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Platform and Oracle Cloud Platform. Prior to co-founding Bitnami, Ms. Brescia held various sales and management positions at T-Mobile, as well as working as a consultant with Chekiang First Bank in Hong Kong. She holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Southern California. Ms. Brescia has been a dedicated builder of diverse, globally distributed technology and business teams, and has been featured as a keynote speaker at OpenStack Summit and OSCON. To further those goals, Bitnami founded the Bitnami Bootcamp, which provides free education and training on cloud, open source and containers, for recent college graduates and self-taught technologists living in southern Spain. As a YC Founder, Ms. Brescia is also an active mentor of aspiring entrepreneurs in the technology and related industries, as well as being an angel investor in a number of early stage startups. "Open source technologies make possible the incredibly rapid innovation that we see in tech-driven sectors today," Ms. Brescia commented. "Shared R&D in the form of open source helps companies like Bitnami thrive, while creating value for others. I'm proud to be a part of the organization that's propelling that collaboration." Story continues Jeff Garzik Mr. Garzik has long been at the center of developing and commercializing open source software surrounding bitcoin and blockchain. Before co-founding Bloq to develop enterprise-grade blockchain solutions, he spent five years as a Bitcoin core developer, and 10 years at Red Hat. His work with the Linux kernel is now found in every Android phone and data center running Linux today. Mr. Garzik serves on the board of Coin Center and the advisory boards of BitPay, Chain, Netki and WayPaver Labs. He was also recently appointed to the World Economic Forum Expert Network as an expert in Information Technology. "I'm excited to bring Bloq's expertise in developing blockchain software to The Linux Foundation," Mr. Garzik said. "Projects like Hyperledger are emblematic of the future of open source: bringing together the efforts of developers to fundamentally alter global finance, digital identity and beyond." Nithya Ruff Ms. Ruff first glimpsed the power of open source while at SGI in the 1990s and has been building bridges between hardware developers and the open source community ever since. She's also held leadership positions at Wind River (an Intel Company), Synopsys, Avaya, Tripwire and Eastman Kodak. Ms. Ruff has been a passionate advocate and a speaker for opening doors to new people in open source for many years. She has also been a promoter of valuing diverse ways of contributing to open source, such as in marketing, legal and community. She is co-leader of the Women of OpenStack group and a liaison into the OpenStack Foundation, as well as a sponsor of the Women in Open Source (WIOS) Lunch at Linux Foundation events and an active leader of WIOS advocating for reducing barriers for women and underrepresented minorities. In 2015, Ms. Ruff was invited by Red Hat to be on a diversity leaders' panel at the "All Things Open" conference. In recognition of her work in open source both on the business and community side, Ms. Ruff was named to CIO magazine's most influential women in open source list. Ms. Ruff was also the founding president of the Women's Innovation Network at Western Digital, which is dedicated to the development of women's highest potential in the workplace. Ms. Ruff said: "I've been fortunate to work in an environment at Western Digital that values the contributions of every individual and that encourages diversity in open source communities. Through its training, events and now projects, The Linux Foundation is working to create an inclusive open source culture that stretches across organizations. I anticipate being able to help deepen that work as more industry professionals of all backgrounds get involved in open source." About The Linux Foundation The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org . The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage . Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. View comments || First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 /First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors.
A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies.
Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges.
Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain.
"Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering."
Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX.
Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company.
About the company:
First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets.
www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.comcompany website.
www.CoinQX.comCryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN.
www.iCoiNEWS.comreal time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site.
www.BITminer.ccproviding mining pool management services.
www.2016coin.orgonline daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file atwww.OTCMarkets.com.
Contact us via:info@bitcoincapitalcorp.comor visithttp://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com
SOURCE:First Bitcoin Capital Corp. || Traders debate whether tech stocks will continue to fall: The " Fast Money " traders debated Friday whether its time to start buying opportunities in technology stocks. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE Arca: XLK) fell more than 2 percent in the past week, as stocks that have made huge gains this year got pummeled. For example, Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares fell 6 percent this week, but are still up a stunning 168 percent so far in 2016. The stronger dollar and rotation into financials and materials aren't the only things plaguing the technology sector, trader Guy Adami said. He argued that in a rising interest rate environment, the "need to own stocks with dividend yields have gone down and a lot of these tech stocks have great yields." While the sector may continue to sell off for the next couple weeks, Adami said that there are interesting opportunities in the space. He said Cisco ( CSCO ) would be "extraordinarily interesting" if it falls to $27.50. Adami said he would also be interested in similar moves in Nvidia and Intel ( INTC ) . Trader Brian Kelly said investors should look at stocks with growth opportunity like Microsoft ( MSFT ) . He said that company also has a lot of cash overseas and could benefit if Donald Trump pushes for reform, allowing for repatriation of foreign earnings. Kelly said he is also interested in Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ) . Trader David Seaburg said that he likes Facebook ( FB ) because "it's trading at the cheapest [price-to-earnings ratio] it has since its IPO, 20 times next year's earnings." He said that "it's a stock that should be bought here." Trader Steve Grasso said that "Amazon ( AMZN ) is where you want to be because Amazon is going to have the growth." Disclosures: STEVE GRASSO Steve Grasso is long: BA, CC, CHK, EEM, EVGN, GDX, KBH, MJNA, MON, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, SPY, SQ, T, TWTR. Grasso's children own: EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. No shorts. Grasso's firm is long: VIRT, WDR, FCX, ICE, KDUS, MAT, MJNA, NE, OLN, RIG, TAXI, TITXF, WDR, ZNGA, CUBA, HSPO, ICE, MJNA, TITXF. DAVID SEABURG Opinions expressed by David Seaburg are solely his own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Cowen Group, Inc. David Seaburg and Cowen have a financial interest in EDIT. Diamond Offshore: an employee of Cowen and Company, LLC serves on the Board of Directors of Diamond Offshore. EXPE, VA Not Approved. BRIAN KELLY Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, CLR, silver futures, GDX, SLV. GUY ADAMI Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC. Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck. More From CNBC Your first trade for Friday, February 24 Chip wreck ahead? The downgrade that wrecked chips View comments || Winklevoss brothers name State Street as bitcoin ETF administrator: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss on Tuesday filed amendments to their proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund, naming State Street as administrator, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins, had filed their first application for a bitcoin ETF called Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust three years ago. Investors have shown keen interest in the Winklevoss ETF. If approved by the SEC, this would be the first bitcoin ETF issued by a U.S. entity. According to the amended filing, State Street will provide the fund administration and accounting services, including calculating the bitcoin trust's net asset value (NAV). Another major change involved the ETF's custodian, Gemini Trust Company, doing monthly "proof of control" exercises and publishing the reports on the ETF's website. "Custodian's cold storage system was purpose-built to demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys associated with its public bitcoin addresses," the filing said. "The sponsor and the custodian have engaged an independent audit firm to verify that the custodian can demonstrate "proof of control" of the private keys that control the Trust's on a monthly basis." Burr Pilger Mayer, based in San Francisco and known for working with venture-backed digital currency companies, has been named the ETF's auditor, the filing said. In addition, the SEC filing said Gemini's daily auction price at 4 p.m. EDT will now be used to price the NAV of the ETF. The previous pricing mechanism was the Gemini spot price. Gemini runs a digital currency trading venue. Since its launch in September, the Gemini auction has transacted more than 19,00 bitcoin on average per business day, which represents more than 16 percent of all U.S.-based bitcoin exchange volume during the 4 p.m. period, Gemini said on Tuesday. The daily auction along with Gemini's expansion has increased the company's market share to about 9 percent of all U.S. dollar-denominated exchange-traded bitcoin volume. Story continues The ETF would trade under the ticker symbol COIN. Late on Tuesday, bitcoin traded at $632.88 on the BitStamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss) || Bitcoin Activity in India Has Doubled Since the Banknote Ban: Early in November, Indiaabolishedthe 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes in an effort to fight corruption and so-called "black money". Since then, interest in Bitcoin appears to be increasing in the Asian country based on a variety of different metrics. Although there was already a vibrant Bitcoin community in India, the recent move to clamp down on illegal income and tax evasion seems to have sparked new interest in the peer-to-peer digital cash system.
So who uses Bitcoin in India? According toSunny Ray, who is the president and co-founder of Indian bitcoin exchangeUnocoin, there are two main categories of Bitcoin users in the country.Inan interviewwithBitcoin Uncensoredco-hostChris DeRosejust before the large denomination banknote ban was put into place, Ray claimed that 40 to 50 percent of their users are savers who view bitcoin as a digital gold. "India is the largest gold market in the world," said Ray. "If you couple that with—I think it's something like 20 or 25 percent of the world's programming and IT population also live in India—digital gold is obviously something that I think people have the capacity to get."Ray also noted that roughly 20 percent of Unocoin's users are freelancers who use Bitcoin as a cheaper alternative to PayPal. Ray noted that Bitcoin currently offers what are essentially negative fees for freelancers based in India because of the relatively higher price bitcoins sell for in the country.During the Bitcoin Uncensored interview, Ray stressed that his estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, as the very nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult to get real user data.
So what's happened since India got rid of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes? For starters, Ray toldCoinJournalthat Unocoin has seen a doubling in traffic and trading volume over the past 30 days.An increase in trading volumecan also be seenonLocalBitcoins, where the daily volume has increased from around 1.25 million rupees (around $18,500) per day before the cash ban to around 2.5 million rupees per day in early December. There was also an all-time high of more than 5.5 million rupees (just over $81,000) worth of bitcoin traded on November 26th.
It's important to remember that LocalBitcoins trading volume is a rather rough metric because many traders continue exchanging bitcoins off of the site after finding someone they trust.
Bitcoin currently trades at a high premium in India due to capital controls in India, which make it difficult for Bitcoin companies, such as Unocoin, to settle against foreign exchanges; however, Unocoin is currently working on a method to bring more bitcoin liquidity into the Indian market.In ablog poston their website,BitGohas noted the value of India-based transactions co-signed by them has increased by 240 percent since September.
While there's been a nice uptick in Bitcoin activity in India over the past month or so, Ray believes the larger effects of India's removal of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes from circulation will be seen over the long term.
"Right now, people are being very careful with their spending," said Ray. "We think it will be long term because with all of the restrictions, the push towards digital money, and the amount of new money that's entering the banking system, some of that will find a home in bitcoin." || Bitcoin is flying after Donald Trump's victory: In May, a Juniper Research study (“Will Bitcoins Bite Back?“) predicted that the price of the digital currency bitcoin would jump if Donald Trump were elected. On Tuesday, Trump was elected, and bitcoin jumped. The currency is up nearly 3% since Tuesday night, hovering around $725.
“If Donald Trump becomes President of the US,” said Dr. Winslow Holdenin a statement with the study, “there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets… Bitcoin would thrive in such an environment.”
Bitcoin has in fact been on the rise all fall,not only because of the election. The price is up 19% in the last month, 23% in the last three months, and 68% in 2016. But in the next few days and perhaps months, the uncertainty after Trump’s win will likely serve as an accelerant.
Investors see bitcoin as a safe haven from fiat currencies (hence why it rises when the Chinese yuan falls), and an asset largely untied to mainstream markets. Gold typically behaves the same way, and indeed,gold shot up to $1,320 on Tuesday night as Trump closed in on the presidency, though it fell back to earth on Wednesday and is now at $1,275.
Bitcoin’s October rise has been mostly due to heightened activity in China, where the yuan is falling and the government has tightened capital controls. Bitcoin prices also spikedduring the bank shutdown in Greecelast year.
Juniper Research says the Brexit vote, back in June, is still having an impact as well: “The ongoing ramifications around Brexit are also likely to act as an additional spur for higher activity levels.”
IfBrexit helped contribute to a bitcoin bump, then Trump’s win is likely to do it, too. Many were quick to compare the surprising result of the US election to the EU referendum result. Trump, in the days before the election, told crowds that his win would be like “Brexit plus plus plus,” and nicknamed himself “Mr. Brexit.”
While Trump and bitcoin might seem to have something in common (Coin Telegraphmade the case that Trump would eventually cozy up to the coin), his campaign never accepted donations in bitcoin. Hillary Clinton’s campaign considered accepting donations in bitcoin, aleaked email thread revealed,but John Podesta was more intrigued by the digital currency Ven, writing that bitcoin suffers from a “libertarian Ayn Rand schtick.” Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Gary Johnson were the only two presidential candidates to accept bitcoin.
It doesn’t matter now: Trump won, and bitcoin benefited without his support. The coin doesn’t need Trump to champion it in order to succeed.
The defining word of this US election is the same word that defined the Brexit vote: “uncertainty.” As the Juniper Research report noted, bitcoin’s price rose in the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, then fell a little bit just before the vote when the outcome looked clear, then spiked when the outcome was, in fact, a big surprise. Expect the same to happen after Trump’s win.
—
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite.
Read more:
The latest bitcoin price surge isn’t just about Brexit
Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain
Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now
Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever || Bitcoin hits highest levels in almost three years: By Jemima Kelly
LONDON (Reuters) - Web-based digital currency bitcoin hit its highest levels in almost three years on Friday, extending gains since India sparked a cash shortage by removing high-denomination bank notes from circulation a month ago.
Bitcoin was trading as high as $774 on the New York-based itBit exchange, up almost 1 percent on the day and the highest since February 2014, having climbed almost 9 percent in the past month.
Bitcoin is a cash alternative that can be used for moving money across the globe quickly and anonymously with no need for a central authority to process transactions. It has climbed around 80 percent so far this year, far exceeding its 35 percent rise in 2015.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced a shock move on Nov. 8 to ditch 500 and 1,000 rupee notes - worth a combined $256 billion - that he said were fuelling corruption, being forged and even paying for attacks by militants who target India.
The cryptocurrency's value has been highly volatile - after rocketing above $1,100 in 2013, it had fallen to around $150 by early 2015. But it has since stabilized, staying above $500 for the past six months.
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Jamie McGeever) || Most Popular ETFs Of The Year: In the ETF world, the rich get richer. The biggest funds by assets typically attract the largest flows each year. In that regard, 2016 was no exception. The smallest ETF to make the top 10 inflows list for the year has an impressive $16.9 billion in assets, according to FactSet. The other ETFs on the list are much larger still. Together, these 10 ETFs took in $87.1 billion of fresh investor money in the year-to-date period ending Dec. 6. To put that in context, total flows into all ETFs so far this year have been $225 billion. There's still another three weeks left to go in the year, so the final numbers could change (we'll publish the official figures once they're released). But if there's any conclusion to be reached from these numbers, it's that investors still favor plain-vanilla index ETFs over their more complex counterparts―whether it be smart-beta funds , active funds or otherwise. Investors Embrace S&P 500 ETFs Indeed, for all this year's hype about "smart beta," it's "dumb beta" that investors wanted. In particular, when it comes to U.S. equities, investors plowed billions into S&P 500 ETFs . Three out of the top four funds on the flows list track the venerable large-cap index, including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) , the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund (VOO) ―all with inflows of more than $10.7 billion. The only other U.S.-focused equity fund to make the cut was the broader Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTI) , but its year-to-date flows of $5.2 billion were less than half that of the three S&P 500 funds. Emerging Market Comeback In a year that featured concerns about China and "Brexit," it's no wonder investors preferred U.S. equities. Even so, a trio of international equity ETFs also showed up in the top 10. The Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA) , which tracks developed-market stocks outside the U.S., had inflows of $8.8 billion in the year-to-date period. Story continues At the same time, two low-cost emerging market ETFs—the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) —made an appearance on the list, with inflows of $8.8 billion, and $6.5 billion, respectively. GLD Falls Down The Ranks Meanwhile, three nonequity ETFs found themselves on the list. The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) took in $10.9 billion so far this year. AGG provides exposure to the market of U.S. investment-grade bonds, weighted by market value. The iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP) was another popular bond fund, with inflows of $6.6 billion. TIP holds Treasury inflation-protected securities, a type of U.S. government bond that protects investors in a rising-rate environment. The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is another inflation-hedge in the top 10. The physically backed gold ETF was at the top of the flows leader board for much of the year, but fell down the ranks rapidly in the weeks following Donald Trump's victory at the polls. A post-election spike in interest rates and the U.S. dollar led GLD to lose some of its luster. Incidentally, GLD is the most expensive ETF on the top inflows list, with an expense ratio of 0.40%. All the other funds in the top 10 have an expense ratio of 0.20% or less. Flows For Jan. 1 to Dec, 6, 2016 Ticker Fund Net Flows* SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 11,329.80 IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF 11,250.62 AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF 10,910.56 VOO Vanguard S&P 500 Index Fund 10,743.41 GLD SPDR Gold Trust 9,076.08 VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF 8,814.22 VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF 6,698.77 TIP iShares TIPS Bond ETF 6,562.40 IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 6,498.14 VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund 5,236.37 *Net Flows in USD Million Contact Sumit Roy at sroy@etf.com Recommended Stories Friday Hot Reads: 2016 A Vintage Year For Bitcoin Thursday Hot Reads: These ETFs Generate Capital Gains For ETFs, Fixed Income Matters More Than Smart Beta ETF Innovation A Tough Sell In 2016 Tuesday Hot Reads: Millennials Play With ETF Fire Permalink | © Copyright 2016 ETF.com. All rights reserved
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$652.34/$654.96 #Bitstamp
$651.00/$652.19 #BTCe
⇢$-3.96/$-0.15
$649.99/$657.25 #Coinbase
⇢$-4.97/$4.91 || #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000007 (-0.84%) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00%) || BTC: $703.60, S: $18.48, G: $1305.00 | Act: 23,755 Open: 4064 BTC: 53,379.0 | Total: $37,569,141 http://goo.gl/U94Tki #bitcoin || #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000007 (-0.52%) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00%) || $744.42 at 06:00 UTC [24h Range: $718.00 - $745.00 Volume: 5130 BTC] || Bitcoin Mais - Bitcoins Grátis - R$ 7.000,00 por Mês http://fb.me/4t59UDDU8 || JAR,UMS ARE CMING @PokerStars irnament "$1.00 NL Hold'em [48 Players, 5 Minute BTC, Zoom Hyper-Turbo]" http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-hands/Boom/21909153_4DE46958EE … #BOOMPlayer || 今夜は22:00からBTC-R(http://blog.goo.ne.jp/t-photo )、4200k(http://ameblo.jp/4200k/ )の順で更新します。今週は夜のお仕事もたくさん!! 寒さに負けるな!! || For Sale! http://ebay.to/2efeFnP $200.00 NEW R-Box 110 GHS bitcoin miner (used) POWER SUPPLY NOT INCLUDED pic.twitter.com/xK0tb3H1xd || 1 KOBO = 0.00000000 BTC
= 0.0000 USD
= 0.0000 NGN
= 0.0000 ZAR
= 0.0000 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-10-30 03:00 pic.twitter.com/AEM8PojVmJ
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Trend: up || Prices: 790.83, 790.53, 792.71, 800.88, 834.28, 864.54, 921.98, 898.82, 896.18, 907.61
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Today’s Market Will Remain Unkind to Vinco Ventures Stock: Even those who are bullish on Vinco Ventures (NASDAQ: BBIG ) stock have to concede that it’s a bit of a mystery. vinco ventures (BBIG) logo on an orange/red background Source: vincoventures.com InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips The value of its businesses and of the company are riddles that have not yet been fully solved. As a result, it’s been tough to make an informed decision about whether this digital holding company, which is in the process of spinning off its crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) unit, is a buy. Those who have bought BBIG stock have done so on hope and hype alone. Granted, that worked out very well for traders during 2021 and briefly in early 2022. At the time, with retail investors overly confident, it didn’t matter that the company had too many red flags to count. With short interest in the name high and plenty of chatter about it online, it went “to the moon” and back on several occasions. However, the market has changed a great deal since then. With high inflation, rate hikes, and now the Russian-Ukrainian conflict causing skittish investors to sell stocks, unless Vinco’s next financial update is promising, expect BBIG stock to sink further. Why a Comeback by BBIG Stock Seems Very Unlikely Right Now The attraction of Vinco Ventures has never really been about its underlying assets. Sure, those buying its shares may have convinced themselves that Vinco’s NFT segment and/ or its indirect stake in Lomotif , a video-sharing site that’s very similar to TikTok, were attractive. But investors’ excitement about BBIG stock has been based on the idea that it will rally due to the renewed hype of Vinco. For much of 2021, the environment was perfect for such a phenomenon to occur. The meme stock army was bidding up heavily-shorted stocks, penny stocks, and many other types of stocks through coordinated buying of them. With many retail traders willing to follow the lead of those hyping stocks, a number of names underwent big short squeezes . Story continues 8 Strong Uptrend Stocks to Buy on the Next Dip In late August and early September 2021, Vinco became the meme flavor of the month. BBIG stock went up more than four-fold during the period, soaring from $3 to $12.49 . With investors’ sentiment deteriorating later in the year, the shares collapsed back to the low single-digits. Still, in January, Vinco managed to pull off one last short squeeze, spiking above $5 per share, only to fall back once more. Vinco Has More Room to Fall After dropping to around $2.25 per share, BBIG stock may look like a buy today if you assume that it can undergo a squeeze again. However, there’s little reason to make that assumption, since the meme era seems to have ended. Granted, that doesn’t by itself mean the “game is over” for Vinco. In theory, the shares could still move higher based on their fundamentals. But unfortunately, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that. While there’s no denying that BBIG stock is inexpensive, it’s tough to make the case that it’s undervalued, at least not until its fundamentals become clearer. As I’ve noted in previous columns, Vinco’s management tends to reveal important information slowly. Although it’s provided some information about one of its acquisitions , there are still many unanswered questions about the company. For example, there are questions about its corporate structure, and Vinco still has not yet completed its planned merger with ZASH Global . Given these points, it’s tough to decipher its financial statements and to figure out Vinco’s underlying value. Also, the company has not disclosed the dilutive impact of the warrants that it issued last year. And although it’s already early March, we haven’t seen its 10-Q form for the quarter that ended on Dec 31. Nevertheless, while the answers to these questions could provide the market with a better idea of Vinco’s true value, something tells me that the way Vinco is disseminating this information is all you need to know about whether the data will be good for its investors. The Bottom Line on BBIG Stock Sometime soon, Vinco will need to release its financial results for the December quarter. At that time, we’ll have a better idea about whether the stock is a bargain or overvalued. In the meantime, if the market’s volatility remains high and the move away from “risk-on” stocks continues, BBIG stock could sink further. Meanwhile, it does not have any strong, positive catalysts. In light of these points, investors should avoid the name for now. On the date of publication, Thomas Niel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines . More From InvestorPlace Get in Now on Tiny $3 ‘Forever Battery’ Stock It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. Stock Prodigy Who Found NIO at $2… Says Buy THIS Early Bitcoin Millionaire Reveals His Next Big Crypto Trade “On Air” The post Today’s Market Will Remain Unkind to Vinco Ventures Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Charg Coin CHG Launches Its Multi-Channel Mainnet with Lowest Gas Fee: DENVER, Feb. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After four years of quiet development, the creators of Charg Coin (CHG) on Friday stealth-launched a multi-chain mainnet across Ethereum, BSC, POLY, FSN, and their own Proof of Authority (PoA) network called Charg. The release is expected by the team to crescendo from humble beginnings into really big news in the crypto and electric vehicle worlds. "We've had to keep quiet about most of our development because of who our competitors are in this space," said Josef, the founder of CHG, "Big oil, big banks, and big tech are all niches which by their nature create a barrier to entry for the little guy. We overtake this limitation by catching everyone by surprise with software that is designed to scale infrastructure as accelerated by real-world energy consumption. Even marketing is now baked into the cake thanks to our use of SAAS, permitting our platform to tap into the $65 Trillion energy sector anywhere and everywhere you can imagine and scale." Focusing on "energy is money" which also happens to be the coin's slogan on their website https://chgcoin.org , CHG has always been about energy meets the blockchain. This new release, however, is much more potent a culmination of concepts, designs, and rubber-meets-the-road utility than the first Minimum Viable Product (MVP) which the team had managed to produce four years prior using only a shoestring budget. And speaking of rubber-meets-the-road, Charg (CHG) had chosen an interesting slant on the traditional model of mining-using-energy which Bitcoin pioneered. Launched in 2017, WeCharg ( https://www.wecharg.com ) was created as a spin-off of the CHG architecture which permits electric vehicle charging to be powered, off-grid, by the ledger. Instead of energy going to waste when Bitcoin is produced, energy goes to use when CHG is unleashed. As mentioned prior, CHG is simultaneously launching their second installment across several networks. This permits the coin to live in each of these networks independently, but it is also unique in that CHG has developed the software necessary to bridge both functionality and fungibility between these networks. Story continues The proprietary bridge developed by the creators of CHG means that CHG can be transferred between networks. It also means that other coins can live on the CHG network in the form of wrapped coins. And it means that functionality on one network can now be broadcast to other networks. "That's big news for exchanges as well which traditionally live on only one network at a time," said Josef, "The PoA mainnet which CHG had chosen for ourselves is designed to be fast, consume very little resources, and have low fees. But if you're not happy with CHG's mainnet, the interoperability and inter-fungibility of the CHG bridge means you can pick and choose what network you want to spend and trade your CHG and other crypto-assets." Social Links Twitter: https://twitter.com/chgcoin Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChargCoin Telegram: https://t.me/ChargChat Exchange: https://exchange.chgcoin.org/exchange Media Contacts Brand: Charg Coin Contact: Asad Zeeshan, CMO Email: mail@chgcoin.org Website: https://www.chgcoin.org SOURCE : Charg Coin || Bitcoin's Correlation to S&P 500 Hits 17-Month High: The perennial debate of whether bitcoin (BTC) is a gold-like haven asset or a risky investment may heat up as the cryptocurrency's sensitivity to stock markets increases – amid concerns the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening plans may tip the U.S. economy into recession.
The 90-day correlation between bitcoin, the top cryptocurrency by market value, and Wall Street's benchmark equity index, the S&P 500, rose to 0.49 on Friday, the highest since October 2020, according to data tracked by Arcane Research.
"Bitcoin's correlation to the S&P 500 has only been higher for five days in BTC's history, showing that the current correlation regime is unprecedented in BTC's history," according to Arcane Research's weekly newsletter published on Tuesday.
The correlation has strengthened alongside a relentless tightening of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, a sign the Fed may have a hard time avoiding much-fearedstagflationwith rapid-fire interest rate rises without destabilizing the economy. The yield curve, represented by the spread between the 10- and two-year yields, is now just 20 basis points (bp) short of inversion, or turning negative – an unusual setup that's often viewed as a recession indicator.
So the long-held crypto market belief of bitcoin being a digital haven is yet to come to fruition.
"I wish I could say that crypto is really responding to fundamentals [high inflation], but I think the chief fundamental here is the crypto is responding to the rise in equity prices," Marc Chandler, managing director and chief market strategist at Bannockburn Global Forex, told CoinDesk TV when asked about bitcoin's recent rise.
The rising correlation comes as some analysts in traditional financial markets are starting to argue that stocksmight actually serve as a decent hedge against inflation– because companies could theoretically raise prices to protect their profit margins.
It's a shift in focus that brings the stock market narrative closer to that of bitcoin, which has long been viewed by many investors as a potential hedge against fast-rising prices or a depreciating U.S. dollar.
The cryptocurrency has risen 8% since the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, last Wednesday, the first hike since 2018. Officials with the U.S. central bank also raised their inflation forecasts.
Bitcoin's price move higher since then has some wondering whether investors are parking money in the cryptocurrency to hedge against inflation.
However, the ascent seems to have been powered by the uptick in the stock markets. The S&P 500 has risen 6% since the Fed rate hike and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has rallied by 8.7%, according to data provided by charting platform TradingView.
"What I am interested in is the change in bitcoin and change in Nasdaq and what you find is the correlation is over 60%," Chandler said. "The stock market [has been] going bid."
According to Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at Genesis Global Trading, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties seem to be keeping bitcoin from drawing store of value bids. Genesis is owned by Digital Currency Group, of which CoinDesk is an independent subsidiary.
"One of the main reasons is uncertainty," Acheson said in a LinkedIn post. "Bitcoin is a volatile asset, and in times of uncertainty, harnessing that volatility – which is usually a feature, not a bug – is difficult enough to dissuade even the most experienced volatility traders. This is especially acute in the current market, given that the uncertainty is driven largely by the war in Europe, and it is hard to predict outcomes when we do not know if the news emerging from the conflict zone is trustworthy."
In the post, titled "Bitcoin's battle," Acheson added: "The outlook for rates is also a source of significant market uncertainty, as last week's hike of 25 [basis points] will not make a dent in the inflation already hurting consumers' pockets, let alone that which is yet to come."
Bitcoin was last trading near $42,180, representing a 0.8% drop on the day. Since late January the cryptocurrency has been restricted between $36,000 to $45,000.
Per Acheson, bitcoin needs needs "either renewed speculation or new macro investment to be able to break out of the current range." || What sparked Ether’s jump above crypto rival Bitcoin?: Ether is outperforming its better-known-rival Bitcoin once again as optimism over a long-sought update that promises to reduce the carbon footprint of the world’s most-used blockchain appears to be getting closer to fruition. Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, has rallied more than 16% in the past seven days, while Bitcoin rose 8.4%. So far this year, Ether is down about 17% and Bitcoin has fallen roughly 7%. The latest bout of outperformance is happening as anticipation builds for the biggest software upgrade in Ethereum’s eight-year history. Called the Merge and expected within months, it will change how transactions on Ethereum are ordered, helping the network consume less electricity and run more efficiently. Developers have been promising the upgrade for years. The last test of this software before the Merge is triggered began on March 15, and after some initial glitches such as error messages, appears to be running smoothly. “The ETH merge on ‘Kiln testnet’ caused ETH to outperform the market,” said Teong Hng, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hong Kong-based Satori Research. “It is regarded as an upgrade in terms of the transactions’ validations in Ethereum. The merge was successful with no major issue reported.” Ether jumped as much as 4.8% on Tuesday in Asia, touching its highest level since Feb. 17 and trading at $3,043 at 12:38 p.m. in Hong Kong. Bitcoin also rallied, advancing 4.9% to $43,144. Not only will the new software likely make Ethereum more attractive for environmentally-conscious investors, but it could also reduce the supply of Ether in circulation. After the merge, Ethereum’s network will stop using millions of powerful servers called miners to order transactions on the blockchain. Instead, people will be able to place their Ethers into special staking wallets, which will be used to order transactions -- a system called Proof of Stake. The stakers won’t be able to take their coins out at least until another software upgrade, expected about six months after the Merge. Story continues They are also going to be less likely than miners to sell newly minted coins they receive as rewards for being stakers, as they don’t have as high operating costs as energy-thirsty miners, said Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital. After the Merge, Ethereum’s energy consumption should drop 99%. The Merge was expected to take place months ago, but had been delayed, as Ethereum developers worked to make sure everything goes smoothly. The entire Ethereum economy, including $349 million in Ether, plus billions in decentralized-finance apps and nonfungible tokens depend on it. Ethereum Foundation officially planned for the Merge to happen in the second quarter of 2022 , but had recently said in a blog that the exact timing hasn’t been determined -- a possible sign of a small delay. “It would take a catastrophic event for it to not happen this year,” Tim Beiko, a computer scientist who coordinates Ethereum developers, told Bloomberg. Still, some miners expect the Merge will get pushed out into the fall. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com || USD/CAD Remains in Pre-Weekend Range amid Easing Geopolitical Tensions: • The dollar consolidates near pre-weekend range against the Loonie
• U.S. yields surged higher, with the 10-year hitting high since July 2019
• Risk assets rebounded despite the uncertain geopolitical backdrop
• Commodity prices like oil fell and can result in economic damage
Thedollarremained little changed against the Loonie. US treasury yields continue to break out due to expectations that the Fed will kick off the rate hike. Geopolitical pressures remain but are reduced, causing gold prices to fall. US stocks rose as oil prices tumbled. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its two-day FOMC meeting this week.
The New York Fed released its survey of consumer expectations for February. The survey is based on a rotating panel of 1,3000 households. Consumers expected to increase their spending by 6.4% in one year. This number jumped from 5.5% from January. Consumers expectations for inflation rose to 6.0% from 5.8% in January. Consumers had overall greater optimism about the labor market.
The USD/CAD remains rangebound. Support near the 10-day moving average that comes in near $1.275. Resistance on the currency pair is seen near 1.2901. Short-term momentum has turned negative as the fast stochastic generated a crossover sell signal.
The medium-term momentum is positive as the MACD line generated a crossover buy signal. This scenario happens when the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The MACD histogram prints positively. The trajectory of the MACD histogram is downward sloping, which likely points to downward prices.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
• USD/CAD Gains Ground As WTI Oil Gets Back To The $100 Level
• Natural Gas Markets Bounce After the Initial Plunge
• Natural Gas Prices Consolidate on Warm Weather Forecast
• USD/CAD Remains in Pre-Weekend Range amid Easing Geopolitical Tensions
• Bitcoin and Ethereum Aim Fresh Increase, Rune Eyes $10
• E-mini Dow Weakens Under 32903, Strenghtens Over 33118 || SOL, ETH Rise With Bitcoin as War Continues After Russia, Ukraine Hold Peace Talks: Bitcoin's push past $40,000 with a 15% daily gain, a new record for the world's largest digital asset by market cap, has been felt in ether and other layer 1 protocol tokens as the total crypto market cap inches back toward the $2 trillion mark. Fighting continued after peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended with no resolution other than to meet again, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. By late morning Asia time, bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $43,000, according to CoinGecko . Macroeconomic strategist Lynn Alden noted on Twitter that "a week into a significant geopolitical/military event, bitcoin is outperforming gold," pointing to Ukraine and Russia's comparatively high crypto adoption. Ukraine is fourth on Chainalysis' crypto adoption index , while Russia is 18th. Solana (SOL) was up 11.4% to $97 at time of writing, per CoinGecko , while ether (ETH) was up to $2,900, or 11% on-day. According to open interest data curated by CoinAlyze , open interest on solana is up 14% to $726 million. Open interest on ether is up 11%. Other tokens also saw double-digit gains. avalanche (AVAX) was up 17% to $86.70 at time of writing, while Cardano's ADA token was up 9.7% to 96 cents. Cosmos' ATOM token posted gains of 16%, bringing its price to $31.75. Glassnode data shows the number of unique tether (USDT) stablecoin transfers hit a monthly high, inferring that traders who had cashed out during the initial uncertainty of the war in Ukraine are moving assets around to prepare for a re-entry into the market. || Reasons You Might Not Get a Tax Refund This Year: The year 2020 was historically bizarre (to put it kindly), but 2021 wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Sure, the U.S economy partly rebounded from the initial blows of the pandemic; and, for a precious few months, it looked like COVID may be waning — but behind the scenes, complex governmental changes were underway. Oh, and the pandemic definitely did not end; in fact, it got worse, with more people dying from the virus in 2021 than the year prior.
Tax Day 2022:When Are the First and Last Days To File?More:Should You File Early This Year?
While the pandemic raged on, Congress got busy building strategies to help Americans stay afloat. In March 2021, it passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act — a kind of expansion on the $2.2 trillion CARES act passed in March 2020. Under the new plan, citizens received various aid, some of which is now coming back to haunt theirtax returns. In other words, the benefits we received as part helped lessen our burden to the federal government, which in turn could lower the amount we’re entitled to as a tax refund.
Here’s a look at all the reasons you may not be getting a refund this year. Most of them are beyond your control, but there are cases where you should definitely follow up directly with the IRS.
“Many families will recall that, starting in July 2021, they started receiving monthly deposits (or checks) from the IRS as part of the government’s COVID-relief measures,” saidTaylor Hoffman, an investment advisor and director of financial planning. “These payments were unlike the stimulus payments received throughout 2020 and 2021, in that they were actually partial prepayments of the child tax credit that many families receive on their tax return each year (whereas the stimulus payments were more like free money).”
The child tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar write-off on your tax bill, Hoffman explained: “So, in other words, the IRS was paying people up front for a tax credit they would have otherwise received when they filed their taxes.”
Last year’s child tax credit may cause some people to not get a refund because the IRS paid families up to half of their eligible child tax credit.
“Therefore,” Hoffman said, “when those families go to file their taxes, they will only have half of the credit left to use as a write-off.”
We Asked:Are You Actually Spending Your Child Tax Credit Payment? Take Our Poll
“U.S stocks had a fantastic year in 2021, with the S&P 500 returning nearly 29%. Other assets like cryptocurrencies boomed, with Bitcoin gaining 60% in 2021 and Ethereum returning nearly 400%,” said Scott Caufield, principal atSophos Wealth Management. “Investors who realized some of their gains might find their taxes increasing quite a bit this year. Owners of mutual funds might be surprised to find they received capital gains distributions in 2021 that they will owe taxes on.”
“The moratorium on payments has been extended into mid-2022 by the Biden administration,” said Ryan McCarty, owner/CEO ofMcCarty Money Matters. “This has been a saving grace throughout the pandemic, (but) paying no student loan interest means no student loan deduction. Depending on how much interest you pay in a given year, this can be either a negligible or sizable difference year over year in your overall tax picture.”
Advice:10 Best Ways To Use Your Tax Refund if It’s Not Very Big
“Unemployment income is a big one and presently on everyone’s minds,” McCarty said. “In 2021, we saw a taxable exclusion on the first $10,200 of unemployment income received in 2020. This so far is not the case in 2022. If someone received only unemployment during 2021, the results may be negligible as your first dollars received are taxed at extremely low rates. If this was in addition to income received by a new job/endeavor, it could add a nice chunk of dollars that had no withholding.”
“If you supplemented your lost income in 2021 by working as a contractor and received 1099s rather than W-2s, we can only hope you set some aside to pay for your self-employment tax rates,” McCarty said. “This is certainly an eye opener for those that have never dealt with such things.”
“If you didn’t work the entire year, either due to quitting or layoffs — both extremely relevant during 2021 — you will find yourself with less tax withheld from your check,” McCarty said. “If you did not adapt your withholding properly along the way via your W-4 with employers, you could be exposed to a vastly different number compared to years past.”
“Selling cryptocurrency or trading cryptocurrency for another cryptocurrency is considered a sale of property, and any gain is subject to capital gains tax,” said Yvette D. Best, owner ofBest Tax Solutions LLC. “Cryptocurrency transactions typically result in short-term gains (tax on profits from the sale of an asset held for a year or less) and the capital gains tax rate is equal to your ordinary income tax rate.”
Taxes 2022:Questions About Your Crypto Purchase to Ask An Accountant Before You File
“Identity theftis on the rise,” said Steven Jager, CPA and partner withFineman West. “When someone files a tax return electronically using someone’s Social Security number (illegitimately), and then the ‘real’ tax return is filed legitimately, it is rejected. It must then be filed on paper and manually processed after the identity theft is investigated. It is a lengthy process and refunds can take a VERY long time to be received. We actually had a case where the refund of nearly a million dollars was just finally received on a tax return filed some years ago.”
“The IRS has a serious backlog of unprocessed regular filed tax returns and amended tax returns that will delay processing in 2022,” said Trenda Hackett, technical tax editor atThomson Reuters Tax and Accounting. “In fact, as of late December, the IRS had backlogs of 6 million unprocessed original individual returns (Form 1040), 2.3 million unprocessed individual amended returns and about 5 million pieces of unprocessed taxpayer correspondence.”
If your tax information was amended or corrected and indicates that you are owed a refund, you might not receive a dime through no fault of your own, but because your account has not been updated by the IRS.
If you haven’t received your tax refund after six weeks of submitting your return, seek help from your local IRS office or call the federal agency. You also cancheck the status of your refund here.
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This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:Reasons You Might Not Get a Tax Refund This Year || A Healthy US Bitcoin Mining Industry Could Generate Significant Tax Revenue: Crypto supporters were taken aback this past July when the infrastructure bill brought to the U.S. Congress claimed it could raise $28 billion from crypto investors byapplying new information-reportingrequirements to exchanges and other parties. This projection ended up getting beat down on the internet as the dollar amount seemed to be plucked out of thin air. In reality, figuring out how much taxes crypto investors owe based on their capital gains is incredibly difficult to estimate.
Theoretically, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could look through every transaction on every blockchain to see profits and losses in each wallet or account. From there, the IRS could figure out the amount of on-chain gains it could tax. However, that raises the issue of whether those assets were sent from one wallet to another with the same owner, something that may not make it a taxable event. On top of that, there’s the difficulty of getting good information from exchanges to figure out the amount of off-chain gains the IRS could tax. In practice, this collection and estimation process is a mess.
This piece is part of CoinDesk’sTax Week.
If the U.S. government wants to raise money through taxation on crypto, it could consider encouraging bitcoin miners to set up shop. Doing so could bring in tax revenue inflows from the companies that set up mining operations.
For Tax Week, we wanted to estimate the amount of revenue the U.S. government could stand to gain from bitcoin mining companies. While the result of this exercise is subject to the assumptions underpinning the model, they are worth the look. The fact that this exercise is even possible is a testament to bitcoin mining’s transparency and simplicity.
We built a relatively simple estimate of bitcoin mining profitability using anopen-sourced modeldeveloped byGalaxy Digitalto approximate the cost of mining a bitcoin (the report the model came from is availablehere), applying simplifying assumptions to represent the entire bitcoin market.
A few caveats before we dive into a brief overview of the methodology are worth mentioning: Right now, there are several publicly traded bitcoin mining companies (which is sometimes referred to as CHARM forCore Scientific,Hut 8,Argo Blockchain,Riot BlockchainandMarathon Digital). Public companies are required to share financial information and those reports show that bitcoin mining companies are, by and large, not paying very many taxes.
In fact, some of the companies book income statement losses and are paying no taxes at all. Start-ups – which bitcoin miners are – are generally unprofitable as they look to spend money building up operations. Our model strips out the business decisions that young companies must make when they are growing, meaning that it only works in a world with a more mature bitcoin mining industry.
Read more:8 Trends That Will Shape Bitcoin Mining in 2022
We also wanted to normalize for accounting methods allowing companies to minimize tax burdens, mostly through non-cash charges like share-based compensation and some types of depreciation. Doing so makes a company look less profitable on paper than it is in reality.
The last simplifying assumption we make is a big one, in that bitcoin mining profitability will not trend to zero. There is a solid theoretical argument that bitcoin mining economic profit margins will approach zero as new entrants join the relatively low barrier-to-entry market. (The CoinDesk report "Does Bitcoin Have an Energy Problem?" suggests that “bitcoin mining [profit] margins are relatively capped.”) In reality, businesses need to make money over the long term in order to stay open, so we assume that bitcoin miners won’t lose all profitability for at least the near- to medium-term.
Our work relied on the model done by Galaxy Digital for a simple reason. We know roughly how much revenue miners will collect annually in bitcoin terms. The Bitcoin protocol is designed in a way so that a block is mined roughly every 10 minutes, so we can say with confidence that the amount of revenue miners will make annually is 328,500 bitcoin plus transaction fees, which nominally make up about 3% of the current block reward.
As such, the main focus for determining profitability should be on estimating costs. The three main expenses we looked to estimate were cost of revenue (mainly electricity costs for mining); selling, general and administrative expenses (general costs like marketing and rent); and depreciation (a non-cash but real expense that represents the wear and tear on machines used for mining).
In plain English, we looked to estimate the cost of the electricity it takes to power mining rigs and the cost of “keeping the lights on.”
The main cost driver for bitcoin mining is a function of electricity use and price. Galaxy’s model calculates the cost of bitcoin production based on the specifications and performance of 18 different models ofASIC mining machines. These machines draw different amounts of power at varying levels of efficiency. Each type of mining machine operates at a different level of profitability based on the cost of electricity per kilowatt hour. Our base case assumed $0.06 per kwh of electricity cost.
Next, in this machinery-heavy business, the mining companies that buy ASICs have a meaningful amount of depreciation to deal with. Our model assumes 22.5% of revenue as the base case based on the assumption that mining companies will depreciate their ASICs over five years.
These companies then have other costs associated with SG&A which, through public company comparisons and informed by Galaxy’s work, is estimated to be around 12.5%.
Lastly, we included a catch-all for “other expenses” that made up 3.5% of revenues, as a way to curtail the potential overstatement of profitability. We could have easily made the same adjustment in the other direction and recognize this is largely a design choice by our team.
Below we present our results in two-way charts using various scenarios adjusting for bitcoin price, Bitcoin’s total hashrate, the cost of electricity and U.S. share of global hashrate. The numbers in the chart represent the annual federal tax revenue to the government from mining companies, assuming a 21% federal corporate tax rate.
In the event the input is not sensitized against in the chart, the base case is:
• Global bitcoin hashrate of 200 EH/s
• Electricity cost of $0.06 kwh
• U.S. has a 30% share of global hashrate
• 21% federal corporate tax rate
In the base case scenario, bitcoin miner pre-tax profitability was estimated at $1.4 billion and a tax bill of $299 million. That scenario shows up in the middle of each table below. All other numbers in the tables are representative of estimated taxes if those inputs were changed. For example, if bitcoin price were $60,000 and hashrate were 250 EH/s, taxes to the U.S. government would be $335 million.
Of course, this exercise was for informational purposes and the results provided are for illustrative purposes only.
We recognize the shortcomings of our model and this exercise. But at the very least, bitcoin mining represents a potentially profitable industry that, when domiciled in the U.S., could provide the government with increased tax revenue. While the specifics of “how much” revenue this could bring the government vary greatly (showcased by the wide range of dollar amounts shown in the two-way tables, in some scenarios even hitting $0), profitable businesses represent tax revenue opportunities for the U.S. government.
Crypto won’t save you from taxes, but it may eventually make them easier to pay, says futurist Dan Jeffries.
Tax guidance lags innovation. So does tax software. Meanwhile, misconceptions abound. If not careful, investors can end up owing more tax than expected and having to unload crypto to pay the bill
Investors in MicroStrategy, Tesla, Block and Coinbase need to consider how wild price swings will affect results, not only directly but indirectly due to complex tax accounting rules. || Applied Blockchain Files for $60M Nasdaq IPO: Don't miss CoinDesk'sConsensus 2022, the must-attend crypto & blockchain festival experience of the year in Austin, TX this June 9-12.
Enterprise blockchain firm Applied Blockchain filed to sell $60 million of shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
• Applied Blockchain is offering about 3.2 million shares at an estimated mean price of $18.54,according to a filingwith the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Friday.
• The firm intends to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker "APLD."
• Applied Blockchain, which builds data centers to host bitcoin mining operations, is currently traded on the OTC Pink, the lowest tier of the OTC Markets exchanges for trading over-the-counter stocks.
• The company plans to use the money to secure sites for new co-hosting facilities, to develop those facilities and to enter into energy service agreements, among other uses, it said in the filing.
• The Dallas-based firm built its first center in North Dakota, which was providing 55MW of energy to customers as of early February. In November 2021, it agreed to develop a 200MW wind-powered facility in Texas.
• Underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 485,436 (15%) of the offered common stock at the public offering price.
Read more:Bitcoin Miner Iris Energy Upsizes Its IPO, Valuing Company at $1.5B || CleanSpark Mulling Strategic Options for Its Legacy Energy Business: Bitcoin miner CleanSpark (CLSK) is considering strategic alternatives for its legacy energy business, aiming to focus solely on its bitcoin mining segment, the company said in a statement accompanying its quarterly earnings report for its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 31. Focusing our efforts on our bitcoin mining segment allows the company to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity bitcoin presents, CEO Zach Bradford said in the statement. According to CleanSparks annual report for fiscal 2021, which ended on Sept. 30, its energy hardware, software and services segment contributed about $9 million, or 18%, of its fiscal 2021 revenue of $49.4 million. CleanSpark also reported that its fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 52% to $41.2 million from $27.1 million in its fiscal fourth quarter. The company has 20,900 mining machines in operation with a total hashrate exceeding 2.1 exahashes/second and producing about 10 bitcoins per day. Hashrate is a measure of computing power. The miners stock was up about 8% in after-hours trading following the earnings release.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 42207.67, 39521.90, 40127.18, 41166.73, 39935.52, 40553.46, 40424.48, 39716.95, 40826.21, 41502.75
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-10-27]
BTC Price: 20285.84, BTC RSI: 58.38
Gold Price: 1660.70, Gold RSI: 47.71
Oil Price: 89.08, Oil RSI: 55.99
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
What Traders May Want To Know About Trading Tesla In 2022: By Tony Dong, Benzinga New York --News Direct-- Direxion Trading Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is arguably always an adventure. The stock remains highly volatile, with a beta* of 2.11, making it twice as responsive as the overall market. Tesla sits at the apex of a rising electric vehicle (EV) industry and is now facing stiffening competition from up-and-coming companies like Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN) and Polestar (NASDAQ: PSNYW), established traditional car manufacturers like Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) and Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), as well as overseas rivals like NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV). Tesla's ascension to the top of numerous leading stock market indexes, like the NASDAQ 100, has put it squarely in the targets of both retail and institutional investors. It remains one of the most heavily traded and shorted stocks on U.S. exchanges, with strong options volume. Elon Musk, Teslas eccentric CEO, remains capable of whipping retail investors into a frenzy with memes, antics and high-profile feuds such as his current lawsuit with Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) over a potential acquisition. The bottom line is, for Bulls and Bears alike, ample trading opportunities could exist given the stocks volatility and the attention it receives. The question is: What catalysts can Tesla traders look forward to for the remainder of 2022? And how can they best trade around them? Earnings Catalysts to Watch Trading volume and volatility for Tesla tend to surge around its quarterly earnings reports, with the most recent occurring on July 20 for the second quarter of 2022. Tesla is next expected to announce its third quarter earnings report between October 19 and 24. As the date of the earnings report approaches, key figures to watch for and compare to consensus analyst estimates could include: The continued impacts of inflation and supply chain constraints on gross margins for its automotive segment (its largest source of revenue) by comparing year-over-year quarterly growth/shrinkage. Whether Tesla's new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas will exceed the forecasted 1,000-per-week vehicle production estimate set by management. The growth rate of its infrastructure in particular the potential increases in the number of stores, service centers and Supercharger locations. The disposition of its remaining 25% holding of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) after selling 75% at the end of the second quarter. Story continues Tesla shareholders also approved a 3-for-1 forward stock split Thursday, August 4 based on a preliminary vote count. Previously in 2020, shares surged in the weeks after Tesla last effected a 5-for-1 stock split. Traders might be able to take advantage of heightened volatility in the upcoming weeks as investors snap up Tesla shares in anticipation of the split date. Macroeconomic Factors to watch As a growth stock, Tesla is likely to be affected by inflation and rising rates, which could depress its valuation and increase the cost of borrowing for capital. Key dates to watch for leading up to Tesla's October earnings report include: The consumer price index (CPI)* figures for August and September will be released on September 13 and October 13, respectively1. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets on September 20-21. Chairman Jerome Powell has brought up the possibility of a third consecutive 75-basis point rate hike, with a target Fed Funds Rate of 3.25% to 3.5% by year end2. Earlier in July, Musk lamented the effects of prolonged high inflation on Tesla's expenses and sales prices, noting that the two new factories in Austin, Texas and Brandenburg, Germany, were "gigantic money furnaces." Elevated prices for raw materials and, in particular, semiconductors, were cited as a major impact on Tesla's reduced margins. Traders can therefore keep an eye on the producer price index by industry, with semiconductor and other electronic components manufacturing as a potential leading indicator for Tesla's outlook3. Trading Tesla with Direxion ETFs Traders looking for amplified exposure to Tesla can use Direxions suite of Daily TSLA Bull 1.5X Shares (TSLL) and Daily TSLA Bear 1X Shares (TSLS) in lieu of margin or options. TSLL seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 150% of the performance of TSLA for a single day, and TSLS seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 100% of the inverse of the performance of TSLA for a single day. It is important to note that the funds to not invest directly in TSLA. Traders with a bullish outlook can buy TSLL to go long if they think TSLA will go up. Conversely, traders with a bearish outlook can buy TSLS to go short if they think TSLA will tank. A strategy that employs TSLL or TSLS to trade around TSLA's next earnings report or economic releases could be a way to either speculate on an upward price move or hedge against a downturn. As with all leveraged ETFs, TSLL and TSLS can be a powerful way to achieve short-term exposure but only if traders do their due diligence on TSLA's short-term outlook, have a strong investment thesis and possess a high risk tolerance. Sources: https://www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/cpi.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCU33443344 *Definitions: - Beta describes how the expected return of a stock or portfolio is correlated to the return of the financial market as a whole. A Beta greater than 1.00 indicates the portfolio is more volatile than the market, and a beta less than 1.00 indicates the portfolio is less volatile than the market. - The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Investing in the funds involves a high degree of risk. Unlike traditional ETFs, or even other leveraged and/or inverse ETFs, these leveraged and/or inverse single-stock ETFs track the price of a single stock rather than an index, eliminating the benefits of diversification. Leveraged and inverse ETFs pursue daily leveraged investment objectives which means they are riskier than alternatives which do not use leverage. They seek daily goals and should not be expected to track the underlying stocks performance over periods longer than one day. They are not suitable for all investors and should be utilized only by investors who understand leverage risk and who actively manage their investments. The Funds will lose money if the underlying stocks performance is flat, and it is possible that the Funds will lose money even if the underlying stocks performance increases over a period longer than a single day. An investor should carefully consider a Funds investment objective, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. A Funds prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Direxion Shares. To obtain a Funds prospectus and summary prospectus call 866-476-7523 or visit our website at direxion.com. A Funds prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing. TSLA Trading Risk The trading price of TSLA has been highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Tesla Risk: The future growth and success of Tesla, Inc. are dependent upon consumers demand for electric vehicles, and specifically, its vehicles in an automotive industry that is generally competitive, cyclical and volatile. If the market for electric vehicles in general and Tesla, Inc. vehicles does not develop as Tesla, Inc. expects, develops more slowly than it expects, or if demand for its vehicles decreases in our markets or our vehicles compete with each other, the business, prospects, financial condition and operating results of Tesla, Inc. may be harmed. Tesla, Inc. may fail to meet its publicly announced guidelines or other expectations about its business, which could cause the price of TSLA to decline significantly. Direxion Shares Risks An investment in each Fund involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Each Fund is non-diversified and includes risks associated with a Fund concentrating its investments in a particular security, industry, sector, or geographic region which can result in increased volatility. The use of derivatives such as futures contracts and swaps are subject to market risks that may cause their price to fluctuate over time. Risks of the Funds include Effects of Compounding and Market Volatility Risk, Leverage Risk, Derivatives Risk, Counterparty Risk, Rebalancing Risk, Intra-Day Investment Risk, Daily Correlation/Tracking Risk, Tesla, Inc. Investing Risk, Single Security Risk, Market Risk, Indirect Investment Risk, Trading Halt Risk, and risks specific to the consumer discretionary sector, electric and autonomous vehicles companies, and automotive companies. Additional risks include, for the Direxion Daily TSLA Bear 1X Shares, risks related to Shorting and Cash Transactions. Please see the summary and full prospectuses for a more complete description of these and other risks of the Funds. Distributor: Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Direxion is a provider of financial products known for its leveraged ETFs. Founded in Alexandria, Virginia, the company also has offices in New York City, Boston, and Hong Kong. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details David Fajardo FajardoD@direxion.com Company Website https://www.direxion.com/ View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/what-traders-may-want-to-know-about-trading-tesla-in-2022-147425310 || DeFi Exchange in Tokens Sushi, Uniswap Plummet Amid Sideways Crypto Market: As the broader crypto market struggles to find momentum for any meaningful bull action,DeFitokens behindSushiSwap,Uniswap, and Synthetix have been hit hard over the past day, posting losses of more than 7%.
SUSHI, the governance and staking token behind the eponymous decentralized exchange (DEX), has plunged as much as 9.7% over the past 24 hours.
The token is now trading at $1.30, falling from yesterday's high of $1.45, according to data fromCoinGecko.
The latest price action comes less than 48 hours after the Sushi appintegrateda fiat on-ramp solution developed by ConsenSys-backed Transak, which claims to allow users to buy more than 130 cryptocurrencies directly from the exchange.
The Transak solution supports major payment systems, such as Visa, Mastercard, Google Pay, and SEPA, however, it also comes with a requirement for Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures.
Uniswap(UNI), the token powering another popular DEX of the same name, has fallen 7% over the day, changing handsat $5.97.
With a market capitalization of more than $4.5 billion, UNI is the industry’s 18th-largest digital asset. Still, and despite Uniswap Labs last weekraising a whopping $165 millionin new funding, it has struggled to gain steam recently, dropping 13.8% over the past two weeks.
SNX, which powers the synthetic asset-creating platform Synthetix, has followed a similar price pattern, plunging 7.3% over the last day.
The token is now changing hands at $2.16, down from $2.35 on Thursday.
Why Synthetix's Kain Warwick Thinks DeFi Governance Has Gotten Worse
Elsewhere,Cardano(ADA),Solana(SOL), andPolkadot(DOT) all lost more than 5% over the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin(BTC), is down 0.8% over the span, currently changing hands just below $19,000.
Ethereum(ETH), the industry’s second-largest cryptocurrency, is trading at $1,282, down 1.1% over the same period of time.
The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. || Here's what Ethereum's Merge means for investors who want to generate extra cash flow from crypto staking, according to 2 industry experts: • Ethereum recently revamped its protocol from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake model.
• Industry analysts have predicted that this upgrade could triple current Ethereum staking yields.
• Here's how staking will change in light of Ethereum's Merge — and what that means for returns.
• This article is part of "Master Your Crypto," a series from Insider helping investors improve their skills in and knowledge of cryptocurrency.
Ethereum'slong-anticipated MergeonThursday, September 15— where the blockchain transitioned its protocol from a proof-of-work to the much more energy-efficient proof-of-stake consensus model — will certainly be immortalized as one of themost important events in crypto history. It represents the next evolution of digital assets and future growth in the space, according to Thomas Perfumo, head of strategy at Kraken, which is currently thefourth largest cryptocurrency exchangein the world.
There's another reason the Merge was so important, Perfumo told Insider — eventually, it will single-handedly increase the total market cap of staked crypto assets from 25% to 30% to over 50%.
For context, proof-of-work protocols like Bitcoin verify blockchain transactions by having minerssolve computation puzzles, while proof-of-stake systems like those employed by Solana, Cardano, and Polkadotchoose validators at random who've staked— or locked up their crypto assets — for upwards of two to three weeks. While validators are randomly chosen, they're more likely to be selected if they have a bigger stake and they've held their stake for a longer period of time than others.
Similar to holding a dividend stock, investors who stake their cryptocurrencies are theoretically able to benefit in two ways — from the underlying asset's price appreciation, and from the additional reward they earn each time they verify a transaction, known as the annual percentage rate, or APR.
Because Ethereum validators also earngas fees, higher transaction volumes mean a higher yield. And since each block only has a fixed number of rewards, the reward rate dwindles as the total number of validators and staked cryptos competing for those rewards increases.
Since validators take risks through their exposure to the underlying asset, investors shouldn't buy crypto solely for its potential APR, Perfumo said. "But if you have conviction in Ethereum over your time horizon and you feel like staking offers you a way to increase the rewards on the asset while you hold it, it sounds like a good idea," he added.
Before the Merge, Ethereum holders were able to stake on its Beacon Chain, with one big caveat — they were unable to withdraw their assets, which means the percentage of Ethereum staked has only grown over time. But withdrawals should be allowed once the Shanghai fork of the Merge is complete within the next six to nine months, Perfumo estimates.
While theoretically, every crypto holder canstake by themselvesas opposed to staking on an exchange, in practice, it's much harder to solo stake because validators have to constantly monitor the software or risk paying an inactivity penalty. Ethereum also requires all solo validators tohold at least 32 etherbefore they can stake, and costs of nodes and servers can quickly add up, said Perfumo.
On the other hand, exchanges likeKrakenandLido— which take a fee on yield — allow users to contribute an amount of their choice, and can also minimize slashing penalties through redundancy mechanisms. Because Lido gives users one derivative ETH token for every ether they stake, users are even able to unstake their coins by simply trading back the two currencies. But since these exchanges effectively manage custody of a user's assets, Perfumo emphasized the importance in choosing a trusted exchange to minimize counterparty risk.
Lido currently lists its Ethereum APR as 3.8%, while Kraken advertises its Ethereum yearly rewards rate ranging between 4% to 7% due to variability between transaction demand and validator supply, Perfumo explained. He added that rewards differ between blockchain protocols since newer ones might offer higher base yields to circulate currency supply, while more mature networks with large validator networks like Ethereum offer a smaller percentage of new tokens relative to total supply.
One of the biggest post-Merge takeaways is that the pool of rewards for validators has now increased substantially, said AD, a pseudonym used by Lido's head of marketing and community.
"The yields are expected to go up because the fees that used to flow to miners will now come to the stakers," he explained to Insider. "You're going from a yield that's currently around 3.8% — it varies a little bit — but our modeling shows that it will potentially double or even triple." Lido's estimates are in line withestimates made earlier this yearby other crypto analysts that post-Merge staking yields could swell to between7%to15%.
However, Perfumo says that the exact post-Merge rewards rates are difficult to predict, especially as ether becomes more liquid in a few months.
"If people are allowed to unstake, the reward rate is going to be more variable, in the sense that it can go up and down, depending on how many people are staking. It's possible that over time, the reward rate may skew to the downside because the liquidity of being able to unstake encourages people to stake," he explained.
Additionally, platforms might lower reward rates to compensate for the fact that mining is much higher in energy consumption than staking. "You don't have to have such a big incentive model to encourage validators to work on the platform," Perfumo said.
Since he believes that Ethereum rewards may not necessarily increase post-Merge, Perfumo emphasized that investors should still keep their personal time horizons in mind when it comes to Ethereum staking, and only consider staking if they're comfortable with locking down their assets for at least another six months.
This article is intended to provide generalized information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always consult with your own financial, legal, tax, investment, or other professional for advice on matters that affect you and/or your business.
Read the original article onBusiness Insider || LM Funding Commences Generation of Bitcoin Mining Revenue: TAMPA, FL, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --LM Funding America, Inc. (NASDAQ:LMFA) ("LM Funding" or "LMFA")today announced the energization of 848 S19J Pro Antminer Mining Machines (S19J Pro) at the Core Scientific Inc. facility in Calvert City, Kentucky.
“We are excited to energize our first machines in my home state of Kentucky,” said Bruce M. Rodgers, Chairman and CEO of LM Funding and a Bowling Green, Kentucky native. “We plan to sell our mined Bitcoin to pay operating expenses and reinvest the balance in the purchase and operation of additional Bitcoin mining machines.” Rodgers finished by stating, “Generating Bitcoin revenue marks the successful execution to date of our cryptocurrency mining business strategy and next phase of growth for our Company. We continue to believe all 5,400 machines will be energized and anticipated to be generating approximately 544 petahash on an annualized basis by December 31, 2022.”
The Company also announced that has also ordered 200 Bitmain S19 XP mining machines that have a hashrate of 140 TH/s and are expected to be delivered between December 2022 and January 2023.
About LM Funding AmericaLM Funding America, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, is a cryptocurrency mining business that commenced Bitcoin mining operations in September 2022. The Company also operates a technology-based specialty finance company that provides funding to nonprofit community associations (Associations) primarily located in the state of Florida, as well as in the states of Washington, Colorado and Illinois, by funding a certain portion of the Associations' rights to delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” and “project” and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guaranties of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks of entering into and operating in the cryptocurrency mining business, the capacity of our bitcoin mining machines and our related ability to purchase power at reasonable prices, the financial stability of mining machine hosting vendors, the ability to finance our planned cryptocurrency mining operations, our ability to acquire new accounts in our specialty finance business at appropriate prices, the need for capital, our ability to hire and retain new employees, changes in governmental regulations that affect our ability to collected sufficient amounts on defaulted consumer receivables, changes in the credit or capital markets, changes in interest rates, and negative press regarding the debt collection industry. The occurrence of any of these risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Contact:Crescendo Communications, LLCTel: (212) 671-1021Email:LMFA@crescendo-ir.com || Stock market news live updates: Stocks erase gains, tumble to end volatile week on Wall Street: U.S. stocks erased early gains Friday, tumbling in the latest U-turn for equities following a volatile week of swings in both directions. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) shed more than 2% on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI) slipped 1.3%, or nearly 400 points. The growth-sensitive Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) lost more than 3%. Friday's losses came on the heels of a big rebound on Thursday, when stocks started the day lower after a hotter-than-expected inflation report. But that didn’t last long, as stocks trimmed their losses and turned green before midday trading, eventually snapping a six-day losing streak and ending sharply higher. "We got a "bear hug"... S&P 500 5% in 5 hours after hot CPI because it was simply so oversold," Michael Harnett, investment strategist at Bank of America, wrote in a note on Friday. Wall Street on Friday took in earnings reports from final heavyweights, such as JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Morgan Stanley ( MS ), and Citigroup ( C ). The banks reported profit skids in the quarter and warned of a slowing economy, though some beat analyst forecasts. Bank stocks were mixed. JPMorgan Chase stock rose 2% after the bank's quarterly results topped Wall Street consensus for earnings and revenue. Wells Fargo posted stronger-than-expected revenue for the third quarter, offsetting a profit miss. The stock was up more than 2%. Morgan Stanley's profit drop prompted shares to fall near 5%. Citigroup reported a 25% drop in third-quarter profit on Friday following weak investment banking activity. Equity markets also turned sharply lower Friday as a consumer survey from the University of Michigan showed inflation expectations increasing , marking the highest level in six months. "The uptick in inflation expectations probably is a response to the increase in gas prices in recent weeks, in which case it won’t continue," Ian Shepherdson, Chief Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note. Story continues The overall Friday skid ended a wild week of volatility in the markets. The main event of the week was consumer price data, which came in higher than forecast on Thursday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September showed prices rose 8.2% over the prior year and 0.4% over the prior month. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 6.6% from a year ago, marking the highest level since 1982. Core CPI rose by 0.6% month over month. To some investors, the sharp moves Thursday were evidence of excessive short market positioning, during which traders rushed to cover following the hot inflation data. “What followed was extraordinary and may have been exacerbated by short-covering, perhaps even some panic," Oanda Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam wrote in a note. "While it may indicate the market has established a bottom for now, given the scale of the declines since the August peak, that doesn't necessarily mean the worst is suddenly behind us. Not when inflation is so stubborn, the labor market so tight and the Fed so intent on more aggressive hikes," Erlam added. In currency markets Friday, the dollar extended gains compared to the yen, climbing to the highest level since 1990. The dollar is up 15% for the year against other currencies. The 10-year Treasury yield rose above 4%. Elsewhere, Bitcoin wavered around $19,200. The digital asset is down nearly 60% this year. Elsewhere on Friday morning: Kroger announced a $24.6 billion deal to buy rival Albertsons, and Beyond Meat announced a 19% reduction in the plant-based meat company's global workforce after another brutal quarter. On the retail front, shopper spending was flat in September amid high inflation and climbing interest rates. Retail sales, excluding gasoline, were up 0.1%. The measure doesn't adjust for inflation. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.2% gain in retail sales. "The high inflation environment is weighing on consumer morale and purchasing power, and it is forcing many households to dip into savings and use credit to finance outlays," EY Parthenon Chief Economist Gregory Daco said in statement. "While consumers remain willing to spend, many families, especially those at the lower-to-median end of the income spectrum, are feeling increasingly constrained by elevated prices and rising interest rates," Daco added. — Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , Flipboard , LinkedIn , and YouTube || US stocks gain after a back-and-forth session as Wall Street weighs the latest hawkish remarks from Fed Chair Powell: Congress is considering banning its members — and their family members — from trading stocks. Kolderal via Getty Images US stocks ended higher Thursday after a volatile trading session, marking a second straight day of gains. Investors weighed more hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Earlier Thursday, the European Central Bank hiked benchmark rates by 75 basis points, it's biggest-ever increase. US stocks ended higher Thursday after a volatile trading session, marking a second straight day of gains, as investors responded to hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He reiterated the central bank's focus on taming inflation "until the job is done" and predicted "a period of growth below trend." Markets are gearing up for a 75-basis-point hike at the September 20-21 meeting, with potentially more tightening to follow into 2023. A dovish pivot in the near term now seems less likely as Wall Street sheds some of its optimisim toward a potential ease in tightening. "The market will continue to struggle until it gets a handle on when the interest rate hike cycle is coming to an end," said Kevin Philip, partner at Bel Air Investment Advisors. "It seems that for the course of 2022 the market and its audience has continually underestimated the resolve of the Fed to rein in inflation." Here's where US indexes stood as the market closed at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday: S&P 500 : 4,006.18, up 0.66% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 31,774.52, up 0.61% (193.24 points) Nasdaq Composite : 11,862.13, up 0.60% Earlier Thursday, the European Central Bank hiked rates by 75 basis points, the biggest increase in its history , as it tackles persistent inflation amid a worsening energy crisis. Goldman Sachs raised its forecasts for interest rate increases at the Federal Reserve's next two meetings, and now sees 75 basis points in September and by 50 basis points in November. It previously projected increases of 50 and 25 basis points, respectively. The central bank is making a mistake with its rate-hike cycle as inflation eases further and potentially turns into deflation, according to Ark Invest's Cathie Wood. She added that the Fed would have to pivot in such a scenario much sooner than the market anticipates. Story continues Elsewhere, China passed the US in corporate debt sales with yuan-denominated bonds surpassing those backed in dollars in recent months, according to data from Bloomberg. Meanwhile, top economist Mohamed El-Erian thinks US stocks are poised to outperform global peers and navigate market headwinds. Oil was higher, with West Texas Intermediate climbing 1.83% to $83.43 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude gained 1.05% to $88.92. Gold fell 0.56% to $1,708.18 an ounce. The 10-year yield gained 2.5 basis points to 3.29%. Bitcoin added 0.09% to $19,207.67. Read the original article on Business Insider || El Salvador Launches 2 Debt Repurchase Offers Amid Uncertainty Over Its Bitcoin Bond: The government of El Salvador issued an offer on Monday to buy back a portion of its sovereign debt bonds maturing in 2023 and 2025, the Central American country said in astatement.
El Salvador established a purchase price of $910 for the bonds maturing in 2023, and a $540 price for those bonds maturing in 2025. Each bond is worth a total of $800 million.
In July, when El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukelepresentedthe repurchase plan, it was seen as an attempt to counter speculation about a potential default by El Salvador amid strained relations between the Central American country and the traditional credit market, particularly after El Salvador established bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in September 2021.
As of now, El Salvador is down roughly 50% on its sizable investments in bitcoin, representing a potential loss of $52.4 million, according to CoinDesk data based on Bukele's announcements.
El Salvador’s $1 billion bitcoin bond (also known as the Volcano Bond) still does not have a launch date, despite being announced in November 2021 by Bukele. Bitfinex and Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino, who has worked closely with El Salvador on the bitcoin bond project,saidlast month that government officials have told him to expect passage in September.
The bond repurchase offer will be available between Sept. 12 and Sept. 20, El Salvador said, adding that the “settlement of validly tendered and accepted notes is scheduled to occur on or about Sept. 22.” Deutsche Bank Securities will serve as the dealer manager.
El Salvador added that the offer is “subject to an aggregate amount not to exceed $360 million to purchase the principal amount of notes accepted for tender and pay accrued interest and any premium with respect to such notes.”
Read more:Bitcoin City: El Salvador’s Dreams for Utopia on Hold
CORRECTION (Sept. 12, 2022 21:23 UTC):Corrected purchase price of bonds maturing in 2023 to $910, and that of bonds maturing in 2025 to $540. || Bitcoin Traders’ Outlook Is So Bleak That Some Analysts See a Buying Opportunity: Even as signs mount that actions by the U.S. Federal Reserve are poised to drive down prices for risky assets, some crypto analysts are suggesting now might be a good time to make a contrarian bet on bitcoin’s (BTC) price rising.
“Several signals suggest that the crypto sell-off is getting overextended in the short term,” Vetle Lunde, an Arcane analyst, wrote in an end-of-month marketreport. “This represents an intriguing area to make contrarian short-term bets.”
Alex Thorn, crypto firm Galaxy Digital Group’s head of research, argued that even if a further crash was in the cards, traders who bought BTC in similarly grim occasions in bitcoin’s history could return a profit within as soon as a month. If the largest cryptocurrency by market value were to suddenly sell off, he pegs $17,000 as a key level that would provide strong price support. As of press time, bitcoin was changing hands around $20,000, well off the all-time high around $69,000 reached in November.
“While macroeconomic factors and monetary tightening can cause bitcoin to trade lower in the near term, for several reasons, both technical and fundamental, these levels should be considered opportunistic buying opportunities,” Thorn said in areport.
Cryptocurrencies are having a horrendous year, in line with traditional financial markets such as equities and bonds, amid high inflation and rising interest rates. Bitcoin has tumbled 57% in value this year, while the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies dropped tobelow $1 trillionfrom the near-$3 trillionpeakin November.
Despite the bleak economic outlook and Fed Chair Jerome Powelldoubling down on plans for aggressive interest-rate hikesat last week’s Jackson Hole, Wyoming, economic symposium, a slew of crypto market metrics suggest that depressed prices may offer an attractive entry point.
BTC currently is trading below its 200-week moving average, at around $23,000. Over bitcoin’s pricing history, this has acted as a key level to identify value-buying opportunities and has only happened four times before: twice during the 2015 bear market, the 2018-19 market bottom and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic-induced crash.
Every time BTC sank below the average, investors who bought in had positive returns within a month.
“In the past, times when BTC/USD traded below its 200[-week moving average] have proven to be favorable buying opportunities across a range of time periods,” Thorn wrote.
As often happens in markets, when the majority of traders bet one way, prices go the other way.
Many crypto traders are expecting a further fall in bitcoin’s price, but the pessimism reached such extremes that theshort sellingposition might prove to be crowded.
Evidence from the bitcoin derivatives market demonstrates that traders have positioned themselves for falling prices, the Arcane report added.
For example, the average daily offshore futures basis dropped negative for the first time since the March 2020 pandemic-induced market crash, indicating extraordinarily gloomy short-term sentiment.
The ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF (BITI), an exchange-traded fund where investors can profit on BTC’s price dropping, has experienced significant inflows in the last weeks and reached an all-time high fund size in late August, according to an Arcaneanalysis, while other funds that manage bitcoin havemostly seen outflowsat the same time.
Bitcoin futures currently trade inbackwardation; this happens when front-month contracts trade at a higher price than contracts with far-maturity, meaning that sellers dominate the market.
Funding rates for perpetual swaps turned negative and stayed there for the last two weeks, while open interest grew almost uninterrupted since the December 2021 correction.
“Everyone is hedging, and the short trade seems crowded when gauged through historical lenses,” Lunde said in the report. “A long BTC, [ether] ETH, or higher beta altcoin punt with a tightstop-loss [order]seems attractive here.” || UAE's Future Blockchain Summit to Address All Things Blockchain in Dubai from Tomorrow: • The fifth edition of theFuture Blockchain Summitis set to host an engaging lineup of industry leaders who will discuss disruptive technologies, regulations, cryptocurrencies, Metaverse next week
• The fifth edition of theFuture Blockchain Summitset to host visionaries from the public and private sector, including spokespersons from DMCC, ADGM, Emirates Post, BCG, Binance, Mastercard and EmiratesNBD next week
Dubai, United Arab Emirates--(Newsfile Corp. - October 9, 2022) - The wait is over. The Middle East and North Africa region's first and largest blockchain conference and exhibition, the Future Blockchain Summit, is launching its 5th edition at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) tomorrow, from October 10th-13th October 2022 (Monday to Thursday).
In a bid to realise the vast economic potential that Blockchain holds for the UAE and beyond, the Future Blockchain Summit will unite diverse and disruptive innovators who will address all things blockchain - including regulations, cryptocurrencies and Metaverse.
The Future Blockchain Summit is set to bring together the region's largest gathering of thought leaders, Blockchain architects, game-changing startups and powerful investors including more than 100 speakers and 600 investors who will converge for four days of networking and education centered around disruptive technologies of the future.
The fifth edition of the Future Blockchain Summit will hear from Blockchain visionaries from organisations including ADGM, Emirates Post, BCG, Binance, Mastercard and EmiratesNBD, FTX, OKX and Elliptic, among many others.
The summit will also host engaging panel discussions on key topics such as 'Mitigating Risks of Virtual Assets (VAs) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)', 'Regulations in the Metaverse', and 'The State of Bitcoin Mining and the Energy Problem'.
"The UAE can be a model for other nations in establishing a crypto hub. This is still a nascent space, and the realisation of this ambition will require a major focus on regulation, built on a deep understanding of the underlying blockchain technology. Given the work we are doing with governments across the globe, we will focus on educating all stakeholders - from government entities and private sector organisations to everyday consumers - on the fundamentals of blockchain technology over the four days of the Future Blockchain Summit," said Bas Lemmens, General Manager International, Chainalysis.
"The Future Blockchain Summit has been an extremely valuable source of industry-leading expertise and knowledge for the last four years. We are excited that the event is coming back to Dubai for a fifth edition," said Alexander Chehade, General Manager for Dubai, Binance. "As the world's leading blockchain ecosystem, we are big supporters of open dialogue to spread awareness and education regarding Blockchain; this is a crucial step to build trust and security in our industry and drive long-term growth. Dubai is emerging as a fast-growing global hub in the virtual asset space, and we are committed to collaborating with colleagues and regulators in developing our industry in this region."
Gaurav Dubey, CEO, TDeFi, said, "TDeFi is excited to have a major presence in one of the region's most important gatherings of the technology industry. This year, TDeFi will participate at the Future Blockchain Summit with an exhibition of its portfolio highlighting its latest projects."
Additional quotes
Sasha Tityanko, Deputy CEO and Art Director, Sensorium, said, "The Future Blockchain Summit is one of the most influential events for the tech sector, and we are delighted to contribute to its outstanding agenda once again. This year, we wanted to take the metaverse one step closer to everyone, ensuring all visitors can experience the different technological advancements that come together at Sensorium Galaxy - from remarkably natural conversations with AI, to the high-quality generative music created by virtual artists and striking visuals available all around the metaverse. With our program this year, we intend to reshape people's vision of the metaverse and set new standards for the creation of future virtual environments."
An integral part of GITEX GLOBAL 2022, which will host seven shows under one roof to unite global tech industry, this year's Future Blockchain Summit will feature over 5,000 tech and digital companies from 170 countries.
Visit the eventwebsitefor more information on the Future Blockchain Summit, as well as registration details.
About Dubai World Trade Centre:
With a vision to make Dubai the world's leading destination for all major exhibitions, conferences and events, DWTC has evolved from being the regional forerunner of the fast-growing MICE industry into a multi-dimensional business catalyst, focusing on Venues, Events and Real Estate Management. Complementary to the primary service offerings are a range of value-added services from media/advertising, engineering and technical consultation and wedding planning, security services and an award-winning hospitality portfolio. To know more about the Dubai World Trade Centre, kindly visit theirwebsite.
For more information, please contact:
Loredana Matei
Founder, Jensen Matthews PR
loredana@jensenmatthews.com
Official Media Contact
Steven Besse
Fintech Surge
steven.besse@dwtc.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visithttps://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/139980 || 3 Marijuana Stocks to Buy Ahead of the Midterm Elections: Amidst multiple economic challenges, the upcoming midterm elections will provide a referendum on Joe Biden. However, these midterms are important for several other reasons. Governors are up for election in 36 states, with hot topics like state-level marijuana legalization likely to remain. With this upcoming event, it’s a good time to consider some marijuana stocks to buy.
So, what’s the potential catalyst for the marijuana industry in the upcoming elections?
First and foremost, theelection of governors in 36 statescould have an impact on legalization. Recently, Gavin Newsom, governor of California, “signed severalmeasures to strengthen California’s cannabis laws.” These measures are intended to expand the legal cannabis market. If other governors from the Democratic party are elected, investors bullish on marijuana legalization could see growth in this sector once again.
InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
Furthermore, President Biden made a statement in October on marijuana reforms. Biden announced the release of federal convicts held just for possession or consumption of marijuana. The President also called for review of the law that “classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.”
Clearly, if the Democrats have the upper hand, marijuana stocks are likely to surge. Of course, the baseline scenario right now paints a gloomy outlook for the Democratic party. That said, investors have to take risk to earn a return on their investment. For those looking to do so in the cannabis space, here are three marijuana stocks to buy with potential multi-bagger returns.
[{"TLRY": "CURLF", "Tilray Brands": "Curaleaf Holdings", "$3.16": "$5.58"}, {"TLRY": "SNDL", "Tilray Brands": "Sundial Growers", "$3.16": "$2.12"}]
Source: Shutterstock
Even if we put the legalization story aside, there are reasons to be bullish onTilray Brands(NASDAQ:TLRY).
Tilray recently reported Q1 2023 results. The company’s revenue numbers generally disappointed investors. However, the company continues to report positive adjusted EBITDA. Tilray has also reaffirmed its guidance forpositive free cash flows for the fiscal year 2023. This is good news for investors, particularly at a time when most marijuana companies continue to struggle with cash burn.
Tilray has also been aggressive on the medicinal cannabis front. With a focus on evidence-backed products, the company has already received authorization to enter multiple markets in Europe. These include Poland, Italy, and the U.K.
The company has a strong balance sheet with $500 million in cash. Thus, Tilray is well-positioned to make big investments in the future, should federal cannabis legalization in the U.S. pan out. Right now, I think this penny stock is worth buying, especially when considering the stock’s 55% correction year-to-date in 2022.
Source: Shutterstock
It’s worth noting thatCuraleaf Holdings(OTCMKTS:CURLF) has traded in a relatively narrow sideways band over the past six-months. This may be an indication of a bottom for the stock, and I think a reversal seems due in the coming quarters.
A big reason to like Curaleaf is the fact that the company has apresence in 22 states in the U.S. Accordingly, revenue growth can accelerate materially, should marijuana be legalized at federal level. At the same time, Curaleaf has presence in eight countries in Europe.
Another reason to like Curaleaf is the company’s investment in research and development. For Q2 2022, the company reported 20% of its revenue came from products launched in the last 12 months. The company claims to have another 180 products in experimental development.
For the current year, Curaleaf has guided for revenue of $1.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $406 million. A key stock upside trigger in the next two years would be positive free cash flows. For the first half of 2022, the company has already reported positive operating cash flows.
Source: gvictoria / Shutterstock.com
Sundial Growers(NASDAQ:SNDL) is among the marijuana stocks to buy that’s likely to find a bottom around current levels. As an overview, Sundial is focused on distribution and sale of cannabis products in Canada. However, through its investment arm, Sundial has a bigger reach.
Just to put things into perspective, Sundial has 355 retail stores which sell liquor and cannabis in Canada. Additionally, the company reported$689 million in strategic investments(equity and debt).
As the global cannabis market expands, the value of the company’s equity investments is likely to swell. Sundial can therefore be considered as a proxy for investment in several attractive cannabis stories globally.
It’s also worth noting that Sundial closed Q2 2022 with $356 million in cash and marketable securities. This provides headroom for further investments. In August 2022, Sundial has proposed the acquisition ofThe Valens Companyfor $138 million. The latter has afull suite of cannabis 2.0 manufacturing capabilities.
Penny Stocks
On Penny Stocks and Low-Volume Stocks:With only the rarest exceptions, InvestorPlace does not publish commentary about companies that have a market cap of less than $100 million or trade less than 100,000 shares each day. That’s because these “penny stocks” are frequently the playground for scam artists and market manipulators. If we ever do publish commentary on a low-volume stock that may be affected by our commentary, we demand thatInvestorPlace.com’s writers disclose this fact and warn readers of the risks.
Read More: Penny Stocks —How to Profit Without Getting Scammed
On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.
Faisal Humayun is a senior research analyst with 12 years of industry experience in the field of credit research, equity research and financial modeling. Faisal has authored over 1,500 stock specific articles with focus on the technology, energy and commodities sector.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 20595.35, 20818.48, 20635.60, 20495.77, 20485.27, 20159.50, 20209.99, 21147.23, 21282.69, 20926.49
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2022-10-19]
BTC Price: 19139.54, BTC RSI: 45.12
Gold Price: 1627.50, Gold RSI: 36.76
Oil Price: 85.55, Oil RSI: 48.68
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Google Cloud to Let Users Pay With Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin via Coinbase: Internet giant Google today said that it will use Coinbase to accept crypto payments for cloud services early next year, according to a report by CNBC . Google announced the deal at this year’s Cloud Next, a conference where Google pitches its state-of-the-art cloud computing business (which accounts for nearly a tenth of its revenue) to companies. Google Cloud will begin accepting crypto payments from a "handful" of customers through integration with Coinbase Commerce , a payments tool for businesses, according to Google Cloud Vice President and General Manager, Amit Zavery. Coinbase Commerce is expected to move "data-related applications" from Amazon Web Services' cloud to Google's. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but according to Jim Migdal, Vice President of business development at Coinbase, the deal will follow other Coinbase Commerce arrangements, earning Coinbase a cut of every transaction that goes through the system. Coinbase Commerce currently supports ten cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin , Ethereum , Dogecoin , and Tether . CNBC also reported that there "wasn't a guarantee" that Google would stick with Coinbase for payments processing, and there’s competition from a newly crypto-integrated PayPal business service. For now, though, the San Francisco-based crypto exchange appears to be the top choice right now. Google’s crypto ventures Unlike Facebook, which rebranded to Meta last year , Google has played its cards close to its chest in the Web3 arms race, but recent reports indicate that the company’s somewhat cool early reception of cryptocurrencies is thawing. Last month, Sky Mavis reached an agreement with Google Cloud enabling the tech giant’s cloud division to run a validator node on Ronin Network, an Ethereum sidechain set up by Axie Infinity creator Sky Mavis. The move aims to further decentralize Ronin and enable Google to help secure the sidechain and process transactions. The Ronin bridge was exploited earlier this year in a historic $622 million theft. Google also marked the countdown to Ethereum’s major upgrade last month—dubbed the merge—with a little graphic that appeared to anyone searching “Ethereum merge.” The gesture is slight, but speaks volumes about the level of recognition crypto is getting today. Coinbase Beats Out Binance, Lands Regulatory Approval in Singapore A fortnight ago, Richard Widmann, Google’s head of strategy, Web3, and cloud, called his company a “ layer zero ” for blockchain and said the team is building a “giant bridge” for cross-chain interoperability. Widmann also remarked that Google’s current ethos aligns with crypto’s core values of open-source development and decentralization. View comments || Stock Market Today: Stocks Snap Weekly Losing Streak: black stock chart with red and green bars going up and down Getty Images Stocks continued their push higher Friday, with today's gains helping the major market indexes snap a three-week losing streak. SEE MORE 12 REITs Flaunting Fast-Growing Dividends There was nothing particularly new today to boost investor sentiment. Both the economic and earnings calendars were thin. And early afternoon speeches from Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Fed Governor Christopher Waller echoed the hawkish tone struck by central bank officials in recent weeks. It could just be that Wall Street has come to terms with the fact that the Fed will almost certainly issue a third-straight 75 basis point rate increase at its policy meeting later this month. Or perhaps investors are simply taking advantage of bargains from the late-August selloff. Whatever the reason, today's rally was broad-based, with all 11 sectors finishing higher. Leading the pack was communication services , which jumped 2.8% on strong gains for components Meta Platforms ( META , +4.4%) and Netflix ( NFLX , +2.7%). Energy (+2.5%) also outperformed as U.S. crude futures bounced 3.9% to $86.79 per barrel. Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. As for the major indexes, the Nasdaq Composite's 2.1% rally to 12,112 outpaced its peers. Still, the S&P 500 Index (+1.5% to 4,067) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+1.2% at 32,151) ended with solid gains as well. price chart for Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Friday, September 9 YCharts Other news in the stock market today: The small-cap Russell 2000 spiked 2% to 1,882. Gold futures rose 0.5% to finish at $1,728.60 an ounce. Bitcoin surged 9.9% to $21,278.60. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m.) Kroger ( KR ) gained 7.4% after the grocery store chain reported earnings. In its second quarter, KR recorded higher-than-expected earnings of 90 cents per share and revenue of $34.6 billion. Same-store sales jumped 5.8%, beating the consensus estimate. Still, CFRA Research analyst Arun Sundaram kept a Sell rating on KR stock, saying its recent outperformance is unsustainable. "Fuel margins will likely normalize over time, while KR's major top-line benefit over the last several quarters (i.e., higher food prices) will likely fade as comps get tougher and promotional activity increases," Sundaram says. "We see wage pressures continuing in fiscal 2023, which, along with weaker identical sales growth, will likely lead to weaker operating margins next year." DocuSign ( DOCU ) was another post-earnings winner, jumping 10.5% after its results. The e-signature company reported second-quarter earnings of 44 cents per share on $622.2 million, more than analysts were expecting. DOCU also said billings were up 9% in the three-month period to $647.7 million. But it wasn't enough to convince UBS Global Research analyst Karl Keirstead, who kept a Neutral (Hold) recommendation on DOCU. "In our view, DocuSign's valuation multiples don't look compelling yet given the single-digit growth outlook and high total addressable market penetration," Keirstead says. Story continues 4 Ways to Spend $1,000 How would you spend $1,000? We took this question to the editors of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine to see what advice they would give on how to spend, save and invest a thousand bucks. For those wanting to level up their philanthropy game, there are plenty of ways to use that money, including donating to Kiva , an impact investing platform that facilitates crowdfunded loans to entrepreneurs. SEE MORE The Best Online Brokers and Trading Platforms, 2022 Opportunities for investors are also abundant. Those just getting started on their investment journeys might consider opening roboadviser accounts . These services, which are offered by most banks and brokerage firms, offer low-cost, computer-driven investment management. For those looking to put $1,000 straight into to their portfolios, we've got you covered, too. One option is to take advantage of stock slice programs that let folks buy fractional shares of expensive companies. Investors might also want to consider small-cap stocks . It's been a rough year for this corner of the market, but history shows that stocks with smaller market values can still outperform for patient investors. SEE MORE The ESG Investing Backlash You may also like Roth Conversions Play Key Role in Defusing a Retirement Tax Bomb Your Guide to Roth Conversions Investing for Retirement Income Is Different – Rethink 60/40 Rule View comments || EU Puts Bitcoin in Crosshairs With Crypto Energy Labeling Plan: (Bloomberg) -- The European Union will develop an energy efficiency label for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in a bid to rein in the growing electricity consumption of the industry. Most Read from Bloomberg A Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3 $200 Diesel Puts Biden in an Ugly Corner Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records Spats Putin’s War Escalation Is Hastening Demographic Crash for Russia Chinese Economists Tally Cost of Putin’s War, Warn on Deep Scars The European Commission will work with international partners to come up with a grading measure that will encourage more environmentally friendly crypto systems, such as “proof of stake,” according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg News set to be announced Tuesday. The EU will also call on countries to target miners’ energy consumption this winter as it tries to navigate the season with far less Russian gas. “Just as their use has grown significantly, the energy consumption of cryptocurrencies has more,” the the EU’s executive arm said in the draft action plan. “In harnessing the use of cryptocurrencies and other blockchain technologies in energy markets and trading, care must be taken to use only the most energy efficient versions of the technology.” Read more: Why Ethereum’s Merge Means Crypto That’s Much Greener: QuickTake While the EU makes up only around 10% of proof-of-work crypto mining -- a more-energy intensive system used by Bitcoin to issue new digital tokens -- any action taken by the bloc can still have knock-on effects globally. It has previously considered banning proof-of-work practices before deciding that cryptoasset providers should be required to disclose the energy consumption and environmental impact of the assets they choose to list. By comparison, proof-of-stake mining -- which is now used by Ethereum -- can use 99.9% less energy than proof-of-work. The idea is that a labeling system could encourage other cryptocurrencies to make the switch. The bloc will also produce a report that evaluates the climate impact of the industry by 2025, while urging member states to put an end to tax breaks for cryto-miners, according to the document. In the event of an electricity shortage, countries must also be ready to stop mining activities, the EU will recommend. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Mark Zuckerberg Isn’t Saying Much About Facebook These Days A Digital Drive to Reform the $11 Trillion Global Gold Market How Gamers Beat NFTs Exxon’s Exodus: Employees Have Finally Had Enough of Its Toxic Culture This Is What the Gas Station of the Future Will Look Like ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. View comments || Web3 Super App Omni Goes Live Ahead of Ethereum Merge, Supports Over 27 Blockchain Protocols: New York City, New York --News Direct-- Omni Omni , the next generation Web 3 super app, launched today, September 7, 2022, ahead of the Ethereum Merge to give users the most powerful platform to access all of Web 3. Omni is a full-service, self-custodied cryptocurrency wallet making it seamless to stake a variety of tokens, manage assets cross-chain, and collect and display NFTs. The next generation cryptocurrency wallet is currently available on mobile for iOS and Android , making it incredibly simple for Web3 users to manage their cryptocurrency portfolios directly from their mobile device. Omni could not have launched its rebrand at a better time. Ahead of the Ethereum Merge, users are becoming increasingly curious about crypto staking, and it provides a relatively low-risk way to earn an APY on one’s crypto holdings. Moreover, centralized exchanges like Celsius and Voyager have faced insolvencies, restricting the withdrawal of assets on these platforms. With this in mind, users are flocking towards self-custody solutions to manage their digital assets, and Omni provides a full-suite solution for just that. A common problem Web3 users face is account management, as many cryptocurrency wallets are chain specific, meaning that users have separate wallets for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchains. Omni supports over 27 chains, with top layer 1 and layer 2 networks supported. With the adoption of Ethereum layer 2s increasing even through the bear market, users can easily bridge assets and manage funds on layer 2s using Omni. Investors who are priced out of Ethereum’s blockchain often need a cryptocurrency wallet that supports layer 2s, as these networks allow users to interact with DeFi and NFTs without high transaction fees. Users that are new to cryptocurrency can benefit from using Omni, as its features go beyond digital asset management. Its news feed lets users stay up-to-date with recent market trends and industry events, and its explore feature exposes users to a suite of extremely useful DeFi and NFT protocols. Moreover, the process of crypto staking on Omni is much more simple than using traditional software wallets like Metamask. Omni has revolutionized the staking landscape through its signature three-tap staking mechanism. Instead of switching between networks, accessing separate dApps, and bridging cryptocurrencies to different networks, users can stake crypto with 3 taps from their phone. Omni’s native staking roster includes support for MATIC, SOL, AVAX, SUSHI, AKT, NEAR, ATOM, BNB, and CELO. Moreover, the wallet supports liquid staking, meaning that you can keep your assets liquid while earning interest on your tokens––this opens the floodgates for cryptocurrency yield farming via Omni. Story continues Omni’s founder commented on how Omni is uniquely positioned with its 3-tap staking mechanism, dubbed the Omni SDP: “Omni’s proprietary Smart Delegation Protocol (SDP) powers our staking technology, which operates as a custom smart contract middleware directly on the supported protocol SDKs,” said founder and CEO Serafin Lion Engel. He continued, “The SDP bundles transactions and thereby provides the same three-step flow across all yield-bearing integrations (whether these are native or liquid staking based integrations, vault products, or lending markets), regardless of the underlying complexity. The Omni SDP comprises custom-built modules for every type of integration launched, from dealing with rebasing stake accounts in authority-based systems such as Solana, or moving tokens between distinct blockchains for Avalanche and Binance Smart Chain. Our underlying infrastructure ensures that the staking steps are tracked in real time and alerts users when additional action is required. After over one year in the making, the Omni SDP spans more than 27 protocols, and provides CeFi-like UX, while being fully self-custodial and offering the fastest staking experience.” By providing users the ability to bridge and swap across all major blockchains directly in the wallet and having the broadest NFT support of any wallet, Omni truly is setting the bar as the most advanced wallet in Web 3. "We wanted Omni to be more than a wallet; we wanted it to be the one app that could do anything you'd want to do in Web 3. And we wanted to achieve this with it being fully self-custodial, which is of course the hard part. We wanted to show people that you could build something that had the same convenience as CeFi, but was fully DeFi” Engel said. “It took us a long time to build, but we couldn't be more excited to give it into people's hands just before the Ethereum Merge." Omni is a next generation cryptocurrency wallet that supports Bitcoin Ethereum and over 25 other blockchains. It aims to make Web3 as simple as using a Coinbase account, with unique features such as 3-tap crypto staking and cross-chain interoperability. Collect NFTs, interact with DeFi, and start exploring the rabbithole that is blockchain technology on Omni. Omni is a self-custodied cryptocurrency wallet, meaning the user has full control over their funds, adding a level of security centralized cervices can’t provide. This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice. Contact Details Alexa Anastasia alexa@omni.app Company Website https://omni.app/ View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/web3-super-app-omni-goes-live-ahead-of-ethereum-merge-supports-over-27-blockchain-protocols-986077893 View comments || River Financial Offers Payment Gateway for Bitcoin’s Multi-Asset Upgrade: River Financial, a San Francisco-based Bitcoin technology and financial services company, has unveiled River Lightning Services (RLS), a payments gateway that utilizes a forthcoming upgrade to the Lightning Network, Bitcoin's scalability protocol.
Read more:What is Bitcoin’s Lightning Network?
The Lightning Network keeps payments off-chain for speed, lower costs and scalability but still uses the Bitcoin blockchain as a settlement layer. Lightning Labs, the infrastructure firm behind the protocol, introduced an upgrade in April called Taro that supports the transfer of stablecoins and other assets. Atest version of Tarowas released late last month.
River Lightning Services aims to make it easier for companies to access the new multi-asset functionality. Developers can integrate Lightning payments into applications with an application programming interface (API) without having to run any of the Lightning infrastructure.
“The vision behind RLS is to unlock a new era of payments for the internet by making it extremely easy for developers to integrate Lightning Network payments into their apps,” Alex Leishman, Founder and CEO of River, told CoinDesk in an email.
“The Lightning Network will support stablecoins in the near future after the initial version of the upcoming Taro protocol is released,” Leishman continued. “This will mean instant, extremely cheap, bitcoin and [U.S. dollar] payments on Lightning and RLS will make this very easy for everybody to use. RLS is doing for Lightning what Stripe did for credit cards.”
River has nearly four years of experience running Lightning Network infrastructure. The company also offersbitcoin tradingand a bitcoin mining business The RLS service has been in use for over a year by Chivo, El Salvador’s somewhat troubledstate-runbitcoin wallet. RLS is in the process of onboarding other customers, said Leishman. || Markets: Bitcoin holds above US$20K; Dogecoin gains 7.37%; Hang Seng Index jumps 6% in Hong Kong: Bitcoin and Ether prices rose in Wednesday evening trading in Hong Kong amid widespread gains among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with Cardano being the sole loser. In equity markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rebounded from Monday’s record lows to jump 5.81%. See related articles: Markets: Bitcoin rises above US$20,000, gaining with Ether and rest of crypto top 10 as U.S. equities surge Fast facts Bitcoin rose 1.57% in the past 24 hours to US$20,249.89 in Hong Kong, while Ether gained 0.40% to trade at US$1,353.77, according to data from CoinMarketCap . Dogecoin rose further, gaining 7.37% to change hands at US$0.0652 amid recent news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk will proceed with his US$44 billion purchase of social media platform Twitter. Musk has been an avid supporter of the memecoin, having hinted in recent months that he hopes to further integrate Dogecoin onto the platform. XRP rose 4.63% to US$0.484, while Solana was up 1.30% to US$34.16 and Cardano, the sole loser of the day, fell 0.07% to US$0.4327. Asia equity markets rose following Wall Street’s gains overnight. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index surged 5.81% following Tuesday’s holiday, with the Hang Seng Tech Index soaring 7.40%. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.48%, while the Shanghai Composite Index remains closed for the Golden Week holiday. The U.S. stock market has “only just begun to price in a recession,” say Citigroup quant strategists. This follows a deflation in market confidence by numerous other major banking institutions, including HSBC, which cut its year-end price target for the S&P 500 to 3,500 from 4,450 on Tuesday, arguing that higher borrowing costs will begin to weigh down on U.S. equities. Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have similarly slashed their year-end goals for the S&P 500, believing stocks aren’t representative of challenges the U.S. economy is undergoing. See related articles: Elon Musk pumps Dogecoin amid lawsuit || US stocks trade mixed as data shows inflation cooling ahead of Powell's Jackson Hole speech: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Win McNamee/Getty Images US stocks were mixed ahead of Jerome Powell's key speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Inflation data showed personal consumption expenditures eased in July. Meanwhile, the UK has boosted natural gas production 26% amid a worsening European energy crisis. US stocks wavered on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming at 10:00 a.m. ET. Investors cheered fresh personal consumption expenditures data — the Fed's preferred measure of inflation — which on Friday revealed inflation eased slightly during in July. The data showed a year-over-year rise of 6.3% last month, down from June's 6.8%. Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9;30 a.m. on Friday: S&P 500 : 4,196.55, down 0.06% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 33,287.00, down 0.01% (4.78 points) Nasdaq Composite : 12,615.09, down 0.19% Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler mocked claims that the US is in a recession, citing low employment and high job vacancies. In his view, inflation could fade over the next year . "Big Short" investor Michael Burry, meanwhile, said the US government is backstopping markets and the economy, warning that too much fiscal support will end in disaster . Specifically, Burry pointed to things like student debt relief as a "Fiscal Put," comparing them to giving sugar to babies. Overseas, Russia is reportedly burning $10 million a day of natural gas that was usually destined for Germany before Moscow slashed supplies. Those flows previously would have been exported via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline — which is about to face a three-day closure at the end of August. The UK, for its part, has boosted natural gas production 26% as prices soar and Europe seeks relief amid its energy crisis, although some commentators say the uptick in output may not be enough to help through winter months. Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.38% to $92.87 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, inched higher 0.56% to $99.90 a barrel. Story continues Gold edged lower 0.56% to 1,761.40 per ounce. The 10-year yield ticked higher 0.2 basis points to 3.026%. Bitcoin rose 0.78% to $21,760.01. Read the original article on Business Insider || Billionaires Jay-Z, Jack Dorsey Airdrop Around $1K Each In Bitcoin To Residents Of Marcy Houses: The Bitcoin Academy stayed true to its promise.
AsAfroTechpreviously told you, billionairesJay-Zand Jack Dorsey teamed up to launch a 12-week financial literacy program for residents of the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, NY.
Participants would receive access to the academy’s tools andresourcesfree of charge.
Activations started on June 22, and The Bitcoin Academy launched with online and in-person courses through collaboration between Block, the Shawn Carter Foundation, Crypto Blockchain Plug, and Black Bitcoin Billionaire.
Course offerings included “Wealth Building and Assets,” “Why Decentralization Matters,” “Staying Safe from Scammers,” “Bitcoin & Taxes,” and “Careers in Crypto.”
“A lot of times, information doesn’t get to our community. Not because people are being intentionally discriminatory, it’s because they’re not being intentional about getting the information there. And so somebody has to pick up the mantle and do it,” said Lamar Wilson, an instructor in the Academy and founder of Black Bitcoin Billionaire, according toBusiness Insider.
Fast forward and the program has come to an end.
To celebrate, Marcy residents were airdropped nearly $1,000 in Bitcoin by Jay-Z andDorseythrough Cash App, Muun Wallet, or other self-custodial wallets, under the conditions they enrolled as students, joined the program, and agreed to receive a grant, Business Insider reports.
“Marcy residents showed up. The over 350 people who attended The Bitcoin Academy classes let us know that this education is important to them – and that it matters,” said Ms. Gloria Carter, Jay-Z’s mother, and the president and co-founder of The Shawn Carter Foundation, in a statement provided to Business Insider. “What also matters is providing the necessary resources such as dinner, childcare, devices, internet access, dedicated staff and instructors so that as many people as possible could participate in person and online. I am so grateful to the community that came together to make this happen, and especially to all the class participants who are now more empowered to make their own financial decisions with greater knowledge. Knowledge is Power. It’s now up to everyone who participated to empower and prepare the next generation” || El Salvador Launches 2 Debt Repurchase Offers Amid Uncertainty Over Its Bitcoin Bond: The government of El Salvador issued an offer on Monday to buy back a portion of its sovereign debt bonds maturing in 2023 and 2025, the Central American country said in astatement.
El Salvador established a purchase price of $910 for the bonds maturing in 2023, and a $540 price for those bonds maturing in 2025. Each bond is worth a total of $800 million.
In July, when El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukelepresentedthe repurchase plan, it was seen as an attempt to counter speculation about a potential default by El Salvador amid strained relations between the Central American country and the traditional credit market, particularly after El Salvador established bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in September 2021.
As of now, El Salvador is down roughly 50% on its sizable investments in bitcoin, representing a potential loss of $52.4 million, according to CoinDesk data based on Bukele's announcements.
El Salvador’s $1 billion bitcoin bond (also known as the Volcano Bond) still does not have a launch date, despite being announced in November 2021 by Bukele. Bitfinex and Tether Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino, who has worked closely with El Salvador on the bitcoin bond project,saidlast month that government officials have told him to expect passage in September.
The bond repurchase offer will be available between Sept. 12 and Sept. 20, El Salvador said, adding that the “settlement of validly tendered and accepted notes is scheduled to occur on or about Sept. 22.” Deutsche Bank Securities will serve as the dealer manager.
El Salvador added that the offer is “subject to an aggregate amount not to exceed $360 million to purchase the principal amount of notes accepted for tender and pay accrued interest and any premium with respect to such notes.”
Read more:Bitcoin City: El Salvador’s Dreams for Utopia on Hold
CORRECTION (Sept. 12, 2022 21:23 UTC):Corrected purchase price of bonds maturing in 2023 to $910, and that of bonds maturing in 2025 to $540. || We Love 5 Green Blockchain Projects: NORTHAMPTON, MASS / ACCESSWIRE / October 3, 2022 /Land Betterment Corporation
To the average person, green crypto seems like an oxymoron, right?
As an environmental action company that puts carbon offsets onto the blockchain, we are accustomed to people looking at us a little sideways when we tell them that's exactly what we want to be, a green blockchain with a purpose.
But that's exactly what we've tried to create at the Land Betterment Exchange (LBX), by tokenizing carbon offset credits achieved through land remediation and restoring impacted land abandoned by fossil fuel companies.
We found our purpose, and in the process created a win-win scenario for all the players involved, including environmental specialists, corporations looking to meet carbon pledges, local displaced workers, and, of course, the environment itself.
We don't, however, trick ourselves into thinking we are the only purposeful blockchain out there. We wouldn't want to be anyway-when you are trying to fix the world, you want as much company as possible.
So, below we are going to shout out five of our favorite green blockchain solutions that all try, in their own way, to make the world a little better.
1.Hedera
Hedera relies on its revolutionary hashgraph consensus mechanism (https://hedera.com/how-it-works) to deliver faster and cheaper transactions at a fraction of the energy cost typical of blockchain.
Built around two key innovations-which they call "gossip about gossip" and "virtual voting"-hashgraph allows Hedera to provide a rapid, fair, stable, and secure platform that uses an average .00017 KWH per transaction, compared to Ethereal's 102 KWH and Bitcoin's staggering 885 KWH.
Read that last part again-.00017KWH per transaction v. 885 KWH. There are fractions…and then there are fractions of fractions (of fractions).
This energy efficiency does not, however, slow Hedera down. Quite the opposite, actually: It averages 10,000 transactions per second, compared to Bitcoin's 3, for an average fee of $.0001 per transaction, compared to Bitcoin's $22.57.
Hedera isn't just producing a more sustainable and scalable version of blockchain, it is making it more democratic and accessible to everyday people. Developers can mint and manage fungible and non-fungible tokens, record verifiable event logs for any app or permission framework, and deploy smart contracts in popular language to create centralized apps and protocols.
2.Cardano
Cardano similarly provides blockchain technology with a fraction of the financial and energy costs associated with the industry.
It is built on top of ouroboros (https://cardano.org/ouroboros/), a peer-reviewed protocol based on behavioral psychology, economic philosophy, and mathematically-verified mechanisms. According to Cardano, ouroboros is the "first provably secure proof-of-stake" protocol and is up to 4 million times more energy efficient than Bitcoin.
But it's not just how it's done, it's who it's for.
Cardano envisions itself as the blockchain of choice for changemakers, innovators, and visionaries, offering the tools and technologies to foster positive global change and are built to endure. It is, according to its website, the infrastructure of the future.
Their use-cases include education, agriculture, government, finance, and health care, showing that real-world problems can be solved using their technologies, particularly in verifying an item's province, chain of custody, and safety.
3.Stellar
Like Hedera and Cardano, Stellar also boasts transactions that are faster, cheaper, and more energy efficient than typical blockchain, offering yet another more sustainable and scalable version.
Stellar, however, emphasizes one other primary point of distinction: Whereas other blockchain solutions were developed to undermine or replace existing financial systems, Stellar is a decentralized system that exists to enhance existing global financial systems by allowing transparent currency trading. The Stellar network doesn't exist to trade lumens (its native digital currency), it exists to trade all currencies.
Launched in 2014, Stellar has already processed more than 2 billion transactions, for large enterprises to single-developer companies building global payment apps, asset exchanges, and micropayment services.
This technology (https://www.stellar.org/learn/intro-to-stellar) essentially makes money borderless, and is particularly useful for international remittances and payments, and end-users experience it like cash, not tokens.
People from all around the world can purchase and exchange any type of currency using Stellar. For example, one Argentina-based company, Vibrant, allows Argentines experiencing inflation to purchase and hold USDC quickly and with little effort.
Such tools can be harnessed by everyday people to make their lives a bit easier, and can be deployed by developers to make the next generation of global financial networks.
4.IOTA
IOTA's name should tell you all you need to know about its blockchain solution-it is designed for devices, such as sensors, to participate in low energy networks (IOT=Internet of Things). This means that, at its core, IOTA is a trust layer network for exchanging value and data between humans and machines.
Think of IOTA's Tangle network (https://www.iota.org/get-started/what-is-iota) as an open, feeless distributed ledger to support frictionless data and value transfers. It can support actions as varied as allowing cars to pay for their own electronic charging or carwash, to helping governments and other entities manage natural resources and establish more transparent public services.
And the best part is, there are no blocks and there is no mining. When a user sends an IOTA transaction, they validate two other transactions, making the platform cheaper and more scalable than typical blockchains.
5.Algorand
Algorand was designed top-to-bottom with the environment in mind.
Built as a green blockchain with an environmental impact focus, Algorand is not only more energy efficient than the typical blockchain, but it is also committed to offsetting its (minuscule) carbon footprint through carbon offsets-something near and dear to us, obviously.
Emphasizing partnerships with organizations focused on sustainability, Algorand strives to deliver blockchain technology that will not adversely affect the environment. Groups like Global Carbon Holding, ClimateTrade, and PlanetWatch have all developed technologies on top of the Algorand platform.
PlanetWatch, for example, built a global network of affordable air quality sensors that can validate, filter, and display data in real-time.
At the end of the day, Algorand's mission, according to its CEO, is nothing less than "ensuring the next generation of blockchain adoption is environmentally friendly." From their lips to our hearts and (hopefully) God's ears.
CONCLUSION: WALKING THE WALK AND LOOKING IN THE MIRROR EVERY MORNING
Over the last decade-plus, blockchain technologies have created vast amounts of wealth for individual people. And we are not here to begrudge anybody their earnings. But, at the same time, blockchain also has the potential, when deployed for the right purposes with the right technology, to tangibly improve the world around us-society, the economy, and the environment.
At LBX, we know what our purpose is-finding novel ways to accelerate environmental improvement and action. It's why LBX carbon credits are based exclusively on land remediation, not preservation alone. Because for LBX, it wasn't enough to merely put the existing, often meaningless carbon offset system onto the blockchain, we needed to connect it to tangible environmental improvement before we could.
Anybody can say they're trying to make the world better, but they have to look themselves in the mirror every night and know that it's true. At LBX, we know it's true, and we are glad these 5 Green Blockchain projects we highlighted can say the same thing.
About Land Betterment Exchange - LBX
The Land Betterment Exchange process enables corporations and sponsors needing carbon offsets to achieve their carbon neutral plan to keep their funds local benefiting their community and environment while still acquiring highly valuable, traceable and verifiable carbon offsets. LBX will work with sponsors to match them with projects that will be tracked using the LBX blockchain technology while also providing time elapsed documentation, imagery and videos of the property being remediation and revegetation. LBX works to incorporate its sponsors' brand into the environmental remediation and bring the community together with the sponsors as they help to do good by the region and environment. LBX is keeping it local in the United States. Land Betterment Exchange has engaged Land Betterment Corporation as its token and carbon offset issuance partner to ensure that integrity of the token and carbon offset issuance process is adhered to. Land Betterment Corporation and Land Betterment Exchange both firmly believe that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet. For more information visitwww.thisislbx.comor connect with the Company onFacebook,Twitter, andLinkedIn.
About Land Betterment Corporation
Land Betterment Corporation, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Pending B-Corp, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community. For more information visitlandbetterment.comor connect with the Company onFacebook,Twitter, andLinkedIn.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Land Betterment Corporation's control. The words "believes", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "continue", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "estimates", or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.
Company Contacts:
Mark LaVerghetta317.537.0492 ext. 0Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Financeinfo@landbetterment.com
Jessica Medeiros Garrison205.568.4371PresidentLand Betterment Exchangejmg@landbetterment.com
Stephanie Conzelman207.205.0790Stakeholder Engagement Directorinfo@landbetterment.com
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Land Betterment Corporation on 3blmedia.com.
Contact Info:Spokesperson: Land Betterment CorporationWebsite:https://www.landbetterment.com/Email:info@3blmedia.comSOURCE:Land Betterment Corporation
View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/718610/We-Love-5-Green-Blockchain-Projects
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 19053.74, 19172.47, 19208.19, 19567.01, 19345.57, 20095.86, 20770.44, 20285.84, 20595.35, 20818.48
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-11-25]
BTC Price: 741.65, BTC RSI: 59.74
Gold Price: 1178.20, Gold RSI: 21.16
Oil Price: 46.06, Oil RSI: 46.92
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Your first trade for Wednesday, October 19: The "Fast Money" traders gave their final trades of the day.
Pete Najarian is a buyer of Citi (C).
Tim Seymour is a buyer of Avon (AVP).
Brian Kelly is a buyer of Chevron (CVX).
Guy Adami is a buyer of SuperValu (SVU).
Trader disclosure: OnTuesday, October 18the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:
PETE NAJARIAN is long AAPL, BAC, DIS, DISCA, GE, KMI, KMIA, KO, LUX, MRK, PEP, PFE CALLS: AAL, ABT, AMD, ATVI, BABA, BAC, BBY, BHI, BSX, CNX, COP, COTY, CRM, CS, CSCO, CXW, DAL, DISH, ECA, ETP, gm, GS, HAL, INTC, JBLU, JCP, KBE, KGC, KMI, KO, LLY, LOW, M, MOS, MRO, MRVL, MUR, NAV, NBR, P, RIO, SBUX, SLV, TMUS, TTS, TV, TWTR, VRX, WFT, WLL, XLF. Puts: CLF, EEM, MBLY, WFC
Tim Seymour is long ABX, APC, AVP, BAC, BBRY, CLF, DO, DVYE, EDC, EWZ, F, FB, FCX, FXI, GM, GOOGL, GE, INTC, LQD,MCD, MUR, OIH, PG, RACE, RAI, RH, RL, SINA, T, TWTR, VALE, VZ, XOM. short: SPY, XRT; Tim's firm is long ABX, BABA, BIDU, CBD, CLF, EWZ, F, KO, MCD, MPEL, NKE, PEP, PF, SAVE, SBUX, SINA, VALE, VIAB, WMT, WEN, X, YHOO, short EWG, HYG, IWM
Brian Kelly is long Bitcoin, SLV and Silver Futures, US Dollar UUP; he is short EUR=, JPY=
Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
More From CNBC
• Top News and Analysis
• Latest News Video
• Personal Finance || Netscape Co-Founder: Passwords Are the Weak Link in Cyber Security: Jim Clark, co-founder of Netscape and Shutterfly, weighs in on the flaws of current cyber security efforts in place to prevent hacks.
Clark discussed the rise in security breaches facing business of all sizes as well as organizations and government agencies.
“Recently there’s been a spate as you know of disruptions, the DNC getting emails tapped and small business owners getting their machines encrypted so that they couldn’t do business and having to pay Bitcoin ransom and there’s, you know, massive password theft at companies like Yahoo. So we’re seeing it in a lot of different places,” Clark told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
Clark sees the use of passwords as a weak link in efforts to improve cyber security.
“In the end it all, in one way or another, points to this deficiency I call it, that we call a password.”
Clark then went into greater depth as to why he sees the use of passwords as a deficiency.
“You don’t want to use it for access to a site because that requires that the site have a copy. You see, passwords are deficient because they amount to a shared secret. And there’s that old joke, ‘a secret is something you tell one person at a time.’ And the thing about a secret, this particular secret, you don’t want anyone to know.”
Because of this, Clark added, “You’ve got to get out of passwords, there’s no question about that.”
Clark explained the certificate concept used to authenticate websites.
“The certificate concept has been around for years. It’s used to authenticate and make sure that you’re connecting to Google, make sure you’re connected to Yahoo. Any site you go to has a certificate. And that certificate is issued by a certification authority – there’s a complete infrastructure for dealing with that kind of issue.”
Clark says that this certification could be implemented for users as well to replace the need for passwords.
“The exact same mechanism can be used to authenticate users, so users need to be issued a certificate, then they don’t need a password and this certificate gets shared with everyone because it can’t be altered, it can’t be messed with. If you mess with it, It’s no longer valid.”
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• Nissan to appoint CEO Ghosn as Mitsubishi Motors chairman: sources || Blockchain could soon power stock markets, music sales, and even prevent child labor — here's how it works: (.)
It's a technology conceived by the mysterious creator ofbitcoin— the digital currency championed by a motley crew of privacy-obsessed libertarians, social activists, and some criminals.
(AP Photo)
Now the idea of blockchain has gripped Wall Street's biggest institutions.
Its enthusiasts think it could change the world. Sure, it would make contracts more enforceable and speed up the settlement of stock trades — hence the interest from big banks. But some see it going much further, cracking down onsex trafficking, music piracy, and child labor.
And the key to all that — what attracts these different factions — is something that, on the surface at least, sounds rather banal: a digital ledger, like the one in your checkbook.
"Blockchain is a truly extraordinary technology that does really mundane things," said Paul Brody, Ernst & Young's global blockchain leader.
But for all the promise, these big questions remain: Who will foot the bill, and is it really as secure as supporters say?
In the non-blockchain world, we keep separate records of transactions. If you write your friend a check, you balance your own checkbook and your friend does the same when they deposit it. But things can go wrong. They might forget to update their checkbook ledger. And each bank has no way to know immediately if the person has enough in their bank account to cover it.
(Flickr / oblivion9999)
With a blockchain, instead of two separate checkbooks with two records of debits and credits, you'd both look at the same ledger of transactions. It's private (encrypted, in computer-speak), and decentralized, so neither of you controls the ledger.
This "distributed ledger" operates on consensus. Both of you can look at the ledger. Each transaction gets put into a block. If you both say that block is valid and correct, it's added to a chain. And that chain is protected by sophisticated cryptography: No one can change the chain after the fact.
Now imagine this in a more complex form. This is what gets people in finance and technology excited.
Say you want to buy a stock. Right now, your bank, brokerage, the stock exchange, and the company you're buying all have separate, private records of transactions. They can't see each other's ledgers. Nor can they verify that everything is accurate among all involved.
With blockchain, they can all be on the same page — literally.
Your bank can verify that you have enough money to transfer to your brokerage. That transfer is added to the ledger of transactions that everyone involved can see. Then your broker executes a trade for 100 shares. That gets added to the blockchain, too. Everyone involved verifies it's legitimate.
The exchange receives the order — also added and verified. And then the company's shares end up in your account. You could see the record of all the shares you buy and sell in the permanent record. If you decide to sell the shares later, that transaction gets added to the blockchain.
And because it's a consensus model in which every party confirms a transaction, "it gets more secure the more people you add" to the blockchain, Brody said. "When a transaction is completed, everyone has to get a copy of the transaction."
That's blockchain in its purest form. In reality, however, different companies are experimenting with different forms. A blockchain used in financial services could be private, or a hybrid model between the decentralized vision and a more traditional centralized model that bankers are used to. A regulator, for instance, could hold the key to a blockchain, and some companies are thinking about how to maintain a middleman.
No one knows who invented blockchain. The idea for it came from apaper published online eight years agothat unveiled bitcoin, the digital currency. The author, Satoshi Nakamoto, is thought to be using a pseudonym. The true identity remains a mystery, and there's debate over whether it was created by an individual or group.
At first, bitcoin got all the attention. The idea of a secure, private currency, divorced from a specific government, captured the imaginations of technologists, libertarians, and people concerned about the power of big banks and government regulation. Bitcoin transactions occur peer-to-peer, meaning no government or third party is involved.
(Goldman SachsYouTube/Goldman Sachs)
Today, bitcoin and blockchain still attract privacy-minded and antigovernment types. But it also increasingly appeals to people like Grainne McNamara. She spent years building out technology at banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Now she's a leader of PricewaterhouseCooper's blockchain for financial services. And that means she spends a lot of time attending and hosting blockchain conferences.
At one, a speaker showed a picture of a shed in his presentation. McNamara remembers him jokingly saying, "Take the bankers behind the shed and kill them." He didn't know his audience.
McNamara was sitting next to former bankers, who found the whole thing humorous, she said.
Despite the shed metaphor, "it's a peaceful cohabitation," McNamara told Business Insider. "People genuinely appreciate the disruptive element to spawn innovation."
One area blockchain proponents get excited about is the idea of a "smart contract." While most bank agreements are still paper documents — banks are awash in paper, even in 2016 — a smart contract is a computer program that helps keeps everyone accountable.
(People play a video game on the stand of Acer at the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 2, 2015.Reuters/Axel Schmidt)
Let's say you're a company that designs and sells video game consoles. You work with suppliers and shipping companies, and have a number of serious concerns. You want to make sure they're manufactured well and on time. You want to make sure there are no labor violations, such as children working on the assembly line. And you want to make sure everyone gets paid on time.
In the old way of doing things, numerous contracts might be involved to manufacture one video game console. And each side may have its own paper copies.
Smart contracts provide automated accountability.
(Samantha Lee / Business Insider)
Because this is blockchain, everyone involved looks at the same contract; no one can change it without the permission of most others.
Here's an example: When a truck picks up finished video game consoles from a factory in, say, China, the shipping company scans each box. Those are added to the blockchain, triggering a release of funds from the video game company's bank account. No one has to invoice and chase a payment.
"You can marry up the delivery and payment of services," Brody said.
It can go beyond getting paid, too. Each worker on the assembly line could scan their identification card, which is then verified by multiple sources such as government agencies and third-party auditors, ensuring the workers are not underage or overworked. And because it's a blockchain, no one can alter the record later.
Some have discussed blockchain as a possible tool to help prevent sex trafficking and other scourges. And there are other uses for it that may become big parts of our lives.
(Samantha Lee / Business Insider)
Smart contracts in healthcare could do things such as trigger an insurance payment to a doctor when a patient undergoes a CT scan.
A blockchain could also be a secure place to store electronic medical records.
It would detail all patient-doctor communication, illness and treatment information, vaccination records, medical bills etc. Every subsequent doctor visit or treatment would be added to the blockchain, including those in different cities and countries, creating a complete, historical record of the patient's health.
In this case, the blockchain is private, and only certain participants would have the encryption keys to see the record.
Musicians may wish there had been blockchain when Napster undermined music sales around the turn of the century through file-sharing.
(Blockchain could prevent music piracyFlickr/Kelsey)
Now some are thinking blockchain could prevent piracy and help boost sales. Artists could provide their music directly off a ledger, and smart contracts might ensure the right people are paid and only those with rights play the tracks.
A similar model could help fund news outlets and other media organizations.
Some companies' whole job is tracking down property records. Blockchain could change that.
If property deeds were on a blockchain, the other participants (known as "network nodes") that validate the transaction could be real-estate agents, financing banks, and a land registry authority.
Once the transaction is validated, it is added to the blockchain, and the updated state of the blockchain is broadcast to the participants in real time. As the blockchain maintains the history of all transactions, the entire history of the property and its owners is on the blockchain.
The Australian Securities Exchange — ASX — plans to decide by mid-2017 if it will replace its post-trade clearing and settlement systemwith a blockchain version. This could be a turning point for blockchain and potentially a catalyst for widespread adoption.
(Bank of EnglandJim Edwards)
Central bankers are also getting in on the action. The Bank of England and the People's Bank of China are discussing issuing their national currencies — the pound and the renminbi, respectively — on blockchain. If successful, the technology would make the currencies more traceable, allowing the banks to track them through the financial system in real time.
Right now, this use of blockchain is limited to discussion and research papers, but if implemented, other central banks are likely to follow suit. The US Federal Reserve is closely following developments as well, with Fed Gov. Lael Brainard in charge of keeping an eye on the new technology.
It's also rumored that other items such as diamonds, art, and food could be put on blockchain so the entire history of the items could be traced.
There are over120 blockchain projectsspanning a variety of industries, and theannual budget for blockchain initiativesin 2016 is estimated to be $1 billion.
In financial services, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America are among the big names that have partnered withR3, a startuptrying to bring blockchain technology to the finance world.
But if blockchain is going to work, it needs an industrywide standard. For the first bank to adopt this digital system and overhaul existing infrastructure, it could mean a risky and expensive investment, and that bank would have to hope others follow suit. No one wants to be the first to test that theory.
That's why this is one of the few cutting-edge technologies that is generating a lot of talk but not a lot of action among banks. While they are dabbling in the technology, attending conferences and partnering with R3,no bank is taking the leadand going from proofs of concept to using it in the real world.
"To get the true value, you need the network effect," said Graham Warner, head of global transaction banking product development in the Americas at Deutsche Bank. The more people and companies use blockchain, the more valuable the technology becomes.
For all its promise, some major impediments could prevent blockchain's widespread deployment, including regulation, cost, and security issues.
Implementing and standardizing blockchain could cost in the billions of dollars, and it would mean an overhaul of legacy systems that people are used to and understand. Today's technology works, and replacing it with something unproven is seen as an expensive risk.
Blockchain technology would also potentially mean a huge number of job losses, especially in middle- and back-office functions. Banks would have to get the remaining employees up to speed on the new technology, and using it would initially be a trial-and-error process.
(Ethereum)
In August, hackers stole $72 million worth of bitcoin from accounts at the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. And in June, hackers stole $55 million worth of ether, a bitcoin rival. The nonprofit that runs ether, Ethereum Foundation, just rolled back the chain. It's as if the hack never took place, and business returned to normal. But that worries purists.
The Ethereum hack — and the response to it — led Accenture tocreatean "editable blockchain model," to "resolve human errors, accommodate legal and regulatory requirements, and address mischief and other issues," according to anews release.
Blockchain enthusiasts say this threatens the very nature of the blockchain itself. One of the fundamental benefits of blockchain technology is its immutability — the blockchain represents a "golden record" of transactions, a complete, historical record that technically cannot be interfered with or undone.
But there "isn't one blockchain to rule them all," Warner said. "It will be an evolutionary, Darwinian process" to figure out which version of the blockchain applies to which use case.
When McNamara learned about blockchain, she said she was "a little bit of a skeptic. But I've been proven wrong."
The ecosystem is evolving, she said, and people involved, whether they're activists or bankers, are getting together and talking about "shared values and pain points."
(ASXAP)
While some big players like the ASX may be using some form of blockchain as early as next year, some issues are holding blockchain back.
Different versions of blockchain are in development, and there's little agreement on what's the best or purest version to deploy. And dozens of startups are working on their own takes on blockchain. Innovation is happening, but all the competing ideas makes big companies cautious to commit to any one type.
But most proponents think everything will be worked out in due time, and that in the next few years, blockchain and its smart contracts would improve our lives, even if it operates quietly in the background, invisible to most people.
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• Amazon Prime members have access to one of the best smartphone deals out there right now || John Reid Confirmed as CEO of Cable and Wireless: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Nov 21, 2016) - John Reid has been confirmed as Chief Executive Officer ofC&W Communications("C&W", or the "Company") effective November 7, 2016. C&W serves 18 countries and is one of the largest full service telecommunications and entertainment providers in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Company was recently acquired byLiberty Globalplc "Liberty Global", the world's largest international TV and broadband company.
"This is a time of meaningful change and development for C&W, and I am excited for the expertise and continuity that John brings to this growing region," said Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global. Reid is tasked with aligning the former UK-based company with Liberty's Latin America and Caribbean ("LiLAC Group") division, while strengthening the Company's growth opportunities, in particular triple-play, mobile data and fixed-mobile convergence, and seizing on the significant business-to-business and wholesale opportunities in the region.
"I am honored to lead C&W Communications into the next phase of our development. I look forward to achieving our growth objectives, creating greater value for our stakeholders, and transforming our employee and customer experience," Reid said.
Reid, a Canadian national, is uniquely positioned to take C&W to its next chapter as he has over 28 years of telecommunications and cable television experience, and has spearheaded complex integrations and pioneered a culture of transformation and engagement, first in Canada, and during the past 11 years, across the Caribbean. Prior to his role as Interim CEO of C&W, Reid served as C&W's President, Consumer Division and was part of the executive leadership team at C&W that achieved in excess of $100m in synergies in less than 18 months following the Columbus transaction.
At Columbus, where he was President and Chief Operating Officer, he led the Company to become a leader and innovator in the broadband and entertainment industry across the Caribbean and Latin America. Prior to Columbus John held various roles with Canadian MSO Persona, holding the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer.
John holds a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland, serves as the Chairman of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), a 49% subsidiary of C&W, and is a member of the Advisory Board of Caribbean Tales.
About C&W CommunicationsC&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Liberty Global invests in the infrastructure that empowers its customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Liberty Global's scale and commitment to innovation enables it to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect its 29 million customers who subscribe to 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. Liberty Global also serves over 10 million mobile subscribers and offers WiFi service across seven million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for its European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com.
Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3082861 || First Bitcoin Capital Corp Announces Appointment of Bitcoin Protocol Development Expert Patrick Dugan to the Company’s Board of Directors. Additional Developments Announced: VANCOUVER, B.C. / ACCESSWIRE / November 23, 2016 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp is pleased to announce that leading bitcoin protocol development expert in the crypto currency field Patrick Dugan has joined the company's Board of Directors. A serial entrepreneur with several years of experience in blockchain, finance, ecommerce and game development, Mr. Dugan has extensive knowledge of complex securitization structures and trading strategies. Mr. Dugan brings 9 years of trading experience, with over 3 years in cryptocurrency trading, averaging 50% annual returns. He served as a consultant on social game economics, and market making operations for exchanges. Mr. Dugan has served for the last year and a half as operations manager for the Omni Layer Foundation (previously Mastercoin), and has been involved in the issuance of the world's first bearer bonds on the Bitcoin blockchain. "Patrick Dugan is well known in the international crypto-currency space," the company said. "He brings a wealth of strategic experience in finance and blockchain business development. We look forward to his contributions as a member of our Board as we advance the development of the world’s first on-blockchain REIT offering." Mrs. Dugan said he seeks to bring to First Bitcoin Capital his expertise in bitcoin and blockchain protocol and assist new or existing initiatives that plan to build upon and take advantage of the capabilities offered by the Omni Layer protocol. BITCF has thus far utilized the Omni Layer Protocol to launch 6 cryptocurrencies such as symbols, PRES, TESLA, HILL, GARY, BURN, and OTX. Furthermore, in conjunction with BITCF expanding ownership of its common shares onto its own blockchain (BIT) and trading on foreign international cryptocurrency exchanges, the company invites its shareholders to exercise an option to convert their paper certificates into digital shares. Shareholders need only surrender their certificates with instruction to deliver those shares to the BIT wallet address they provide to the company. Story continues About the company: First Bitcoin Capital is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange- www.CoinQX.com. We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies, developing new types of digital assets. "Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company (with shares both traded in the US OTC Markets as [BITCF] and as [BIT] in crypto exchanges) we want to provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies." At this time the Company owns and operates the following digital assets. www.BITCoinCapitalcorp.com company website. www.CoinQX.com Cryptocurrency Exchange, registered with FINCEN. www.iCoiNEWS.com real time cryptocurrency and bitcoin news site. www.BITminer.cc providing mining pool management services. www.2016coin.org online daily election coverage and home page for $PRES, $HILL and $GARY $BURN coins. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release .Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com . Contact us via: info@bitcoincapitalcorp.com or visit http://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp. || Cable & Wireless Preliminary Q2 2016/17 Results: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Nov 4, 2016) -Cable & Wireless CommunicationsLimited ("CWC") is the leading telecommunications operator in substantially all of its consumer markets, which are predominantly located in the Caribbean and Latin America, providing entertainment, information and communication services to 3.5 million mobile, 0.4 million television, 0.6 million internet and 0.8 million telephony subscribers. In addition, CWC delivers B2B services and provides wholesale services over its sub-sea and terrestrial networks that connect over 30 markets across the region.
Liberty Global's Acquisition of CWCOn May 16, 2016, a subsidiary of Liberty Global plc ("Liberty Global") acquired CWC (the "Liberty Global Transaction"). Revenue, Adjusted Segment EBITDA and subscriber statistics have been presented herein using Liberty Global's definitions for all periods presented unless otherwise noted. Further adjustments to these metrics are possible as the integration process continues. The results for the six months ended September 30, 2016 ("Q2 2016/17") have also been aligned to Liberty Global's EU-IFRS accounting policies and estimates. Significant policy adjustments have been considered in our calculation of rebased growth rates for revenue and Adjusted Segment EBITDA.
Operating and financial highlights*:
• Delivered 9,000 organic RGU additions in Q2 2016/17
• Mobile revenue 2% lower than the prior year in Q2 2016/17, as compared to Q2 2015/16 on a rebased basis, due primarily to a decrease in the Bahamas
• Establishing Flow as a leading sports broadcaster in the CaribbeanSuccessful Olympics campaign with over 4.6 million viewers tuning into Flow channels85% increase in Flow Sports viewership in August versus May through July averageExclusive rights to broadcast Premier League commenced during the quarter
• Strengthened customer proposition in Panama through launch of MAST3R fixed bundles in SeptemberProviding HD, play from start, live pause and rewind functionality300 Mbps broadband product now available to 135,000 homes
• YTD revenue of $1,141 million, 2% lower YoY, on a rebased basis10% rebased top-line growth in Jamaica more than offset by declines in other major geographies primarily due to competitive and macroeconomic factors and lower managed services revenue
• Net losses of $18 million and $124 million in Q2 2016/17 and YTD, respectively
• YTD Adjusted Segment EBITDA of $411 million, up 1.5% YoY, on a rebased basis$9 million (4%) sequential EBITDA improvement from Q1 2016/17 to Q2 2016/17, reflecting margin improvement of 200 basis points
• Property, equipment and intangible asset additions declined to 17% of revenue in Q2 2016/17 from 25% in Q2 2015/16
• BTC in the Bahamas suffered significant infrastructure damage and business interruption as a result of Hurricane Matthew during early October 2016Anticipate Q3 2016/17 adverse Adjusted Segment EBITDA impact of $8 million to $12 millionTotal infrastructure repair costs estimated at $35 million to $45 millionWe expect that our third-party insurance will cover a significant portion of the hurricane-related losses
Synergies from combination with LiLAC
• LiLAC is targeting $150 million of synergies by December 31, 202050% OCF related -- primarily recurring cost reductions50% capital expenditure related -- recurring and nonrecurringAnticipate a substantial amount of total LiLAC synergies will benefit CWC
* The financial figures contained in this release are prepared in accordance with EU-IFRS.28CWC's financial condition and results of operations will be included in Liberty Global's condensed consolidated financial statements under U.S. GAAP10. There are significant differences between the U.S. GAAP and EU-IFRS presentations of our condensed consolidated financial statements.
Subscriber Statistics
We delivered organic subscriber growth across video, internet and telephony product categories in Q2 2016/17. In our mobile business, which represents roughly 40% of total revenue, postpaid subscriber growth was more than offset by a decline in our prepaid base, primarily due to the impact of competitive offers to lower value subscribers in Panama.
On the mobile front, we continue to invest in our networks to enable the delivery of high speed, resilient mobile services and leading converged products to our customers. We are actively expanding our LTE coverage in Panama and plan to launch LTE in the British Virgin Islands later this year.
Turning to our video, internet and telephony businesses, we added 9,000 organic RGUs during the quarter, as we achieved subscriber growth in each of our products. In terms of broadband internet, we added 7,000 organic subscribers on the back of 5,000 RGU additions in Jamaica and 2,000 RGU additions in Trinidad and Tobago. On the video front, we added 1,000 RGUs in the quarter, primarily driven by our DTH business in Panama. The increased RGUs from our DTH business were largely offset by declines in video RGUs in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago as a result of increased competition.
During the quarter, our regional sports offering, led by Flow Sports and Flow Sports Premier, performed strongly, helping to establish Flow as a leading sports broadcaster in the Caribbean. Our official Olympic Games application was downloaded approximately 60,000 times during the event with over 73,000 hours of live content streamed. Flow Sports Premier, following its launch in July, also began providing unrivaled coverage of the Premier League in the region beginning in August 2016.
Rounding out fixed-line products, we added 1,000 telephony subscribers in the quarter, as we continued to modestly increase penetration of our VoIP-based services through bundling across our footprint.
At September 30, 2016, our bundling ratio stood at 1.51 RGUs per customer as 10% of our customers subscribed to a triple-play product, 32% to a double-play product, and 58% took only one product from us. This relatively low bundling ratio provides ample runway for RGU growth as we seek to sell additional products to our customers.
From a geographic standpoint, highlights of the trends in our largest markets are as follows:
• In Panama, mobile subscribers declined by 36,000 in the quarter on an organic basis with the decline weighted towards lower value customers as our postpaid base continued to grow (up 2,000). We are seeking to improve our fixed video and internet performance with our improved "Mast3r" bundles featuring HD, play from start, live pause and rewind functionality and 300 Mbps broadband speeds.
• In the Bahamas, we grew our mobile customer base by 4,000 subscribers (up 1%) due to increased promotional activity, successfully targeting higher-ARPU postpaid customers. We have made steady progress with our broadband internet and video products following the roll-out of our fiber-to-the-home ("FTTH") network, which now passes 14,000 homes.
• Turning to Jamaica, broadband internet and video RGUs were up 3% and 1%, respectively, as our improved product offering and strong Olympics campaign resonated well in the market. We grew our mobile subscriber base by 3,000 RGUs in the quarter, as we continued to win back market share and launched new products such as Flow Lend, an innovative solution enabling prepaid customers to request credit advances and earn rewards for prompt payment.
• In Barbados, competition drove RGUs lower across all products in the quarter. We are implementing changes to our bundling strategy and focusing on quickly migrating customers who are on legacy DSL services to our high-speed FTTH network.
• Rounding out our main operations, in Trinidad and Tobago we delivered 3,000 organic RGU additions, despite a tough macroeconomic environment and increased competition.
About C&W CommunicationsC&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network - the most extensive in the region.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enables us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who subscribe to over 60 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) and (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com. || Dave Nadig's Deep Dive On New ETF Liquidity Rules: When the SEC published draft rules for mutual fund and ETF liquidity last year,I was less than complimentary. I pointed out that, for instance, virtually all corporate and high-yield bond ETFs would fail to meet the requirements on illiquid assets.
That rule issailing through(with some small changes) for mutual funds, but the press is reporting that ETFs got a pass. That’s not quite true.
Some BackgroundThe original proposal—and the current version—focused on all open-ended funds maintaining a liquidity risk management program with the intent to ensure that it could always meet shareholder redemptions in an orderly fashion.
It was a clear response—or convenient timing at least—to the shenanigans that happened to Third Avenue’s mutual fund in the summer of 2015, when it closed for redemptions because it couldn’t sell its junk bonds fast enough.
The original proposal received an enormous amount of industry commentary, and rather than publishing a revised rule for comment, the SEC simply published a final rule, which will go into effect for most funds in December 2018.
The key components of the final rule are threefold:
1. Rules that ensure a fund always have highly liquid securities to meet redemptions
2. Rules that ensure a fund doesn’t have more than 15% of its investments in illiquid investment
3. A reporting regime that has funds classify all of their positions at least monthly and report each security as belonging to one of four liquidity buckets (the two above and two in the middle)
Much of what the SEC requested was pretty noncontroversial; however, the ETF industry argued in its various comment letters that since ETFs meet redemptions generally by in-kind transfer of underlying securities, it should be exempt from large swaths of the program.
They got a small slice of what they wanted, and it will have significant implications.
What About The ETF Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card?The SEC has defined for the first time a class of ETFs it refers to as “In-kind ETFs.” In-kind ETFs are those that use only a de minimis amount of cash in any redemption activity. The commission goes out of its way to say that it really means this: If you regularly use cash redemptions, you’re not covered here.
The second big issue is that, to qualify, you must publish your complete portfolio every single day—the same transparency standard the SEC has so far held actively managed ETFs to.
If you’re an in-kind ETF by this definition, you cansort ofavoid two components of the program: You don’t have to hold a bunch of highly liquid investments to meet redemptions, and you don’t have to classify all your portfolio holdings.
I say "sort of" because the wording of the final rule is, in my opinion, a bit different than the actual discussion of the rule in the SEC’s 400-page final rulemaking document. The actual rule simply says in-kind ETFs can consider the fact that they can redeem-out shares when drafting their liquidity risk management program. It doesn’t actually say in-kind ETFs are exempt from holding those highly liquid assets or that they don’t have to comply with the fairly onerous reporting process.
I imagine that will get cleared up and clarified, but it’s frustrating when the final rule doesn’t match the stated intent. But let’s assume that ETFs get at least a little relief there.
The Big Whammy: The 15% RuleSo what’s the big deal? The 15% illiquid cap is problematic. There’s an enormous amount of wiggle room in how to meet the assessment that a given position can be liquidated without significant impact in seven days, and all that wiggle room lands on the fund board to interpret.
The SEC discussion clearly shows that the commission understands it could be upsetting the apple cart, going so far as to say some funds will have to consider closing:
“In circumstances in which it appears unlikely that the fund will be able to reduce its illiquid investment holdings to or below 15% within a period of time commensurate with its redemption obligations, a fund’s periodic liquidity risk review could lead the fund to reconsider its continued operation as an open-end fund.”
So Who Could Get Hit Hardest Here?There are two groups that have an immediate problem. The first is ETFs that invest in less liquid securities. Funds that invest primarily in high-yield debt or bank loans may be able to argue that they can unload their whole portfolios without impact, but ultimately fund boards will have to decide how much risk they want to take in defining liberal interpretations of “illiquid.”
The second issue is large funds. Because there’s no scaling here, funds that are very large have a much higher burden than small funds. I can own 100 shares of the most illiquid microcap and probably claim correctly that I could find a buyer in week. Not so for a $100 billion fund trying to own a proportionally similar position in the same company.
This second issue is a big one, particularly for Vanguard.Vanguard’s ETFsare share classes of mutual funds. My assumption is that the root fund is what will have to make the test, not each individual share class, so it won’t get the pass on the reporting or highly liquid requirements. And Vanguard will be hit harder on the 15% illiquid cap than it would if its ETFs were in fact separate funds.
While most of Vanguard’s 70 ETFs are in highly liquid corners of the market, it’s possible that funds like theVanguard Small Cap Index Fund (VB)or theVanguard Short Term Corporate Bond Index Fund (VCSH)could face real hurdles. When I ran the volume numbers on VCSH holdings last year, I estimated that even swamping the market, it would take VCSH 16 days to trade out.
So without market impact, that’s probably a multiple—clearly a fund that probably won’t be in compliance without a pretty liberal interpretation of how the short-term corporate markets can absorb big sales.
Could Vanguard solve this problem? It would be tricky. It would need to spin the ETFs out and adopt full disclosure. That’s a lot of work to save a few funds. Then again, I’m not sure what the options are.
In the end, it does seem like ETFs dodged a BB here, if not a bullet, but the ripples from this earthquake will be felt for quite some time. I’m not suggesting we’ll see a huge raft of fund closures, but at a minimum, it’s a good year to be a lawyer advising fund boards.
At the time of writing, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Dave Nadig is the director of exchange-traded funds at FactSet Research Systems. You can reach him atdnadig@factset.com, or on Twitter @DaveNadig.
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Permalink| © Copyright 2016ETF.com.All rights reserved || Indian bitcoin company raises $1.5 million from U.S., Indian investors: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Unocoin, a Bangalore-based bitcoin startup, has raised $1.5 million in funding from a mix of Indian and U.S. investors, the company announced on Thursday. The company, which runs a trading platform to buy, sell, and store bitcoins for Indian customers, said the money raised was the largest for an Indian bitcoin startup. Unocoin, which has 100,000 users and more than 30 employees, has been in operation since December 2013. Unocoin describes itself as the Coinbase of India. San Francisco-based Coinbase is the largest U.S. bitcoin company and runs an exchange and a wallet service, among other businesses. Funding came from Indian entities such as Blume Ventures, Mumbai Angels and ah! Ventures along with U.S. investors such as Digital Currency Group, Boost VC, Bank to the Future, and FundersClub. Digital Currency Group was founded by one of the top U.S. bitcoin investors Barry Silbert, while Boost VC is run by U.S.-based Adam Draper, the son of billionaire entrepreneur Tim Draper. "We needed a separate exchange for India. A few years ago when we wanted to buy bitcoin, there was nothing available in India," Sunny Ray, Unocoin's co-founder and president told Reuters in an interview. "So if you want to buy bitcoin from an international exchange, you will have to do a wire transfer from India to these international exchanges and get your bitcoin and oftentimes it takes three to five days." Unocoin raised about $200,000 in its first financing round. It started from a small hometown called Tumkur, near Bengaluru. Bitcoin, a digital currency, was trading at $604.50 on the Bitstamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) || BILL GROSS: Central bankers have turned the economy into a 'casino' that threatens capitalism: (A poker game at the Paradise Walker-hill casino in Seoul in 2007.Reuters)
Bill Gross is going after central bankers ... again.
The famed bond investor at Janus Capital releasedhis monthly outlook for Octoberon Tuesday and again compared the world's central banks to a dangerous game, this time blackjack.
Gross noted the theory of a martingale system, in which a gambler in a casino will eventually win if he or she continually increases the size of his or her bets with each loss.
Grossthen comparedthe world's largest central banks — the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, and the European Central Bank — to such a gambler, calling them "martingale gamblers without a purse."
"Our financial markets have become a Vegas/Macau/Monte Carlo casino, wagering that an unlimited supply of credit generated by central banks can successfully reflate global economies and reinvigorate nominal GDP growth to lower but acceptable norms in today's highly levered world,"Gross wrote in the outlook.
Gross noted that central banks theoretically could continue to print money, purchase assets, and drive down bond yields until they hit their goals, just as a martingale gambler with enough money could keep raising bets amid a series of losses.
"An interesting counter to my martingale characterization of central bankers is in fact that they do have an unlimited bankroll and that they can bet on the 31st, 32nd, or 'whatever it takes' roll of the dice,"Gross said. "After all, their cumulative balance sheets have increased by $15 trillion+ since the Great Recession. Why not $16 trillion more and then 20 or 30?"
The issue, in Gross' opinion, is that these central banks do not work in a theoretical world and that the savings erosion from negative yields will eventually cause pain for investors and damage the world's financial markets.Here's Gross(emphasis added):
"I think that the latter contention is true, but central bankers cannot continue to double down bets without risking a 'black' or perhaps 'grey' swan moment in global financial markets.At some point investors – leery and indeed weary of receiving negative or near zero returns on their money, may at the margin desert the standard financial complex, for higher returning or better yet, less risky alternatives. Bitcoin and privately agreed upon block chain technologies amongst a small set of global banks, are just a few examples of attempts to stabilize the value of their current assets in future purchasing power terms. Gold would be another example — historic relic that it is.In any case, the current system is beginning to be challenged."
All of this is to say that central banks cannot keep rates this low forever. But given that the Fed is already hiking and the ECB has recently signaled it may bring its asset purchases to an end, many central banks have already recognized this.
Gross goes on to say low-interest-rate policies threaten "capitalism itself" because capital can no longer be efficiently allocated.
"Central bankers have fostered a casino like atmosphere where savers/investors are presented with a Hobson's Choice, or perhaps a more damaging Sophie's Choice of participating (or not) in markets previously beyond prior imagination,"Gross concluded. "Investors/savers are now scrappin' like mongrel dogs for tidbits of return at the zero bound. This cannot end well."
NOW WATCH:KRUGMAN: Obamacare was done 'on the cheap' and now it is struggling
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• A GOP congressman attacked Janet Yellen for looking 'cozy' with Obama and Democrats || Bitcoin is flying after Donald Trump's victory: In May, a Juniper Research study (“Will Bitcoins Bite Back?“) predicted that the price of the digital currency bitcoin would jump if Donald Trump were elected. On Tuesday, Trump was elected, and bitcoin jumped. The currency is up nearly 3% since Tuesday night, hovering around $725.
“If Donald Trump becomes President of the US,” said Dr. Winslow Holdenin a statement with the study, “there is the very real prospect of turmoil on world markets… Bitcoin would thrive in such an environment.”
Bitcoin has in fact been on the rise all fall,not only because of the election. The price is up 19% in the last month, 23% in the last three months, and 68% in 2016. But in the next few days and perhaps months, the uncertainty after Trump’s win will likely serve as an accelerant.
Investors see bitcoin as a safe haven from fiat currencies (hence why it rises when the Chinese yuan falls), and an asset largely untied to mainstream markets. Gold typically behaves the same way, and indeed,gold shot up to $1,320 on Tuesday night as Trump closed in on the presidency, though it fell back to earth on Wednesday and is now at $1,275.
Bitcoin’s October rise has been mostly due to heightened activity in China, where the yuan is falling and the government has tightened capital controls. Bitcoin prices also spikedduring the bank shutdown in Greecelast year.
Juniper Research says the Brexit vote, back in June, is still having an impact as well: “The ongoing ramifications around Brexit are also likely to act as an additional spur for higher activity levels.”
IfBrexit helped contribute to a bitcoin bump, then Trump’s win is likely to do it, too. Many were quick to compare the surprising result of the US election to the EU referendum result. Trump, in the days before the election, told crowds that his win would be like “Brexit plus plus plus,” and nicknamed himself “Mr. Brexit.”
While Trump and bitcoin might seem to have something in common (Coin Telegraphmade the case that Trump would eventually cozy up to the coin), his campaign never accepted donations in bitcoin. Hillary Clinton’s campaign considered accepting donations in bitcoin, aleaked email thread revealed,but John Podesta was more intrigued by the digital currency Ven, writing that bitcoin suffers from a “libertarian Ayn Rand schtick.” Sen. Rand Paul and Gov. Gary Johnson were the only two presidential candidates to accept bitcoin.
It doesn’t matter now: Trump won, and bitcoin benefited without his support. The coin doesn’t need Trump to champion it in order to succeed.
The defining word of this US election is the same word that defined the Brexit vote: “uncertainty.” As the Juniper Research report noted, bitcoin’s price rose in the weeks leading up to the Brexit vote, then fell a little bit just before the vote when the outcome looked clear, then spiked when the outcome was, in fact, a big surprise. Expect the same to happen after Trump’s win.
—
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite.
Read more:
The latest bitcoin price surge isn’t just about Brexit
Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain
Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now
Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Can we all agree? 1 Bit = $1.00 USD http://dlvr.it/MgTwXs #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/XofhsEtiVM || #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000007 (1.21%) 0.00000001 BTC (-0.00%) || One Bitcoin now worth $646.91@bitstamp. High $655.00. Low $643.00. Market Cap $10.315 Billion #bitcoin || $662.51 #bitfinex;
$649.50 #btce;
$652.48 #bitstamp;
$649.68 #GDAX;
$649.00 #itBit;
$654.26 #OKCoin;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || 1 KOBO = 0.00000316 BTC
= 0.0019 USD
= 0.0000 NGN
= 0.0260 ZAR
= 0.1922 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-10-05 20:00 pic.twitter.com/Y04P2lLgUw || $712.77 at 15:45 UTC [24h Range: $680.92 - $715.00 Volume: 3890 BTC] || 1 KOBO = 0.00000476 BTC
= 0.0031 USD
= 0.9432 NGN
= 0.0435 ZAR
= 0.3139 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-10-23 16:00 pic.twitter.com/D7xNXP9aAJ || Bitfinex to Hacker: Can We Have Our Bitcoin Back?: Bitfinex is now seeking to strike a deal with the hacker w... http://bit.ly/2eePgfO || $702.00 at 08:00 UTC [24h Range: $687.50 - $707.67 Volume: 4490 BTC] || enBusiness_news: Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Update This Week Could Help SEC Approval: The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust (BA… http://jftb.a.boysofts.com/47vv
|
Trend: up || Prices: 735.38, 732.03, 735.81, 735.60, 745.69, 756.77, 777.94, 771.16, 773.87, 758.70
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2016-03-04]
BTC Price: 410.94, BTC RSI: 46.17
Gold Price: 1269.90, Gold RSI: 70.84
Oil Price: 35.92, Oil RSI: 64.37
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
New Ways To Trade China, Crude Oil And The Fed: You’re reading the newsabout China and oil. The Fed will be talking about that news and much more and making news of its own. Some traders will find ways to profit. But will you trade the news you read? Or does the cost and risk keep you on the sidelines?
George Soros got a shout-out Tuesday from no less than China’s People’s Daily, considered the official paper of China’s Communist Party. China sent a rare personal warning to the man who once “broke the Bank of England” by shorting the pound and making a billion in a day, not to try short-selling the yuan. The opinion piece by a commerce ministry researcher was quite specific: “Soros's war on the renminbi and the Hong Kong dollar cannot possibly succeed...”
You may agree or disagree with what Soros said in Davos about a hard landing for the yuan and Chinese stocks. You may have an opinion about where Chinese stocks are headed next. But does that mean you can turn that opinion into a trade? You might speculate on how China’s problems might affect your Apple stock. You might even try a China-based ETF, but you’d still be dependent on the skill of the fund’s manager and other factors. How to directly trade the price of a Chinese stock index yourself?
Oil is another fun topic to have opinions about. I’ve heard guys talk for 10 minutes about which gas station has the cheapest price that week. Even Bloomberg Businessweek did some of that, reporting that gas is now cheaper in Houston than in Dubai for the first time since 2008.
Dennis Gartman, whose “Gartman Letter” many read and some even agree with, recently said oil would not go above $44 a barrel “in his lifetime.” Mr. Gartman is in great health, so this is a long-term forecast. Some of you almost certainly disagree.
Last year I made a cocky prediction on oil when it was around $70 a barrel, that it would be under $45 by August. The cocky part was that I made it to a friend who worked for Koch Industries and knew petroleum up close and personal. When I was proven right, I gloated for a few minutes, but not much. Because I didn’t trade that prediction. I’ve traded for 18 years, but I took a pass on crude even when I was confident. Trading crude futures or even options was more risk than I wanted to take on just then.
FOMC meeting week is usually a time for wide-ranging discussions. While the Fed is talking, so is everyone else, it seems. And when the Fed is done, they often move many markets and the US and other economies with their opinions. Stock markets will have short-term reactions and counter-reactions. Currencies may fluctuate and so can commodities, which are priced in dollars. Traders on all these markets stand to profit.
Soros has an opinion, Gartman has an opinion, the FOMC has a dozen opinions. The rest of us have valid opinions of our own, but few ways to turn those opinions into opportunities to profit. Too much capital required or too much risk involved.
The Nadex binary options exchange offers a secure, CFTC-regulated, affordable new way to trade not just crude oil, but even more exotic (to US traders) markets like the China A50 stock index of China’s 50 biggest companies. Exchange-traded binary options from Nadex offer guaranteed limited risk, low fees, and thousands of contracts traded daily with great liquidity thanks to the exploding growth in the popularity.
Last year, a special report in Bloomberg Businessweek called Nadex binary options “The Future of Trading” because they address the problems of cost and risk. You can start with a minimum balance of just $100, the fees are 90 cents a side or less, and you always know your maximum possible loss before you enter the trade. No worrying about stop-losses or unlimited risk.
That means you, too, can trade your opinions on China’s markets. You probably won’t get called out by the People’s Daily, either. And next time you’re talking gas prices, you could pull up the Nadex app on your phone and trade crude oil for less than $100 of risk.
And of course, you can trade the most popular global stock indexes, commodities, and forex pairs—all from one screen and one account. Nadex even has binaries on Bitcoin (without having to own bitcoins).
And if you have an opinion on whether the Fed will raise rates this week or not, Nadex has a binary option for that. Regulated by the CFTC, with your money held in US banks, Nadex offers an innovative new way for the rest of us to find profit opportunities in all parts of the world’s markets (well, except cannabis).
This information has been prepared by Nadex, a trading name of North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc., prepared by independent third parties contracted by Nadex or reproduced form third party news agencies. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Nadex accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication.
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© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Digatrade Executes Bitcoin Debit Card Development Contract: Digatrade Bitcoin Debit Card Set to Launch VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 25, 2016 / BITX FINANCIAL CORP ( BITXF ) and its 100% owned and operated digital asset-currency exchange DIGATRADE ( digatrade.com ) today announced the execution of a technology development agreement with ANX Technologies. Under terms of the agreement Digatrade will have a bitcoin debit card developed by ANX Technologies, one of the world's first financial technology companies to have developed a bitcoin debit card and one of the largest distributors of debit cards in the market offering customers as well as businesses a fast and reliable payment solution. The Digatrade debit card will provide a gateway between digital assets and traditional payments processing. The reloadable debit card can be used to make purchases in any retail, point-of-sale devices or withdraw cash from ATMs that support the global payment network. Digatrade customers will be able to add funds to their debit card via the Digatrade exchange platform and will empower digital assets to be accepted worldwide. More information will be made available as it materializes. ABOUT DIGATRADE: DIGATRADE is a global digital asset-currency exchange located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Company is owned and operated 100% by Bit-X Financial Corp which is publically listed on the OTC.QB under the trading symbol BITXF. BITXF is a reporting issuer in the Province of British Columbia, Canada with the British Columbia Securities Commission "BCSC" and in the United States with the Securities Exchange Commission "SEC". Digatrade has now become a global platform offering its customers instant card-based transactions worldwide. CORPORATE CONTACT INFORMATION: Brad Moynes, CEO Bit-X Financial Corp DigaTrade.com 838 West Hastings Street, Suite 300 Vancouver, BC V6C-0A6 Canada Tel: +1(604) 200-0071 Fax: +1(604) 200-0072 www.digatrade.com Media inquiries: press@digatrade.com Forward-Looking Information This press release contains certain "forward-looking information". All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or development that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future constitute forward-looking information. This forward-looking information reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the company based on information currently available to the Company. Forward-looking information is subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information, and even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein. SOURCE: Bit-X Financial Corp || Your first trade for Wednesday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day.
Tim Seymour was a seller of the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF(NYSE Arca: TLT)while Brian Kelly was a buyer.
Dan Nathan was a buyer of Twitter(TWTR).
Peter Najarian was bullish on Viacom(VIAB), a name he highlighted as a stock which could soon be aligned for stratospheric returns.
Trader disclosure: On January 19, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders:Tim Seymour is long AAPL, BAC, CLF, DIS, F, FCX, GE, GM, GOOGL, INTC, IWM, JCP, JPM, KO, LGF, RL, T, TWTR. Tim's firm is long BABA, BIDU, MCD, NKE, SBUX, YHOO. Pete Najarian is long AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls AAL, BAC, BX, CHS, GE, GDX, HAIN, LC, MSFT, NRF, WMB, WYNN, XBI, YDKN, he is long puts FCX, MRO. Dan Nathan is long WMT Feb Put Spread, long PFE buy-write, long VZ Buy-write, long XLU Feb Call Spread, long QCOM Feb Calls, long UUP, long TWTR, long TLT Apr risk reversal; he is short SPY. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, SLV, TLT, US Dollar; he is short Aussie Dollar, British Pound, CS, DB, EWH, HSBC, SPY, Yuan.
SunTrust Managing Director Robert Peck: Firm makes a market in Netflix.
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• Personal Finance || Australia's ASX invests in blockchain to simplify markets: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Markets operator ASX Ltd on Friday said it has made a minority investment in U.S.-based Digital Asset Holdings to develop distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, to potentially simplify Australias post-trade equity market. Blockchain technology, pioneered by Bitcoin, maintains a continuously growing list of transaction data which cannot be tampered with or revised. ASX paid A$14.9 million ($10.43 million) for a 5.0 percent equity interest in Digital Asset along with funding an initial phase of development and acquiring a warrant that will give it the right to purchase further equity and appoint a director to the board. ASX will work with Digital Asset to design a new post-trade solution for the Australian equity market, it said in a statement on Friday. Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent. (Reporting by Swati Pandey) || Antwerp diamond trade turns to fintech platforms: Diamonds love Antwerp.
At least, that is the official slogan of theAntwerp World Diamond Centre(AWDC), the public/private company (it's part government-owned) that oversees the diamond trade in Antwerp, Belgium, the world's leading city for buying and selling the stone. In 2014 some $59 billion worth of diamonds (in USD) were brought into or exported out of Antwerp—more than 5% of the GDP of Belgium. The AWDC serves as a watchdog for the industry, sets standards and promotes the market, and has a commercial arm that counts all the world's leading diamond dealers as members.
But lately, the global market doesn't love diamonds. Sales declined across the board last year, and Antwerp saw its own trade volume fall some 18%, from $59 billion to $48.3 billion. (AWDC points out that "competitors such as India and Israel endured much steeper declines.")
To address the diamond downturn, AWDC is turning to unlikely partners: fintech startups. It announced today a "pilot project" with San Francisco-based Uphold and Belgium-based FX4BIZ. Both are payment platforms that allow for fast and free conversion between many different currencies, including fiat and virtual currency, and commodities.
"We, as the industry’s representative organization, are always searching for new technologies and ways to distinguish ourselves from our competitors," said AWDC CEO Ari Epstein in a statement. Last year the AWDC held a diamond investment symposium with Morgan Stanley (MS), and Epstein says the two new partnerships are a result of the symposium.
For Uphold, which markets itself as a sort of cloud-money vault, this deal brings not just financial potential, but the legitimacy of a global market partner to a still-nascent platform that rebranded at the end of last year. Uphold launched in 2014 as BitReserve, and originally customers needed to deposit funds in the virtual currency bitcoin. They could convert money into dollars, pesos, francs, and other currencies or even precious metals, but they had to start in bitcoin. That is no longer the case, and Uphold dropped the "bit" from its name, seemingly to distance itself from the controversy and stigma of the digital coin.
The web site now allows for conversion into23 different fiat currencies(including dollar, euro, pound, shekel, rupee, and yen), plus four metals (silver, gold, palladium and platinum) and bitcoin. About $836 million in transactions has been moved around on Uphold, with $85 million currently held in Uphold wallets.
"Some of the legacy players in this space are very focused on specific virtual currencies," says Uphold CEO Anthony Watson, likely referring to bitcoin, "but... I predict in the next 5-10 years virtual currencies will become vertical to support vertical businesses and industries. If you look at our platform, we deal in all forms of currency. We'll support any and all types of value that the market supports."
Watson, a former chief information officer at Barclays (BCS) and then at Nike (NKE), surprised many when he left to join Bitreserve. Its founder, Halsey Minor, a founder of technology news site CNET, brought Watson on for his banking experience, then made him Uphold's CEO after only a few months. Watson has said he hopes Uphold can serve to level the financial playing field, bringing banking service to the unbanked and underbanked.
Thanks to the AWDC partnership, "We get to showcase our platform in something that hasn't been done before," he tells Yahoo Finance. As for AWDC, "They needed areal-time platform that allows for payment processing and clearing for their traders and dealers." Uphold says using its platform will save diamond traders "tens of millions of dollars each year."As a result of the partnership, Uphold is also opening a new office in Antwerp.
AWDC will encourage its member companies, which in turn have relationships with some 2,000 diamond dealers around the world, to use Uphold or FX4BIZ for their banking services, foreign exchange and money transfer services. The value proposition of these startups is that they allow for the conversion and transmission of funds much faster and cheaper than traditional wire transfer. Whether diamond traders will hop on board is a different question.
--
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more:
Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its leading news site
Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin
Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter || University of California notifies 80,000 of cyber attack: SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Officials at the University of California Berkeley said on Friday that they were alerting 80,000 people, including current and former students, faculty and vendors of a cyber attack on a system that stores social security and bank account numbers. The news comes just more than a week after a Southern California hospital paid hackers $17,000 in the digital currency Bitcoin to regain control of their computer systems after a so-called "ransomware" attack. The San Francisco Bay Area university said there was no evidence that attackers actually took any personal information, but that it was still alerting the 80,000 individuals to be on the lookout for misuse of their information. The school said a hacker or hackers gained access to its financial management software in late December due to a security flaw present when the system is updating. Officials have notified law enforcement, including the FBI, and hired a private computer investigation company. The university said among the potentially affected are 57,000 current and former students; about 18,800 former and current employees; and 10,300 vendors who work with the school. Those figures come out to about half of the school's current students and two-thirds of its active employees. Large, high-profile organizations and businesses routinely come under cyber attack, and the school said it frequently identifies similar hacking attempts. "The security and privacy of the personal information provided to the university is of great importance to us," Paul Rivers, UC Berkeley's chief information security officer, said in a statement. "We regret that this occurred and have taken additional measures to better safeguard that information." The school said it was providing credit protection service free of charge to those potentially impacted. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Sharon Bernstein) || Now You Can Play The Lottery With Bitcoin: While bitcoin has faced several obstacles in its journey toward mainstream adoption, the cryptocurrency appears to be starting the New Year off on the right foot. Not only has bitcoin seen its value increase steadily over the past three months, but the coin has gained some fame, as merchants continue to adopt the cryptocurrency as a valid form of payment. The latest place consumers can find use for their bitcoins is the lottery, which has gotten a lot of attention recently due to its $1.6 billion Powerball Jackpot prize.
Bitcoin Payment
Mobile lottery ticket app Jackpocket has integrated bitcoin as a payment option within the app, meaning that people can purchase their Powerball tickets using the cryptocurrency. On Wednesday, the app announced its bitcoin addition, which garnered a lot of attention for the coin, as the Powerball Jackpot also reached a record high on the same day.
Related Link:UPDATE: Winning Powerball Tickets Sold In California, Florida, Tennessee --ABC News
Bullish On Bitcoin
For Jackpocket, the move was a great way to reach another demographic of lottery players and represents the company's faith in bitcoin's success. Jackpocket CEO Peter Sullivanannouncedthe decision to incorporate bitcoin into the app saying that he and his team are "very bullish on cryptocurrencies and the blockchain in general."
Speedy Transactions
Not only will bitcoin add to Jackpocket's pool of potential users, but Sullivan says he hopes it will help speed up transaction times and reduce glitches. Heavy volumes of users trying to buy tickets have been hindered by regulations, according to Sullivan, and those issues have strained the app's relationship with credit card processors and banks.
Related Link:No Luck On Winning Powerball? Learn The Skill Of Trading
More Customers
It remains to be seen whether many Jackpocket users will use the bitcoin payment option, but Sullivan is hoping it will attract more affluent customers who have experience with technology, a group he says is likely to buy more tickets.
Image Credit: Public Domain
See more from Benzinga
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• Netflix Continues To Deliver On Promises That 2016 Will Be A Big Year
© 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Here's how you can invest in the blockchain: As big banks and other financial institutions continue tofeel the lovefor blockchain technology, many of our readers have wondered how they can get in. Can a private, non-institutional investor somehow invest in the blockchain?
Answering the question requires a distinction between thebitcoinblockchain and the broader, non-bitcoin idea of blockchain technology. Think of the bitcoin blockchain as a public ledger in the cloud, not unlike a library book slip (see the above video for more). It shows every transaction made with the digital currency bitcoin; the transactions are added in bundles called "blocks," by "miners" who receive a small fee in bitcoin as incentive to add the data. (You canview that happeningin-real time.) The bitcoin blockchain is public, open-source and permissionless.
What banks want to build is a private, closed blockchain,sansbitcoin,sansminers, to process their own transactions. The appeal is that it would make their systems faster and more efficient (most big banks are using old, outdated software for their record-keeping), as well as reduce friction and transfer delays. The bitcoin community is skeptical about the effort. "Having a closed, permissioned ledger run by banks might allow for better auditing, but there’s no innovation there," says Jerry Brito, executive director of the nonprofit Coin Center, whichhas raised fundingfrom the biggest names in bitcoin. "You still have to go through a consortium to use the ledger."
Indeed, 45 banks, including heavy-hitters like Citi, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan, have jumped on board with a consortium,called R3, to test out blockchain technology. JPMorgan, eager to come out to an early lead in the blockchain race,announced last monthit has been testing its own blockchain with 2,200 customers.
In addition to banks trying to build their own blockchains, fintech startups likeitBitare offering their own non-bitcoin blockchains to financial customers.The blockchain product itBit offers is called Bankchain. "Bitcoin is a public, anonymous use case of blockchain technology," says itBit COO Andrew Chang. "Many financial institutions don't want to use the bitcoin blockchain because it’s an anonymous network and they're not okay with that."
Whether the strategy will even bear fruit is unclear, but asAlex Kwiatkowski of financial software firm Misys says, "No one wants to be the one financial company that didn’t invest in blockchain.It feels like California in the Gold Rush -- those making an early claim think they’ll get the most gold. But it’s just an efficiency improvement.There’s going to be some value there, they just need to unlock what it is without promising too much."
As banks and other big corporations continue to claim interest in blockchain, the idealogical divide between that side and the bitcoin side will only widen. Dan Conner, who is building a distributed ledger called DisLedger, aptly explains why: "If you’re a bitcoin fanboy and you’re a crypto-anarchist, that’s fine. But those people don’t tend to run in the same circles as banks." Conner predicts that even the term "blockchain" will go out of fashion for Wall Street the way "bitcoin" has, because there are inherent weaknesses in a blockchain. For now, clearly, the big banks are big believers in blockchain—or at least, they say they are.
If you, a regular investor (and Yahoo Finance reader), are also a believer, is there a way to invest in blockchain technology?
The short answer is: not directly. But there are three roundabout ways you could invest in the bitcoin blockchain or the broader, Wall Street concept of blockchain.
If you believe in the strength of the bitcoin blockchain, the best way to invest is to buy bitcoin. Whether you want to do that for price-speculation purposes or simply out of curiosity to own a nascent asset class, there are myriad ways to obtain some easily, from exchanges like Coinbase, Circle, Bitstamp or Kraken, which hasexpanded in the U.S. recently through acquisitions.
A second would be to buy stock in the banks that have joined up with R3, such asBBVA (BBVA), BNP Paribas (BNP.PA), Citi (C), Credit Suisse (CS), ING Group (ING), JPMorgan (JPM), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), UBS (UBS), and Wells Fargo (WFC). Of course, for bitcoin true believers, buying bank stocks would defeat the purpose of a cryptocurrency designed to avoid traditional banks.
Or you could buy shares in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which passively holds bitcoin to track the price (it's similar to the GLD gold trust) and began trading publicly over the counter last year. The trust was launched by Barry Silbert of the Digital Currency Group, which has invested in 75 bitcoin and non-bitcoin blockchain startups, andrecently bought the news site CoinDesk. "We started the Trust," Silbert says, "as aneasy way for casual investors to get exposure to the price of bitcoin without having to figure out where do you buy it, what price do you pay, and how do you store it. This is one easy way to play in the bitcoin/blockchain industry."
The trust is up 20% since it began trading last May. And bitcoin itself is up 81% in the same time period.
This is the second in a three-part Yahoo Finance series about blockchain technology. Thefirst partwas about why big banks are expressing interest in the blockchain; thethird partis about the biggest names in the industry.
--
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering sports business and technology.Read more:
Bitcoin advocacy group scores funding from biggest names in industry
Bitcoin industry consolidates: Why Kraken bought Coinsetter
Bitcoin's biggest investor bought its biggest news site
Here's a sign that PayPal is embracing Bitcoin || Your first trade for Friday: The "Fast Money" traders delivered their final trades of the day.
Dan Nathan was a seller of Wal-Mart(WMT).
Steve Grasso was a buyer of American Eagle Outfitters(AEO).
Brian Kelly was a seller of Deutsche Bank(XETRA:DBK-DE).
Guy Adami was a buyer of the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF(NYSE Arca: GDX)after picking Macy's(NYSE:M)three days in a row.
Trader disclosure: On January 7, 2016, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Dan Nathan is long MCD Feb put spread, long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March risk reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb call spread, long PYPL Jan risk reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM Feb calls, short SPY, long UUP, long WMT puts. Steve Grasso is long AAPL, BA, BAC, CC, DD, DIS, DECK, EVGN, KBH, MJNA, MBLY, MU, OLN, PFE, PHM, T, TWTR, GDX firm is long APC, CXO, OXY, BP, CVX, MCD, RIG, AMZN kids own EFA, EFG, EWJ, IJR, SPY. Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Yuan, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, KRE, SPY, DB. Guy Adami is long CELG, EXAS, GDX, INTC, Guy Adami's wife, Linda Snow, works at Merck.
Wolfe Research Sr. Analyst Paul Sankey: No disclosures.
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• Personal Finance || CoinDesk's 2016 Report Suggests Bitcoin Isn't Dead Yet: While much of the press about bitcoin has been relatively negative over the past year, CoinDesk 's "State of Bitcoin and Blockchain 2016" report shows that the cryptocurrency may not be as beaten down as many believed. The report, published on January 28, showed that despite a negative image in the media, bitcoin was gaining new users and the technology has a lot of potential in the coming year. New Users While the majority of the public remains cautious about using bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has seen a marked increase in users. The number of bitcoin wallets created over the past year has doubled, and daily bitcoin transactions have risen by 50 percent. The figures don't suggest that the cryptocurrency is going to reach widespread adoption imminently, but they are a promising sign that the currency is making slow and steady progress. Related Link: New Study Shows Bitcoin Has A Long Way To Go Mining Pools Consolidate CoinDesk's report also showed that bitcoin miners had begun to consolidate, leaving only a few pools to do the majority of the processing to uncover new bitcoins. This development has been troublesome to some bitcoin supporters who say that the cryptocurrency's decentralized nature is threatened by consolidation in the mining industry as it puts the power into large firms' hands. Blockchain Troubles Ahead As bitcoin is growing in popularity, there has been a debate among supporters as to how to move forward with the growing number of transactions. Blockchain can only process between three and seven transactions per second, something that will need to change if the currency is ever to reach widespread adoption. However, the bitcoin community has struggled with how to solve this problem with some calling for increased block sizes and others saying it would be better to optimize the coin itself. In any case, many expect 2016 to be a big year in which the two sides come to a final recommendation that the entire industry can abide by. Story continues Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Will A More PC Barbie Revive The Brand? Traditional Retailers Set Their Sights On Amazon Will Facebook's Live-Streaming Efforts Trump Twitter's Periscope? © 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
By joing ou forces.TOGETHER we can chang the world #MMM Extra #Bitcoin www.MMG Bz || Current price: 359.38€ $BTCEUR $btc #bitcoin 2016-01-24 04:00:07 CET || Liquid Bitcoin || Liquid Bitcoin || Liquid Bitcoin || BTCTurk 1309.7 TL BTCe 431.937 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 432.29 $ Cavirtex $ CEXIO 436.67 $ Bitcoin.de 391.67 € #Bitcoin #btc || #MonetaVerde #MCN $ 0.000380 (13.14 %) 0.00000088 BTC (11.39 %) || high-net worth individuals,5000% after 24 hours. bitcoin cash deposit . http://ow.ly/YQ7yM || BTCTurk 1303.0 TL BTCe 432.127 $ CampBx $ BitStamp 432.51 $ Cavirtex $ CEXIO 438 $ Bitcoin.de 391.08 € #Bitcoin #btc || Best Hyips - 500% daily for 10 days. bitcoin trader . http://ow.ly/YP3Eb
|
Trend: up || Prices: 400.57, 407.71, 414.32, 413.97, 414.86, 417.13, 421.69, 411.62, 414.07, 416.44
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-11-24]
BTC Price: 320.05, BTC RSI: 47.13
Gold Price: 1074.30, Gold RSI: 33.49
Oil Price: 42.87, Oil RSI: 47.63
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Mobile Attacks More Vicious Than Ever, New Blue Coat Report Shows: SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 28, 2015) - As mobile devices become more deeply woven into the fabric of our personal and work lives, cyber criminals are taking increasingly vicious and disturbingly personal shots at us, according to the 2015 State of Mobile Malware Report from Blue Coat Systems, Inc. , a market leader in enterprise security. Cyber blackmail (mobile ransomware attacks) leads the way as a top malware type in 2015, along with the stealthy insertion of spyware on devices that allows attackers to profile behavior and online habits. The new Blue Coat report, available here , describes the latest trends and vulnerabilities in mobile malware, provides advice for strengthening corporate defenses and educating mobile device users, and offers predictions about the future of mobile threats. "As we sleep, exercise, work and shop with our mobile devices, cyber criminals are waiting to take advantage of the data these devices collect, as evidenced by the types of malware and attacks we're seeing," said Dr. Hugh Thompson, CTO and senior vice president, Blue Coat. "The implications of this nefarious activity certainly carry over to corporate IT as organizations rapidly adopt cloud-based, mobile versions of enterprise applications, opening up another avenue for attackers. A holistic and strategic approach to managing risk must extend the perimeter to mobile and cloud environments -- based on a realistic, accurate look at the problem -- and deploy advanced protections that can prioritize and remediate sophisticated, emerging and unknown threats." Summary of Findings: Pornography returned as the number one threat vector after dropping to number two last year. The three top types of malware in this year's report are Ransomware, Potentially Unwanted Software (PUS), and Information Leakage. The mobile threat landscape is becoming more active. Get Your Cyber Flu Shot: Top Infection Vectors of 2015 1 Pornography Porn isn't just back on top -- it's bigger than ever -- jumping from 16.55 percent in 2014 to over 36 percent this year. That is, when we see a mobile user's traffic heading to a malicious site, 36 percent of the time that user is following a link from a porn site. To put this in some perspective: when porn led the pack in the 2013 report, it was with a market share of just 22.16 percent. 3 WebAds Dropped from almost 20 percent last year (2014) to less than five percent this year. These include both malvertising attacks and sites that host Trojan horse apps designed to appeal to porn site visitors. Blue Coat has also tracked and defined suspicious WebAd networks that are heavily involved in malware, scams, Potentially Unwanted Software (PUS), and other shady activities. Bitcoin Payment Now or Lose Your Smartphone Contents: Top Malware Types of 2015 1 Ransomware The world of mobile ransomware has grown dramatically over the past year. While some varieties that run on Android devices cause little damage beyond convincing victims to pay the cyber hostage-taker, many have adopted more sophisticated approaches common to ransomware in the Windows environment. With the increased performance capabilities of modern smartphones, it was only a matter of time before more advanced cryptographic ransomware, such as SimpleLocker, started showing up on mobile devices. These threats render music files, photographs, videos, and other document types unreadable -- while typically demanding an untraceable form of payment such as Bitcoin -- and employing a strict time limit for payment before the files become permanently inaccessible to the owner. 2 Potentially Unwanted Software Generally, this class of program exhibits behavior typical of "adware" or "spyware" -- spying on users' on-line activity and personal data -- or serving extra ads. Blue Coat researchers have seen a major shift in the volume of such software in the traditional malware space -- and this is also true of the mobile space -- as the number of junk mobile apps hosted on sites the researchers classify in this category has been rising steadily. This type of mobile app, notable for its dubious utility, frequently finds its way onto a mobile device through the use of deceptive advertising, or other social engineering attacks designed to deceive the victim into installing the unwanted program. 3 Information Leakage Most people are unaware that apps on their mobile device may be watching them -- and reporting out -- on a 24x7x365 basis. This information leakage is usually a minor drip, showing the version of their phone's operating system, the manufacturer, the specific app or browser being used, and similar information. Complicating matters is the fact that there are typically no included system tools available for users to see or know what data is going out of their devices. Whether on an Android or iOS device, leaky data is often openly revealed in the "User Agent" string. The Future of Mobile Security: With no signs of slowing down, the market for mobile devices is booming. Anticipating that millions more of these devices will hit the street in the coming years, Blue Coat makes the following observations and predictions about the future of this trend. Story continues 1 Mobile payment systems Mobile payment systems are set to grow, and services including contactless payment methods will incorporate additional security features, such as biometrics or two-factor authentication. 2 Support for traditional PC and mobile platforms There are already too many mobile devices vulnerable to a host of threats in use. These devices will almost certainly not receive needed OS updates, and that will drive a market in security solutions that can support both traditional PC and mobile platforms. 3 OTA updates to vulnerable devices Mobile carriers and handset makers are already working on plans to fast-track critical OTA updates to vulnerable devices, but the work is slow and it may be some time before this segment of the mobile market matures. To download the Blue Coat Mobile Malware report, including tips for staying safe and advice for strengthening corporate defenses, please visit: www.bluecoat.com/mobile-malware About Blue Coat Systems Blue Coat is a leader in advanced enterprise security, protecting 15,000 organizations every day, including 88 of the 100 largest global companies. Through the Blue Coat Security Platform, Blue Coat unites network, security and cloud, providing customers with maximum protection against advanced threats, while minimizing impact on network performance and enabling cloud applications and services. Blue Coat was acquired by Bain Capital in March 2015. For additional information, please visit www.bluecoat.com . Blue Coat and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. || DAN LOEB: These 5 fears have 'overwhelmed' the market: Dan Loeb (Reuters / Steve Markus) Daniel Loeb, founder and CEO of Third Point. Activist investor Daniel Loeb, the founder of Third Point, laid out five fears that have "overwhelmed" the market in his third-quarter investor letter: "A weakening China, where the new question is not whether but how severe the slowdown of the world's foremost growth machine will be. In August, we saw for the first time the limits of the Chinese government's ability to manipulate the economy as animal spirits triumphed over central planning. While the situation has stabilized somewhat since, the downside scenario for China seems more intimidating than ever before; "Janet Yellen may have inadvertently checked herself and the Fed into the Hotel California. It is increasingly difficult to see how the Fed can justify raising rates in 2015, particularly considering recent employment weakness in the U.S. (an unwelcome surprise) and similar softness in manufacturing figures. Unlike the concerns that weighed on the Committee earlier in the year — that a rate hike might damage the fragile environment outside of the U.S. — recent data undermining consensus U.S. growth assumptions requires different analysis. If the U.S. consumer is weaker than had previously been believed, the Fed needs to be careful not to push the world into a recession. Ms. Yellen cannot afford to get this wrong; "With 2016 looming on the horizon, market participants see some inexperienced, unserious candidates leading on the GOP side and economically unfriendly Democrats on the other. Republicans in the House are now also deeply divided and relying on Paul Ryan's leadership to pull them back from the brink. None of this increases market confidence; "The Middle East is in shambles; a situation spilling over increasingly into Europe with potentially far-reaching consequences for both regions; "Investors feel there is no longer a monetary safety net, as a tidal shift in fund flows from central banks has removed the 'Fed put', creating headwinds instead of tailwinds." Story continues Third Point fell 8.9% in the third quarter, while the S&P 500 fell 6.4%. Third Point was down 4.5% for the first nine months of the year, while the S&P fell 5.3% in that same period. As a group, activist investors — who take large positions in companies and agitate for shareholder-friendly changes — were among the most publicized losers in the third quarter, according to performance data from HSBC. Names such as Greenlight Capital, Glenview Capital, Pershing Square, and Marcato got bruised, according to HSBC. In the letter, dated October 30, Loeb noted that short selling has become more attractive. He currently has more single short names than longs in his portfolio. He still has significant positions in the fund's "highest conviction, event-rich names." "The conviction to keep and add to our core healthcare names during the sell-off enabled us to re-establish ourselves on positive footing this month," he wrote. NOW WATCH: Everyday phrases that even smart people say incorrectly More From Business Insider Bitcoin hit a new high for 2015 Wall Street is going to listen in to Bill Ackman defend his Valeant investment Valeant's largest shareholder: 'It hurts' || Bitcoin firm raises funding from Bain, New York Life, MasterCard: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Digital Currency Group, a holding firm focused on investing and developing businesses that deal in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has raised funding from some of the biggest U.S. financial names, founder and chief executive officer Barry Silbert said on Tuesday. Bain Capital Ventures, the Boston-based venture capital unit of private equity firm Bain Capital, credit card company MasterCard, insurance giant New York Life Insurance Company, and Canadian bank CIBC were four of the company's new investors. The holding company (DCG) is currently building and supporting the largest early-stage investment portfolio in digital currencies and the blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin. Silbert, a prominent bitcoin advocate and investor, declined to disclose the amount of funding raised from the new investors. The other investors in DCG include a range of venture capital firms and family offices such as FirstMark Capital, Novel TMT, Oak HC/FT, RRE Ventures, Solon Mack Capital, and Transamerica Ventures. Bain, CIBC, New York Life, Mastercard, FirstMark, Novel, Oak, and Transamerica are investing in bitcoin for the first time, Silbert said. Structuring DCG as a company and not a fund is a strategic business decisions, Silbert said, and the business model is similar to that of Berkshire Hathaway, founded by billionaire investor Warren Buffett. "Setting it up this way gives us flexibility," said Silbert, in an email to Reuters. "We can start companies, invest in companies, buy companies, etc and it gives us patient, permanent capital." There is therefore no need to raise a bunch of different funds with different investors, he said, adding that this gives the company the opportunity to go public down the road. DCG was formed this year with the merger of two SecondMarket Solutions companies: Genesis Global Trading, a bitcoin over-the-counter trading firm, and Grayscale Investments, a digital currency asset management firm that manages the publicly-traded Bitcoin Investment Trust. Story continues SecondMarket, an entity that has helped private companies facilitate trading in their shares, was founded by Silbert. It was acquired last week by Nasdaq Private Market. Financial terms were not provided. Silbert has invested in some of the biggest bitcoin companies: Coinbase, BitPay, Circle, itBit, Ripple, Xapo, and Coinsetter. Bitcoin is a virtual currency bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. The digital currency is used for retail purchases and investments. Other virtual currencies include litecoin and dogecoin. One bitcoin is currently worth around $296.01 on the BitStamp platform. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by David Gregorio) || Ben Bernanke Sees Serious Problems With Bitcoin: Speaking to Quartz, former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that Bitcoin "has some serious problems." Bitcoin's value peaked at $1,147.25 on December 4 and crashed to a low of $177.28 just a few months later. Bernanke suggested that Bitcoin has yet to establish itself as a "widely accepted transactions medium." Ben Bernanke has had plenty of time to reflect on his career and personal political views since removing himself as head of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke, speaking to Quartz, discussed his time as leading the Federal Reserve, why he no longer considers himself a Republican, and why Bitcoin has "serious" problems. According to Bernanke, we have entered an era where the payments system is "evolving quickly" with new approaches to payments "proliferating." However, Bitcoin itself may be flawed for two reasons: 1) the digital currency hasn't proven itself to be a "stable source of value," and 2) Bitcoin hasn't established itself as a "widely accepted transactions medium." "But the real serious problem that it has is it's anonymity, which is a feature, and is also a bug, in that it has become in some cases a vehicle for illicit transactions, drug selling or terrorist financing or whatever," Bernanke added. "And you know, governments are not happy to let that activity happen, so I suspect that there will be oversight of transactions done in bitcoin or similar currencies and that will reduce the appeal." Other Problems Facing Bitcoin MIT Technology Review's Tom Simonite reported on August 28 that Bitcoin "will start to malfunction" as soon as early next year. Simonite spoke with Gavin Andresen, known in circles as Bitcoin's "chief caretaker" -- he says the currency can't process more than seven transactions per second. Visa processes thousands times that amount. "Transactions will get unreliable and it'll get worse and worse over time," Andersen warned over the dangers of not addressing Bitcoin's issues. "My fear is there'll be no critical event that causes people to react—Bitcoin just kind of has a long slow death. I'm trying to set off alarm bells for ‘You know, guys, if we don't do this, Bitcoin will be dead in four years.'" Story continues Benzinga's Jake Mann offered Trading Academy another issue. Writing in 2013, Mann warned that a lack of central bank doesn't indicate there's a fool-proof supply control mechanism in place. "While the sheer difficulty of [bitcoin] mining assures Bitcoin users that there won't ever be a massive supply shock in the digital market, the way that Bitcoins are created causes one enormous problem," Mann explained. "Primarily, it incentivizes miners to hoard the currency upon receiving it. This is one of the main causes of Bitcoin's price volatility." At that time, consensus opinion at the time was that up to 25 percent of all Bitcoins mined have never entered the marketplace. Mann suggested that miners should be mandated to exchange all newly-mined Bitcoins for another currency of their choice. Failure to do so could result in the currency experiencing additional volatility that would end up "killing" its potential, as a group of miners could essentially control the supply. "Is that really any better than a central bank?" he questioned. See more from Benzinga Watch Out Below? Vetr Crowd Downgrades Alphabet To Sell Apple Won't Buy Tesla, CLSA Says At A New All-Time High, Salesforce's Outlook Is Exciting Wall Street Analysts © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || XBT Provider AB: Bitcoin Tracker EUR to start trading on Nasdaq Nordic today: Stockholm, SWEDEN (October 5th, 2015) -XBT Provider AB is proud to announce the launch of Bitcoin tracker Euro.
Starting today anyone with a brokerage account connected to Nasdaq Nordic can trade the ETN "Bitcoin Tracker EUR" The ticker code is Bitcoin XBTE. ISIN: SE0007525332
Bitcoin Tracker EUR is designed to mirror the return of the underlying asset, U.S. dollar (USD) per Bitcoin. The product is an exchange traded note designed to track the movement of the underlying asset after fees.
Bitcoin Tracker EUR is our second Bitcoin-based security available on Nasdaq Nordic. XBT Provider launched this financial instrument to meet the needs of investors` growing appetite for exposure to Bitcoin prices.
"Bitcoin tracker EUR" (BTE) is listed on Nasdaq Nordic in Stockholm and traded in the same manner as any share or instrument listed on the Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm. BTE is also available via Bloomberg terminals through the ticker code COINXBE.
The full prospectus is available onxbtprovider.com
Bitcoin Tracker EUR is issued under the same prospectus as Bitcoin Tracker One which isapproved by Sweden`s financial supervisory authority, Finansinspektionen.
ABOUT XBT PROVIDERXBT Provider AB (publ) is a public limited liability company formed in Sweden with statutory seat in Stockholm. The issuer is incorporated under Swedish law and registered with the Swedish companies` registration office under registration number 559001-3313.
ABOUT THE MARKET MAKER: MANGOLD FONDKOMMISSIONMangold Fondkommission is a Stockholm based Brokerage and Investment bank. As a member of Nasdaq Nordic the company assists XBT Provider with clearing services and acts as a liquidity provider for Bitcoin Tracker One and Bitcoin Tracker EUR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Alexander MarshE-mail:alexander.marsh@xbtprovider.com
Johan WattenströmE-mail:johan.wattenstrom@xbtprovider.com
Press release (PDF)
This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: XBT Provider AB via GlobeNewswireHUG#1956529 || Bitcoin is exploding higher, but no one can agree on why: (REUTERS)
Bitcoin gained another 6% Wednesday, reaching a new high for the year.
The cryptocurrency reached the $450 mark late in the day before falling back to $425. That's compared with around $250 a month ago.
What's behind this? Investors and brokers can't agree.
In the last few days, explanations have included a rise in demand from China, an upcoming auction by US Marshals of seized bitcoin, and the influence ofa convicted Ponzi schemer's latest gambit.
Another catalyst for recent appreciation comes from Europe, saysAdam White, vice president and product manager at Coinbase, one of the biggest bitcoin exchanges globally by volume.
The European Court of Justice recently ruled that thecryptocurrency is exemptfrom the region's "value added tax," which White compared to the decision by US taxation authorities in the 1990s to not implement taxes on goods sold online.
What is certain is that use of bitcoin by consumers and trading is broadly on the rise.
"There has been a steady increase in the number of transactions processed on the bitcoin blockchain," White says.
In the last two years, the number of bitcoin transactions has increased threefold from 50,000 daily to about 140,000 today, according to Blockchain.info, which tracks bitcoin data.
It is true that Chinese investors are eager to trade bitcoin, White says.
In the US, between 300,000 and 500,000 bitcoin are traded daily, White said. But in China, that daily figure has been closer to 1 million to 1.2 million.
That isn't to say US investors are neglecting the currency. There has been a three-times increase in the relative trading volume by what are referred to as "High Net Worth" traders on Coinbase's trading platform — people making trades in dollar amounts worth up to six figures, White said.
Perhaps most telling — at least about the recent jump — is that there's been a recent surge in trading, sharp rise innew usersign-ups, according to White.
So what's behind the recent surge in bitcoin? Maybe just the surge in bitcoin.
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• Even As Bitcoin Gets Obliterated, Retailers Say They Will Still Accept It As A Form Of Payment || Bitcoin flounders in Australia as regulatory worries bite: By Byron Kaye and Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian businesses are turning their backs on bitcoin, as signs grow that the cryptocurrency's mainstream appeal is fading. Concerns about bitcoin's potential crime links mean many businesses have stopped accepting it, a trend accelerated by Australian banks' move last month to close the accounts of 13 of the country's 17 bitcoin exchanges. The development is a blow to hopes of bitcoin fans that the currency can play a significant role in everyday business transactions in developed economies, with Australia once seen as one of its most promising markets. It is estimated to hold 7 percent of the currency's $3.5 billion global value, a sizeable figure in a country of just 24 million people. "We've got a squeaky clean reputation, and that's actually worth a lot more to us than dipping into this," said James Snodgrass, principal of Sydney's Forsyth Real Estate, which ditched the currency in late 2014 after the firm was investigated by the federal tax office. Forsyth had offered to collect home deposits and other realtor fees via bitcoin to cater to international buyers. The tax office probe found no wrongdoing but Forsyth was burned by the negative publicity and bailed out before ever taking a bitcoin payment. Although most mainstream banks in Europe and the U.S. already refuse to keep bitcoin-affiliated accounts, developments in Australia represent the first coordinated shutdown of bitcoin exchanges by a country's banking system. The move makes it much harder for people to convert regular currencies in to or out of bitcoin, threatening its long-term value. "It really runs on people using bitcoin, and if nobody uses it then it's worthless," said University of Technology Sydney senior finance lecturer Adrian Lee. BANK SHUTDOWN The banks' shutdown appears at odds with a government inquiry which in August recommended removing sales tax for people who buy bitcoin. The Australian anti-money laundering agency, AUSTRAC, told Reuters that banks have no legal obligation to close bitcoin accounts. The so-called "Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank - directed inquiries about bitcoin to the Australian Bankers' Association. Tony Pearson, the association's acting chief executive, wouldn't confirm the coordinated rejection of bitcoin but said in an email that its "lack of transparency and regulatory oversight raises a number of risks for users and also poses risks for the payments system, the integrity of the financial system and the erosion of the tax base". Australia's organised crime agency has said it is concerned the currency's untraceable nature makes it attractive for money laundering and selling illicit drugs. In the U.K. and the U.S., most large banks have already cut ties with bitcoin account holders, but lack of industry co-ordination has left room for individual lenders to support the currency, including Germany's Fidor Bank AG, which operates in Britain, and tech-focused Californian lender Silicon Valley Bank. CLOSE, MOVE OFFSHORE OR SNEAK AROUND The 13 Australian bitcoin exchanges whose accounts were closed by the banks have shut operations. The remaining four have had their accounts frozen, and now face three options: close, move overseas or spread their business into several smaller bank accounts to avoid detection by their banks. Buyabitcoin.com.au, one of the remaining four exchanges, said it is still considering its options. "It makes it, obviously, hard to take payments from our customers, but we have a couple of relationships left," said Andrew Smith, general manager of the Melbourne-based exchange. Smith declined to identify which bank his firm is now using from fear of repercussions but said he plans to move the business offshore. Two sources told Reuters that regional lender Bank of Queensland still held some bitcoin accounts. The bank said in an email that "virtual currencies fall outside of our risk appetite" but did not deny or confirm it had these accounts. RETAIL PULLOUT Some industry watchers believe ambivalence may be bitcoin's biggest problem. At least six Australian retail businesses, which as recently as 2014 courted publicity for offering sales by bitcoin, told Reuters they were considering exiting the currency. "If governments begin to aggressively attack the whole idea of cryptocurrencies and give it a bad name, it might have an adverse effect on our brand by accepting it," said David Brim, co-founder of off-road vehicle maker Tomcar Australia, which has sold one car using bitcoin since introducing it in November 2014. Grant Fairweather, owner of the Metropolitan Hotel in Sydney, said he started accepting bitcoin when a group of digital currency fans chose his pub as their regular meeting venue. "They tell me that it's doing quite well, but that doesn't transpose into here," said Fairweather, who sells about A$100 ($70) worth of drinks via bitcoin from the meetings and does no other bitcoin trade. An online clothing retailer told Reuters she had made no bitcoin sales since introducing the service in 2013 and asked not to be named, saying "since bitcoin's going out anyway, we'd rather not throw our name back into it". (Additional reporting by Nathan Lynch in SYDNEY and Jemima Kelly in LONDON. Editing by Jane Wardell and Rachel Armstrong) || Ripple Adds Santander InnoVentures Fund as Series A Investor: SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 6, 2015) -Ripple, provider of global financial settlement technology (formerly known as Ripple Labs), today announced thatSantander InnoVentures--Santander Group's $100 million fintech venture capital fund -- has joined itsrecent Series A funding roundas an investor, bringing the round's total to $32 million.
Ripple's Series A funding round included a mix of traditional investment firms and global strategic investors that all support the vision for Ripple to enable an Internet of Value (IoV) by powering the real-time, secure settlement of funds for financial institutions and their customers worldwide.
"Santander InnoVentures is a natural fit in this round because of their demonstrated support for real-time international payments and their commitment to new technologies that enable Santander to empower its customers," said Ripple CEO and co-founder Chris Larsen. "We are excited to work closely with them in building the Internet of Value and accelerating adoption amongst financial institutions, market makers and businesses worldwide."
The Santander InnoVentures fund is an investment vehicle designed to partner with portfolio companies and explore new technologies that can be used in support of Santander's customer base.
"Santander has long been an advocate for modernizing banking infrastructure," said Mariano Belinky, Managing Partner of Santander InnoVentures. "In our recentFintech 2.0 report, we highlighted the $20 billion opportunity available to the financial services industry, and many of the scenarios where distributed ledger technology will have a positive impact."
Belinky added: "We believe Ripple possesses the talent, technology, and momentum to address many of these scenarios, and are actively exploring where and how best to apply Ripple technology inside the bank. Ripple and Santander share a common vision of the future of the industry, and we intend to jointly advocate it in the community."
Other investors in Ripple's Series A round includeIDG Capital Partners, the venture arms ofCME Groupand global data storage companySeagate Technology, Jerry Yang'sAME Cloud Ventures,ChinaRock Capital Management,China Growth Capital, Wicklow Capital, the investment vehicle for Dan Tierney and Stephen Schuler, co-founders of GETCO (now KCG),Bitcoin Opportunity Corp.,Core Innovation Capital,Route 66 Ventures,RRE Ventures,Vast Ventures, andVenture 51.
Ripple provides bank-grade solutions that enable the world's disparate financial networks to securely transfer funds in any currency in real time. Financial institutions use Ripple as an alternative to correspondent banking to facilitate real-time, certain settlement at the lowest total cost possible.
Ripple was created to enable the world to move value as easily as information moves today, giving rise to an Internet of Value (IoV) akin to today's Internet of Knowledge. For more information about Ripple, please visithttp://www.ripple.com.
About Ripple
Rippleprovides global financial settlement solutions to ultimately enable the world to exchange value like it already exchanges information - giving rise to an Internet of Value (IoV). Ripple solutions lower the total cost of settlement by enabling banks to transact directly, without correspondent banks, and with real-time certainty of settlement. Banks around the world are partnering with Ripple to improve their cross-border payment offerings, and to join the growing, global network of financial institutions and market makers laying the foundation for the Internet of Value.
Ripple is a venture-backed startup with offices in San Francisco, New York and Sydney. As an industry advocate for the Internet of Value, Ripple sits on theFederal Reserve's Faster Payments Task Force Steering Committeeand is a member of theW3C's Web Payments Interest Group.
About Santander InnoVentures
Launched in July 2014 with a global remit to invest in transformational fintech business, Santander InnoVentures is based in London. The fund builds on the bank's philosophy of collaboration and partnership with small and start-up companies. Santander InnoVentures provides fintech companies with growth finance, industry expertise and access to Santander's internal technology and operations organisations.
Through this hybrid approach to investing, Santander Group ensures continuous innovation within its own business to the benefit of customers around the world, as well as helping new fintech businesses to succeed. Santander InnoVentures focuses on working with fintech businesses operating within digital delivery of financial services, e-commerce and payments, online lending, e-financial investments, big data and analytics.
The Fintech 2.0 Paper is a call to action for both banks and fintechs to consider the multi-billion dollar opportunities available through partnership. Download the full paper, exploring these opportunities in-depth and identifying specific use-cases, here:www.santanderinnoventures.com/fintech2
For more information, visitwww.santanderinnoventures.com. Follow Santander InnoVentures on Twitter:@SanInnoventures.
Banco Santander(SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas. Santander is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and among the top 12 banks on a global basis. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1.51 trillion in managed funds, 12,910 branches and 190,000 employees at the close of June 2015. In the first half of 2015, Santander made ordinary attributable profit of EUR 3,426 million, a 24% increase. || Sub-zero interest rates have floor nearby, albeit a shaky one: By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) - Zero is clearly not the floor for central bank interest rates, but there's still a lower limit nearby, however shaky it may be. For anyone assuming official interest rates would not or could not go below zero, it's been a sobering year. Four central banks in Europe have broken the taboo and are experimenting with the slightly puzzling concept of negative interest rates. The European Central Bank as well as the Swiss, Swedish and Danish central banks all now employ negative deposit rates - charging their commercial banks for holding reserves on deposit as yet another way of forcing them to lend more. Even though this upside-down world of negative rates appears to many to be just a technical quirk in the banking system, households and firms may start to wonder whether negative rates will spread to them given the obvious reluctance of central bankers to admit a floor and draw the line here. ECB chief Mario Draghi electrified markets last week by holding out the prospect of yet another cut in the ECB's deposit rate of minus 0.2 percent as it battles to get flat lining euro-zone inflation back up to its target of near 2 percent. Whether negative rates excite or terrify you, most economists reckon there's a limit. They insist a so-called 'lower bound' for rates - only debated in academic circles between the 1930s Depression and the credit crash of 2008 - is still a major and worrying constraint on monetary policy and that the floor is likely just a little below where we are now. For all the wonkish detail, it's no pinpoint science. Bank of England studies put the limit about minus 0.5 percent, for example. That's below the current ECB rate, though not as deep as the Swiss National Bank's minus 0.75 percent. National variations clearly apply, however. The BoE itself has, until recently at least, declined to cut its rates below 0.5 percent - due to the plethora of UK mortgage rates that track the policy rate but also because UK banks have typically never charged customers for current accounts. Story continues But the argument for an interest rate floor that's just slightly negative is relatively simple. If banks are charged ever larger penalties for depositing reserves with the central bank, the assumption is they will simply transfer the money into physical cash, which even at zero interest would still give them a better return. And their tolerance for negative rates is estimated to be the additional cost of securely stashing those crisp notes away in private vaults. "The source of the zero lower bound constraint lies in the unrestricted convertibility into cash of reserve accounts at the central bank," according to the annual 'Geneva Report' on the world economy from the UK-based think tank Centre for Economic Policy Research. But the report - authored by former BoE policymaker Charles Bean, former New York Federal Reserve economist Christian Broda, former Japanese financial diplomat Takatoshi Ito and former Fed governor Randall Kroszner - said the relatively high security cost of holding vast quantities of banknotes meant that this switching doesn't happen immediately that rates go below zero. "Banks are more likely to decide that it will be worth investing in setting up such secure facilities if central bank deposit rates are likely to be negative frequently and for substantial periods," they wrote, adding the "true floor" is probably close to BoE calculations of minus 0.5 percent. This is no stone floor, however. Reviewing the report, SNB Vice Chairman Fritz Zurbruegg said "the tipping point is not clearly defined; markets and businesses are very innovative." BLUFF? But if the zero bound does exist and it's at least close to where we are right now, what happens if inflation still won't rise back to target and further easing is needed? Was Mario Draghi just bluffing by saying he could do whatever it takes? Facing the risk of a deflationary trap, more bond buying and quantitative easing can at least try to push down long-term borrowing rates. But there are practical and political limits here too on what and just how much bonds to buy, while the benchmark 10-year German bund already yields less than 0.50 percent. Others suggest inflation targets could be raised to provoke a change in expectations and underline central bank determination. But if you're struggling to get inflation from zero to 2 percent, will it be any easier getting it to 4? That leaves more radical moves to overcome the lower bound. One includes getting rid of physical cash altogether to prevent banks switching into it - a plausible idea given the rise of card payments and electronic money. Another proposal involves abandoning the automatic 1-for-1 exchange between cash and reserves. One more alternative suggests banknotes would have to be stamped periodically to retain their legal tender. Spotlighting Bitcoin's emergence, BoE chief economist Andy Haldane said last month that some form of digital money wallets could be the future for new government-backed currency too and have the advantage of being able to absorb negative rates. "Perhaps central bank money is ripe for its own great technological leap forward, prompted by the pressing demands of the zero lower bound," he said. But, even if switching can be avoided, deeply negative rates may cause more problems than they solve by damaging bank balance sheets and stability, fueling increases in risky lending or leading to unintended consequences of banks recouping costs through higher mortgage or corporate lending rates - as seen in Switzerland. Deeply negative interest rates for a protracted period will also create distortions in asset markets. Together these fears may act as powerfully as any limit on just how negative rates can go. (Editing by Hugh Lawson) || Trading Bitcoin Binary Options: Bitcoin. This may be something you wish you knew more about. You may have heard about trading Bitcoin and wondered how you could do it. It may seem unreal since it does not involve anything tangible. A visit to the web page informs the visitor, Bitcoin is an innovative payment network and a new kind of money. It further notifies the public, Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system. Bitcoin was invented in 2008. In early 2010, each Bitcoin was worth only $0.04. Just last week, on October 29, it was reported that Bitcoin was trading above $314, near the highest since December 2014. This rise in price was thought to be related to the Fed statement that had been released the day before, but also strongly tied to China easing which appears to go straight to Bitcoin. Today, reported Bitcoin trading at more than $410, a price jump of more than 70 percent in one month. According to an article on , after the price jump, there was a massive sell off causing the digital currency to drop by nearly $50. This article attributes the volatility to the influx of new Chinese buyers who have caused this surge in order to bypass Chinas tightened capital controls. As you can see from the news reports above, Bitcoin can be insanely volatile. It can move 40 percent in one day. In checking current charts, Bitcoin has rebounded and is currently trading around $470. In order to illustrate different ways Bitcoin can be traded, lets look at how Bitcoin was trading on October 29. Look at the chart below. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image4.png This is a Nadex Bitcoin daily chart, which can be accessed from their trading platform. You can see that Bitcoin has surged up through 314. There was some long-term resistance at 314. The market had tested that level in January, February, June and July before breaking through on October 29. When this happens, you can usually expect that it will meet a little more resistance and then pullback. Story continues There are a couple of different ways you can play this. You could expect it to expire below the high of the day at 319. If so, you could check out available strikes that you could sell. When you check for a contract, sometimes there may not be many contracts left, because of the surge in the market. Nadex offers bitcoin binary options with 21 strike prices for the 3:00 PM ET daily expiration, except on Fridays, which lists 15 strike levels. The interval width between each strike level is 1.5. The next image shows the different strike prices that were available at the time. When you look for the sell strike, you see that there is a 315.5 available for around $21. Choosing this trade would allow you to make a little bit of premium if you wanted to go short. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image3.png If you believe the market will stay above 314, you can look at buying a contract. Again, checking the strike prices, there is one available at 314 for about 65, with the profit potential of $35. For October 29, it appears that 314 is the magic number, the resistance level right now. By knowing this information, you can have a better understanding of the expectations of the market. Here is another image taken a short time after the other image, which showed strike prices. You may notice that both the buy and sell prices have increased as has the indicative index. To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image2.png However, for this example, with the strike 314 at 70.75, it is $0.76 above the strike. There is a high expectation of the market staying above 314. Remember, the first chart was a daily chart. For a better analysis on either of these trades, it would be wise to look at a smaller time frame chart in order to see what you could actually do. When you look at a five-minute chart, it shows how the market popped up and then promptly turned around and went down. Here is a five-minute chart: To view a larger image, click HERE. 283s_image5.png Further analysis using the five-minute chart shows that if there was a shark in the waters and they wanted to push the market a little farther, it is possible they could have caused the big green bar that broke through the 314 resistance. The next green bars are other traders coming in thinking there is a big rally. Take note here, all of a sudden at the short red bar, they start getting rid of their trades. Next, they dump off the rest and everybody bails. This is how it usually goes in trading. This is how you learn to follow the sharks without getting eaten by them and staying out of their way. The sharks will go in, pump up the market and then sell it off. You get your one warning shot, the short red bar, and then BAM! It is over. With any trade, but especially one with high volatility, make sure that you define your risk when you trade. Risk management is essential to being a profitable trader. To further your trading education, visit , a service of Darrell Martin. See more from Benzinga An Evening For A Scheduled News Trade With The USD/CHF Reports Of The Aussies Employed And Unemployed Provide After Work Trade Opportunity For US Record Highs Reported By Nadex For Three Consecutive Quarters © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#RDD / #BTC on the exchanges:
Cryptsy: 0.00000004
Bittrex: 0.00000005
Average $1.0E-5 per #reddcoin
16:00:05 || Current price: 218.44£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-11-14 08:00:03 GMT || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$250.06/$250.38 #Bitstamp
$245.00/$245.91 #BTCe
⇢$-5.38/$-4.15
$251.18/$251.23 #Coinbase
⇢$0.80/$1.17 || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$488.80/$490.12 #Bitstamp
$446.00/$446.89 #BTCe
⇢$-44.12/$-41.91
$489.48/$490.05 #Coinbase
⇢$-0.64/$1.25 || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 16 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $116.88 #bitcoin #btc || Current price: 165.79£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-10-15 00:20:06 BST || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 12 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $397.12 #bitcoin #btc || $356.52 #bitfinex;
$355.81 #btce;
$355.00 #bitstamp;
$354.26 #coinbase;
#bitcoin #btc via #ThePriceOfBTCpic.twitter.com/yJZIQ7wqBw || LIVE: Profit = $23.81 (0.61 %). BUY B12.34 @ $317.00 (#BTCe). SELL @ $318.94 (#HitBTC) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || Bitcoin traded at $233.7 USD on BTC-e at 11:00 PM Pacific Time
|
Trend: up || Prices: 328.21, 352.68, 358.04, 357.38, 371.29, 377.32, 362.49, 359.19, 361.05, 363.18
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-04-16]
BTC Price: 228.57, BTC RSI: 37.82
Gold Price: 1198.00, Gold RSI: 50.93
Oil Price: 56.71, Oil RSI: 66.05
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Shop, Inc. Deploys Transaction Verification Servers in New Facility Resulting in 30% Cost Reduction Over Previous Operations: ARLINGTON, VA--(Marketwired - Mar 25, 2015) - Bitcoin Shop, Inc. (OTCQB:BTCS) ("BTCS" or the "Company"), which is undertaking the build-out of a universal digital currency ecosystem, announced today that the Company has successfully deployed its transaction verification services servers in its new facility which will result in a 30% reduction in operating costs going forward when compared to the Company's previous operations. BTCS has also acquired additional servers, which represent a 10% increase over its previously announced hashing power. The Company is now running transaction verification servers with hashing power of over 900 Th/s and should have an additional 80 Th/s online in a few days. Pictures of the new facility can be seen on the Company's Facebook page here:http://on.fb.me/18TpbN5
Charles Allen, CEO of BTCS, commented, "Following our well timed entry into the transaction verification services segment we have now completed the transition to our new facility. We plan to expand this segment of our business and believe it will be the revenue driver for our business as we continue to develop our universal digital currency ecosystem."
The Company's transaction verification services business, or digital currency mining, entails running specialized servers which solve a set of prescribed calculations to add a block of verified information to the blockchain and thereby confirm bitcoin transactions. When BTCS is successful in adding a block to the blockchain, it is issued new bitcoins.
About BTCS:BTCS plans to build a universal digital currency platform with the goal of enabling users to engage in the digital currency ecosystem through one point of access. The Company currently operates its public beta site (www.btcs.com) where consumers can purchase products using digital currency such as bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin, by searching through a selection of over 250,000 items. Customers can access competitive pricing options from 256 retailers through BTCS's "Intelligent Shopping Engine." All ecommerce customer orders are fulfilled by third party vendors. The Company plans to use its ecommerce platform as a customer on-ramp for a broader digital currency platform. BTCS actively partners with strategic digital currency companies who have technologies, services or products that are complementary to its business strategy by making investments in them and integrating with them.
Forward Looking Statements:Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, not limited to Risk Factors relating to its digital currency business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. || Rivetz Showcases Secure E-commerce Transaction on Android at Mobile World Congress: BARCELONA, SPAIN--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2015) - Mobile World Congress - Rivetz ( http://rivetz.com/ ) today announced it will be demonstrating at Mobile World Congress the most advanced mobile solution for e-commerce transactions, leveraging the built-in hardware security already shipping on most commercial handsets. Rivetz, in partnership with BitPay , will be demonstrating a simple-to-use, open-source payments technology compatible with any Trustonic -enabled smart device. The solution is compatible with many thousands of Bitcoin merchants, offering consumers peace of mind that their Bitcoin transactions are safe, private and secure. Rivetz's technological solution meets all of the requirements of the recently implemented regulations for European payments using smart devices. The Rivetz solution takes advantage of the Trustonic TEE environment built into millions of smart devices to provide the trusted execution space for storing and processing Bitcoin private keys. The solution also takes full advantage of the Trusted User Interface (TUI) for secure PIN entry and secure display of the users' transaction details. Rivetz uses Intercede's MyTAM™ cloud service to securely load the bitcoin wallet into the TEE to protect the app and the data it accesses from threats that may be present on the handset. The solution will be available in the second quarter of 2015 and is compatible with over 350 million existing Android devices, including Samsung smartphones. A short video of the demonstration can be seen at http://bit.ly/1EanqZk , showing the solution running on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. "Rivetz is delivering state-of-the-art support that will help Bitcoin be a standard, secure capability on every handset," commented Tony Gallippi, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of BitPay. "We look forward to enabling the Rivetz capability as an option for millions of Bitcoin users." "We are pleased to be working with Rivetz to bring state-of-the-art security and ease-of-use to consumers," said Ben Cade, Trustonic's CEO. "The Rivetz team is offering a great model for any app developer to leverage the advanced security that Trustonic TEE provides." Story continues Intercede CEO Richard Parris added: "Apps used for executing Bitcoin transactions are an attractive target for hackers, who are developing increasingly advanced methods to deploy their malware onto Android handsets. By ensuring the activities of apps are kept separate and secure from the main OS, end users can be assured their Bitcoin transactions are protected." Rivetz provides a software developer toolkit to enable any cryptocurrency or payment app to take advantage of Rivetz's capabilities. To sign up as a developer, visit developer.rivetz.com for more information and access to the tools. Demos will be held daily at the Samsung partner booth Hall 8.1, Trustonic booth Hall 7, Stand 7G81 and at the Intercede booth Hall 7 Stand 7B81. To schedule a personal demo please contact sales@rivetz.com About Rivetz Rivetz Corp. is focused on solving problems associated with consumers' relationships with financial and other online services. Rivetz provides a safer and easier-to-use model for all users to protect their digital assets and online transactions using hardware-based device identity. The device plays a critical role in automating security and enabling the controls that users need to benefit from modern services. Rivetz leverages state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools to develop a modern model for users and their devices to interact with services on the Internet. For more information, visit www.Rivetz.com . About Trustonic Trustonic integrates hardware-level security and trust directly into the devices through which we access today's connected world. Trustonic simplifies user experiences in everything from mobile shopping and Internet banking to entertainment to collaborating in the workplace. Trustonic technology is embedded in over 400m smart connected devices, and partners with market leaders such as Samsung , Qualcomm , Symantec, Gemalto and Good Technology . To learn more about Trustonic and how it's making your connected world a better place visit us at www.trustonic.com About Bitpay BitPay is the global leader in Bitcoin payment processing with offices in North America, Europe, and South America. The company has raised over $32 million from top investors including Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and Sir Richard Branson. bitpay.com Contact: kirsty@bitpay.com About Intercede: Intercede is a software and service company specialising in identity, credential management and secure mobility. Its solutions create a foundation of trust between connected people, devices and apps and combine expertise with innovation to provide world-class cybersecurity. Intercede has been delivering solutions to high profile customers, from the US and UK governments to some of the world's largest corporations, telecommunications providers and information technology firms, for over 20 years. In 2015 Intercede launched MyTAM; enabling trusted applications to be loaded into a mobile device's Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), providing hardware-level security for Android apps. The cloud-based service provides a cost-effective and convenient way for developers and corporations to protect their apps and users' sensitive data. For more information visit: www.intercede.com SEO: Bitcoin, Trustonic Tee, Trusted Execution, Wallet, E-commerce, Trusted User Interface, mobile security All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners. || Tether to Offer Free Payment Processing for GoCoin Merchants: HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Apr 14, 2015) - Tether ( www.tether.to ), the first blockchain-enabled platform to allow fiat currency to be used like Bitcoin, today announced its integration with GoCoin, a leading international blockchain payments processor. This partnership not only expands GoCoin's coin portfolio at checkout with Tether, it also enables its merchants transacting with Bitcoin, Litecoin and Dogecoin to quickly settle those payments with Tether instead of costly bank wires. For the first time, merchants will be able to transact entirely in cryptocurrencies without the need to settle payments through banks, and without fear of losing value because of market fluctuations or delays from tracing lost wires. Tether is a secure platform that allows deposited US dollars (and soon euros, Japanese yen and other fiat currencies) to be converted into 1-to-1 backed tetherUSD and held in online or offline wallets. "By utilizing Tether's unique business model of linking digital currency to in-hand reserves, we're able to stabilize value fluctuations for our merchants, making digital currency even more appealing to them," said Steve Beauregard, GoCoin's CEO. Currently in private beta, each tether is backed 1-to-1 by its corresponding currency, which can be viewed and verified in real-time via the Tether.to website and on the blockchain. Tether will be fully transparent and audited to demonstrate 100 percent reserves at all times. The near-zero fees for creating and redeeming tethers, and zero-fee transfer ability, incentivizes rapid adoption and widespread use. "We're proud to add such a respected name as GoCoin to our list of partners," said Reeve Collins, co-founder and CEO of Tether. "We know both GoCoin and its customers will find peace of mind now that they can achieve the low transaction costs of digital currency with the stability of dollars." About Tether Tether is disrupting the legacy financial system by offering a more modern approach to money. By introducing fiat currency to the Bitcoin blockchain, Tether has made a significant contribution to a more connected Bitcoin ecosystem and added Bitcoin benefits, such as price stability, to traditional currency. With a commitment to full transparency and compliance, Tether is the most secure, fast and low-cost way to transact with money. For more information, please visit https://tether.to . About GoCoin GoCoin is a global leader in blockchain payments and innovation. GoCoin honors Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Tether at checkout, and merchants can settle accounts in established fiat, including USD, GBP, Euros and now TetherUSD. Founded in July 2013, GoCoin has raised over $2 million in funding led by Cryptocurrency Partners LLP, Bitfury Finance Ltd. and Bitcoin Shop, Inc. ( OTCQB : BTCS ), and maintains offices in Singapore; London; Douglas, Isle of Man; and Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, please visit http://www.gocoin.com . || Is Bitcoin Speculative Foolery or a Financial Services Breakthrough?: While the Internet-based currency Bitcoin has been a big headline-grabber, I have always considered it to be more speculative foolery than transformative technology. But one of my fellow CNBC contributors,Brian Kelly-- a Bitcoin authority and author of the new book,The Bitcoin Big Bang-- convinced me to learn a bit more about it.
While I haven’t become a full-fledged Bitcoin believer, in speaking with Kelly and reading his book, I have come to appreciate the applications for the technology and believe that it may be useful in the future.
Here is some of what he says makes bitcoin a breakthrough for financial services and why he thinks that it is something that small business should pay more attention to.
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Roth: I’ve always thought that Bitcoin is a fad that will end badly. What am I missing?Kelly:The biggest thing that people miss is that Bitcoin is more than just a currency. There are two parts: Bitcoin with a small 'b' is the currency, while Bitcoin with a big 'B' is the revolutionary technology also known as “the blockchain.” The blockchain technology allows value transfer between two unknown parties without the use of a middleman -- this is the first time in the history of money that this has happened.
So, if the technology is the important part of bitcoin, how do you think Bitcoin will be embraced and used differently in the future?In my view, the Bitcoin technology will be the backbone of the financial system. People may be using Bitcoin and may not even realize it since it will simply be the infrastructure that the financial system runs on.
Do you think that small businesses can benefit from using bitcoin? If so, how?The small-business angle currently is a cost play. For example, with a company like BitPay, a small business that accepts bitcoin may be able to save $3,000 a month for every $100,000 in sales versus traditional payment systems, such as Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Square, etc.
You also say that bitcoin helps facilitate the globalization of small businesses. Can you speak more about that?Think about global small-business use in the context of international wire transfers. For example, I have a few contractors that reside in Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In order to pay their invoices, I would typically go to the bank, spend 30 minutes filling out paperwork, pay a big fee for the wire transfer and wait all day for confirmation. Additionally, there is a cost for the foreign currency exchange.
Related:Why Smart People Make Bad Entrepreneurs
Instead, now I pay in bitcoin. It costs me nothing, it arrives in seconds and there are no FX translation costs.
Bitcoin effectively removes the challenges of transacting business in differing currencies and allows for quick transactions that are lower in cost.
If a small business wants to get started using Bitcoin, what should it do first?The easiest way for a small business to start using Bitcoin is through a payment processor like Coinbase or BitPay. Coinbase has a very easy, user friendly button for websites; it is similar to adding a PayPal button to your website.
If you need an enterprise-level solution, then BitPay is a great choice; they can integrate with your current accounting system. BitPay just signed a deal with Microsoft to provide a bitcoin payment option.
What risks are there for small businesses using bitcoin?Right now, the biggest risk is the currency fluctuation, but most payment processors offer an immediate conversion to fiat (meaning a local currency, such as the U.S. dollar) which eliminates that risk. While I believe Bitcoin is not going away, entrepreneurs need to keep in mind that it is an emerging technology and just like the earlier Internet, it is bound to have a few hiccups.
Related:Never Hire a Honey Badger || New App Allows Seamless Bitcoin Investment: Pieter Gorsira is hoping to take some of the confusion out of investing in cryptocurrency by giving people a way to invest seemingly trivial parts of their income into bitcoin quickly, easily, and often without even thinking about it.
Gorsira is the man behind a new startup calledLawnmowerwhich is looking to help people save their ‘loose change' by investing in bitcoin.
A Little Off The Top
Lawnmower connects to a user's bank account and rounds each purchase up to a whole number and invests the extra cents in bitcoin.
For example, a purchase of $2.50 would result in Lawnmower taking the additional $0.50 and saving it. Once a user has at least $4.00 in savings, the app purchases a bitcoin.
Adding Up
The idea behind the appis to integrate saving and spending to make it easier for users to accumulate funds.
Not only does it promote saving, but it also allows people to expose themselves to bitcoin without making a huge commitment.
How It WorksThe company requires users to set up a Coinbase account, as the bitcoins are bought using that exchange, and is able to link to multiple bank accounts.
At the moment, Lawnmower is only in beta testing, but the company is hoping to use the feedback from current users to launch a comprehensive product to the general public soon.
Related Link:Cryptocurrency Finds A Place In Education With Smileycoin
While bitcoin has had a difficult year, scaring many users away with its volatility, Lawnmower claims users' small investments over time help mitigate some of that risk.
A New Market
While bitcoin has typically seen the most usage among the tech-savvy crowd, Lawnmower is hoping to find a new audience for the cryptocurrency.
The company believes that much of the general public is interested in bitcoin, but don't have the technological know-how to get involved.
Lawnmower removes some of those barriers and allows people who wouldn't otherwise invest dip their toe into the cryptocurrency pool.
See more from Benzinga
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• Cryptocurrency Finds A Place In Education With Smileycoin
• The Future Of Robots
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Morgan Spurlock Takes On Bitcoin: “Super Size Me” director Morgan Spurlock is using his own experience to explain the growing popularity ofbitcoinon aCNNdocumentary called "Inside Man."
The show is set to air February 19 at 21:00 ET and will showcase Spurlock’s difficulty using the cryptocurrency in everyday life.
Profiling Bitcoin
The episode will include Spurlock’s experience at mining firm CoinMiner, as well as his futile attempts to purchase everyday items using bitcoin.
In addition to his own experiences, the show will also include a detailed explanation of what bitcoin is and how the currency is mined, something many believe could help in expanding its adoption.
Daily Use Is Currently Futile
However, the program also underscores the lack of practical uses for bitcoin. Spurlock attempts to survive using only bitcoin and finds every day tasks, like buying a coffee, difficult.
While run-of-the-mill purchases are arduous, the episode points out that illegal and illicit activities are relatively simple using the dark web.
Related Link: Crytocurrencies May Be Down, But Blockchain Technology Is Still Hot
Challenges And Possibilities
Spurlock’s experience using bitcoin is expected to mirror the currency’s actual challenges— that mainstream use is hampered by mistrust, security concerns and volatility.
Despite that, an inside look at the currency’s driving technology is likely to help pique the interest of the masses. Blockchain, the ledger that bitcoin functions on, has been hailed by many as one of the most important inventions of the decade and although bitcoin may not succeed, blockchain is likely to continue growing and expanding.
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• How Long Can The Federal Government Ignore Marijuana Policy?
• The Mobile Payments Race Is On
• U.S. Military Drones Up For Sale
© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Solving Bitcoin's Scalability Problem: Bitcoin enthusiasts have long been working toward pushing the cryptocurrency into mainstream use to compete with paper money and credit card transactions.
However, now that new exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency are beginning to gain momentum as more of the public is takes an interest, many are wondering whether or not bitcoin will be able to handle a steep rise in transaction growth.
Blockchain Has Flaws
Although blockchain has been touted as one of the greatest technological advances of the decade, the ledger-like system does have limits.
Since each node of blockchain records every single transaction, the cost of running nodes will likely outweigh the benefits of using them if bitcoin grows into a mainstream payment method.
Most believe that bitcoin as it is now could not function as a payment platform on its own.
Filtering Out Necessary Information
Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja say their latest development, theBitcoin Lightning Network, can help.
The lightning network allows some transactions to take place off of the blockchain and broadcasts only the final, necessary transaction information to the entire blockchain.
Related Link:Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency?
The blockchain's ledger, accessible to everyone, would still have record of the transaction, but not any intermediary dealings that may have taken place.
A Work In Progress
The Bitcoin Lightning Network presents an exciting solution to bitcoin's scalability problems, but there are still several issues that need to be worked out before the network can be developed or considered as a viable way to do business.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Is Regulation A Help Or Hindrance To Bitcoin?: As more and more regulated exchanges dealing in cryptocurrency trade emerge, the question of whether or not regulation takes away from the allure of bitcoin has been raised by many of the digital currency's supporters. Central banks around the world are beginning to take notice of bitcoin and new restrictions could take away from the anonymity that many bitcoin enthusiasts enjoyed. Regulation Paves The Way For Adoption Most emerging exchanges believe that regulation is a key component in gaining mainstream popularity. For the average investor, putting money into a completely unregulated market could feel a bit like putting it all on black at the casino. Regulation and security makes dipping a toe into a new market feel more comfortable, especially with all of the negative publicity bitcoin has received in the past year. Bank Of England To Step In This month the UK treasury announced its own interests in the digital currency space, saying that new anti-money laundering rules would be put into place in order to protect the growing industry. Related Link: Nasdaq Backs Up Bitcoin-Based Exchange Small bitcoin-businesses cheered the proposal, saying that the rules would not only legitimize their industry in the eyes of the public, but that they will likely open banks' doors to startups dealing in digital currencies that are looking for small business loans. Regulations Dampen Innovation While most bitcoin supporters recognize that the cryptocurrency won't gain traction without some government intervention, many say it kills one of the best reasons to jump on board the bitcoin train. Rover Ver, who has been called the "Bitcoin Jesus" told Fortune that regulations weigh down innovation more than they build bitcoin up. Ver said he recognizes the importance of regulation in promoting mainstream adoption, but pointed out that digital currencies would move faster and further without the government's red tape. See more from Benzinga Study Shows Regulating Marijuana Sales May Be More Complicated Than Previously Thought Should You Add Craft Beer To Your Portfolio? Investors See A Silver Lining In Europe's Plain Packaging Laws © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Is There Room For Another Cryptocurrency?: On Wednesday, the introduction of LEOCoin made waves as many wondered if it would have enough momentum to compete with the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, bitcoin. The digital currency space has several different competitors, called "altcoins," but none have made as much of an impact of the UK's Learning Enterprises Organization's LEOCoin. What's The Big Deal? LEOCoin's unveiling was a game-changer for many cryptocurrency enthusiasts as the company launching the altcoin claims it already has enough support to make it the second largest cryptocurrency in the world after bitcoin. The Learning Enterprise Organization provides executive education services that span a wide range of industries and the firm says its rolodex of customers provided a great springboard for LEOCoin. Set to debut on April 2, LEOCoin is rumored to have 131,176 businesses already on board with using it. Related Link: Is Regulation A Help Or Hindrance To Bitcoin? What's The Difference? LEOCoin co-founder Dan Andersson says his cryptocurrency is based on newer technology than that which powers bitcoin. The advantage to using LEOCoin, Andersson claims, is the currency's ability to facilitate real-time transactions without any commission fees. He expects that bitcoin and LEOCoin will lead the digital currency market together in the coming years. What Does Bitcoin Have To Say? Some bitcoin enthusiasts believe that there are already too many altcoins on the market and say LEOCoin is just adding to the white noise in the cryptocurrency space. However, others believe that LEOCoin's introduction will be beneficial to the digital currency industry as a whole since its introduction could help push mainstream adoption. See more from Benzinga Financial Firms Like LearnVest And Robinhood Looking To Rope In Millennials U.S. Investors Look Abroad For Better Deals Here Come The Net Neutrality Lawsuits... © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitstamp Launches Trading From the Chart Powered by ChartIQ: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA--(Marketwired - Feb 18, 2015) - Bitstamp, one of the world's leading Bitcoin exchanges, has launched its new TradeView web-based trading platform, based on ChartIQ's advanced charting and trade-from-chart technology. The new platform allows traders to take their technical analysis directly in to action, executing orders from the chart itself. Both long and short limit orders can be placed with a click, including conditional "add if" orders to take profit at a specified level. "As a leader Bitcoin trading, we're committed to providing our traders a best-in-class experience," said Nejc Kodric, CEO of Bitstamp. "By partnering with ChartIQ, we were able to deliver a complete trading interface, including technical charting and trade execution, all built in HTML5. The ChartIQ technology was easy to customize and integrate in to our user experience." The new responsive HTML5 trading interface works seamlessly across desktop and touch devices, allowing traders to stay connected to the markets wherever they go. "Bitstamp is pushing the envelope of user experience in trading systems, bringing sleek, modern design and advanced functionality to the world of Bitcoin," Dan Schleifer, co-founder and CEO of ChartIQ said. "The new TradeView platform is a perfect example of what customers are building with our HTML5 charting technology ." The new trading platform is available immediately to all Bitstamp clients. New clients can register at bitstamp.com. About ChartIQ An extraordinary transformation in trading technology is underway. Mobile and social trading are overturning old models just as the Internet did over a decade ago. ChartIQ has developed charting software with mobile optimization, trading from the chart, and an advanced toolset geared towards technical traders. ChartIQ's products are available directly to investors, as well as being offered via white labeled solutions. About Bitstamp Bitstamp provides secure platform for exchanging bitcoins. Bitstamp has been serving Europe and the world since August 2011. The service continues be actively developed and improved. Bitstamp.net is service of Bitstamp d.o.o., established in Slovenia, EU.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
BTCTurk 768.89 TL BTCe 290.122 $ CampBx 287.15 $ BitStamp 292.90 $ Cavirtex 310.00 $ CEXIO 294.5 $ Bitcoin.de 281.74 € #Bitcoin #btc || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $91.46 #bitcoin #btc || Current price: 153.4£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-02-16 16:00:09 GMT || Sorpresivo repunte del #Bitcoin gana más de 12.00 USD precio al momento 291.53 USD pic.twitter.com/FToFediEO9 via @MundoVideo || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 22 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $774.80 #bitcoin #btc || current #bitcoin price (winkdex) is $242.44, last changed Fri, 10 Apr 2015 02:30:00 GMT. queried at: 02:33:13 || Bitfinex Prices
LAST: $246.00
BID: $245.72
ASK: $246.00
VOL: 36289.20 BTC
http://bit.ly/Cryptoticks || BTCTurk 745.36 TL BTCe 278.553 $ CampBx 302.00 $ BitStamp 284.16 $ Cavirtex 315.11 $ CEXIO 282.49 $ Bitcoin.de 268.88 € #Bitcoin #btc || I'm talking #Bitcoin at the @PrivacyPros #privacysummit during the 11:00 hour (Eastern). Weather permitting. || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 23 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.01 and $646.00 #bitcoin #btc
|
Trend: down || Prices: 222.88, 223.36, 222.60, 224.63, 235.27, 234.18, 236.46, 231.27, 226.39, 219.43
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-11-16]
BTC Price: 7871.69, BTC RSI: 67.04
Gold Price: 1277.40, Gold RSI: 48.80
Oil Price: 55.14, Oil RSI: 56.64
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
ECB's Constancio compares Bitcoin to Dutch tulip mania: By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bitcoin is not a currency but a mere instrument of speculation, the vice president of the European Central Bank said on Friday, comparing the digital currency to tulip bulbs during the 17th century trading bubble in the Netherlands. The dollar value of the Bitcoin has nearly trebled this year and, while its adoption has yet to pick up in a significant way, the rise of this cryptocurrency is worrying central bankers across the world. But ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio denied it posed a threat to monetary policy and compared its rise to the 'Tulip mania' seen three-hundred years ago. "Bitcoin is a sort of tulip," Constancio said at an ECB conference. "It's an instrument of speculation ... but certainly not a currency and we don't see it as a threat to central bank policy." The ECB said year last year digital currencies, which are generally issued by private companies and only exist in electronic form, could in principle erode its power over the supply of money, inviting European Union lawmakers to tighten proposed rules on the matter. Earlier this month, President Mario Draghi quashed an Estonian proposal to launch a government-backed cyrptocurrency, saying the only valid money in the euro zone was the euro. Last week, Chinese authorities ordered Beijing-based cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and immediately notify users of their closure, signaling a widening crackdown by authorities on the industry to contain financial risks. (Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Toby Chopra) || Saudi Prince Al-Waleed: Bitcoin Is 'Going to Implode': Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal sharply criticized bitcoin during an appearance on CNBC today, saying that he agrees with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon's assessment that the cryptocurrency is a "fraud."
"I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing," Al-Waleed said, according to a transcript published byCNBC. "I think it's just going to implode one day. It's Enron in the making."
When asked about the specific comparison between bitcoin and the infamous American energy company that fell apart in the early 2000s amid revelations of massive accounting fraud, Al-Waleed reiterated his position that he "just [doesn't] believe in bitcoin completely."
Al-Waleed went on to say:
"It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any federal – elect – United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode."
It was then that Al-Waleed – a Saudi royal family member who, as head of the Kingdom Holding Company, has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion – said he agreed with Dimon, who issued the now-infamous remark last month that he believes that bitcoin "is a fraud."
Dimon – whose bank is a backer of blockchain-related initiatives like the Enterprise Ethereum Foundation – has sincedoubled downon those remarks, predicting that governments would begin targeting the cryptocurrency.
Image via CBS/YouTube
• Mark Cuban-Backed Unikrn Raises $31 Million in E-Sports Token Sale
• Prepping for a Pullback? Bitcoin Price Drops Below $6,000
• Quiet Surge: Bitcoin Price Sets New High Above $6,000
• Bitcoin Stumbles Near New High But $5k Still in Play || Bitcoin Sets New Record as Price Tops $7,000: [Update: Bitcoin's price passed $7,000 soon after 10:00 UTC, and has reached a record high of $7,034.14 so far today.]
Another day, another record...
Bitcoin prices have continued to climb overnight, building on consecutive highs in recent days and ultimately reaching a new all-time high close to $7,000.
At 07:00 UTC, bullish bitcoin trading saw the cryptocurrency soar to a peak of $6,994.01, having opened the session at $6,750. At press time, the price of a bitcoin is $6,939, according to CoinDesk'sBitcoin Price Index– a 2.8 percent gain for the day so far.
As perCoinMarketCap, bitcoin is up over 20.56 percent for the last 7 days, and its market capitalization has now peaked at over $116 billion.
Elsewhere in the markets, newly created cryptocurrency bitcoin cash (BCH) is again making significant gains, trading at around $546. BCH has risen 13.63 percent over the last 24 hours, and an astonishing 62.16 percent over the last 7 days.
The combined market cap for all cryptocurrencies is again at record highs, sitting at $188.5 billion at press time.
Hot-air ballooonimage via Shutterstock
• Bitcoin's Price Climbs Above $6,600 to Reach New Market High
• Bright Futures: Bitcoin Climbs on CME News, But Is $7,000 in Sight?
• Bitcoin Cash Outlook Improves as Traders Greet New Code Release
• Bitcoin Price Hits New High Above $6,500 || Bitcoin Is Now Bigger Than Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley: Released after the financial crisis to potentially supplant the banking powers that be, bitcoin has finally beaten Wall Street -- at least in one respect.
Thanks to a surge in optimism surrounding the cryptocurrency, the price of bitcoin shot as high as $5,855 early Friday, up 96% since news that China wasbanning local cryptocurrency exchangesbroke mid-September.
But what’s more interesting than the new high is that bitcoin’s rally has driven the value of all tokens currently in circulation up to $97 billion, according to Cryptocurrency Market Capitalizations. That’s higher than even the market capitalizations of Wall Street giants Morgan Stanley($89 billion) and ($93 billion). Both banks havepaid penaltiesinrelationto the 2008 financial crisis.
Bitcoin has since pared back some of its gains, falling to about $5,600, or a market capitalization of about $93 billion. Though that still puts bitcoin within striking distance of $6,000 -- at which point bitcoin would reach a market cap of $100 billion.
As lore goes, the pseudonymous founder of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, released a concept for the cryptocurrency as a decentralized system with no central authority following the 2008 financial crisis. It was in this atmosphere of rising anti-establishment sentiment that Nakamoto proposed a version of “electronic cash” that would “allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”
Still, since then, the story of bitcoin has not panned out as one of institutions versus cryptocurrencies. Banks such as Goldman are said to beweighing bitcoin operations, while Fidelity is mining Ethereum, another digital currency. The head of theInternational Monetary Fund, Managing Director Christine Lagarde, recently said Bitcoincould be the future one day. At the same time,many banks and tech giantsare testing blockchain, the technology underlying bitcoin.
The market capitalization of all 1,165 cryptocurrencies currently being tracked by Cryptocurrency Market Capitalizations, including bitcoin, has reached $179 billion.
That means bitcoin still has a ways to go before reaching the valuations of other banking giants with a larger consumer presence such as Citigroup($198 billion), Bank of America($270 billion), Wells Fargo($275 billion), and the largest of the large, J.P. Morgan Chase($340 billion).
This is part ofFortune'snew initiative,The Ledger,a trusted news source at the intersection of tech and finance. For more onThe Ledger,click here.
See original article on Fortune.com
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• You Can Buy Citizenship To This Island Nation For Only 44 Bitcoin || Tap Nvidia Growth Story With These Tech ETFs: After the closing bell yesterday, Nvidia NVDA reported stronger-than-expected fiscal 2018 third-quarter results. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for both the top and the bottom line and issued an upbeat guidance. This pushed NVDA shares up 2.5% in after-hours trading on elevated volume (read: 7 Top-Ranked Tech ETFs on Unstoppable Rally).Q3 Earnings in DetailEarnings per share came in at $1.33, crushing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 94 cents and improving 60% from the year-ago quarter. Revenues climbed 32% year over year to $2.64 billion and edged past our estimate of $2.36 billion.The performance was powered by a boom in the datacenter and gaming business lines. Datacenter revenues more than doubled to $501 million, while gaming sales increased 25% to $1.56 billion. Notably, gaming remains the company's biggest moneymaker and the largest segment, accounting for 59% of total revenues.For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, NVIDIA expects revenues of approximately $2.65 billion (+/-2%). The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $2.44 billion. Going into the holiday season, the videogame maker’s drive to launch new, sophisticated games is fueling demand for gaming GPUs or graphics processing units (read: Take-Two, Activision Pushes Videogame ETF Higher).A Solid Growth StoryNVIDIA is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution with its combination of deep learning, software algorithms and powerful GPUs. As per Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, “Nvidia’s GPU deep learning platform is the instrument of choice for researchers, Internet giants and startups as they invent the future.” With exceptional growth in its AI revolution, it wouldn’t be surprising if the graphics chipmaker soon becomes the industry leader.Additionally, the company is rapidly capturing the data center market as almost all the major computing service providers, including Amazon AMZN, Facebook FB, Alphabet GOOGL, International Business Machines IBM, Microsoft MSFT, Alibaba BABA, Baidu BIDU and Tencent TCEHY are using Nvidia GPUs.Further, the graphic chipmaker has expanded its reach in automobiles for self-driving cars. Growing interest in cryptocurrency mining is also giving a boost to the company’s prospects (read: ETFs Riding High On Bitcoin Surge).Currently, Nvidia has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). It has a Growth Style Score of B and a solid Zacks Industry Rank in the top 3%.ETFs to BuyInvestors might want to capitalize on Nvidia’s growth and the upcoming surge in its share price with lesser risk in the form of ETFs. For these investors, we have highlighted five tech ETFs, with a higher allocation to this graphics chipmaker, which have the potential to be big movers in the coming days:iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF SOXXThis ETF offers exposure to 30 U.S. companies that design, manufacture and distribute semiconductors by tracking the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index. Out of these, NVDA takes the third spot with 8.3% allocation. The fund has amassed $1.3 billion in its asset base and charges a fee of 48 bps a year. It trades in a solid volume of 484,000 shares and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a High risk outlook (read: Best ETFs & Stocks from October's Top Performing Sector).AdvisorShares New Tech and Media ETF FNGThis is an actively managed ETF designed to invest in companies that are driving economic growth in the modern era, and can adapt to changing leadership by maintaining the ability to invest in the next generation of technology and media companies leading the equity markets. It seeks to provide a similar return stream to the performance of technology and media equity leaders as characterized by the FANG stocks acronym. This approach results in a basket of 25 stocks with Nvidia occupying the second position, holding 8.3%. FNG debuted in the space in July and has amassed $36.6 million in its asset base. It comes with a high expense ratio of 0.85%. Volume is light at 61,000 shares.Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZThis product seeks to invest in companies that potentially stand to benefit from increased adoption and utilization of robotics and AI, including those involved with industrial robotics and automation, non-industrial robots, and autonomous vehicles. It tracks the Indxx Global Robotics & Artificial Intelligence Thematic Index and holds 29 stocks in its basket with Nvidia taking the top position with 8.1% share. BOTZ has AUM of $1.2 billion and trades in average dialy volume of 715,000 shares. It charges 68 bps in annual fees (read: Inside the Rise of Thematic ETFs).VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF SMHThis is one of the popular and liquid ETFs in the semiconductor space with AUM of $1.3 billion and average daily volume of more than 3.2 million. The fund provides exposure to 26 global securities by tracking the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. NVIDIA occupies the third position with 5.6% of assets. While United States firms dominate the fund’s holdings with 78.5% assets, Taiwan (10.6%), the Netherlands (9.1%) and Bermuda (1.8%) round off the top four in terms of country exposure. The fund charges an expense ratio of 0.36%. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a High risk outlook.PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Fund PSIThis fund tracks the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index, which evaluates companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value. It holds 30 securities in the basket, with NVIDIA occupying the fourth position, holding 5.1%. PSI has AUM of $385.3 million and charges 63 bps in annual fees. It trades in volume of 82,000 shares per day on average and has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 with a High risk outlook.Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportInternational Business Machines Corporation (IBM) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAmazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAlibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportBaidu, Inc. (BIDU) : Free Stock Analysis ReportFacebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTencent Holding Ltd. (TCEHY) : Free Stock Analysis ReportAlphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis ReportMicrosoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportISHARS-PHLX SEM (SOXX): ETF Research ReportsPWRSH-DYN SEMI (PSI): ETF Research ReportsVANECK-SEMICON (SMH): ETF Research ReportsNVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis ReportADVS-NW TEC MDA (FNG): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report || Bitcoin's Price Keeps Rising, But Is $6,000 in Reach?: Bitcoin hit a new record high of $5,856 on CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index this morning, but the question everyone will be asking is, can the rally continue?
At press time, bitcoin is trading at $5,610 levels, as perCoinMarketCapdata. Bitcoin's week-on-week performance of over 28 percent (up more than $1,200,) is double S&P's year-to-date gains of 14 percent.
Further, the cryptocurrency is up 96 percent from its Sept. 15 low of $2,980, and, on a year-to-date basis, is up almost 500 percent.
Following a rally of such astonishing proportions, it would be quite logical to assume bitcoin prices will trade sideways, or witness a healthy pull-back in the short run
The price action analysis indicates that bitcoin could find a short-term top in the range of $5,800-$6,000.
The daily chart shows that:
• Bitcoin's price suffers a corrective pull back every time the stochastic and the relative strength index (RSI) signal overbought conditions (marked by hand sign and red circles on the chart). The stochastic oscillator is a chart analysis indicator that helps determine where a trend might be ending.
• The trend line drawn from the July 16 low and Aug. 22 low and extended further is seen offering resistance around $6,100 levels.
• Though overbought, the RSI is still rising. Meanwhile, the stochastic is looking to retreat from the overbought territory.
• A technical correction would gather pace once the RSI starts losing altitude.
View
• A short-term consolidation around $5,800 or brief spike to $6,000 followed by a short-term pull back to $5,000-$5,300 looks more likely.
Roller coasterimage via Shutterstock
• $5,800: Bitcoin Price Sets New Record
• Rally Restored? Bitcoin Is Up 75 Percent from 30-Day Lows
• Why HODLing Is Hobbling Bitcoin's Prospects as a Common Currency
• $5,200: Bitcoin Buoyant as Price Sets New All-Time High || The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: ARK Web x.0 ETF, ARK Innovation ETF and iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF: For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 16, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog includeincludingARK Web x.0 ETFARKW – Free Report),ARK Innovation ETFARKK – Free Report) andiShares PHLX Semiconductor ETFSOXX – Free Report).
Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.
Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:
ETFs Riding High on Bitcoin Surge
After being hurt by regulatory crackdowns in China and Russia, and criticism from major Wall Street leaders last month, bitcoin regained its astronomical surge in recent sessions. The cryptocurrency skyrocketed from below $3,000 to a new high of above $5,900 today in less than a month, representing nearly 500% surge this year. For the week, bitcoin is up more than 30%.
With this, the total market capitalization of the digital currency reached $97 billion and accounts for more than 55% of the total cryptocurrencies market.
Most of the rally was driven by investors’ enthusiasm in receiving the offshoot coins from a scheduled split in November. In early August, the split of the digital currency into bitcoin and bitcoin cash resulted in an equal amount of new coin to investors. Additionally, the speculation of resuming bitcoin trading in China by licensing exchanges for cryptocurrencies is lending further strength. Moreover, strong demand from Japan and rising institutional investor interest continue to push up the price of bitcoin.
Meanwhile, reports of Goldman Sachs exploring a bitcoin trading operation have kept the space buoyant. If this wasn’t enough, bitcoin is gradually becoming a safe-haven currency as tensions between North Korea and the United Stated as well as political crisis in Spain's Catalonia region has spurred a rally in the digital currency (read: Bitcoin Update: Goldman Trading & ETF Filings).
The trend is likely to continue with most researchers and analysts giving bullish calls. The former Fortress Investment Group manager, Michael Novogratz, sees bitcoin price to rise over $10,000 in the next six to 10 months, largely because of heavy investor interest. Going forward, many analysts believe a better and mature regulatory environment will be a huge boon to the digital currency, leading to an increased investment in the booming cryptocurrency with a growing number of retail investors.
Investors seeking to ride the surge and increased optimism surrounding cryptocurrency should invest in ETFs. Though none of the filled bitcoin ETFs have received approval until now, the popularity and success of bitcoin is driving the following ETFs.
ARK Web x.0 ETF(ARKW – Free Report)
ARKW is the first ETF to add bitcoin to its roster. This is an actively managed fund focusing on companies that are expected to benefit from the shift in technology infrastructure to the cloud, enabling mobile, new and local services. The fund holds 43 stocks in its basket with none holding more than 6.3% share. The ETF has amassed $103.5 million in its asset base and trades in a lower average daily volume of around 52,000 shares. The expense ratio comes in at 0.75%. The ETF is up 66.2% in the year-to-date time frame (see: all the Technology ETFs here).
ARK Innovation ETF(ARKK – Free Report)
This is also an actively managed fund focusing on companies that are expected to benefit from the development of new products or services, technological improvement and advancements in genomic revolution, Web x.0 and industrial innovation. The fund holds 54 stocks in its basket, with each holding no more than 6% share. It has AUM of $178.8 million and trades in a moderate average daily volume of around 73,000 shares. The product charges 75 bps in annual fees and has gained 74.2% so far this year.
iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF(SOXX – Free Report)
Semiconductor ETFs are gaining from rising demand of cryptocurrency mining, which needs the usage of semiconductors. SOXX follows the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and offers exposure to 30 firms with none holding more than 8.25% of assets. The fund has amassed $1.3 billion in its asset base and trades in a solid average volume of around 502,000 shares a day. It charges 48 bps in fees a year from investors and has surged 34.7% so far this year. It has a Zacks ETF Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with a High risk outlook (read: 5 Winning ETF Strategies for Q4).
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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportISHARS-PHLX SEM (SOXX): ETF Research ReportsARK- WEB XO ETF (ARKW): ETF Research ReportsARK-INNOVATION (ARKK): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || MORGAN STANLEY: Disney's new streaming service could be worth $25 billion (DIS): shanghai disney Aly Song/Reuters Disney's streaming services could grow to 30 million subscribers by 2028, valuing it at $25 billion. The direct-to-consumer streaming service could generate $5 billion in revenue. Click here to get a live stock price for Disney. Disney ’s new streaming service could draw in 30 million subscribers in the next 10 years, valuing it at $25 billion, according to a Morgan Stanley note. The company is poised to make a significant reach into the 1 billion global pay-TV household market, given its exclusive rights to new films, large library offerings, and a share of Netflix’s subscriber growth, which Morgan Stanley forecasts to be 10% to 12% in 2028. Back in August, Disney announced it was ending its exclusive Netflix deal in 2019 in favor starting up its own streaming service. If, and when, Disney hits 30 million subscribers, the streaming service could generate $5 billion in revenue and roughly $1.5 billion of EBITDA, culminating in a $20 billion to $25 billion asset. “Disney's brands and content depth and breadth give it a unique opportunity among existing content producers to build a large global customer base in a direct to consumer streaming model,” Benjamin Swinburne, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, wrote. Its competitive advantage over other direct-to-consumer streaming businesses is its well-known brands (especially Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars), and its track record of both a good quality content and a good quantity of content that is sure to support its offerings, Swinburne says. However, he notes that the market's view of Disney is that it "has not proven any core competency" compared to its peers, and how it deals with technology, customer service and marketing has yet to be tested. Investors are also wary of Disney's decision to pull out of its exclusive movie deal with Netflix in 2019, further harming the company's potential of tapping into Netflix's vast subscriber base. Story continues Disney shares are down 0.35% at $97.70. To read more about why Disney's stock is having a tough time, click here. Disney stock price Markets Insider NOW WATCH: $6 TRILLION INVESTMENT CHIEF: Bitcoin is a bubble See Also: 'Psychologically scarred' millennials are killing countless industries from napkins to Applebee's — here are the businesses they like the least Bitcoin just hit an all-time high — here's how you buy and sell it 20 must-have tech accessories under $20 SEE ALSO: Traders are betting billions against Disney || eBay Inc (EBAY) Q3 Adjusted Earnings in Line With Expectations: eBay Inc (NASDAQ: EBAY ) reported on its latest quarter late Wednesday. eBay Inc (EBAY) Source: Mike Knell via Flickr DON’T USE OLD LOGO For its third quarter, the online auction giant said it earned $514 million , or 48 cents per share, while non-GAAP earnings were also 48 cents per share. Analysts were calling for profit of 48 cents per share. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips Revenue was also similar to what the Wall Street consensus estimate called for as eBay raked in $2.4 billion in sales versus an outlook of $2.37 billion. The figure was a 9% improvement compared to the year-ago period. The company added that its gross merchandise volume (GMV) amounted to $21.7 billion, most of which came from eBay’s Marketplace platforms. The company has geared a large portion of its technology and marketing efforts towards this segment, which brought in $20.5 billion of GMV and $1.9 billion of revenue. “In Q3, we drove acceleration across all three of our platforms, delivering strong top and bottom line financial results and our fastest volume growth in over three years,” said eBay CEO Devin Wenig. “Our customers are responding to the significant product enhancements we have been making, and this is reflected in our results.” The company also said it added 2 million active buyers across its platforms, now reaching 168 million. For its fourth quarter, eBay predicts it will rake in $2.58 billion and $2.62 billion in revenue, while earnings are slated to be between 57 and 59 cents per share on an adjusted basis. EBAY stock rose 1.3% during regular trading hours, but the earnings call unveiled after the bell saw shares fall 5.4%. More From InvestorPlace 5 Bitcoin Stocks to Buy for Low-Risk Cryptocurrency Profits 7 Stocks to Buy Before the Holidays Kroger Co Stock Has Way More Upside Than You Think The post eBay Inc (EBAY) Q3 Adjusted Earnings in Line With Expectations appeared first on InvestorPlace . || Fidelity CEO Abigail Johnson says the company is mining cryptocurrencies: Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest investment firms with $2.3 trillion in managed assets, is taking a long look at cryptocurrencies. The firm has been experimenting internally with bitcoin, but is now bringing some of those features out to its broad customer base. According to reports in Quartz and The Financial Times , Fidelity's chief executive, Abigail Johnson, spoke at length about the company's commitment to cryptocurrency at Consensus, a bitcoin-themed conference in New York. Johnson said that the company had made several venture investments in bitcoin-related businesses and that the company was looking at applications of blockchain technologies alongside several leading universities. According to Quartz, Fidelity has also set up a small mining operation inside the asset manager -- one that's making money for the company. From Quartz : One of Fidelity’s projects is mining bitcoin and ethereum, which Johnson said was started for educational purposes, but now turns a tidy profit. “We set up a small bitcoin and ethereum mining operation…that miraculously now is actually making a lot of money,” she said. The FT reported that the company had bought its mining hardware from the now-pivoted 21 Inc. (whose chief executive appeared onstage at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference in San Francisco last week). Johnson, herself is a huge proponent of the digital currency and has mined roughly 200,000 satoshis, according to the FT report. Beyond the firm's internal work, it's also now making cryptocurrency balances visible on the Fidelity website for customers that hold an account with Coinbase -- one of the world's biggest trading and storage service providers for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin is now trading at around $4,200 coming off of a few recent price shocks related to a regulatory crackdown in China on cryptocurrencies. Fidelity becomes one of the largest financial services firm to speak publicly about its cryptocurrency operations, even as most of the large banks have begun experimenting with bitcoin, ethereum and other blockchain-based protocols internally. Story continues Indeed, even as J.P. Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon was publicly decrying Bitcoin on CNBC, his company's traders were buying shares of an exchange traded fund that tracks cryptocurrencies. We see you @jpmorgan $btc pic.twitter.com/tDSVLNHnmi — I am Nomad (@IamNomad) September 15, 2017 Meanwhile, James Gorman, the chief executive of Morgan Stanley, said that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were certainly " more than just a fad. " Applications for blockchain technologies extend far beyond financial services, but the hope of return from investing bitcoin as a speculative store of value has been at the heart of the boom in cryptocurrencies for at least the past two years. Related Video:
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Unfortunately, our entire system has devolved into a free-for-all. From ZIRP to Bitcoin to a reality tv star as our President. Anarchy... || I added a video to a @YouTube playlist http://youtu.be/YcS92TqHDsQ?a BITCOIN 2017-2025 ANALYSIS || #Putin Tells Central Bank Not to Create Barriers to #Cryptocurrencies || BITCOIN SPLIT: Whilst many Wall Street names are sceptical about Bitcoin, there are several key figures in support. http://ow.ly/F6FU30fJkX1 || (+) Technical Analysis: Ripple and Bitcoin Rise More as BTC Dominance is Back https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/technical-analysis-ripple-bitcoin-rise-btc-dominance-back/ … || Stick it up to core. Let the silent majority show them what Bitcoin is truly supposed to be. || Daily #bitcoin volatility for 2017-8-Oct #botspic.twitter.com/8SYlixIZ8A || How To Buy #Bitcoin Anywhere in The World (Ultimate Guide) http://dld.bz/fs4rD #cryptocurrencypic.twitter.com/xB3ogjBbV5 || $4374.99 at 00:15 UTC [24h Range: $4216.00 - $4391.99 Volume: 7309 BTC] || I have found my HXT coin account with Bitcoin but i couldn't buy since 3days, please help me get this right.
|
Trend: up || Prices: 7708.99, 7790.15, 8036.49, 8200.64, 8071.26, 8253.55, 8038.77, 8253.69, 8790.92, 9330.55
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-07-24]
BTC Price: 2754.86, BTC RSI: 58.52
Gold Price: 1253.90, Gold RSI: 59.97
Oil Price: 46.34, Oil RSI: 52.77
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Breaks $3,000, Continuing Epic Bull Run: The cryptocurrency bitcoin has continued its stunning run-up, briefly surpassing the $3,000 threshold early Saturday afternoon.
That’s according to theCoinDeskBitcoin Price Index, though competing index CoinMarketCap calculated the peak exchange rate at just a few cents short of $3,000 (bitcoin prices vary across exchanges, so different formulas can arrive at different exchange rates.)
The new peak continues a surge that began in earnest in early May, when a bitcoin was worth nearly $1,400. And it flies in the face of a widening consensus that the cryptocurrency market is in a bubble.
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That was Mark Cuban’s takelast Tuesday, but the technology’s own central figures beat him to the punch by warning about overly inflated prices from the stage at the Consensus blockchain conference in May. And when he saw disgruntled attendees turned away from the overbooked Token Summit conference,Fortune’sRobert Hackettsaw bubble written all over the bitcoin market.
Most observers, including Cuban, have by now accepted that blockchain technology, a promising innovation in data security based on shared ledgers, has huge potential for tracking assets and information in fields from supply chain management to health records. But the price of bitcoin is currently based in large part on speculation about growing adoption and innovative future applications. That’s even more true for parallel cryptocurrencies and blockchain systems like Ethereum, Dash, and Litecoin, which are mostly rising in tandem with bitcoin.
But a speculation-driven market is also an emotionally fragile market. If sentiment swings, it may swing quickly, and cause a lot of bitcon’s value to evaporate. || Chinese fighter jets pulled an 'unsafe' close pass near a US Navy plane over the South China Sea: (J-10s fly in formation at an air show.Xinhuanet)
Chinese fighter jets have once again engaged in "unsafe and unprofessional" behavior around a US Navy plane flying over the contested South China Sea,ABC News reports.
The US Navy plane was reportedly a P-3 Orion, which is used for maritime surveillance.
China has built and militarized artificial islands in the South China Sea and frequently asserts its sovereignty over the land features despite an international court ruling against its claims.
Recently, the USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer,contested China's claimsin the South China Sea by sailing past the Mischief Reef, one of China's militarized islands.
The US intends to bring this incident up with Chinese authorities at the next opportunity, according to ABC.
This incident is similar toanother occurrenceearlier in May, when a Chinese jet reportedly flipped over and flew upside down about 150 feet above a US Air Force WC-135.
(Reuters)
NOW WATCH:The US's most advanced missile system is operational in South Korea — and it has China and Russia alarmed
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• Here's who would win if Russia, China, and America all went to war right now
• Bitcoin blew past its record and soared to $2,800 in just a few hours — and now it's plunging
• South Korea requires all males to serve in the military — here's what it's like || Bitcoin Poised to End Week off Weekly Highs Despite Expectations of Indian Adoption: The price of Bitcoin is set to end the week below the week’s highest level as investors in the virtual currency remained reluctant to place their funds into it in the wake of a recent $900 crash. Rumors of a possible adoption of Bitcoin in India resulted in little to no effect on the price of the digital currency today, but is expected to have a wider effect in the weeks to come.
After almost touching $3,000, the Bitcoin price crashed to $2,120 last week. The digital currency then quickly recovered to $2,789 by Wednesday, but volatility remained high as the price moved in a range of almost $150 over the past two days. This volatility prompted experts to reiterate warnings of the bubble behavior that Bitcoin has been displaying in recent months, which is attributed to a frenzy of speculations that pushed the Bitcoin price more than 200% this year.
Among those wary of Bitcoin’s rapid gains is Peter Denious, one of the main venture capitalists inAberdeen Asset Management.In a recent interview, Denious said that Bitcoin is pushed higher by a gold rush mentality that took over the market, which is likely to lead to huge losses of investments.
His concerns along with others have worked against allowing Bitcoin to break the $2,800 level this week, despite easily storming past it last week. Reports that pointed to a possible legalization of the virtual currency in India failed to lead it higher as investors preferred to remain cautious.
India has seen a huge rise in demand for Bitcoin over the last year, but the country continues to offer no legal framework for digital currencies to operate within. However, lawmakers in India might be in talks of changing the government’s stance on Bitcoin to with the goal of regulating the currency. The Ministry of Finance formed a committee in April to examine the existing framework surrounding virtual currencies and provide suggestions for how to improve consumer protection and limit money laundering.
The committee’s findings and recommendations will be submitted to the ministry by the end of July. This has stoked anticipation of a possible adoption of Bitcoin in India, especially after the Indian government opened a public discussion of the issue on its official online forum.
A government official said that the probability of banning Bitcoin is low, however he also added that legalizing the virtual currency remains unlikely. Speculations on the committee’s recommendations are expected to influence the Bitcoin price in the coming weeks.
BTC/USD closed the week at 2,579 on theBitstamp exchangeafter moving within a range between 2,688.9 and 2,743.9. BTC/USD started the day at 2,708.3, while for the week the pair began trading at 2,633.9.
This post was originally published byEarnForex
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Market Snapshot – Markets Move Towards Tepid Close || Apple still 'major player' in the voice assistant race, says Siri creator, who is now helping Samsung: Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL)is still a "major player" in the voice assistant space with Siri, one of the technology's co-creators told CNBC on Friday, despite the U.S. technology giant receiving criticism for falling behind rivals Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN)and Google.Adam Cheyer was one of the people behind Siri which was acquired by Apple in 2010. Since then, Cheyer has created a next generation voice assistant called Viv which wasacquiredby Samsung(Korea Stock Exchange: 593-KR)in 2016. Viv is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung with the South Korean titan looking to integrate the technology into future products.Voice assistants have become the next battleground for technology giants. Amazon's Alexa, which is in products such as itsEcho home speaker, is perceived to be the leader, while Google Assistant is gaining traction.But Apple has beenslatedfor not keeping up with the competition."In our view Apple's Siri has developed little since it was first introduced in 2011. It has brought the concept of voice-led services to the consumer mindset but has fast gone from leader to laggard in the application of this form of technology in our view," Neil Campling, head of technology, media and telecom research at Northern Trust Capital Markets, told CNBC by email on Friday.
Cheyer, however, said Apple is still very much in the game but the ultimate winner will be the company that can turn their voice assistant into a technology across multiple devices."I am very proud of what we accomplished to initially take this new paradigm and bring it out to hundreds of millions of people. I think Apple is doing good work and is still a major player in this race," Cheyer told CNBC in a TV interview on Friday."What's going to matter is which companies can elevate an assistant from where it is today, a utility … to be this ubiquitous paradigm and I think Apple and everyone else is in the game and it will be great for consumers no matter who wins."Of course, Cheyer is making a rival product to Apple's Siri for Samsung. He was tightlipped on the product roadmap, however. Samsung's latest phone, the Galaxy S8 has an artificial intelligence assistant built in called Bixby. It allows user to not only speak to it, but to hold their camera up to landmarks or items in order to call up information about them.Bixby is reportedly built on Samsung's own technology and not Viv's, but the two are likely to integrate."We are working on a next generation assistant and we will deliver it through Samsung's devices, perhaps under the Bixby brand eventually but also to other interfaces," Cheyer said.The plan is to try and get Viv's technology across a number of devices,not just smartphones, but also home appliances and other gadgets."Right now there is a race to the single interface where all of the big companies Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and now Samsung are trying to make the assistant the next paradigm like the browser, like the smartphone, you'll have an assistant to help you in your lives," Cheyer said, explaining the company's ambition.Amazon has made a similar play. Earlier in the year it announced plans to bring Alexa to LG refrigerators and even Huawei's Mate 9 smartphone. It's an attempt to create a new way to interact with devices. And there is big money involved. A recent research note from RBC Capital Markets suggested that Alexa could bring the U.S. e-commerce giant $10 billion of revenues by 2020 and be a "mega-hit".Viv has similar ambitions and plans to open the platform up to developers so they can make apps and find other uses for the voice assistant."You will be able to do everything you do for computing through an assistant interface," Cheyer said.
—Correction - This story was updated to fix a typo and show Viv is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung.
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• Bitcoin may hit $4,000 by the end of the year: Analyst || Bitcoin Is Twice as Valuable as Gold Right Now: A single bitcoin is now roughly twice as valuable as an ounce of gold. The most recent flurry of buying helped send the price of bitcoin up over $2,600 in trading Friday, while the value of gold has stayed at about $1,267 per ounce. Bitcoins value has since pared its gains, and traded at about $2,433 midday Friday. Just two months ago, bitcoin only just inched above the value of gold . The surge comes as the cryptocurrency gains legitimacy in countries such as Japan, and Chinese regulators look to be growing more tolerant of bitcoin . Despite bitcoins volatility, some investors have also come to see the currency as a good place to store funds in times of geopolitical uncertainty. Gold, too, is known to be a safe haven asset -- investors buy the precious metal when turmoil looks just around the bend. But while gold has risen 10% this year, bitcoin has risen 153%. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com This Banking Giant Says Take Hold of Gold in 2017 Gold Hits Highest Level of Trump Presidency The 5 Best Gold and Energy Stocks for 2017 The Stock Market Just Voted for Hillary Clinton for President This 18-Karat Gold Toilet Is Now Open For Public Use || Everything to Know About Today’s Worldwide Ransomware Attack: Meet the sequel toWannaCry, the wide-ranging ransomware attack that crippled businesses around the globe last month.
On Tuesday, another widespreadransomware attackbegan halting unprepared businesses in their tracks. The new attack uses the same method of propagation as WannaCry: A leaked hacking tool called Eternal Blue, which has been linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.
One of the major differences between the two attacks is that the most recent event does not yet appear to be susceptible to a hardcoded “kill switch.” That means it may prove harder to overcome.
Security experts have been warning organizations that failed to apply security patches to their Windows-based computer systems that it was only a matter of time before another digital siege surfaced. It seems their predictions have borne true.
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A wave of ransomware attacks spread like wildfire on Tuesday. Many Microsoft Windows-based computers--specifically, ones not protected against a vulnerability in a Microsoft messaging protocol called SMB-1--began seizing up worldwide, locking employees out of their desktops, and displaying ransom notes.
Unable to access their files and folders, workers and managers were greeted by on-screen demands for payment of $300 in Bitcoin, a digital currency often used by cyber extortionists because it’s easy to send and hard to track.
The attack struck organizations in the U.S., Italy, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Costin Raiu, director of global research at Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs, posted a bar graph on Twitter showing the geographic distribution of victims, according to what his firm could measure. (Kaspersky’s customer base skews towards Russian-speaking countries, which might explain the spread.)
Some of theaffected companies include Maersk, the Danish shipping giant, Rosneft, the Russian oil company, WPP, the British advertising agency, and , the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. There are reports that the attack has also affected banks, hospitals, governments, airports, and other organizations.
Initial analyses suggested that the latest wave of attacks involved malware based on Petya, a type of ransomware that first surfaced last year. Further investigations have disputed this analysis. In lieu of a better name, some cybersecurity firms, such as Kaspersky, have begun referring to the latest malware as “NotPetya.”
Jeremiah Grossman, chief security strategist at the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, toldFortunethere isn’t enough evidence yet to uncover the malware’s provenance. “This outbreak has similar characteristics as Petya, such as infecting the MBR [Master Boot Record, an important component of Microsoft computer hard drives] and encrypting the entire drive, however, it is not clear yet that this is a Petya variant,” he said.
Companies that failed to patch their systems against the Microsoft vulnerability were open to this attack. It’s still not clear what the initial attack vector was. But once inside, the worm could spread across computer networks via the hole in Microsoft SMB-1.
It seems that many of the organizations affected by the malwareoperatedindustrial systems. These machines can be hard to patch because they run critical processes are difficult to take offline.“Organizations like these typicallyhave a hard time patching all of their machines because so many systems simply cannot have down time,” said Chris Wysopal, cofounder and chief tech officer of Veracode, an application security firm purchased by CA Technologies earlier this year.
There are a few simple steps businesses can take, as the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks explains on its“threat brief” blog. First, apply Microsoft patchMS17-010. Second, block connections to Microsoft Windows’ port 445, the part of the operating system associated with the vulnerable protocol. And finally, maintain regular data backups, and use them to restore systems.
This is a continual source of debate in the information security community. The general belief is, no, you should not pay the ransom. For one, there’s no guarantee extortionists will return your files. Second, funding cybercriminals will encourage them to develop similar attacks in the future.
Still, sometimes companies take a gamble and pay up in the hopes that the criminals will restore access to their files and information. In this case, it appears as though customers will not be able to reclaim their data even if they do pay up. Posteo, the email service chosen by the attackers, said it blocked the account they created, meaning the extortionists have lost their channel to communicate with victims and hand over decryption keys. Despite this, the attackers’ Bitcoin wallet had already received 28 transactions equaling 3 Bitcoins, or more than $7,000, as of 3 P.M. ET on Tuesday.
See original article on Fortune.com
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• This Ukrainian Company Is Likely Behind the Ransomware Wave
• Tuesday's Massive Cyber Attacks Hit U.S. Drug Giant Merck
• These Are the Known Targets in the Petya Ransomware Attack So Far
• Shipping Giant Maersk Suffering Global Outage After Petya Ransomware Attack
• Cyber Attack Strikes Airports, Banks, and Oil Giants in Russia and Ukraine || Nvidia is set to dominate the '4th tectonic shift' in computing: (Facebook)
Decades of work have paid off forNvidia. The next computer revolution is here, and the company is set to dominate its competition, according to Jefferies.
"IBM dominated in the 1950's with the mainframe computer, DEC in the mid 1960's with the transition to mini-computers, Microsoft and Intel as PCs ramped, and finally Apple and Google as cell phones became ubiquitous," Mark Lipacis wrote in a note to clients. "We believe the next tectonic shift is happening now and NVDA stands to benefit the way these aforementioned tech giants did in prior transitions."
Nvidia has been working on itsCUDA computing platformand its graphics processing unit (GPU) technology for years. Traditionally, a computer has worked in a linear way, processing one task at a time on the central processing unit (CPU).
Shortly after GPUs were introduced in the 1990s, programmers began using them to break tasks into lots of smaller problems and solving them all at the same time on the GPU. This is called "parallel processing."
For certain types of problems, like rendering lots of graphics elements in a video game, GPUs were far superior to the single-minded CPU. They were slower at single tasks, but could handle lots of problems at the same time. Nvidia developed a programming platform, called CUDA, to take advantage of the way their GPUs could handle these multi-faceted problems. CUDA made it easy to break traditional problems into multiple parts that ran much faster on a GPU than the traditional CPU.
Fast forward to modern times where artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies are the hot trends. Companies like Google, Tesla and Amazon are using artificial intelligence toprogram self-driving cars,conquer ancient board gamesanddevelop smart personal assistants. Luckily for Nvidia, artificial intelligence and deep learning programs are perfectly suited to run on its GPUs and CUDA platform.
Jefferies thinks these two technologies give Nvidia a huge advantage over the competition.
"We see NVDA as a major beneficiary of the 4th Tectonic Shift in Computing, where serial processing (x86) architectures give way to massively parallel processing capabilities as the next wave of connected devices approach 10b units by 2022," Jefferies said.
As tech giants build out new data centers to handle their ballooning artificial intelligence research, they often turn to Nvidia to supply the hundreds or thousands of GPUs they need. MIT recently said Nvidia has spent around $3 billion to develop its current data center chip, and it's a move that has paid off for the company.MIT named Nvidia as the smartest company in the worldin 2017, in part, because of this investment.
Nvidia has beenmaking waves in the autonomous-car business as well.The company recently announced partnerships with Baidu, Volvo and Volkswagen to improve their self-driving car technologies and its technology is already being used in vehicles made by Tesla, Audi and Toyota.
Cryptocurrency mining is another example of a process that runs better on GPUs. Nvidia has been raking in profits in that area too, andone Wall Street bank thinks it will be just another sector that Nvidia will come to dominate.
Investors have been rewarding Nvidia as it takes the computer world by storm. Shares of Nvidia are up 48.55% this year.
While it might take some time before Nvidia's $87.04 billion market cap comes close to the companies that dominated the last computing revolution (Alphabet at $598.61 billion and Apple at $751.88 billion), Jefferies has faith in the company. The investment bank raised its price target to $180, up about 19% from Nvidia's current price.
(Markets Insider)
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• Bitcoin and Ethereum are 'cannibalizing' gold || Goldman Sachs: This is Bitcoin’s Sweet Spot: Even thoughBitcoin has been called a bubble, investors who have hungrily watched Bitcoin’s price soar 290% over the past year from the sidelines still have a chance to win big. Or at least that’s according to analyst Sheba Jafari.
On Sunday, the banking giant sent a note seen byCNBCthat said Bitcoin, now priced at $2,568 a piece, could fall as low as $1,857 before bouncing to a much higher valuation between $3,212 to $3,915. That means if an investor watches the cryptocurrency carefully and times it perfectly, they could gain as much as 110% on their initial investment. Granted, that would take quite a bit of patience, with Goldman acknowledging that “it might take time” to hit $3,915.
Read:Can Bitcoin's First Felon Help Make Cryptocurrency a Trillion-Dollar Market?
If Bitcoin were to hit $3,915, then that would add another $22 billion in market capitalization to cryptocurrency, which is up 53% from Bitcoin’s current market capitalization of $42 billion.
That comes as the cryptocurrency has fallen from a high of just over $3,000 in mid-June, with investors, includingMark Cuban,warning thatBitcoin’s price has already peaked.
See original article on Fortune.com
More from Fortune.com
• Bitcoin Nears Bear Market Territory
• What Bitcoiners Are Doing to Fight Ransomware
• Here's When You Should Buy Bitcoin and Ethereum
• VC Firm Homebrew Considering an ICO to Raise its Next Fund
• Bitcoin Exchange Hacker Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years in Prison || Everything to Know About The Latest Worldwide Ransomware Attack: Meet the sequel toWannaCry, the wide-ranging ransomware attack that crippled businesses around the globe last month.
On Tuesday, another widespreadransomware attackbegan halting unprepared businesses in their tracks. The new attack uses the same method of propagation as WannaCry: A leaked hacking tool called Eternal Blue, which has been linked to the U.S. National Security Agency.
One of the major differences between the two attacks is that the most recent event does not yet appear to be susceptible to a hardcoded “kill switch.” That means it may prove harder to overcome.
Security experts have been warning organizations that failed to apply security patches to theirMicrosoftWindows-based computer systems that it was only a matter of time before another digital siege surfaced. It seems their predictions have borne true.
Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.
Here’s a quick FAQ to get you up to speed.
A wave of ransomware attacks spread like wildfire on Tuesday. Many Microsoft Windows-based computers—specifically, ones not protected against a vulnerability in a Microsoft messaging protocol called SMB-1—began seizing up worldwide, locking employees out of their desktops, and displaying ransom notes.
Unable to access their files and folders, workers and managers were greeted by on-screen demands for payment of $300 in Bitcoin, a digital currency often used by cyber extortionists because it’s easy to send and hard to track.
The attack struck organizations in the U.S., Australia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Costin Raiu, director of global research at Russian security firm Kaspersky Labs, posted a bar graph on Twitter showing the geographic distribution of victims, according to what his firm could measure. (Kaspersky’s customer base skews towards Russian-speaking countries, which might explain the spread.)
Some of theaffected companies include Maerskamkby, the Danish shipping giant, Rosneft, the Russian oil company, WPP, the British advertising agency, andMerckmrk, the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. There are reports that the attack has also affected banks, hospitals, governments, airports, and other organizations.
Initial analyses suggested that the latest wave of attacks involved malware based on Petya, a type of ransomware that first surfaced last year. Further investigations have disputed this analysis. In lieu of a better name, some cybersecurity firms, such as Kaspersky, have begun referring to the latest malware as “NotPetya.”
Jeremiah Grossman, chief security strategist at the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, toldFortunethere isn’t enough evidence yet to uncover the malware’s provenance. “This outbreak has similar characteristics as Petya, such as infecting the MBR [Master Boot Record, an important component of Microsoft computer hard drives] and encrypting the entire drive, however, it is not clear yet that this is a Petya variant,” he said.
Companies that failed to patch their systems against the Microsoft vulnerability were open to this attack. It’s still not clear what the initial attack vector was. But once inside, the worm could spread across computer networks via the hole in Microsoft SMB-1.
It seems that many of the organizations affected by the malware operated industrial systems. These machines can be hard to patch because they run critical processes are difficult to take offline. “Organizations like these typically have a hard time patching all of their machines because so many systems simply cannot have down time,” said Chris Wysopal, cofounder and chief tech officer of Veracode, an application security firm purchased by CA Technologies earlier this year.
There are a few simple steps businesses can take, as the cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networkspanwexplains on its“threat brief” blog. First, apply Microsoft patchMS17-010. Second, block connections to Microsoft Windows’ port 445, the part of the operating system associated with the vulnerable protocol. And finally, maintain regular data backups, and use them to restore systems.
This is a continual source of debate in the information security community. The general belief is, no, you should not pay the ransom. For one, there’s no guarantee extortionists will return your files. Second, funding cybercriminals will encourage them to develop similar attacks in the future.
Still, sometimes companies take a gamble and pay up in the hopes that the criminals will restore access to their files and information. In this case, it appears as though customers will not be able to reclaim their data even if they do pay up. Posteo, the email service chosen by the attackers, said it blocked the account they created, meaning the extortionists have lost their channel to communicate with victims and hand over decryption keys. Despite this, the attackers’ Bitcoin wallet had already received 28 transactions equaling 3 Bitcoins, or more than $7,000, as of 3 P.M. ET on Tuesday. || SinglePoint Signs Deal to Manufacture CBD Hemp Oil Patches -- CFN Media: SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Jul 10, 2017) - CFN Media Group ("CannabisFN"), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article that will take a look at SinglePoint Inc.'s ( OTC PINK : SING ) recent agreement with Premier Biomedical Inc. to begin manufacturing Premier's newly designed CBD Hemp Oil Patch products in high volume. The cannabis industry is projected to exceed $50 billion by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., driven by the ongoing legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. While recreational marijuana has drawn a lot of attention, tetrahydrocannabinol's (THC) non-psychoactive cousin, cannabidiol (CBD), has been experiencing tremendous growth as researchers continue to unlock its potential across a wide range of medical conditions. Generating Revenue SinglePoint recently announced a deal with Premier Biomedical to mass-manufacture its CBD Hemp Oil Patch and potentially future products. The deal provides the company with a consistent stream of revenue while it continues to execute organic growth initiatives and make strategic acquisitions in the cannabis industry. In addition, the potential to add future products to the mix opens the door to scaling these revenue streams higher. "We have been working very hard on making acquisitions and inside sales to boost revenue," said SinglePoint CEO Greg Lambrecht in a press release announcing the partnership. "This new business will contribute significantly to our revenue goals." Premier Biomedical benefits from the mass manufacture of its topical pain relief products, which will help the company aggressively expand its distribution network through retail outlets, health care facilities, pharmacies, and various online shopping platforms. "We are excited that we found a volume supplier for our products," said Premier Biomedical President & CEO William Hartman in the same press release. "This significantly increases the company's initiatives and enables us to grow revenues through expansion of sales volumes in both domestic and foreign markets. We look forward to working with SinglePoint to continue bringing current and future planned new products [to market]." Story continues Horizontal Market Strategy SinglePoint has evolved from a mobile technology provider to a diversified cannabis holding company with a presence in several industry segments. Management's horizontal market diversification strategy involved acquiring portfolio companies, leveraging economies of scale, and unlocking incremental value through synergies. For example, the company's recent acquisition of 90% of DIGS provided it with an online, retail, and consulting arm. At the center of the so-called "hub-and-spokes" business model, SingleSeed has become a supplier of products and services to the cannabis industry. The company's strong historical presence in the cannabis industry -- cultivated over several years through its payment offerings -- provides a strong base for growth, while SingleSeed is designed to connect various portfolio companies by sharing customers and synergies. The company has also established partnerships designed to enable its entry into other market segments. For instance, the company recently raised $1 million from an institutional investor to close deals in the cryptocurrency market. The company's new funding and partnership with First Bitcoin Capital is designed to expedite the development of effective payment solutions for the cannabis industry. Looking Ahead SinglePoint Inc. ( OTC PINK : SING ) represents a compelling and diversified opportunity within the cannabis industry. While its primary focus is on payments, the company's agreement with Premier Biomedical to manufacture CBD products opens the door to near-term revenue opportunities that could help finance its ongoing growth and future acquisitions. Please follow the link to watch the interview and read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/singlepoint-signs-deal-manufacture-cbd-hemp-oil-patches/ For more information, visit the company's website or CannabisFN's company profile . About CFN Media CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis. We help marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed. Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/ Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8 Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com Disclaimer: Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this release contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CFN Media and CannabisFN.com, is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority, and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release. Emerging Growth LLC may from time to time have a position in the securities mentioned herein and may increase or decrease such positions without notice. For making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own advice. Emerging Growth LLC may be compensated for its services in the form of cash-based compensation or equity securities in the companies it writes about, or a combination of the two. For full disclosure please visit: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
働き方によっては、3日に1回、2時間程度で月に8万円という例もあります。
月に何十万、なんていう派手な稼ぎ方ではなく、ちょっとしたお小遣い稼ぎでやるのもおすすめですね。
ちょっとしたお小遣いとはいえ、8万円もあればかなり色々なことができますが…(^-^* || $2265.99 at 14:15 UTC [24h Range: $2215.00 - $2350.00 Volume: 12952 BTC] || Gana $45,00 Usd Por Afiliar, Quieres ganarte dólares con Bitcoin sin tanto esfuerzo? Es solo ded ···> https://goo.gl/Cdo6SQ _ #España || 9:00~10:00のBitcoin市場は上げ一服でした。
変化率は0.8141%
11:00までは反騰かな?
直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は275022.0円
#ビットコイン
#bitcoin
#AI || Gana $45,00 Usd Por Afiliar, Quieres ganarte dólares con Bitcoin sin tanto esfuerzo? Es solo dedicar ··· https://goo.gl/Cdo6SQ > # || 2017-06-05 09:00:18 (KST)
비트코인 BTC
빗썸: 3,065,000 (-3,000)
코인원: 3,064,000 (+0)
코빗: 3,063,000 (-7,000) || Is the big dip in #bitcoin today from pressures from the banker vampires? || BITCOIN PLUNGE COMING? Gold Reverses Early Gains. Fed Did It. http://finteknews.com/bitcoin-plunge-coming-gold-reverses-early-gains-fed-did-it/ … #bitcoin #gold #cryptocurrencies #coins #tokens || is it safe to keep bitcoins on breadwallet during segwit? http://ift.tt/2t5M4bv (via /r/Bitcoin) || #Monacoin 24.8円↓[Zaif] -円→[もなとれ]
#NEM #XEM 20.9995円↑[Zaif]
#Bitcoin 246,505円↓[Zaif]
05/28 04:00
口座開設はこちらで！ https://goo.gl/31dyoO
|
Trend: up || Prices: 2576.48, 2529.45, 2671.78, 2809.01, 2726.45, 2757.18, 2875.34, 2718.26, 2710.67, 2804.73
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-04-12]
BTC Price: 1200.37, BTC RSI: 61.08
Gold Price: 1275.30, Gold RSI: 69.23
Oil Price: 53.11, Oil RSI: 65.49
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Only 802 People Told the IRS About Bitcoin—Lawsuit: The Internal Revenue Service revealed new details about itsinvestigationinto tax evasion related to bitcoin, filing court documents that suggest only a tiny percentage of virtual currency owners are reporting profits or losses in their annual returns.
The new documents, filed Thursday in San Francisco federal court, come in the midst of a closely-watched legal fight between the IRS and Coinbase, a popular service for buying and selling bitcoins that hosts over a million customer accounts.
The dispute began last year when the IRS issued a sweepingsummonsfor Coinbase to turn over a vast amount of customer data, including every customer account as well as detailed transaction records.
Coinbase claimed the IRS demands are illegally broad and refused to comply, which in turn led the IRS to file a federal lawsuit last week to enforce the summons.
Jurors Weigh Charges Against a Pastor and Software Engineer in Bitcoin Trial
While the lawsuit did not come as a surprise, a newaffidavitfrom IRS agent David Utzke reveals additional information about how the agency is conducting the investigation. Specifically, Utzke explains he ran a computer analysis against the IRS’s repository of hundreds of millions of tax records, and found fewer than a thousand people filed a Form 8949 to account for a “property description likely related to bitcoin.”
Form 8949 is used to report capital losses and capital gains and, under current IRS rules, would require bitcoin owners to declare their profits. In some cases, the profit could be significant given the virtual currency soared from $13 to over $1,100 during the three year period (2013-2015) for which the agency is seeking information.
Here is a paragraph from Utzke’s affidavit that states only 802 individuals filed a bitcoin-related Form 8949 in 2015(emphasis mine):
The IRS searched the MTRDB for Form 8949 data for tax years 2013 through 2015. I received the results of those searches. Those results reflect thatin 2013, 807 individuals reported a transaction on Form 8949 using a property description likely related to bitcoin; in 2014, 893 individuals reported a transaction on Form 8949 using a property description likely related to bitcoin; and in 2015, 802 individuals reported a transactionon Form 8949 using a property description likely related to bitcoin.
It’s impossible to know what percentage of Coinbase customers these numbers represent, but it’s likely only a small fraction. Even though some Coinbase accounts belong to non-U.S. citizens, and many others did not have any transactions (and therefore did not trigger any capital gains), it’s possible an IRS review of the accounts could identify hundreds of thousands of individuals who should have declared bitcoin income.
In a Fridayblog post, Coinbase said it has yet to turn over any information, and that it would push back against the scope of the summons.
“Coinbase remains concerned with the indiscriminate and over broad scope of the government's summons and we have produced no records under the summons,” wrote Coinbase lawyer, Juan Suarez.
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The company has previously described the IRS probe as unreasonable, noting the agency would not approach other financial institutions like JP Morgan or and demand every single of their customer records.
In January, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong complained the legal fight could cost his company up to $1 million, and that he would prefer to spend the money hiring employees. Armstrong at the time also offered an olive branch to the IRS, saying Coinbase is ready to provide customers with 1099-B forms, which are used by brokerages and others to help customers report their taxes.
Following news of the IRS tax probe, onevirtual currency lawyer saidthe agency’s demand simply represented an opening gambit for negotiations--and that it that would end with Coinbase providing a far more narrow set of information.
A person close to Coinbase, who was not authorized to speak for attribution, confirmed toFortunethe company and the IRS have been in talks, but also expressed surprise the agency has so far refused to narrow its demands.
A spokesperson for the IRS said the agency cannot comment on specific investigations.
The upshot of all this is that many Coinbase customers are likely to feel uneasy since the investigation could eventually lead them to owe back taxes or penalties, or even see the IRS seize their accounts.
Bitcoin Prepares For an Ugly Breakup
Meanwhile, Coinbase isn’t the only one taking issue with the IRS’s bitcoin stance. A Los Angeles law firm, Berns Weiss,sued the IRS last year, complaining the agency’s summons swept up one of the firm’s partners, Jeffrey Berns, who held bitcoin at Coinbase, but had never sold it. The firm had to drop the lawsuit after the IRS told Berns he would not be a target of the investigation--but has since vowed to resume the legal battle.
“We will, however, continue our efforts to protect the rights of Coinbase customers regarding this patently overbroad summons. Thus, we plan to file a motion to intervene in the enforcement proceeding on behalf of other Coinbase customers who have contacted us and expressed their interest in fighting the summons,” saidthe firmin a statement.
Finally, it’s unclear if the IRS is also targeting other virtual currency operators. While Coinbase is the most popular and mainstream bitcoin platform, there are numerous others. Meanwhile, thegrowing value of other virtual currencies, including Ethereum, mean firms that offer such currencies could soon find themselves in the cross-hairs of the IRS too.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the IRS form on one occassion as Form 8948 not 8949. It has been updated.
See original article on Fortune.com
More from Fortune.com
• Why Coinbase's Cofounder Is Moving On
• New York Warms Up to This Bitcoin Exchange With New License
• Bitcoin Battle Heats Up as Coinbase Moves to Fight IRS Demand
• Legal Sparring Continues in Bitcoin User's Battle with IRS Tax Sweep
• Customer Sues IRS to Halt Probe of Coinbase Bitcoin Accounts || STOCKS FALL, SNAPCHAT SURGES: Here's what you need to know: SNAP IPO 21 (Hollis Johnson) The major US equity indexes closed lower on Thursday, retreating after logging the strongest performance of 2017 on Wednesday. Here's the scoreboard: Dow: 21,002.97, -112.58, (-0.53%) S&P 500: 2,381.92, -14.04, (-0.59%) Nasdaq: 5,861.22, -42.81, (-0.73%) US 10-year yield: 2.491%, +0.029 Snap surged in its trading debut . The parent company of Snapchat opened for trading at $24, up about 41% from the IPO price of $17. At the opening price, Snap had a valuation of about $33 billion, surpassing stalwarts like Viacom and HP. There's already a "sell" rating . "Investors in Snap will be exposed to an upstart facing aggressive competition from much larger companies, with a core user base that is not growing by much and which is only relatively elusive," said Pivotal Research Group's Brian Wieser. He has a $10 price target — 58% lower than the opening price. Initial jobless claims are at the lowest level since 1973 . Claims, which count the number of people who applied for unemployment insurance for the first time in the past week, dropped by more than expected to 223,000. Bitcoin climbed above gold for the first time . The cryptocurrency rose to $1,241.30 around 10:20 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, gold was $1,241.25 at the time. Caterpillar facilities in Illinois were searched by law enforcement authorities with a warrant . The Peoria Journal Star newspaper reported that people with Internal Revenue Service jackets were seen entering the headquarters. Caterpillar shares fell 4%. Boeing is planning 1,500 voluntary job cuts . Employees were notified this week that the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said it didn't know if this met Boeing 's target or could still be followed by compulsory layoffs, the WSJ reported . Additionally: This throwback to Facebook's IPO is one reason some investors are nervous about Snapchat Another warning sign is popping up in the stock market The Fed could be on the verge of making a big mistake Story continues A startup led by one of the most senior women on Wall Street decided to troll Trump Twitter is loving Democratic lawmakers' scavenger hunt around the Capitol for the secret room holding the GOP's Obamacare replacement bill JOSH BROWN: Here's why I'm not buying Snapchat NOW WATCH: A body language expert analyzes Trump's unique handshakes More From Business Insider Snap surges 44% in its stock market debut — after an IPO that made its 20-something founders multibillionaires These $10 earbuds have more 5-star reviews on Amazon than any other pair — here's why The White House is considering direct military action to counter North Korea || Sony launches phone with world's first 4K HDR screen and superfast download speeds: Sony(Tokyo Stock Exchange: 6758.T-JP)launched a smartphone with the world's first 4K high dynamic range (HDR) screen, improved camera, and the ability to download large files at super-fast speeds, as it looks to stabilise profits in its once-struggling mobile division.
The Xperia XZ Premium was unveiled on Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and marks Sony's continued bid to play in the premium end of the market against the likes of Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL), Samsung(Korea Stock Exchange: 593-KR)and Huawei.
Key features include:
• The world's first 4K resolution high dynamic range (HDR) screen. This means the resolution is four times better than high definition displays. HDR is a way of making the blacks blacker and whites whiter on screens to create an image with more depth
• Capable of downloading at 1 gigabit per second. This means films can be downloaded in a matter of seconds
• Broadcast-quality camera allowing for super slow motion video at 960 frames per second
• 5.5 inch display
• 19 megapixel rear camera and 13 megapixel front-facing selfie camera
• Mirror finish in a range of colors
The Xperia XZ focuses on Sony's strengths including display technology and camera in a bid to boost profits. Sony has been on a path to stabilize the loss-making smartphone division which finally saw profits in the last two quarters.
Under CEO Kazuo Hirai, Sony has slimmed down its smartphone portfolio and focused on key markets to return to profitability. But this has come at the expense of sales and market share.
Analysts hailed this as another solid device from Sony but said the key features it is marketing are limited. For example, super slow motion video capture requires the user to press the button at the exact moment the action is taking place making it difficult to capture the correct part of a motion. CNBC tested the XZ Premium ahead of MWC. In the demo, a skateboard topped with glitter was used by the skateboarder to perform a jump. CNBC captured the video and it was impressive, but required the capture button to be hit at the right moment.
There is also a very small amount of content that can be viewed on a 4K HDR screen. So far, Netflix(NASDAQ: NFLX)and Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN)Prime Video, the e-commerce giant's streaming service, have a handful of shows in 4K HDR. Sony said it is working with Amazon to optimize some of its 4K HDR shows for mobile to work on the Xperia XZ Premium.
Daniel Gleeson, an analyst at Ovum, told CNBC by phone ahead of the launch event that the Sony Xperia XZ Premium's key features are limited because people have to buy a subscription service to watch 4K content and the slow motion camera can only capture a tiny snippet of action.
"Those key features leave me wanting more than what they are promising. That's one thing that could lead to a lot of customer disappointment for those who purchase this phones on the basis of those feature," Gleeson said.
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium ships in late Spring with pricing to be announced in local markets.
CORRECTION: This story was updated to show that the Sony Xperia XZ Premium is capable of downloading at 1 gigabit per second.
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• Bitcoin price rises higher than gold, but don’t read too much into it
• Morgan Stanley and Goldman should ‘hang heads in shame’ over Snap IPO: Analyst
• Samsung to Nokia: The hottest gadgets unveiled this week || Coin Citadel Shareholder Update: LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 27, 2017 /Coin Citadel(OTC PINK: CCTL), announces that it is diligently working on finalizing a transaction to substantially increase our Bitcoin inventory and add substantial value to our current assets. At the same time, we are searching for additional opportunities in the Bitcoin sector that can add revenue and value to our core business model, and ultimately, to our shareholders. We are also pursuing merger and acquisition opportunities outside of our current business model with a view toward eventually evolving into a holding company with diversified assets involved in multiple markets, thus minimizing our exposure to market fluctuations within a single sector.
The company's long-term outlook on Bitcoins is bullish. With more opportunities and acquisitions to make, the more valuable the company will be. Additionally we are working on bringing the company back to current status on OTCmarkets.com. We also want to open other lines of communication with our shareholders, through social media such as Twitter, and Facebook.
Please be on the lookout for news, filings, and other updates coming shortly.
Effective March 22, 2017, An incredited investor and the "Company", entered into a 3a10 for the claim amount of $197,500.00.
Forward-Looking Statement:Any statements made in this press release which are not historical facts contain certain forward-looking statements; as such term is defined in the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. The company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement. This press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation.
Contact:
Bill Schaefer, CEO562-453-7643
SOURCE:Coin Citadel || 4 Must-Read Strategies to Pay Off Your Bank Loan Without Losing Your House: If a person looked only at Hollywood depictions of Silicon Valley, it would be easy to assume that all startups are backed (or want to be backed) by venture capitalists. But VC has actually become less attractive since investors began scrutinizing prospects more closely and offering tougher terms. As a result, many entrepreneurs are turning tobank loans, preferring to take on debt instead of trading away equity.
In fact, Bloomberg reports that loans to startupsspiked by 19 percentin Silicon Valley last year.
Related:5 Things Startup Investors Look for Before Investing
While investor cash enables startups to grow quickly, many entrepreneurs have come to value control over time. They've come to prefer using their personal homes, bank accounts and other tangible goods to secure business loans over sacrificing even a modicum of control to investors.
The problem is, however, that if they lose the business, they also lose thepersonal assetsthey put up for collateral. Of course, if their companies don’t make money, they'll lose their possessions anyway -- or so the thinking goes.
But the calculation isn’t that simple. Sure, retaining control is desirable. But banks are in the business of creating wealth for themselves. Collateral guarantees they won’t lose money on business loans, and borrowers can be sure that if they don’t pay, the banks will collect.
Business loans are a win for banks. If borrowers fail to make timely payments, lenders can seize their homes or other assets and sell the properties torecoup the principal and then some. Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs have lost their businesses, houses and who knows what else.
But business loans aren't always a bad idea. If borrowers make their scheduled payments, they cultivate trust with lenders, making it easier to secure credit in the future. Once a loan is repaid in full, the bank will likely lend to the borrower again, possibly without requiring personal assets as collateral.
Related:5 Main Reasons Banks Turn Down Small-Business Owners for Loans
Another benefit is business credit. A loan repaid in good standing will boost the company’s score and make it easier to access credit lines and spending accounts. Businesses also tend to receive loans with lower APRs or fixed payments. The fact that the money is being used to grow a company gives lenders an incentive to offer competitive borrowing terms.
Entrepreneurs considering taking out bank loans can use the following guidelines to avoid critical mistakes in managing their business and personal finances:
Take a deep look atwhat the business needs. Tools such as theWorking Capital Needs Calculatorshed light on the true costs of expansion, as well as indicate which areas show promise and which are dragging the company down. Be realistic about how much is needed, and ask for that amount. Don’t live outside the business’s means.
Getting clear on the business’s financial situation can prevent a business from ending up with payments it can’t afford. The Pennsylvania-based Plaza group’s financial troubles should serve as a cautionary tale. The company missed a$67 million balloon paymenton a property loan, then had to scramble and renegotiate the terms to avoid default. This is a damning situation for any business, let alone a fledgling startup.
Resist the temptation to take the extra $10,000 the bank offers to tack on to a loan. The few hundred dollars it adds to monthly installments may seem manageable now, but those payments could become unwieldy. With a carefully planned budget, there's no reason to take more than the initial ask.
Here’s what happens to people who borrow more than they can afford. A 24-year-old woman was forced to the brink of bankruptcy after borrowing$6.5 million she couldn’t repay. The bank approved the financing despite the fact that her income didn’t match the loan and her investments carried considerable risk. The bottom line: Just because money is on the table doesn’t mean it's a good idea to take it.
Never co-mingle business and personal bank accounts. Separating finances helps you avoid headaches when categorizing expenses, so it’s smart practice from a bookkeeping perspective. But the separation also protects any personal assets during business loan disputes and shields personal finances from examination by banks, accountants and the IRS.
The IRS has significant power to examine personal accounts when auditing business and investment deals. The Bitcoin exchange Coinbase found this out when theIRS demanded dataon millions of customers who it believed were noncompliant. Coinbase resisted the IRS’s order, but the situation illustrates the importance of a clear separation of finances and stringent compliance practices.
The first bill to be paid each month should be the company loan installment, especially if there are any personal assets on the line. The company can do without some amenities for a month or two, but if a loan payment gets missed, the results could be disastrous. Going without a home is a lot more traumatic than having to go without cable.
Entrepreneur Jesse Genetknows this well: She repaid tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt while running a successful business. She prioritized her startup’s expenses over her own and admits to having struggled with mounting credit card during lean months. However, her aggressive saving and debt repayment strategy enabled her to bootstrap her company while paying off her debt -- a feat made possible by clear priorities and a disciplined approach to finance.
A business loan constitutes an enforceable contract, even when the collateral takes the form of a family home or vehicle. Losses may feel personal to the borrower taking the hit, but banks aren’t in the business of being personal. They give loans to make money.
Related:Why You Should Keep Your Personal and Professional Finances Separate
So, as long as entrepreneurs are clear on the stakes -- and prepared to make good on their loans -- they can earn from a bank relationship, as well. || Is a Bitcoin ETF a Good Investment?: The Securities and Exchange Commission denied approval of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust ETF, an exchange-traded fund that would track the value of digital currency bitcoin. Friday's highly anticipated decision came nearly four years - and a dozen amendments - after the fund was first proposed and delayed indefinitely making gaining access to the currency as easy as logging into your online brokerage account. QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge of ETFs Bitcoin is a so-called "cryptocurrency" - an encrypted digital currency created by computer programmers that can be exchanged electronically for goods and services. It serves as an alternative to traditional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro. For now, you can buy bitcoins on online exchanges, which often require an involved registration process and premium prices. Or you can "mine" them (create them), using extremely sophisticated computer codes. The value of a single bitcoin is determined by investor speculation. Worth almost nothing when it was created eight years ago, bitcoin hit a record high above $1,300 this week, topping the price of an ounce of gold, before tumbling on the heels of the SEC rejection. The rise of bitcoin has been volatile, marked by steep dips that were triggered, in some cases, by high-profile hacks of online bitcoin exchanges. The ETF proposed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (yes, the same set of twins who claimed Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook and sued him over it) would have traded on the Bats Global Markets exchange under the symbol COIN. The fund would have tracked the value of bitcoins, backed by "baskets" of the virtual currency. Like any other ETF, the fund could have been bought or sold through a brokerage account. The SEC expressed concern over the unregulated nature of bitcoin markets, though ETF Trends Editor Tom Lydon said investors could've been relatively confident that the ETF would be structurally sound. That's to say, it would have accurately tracked the price of bitcoin and would have sufficient security measures in place to deter the sorts of hacks that have cropped up at online bitcoin exchanges. Eight years into a bull market, Lydon says, the appeal of such an instrument is apparent. "Alternative investing is something that individual investors, advisers and institutions are thinking about. Bitcoin is an area of the market that's not well-correlated with stocks, bonds or even other currencies," he says. But even if the ETF had been deemed suitable for individual investors, like any investment, Lydon says, you need to look under the hood. Two other bitcoin ETFs are currently under review by the SEC, and it's unclear what, if any, next steps the Winklevoss brothers will take. Bitcoin is surprisingly widely held and regularly traded -- but nowhere near the level of mainstream ETFs. Because of the way they're created, bitcoins are available on a limited basis, which, based on increased demand, would help increase the price. These factors check many investors' boxes for alternative investments. But investors who own any bitcoin ETF would need to understand the factors that cause prices to fluctuate and have a plan in place for rapid swings in the marketplace. For individual investors, tracking the complex world of digital currencies might be too much to ask. The risk factors listed in the prospectus include attacks by malicious actors and botnets that could corrupt the bitcoin code, among other things. Story continues Even if the bitcoin ETF had been approved, the wisest move an investor could have made would be to hold off, says Ben Johnson, director of global ETF and passive strategies research at Morningstar. "The reason ETFs tracking the U.S. dollar work is that there are more than 7 billion people who think it's worth something. That may not always be the case with bitcoin," he says. If you're looking for "non-correlated" investing instruments, you might explore precious metals, via SPDR Gold Shares ETF ( GLD ), or more active strategies, such as Merger Fund ( MERFX ), a mutual fund that aims to capture upticks in stock price when mergers are announced. As for bitcoin, says Johnson: "It's every bit as suitable to an individual investor as a lottery ticket." See Also: Should I Be Tempted to Invest in Bitcoin? EDITOR'S PICKS Should I Be Tempted to Invest in Bitcoin? Why Do People Still Pay Bills With Paper Checks? 10 Reasons Gold Will Outperform Stocks in the Next Decade Copyright 2017 The Kiplinger Washington Editors View comments || Flow's Ultimate Football Experience Attracts Top Manchester United Star: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2017) - When young Jamaican footballers take to the field on April 1 st for the Flow Ultimate Football Experience they'll be joined by Manchester United (Man Utd) Legend and fan favourite, Quinton Fortune who will share words of encouragement and guidance to the youngsters. The tough-tackling midfielder and South African international, earned his place in the hearts of his friends, peers and supporters of Man Utd after a 6-year stint with the club. He's one of several Man Utd Legends who will be present in some of Flow's markets at the skills-based events, leading up to the Flow Ultimate Football Experience Final in Trinidad on May 7 th . During his time at Old Trafford, Fortune displayed an honourable sense of determination and drive, despite being hampered by a string of unfortunate injuries. As part of the club, he earned the Intercontinental Cup (1999) and the FA Community Shield (2003) before moving on to other teams. Like many other former pro footballers, Fortune is not just a player; he's a coach, too. After his retirement in 2010, he spent time training with Man Utd's reserve team while simultaneously working towards his coaching badges, which he received in 2013. Needless to say, Fortune -- who wore number 25 with the Reds -- brings a unique combination of playing experience and coaching acumen to the Jamaican chapter of the Flow Ultimate Football Experience . And not only will the youngsters get expert advice on ways to enhance their performance, they'll also doubtlessly get a fresh boost of energy by simply playing in the presence of one of football's best. Flow and Manchester United's latest region-wide initiative, the Flow Ultimate Football Experience is designed to give youngsters the chance-of-a-lifetime to participate in local talent development football camps across Flow's 15 markets. Two winners from each country will advance to the two-day skills session in T&T to experience one-on-one training with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and Manchester United Soccer School Coaches. There, they will participate in a series of drills designed by the coaches and compete for the chance for two finalists and their coach to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Old Trafford in Manchester, England to see Man Utd in a Premier League fixture . Story continues Skilled boys and girls between the ages of 13 to 16 can register online at https://discoverflow.co/flowmanutd . Follow Flow Jamaica on Facebook and Twitter @FlowJamaica to track his visit to Jamaica for the Flow Ultimate Football Experience ! " Flow and Manchester United - together we are in a different league ." About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 5 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3125292 || Bitcoin steadies after biggest three-day tumble in over two years: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin regained its footing on Monday, having suffered its heftiest falls since early 2015 between Thursday and Saturday as investors sold the digital currency on worries about its future. Having soared to an all-time high of $1,350 on the Bitstamp exchange on March 10, on speculation that regulators could approve the first U.S. bitcoin exchange traded fund the following day, the digital currency then slipped back. Its falls began accelerating on Thursday and it hit a five-week low of $944.36 on Saturday. But bitcoin recovered a little on Sunday and built on those gains on Monday, climbing around 2.5 percent to roughly $1,050 by 1815 GMT. Bitcoin experts said its steep losses were driven by a longstanding, and intensifying, row over whether - and how - to increase the capacity of the "blocks" that bitcoin transactions are processed in, so as to make sure there are no delays in transactions being finalised. "The bitcoin scaling debate is a risk for the network and highlights core issues in terms of governance and this is where more nimble crypto competitors see advantages in fleshing out their capabilities sooner," said Charles Hayter, CEO of digital currency analysis website Crytocompare, in London. At the same time that bitcoin was plunging, a newer, rival "cryptocurrency" was soaring: ether. The digital currency behind Ethereum - a project that some experts say holds more potential than bitcoin - has almost tripled in value this month, jumping to record highs of around $45. Some experts said traders were selling bitcoin and buying ether, which was exacerbating the falls in the original cryptocurrency. "Traders in the space are looking for better returns in the more risky and nascent cryptos such as Dash, Monero and Ethereum (and are) looking to replicate the extraordinary returns that bitcoin saw in its early days," added Hayter. U.S. regulators dashed Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss's bitcoin ambitions earlier in the month by rejecting their application to list an exchange-traded fund linked to the digital currency. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Alison Williams) View comments || 4 Must-Read Strategies to Pay Off Your Bank Loan Without Losing Your House: If a person looked only at Hollywood depictions of Silicon Valley, it would be easy to assume that all startups are backed (or want to be backed) by venture capitalists. But VC has actually become less attractive since investors began scrutinizing prospects more closely and offering tougher terms. As a result, many entrepreneurs are turning to bank loans , preferring to take on debt instead of trading away equity. In fact, Bloomberg reports that loans to startups spiked by 19 percent in Silicon Valley last year. Related: 5 Things Startup Investors Look for Before Investing While investor cash enables startups to grow quickly, many entrepreneurs have come to value control over time. They've come to prefer using their personal homes, bank accounts and other tangible goods to secure business loans over sacrificing even a modicum of control to investors. The problem is, however, that if they lose the business, they also lose the personal assets they put up for collateral. Of course, if their companies don’t make money, they'll lose their possessions anyway -- or so the thinking goes. But the calculation isn’t that simple. Sure, retaining control is desirable. But banks are in the business of creating wealth for themselves. Collateral guarantees they won’t lose money on business loans, and borrowers can be sure that if they don’t pay, the banks will collect. The good, the bad and the reality of bank loans Business loans are a win for banks. If borrowers fail to make timely payments, lenders can seize their homes or other assets and sell the properties to recoup the principal and then some . Meanwhile, the entrepreneurs have lost their businesses, houses and who knows what else. But business loans aren't always a bad idea. If borrowers make their scheduled payments, they cultivate trust with lenders, making it easier to secure credit in the future. Once a loan is repaid in full, the bank will likely lend to the borrower again, possibly without requiring personal assets as collateral. Story continues Related: 5 Main Reasons Banks Turn Down Small-Business Owners for Loans Another benefit is business credit. A loan repaid in good standing will boost the company’s score and make it easier to access credit lines and spending accounts. Businesses also tend to receive loans with lower APRs or fixed payments. The fact that the money is being used to grow a company gives lenders an incentive to offer competitive borrowing terms. Entrepreneurs considering taking out bank loans can use the following guidelines to avoid critical mistakes in managing their business and personal finances: 1. Conduct an honest financial assessment of the company. Take a deep look at what the business needs . Tools such as the Working Capital Needs Calculator shed light on the true costs of expansion, as well as indicate which areas show promise and which are dragging the company down. Be realistic about how much is needed, and ask for that amount. Don’t live outside the business’s means. Getting clear on the business’s financial situation can prevent a business from ending up with payments it can’t afford. The Pennsylvania-based Plaza group’s financial troubles should serve as a cautionary tale. The company missed a $67 million balloon payment on a property loan, then had to scramble and renegotiate the terms to avoid default. This is a damning situation for any business, let alone a fledgling startup. 2. Don’t overborrow. Resist the temptation to take the extra $10,000 the bank offers to tack on to a loan. The few hundred dollars it adds to monthly installments may seem manageable now, but those payments could become unwieldy. With a carefully planned budget, there's no reason to take more than the initial ask. Here’s what happens to people who borrow more than they can afford. A 24-year-old woman was forced to the brink of bankruptcy after borrowing $6.5 million she couldn’t repay . The bank approved the financing despite the fact that her income didn’t match the loan and her investments carried considerable risk. The bottom line: Just because money is on the table doesn’t mean it's a good idea to take it. 3. Separate personal and business finances. Never co-mingle business and personal bank accounts. Separating finances helps you avoid headaches when categorizing expenses, so it’s smart practice from a bookkeeping perspective. But the separation also protects any personal assets during business loan disputes and shields personal finances from examination by banks, accountants and the IRS. The IRS has significant power to examine personal accounts when auditing business and investment deals. The Bitcoin exchange Coinbase found this out when the IRS demanded data on millions of customers who it believed were noncompliant. Coinbase resisted the IRS’s order, but the situation illustrates the importance of a clear separation of finances and stringent compliance practices. 4. Prioritize business loan payments. The first bill to be paid each month should be the company loan installment, especially if there are any personal assets on the line. The company can do without some amenities for a month or two, but if a loan payment gets missed, the results could be disastrous. Going without a home is a lot more traumatic than having to go without cable. Entrepreneur Jesse Genet knows this well: She repaid tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt while running a successful business. She prioritized her startup’s expenses over her own and admits to having struggled with mounting credit card during lean months. However, her aggressive saving and debt repayment strategy enabled her to bootstrap her company while paying off her debt -- a feat made possible by clear priorities and a disciplined approach to finance. A business loan constitutes an enforceable contract, even when the collateral takes the form of a family home or vehicle. Losses may feel personal to the borrower taking the hit, but banks aren’t in the business of being personal. They give loans to make money. Related: Why You Should Keep Your Personal and Professional Finances Separate So, as long as entrepreneurs are clear on the stakes -- and prepared to make good on their loans -- they can earn from a bank relationship, as well. || Bitcoin hits record high above $1,200 on talk of ETF approval: * Graphic: bitcoin price and percentage daily moveshttp://reut.rs/2lR1Mqk
By Jemima Kelly
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin jumped to a record high above $1,200 on Friday, as investors speculated the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to be issued in the United States is set to receive regulatory approval.
Traditional financial players have largely shunned the web-based "crytpocurrency", viewing it as too volatile, complicated and risky, and doubting its inherent value.
But bitcoin, invented in 2008, performed better than any other currency in every year since 2010 apart from 2014, when it was the worst-performing currency, and has added almost a quarter to its value so far this year.
It soared to as high as $1,200 per bitcoin in early Asian trading on Europe's Bitstamp exchange, before easing to about $1,190.http://reut.rs/2lR1Mqk
That put the total value of all bitcoins in circulation -- or the digital currency's "market cap", as it is known -- at close to $20 billion, around the same size as Iceland's economy.
Some analysts say regulatory approval of a bitcoin ETF would make the currency relatively attractive to the often more cautious institutional investor market.
But despite potentially high returns, low correlations with other currencies and assets, falling volatility and increasing liquidity, there is scant evidence so far that most major players are considering investing in the digital currency.
"Bitcoin is just not liquid enough for us to even think about," said Paul Lambert, fund manager and head of currency investment at Insight, in London.
"We manage billions and billions of dollars – we'd need to be able to go into that market and trade in hundreds of millions of dollars at a time, and my sense is it's not like that."
Three ETFs that track the value of bitcoin have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for approval.
The SEC will decide by March 11 whether to approve one filed almost four years ago by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. If approved, it would be the first bitcoin ETF issued and regulated by a U.S. entity.
(Reporting by Jemima Kelly, graphic by Nigl Stephenson)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin Supply Exchange 3500% of your deposit after 24 hours,bitcoin double multiply . http://ow.ly/wO9x3092W8f || http://goo.gl/C8FhJV Up to 80% revenue shares | #1 Bitcoin CPA affiliate network #CPAadnetwork #affiliatenetwork #earnings #makemoney || Maybe this will get you thinking about jumping on the Bitcoin Trend!
Many have laughed at me when I made the move... http://fb.me/OaEXqK3X || chestergould has won 0.002 bitcoins #Bitcoin #Play #Games || $1002.60 #bitfinex;
$1003.97 #GDAX;
$1002.58 #bitstamp;
$1024.00 #btce;
$987.00 #kraken;
#bitcoin news: http://bit.ly/1VI6Yse || Largest #Bitcoin #Casino #Sportsbook Join Now! http://btf.st/Betcoin pic.twitter.com/rtFrNdnYj7 || Re: ✦✦✦ 2500 $ESP REWARD ✦✦✦ Vote for Espers [ESP2] on MERCATOX ✦✦✦ http://ift.tt/2kN2QYB <<>> #Altcoins #Crypto #Bitcoin || nullc: https://github.com/ElementsProject/elements …https://www.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/5ujhi6/the_block_size_debate/ddumhmt?context=3 … || The Hardware Bitcoin Wallet. Get Trezor now for only $99 https://buytrezor.com?a=coinokbuytrezor.com/?a=coinok #btc #bitcoin 00 pic.twitter.com/KMNadTcrFU || And, y'know, being bashed over the head with poles for wearing bitcoin hats.
|
Trend: up || Prices: 1169.28, 1167.54, 1172.52, 1182.94, 1193.91, 1211.67, 1210.29, 1229.08, 1222.05, 1231.71
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2018-07-02]
BTC Price: 6614.18, BTC RSI: 49.29
Gold Price: 1239.80, Gold RSI: 21.90
Oil Price: 73.94, Oil RSI: 69.02
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
10 Places Where You Can Use Bitcoin, Online and Offline: Acceptance and widespread adoption has seen Bitcoin evolve from being a domain of the tech-savvy to being a preferred means of settling transactions around the world. Amidst restriction in the usage of the digital currency in some jurisdiction, e-commerce platforms have taken the lead in accepting bitcoin payments as a way of addressing customer needs.
For those who like doing online shopping,Overstockis the place to be as the online retailer was among the first to add support for bitcoin payments. With a simple click of a button, you should be able to pay for everything, right from electronics to furniture, jewelry, bedding using Bitcoin holdings.
In addition to Bitcoin, the e-commerce retailer also allows customers to make payments using other cryptocurrencies in the name of Ethereum, Dash and Bitcoin Cash. To use cryptocurrency in the e-commerce site, you have to transfer your preferred virtual currency, and the system will do the conversion automatically.
For those always on the go,Expediais the site to visit when planning to make travel arrangements. The online travel agency allows visitors to pay for hotel bookings using Bitcoins. However, Bitcoin can only be used to pay for Hotel Bookings.
In case you wish to book air tickets with Bitcoin thenCheapAirandSurf Airare some of the sites to visit. Once you chose all your flights, CheapAir will provide payment options of which Bitcoin is one of them. The site accepts bitcoin payments for both domestic and international flight.
AirBalticandWebjetalso accept bitcoin payments for a variety of flights as well as for hotel, cruises and car hire.
Virgin Galactic allows people with a loftier bitcoin holding to pay for space travel.
EGifterandGyfthave beaten the likes of Amazon and Best Buy on the integration of Bitcoin payments for Gift Cards. You can use Bitcoin in these two sites to buy gift cards and then redeem them in hundreds of other popular retailers Including Amazon and Best Buy.
Microsoft is among the very few tech giants that seem to have embraced cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The software giant allows customers to deposit bitcoin into their Microsoft accounts to be to buy games, movies, and apps in Windows and Xbox Store.
The service should be of great benefit to the movie and game lovers. Microsoft could take the service to another level by accepting such payments in its online store.
In addition to Xbox, you can also purchase Zynga mobile and online games using Bitcoin as well as Green Man Gaming, Humble Bundle and PlayStation Network.
Satellite TV provider Dishhas been accepting bitcoin payment since 2014. The network provider allows people to pay for their favorite TV subscription packages using Bitcoin in addition to other payment options.
Bitcoin Payment is also available for DISH Customers who wish to make one-time payments on mydish.com. The company has partnered cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase to accord its customers a smooth payment process.
If you are into charity or returning gratitude as a sign for good gesture, then you can use some for your Bitcoin holdings for tipping and charity. There are a number of sites online that accept Bitcoin payments for donations.
WikimediaFoundation is one such charitable organization that accepts Bitcoin donations that go towards the development and distribution of free, multilingual education content.
Bitcoin for Charity List contains a growing list of verified charities that accept Bitcoins.
Currently, there are very few places where one can spend Bitcoins while offline. However, it is still possible to spend the cryptocurrency in brick and mortar stores as well as on some services.
There a number of food and beverage joints around the world, that have been accepting Bitcoin payments for some years.
PizzaForCoinslocated in California U.S allows people to buy Pizza using Bitcoins. Pemburry Tavern Pub in London, on the other hand, allows revelers to pay for drinks using Bitcoin.
Burger Bear, a food joint located in London also accepts Bitcoin payments as well as The Pink Cow a dinner joint in Tokyo Japan.
Depending on location, there are Taxi services around the world that accepts Bitcoin payments. One of the largest taxi companies in ItalyCooperativa RadioTxi3570 accepts Bitcoin for fares. Taxis in Budapest Hungary have also started accepting Bitcoin payments as part of a service supported by CoinPay.
Merchants around the world have started accepting Bitcoin payments in brick and mortar store with the integration of apps that allows them to receive such payments. In Japan, for instance, there are about 260,000 commercial facilities made up of food establishment’s, drugstores and retail locations that accept BTC payments.
Some of the business installations in the island nation that accepts Bitcoin payments includeComicapandAnshin Oyadoas well as electronics retail chain Bic Camera.
Even though Bitcoin is yet to find its way into the mainstream industry, a University in Cyprus, The University of Nicosia became the first higher learning institutions to accept such payments for its Master of Science in Digital Currency’ Course.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Bitcoin and a new Quarter – More of the Same? || Why Zscaler Shares Skyrocketed Today: What happened Shares of Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) have skyrocketed today, up by 28% as of 12:30 p.m. EDT, after the company reported blockbuster fiscal third-quarter earnings results. Both top- and bottom-line results in its first report as a public company easily beat analyst expectations. So what Revenue in the fiscal third quarter jumped 49% to $49.2 million, ahead of the $46 million in sales that the Street was forecasting. That translated into a non- GAAP net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.02 per share. The consensus estimate had called for an adjusted loss of $0.08 per share. Deferred revenue grew 61% to $124.8 million, while billings jumped 73% to $54.7 million. Headshot of CEO Jay Chaudhry CEO Jay Chaudhry. Image source: Zscaler. The cloud security company also saw gross margin expand to 81% on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The stock has received a slew of analyst upgrades in the wake of the release. Now what "In addition to our top-line growth, we had healthy operating performance. Our operating margins improved 9 percentage points year over year, and we generated positive free cash flow for the quarter," CEO Jay Chaudhry said on the earnings call . "We believe these results demonstrate Zscaler's increased adoption in the marketplace as organizations embrace cloud transformation as they are increasingly relying on the Internet and cloud for business." In terms of guidance, Zscaler is expecting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $50 million to $51 million, with a non-GAAP operating loss of $6 million to $7 million. Non-GAAP net loss per share should be $0.05 to $0.06. Analysts are currently modeling for sales of $48.4 million and an adjusted loss of $0.09 per share in the coming quarter. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Evan Niu, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || This High-Yield Dividend Stock Is in a Class of Its Own: Pipeline giantONEOK(NYSE: OKE)is a one-of-a-kind investment opportunity these days. Of the 500 companies in theS&P 500, it's the only one that meets five distinct characteristics of size, financial strength, earnings growth, dividend growth, and yield. That unique combination makes it an excellent choice for investors who want both high growth and a high yield.
ONEOK highlighted the unique opportunity it offers investors in a recent presentation. The company noted that, of the 500 companies in the S&P 500, 372 had an investment-grade credit rating like ONEOK. Of that group, 227 had a large market cap of more than $20 billion, which put them in the same class as ONEOK. About half of those large companies are on pace to grow earnings per share by at least a 10% annual rate through 2020, like ONEOK.
However, just a dozen of those fast-growing companies also offered a high yield of more than 3%. Meanwhile, only one of thosehigh-yielding dividend stocksexpected to increase its payout by a 10% annual rate through 2020: ONEOK.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company then pulled back the lens a bit further and compared its forecast to the projections of the average stock in both the S&P 500 and the S&P High Yield Aristocrats, which are those in the broader S&P 1500 universe that have consistently increased their dividends for the past 20 years. Here's how the pipeline giant stacks up:
[{"Metric": "Approximate current dividend yield", "ONEOK": "4.6%", "Median S&P 500": "2.2%", "Median S&P High Yield Aristocrats": "2.4%"}, {"Metric": "AnnualEBITDAgrowth rate: 2018-2020", "ONEOK": "11%", "Median S&P 500": "6.9%", "Median S&P High Yield Aristocrats": "6.1%"}, {"Metric": "Annual EPS growth rate: 2018-2020", "ONEOK": "10%", "Median S&P 500": "10%", "Median S&P High Yield Aristocrats": "7.7%"}, {"Metric": "Annual dividend growth rate: 2018-2020", "ONEOK": "10%", "Median S&P 500": "6.2%", "Median S&P High Yield Aristocrats": "6.3%"}]
Data source: ONEOK Investor Presentation. EPS = earnings per share.
As that table shows, ONEOK offers roughly double the current yield and almost twice the dividend growth as the average dividend stock in those indexes.
Several factors drive ONEOK's unique blend of yield and growth. First, the company generates very stable cash flow from its vast portfolio of energy infrastructure assets. Overall, 90% of the company's earnings come from predictable sources, like fee-based contracts. Because of that, ONEOK is more comfortable paying out a high percentage of its cash flow in dividends, with the company targeting a payout ratio of around 80%, which is well above the 57% average of stocks in the S&P 500.
That high payout ratio leaves ONEOK with less cash flow to reinvest back into its business to grow earnings. However, the company compensates for that by selling more shares and issuing additional debt to fund growth projects.
Further, the expansions it has underway generate very high returns. Overall, ONEOK has $4 billion of projects under construction, which will drive earnings growth over the next few years. One of the largest is the Elk Creek Pipeline, which will move natural gas liquids (NGLs) from theBakken ShaleandPowder River Basinto a hub in Kansas. ONEOK expects to invest $1.4 billion in building the pipeline, which should generate $230 million to $350 million in annual EBITDA when it enters service by the end of next year, or an EBITDA multiple of four to six times. Most of its expansion projects carry returns in that range.
The company's average return multiple is higher than many rival pipeline companies will earn on their expansions.Kinder Morgan's(NYSE: KMI)aim going forward is to secure $2 billion of growth projects per year, which it believes can generate $300 million of incremental EBITDA. That's an average capital-to-EBITDA multiple of seven times and would only grow Kinder Morgan's EBITDA by 4% per year.
Meanwhile, the return multiples for many of the projects under development byMagellan Midstream Partners(NYSE: MMP)are in the six- to eight-times EBITDA range. Because of that, the $1.7 billion of expansion projects Magellan currently has underway only will generate about $250 million in incidental EBITDA. That's partially why Magellan Midstream expects to grow its payout at a slower pace of 8% this year and a 5% to 8% annual rate in 2019 and 2020, even though it plans on paying out the same percentage of its cash flow as ONEOK.
ONEOK stands apart from most stocks because it pays out a much larger portion of its cash flow in dividends and earns very high returns on its expansion projects. Because of that, it offers the best combination of yield and growth in the S&P 500 these days. That unique blend makes it a compelling stock for both growth and dividend investors to consider buying.
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Matthew DiLalloowns shares of Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of ONEOK. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || 5 Top Stocks to Buy in June: The official start of summer is just a few weeks away. While you may have plans to take it easy, money invested in the stock market doesn't take vacations. It keeps compounding , month after month, year after year. There are ups and downs, of course, but over the long run, there's no better place to put your hard-earned cash. What stocks should you invest in? Five of our Motley Fool investors have some ideas. Here's why you should consider adding Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) , International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) , 3M Company (NYSE: MMM) , SodaStream International (NASDAQ: SODA) , and SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ: SEDG) to your portfolio in June. A cocktail drink with fresh lime and mint leaves next to sunglasses on a table, with a beach in the background. Image source: Getty Images. A top turnaround candidate Keith Speights (Gilead Sciences): There's no way to sugarcoat Gilead Sciences' problems over the last three years. The big biotech stock lost nearly half of its market cap during the period due to plunging sales for its hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs. However, I think Gilead is now poised to be a top turnaround candidate. One key reason why is that HCV sales should stabilize soon. The HCV market has come down to a one-on-one battle between Gilead and AbbVie . That should provide a setting for price stabilization. Gilead expects the numbers of new hepatitis C patients to continue to decline, but more slowly than in recent years. With HCV less of a drug for Gilead, the biotech's HIV franchise, which is set to generate solid growth, will be the big story for the company. Gilead recently launched Biktarvy, which market research firm EvaluatePharma projected as the biggest-selling new drug to reach the market in 2018 . Peak sales for the HIV drug could top $6 billion. Perhaps the most important component to Gilead's comeback, though, is the biotech's pipeline. Gilead and partner Galapagos are developing a promising anti-inflammatory drug, filgotinib. Analysts think the drug could achieve peak annual sales between $2 billion and $3 billion. There are also great opportunities for selonsertib, Gilead's lead candidate targeting treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Story continues Gilead stock currently trades at a little over 10 times expected earnings. If HCV sales stabilize, Biktarvy takes off, and the pipeline delivers like I expect, this biotech stock won't remain this cheap for too much longer. No love for Big Blue Tim Green (International Business Machines): The market didn't like IBM's first-quarter report in April, sending the stock tumbling despite better-than-expected revenue and earnings. Revenue jumped by 5% year over year, but that growth was driven almost entirely by currency. The company's gross margin also continued to erode, although the declines are getting smaller. A growth stock IBM is not. But that doesn't mean it can't be a solid long-term investment. IBM's growth businesses are expanding at a double-digit pace, accounting for 47% of total revenue over the past year. Cloud revenue is now 22% of total revenue, and it grew by 20% during the first quarter. And cloud delivered as a service, a key growth driver for IBM , now has an exit annual run rate of $10.7 billion, up 25% from one year ago. Declining sales in legacy businesses are still offsetting all this growth, leading to headline numbers that fail to impress. But I think the market is being too pessimistic. IBM stock now trades for just about 10.3 times the company's guidance for adjusted full-year earnings. And after a recent dividend bump, the stock yields 4.4%. This is a company that still has significant competitive advantages, including a large customer base dependent on its products and services. The rock-bottom valuation doesn't seem to reflect that. If you're looking for a beaten-down dividend stock in June, look no further than IBM. Don't listen to the market Neha Chamaria (3M): 3M is off nearly 25% from its 52-week highs. Remarkably, the steep fall has come in just the past four months, opening up an opportunity for smart investors to buy shares in the industrials conglomerate that's also among the only eight publicly listed companies that have increased their dividends for a jaw-dropping 60 consecutive years. More so, because the sell-off in 3M shares makes little sense. 3M had a banner year in 2017 , generating a record $30 billion in sales from a portfolio that comprises of more than 60,000 products that serve the needs of nearly every major industry you could think of. If you're wondering what kind of products, 3M is the owner of Post-it, Scotch, Scotch-Brite, Command, Filtrete, and Littmann brands, among others. So why did 3M lose favor with investors? While weakness in the broader market knocked off some gains early on, a sharp drop in the company's first-quarter earnings followed by an outlook downgrade in April added fuel to the fire. In reality, 3M's sales hit all-time first quarterly highs, and two significant one-time expenses hit its bottom line. While one was a tax-related expense, the other was related to the settlement of a lawsuit, which was actually a positive development for the company. Now here's the bigger news: Management downgraded its fiscal 2018 earnings per share (EPS) range estimate by 1% at the midpoint, primarily on the back of an unanticipated weakness in electronics. Yet, that was enough to spook investors as they saw 3M's guidance downgrade as a precursor to a slowdown in momentum in the industrials sector. I beg to differ, because 3M's outlook still calls for a double-digit growth in EPS this year. In fact, 3M is unwavering on its 2016-2021 financials goals of growing its EPS by 8%-11% and converting 100% of its net income into free cash flow. It's time you get serious about this dividend growth stock. Thirsty for high returns Demitri Kalogeropoulos (SodaStream): If it's been a while since you checked in with SodaStream, you might be surprised by just how well the business is doing. The sparkling water machine specialist just posted its ninth straight quarter of double-digit sales gains while achieving record profitability. The important usage metrics are all pointing in the right direction, too, with machine sales and carbon dioxide refills showing strength across a range of markets including Canada, Australia, Japan, and the United States. This is a far different business than the one that suffered painful sales and profit declines in 2014 and 2015. Since then, CEO Daniel Birnbaum and his team have shifted the brand focus from cola to sparkling water, lowered their manufacturing and distribution costs, released popular new machines, and improved relationships with key retailers. As a result, sales and earnings are both on pace to rise by about 15% this year after expanding nicely in 2017. Consumer appetites can change quickly, and that means SodaStream has to keep innovating if it wants to extend its positive momentum. The growth plan includes the launch of a new one-touch machine in the coming weeks and a bigger e-commerce platform that makes home delivery of carbon dioxide canister refills easier for its customer base. Looking further out, there's a big global market opportunity ahead for the company that, in delivering over 1.5 billion liters of sparkling water to consumers last year, can claim to be the world's biggest water brand, by volume. Who wants a second bite at the apple? Rich Smith (SolarEdge Technologies): What went up has come back down again, and that's great news for investors -- who now have a chance to buy SolarEdge stock for a great price in June. SolarEdge, one of the world's leading producers of solar inverters for converting direct current electricity from solar panels into alternating current electricity for home use, had a fabulous fiscal Q1, beating Wall Street estimates for both sales and earnings, reporting 11% sales growth, 430 basis points of improvement in gross profit margins, and a 134% increase in earnings per share (with 149% improvement in cash flow). Just like the analysts at Vertical Group predicted back in February, competitors to SolarEdge are "nowhere in sight." SolarEdge stock soared 26% in the few days following its Q1 2018 earnings release, but then, last week, the stock suffered whiplash. Over two days of trading, SolarEdge gave back literally every cent of its gains. The reason? No one knows. There's been no bad news whatsoever, that I can find, to explain the stock's sudden turnaround (unless you call investors "taking profits" a reason). As for the rest of us, thanks to the irrational decision to sell off SolarEdge stock, investors who missed their chance to buy before earnings have been given a second bite at the apple -- an opportunity to buy SolarEdge stock at its pre-earnings price, knowing beforehand just how wonderful those earnings numbers would be or already were. If I were you, I'd grab that apple. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Demitrios Kalogeropoulos has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Keith Speights owns shares of AbbVie and Gilead Sciences. Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Rich Smith owns shares of SolarEdge Technologies. Timothy Green owns shares of IBM. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool owns shares of SodaStream. The Motley Fool recommends 3M. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || How to Raise Your Credit Card Limit: There are many reasons to seek a higher credit limit. It gives you the freedom to make larger purchases. And it can even boost your credit score, which can help secure better loan terms and credit card offers in the future. But used improperly, a higher credit limit could hurt you more than it helps. Here's a short guide on when and how to ask for a higher credit limit -- and when not to. 5 credit cards stacked on top of one another Image source: Getty Images. Should I apply for an increased credit card limit? The first step in determining if you should apply for a credit limit increase is to ask yourself why you want it. If money is tight and you need every bit of credit you can get in order to keep the lights on, then it's probably not a good idea. Racking up large amounts of credit card debt can hurt your credit score. And if you fall behind on your payments, it might be tough to recover due to the high interest rates. It's also not a good idea to apply for a higher credit limit if your credit score is fair or poor -- that is, about 669 or below. In that case, you're unlikely to be approved, and you'll still incur a hard inquiry on your credit report when the card issuer checks your credit score. This can end up lowering your score even further. For most people, a single hard credit inquiry could knock anywhere from one to five points off your credit score, and that number could be higher for those with a short credit history or those with multiple hard inquiries close together. But if your credit is good -- 670 or above -- and you're not looking to go on a spending spree, then increasing your credit limit can be a smart financial move. It lowers your credit utilization ratio -- the amount of credit you're using compared to the amount you're eligible for. A low credit utilization ratio looks good to creditors and says that you're living comfortably within your means. It's best to keep your credit utilization ratio at 30% or less whenever possible. Story continues What affects my ability to get a credit limit increase? Whenever you apply for a new credit card or request an increase on an existing card, the card issuer will pull your credit report. This report compiles data about your income, debt, and payment history to provide creditors with a snapshot of how financially responsible you are. One of the most important factors is your debt-to-income ratio. This is similar to your credit utilization ratio, but it takes into account all your debt and measures it against your total income. A good debt-to-income ratio is 35% or less, and if you have a ratio of 50% or more, creditors may be hesitant to increase your credit limit in case you rack up debt that you aren't able to repay. Card issuers also look at your payment history. If you have a number of missed or late payments, they may be less likely to extend you a line of credit or increase your existing credit limit because there is a greater likelihood that you won't be able to pay them back. The length of your credit history plays a role as well. Young adults who have only a single credit card may have a hard time getting a credit limit increase, simply because there is not enough information for creditors to determine how responsible they are going to be with their money. If you have a co-signer, that person's credit report will also be evaluated when you apply for the card. If the co-signer's credit is better than yours, you may be eligible for a higher credit limit than you could get on your own because the credit card company has a means to recoup its money if you don't pay. How do I apply for a credit limit increase? Some credit card companies will automatically increase your credit limit once you've proved yourself to be a responsible cardholder. This means paying on time and not using too much of your existing line of credit. If your card issuer doesn't offer automatic increases, you will have to request one yourself. Usually, this can be done on the company's website or by calling the company. You may have to provide updated information about your income in order to determine your eligibility. Once you've submitted your request, the creditor will evaluate your account and decide on the request. If you are denied, you will receive a written notice explaining why. What if I'm denied? You have a few options if your card issuer denies your credit limit increase. A good place to start is to read the notice of denial and take steps to correct the issues the card company flagged. That may mean making an effort to pay off existing debt or getting better about making your payments on time. Once you've demonstrated that you are responsibly managing your existing credit, you can reapply for the credit limit increase. You could also try applying for a different credit card that offers a higher limit, but be realistic about your chances of approval. If you apply for the card and are denied, your credit score is going to take another hit from another hard inquiry. If you know your credit is poor, you may want to consider signing up for a secured credit card instead. These cards are designed to help people with poor credit improve their credit score over time. Credit limits are usually under $1,000, and you're required to put down a refundable deposit when you sign up, which lessens the risk to the card issuer in case you fail to pay. Your monthly payment history is sent to the credit bureaus, and responsible use of a secured credit card can go a long way toward repairing poor credit. You should only sign up for a secured credit card as a last resort, though. These cards often come with annual fees and high interest rates that could end up costing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars more if you fall behind on your payments. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || "Fortnite Battle Royale" Is Taking the Video Game Industry by Storm: Over the last decade, video game companies have churned out hit after hit across consoles, PCs, and mobile devices and it seemed giants likeActivisionBlizzard(NASDAQ: ATVI),Electronic Arts(NASDAQ: EA), andTake-Two Interactive(NASDAQ: TTWO)weregobbling up most of the market share. As long as they kept the hits coming, it seemed like there wasn't any real competition to worry about in video games. That was, untilFortnite Battle Royale.
Fortnitewas released in July 2017 by Epic Games, a privately held game developer 40% owned byTencent, as a game where up to four players work together to complete missions and rebuild the world after a natural disaster. But it was a floundering game untilFortnite Battle Royalewas released in September 2017 and that's the product that has taken the video game industry by storm.Fortnite Battle Royalehas attracted young gamers, hooked regular gamers, and its battle royale mode -- which blends elements of survival games with the last-player-standing goal of other games -- could be a template companies copy for the next decade.
Activision Blizzard'sCall of Duty Onlinein China added the game mode andOverwatchis looking to add battle royale as well, while Electronic Arts is also developing the mode forBattlefield V. If you're an investor in video game stocks, it's time to start paying attention to the tidal wave that's hitting video games and depending on how you look at it,Fortnite Battle Royalecould be good or bad for the rest of the industry.
Image source: Getty Images.
Fortniteis a multiplatform game whose battle royale mode pits players against one another with the goal of being the last one standing. Winners get prizes for conquering campaigns or seasons. Developer Epic Games has built the game on a free format, but allows players to buy upgrades through V-bucks, which can be used to buy into games or upgrade your player. It's been a very successful business model.
According to research firm Superdata, Epic Games generated $296 million in revenue fromFortnitein April, more than doubling from $126 million in February. On an annualized basis, April's revenue pace would be $3.55 billion each year, which would make it nearly as big as Electronic Arts.
ATVI revenue (TTM). Data byYCharts.
The impact on the video game industry isn't lost on the competition, either.
For now, video game executives are putting on a brave face and trying to seeFortnite Battle Royaleas a game that canmake the video game pie bigger for everyone. Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said exactly that in the company's first-quarter conference call:
Gaming is constantly evolving and innovating, which often expands the marketplace, and the success ofFortniteis no exception. This game is attracting new players of all ages and genders, and it is helping gaming become even more mainstream entertainment. Our biggest franchises are anchored by communities of tens of millions of players, and while many of our players try new games, they always come back to the franchises that are the foundation of the communities that they are a part of.
The positive twist that players always come back to Activision Blizzard games is easy to sell today, but we've never seen a hit likeFortnite Battle Royaleand I don't think investors should assume that past trends will hold given the game's success.According to data compiled by Statista, in April 2018Fortnitewas themost watched game on Twitch(a proxy for engagement) with 127.9 million hours viewed, nearly doublingLeague of Legends' 73.7 million hours.
According to EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen,Fortnite Battle Royaleis a way to bring in a younger audience. He said in the company's recent conferecne call, "... we do think, in the case ofFortnite, it's helped grow the whole marketplace. And in particular, it's bringing younger people into the marketplace and younger people into first-person shooters, and I think that's good for the long-run health of that category for all of us in the industry ... "
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick was a little more honest in his wishing that his company would make every hit:
I think the fact thatFortnitesurprised everyone, particularly given whereFortnitecame from, after all what is now in the market was based on a prior release that did not perform all that well. It's just a reflection of the fact that if you innovate and give consumers what they want, you can get an extraordinary result. And while we would love to corner the market in hits, and we certainly see it as our job to do so, we don't have all of the hits and we shouldn't expect to.
As much as each company may want to play offFortnite Battle Royaleas a positive for the industry, the fact that they aren't the ones developing the industry's biggest hit is both a new phenomenon and a bit jarring to the biggest video game makers in the U.S.
Activision Blizzard says the vitality ofFortnite Battle Royaleshows how the right content can capture the attention of millions of video game players in a very short amount of time. That's a fair assessment, but this time around, it's Epic Games that has the smash hit of the year, not Activision Blizzard, EA, or Take-Two. That's not a position these companies are used to.
What we don't yet know is the financial impactFortnitewill have on any of these video game companies' quarterly results, but it'll likely be noticeable in coming quarters. If engagement is up for one game, it's naturally going to be down for others, and at the end of the day, engagement is the key to making money in video games.
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Travis Hoiumhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, and Tencent Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends Electronic Arts. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Regulatory Uncertainty Deterring Crypto Insurance In Thailand: While Japan’s crypto exchange bitFlyer has formed a partnership with an insurance firm known as Mitsui Suitomo to offer the product, Coincheck has partnered with Nichido Fire Insurance and Tokyo Marine. Earlier in the year, Coincheck which is based in Tokyo was the victim of a hacking where virtual coins valued at more than half a billion U.S. dollars were stolen.
According to the secretary general of Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission, Suthipol Taweechaikarn cryptocurrency insurance products are not allowed due to the fact that their prices fluctuate wildly and this could expose insurance companies to high risks and this could expose the insurance firms to financial harm. Mr. Taweechaikarn, however, expressed hope that in future such products could be introduced once cryptocurrency regulations are put in place.
Besides Mitsui Suitomo Insurance and Tokyo Marine other insurers offering insurance products for cryptocurrencies include Chubb, XL Catlin, and Great American Insurance Group. In the case of Mitsui Suitomo Insurance, the cryptocurrency insurance product offers compensation for both internal as well as external threats. Mitsui Suitomo Insurance’s cryptocurrency cover, for instance, will compensate policyholders for employee theft, unauthorized access, and mistakes. Amounts covered range between ten million Japanese yen and one billion Japanese yen.
The preventive measures that the Japanese insurer takes in a holder to mitigate losses include conducting employee background checks of the partnering exchange as well as performing a security diagnosis audit. Great American Insurance Group, on the other hand, provides insurance cover for businesses which accept virtual currencies such as bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment. However, the unit of American Financial Group does not cover external threats such as hacking.
Some insurance firms will also offer cryptocurrency insurance to virtual currencies which are stored offline or in cold storage and avoid those that are in hot storage or online. This is because of the high risk of hacking that the coins in hot storage are exposed to. One of the world’s leading digital currency exchange, Coinbase, claims on its website that only less than 2% of its customer’s virtual coins are held in hot storage and these are already insured. It is understood that Lloyd’s of London is Coinbase’s insurer.
Currently, the global commercial insurance business is worth approximately $720 billion but the business generated by virtual currencies is only a tiny figure. However, insurers are hoping that as digital currencies get more popular this income stream will grow. Per CB Insights, a venture capital data provider, in 2017 over $5 billion was raised in digital coin sales with close to 800 deals being conducted. Estimates are not available indicating what fraction was insured or the value of premiums which were collected.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Natural Gas Price Fundamental Daily Forecast – Short-Term, Weather-Related Pullback Was Expected || Starbucks Is Looking a Bit Bruised After Last Week: Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is one of those love-it-or-hate-it companies -- you don't find a lot of people ambivalent about its coffee. There have always been more than enough fans of its brew, though, to keep it profitable and growing. However, as host Chris Hill and senior Motley Fool analysts Jason Moser, David Kretzmann, and Ron Gross note in this segment from the Motley Fool Money podcast, even the bean king can hit a slump. So, yes, it's closing a few more underperforming stores than it usually does, but did the market punish it excessively? Is this a buying opportunity, and what are its best moves from here? A full transcript follows the video. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This This video was recorded on June 22, 2018. Chris Hill: Starbucks' management left shareholders with a bitter taste this week. Starbucks lowered sales guidance, announced it would be slowing the number of store openings, and that they'll be closing 150 company-owned stores next week. Jason, that is three times the number of stores that they typically close in a year. This is a bad week. Jason Moser: Yeah, but Howard Schultz just got out in front of us and said, "Hey, listen, the stock is undervalued. It's a buying opportunity." Now, he knows one or two things about the business. Hill: It's certainly 10% cheaper than it was at the beginning of the week. Moser: [laughs] It is. It was interesting, I asked a bit of a rhetorical question on Twitter the other day in regard to their loyalty program. I'm just befuddled by the fact that they only have 15 million active U.S. rewards card members. To me, that seems very low. Panera, over a year ago, before they went private, had around 25 million. I mean, listen, I'm one of those donks that opens my app, goes in to buy the coffee, and I realize every once in a while that I get a free one. I don't give it a lot of thought. Story continues Ron Gross: A befuddled donk. [laughs] Moser: But it was interesting to see the responses I got on Twitter. There are a lot of people out there that had a lot of feedback in regard to the rewards program. My point was, if I'm Kevin Johnson, I'm looking at that as very low-hanging fruit, and I'm figuring out a way to double that number, from 15 million to 30 million, over the coming year. Based on all of the feedback I got from the good folks on Twitter, there are a lot of opportunities, I think, they have to make that program better. That is an instant traffic driver. China's always going to be there. Let's not use slowing comps for a quarter as a real reason to sound the alarms. I really do feel like the rewards program could use some fixing, and that would be an easy one. Hill: I'm not saying that they shouldn't be slowing the store growth, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be closing underperforming stores. But, taken altogether, David, this is a bad week. David Kretzmann: Yeah, not ideal. Still, 150 stores compared to, what, how many stores? Close to 25,000-30,000 now? Gross: 1 billion stores, they have. Kretzmann: Just about. They'll have a store for every person in the world at this rate. In the grand scheme of things, it's actually not a huge deal. But, obviously, for this week, it's painful. But, I agree with Jason. I think the mobile app and that whole digital payment experience, that's low-hanging fruit. When I look at Starbucks today, there are so many different levers the company can pull. You have iced beverages, food, the premium Roastery and Reserve brands. Taken all in all, you have a stock now trading for a forward P/E of about 20X. You also have a dividend yield close to 2.5%. I look at this as a buying opportunity. I agree with Howard Schultz. Gross: I just want to go on record and say, about ten years ago, I told my wife that there were too many Starbucks, and they would need to close some. I just wanted to go on record as saying I was right. Moser: You really went out on a limb there, didn't you, Ron? Gross: [laughs] Yeah. Chris Hill owns shares of Starbucks. David Kretzmann owns shares of Starbucks and Twitter. Jason Moser owns shares of Starbucks and Twitter. Ron Gross has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Starbucks and Twitter. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Bitcoin In The Red Again, Sub-$7,000 Levels Now On The Cards: Bitcoin fell by 1.85% on Saturday, following Friday’s 1.58% fall, to end the day at $7,318.9, leaving Bitcoin down 14.1% for the current week.
An early morning rally saw Bitcoin break into $7,600 levels with an intraday high $7,624.1, coming within reach of the day’s first major resistance level at $7,634.53 before easing back to $7,500 levels and a particularly range bound afternoon that left the day’s support and resistance levels untested until a late in the day sell-off.
Bitcoin fell through the day’s first major support level at $7,298.63 to an intraday low $7,281 before recovering to $7,300 levels by the day’s end.
Failing to break through the day’s first major resistance level, while testing the day’s first major support level reaffirmed the bearish trend formed in early May, with Bitcoin coming nowhere near the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level at $7,906.4 and $8,000 levels needed to begin a bearish trend reversal.
There was no materially negative news hitting the wires to pin Bitcoin back through the day, with investor sentiment continuing to be on the bearish side following news out of the U.S, South Korea and Japan in recent weeks on probes into cryptomarket exchanges and trading practices.
Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down 0.81% to $7,268, with the late Saturday sell-off spilling into the early hours of the day.
A start of the day intraday low and new swing lo $7,220 managed to hold above the day’s first major support level at $7,191.9 before recovering to current levels, though the Bitcoin bulls are certainly not out of the woods yet, with Bitcoin’s first major resistance level at $7,535 and 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $7,906.4 some way off.
For the day ahead, a move back through the morning’s $7,330.8 high to $7,410 would support a run at the day’s first major resistance level at $7,535 before any reversal, with Bitcoin investors likely to face plenty of resistance at $7,500, pinning back any run at the day’s second major resistance level at $7,751 and the 23.6% FIB Retracement Level of $7,906.4.
Investors have continued to lock in profits early, leading to the downward trend in daily highs, with Bitcoin now having failed to touch $8,000 levels for a 3rdconsecutive day.
Failing to move back through to $7,400 levels would support another day in the red, with Bitcoin likely to test the day’s first major support level at $7,191.9 and the second major support level at $7,064.9 before any recovery.
How far Bitcoin slides before a bearish trend reversal kicks in remains to be seen, but sub-$6,000 levels will likely be in sight, particularly when considering what’s to come for the cryptomarkets this summer, global and ‘in-country’ regulations expected to hit the markets hard.
With Bitcoin in the red, the rest of the majors followed, Stellar’s Lumen seeing the heaviest losses, down 2.97%, with Monero down 2.33% and Bitcoin Cash down 2.37% and things could get worse should hopes of a weekend rally continue to fade through the morning.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• ICO vs. DAICO: What’s the Difference? || How Facebook's Connectivity Ambitions Are Evolving: Over the past several years, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has had ambitions to help deliver internet connectivity to more people, hoping to get billions of people online and ideally hooked on its growing number of social media services. The idea was essentially copied out of Alphabet subsidiary Google's playbook, which similarly realized that it could garner more users by providing connectivity in emerging markets. Facebook faced a major setback two years ago when it lost an internet satellite that was intended to deliver connectivity to rural Africa after the SpaceX rocket carrying it exploded. The company never replaced that satellite, which had been built by France's Eutelsat , although it likely got reimbursed through insurance. Facebook is now shuttering its other connectivity play. Illustration of a satellite constellation surrounding Earth Image source: Getty Images. Clipping Aquila's wings Facebook has announced that it is grounding Aquila, the solar-powered internet drone that it has been testing for the past two years. Aquila, which had the wingspan of a commercial airliner, first took flight almost exactly two years ago , about two years after the project began in 2014. That first flight (below) lasted for about 30 minutes. While the company has made progress with various aspects of the technology over the years, Facebook says it has chosen to stop designing and building its own aircraft in favor of partnering with incumbent aerospace companies like Airbus . The company will close its facility in Bridgwater, U.K., where the drones were being built. Facebook isn't giving up entirely on its attempts to connect more people to the internet. The company may now be reviving that plan of beaming internet down to earth with satellites, except on a larger scale. Back to space IEEE Spectrum reported in May that Facebook appears to have established a shell subsidiary called PointView Tech, which has filed documents with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) detailing plans to develop an internet satellite named Athena that it hopes to launch in early 2019. Story continues Remember that Elon Musk's SpaceX also has grand ambitions to create a constellation of "Starlink" internet satellites, which it estimates could have 40 million subscribers generating over $30 billion in revenue by 2025 . The disruptive rocket company launched the first Starlink test satellites into lower earth orbit (LEO) earlier this year. Today's Falcon launch carries 2 SpaceX test satellites for global broadband. If successful, Starlink constellation will serve least served. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2018 PointView says its Athena satellites will deliver data speeds that are 10 times faster than SpaceX's Starlink. Tech giants are increasingly turning to the stars with connectivity plans. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is also exploring space internet. Even Apple could be considering developing a space internet network, after hiring experts in spacecraft and satellites last year. Facebook does seem to be quietly pushing forward with internet satellites. Hopefully the next ones won't get blown to smithereens. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Evan Niu, CFA owns shares of AAPL and Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GOOG, GOOGL, AAPL, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL and short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
IMT AIRDROP and Whitelisting Get 22222 IMT Token ( worth $100 )
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSciAEfeTKvcdM-IQc9BNgAtXt4jZNRhNBFtw4_M0knJ6upcxw/viewform …
#ICO #airdrop #bounty #BTC #xrp #ftoken #Crypto #ETH #NEO #Blockchain #ripple #trx #tron #trx #binance #crypto #airdrops #token #cryptocurrency #freetoken #mew #erc20 || Hardhack nodded to the Wabbit. "Tipsy just sold you the keyholders' bitcoins. Then you sold them to me. Tipsy bought them back and now I have them." in The Wabbit and the Big Spike https://buff.ly/2kKaGU5 #bitcoin #cryptocurency #rabbits || Moreover, Bitcoin is not like the internet, where the surviving nodes can continue on || New post (Bitcoin's Low Volume Breakout Could Be a Bull Trap) has been published on Bitcoin Mine News - https://bitcoinmine.co.za/bitcoins-low-volume-breakout-could-be-a-bull-trap/ … #bitcoin #bitcoinmining #btc #altcoinspic.twitter.com/flDMCnKYN0 || How Hodl Hodl Is Building a Real Business With Bitcoin Smart Contracts https://criptocurrencycertification.com/how-hodl-hodl-is-building-a-real-business-with-bitcoin-smart-contracts/ … || #crypto price changes last 4 hours
$DOGE +2.86%
$FLO +1.56%
$SPHR +1.17%
$TRST -16.69%
$GLD -9.52%
$RADS -7.09%
#bitcoin #cryptocurrency || 主要仮想通貨6月4日9時の価格
$BTC ￥845,645
$ETH ￥67,729
$XRP ￥74
$BCH ￥128,201
$LTC ￥13,747
$ADA ￥25
24時間急上昇草コイン
$GSR ￥111 +146.98%
$CCO ￥21 +134.93%
$ZBC ￥24 +132.53%
$MTNC ￥3 +91.78%
$NUKO ￥3 +82.07%
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Tracking Link for OMINEX http://www.lsm007.com/aff_c?offer_id=92&aff_id=10599 … https://twitter.com/share?text=Tracking%20Link%20for%20OMINEX%20http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lsm007.com%2Faff_c%3Foffer_id%3D92%26aff_id%3D10599 … || Jun 16, 2018 01:30:00 UTC | 6,410.10$ | 5,516.40€ | 4,825.80£ | #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/ek1QAEvAFV
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Trend: down || Prices: 6529.59, 6597.55, 6639.14, 6673.50, 6856.93, 6773.88, 6741.75, 6329.95, 6394.71, 6228.81
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Trading on Bearish Side of Major Retracement Zone: TheAUD/USDfell on Tuesday to its lowest level since December 21 on concerns that China, a major trading partner, may be hit by U.S. sanctions. Position-squaring ahead of Wednesday’s Fed interest rate decision, monetary policy statement and economic forecasts also weighed on the Forex pair.
Traders widely expect the central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate 25-basis points. This would be the first interest rate hike of the year. Traders will also be looking for clues that the central bank may tighten monetary policy at a faster clip later this year to prevent the economy from overheating.
As of Tuesday’s close, futures market data from the CME Group shows the chances of rates going up more than three times this year is around 40%, compared with 25% a month ago.
The main trend is down according to the daily swing chart. The downtrend was reaffirmed earlier this week when sellers took out the March 1 swing bottom at .7712.
The main range is .7501 to .8135. Its retracement zone is .7818 to .7743. The AUD/USD is currently trading on the weak side of this retracement zone. This is adding to the Forex pair’s downside bias.
Based on Tuesday’s close at .7682 and yesterday’s price action, the direction of the AUD/USD today is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the previous bottom at .7712.
A sustained move under .7712 will signal the presence of sellers. If selling volume continues to increase on this move then we could see the start of a sell-off that eventually leads to a test of the December 8 main bottom at .7501.
The daily chart shows there is nothing to stop a plunge to .7501 so we could also see an acceleration to the downside if the selling pressure is strong enough.
Overcoming .7712 will indicate the selling is getting weaker. Overtaking the Fibonacci level at .7443 will indicate the short-covering is getting stronger. This could generate the upside momentum needed to challenge the 50% level at .7818.
Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Trading on Bearish Side of Major Retracement Zone || Bill Gates Says Cryptocurrencies Have Caused Deaths: Though the philanthropy under Bill Gates’ name has partnered with cryptocurrency firm Ripplein a bid to help the unbanked, the world’s second richest man said Tuesday that the main feature of Bitcoin and its ilk is not a “good thing.”
In previous media interviews, Gates has been quoted saying that Bitcoin is “better than currency,” and that it “is exciting because it shows how cheap (transactions) can be.” That wasback in 2014.
When quizzed regarding his views on cryptocurrencies in his sixth Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session Tuesday though, the billionaire focused instead on the downsides of Bitcoin and its peers. Namely, that the cryptocurrencies don’t reveal the name of their holders in the way a credit card statement might--making it easier for illegal transactions to fly under the radar.
“The main feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity. I don’t think this is a good thing,” he said in theRedditpost. “The government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now cryptocurrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way.”
Notably, some cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are pseudonymous, while others such as Monero are billed as havingadditional privacy features. Signs have emerged in recent months that less famous digital coins such as Monero have become the cryptocurrency of choice for criminals.
In a parallel to his 2014 interview, Gates also commented on how cryptocurrencies did not require face-to-face interaction.
Back in 2014, when the price of Bitcoin totaled about $350 and average fees per transaction tallied 6 cents, and indeed after the infamous online drug market place SilkRoad wasshuttered by U.S. officials, Gates noted that Bitcoin is better than currency as “you don’t physically have to be in the same place, and of course for large transactions, currency can get pretty convenient.”
Four years later today, though, Gates noted that when it comes to criminal enforcement, cash actually has an upside.
“Yes--anonymous cash is used for these kinds of things,” he wrote in the Reddit AMA, following a comment about cash’s anonymity. “But you have to be physically present to transfer it which makes things likekidnapping paymentsmore difficult.”
Notably, though, while Gates pointed to the negatives of cryptocurrencies as a store of value, he did not decry the technology underlying it. And Gates has in the past made positive comments on the technological advancements that Bitcoin represents, rather than Bitcoin itself. During a BackChannel interview in 2015, he noted that people need to “draw on the revolution of Bitcoin, but Bitcoin alone is not good enough.”
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also released a software in October, in tandem with Ripple, in a bid to make it cheaper for developing countries to build financial services infrastructure.
The price of cryptocurrency poster child, Bitcoin, remained steady, despite on user speculating its value might drop following comments from theworld’s second wealthiest man.
The price of Bitcoin rose about 3.5% Tuesdayto $10,600.
See original article on Fortune.com
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With Friday's birth of a new coin called "bitcoin private," the cryptocurrency space just keeps getting more meta. The much-discussed launch finds the cryptocurrency being created from a copy of thezclassiccryptocurrency (itself a copy ofzcash, which was a copy of bitcoin).
But if that sounds crazy, it's all - allegedly - in the spirit of innovation.
"The big experiment with airdropped coins was that they'll just fail, and if people are getting free coins, they'll just immediately sell them and it will dump down to pennies," said Rhett Creighton, who's leading the bitcoin private effort.
Yet, in a number of cases, that notion just didn't pan out.
Bitcoin cash, bitcoin gold and ethereum classic, three high-profile hard forks, are now valued at $1,285, $115 and $34, respectively. And for those who owned large amounts of bitcoin or ether, those launches meant big gains with little effort.
But for zclassic, its fork wasn't exactly a success story. Zclassic flatlined throughout most of 2017, falling to under $2 per coin, while zcash stayed in the hundreds.
Rather than walk away, though, in December, Creighton doubled down.
"I would like to propose revitalizing zclassic by migrating it to become a bitcoin hard fork, 'Bitcoin Private' (or possibly another name),"Creighton tweeted.
And although Creighton told members of a Telegram channel he didn't write any of the code or create the white paper, logo or website, his concept has come to life.
In this way, bitcoin private is perhaps the pinnacle of the forking phenomenon, and in turn, it has become somewhat of a punching bag for crypto enthusiasts on Twitter. TraderPeter McCormack dismissed itas "brand stealing" and "unnecessary," while a popular Twitter user @dandarkpillcalled the project"an abominable potpourri of buzzword features."
Yet, the cryptocurrency has garnered a significant amount of interest, for distributing new, free coins to users of, not just one existing blockchain, but two: zclassic and bitcoin.
By forking a code base, a user's private key can be made to access multiple wallets, a method that, while criticized on security grounds, Creighton sees as a feature that could become important over time.
He told CoinDesk:
"So you have in the case of bitcoin, all these people have their private keys, but when forks spring up now the same private key can be used in different peer-to-peer networks. It seems to be a key piece to the technology."
But is this really innovative? As Creighton puts it, "No one has ever done a fork like this."
And he's right - the value proposition and mechanisms at work might be perhaps the strangest and most complex yet of any fork.
Specifically, what bitcoin private is implementing - or, rather, reinstating - is similar to zcash's "founder's fee," a line of code that allocates 20 percent of the cryptocurrency generated by mining to the zcash development team.
Removing the zcash founder's fee was the core value proposition of zclassic (which bitcoin private is forking from). But what shook out was a cryptocurrency that failed to keep pace, its wallet causing so many problems it wasshut downby exchange Bittrex recently.
According to thebitcoin private white paper, this was due to a lack of developer funding:
"Zclassic suffered from the same ideas which it derived its greatness: the absence of a founder's tax led to a lack of active development."
So, bitcoin private reintroduces a type of founders' fee. Prior to the launch of bitcoin private, zclassic miners were asked to contribute computing power to the zclassic protocol in exchange for new private bitcoins, and to put the old coins into a pool that will fund development of the new protocol. (The old zclassic chain will keep on running in parallel.)
The white paper stresses this program was voluntary. Otherwise, bitcoin private looks nearly identical to zcash.
"We wanted to create the fork in a short period of time, I think that we didn't feel like we had enough time to really consider the best options," he said, stressing that updates would soon be forthcoming.
Yet to many, bitcoin private, in that it's a basic carbon copy of zcash, is just another cash grab. Indeed, for a handful of investors, it definitely seems that way already.
Following the announcement of the fork, zclassic's price shot up, peaking at $199.26, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Then, shortly following the so-calledsnapshot on February 28, zclassic sank from $122 to $24.
This is notable, as a snapshot is a process whereby developers create a type of freeze-frame of the blockchain they're forking - in this case, both zclassic and bitcoin - replicating the data and then diverging from there. The snapshot allows the new coins to be airdropped to wallets on the connecting blockchains at equivalent rates.
In response to those price movements, crypto investor and entrepreneurRichard Heart tweeted, "Have you heard of a pump and dump before?"
And ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin even displayed some confusion, if not disapproval, after a Twitter user linking Buterin's praise of zk-snarks privacy technology to bitcoin private,tweeting in reply, "Why not just use zcash?"
Plus, a number of crypto enthusiasts have become irate at the rate of hard forks, using only slight variations of long-established cryptocurrencies' names, which many think are confusing the industry and exacerbating scams. Charlie Lee, the creator of litecoin, for instance, voiced his concerns recently over a litecoin hard fork that's using the namelitecoin cash.
Yet, Creighton remains suspiciously optimistic.
"We're going to be tapping into all of the people that are key holders of bitcoin, so we're tapping into that network, and what we're giving those people is zk-snarks privacy, plus the same decentralized mining as bitcoin gold, plus faster block times and larger blocks," he said.
Finally, he pointed to a typical refrain of crypto enthusiasts:
"People decide how they're going to value that."
Disclosure:CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Zcash Company, the for-profit entity that develops the zcash protocol.
Forks and spoonsimage via Shutterstock
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• Decentralized Marketplace OpenBazaar Now Accepts Bitcoin Cash || How Hulu Can Afford to Spend Billions Despite Its Small Subscriber Base: Hulu reportedly spent $2.5 billion on content last year. While that's considerably less than Netflix' s (NASDAQ: NFLX) $8 billion content budget for 2018, keep in mind that Hulu only operates in the United States and Japan. It also has just 17 million subscribers, about 100 million fewer than Netflix when you include trial members. The lofty content spending, along with the launch of a virtual pay-TV service last year, resulted in the company losing nearly $1 billion, according to BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield . That showed up in the results of parent companies Disney (NYSE: DIS) , Twenty-First Century Fox , Comcast , and Time Warner . What's more, management at those companies says the losses will increase next year. "We now expect that equity loss for the year to be approximately $250 million higher than last year," Disney CFO Christine McCarthy told analysts on the first-quarter earnings call. Considering Disney's 30% stake in the company, that implies total losses will increase over $800 million this year. That's in line with Greenfield's estimate that Hulu's losses will grow to $1.7 billion. Such a loss could have a big impact on Hulu's parent companies. But here's why investors shouldn't worry. A still of actress Elisabeth Moss from Hulu original Image Source: Hulu. Moving money from one pocket to another While Hulu has some original content and licenses the back catalog of certain classic TV shows from a few television studios, most of its content comes from licensing shows from networks owned by its parent companies. So when Hulu "spends" money, it's just a matter of accounting. Last year, Disney generated about $500 million in revenue from licensing its television and film programming to Hulu, according to its 10-K. That $500 million more than covers Disney's $276 million share of Hulu's losses from last year. Other stakeholders don't disclose details on licensing revenue. While expenses are going up considerably this year, the parent companies' revenues should increase, as well. Hulu launched Hulu Live last year, which distributed channels like ESPN, Fox News, NBC Sports, and TNT. Who owns those networks? Hulu's parent companies. Selling a streaming bundle can help offset losses at traditional distributors, even if Hulu itself isn't making money off the service. Story continues Will Hulu ever become profitable as a stand-alone business? Netflix generated over half a billion dollars in net income last year. It still spent a ton of cash -- more than it brought in -- but from an accounting standpoint, it's profitable. It's significantly more profitable in the United States, where it's more mature. Netflix also is absolutely massive -- about three times bigger than Hulu in the U.S. plus an even bigger audience internationally. But Netflix was still a profitable business back when it was primarily operating in the U.S. and just starting out in streaming. Of course, Netflix didn't have much in the way of competition when it came to subscription streaming-video services. Hulu will certainly require a continued investment from its parent companies for at least the next few years as it works to grow its subscriber base. With the potential for Disney to take control of the service next year after the acquisition of Fox, that investment might continue to climb as it works to attract a substantial subscriber base along with its other forthcoming streaming services . "It takes an investment for sure," Disney Chief Strategy Officer, Kevin Mayer, said. "And we're happy to undertake that investment for the outcome which we know is going to happen, which would be a big profitable service." If Hulu plans to be profitable at its current level of spending, it needs to grow to a size comparable to Netflix in the U.S. It's done relatively well recently, increasing its subscriber count by 5 million over the last 18 months or so. By comparison, Netflix added 6.8 million subscribers in the U.S. during roughly the same period. In the meantime, Hulu can afford to take some losses on paper because its parent company is putting most of them -- if not all of them -- back into its pockets elsewhere on the income statement. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast and Time Warner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis – 04/03/18: An early weekend rally came to an abrupt end on Saturday, with Bitcoin Cash’s intraday high of $1,298.5, hit in the early part of the morning, all there was for investors to smile about as a bearish trend formed through the middle part of the day.
Bitcoin Cash’s failure to break through to $1,300 levels and test its first major resistance level of $1,305 likely weighed, leaving investors to lock in profits from the week and sit back and wait for another dip.
There was certainly no negative news through the day to impact investor sentiment and, while Bitcoin Cash gained 9.43% gain Monday through Friday, it’s been a relatively flat couple of days, with Bitcoin Cash ending Saturday down 0.48% to $1,267.8, following on from Friday’s 0.43% fall.
Saturday’s intraday low $1,251.7 was reflective of just how range bound Bitcoin Cash was through the day, with the low sitting above its first major support level of $1,250 on the day.
Things have not improved this morning, with Bitcoin Cash down 2.27% to $1,240 at the time of writing, falling below its first major support level of $1,246.8 early in the day, which could see Bitcoin Cash dip to $1,200 if there is no recovery through to $1,250 levels through the rest of the morning.
We’ve seen the peak and troughs through the weekends and, while Bitcoin Cash did hit a weekend high $1,298.5 on Saturday morning, the weekend has lacked sparks for Bitcoin’s little brother.
It’s looking bearish and any pullback through the 2ndsupport level of $1,225.9 could see Bitcoin Cash test $1,200 support, which should be strong enough to avoid a more material decline through to the end of the day.
For a reversal of the bearish trend, a move back through $1,250 to today’s intraday high $1,269.5 would support a run through today’s major resistance level of $1,294, though $1,300 may be a step too far for the day.
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Following a good start to the month, with Litecoin having risen 7.61% from Monday’s open through to an intraweek high $217.5 on Saturday morning, Litecoin has gone into reverse, with a bearish trend having formed through Saturday.
Litecoin slipped 0.8% on Saturday to end the day at $210.31, with a break through its first major resistance level of $215.5 sealing Litecoin’s fate, leading to an intraday low $209.16 before a partial recovery to the day’s end.
At the time of writing, Litecoin was down 1.14% to $208, with red seen across the majority of the crypto majors this morning, Stella’s Lumen and Ripple the only exceptions.
A continued fall through to $207.15 would test its first major support level for the day, which could see Litecoin test $200 support levels should a move back through to today’s intraday high $211.13 not materialize.
While it’s looking bearish, we will expect plenty of support at sub-$200 levels to avoid ending the day below $200, which would certainly be an outcome that would see selling pressure build through the start of next week.
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Ripple had a relatively choppy day on Saturday, hitting an intraday high $0.92583 in the early hours, breaking through its first resistance level of $0.92056 before going into reverse, a trend that was seen across the majority of the majors on the day.
An intraday low $0.88326 failed to lead to a bigger pullback on the day, with Ripple’s XRP managing to avoid testing its first major support level of $0.87563 through the day, with a recovery to $0.89664 by the close, a 0.08% rise for the day.
The disappointment for Ripple investors will not only be that Ripple closed out the day at sub-$0.90 levels, but that Ripple has now spent 9-days without hitting $1.00 levels, while some of the other Crypto majors have managed to hold on to key levels.
At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was up 0.23% to $0.89599, bucking the trend in the early hours, with Ripple’s XRP having hit an intraday high $0.91507 at the start of the day.
It’s been fairly sideways for Ripple since the decline from the start of the month’s $0.9635 high and for the XRP bulls, a move through to today’s early high is going to be needed to test the day’s first major resistance level of $0.92056. While $1.00 levels will be a step too far, holding above $0.90 would be a step in the right direction.
On the flip side, if there is a pullback to yesterday’s $0.88326 low, today’s first major support level of $0.87799 would likely be tested, which may see investors get nervous and lead to a larger dip before buyers return.
For Ripple’s XRP to hold on to the early gains, the major cryptos will need to begin reversing early losses, else we will expect Ripple’s XRP to reverse early gains.
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Thisarticlewas originally posted on FX Empire
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• Natural Gas Price Fundamental Weekly Forecast – Overall Demand Expected to Be Moderate to High This Week || Asset Sales Will Solidify GE's Financial Position: Last quarter, General Electric (NYSE: GE) surpassed its free cash flow forecast by a stunning $2.7 billion, even though EPS barely reached the low end of guidance. Nevertheless, several GE analysts continue to warn investors about the company's weak balance sheet and a potential "cash crunch." These bearish analysts seem to ignore General Electric's asset sale plans, though. The main goal of slimming down is that a more focused GE would be more likely to achieve strong long-term financial performance. However, there will also be a series of cash windfalls in the next two years or so, which will help the company clean up its balance sheet while maintaining its dividend. Lining up asset sale deals GE has already launched the asset sale process. Last September, it agreed to sell its Industrial Solutions unit -- part of its troubled power segment -- to ABB for $2.6 billion. The sale price represents a hefty valuation of 12 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. A large GE Power turbine GE is selling off pieces of its troubled power business. Image source: General Electric. It looks like General Electric's iconic lighting division will be the next to go, as the company follows through on a plan to exit its consumer-facing businesses . Last month, GE reached a deal to sell much of its overseas lighting business (along with its automotive lighting unit) to a former executive. This month, GE began shopping the remainder of its lighting operations, including the key U.S. business. It has attracted interest from at least two Chinese companies, and some of GE's domestic competitors may also bid. The sale could potentially raise about $1 billion. General Electric also recently hired bankers to market its industrial gas engine business. This piece of the struggling power segment could be worth $2 billion in a sale, according to Reuters . The biggest asset sales probably won't occur until 2019. Most notably, GE is likely to jettison its entire rail-focused transportation segment. It may also sell part or all of its massive aircraft leasing unit, its healthcare IT business, and other parts of its power business. Story continues A rendering of the Boeing 737 MAX GE could potentially sell part or all of its aircraft leasing subsidiary. Image source: Boeing. The Baker Hughes stake will also generate cash General Electric's 62.5% stake in Baker Hughes, a GE Company (NYSE: BHGE) could be another significant source of cash in the next few years. General Electric has agreed to hold on to its Baker Hughes shares until at least mid-2019. During that time, it will get 62.5% of the cash from any share repurchases by Baker Hughes, without having its stake diluted. Given that Baker Hughes announced a $3 billion share buyback program last fall -- and has billions of dollars of cash on its balance sheet -- the proceeds to GE will be significant. After the lockup period expires, there's a good chance that General Electric will look to unload its Baker Hughes stake. That stake is currently worth about $21 billion, but its value could rise significantly if oil prices continue to trend higher and Baker Hughes achieves its merger synergy targets. 2019 earnings per share estimates for Baker Hughes cover a wide range from $1.27-$1.95, reflecting analysts' uncertainty about the company's outlook. If Baker Hughes' EPS is trending toward the upper part of that range, GE's stake could be worth far more than $21 billion by the time the lockup period expires. That will be good for investors, regardless of whether General Electric sells its stake for cash or spins it off to shareholders. The cash crunch fears are unfounded Late last year, GE cut its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.12. The company has 8.7 billion shares outstanding, so its dividend now represents an annual cost of $4.2 billion. General Electric already generates enough free cash flow to cover this payout, even if you exclude parts of the company that are likely to be sold. As a result, GE will be able to put all of its asset sale proceeds toward shoring up its balance sheet. It should be able to dramatically improve its pension funding over the next few years while also reducing its debt. By the time GE's asset sales start to wind down, the underlying cash flow from its remaining businesses should rebound. Furthermore, General Electric's two big secular growth businesses -- aviation and healthcare -- are likely to drive steady free cash flow growth beyond 2020. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool is short shares of General Electric. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || The iced tea company that changed its name to include 'blockchain' retracts on bitcoin mining operation: Remember the iced tea company that changed its name to Long Blockchain and immediately shot up by 500 percent on the stock market? Well, it turns out it may not be getting into the blockchain after all. The company has decided to backoff from its pledge to buy 1,000 bitcoin mining machines -- just six weeks after it said it would be doing so. Of course, six weeks ago bitcoin was worth a whole lot more than it is now -- it's currently trading at $10,000 less than it was at the beginning of the year. That's not to say it won't go up again but investors are rightfully skittish at this point. That slump has affected Long Blockchain's shares, which have plunged 50 percent since it reached its dizzying height, causing the company's market cap to sink below the $35 million minimum value required to list on Nasdaq's exchange. While we continue to believe in the value of mining equipment to the blockchain ecosystem, the purchase of these machines - which was negotiated as a no-risk option to the Company - was just one of the multiple strategic avenues we have been considering," Shamyl Malik, head of the Companys Blockchain Strategy Committee, said in a statement . Instead, Long Blockchain says it will "continue to evaluate the purchase of mining equipment for Bitcoin and other digital currencies as part of our larger blockchain initiative" as it moves ahead on completing a merger with British firm Stater Blockchain, which works on "developing and deploying globally scalable blockchain technology solutions in the financial market," according to its website . Note, however, Long Blockchain was already in a pickle before adding blockchain to the name. Shares dipped by 24 percent over the last 12 months and the company received a warning letter from Nasdaq in October, prompting the zany strategy to change its name to a zeitgeisty buzzword. As it turns out, glomming on to the trend of the moment to boost your value can only hold you for so long. There's no word on when the merger will be complete but one thing is clear -- Long Blockchain is not likely to see the type of gains it once did simply by changing its name. Story continues This article originally appeared on TechCrunch . Related Video: Watch original series, sports, and more on go90. || A math formula from the 1990s can help investors make smart bets on the exploding ICO market: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)
• The initial coin offering market is off to a red-hot start in 2018, according to new data from Autonomous NEXT.
• RBC analyst Mitch Steves outlines a way to value the network of ICOs in a note to clients.
Bitcoinmay be down nearly 50% from its all-time high set in December, but the market for initial coin offerings (ICOs) is still humming along.
Autonomous NEXT
ICOs allow companies to raise funds by issuing their own token. They've allowed companies spanning industries from gaming to finance to raise millions of dollars in a matter of seconds.
Still, compared to more established markets pin-pointing good investment decisions in the ICO space isn't as clear cut, according to RBC analyst Mitch Steves.
"In the stock market, we value companies based on a wide variety of metrics that range from sales valuations, book valuations, earnings valuations and cash flow valuations," he said.
None of these things exist for crypto.
In a note to clients, Steves said investors could use so-called Metcalfe's Law to value the network of a given token in the market, which is known for its fair share of fraud and froth.
"Fast fundraising with minimal regulations has allowed several unsavory individuals to profit off ICOs," Steves wrote.
Still, many see a big opportunity in the ICO market. At least 170 crypto funds have opened shop to capitalize on such opportunities, according to financial technology analytics provider Autonomous NEXT.
"Many real projects are solving real problems and are successfully leveraging blockchain technology to address challenges that have so far been unsolvable," said Simon Yu, the chief executive of blockchain tech company StormX. "Remain vigilant."
RBC
Metcalfe's Law was formulated in the earliest days of the internet to examine the power of network effects. The law, which suggests the value of a telecommunications network is equal to the square of the number of users connected in the system, can be used in three ways to value an ICO's network, according to Steves. From the note:
"The first is the most common which would require taking the total value of the cryptocurrency and dividing by kN^2 (where N represents users). The second application could take the same formula and apply this where N represents number of transactions per second. Finally, the third, would take N such that N represents the number of active nodes in the network."
New data from Autonomous NEXT shows more than $1.8 billion has been raised via the cryptocurrency-based fundraising mechanism since the beginning of the year. That's more than one-fourth of the amount raised in 2017.
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• Even crypto bulls expect a big shake out this year: 'The market right now is just everyone wants a Lamborghini' || Why United Parcel Service, Inc. Stock Fell 7% Thursday: Shares ofUnited Parcel Service(NYSE: UPS)took a hit on Thursday after the package delivery company reported results for its fourth quarter. The stock fell as much as 7.3% in the morning, but is down 6% at 12:50 p.m. EST.
Though UPS' fourth-quarter revenue and non-GAAPearnings per share were both higher than consensus analyst estimates, plans to ramp up spending to help upgrade its delivery network may have some investors concerned.
Image source: Getty Images.
Revenue for the quarter was $18.83 billion, up 11% compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. This marked an acceleration from UPS' full-year 2017 revenue growth of 8%.
Adjusted earnings per share were $1.67, up 2.5% year over year.
Highlighting the company's need for a more fortified delivery network, particularly during the holidays, UPS said that during "cyber-periods" the volume of shipments exceeded its network capacity. This drove $125 million in incremental operating costs in the domestic market.
UPS plans to address the pressure on its delivery network seen during the holiday season by taking advantage of "accelerating" opportunities and significant resources made available from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The company said it will spend $6.5 billion to $7 billion on capital expenditures in 2018. Spending will be "mostly dedicated to investments in new technology, aircraft and automated capacity," UPS noted.
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Daniel Sparkshas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
High-Definition video camera for Raspberry Pi Model A or B. Boasti http://bit.ly/1LmeUG5 #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/zL3cYSrwnf || Bottomed about now imo $btc || Relief rally on the senate banking committee postponement? Don’t know, don’t care, but more daylight between here and a face-plant to zero please!! #BTC || BITCOIN Gives Up Yesterday’s Gain, Back to $8,500; GOLD Pauses, Off $5.00 (3/22/18) http://finteknews.com/bitcoin-gives-up-yesterdays-gain-back-to-8500-gold-pauses-off-5-00-3-22-18/ … #BTC #Gold #Bitcoin @CMEGroup #BRR #BRTI #bitcoinfutures @CryptoFltd #Cryptotrading #Bitcointrading || Что происходит с Bitcoin? Почему падает курс? Чего следует ждать? Когда ... https://youtu.be/NacQRNv7PHA с помощью @YouTube || Should @LedgerHQ be taking more responsibility for these discoveries by @spudowiar? "I became concerned that this vulnerability would not be properly explained to customers..." #bitcoin #blockchain https://t.co/leOxxa6MAD || Bitcoin Signs of Recovery! - Technical Analysis 2/6 - http://cryptogeeks.com/bitcoin-signs-recovery-technical-analysis-26 … || How are people surprised Bitcoin has crashed? Haha and it hasnt hit the bottom yet. || Cotizaciones al 22/02/2018 10:00 AM
Bitcoin (BTC): 55.937.472
Ethereum (ETH): 4.510.624
Litecoin (LTC): 1.092.850
Monero (XMR): 1.597.786
Dash (DASH): 3.454.902
ZCash (ZEC): 2.248.031 || Mar 12, 2018 22:00:00 UTC | 9,104.00$ | 7,381.00€ | 6,547.10£ | #Bitcoin #btc pic.twitter.com/GYEMFcCTad
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 6844.23, 7083.80, 7456.11, 6853.84, 6811.47, 6636.32, 6911.09, 7023.52, 6770.73, 6834.76
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-03-05]
BTC Price: 276.18, BTC RSI: 64.75
Gold Price: 1195.90, Gold RSI: 37.33
Oil Price: 50.76, Oil RSI: 51.87
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Without Drugs, What's the Point of Bitcoin?: The trial of Ross Ulbricht , which began last week in Manhattan, doesn't lack for entertainment value. The 30-year-old is accused of founding and administering Silk Road, an online market that allowed users to buy and sell illegal drugs using bitcoins as currency. Founded in 2011, prosecutors allege that Silk Road generated $1.2 billion in revenue including an estimated $80 million paid in commissionsuntil the FBI shut it down in 2013. Ulbricht has pled not guilty. But whatever the verdict, the legacy of Ulbricht's high-profile case may strike a blow against Bitcoin's future viability. The idea behind Bitcoin is simple. Unlike modern fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, Bitcoin has no supervising authority, no regulation, and no central bank. Users can use bitcoins to buy and sell goods anonymously without any outside interference. The idea has caught on. Created in 2009 by an unknown entity called "Satoshi Nakamoto," Bitcoin has begun to enter the mainstream. Companies like Amazon, CVS, and Victoria's Secret now accept them as legal tender. "Bitcoin is insanely traceable," Nicholas Weaver, a researcher at University of California Berkeley's International Computer Science Institute told the Verge . As an unregulated currency, Bitcoin appeared to be a natural fit for the illicit drug market. But while Bitcoin is anonymous, it isn't untraceable. When users convert bitcoins to hard currency, their name becomes linked to a "public blockchain" that comprises the entire transactional history of the bitcoin. This would be equivalent to a $20 bill containing a comprehensive history of every person who has touched it since emerging from the printing press. These public blockchains make it very easy for law enforcement officials, once users' identities are compromised, to understand the full extent of their illicit activity. Bitcoins, of course, are used for more than just drugs. But even in legal markets, the currency's volatility makes it an unattractive bet for would-be investors. Everyone knows that the fall in oil prices gutted Russia's ruble, which lost more than half of its value in 2014. But Bitcoin fared even worse , falling 76 percent. And unlike the ruble, which Moscow can rescue through manipulating interest rates and instituting capital controls, Bitcoin's lack of a central bank means there's nothing to stop it from sliding even further. Story continues Why is Bitcoin so volatile? Although generally thought of (and used as) a currency, bitcoins are better thought of as an asset bubble, the Washington Post 's Matt O'Brien argues . The supply of bitcoins increases when investors "mine" new ones, a process that involves using supercomputers to solve difficult mathematical equations. Because this process is expensive, miners borrow (real) money to finance it. This routine worked well in 2013, when bitcoins were worth more than $1,000 each. But when bitcoins lose their value, investors cannot mine each bitcoin to pay off their loansa fate that struck Mark Karpeles, a Tokyo-based owner of the world's largest Bitcoin exchange who was forced to file for bankruptcy early last year. * Ross Ulbricht's trial will focus on far more than the currency he used for facilitating the drug trade. But while Bitcoin itself will remain legal and popular, its potential to rival traditional forms of currency appear unlikely to materialize. * An earlier version of this post misstated Mark Karpeles' first name as Jason. We regret the error. Read Without Drugs, What's the Point of Bitcoin? on theatlantic.com More From The Atlantic Why Can't Public Transit Be Free? Preschool Teachers Should Earn Like They Matter The Logic of Long Lines || Bitcoin Usage To Plummet, Report Says: Juniper Research released areporton Wednesday forecasting that bitcoin transactions will sink from 2014’s more than $71 billion to around $30 billion by the end of 2015.
The research consultancy noted that the currency will likely see a 58 percent decline in usage due to growing skepticism and mistrust.
Dark Web Scares Off New Users
The report’s author Dr. Windsor Holden cited the currency’s dismal PR over the past year, which has included several examples of its lacking security, as a key factor driving new users lower.
Among other things, bitcoin has been known to be used for criminal behavior in dark web transactions due to its lack of organized regulation. Its association with questionable practices is something that will likely cause many to withdraw from using the currency.
Exchange Collapse Worries
Juniper also mentioned the irreparable damage done by the high-profile collapse of the Mt. Gox exchange. The firm noted that worries about hacking attacks and exchanges collapsing is a key concern for users.
Bitcoin Won’t Evolve Beyond The Tech Crowd
Bitcoin’s recent success in partnering with big names to offer payment options with the cryptocurrency is unlikely to help grow the currency’s user-base, according to Juniper.
Will Facebook Be Next To Adopt Bitcoin?
The report indicated that despite growing adoption among merchants, the currency itself is unlikely to find supporters outside the tech-savvy demographic that has already embraced it.
Bitcoin May Not Succeed, But Its Frame-Work Could
However, Juniper was positive on the possibilities for the technology that the currency runs on.
Although bitcoin may not be the currency of the future, Holden says the framework is likely to evolve into different industries as well as sparking other, more successful cryptocurrencies.
See more from Benzinga
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Winklevoss twins aim to take Bitcoin mainstream with a regulated exchange - NYT: (Reuters) - Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are trying to firm up support by creating the first regulated Bitcoin exchange in the United States, dubbing it the "Nasdaq of Bitcoin", the New York Times reported. The investor twins have hired engineers from top hedge funds, enlisted a bank and engaged regulators with the aim of opening their exchange named Gemini in the coming months, the newspaper reported. Representatives at Winklevoss Capital could not be reached for comments outside regular business hours. The Winklevoss twins, who famously accused Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg of stealing their idea, have been seeking regulatory approval for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Bitcoin is a digital currency that, unlike conventional money, is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control. Bitcoin is not backed by a government or central bank and its value fluctuates according to demand by users. Users can transfer bitcoins to each other over the Internet and store the currency in digital "wallets." Last March, New York's financial services regulator Benjamin Lawsky said he wanted companies that want to operate virtual currency exchanges in the state to submit formal applications, in a step toward eventual state regulation of bitcoin exchanges. The New York regulator held two days of hearings with industry participants last January, including the Winklevoss brothers, and said he planned to issue "BitLicenses" to virtual currency firms. (Reporting by Supriya Kurane in Bengaluru) View comments || A brief attempt at explaining the madness of cryptocurrency: Utah Software Engineer Mints Physical Bitcoins Cryptocurrency may as well be called "cryptic currency," because it's nowhere near as easy to figure out as typical money. For one, while most of them (and yes, there's more than one) have names that end with "-coin," they don't usually come in physical form. Yes, they do represent money in digital form, but using them is a bit more complicated than digital payment services like, say, PayPal or Google Wallet. Also, unlike banks and online services, they're decentralized, with no single governing body overseeing and verifying transactions -- there's a reason why bitcoin was (is?) the currency of choice for black market regulars. Bitcoin ("BTC") isn't only recognized as the first cryptocurrency; it's also the basis for every other crypto-coin that's popped up since it was formally introduced in 2009. "Satoshi Nakamoto" (the pseudonym used by the person or the group of people who created bitcoin) designed it as a peer-to-peer system that relies on users to keep working. Also, all transactions are recorded on a public ledger (called "block chain"), so even though no name or email address is associated with an account, the system's not entirely anonymous. Similar alternative currencies follow that structure even now, though they add features of their own, as well. Litecoin, for instance, was designed for faster transactions (the average confirmation time for each bitcoin transfer is 11 minutes as of January 2015, because it has to be verified by a miner -- more on this later), while Quarkcoin promises a more secure system. Others rely on their novelty more than anything, such as Dogecoin, which likely appeals most to fans of the (in)famous doge meme and Coinye West that was seriously a thing until Kanye West went onstage to court and didn't let it finish had it shut down. Now, if you're wondering if you should invest in any kind of cryptocurrency, the answer isn't simple: It depends, as their values fluctuate quickly and widely. Take for example, bitcoin, which reached its current all-time high of $1,242 per coin in November 2013, whereas each BTC was worth only around $200 a few months before that. As of this writing, bitcoin's value is back to $210, and who knows if it'll ever be worth more than $1K apiece ever again. Point is, if you plan on investing your life savings on bitcoin or any other alternative, you'll have to study it closely and prepare for the consequences. Instead of getting your kids' college tuition or your retirement fund when you're ready to liquidate, you might end up with but a fraction of what you originally invested. Story continues Still want some first-hand experience with these crypto-coins anyway? We put together some basic info you should know before getting started, using bitcoin as the reference currency. HOW TO GET CRYPTOCURRENCY These are some of the most common ways to get bitcoins or any of its alternatives: You can use one of the many exchange services that buy and sell BTC for US dollars/whatever your local currency is. This is obviously the easiest way to get started, as all you need to do is choose among one of the many options available. Some money changers are pretty strict and will ask for a copy of your ID and proof of address, but that's still easier than the other two ways below. You can sell goods and services through bitcoin marketplaces. A quick Google search will point you to online buy-and-sell websites that accept or specifically ask for bitcoins for transactions. Finally, you can "mine" for bitcoins. This one isn't something we'd recommend if you're new to cryptocurrency, as you'd need specialized hardware ( ASIC miners , in particular, which are USB-powered devices that don't do anything else) to do it for you. "Mining" is the process of verifying transactions and adding them to the public ledger or the block chain, in bitcoin's case. In addition, it's the only way to introduce new bitcoins into the circulation, as miners are rewarded for every block of transactions they process. As we mentioned earlier, cryptocurrencies aren't regulated by any institution, so there's no bank that would print more money when the need arises. Take note, though, that the system makes it harder to mine the more blocks of transactions are processed. The rewards were also designed to be cut in half every four years to prevent inflation and to keep the total number of bitcoins in circulation to 21 million at most. At the moment, the reward for each block mined is 25 BTC, and the process has become difficult to the point that you'll now have to join a mining pool if you actually want to earn anything. A mining pool combines the resources of a group of people to mine bitcoins and divides the loot amongst the members. Sound complicated? Well, mining isn't exactly a simple concept. Watch the video above first, then let's try to visualize the idea: Imagine that you're an actual miner with a pickaxe in your hand, and there's a big boulder in front of you with golden coins hidden in its very center. To get to the gold coins, you'll have to chip away at the boulder: The better your equipment is, the faster you can go. Unfortunately, you're not the only one trying to get to the center of the boulder, and it's a race between you and other miners with better, more high-tech pickaxes. That's why the best way is to pal up with other people to get to the very center of the boulder and divide the loot. As time goes by, though, you'll notice that boulders become harder to break and the gold coins in the center become fewer in number. That's but an oversimplification of the process, of course, but it should give you an idea of how it works. The boulder in this case represents a block or a big bunch of transactions miners have to verify and solve. Each piece of rock a miner chips away represents a verified transaction, and the gold coins represent the bitcoins a miner can earn and introduce into the circulation. WHERE TO STORE CRYPTOCURRENCY Before you exchange your hard-earned dollars or mine for some BTC, though, you'll first need a wallet to keep your virtual money in. Within these wallets, you'll find your secret codes or keys needed to be able to spend your coins, as well as an address (which functions similar to a PayPal email, except it's a long code of letters and numbers) that you need to give people sending you money. Some wallets can even generate several addresses so you can give a different one to every person you're transacting with as an extra precaution. There are many types of bitcoin wallets, including desktop programs and mobile apps, which are ideal if you want to pay for purchases in brick-and-mortar stores. Some of them can be accessed online, but in case you end up with an inordinately large amount of bitcoins, you're likely better off keeping most of it offline in what's known as "cold storage." While bitcoins stored online are more easily accessible, everything stored offline is much safer. When exchange service Bitstamp was hacked in early January, the thieves got away with "only" $5 million, because most of the company's reserves were stored offline. We kept saying earlier that bitcoins don't have a physical form -- well that's still true, but in addition to apps, programs and online services, another way to store the cryptocurrency is through "paper wallets." There are businesses that will print your address and private key as QR codes on a card. Want something fancier than a paper card? A website called Casascius sells actual physical bitcoins (which you can see in the top image) with your address and private key hidden underneath a hologram. They used to come loaded with spendable BTC, but after being questioned by the feds, the owner has decided to sell them empty -- you'll have to find a way to load the coin on your own. For those who think paper and flashy coin wallets are too risky, there are special hardware wallets that promise to keep your money secure while also being easier to access, such as that prototype bracelet by MEVU. Some physical wallets even take on an unusual form, like a CD or a vinyl encoded with private keys as audio files. JAPAN-IT-FINANCE-MTGOX-BITCOIN-INVESTIGATION SECURITY BREACHES AND CONTROVERSIES Since cryptocurrencies aren't governed by an institution -- there's a Bitcoin Foundation, but it merely promotes the currency's use and doesn't function like a bank -- they've become ideal for transactions that, well, aren't exactly legal. As we've mentioned earlier, bitcoin is the online black market's preferred method of payment, including drug and gun transactions, among other items. Prominent black market website and marketplace "The Silk Road" had $25 million worth of bitcoins seized by the US government during a raid back in 2013. The government ended up auctioning 50,000 BTC from what was confiscated. A bitcoin exchange executive and foundation member was even sentenced to two years behind bars for helping run an underground dollar-to-BTC operation for Silk Road regulars. Also, because exchange services keep part of their reserve in online wallets, quite a few companies were hacked in the past year. One of the most high-profile bitcoin-related security breaches happened to Japan-based exchange company Mt. Gox, which lost 850,000 BTC and ultimately had to shut down. According to the latest info from authorities in Tokyo, it could have been an inside job. Mt. Gox CEO Mark Karpeles has recently been accused of being Silk Road's mastermind who hid behind the name Dread Pirate Roberts, something that he categorically denied . Speaking of naming people as the face behind pseudonyms, Newsweek published a piece in 2014, pinpointing Japanese-American and California-native Dorian Nakamoto as the Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto also denied being bitcoin's creator and even raised a legal defense fund to sue the publication as the publicity has apparently caused a major inconvenience and hurt his family. Want to know more? We have a more in-depth piece about bitcoin, if you'd like to dig deeper into currency and the technology behind it. [Image credit: Getty Images, Bitcoinmining.com (What is Bitcoin mining), Bcoinmarket (Bitcoin Walllet Intro), AFP/Getty Images] View comments || Bitcoin Makes An Appearance At Davos: Although talk of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin was previously reserved for tech enthusiasts and speculators, the currency has made its way on to perhaps its largest stage yet the World Economic Forum in Davos. In 2014, the currency was only briefly mentioned at the forum by policy makers and central bankers, often in a negative light. But this year the currencys growing popularity made it impossible to ignore as a talking point at the conference. Blockchain Puts Bitcoin On The Map Despite the currencys dip to near $200 in recent weeks, excitement around the technology it is based on, blockchain, has exploded. Startups have begun to emerge touting the ability in incorporate blockchains ledger into a variety of industries and promoting the use of bitcoin for the average person. Bitcoin At Davos Economists and central bankers have begun to take notice and made bitcoin and cryptocurrencies the topic of a Friday seminar titled From Bucks To Bitcoins." Related Link: Blockchain Spreads Its Wings The talk is expected to review how far the currency has come and how it might affect financial services and consumer behavior. Enthusiasts of the currency say the talk at Davos is a big step towards integrating the digital currency into mainstream use. Davos attendees also have the opportunity to understand how bitcoin is used first hand. The digital currency is being accepted as a valid form of payment at many retailers in the area while the conference takes place. See more from Benzinga Comcast Sees A Rocky Road Ahead Blockchain Spreads Its Wings The Marijuana Market Is Expanding: Here Are A Couple Ways To Get Involved © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin Makes Its Way To A Major Exchange: Investors looking for a way to invest inbitcoinwithout setting up an online wallet or defer to a small exchange will soon be able to do so as bitcoin makes its way to the New York Stock Exchange.
Tera Group, the company behind the bitcoin derivatives platform TeraExchange, has signed aletter of intentwithMGT Capital Investments Inc.(NYSE:MGT) that will merge the two companies. The agreement, expected to be finalized on March 16, will make TeraExchange the first bitcoin-based company to be publicly traded on the NYSE.
Other bitcoin businesses have gone it alone trading OTC or on smaller exchanges like the Nasdaq Capital Market Composite or the Toronto Stock Exchange, but this merger agreement will make Tera Group the only derivatives exchange to list on the NYSE.
Related Link: Bitcoin And Tax Season: What You Need To Know
TeraExchange CEO Christian Martin said the merger will prove to be a perfect match as both companies are bringing something unique to the table. TeraExchange has long been looking for ways to enter capital markets, while MGT has been interested in finding inroads to the bitcoin market. Martin said the decision to merge with MGT is expected to give both TeraExchange and bitcoin itself a wider audience, further pushing the cryptocurrency into the public eye.
Investors are hoping that the deal will give TeraExchange the financial boost it needs to continue growing its service; the company is expected to roll out new features including more advanced marketplace statistics once the merge is complete.
See more from Benzinga
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || PRESS DIGEST- British Business - Jan 6: Jan 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Renewed fears of an economic slump in continental Europe sparked an investor scramble for safe-haven assets yesterday that left returns on a string of benchmark government bonds plumbing record lows. ( http://thetim.es/1KjEzB3 ) Asda and J Sainsbury Plc have fired new-year salvos in the latest supermarket wars by investing a combined 450 million pounds ($680.67 million) in price cuts to basics such as bread, sausages, ketchup and orange juice. ( http://thetim.es/14jYD5w ) The Guardian George Osborne sought to fend off a political onslaught from Labour over tumbling oil prices by insisting big British companies should pass on the benefits to their customers. ( http://bit.ly/1w0TiGw ) The administrators of the collapsed parcel carrier City Link have started selling off the company's assets. And the rival firm DX (Group) Plc has paid just over 1 million pounds for some of its equipment and intellectual property. ( http://bit.ly/1Aof8eA ) The Telegraph Sterling has slumped to a 17-month low against the dollar after a closely-watched economic survey suggested growth in the UK slowed to just 0.5 percent in the final quarter of the year. ( http://bit.ly/1wSO0wX ) Four thousand Britons a week are lodging complaints about mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), leaving the financial ombudsman with several more years of wading through disputes, at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds. ( http://bit.ly/1wSO7IX ) Sky News The executive in charge of Barclays' non-core unit is to retire after 17 years at the UK lender, Sky News understands. ( http://bit.ly/1tMR2Zj ) A major Chinese food group is to swallow a 40 percent stake in Weetabix, giving it full control of the cereal maker. ( http://bit.ly/1wSOxyR ) The Independent Bitcoin has been dealt another blow after a major European bitcoin exchange admitted it was targeted by hackers, who stole £3.4 million worth of the cryptocurrency. ( http://ind.pn/1BFnNXk ) Rangers International Football Club Plc has rejected a more than 18 million pounds takeover bid from Robert Sarver - but said they would welcome financial support from the businessman with funds likely to run out before the end of this month. ( http://ind.pn/1wiSaPA ) ($1 = 0.6611 pounds) (Compiled by Luke Koshi in Bengaluru; editing by Andrew Hay) View comments || Bitnet Partnership Opens Up Bitcoin Transactions For Airlines, But Will They Use It?: Universal Air Travel Plan, the payment network serving several big name airlines includingBritish AirwaysandAmerican Airlines Group Inc.(NASDAQ:AAL), has inked a deal withBitnet, a bitcoin payment processor.
The deal marks another huge hurdle for the cryptocurrency as it will allow 260 international airlines as well asAmtrakrailways to seamlessly integrate bitcoin payments into their payment options.
Bitcoin And Travel A Perfect Fit
Supporters of the cryptocurrency are hailing this deal as a big advancement for the cryptocurrency, which has been on a downward trajectory despite high profile merchant partnerships and a regulated exchange opening.
Lower transaction costs and less chance of fraud are reasons many say the travel industry is a great fit for bitcoin integration.
Vice President of Solutions Strategy at BitnetAkif Khannoted that fraud mitigation will be a huge potential upside for many airlines as once a customer has paid, that money can’t be taken away in a fraudulent transaction.
Airlines Have Yet To Put The Deal To Use
However, the partnership itself doesn’t mean the cryptocurrency will be easily adopted. Since the bitcoin payment option became available on Tuesday, none of UATP’s customers have chosen to add it on.
Related Link:MyCoin Ponzi Scheme Another Setback For Cryptocurrencies
Companies likeExpedia Inc.(NASDAQ:EXPE) andCheapAirhave led the charge in incorporating bitcoin into the travel world, but with mixed results.
There is still a lot of mistrust surrounding digital currencies, especially after another Asian exchange closed over the weekend leaving several thousand investors without access to their funds.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Despite Senate Win, Keystone Pipeline Still Clogged By Politics: After weeks of debate over climate change and renewable energy issues, the U.S. Senateapproved legislationthat will allowTransCanada Corporation(NYSE:TRP) to move forward with its Keystone XL oil pipeline. The project will permit the company to move roughly 800,000 barrels of Canadian crude through Nebraska to Gulf Coast refineries.
However, although the legislation has made it through both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it still faces the approval of President Obama, who previously threatened to veto.
Veto Could Be On Its Way
The bill is expected to hit Obama’s desk within the next few days, where the president will have to determine whether or not he will use his executive power to veto. If the president does veto the bill, a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate can reverse the decision.
Related Link:The Most Volatile Oil Stocks Are Involved In Shale
Who Does Keystone Benefit?
With the bill on its way to the Oval Office, investors are already beginning to place their bets on the direction the pipeline will take. TransCanada stands to benefit from the project’s approval, but exploration companies likeCanadian Natural Resources Ltd(NYSE:CNQ) and refiners likeValero Energy Corporation(NYSE:VLO) will likely gain, as well. Construction companies likeDeere & Company(NYSE:DE) andQuanta Services Inc(NYSE:PWR) are also expected to see a benefit from an uninterrupted stream of crude into the U.S. economy.
Who’s Hoping For A Veto?
A veto will directly benefitEnbridge Inc(NYSE:ENB), which has already gained approval to build an alternative pipeline that will move crude from Alberta to British Columbia in 2016.
Shipping companies are also hoping for a veto; railroad businesses likeCanadian Pacific Railway Limited(NYSE:CP) andUnion Pacific Corporation(NYSE:UNP) generate a significant amount of revenue moving the same oil that would be rerouted, so the pipeline’s construction would have a detrimental effect on their earnings. Small shipping companies that primarily operate on the coast of North America and within the States would also cheer a veto;Kirby Corporation(NYSE:KEX) is one such firm that may lose a substantial amount of its business if the pipeline is built.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Regulator raps Australian bitcoin IPO hopeful for China social media marketing: SYDNEY (Reuters) - Regulators ordered Australia's Bitcoin Group Ltd to stop making public statements about its plans to undertake the world's first initial public offering of a virtual currency exchange after the company approached potential Chinese investors via social media. Melbourne-based start-up Bitcoin Group told Reuters in December it hoped to raise A$20 million ($15.6 million) on the Australian Stock Exchange and has been seeking expressions of interest from potential investors from the Chinese community through Wechat, China's hugely popular instant messaging service. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said on Friday it was prohibiting Bitcoin Group from making any further statements about its planned listing until it had filed a prospectus. While globally there are at least two other publicly traded bitcoin companies following "backdoor listings", Bitcoin Group would be the first to offer shares in an IPO. "The publications were made before Bitcoin Group Ltd was registered as an Australian company by ASIC and before the lodgement of a formal disclosure document (e.g. a prospectus)," ASIC said in a statement. "ASIC expects companies to be fully aware of their obligations regarding advertising or publicity that occurs before making a regulated disclosure document available to investors." ASIC said the actions related to Bitcoin Group specifically and not to bitcoin generally, but the move will increase scrutiny on the controversial new virtual currency. Bitcoins are created through a "mining" process that uses a computer's resources to perform millions of calculations. Advocates say bitcoin is revolutionary as it is not controlled by a central bank, but its rising popularity has stoked concern it can be used as a vehicle to launder money and finance militant groups. Earlier this week, Hong Kong lawmakers urged authorities to ban bitcoin as a group of more than 25 people went to police headquarters to complain over dealings involving the digital currency that media estimate could have duped investors of up to $387 million. ($1 = 1.2845 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 15 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $52.06 #bitcoin #btc || BTCTurk 559.95 TL Koinim 580.96 TL CampBx 244.84 $ BTCe 220.02 $ BitStamp 224.00 $ SCounter #Bitcoin #btc http://bitcoindunyasi.com || 2015年1月31日 05:00:02
BTC_MONA
買[bid]:4499.00000000MONA
売[ask]:4500.00000000MONA
API by もなとれ || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 16 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $529.04 #bitcoin #btc || Current price: 235.68$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-01-13 17:00:05 EST || Try dw22211 at https://LocalBitcoins.com/ad/60646?ch=w7m only £187.00 per BTC. (BPI +5.1%) #buy #bitcoin #banktrans || 1 #bitcoin = $4037.3 MXN | $272.16 USD #BitAPeso Precio: http://www.bitapeso.com - Sunday 4th of January 2015 10:00 PM || #RDD / #BTC on the exchanges:
Cryptsy: 0.00000010
Bittrex: 0.00000010
Average $2.4E-5 per #reddcoin
14:00:02 || $245.48 at 00:30 UTC [24h Range: $239.41 - $249.32 Volume: 9162 BTC] || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 21 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $607.94 #bitcoin #btc
|
Trend: up || Prices: 272.72, 276.26, 274.35, 289.61, 291.76, 296.38, 294.35, 285.34, 281.89, 286.39
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Non-custodial cryptocurrency services: Non-custodial cryptocurrency services are on the rise. There are clearly too many bottlenecks with the current batch of decentralised exchanges ( DEXs ), such as IDEX or ForkDelta. Even though there are now more advanced projects like Bisq that aim to truly disrupt decentralised services, another interesting type of cryptocurrency offering is gaining traction. Non-custodial exchanges and investment funds seem to have shifted to a more decentralised way of storing funds with centralised decision-making at the business level. Today, I will discuss why these services matter and which projects are breaking new ground. Non-custodial services Non-custodial services fall in the category of decentralised services. Usually, companies operating with this business model will give users the responsibility of storing their own private/public key-pairs or seeds in order to avoid the centralisation of funds and assets. These services are not hassle-free, as some exploits in web browsers have been discovered which could compromise your activities. Of course, its important to underline that this is a major improvement over fully-centralised exchanges and funds, simply because users have the power to hold funds while transacting. Non-custodial exchanges I personally believe that one of the best examples of a non-custodial exchange is the Binance DEX . Even though some of the community treats the Binance DEX as a pure decentralised exchange, the best and most accurate way to describe it would be as a non-custodial exchange that simply does not hold user funds. The exchange of funds is done in a decentralised manner while key-holders will always have primary access to their funds. The main advantage of the Binance DEX is the matching system, as it is built on a powerful blockchain engine the Tendermint Core with one-second block times, providing high speeds that can match any centralised exchange. The main advantages of a non-custodial exchange like the Binance DEX or Waves (another one Id recommend) are that users are the holders of their own keys, theres a decentralised order book, and they provide high-speed matching with fast block times. Non-custodial investment funds The idea behind investment funds is for a company to manage cryptocurrency portfolios on behalf of its customers. With non-custodial investment funds, customers have access to their keys and can remove their funds at any time (or at a pre-agreed rate). An example is the Amfeix fund. It works by allowing investors to deposit their Bitcoin in a pool of digital assets from which the company invests and trades cryptocurrencies with the goal of returning a profit for all participating members. Story continues As the cryptocurrency industry is still in its nascent stages, it therefore offers great opportunities to invest before mainstream adoption occurs, increasing the likelihood of high returns at a later date. As most investors and traders are aware, one of the main ways to increase the value of your Bitcoin holdings is through trading, which is something that requires time, patience, and a lot of experience. However, given the new and volatile nature of the cryptocurrency industry, many Bitcoin investors lack the necessary resources to conduct proper research on the burgeoning digital asset. With a non-custodial fund, it becomes simple to invest Bitcoin holdings into a fund that will professionally invest and trade your capital among various cryptocurrencies. The post Non-custodial cryptocurrency services appeared first on Coin Rivet . View comments || Bitcoin Price Hits 17-Month High Above $12.9K: Views: Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $12,900 for the first time in over 17 months backed by consistent levels of volume. Recent price action could set scope for $13,700 in the coming day on the back of strong bullish momentum. The hourly chart reveals extreme levels of volatility presenting harsh trading conditions for the average trader. Bitcoin has risen above $12,900 for the first time since Jan. 21, 2018, touching a new high for 2019 at $12,919, according to CoinDesks BPI data. On June 26 at 03:00 UTC, Bitcoin broke out from a bullish pattern, rising in quick succession above $12,000 on strong momentum and high volatility. As of press time, the price has dropped back to above $12,500. Related: Tim Draper Is Bullish On Argentinas Blockchain Tech Potential The last time bitcoin (BTC) changed hands above $12,000 in January 2018, prices were on the way down, amid the beginnings of a down trending bear market. This time, things are much different. BTC continues to post impressive results up 40 percent in the month of June alone, while its year-to-year performance is up by more than 250 percent, according to data at Messari.io. Hourly chart The hourly chart reveals BTCs recent movements in a bullish light as each breakout was backed by a strong showing of growing volume. Related: Bitcoins Share of $350 Billion Crypto Market Highest Since 2017 As can be seen above, prices broke from an ascending triangle (typically bullish in nature) on June 25 at 21:00 UTC backed by consistent levels of growing volume, legitimizing the move on its rise northward. A secondary ascending triangle breakout brought prices well above $12,000 and continues to eye off $13,100 in the immediate short-term, as per Fibonacci Extension theory. The recent volatility may also see a short-term move to retest $12,500 given the levels of liquidity currently entering and exiting the markets in rapid succession. Weekly chart The weekly chart also reveals some interesting insights, detailing key levels of support and resistance at $11,500 and $13,700 respectively, whereby a close above or below those levels would dictate the direction of the trend for either a continuation or a pullback in its price. Story continues In addition, there has been a strong backing of weekly volume since the new year began, with the exception given to March, that saw below-average volume traded over the month. This is a good sign for the bulls as the moves are backed by strong liquidity and buying pressure. If momentum and market conditions maintain their current course, BTC could set its sights on $13,500 resistance in the coming days. Should prices fall below $11,500 then consider a retest of the $11,000 psychological support zone, overall the trend remains very bullish. Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing. Bitcoin image via Shutterstock ; Charts via TradingView Related Stories Square Is Expanding Access to Bitcoin Deposits for Cash App Users Bitcoins Price Rises Above 10K in First Since January 2018 || This Bitcoin Chart Destroys the Argument That BTC Cant Be Money: The bitcoin price is undoubtedly volatile, making it difficult to establish as a true currency. But that's changing as BTC grows more stable. | Source: AFP PHOTO / PHILIPPE LOPEZ By CCN Markets : Every skeptic says the same thing: the bitcoin price is too volatile to be a real currency. And theyve got a point. Bitcoins huge swings make it risky as an investment and difficult as a day-to-day payment method. But its slowly changing. As more money flows into bitcoin , its becoming less volatile. And that means its becoming better money. bitcoin price volatility Extreme daily bitcoin price movements are much rarer than in the past. | Source: Fernando Nieto As you can see, the graph shows extreme daily price movements are much less common in 2018 and 2019. BTC is growing more stable. Bitcoin price swings are less extreme As developer Fernando Nieto, who created the graph, explains: Read the full story on CCN.com . || Bitcoin Price Could Fall to $6,500 Before Next Bullish Spike: eToro Analyst: Bitcoin price could see a substantial retreat before its next growth spurt, according to an analyst. | Source: Shutterstock By CCN Markets : The price of bitcoin has broken through the $9,000 mark and seems well on its way to $10,000 , but brokerage firm eToro believes that theres a pullback in the cards before the cryptocurrency enjoys its next bullish run. Chart showing the bitcoin price rally The price of bitcoin has broken past the $9,000 mark, but eToro analyst Simon Peters believes that there will be a pullback before the bullish run continues | Source: TradingView Simon Peters, an analyst at the multi-asset investment platform eToro, has warned investors to be prepared for a price crash before the next bullish run in bitcoin prices. In an email to CCN, Peters wrote: Breaking $9,000 is another significant price moment for Bitcoin, but Im still not sold on the idea that its up, up, up from here. Were due a significant correction still and prices could fall back to as low as $6,500 before the next major rise. That said, you cant ignore the continuing price surge weve seen this year, and $10k is now firmly in sight. A Short-Term Hiccup Wont Derail the Bitcoin Price Rally Peters is erring on the side of caution as far as his short-term bitcoin price forecast is concerned. So if youre betting on a continuous spike in the price of the digital currency, you might be in for a surprise. Read the full story on CCN.com . || Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic: What you need to know: When Ethereum hard-forked to resolve the hack from the infamous DAO error, two brands of Ethereum emerged: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. Ethereum Classic continued to mine the old Ethereum chain so as to not compromise on immutability. The battle of Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic has died down in recent years, with Ethereum Classic struggling to keep up with the Ethereum backed by Vitalik Buterin. Here is what you need to know about the two competing chains. How the battle began The creation of the two chains was the result of a hack on Ethereums Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) that resulted in 11.5 million Ether being stolen. Ethereum was still in its early stages, and to be faced with such a huge scandal at the time led to many questions being asked. First and foremost, how did this happen and what should they do now? One of the strengths of blockchain technology is supposed to be immutability that the chain cannot be changed and keeps a track of all records. When the hack happened, many believed that the fix was to perform a rollback on the chain to reverse transactions. This would mean that those who invested in the DAO could receive their initial investment back as if it never happened. The issue with this solution is that it would remove the immutability of Ethereum. If the developers rolled back the blockchain, what is to stop them rolling it back in the future if another disaster strikes? Buterin and the Ethereum community argued that because Ethereum was still relatively young, it was necessary to proceed with a rollback. Those who disagreed though continued to mine the old chain after the rollback. This led to a fork of Ethereum and the creation of Ethereum Classic. There was now a direct competitor to Ethereum. The two teams Ethereum continued to be supported by the majority of the community, and most importantly Vitalik Buterin himself. For many Ethereum supporters, Buterin is the key to the success of Ethereum. Story continues Ethereum Classics main backer is Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, with some mockingly referring to Ethereum Classic as Silberts coin. There are also two other development teams working on Ethereum Classic called IOHK (although they also work on another competitor called Cardano) and Ethereum Classic Labs . Much of Ethereums development comes from the Ethereum Foundation headed by Vitalik Buterin. Vlad Zamfir is also part of the Ethereum Foundation and is best known for helping introduce Casper , an upgrade to the Ethereum protocol that will eventually help Ethereum move to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. As the two chains are obviously similar, it will be difficult for Ethereum Classic to bring about revolutionary upgrades considering these could then be added later on to the Ethereum chain anyway. How Ethereum Classic will reverse the battle they are currently losing looks extremely difficult. The ICO phase During the bull run of 2017, hundreds of ICOs were announced. Many of these ICOs were run through the Ethereum platform, which helped to increase the price of Ethereum (as to participate you had to buy Ether tokens). As this idea soon caught on, many new platforms emerged with similar ideas such as Cardano and EOS. This was detrimental to Ethereum Classic as not only did it have very few ICOs, but it also found itself competing with the newcomers on the block as well as Ethereum. These newcomers have drawn attention away from both Ethereum chains, but their emergence has certainly been more damaging to Ethereum Classic. Price disparity Since the fork, the price disparity between the two chains has widened greatly. Whilst Ethereum managed to reach highs near $1,000, Ethereum Classic could only reach double figures. Indeed, Ethereum is still trading more than double Ethereum Classics all-time high. Ethereum Classics price is currently in single figures, highlighting that Ethereum is currently winning the battle between the two forks. Considering both chains are competing for the same market, one could expect the price disparity to be closer. Unless there is another major incident on the main Ethereum blockchain, it would seem unlikely that Ethereum Classic will ever manage to reach parity or overtake Ethereum. Conclusion Whilst the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash fork created a lot of vitriol within the two communities that continues to this day, the Ethereum split has turned out to be a lot more civil. Most likely this is because there appears to be a clear winner in Ethereum that has moved on dramatically since then, whilst Ethereum Classic has struggled to gain momentum. Although the battle is not quite over yet, Ethereum looks to be the cryptocurrency with the price action, momentum, and future developments, whilst Ethereum Classic looks very much to be struggling to stay afloat. The post Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic: What you need to know appeared first on Coin Rivet . || Bitcoin is Money! Wall Street Vet Schools Donald Trump after Surprise Tweet: President Donald Trump ruffled many feathers and raised quite a few eyebrows when he took on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during one of his characteristic Tweetstorms. Apparently, Trump has a fair idea of what bitcoin is and what it can do, and his tweets make it clear that he isnot a fan of cryptocurrencies.
Donald Trump’s negative take on bitcoin has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters. Morgan Creek Capital Management CEO Mark Yusko is one of the many voices taking on Trump’s misunderstanding of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Donald Trump’s first objection to bitcoin is that it isn’t money, and this is where Yusko takes his down with a short and simple retort.
Yusko points out that the US Dollar is a fiat currency, which means that it does not possess any intrinsic value. So Trump not treating bitcoin as a form of money does not cut it in Yusko’s words.
The Morgan Creek CEO points out that money is a medium that facilitates exchange of goods and services in an economy. This very definition is the reason where Trump’s view of bitcoin as not being money is defeated.
Read the full story on CCN.com. || Bitcoins Price Snaps Longest Daily Win Streak Since 2018: View Bitcoin fell 2.87 percent on Tuesday, ending the longest stretch of daily gains since July 2018. The long-term outlook, however, remains bullish with the 3-day chart calling a move to $10,000. On the way higher, BTC may face resistance at the key Fibonacci retracement level of $9,642. The hourly and 4-hour charts are reporting bearish indicator divergences. As a result, a correction to key support at $8,600 could be seen before a potential rally to $10,000. Bitcoins (BTC) price closed on a negative note on Tuesday, snapping the longest daily winning streak in 11 months. The leading cryptocurrency by market value fell 2.87 percent yesterday, having scored 2-5 percent gains in each of the preceding six days. That was the longest stretch of daily price gains since July 2018. Back then, the price had advanced for seven successive days from July 13 to July 19 to hit highs above $7,500, as per data source CoinMarketCap . Related: A New Bitcoin Exchange On the Colombian-Venezuelan Border Will Help Refugees The latest six-day winning streak saw bitcoin rise from $8,120 to $9,366, possibly due to the hype surrounding Facebooks foray into cryptocurrencies, Binance.coms decision to ban US customers and other factors, as discussed on Monday. On Tuesday, the social media giant officially launched its cryptocurrency Libra to mixed reviews with many experts calling it a net positive development for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Even so, BTC suffered moderate losses, possibly because Facebooks Libra launch was priced in over the weekend. Looking forward, the long-term outlook remains bullish with technical charts calling a rise to $10,000. However, in the next 24 hours, a correction to key support near $8,700 could be seen. Related: 70% of Crypto Exchanges Have Complied With CoinMarketCaps Transparency Initiative As of writing, BTC is trading largely unchanged on the day at $9,135, according to CoinMarketCap . 3-day chart BTCs previous three-day candle closed above the high of $9,006 hit on May 30, establishing another bullish higher high. It is worth noting that the cryptocurrency has charted a series of higher lows and higher highs since early February. Story continues Further, the 5- and 10-candle moving averages (MAs) continue to trend north, indicating a bullish setup and the widely followed relative strength index (RSI) has maintained the bullish bias with a bounce from the ascending trendline connecting November and January lows. Therefore, the path of least resistance is on the higher side. On the way toward $10,000, BTC may face stiff resistance at $9,642 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from $20,078 to $3,193. The bullish bias would be invalidated if the price finds acceptance below the ascending 10-candle MA, currently at $8,477. The outlook would turn bearish if the price drops below recent lows below $7,600, violating the bullish higher lows pattern. 4-hour chart The RSI has produced lower highs on the 4-hour chart over the last five days, contradicting the higher highs on price. That bearish divergence indicates scope for a price pullback. The bearish RSI divergence would be invalidated if the indicator cuts through the descending trendline hurdle, currently at 60. 1-hour chart As seen above, the price is stuck between the 50-hour and 100-hour MAs. The cryptocurrency bounced up from the 100-hour MA in Asian trading hours. So far, however, the 50-hour MA hurdle, currently at $9,198, has proved a tough nut to crack. A break below the overnight low of $9,005 would confirm bearish lower highs and lower lows pattern and allow a deeper drop to $8,600 support of the trendline connecting June 10 and June 11 lows. Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency at the time of writing Bitcoin image via Shutterstock ; charts by TradingView Related Stories Bitcoin Price Trades Flat on Facebook Libra Blockchain Launch Brazilian Financial Authorities Announce Regulatory Sandbox For Blockchain || 100 Bitcoin Users Perform What Might Be Largest ‘CoinJoin’ Transaction Ever: The community behind the privacy-centric bitcoin app Wasabi Wallet recently brought together 100 people to collectively execute a “CoinJoin” transaction on bitcoin in what might be the biggest event of its kind.
Some context: bitcoin itself is far from private, as users can, via the blockchain, see where coins are being transferred to and from. One effort to afford greater privacy to transactions is CoinJoin, a long-standing technology first proposedin 2013by long-time bitcoin idea man and cryptographer Greg Maxwell. The idea is that transactions can be made more private by jumbling a number of different transactions together and then redistributing them.
At 100 transactions, Wasabi Wallet’s effortmightbe the biggest, but it’s certainly an advancement for the privacy tech as a whole.
Bitcoin Risks Short-Term Bear Reversal Below $7.4K Price Support
“There wasn’t any service created to do such large CoinJoins,” zkSNACKS CTO Adam Fiscor told CoinDesk, whichlaunched Wasabi Wallet last yearto make CoinJoin transactions easier to use. Fiscor did add one small caveat that it’s “possible” that Blockchain’sSharedCoinhas done one as large, “but I’m not sure if it’s relevant.”
As Fiscor explained to CoinDesk, the event represented “the largest practical CoinJoin that can be done on the bitcoin network.” That’s because of some of the built-in restrictions on the bitcoin network, such as the limit on the amount of data that can be included in a single transaction block), as well as the human practicalities of getting so many people to transact together at once.
“The third caveat is that it’s pretty damn hard to coordinate 100 people over the Tor network,” Fiscor remarked.
And indeed, the transaction took a while to execute. Partially on theWasabi Wallet reddit, the community tried unsuccessfully for a while to organize a 100 person CoinJoin, getting 94, 97, 92, and even 99 participants before reaching their round goal of 100.
Samourai, Nodl to Launch Bitcoin Lightning Node With Mixing Features
Going further, Fiscor hopes this large CoinJoin transaction offers a showcase of the norm for bitcoin’s use into the future.
In short, the more transactions in a CoinJoin, the more privacy you get, because with more users it becomes harder to untangle all the transactions that initially went in.
“However, ‘anonymity loves company’ the more participants there are, the better your privacy is, and the faster the CoinJoin rounds are,” the Wasabi Wallet websiteexplains.
Getting 100 people to join together for a transaction might seem like overkill, but Fiscor sees it as the future because the more transactions in one, the more efficient it is, too.
“In the long term bitcoin mixing will be either priced out from the blockchain or improve to be as cost efficient as possible. The more participants there are, the more cost efficiency can be gained,” Fiscor said.
And that’s especially the case with upcoming technologies that could be added to bitcoin — if everyone agrees they should be implemented, that is.
There’s “Schnorr,” for instance, a technology that could build in functionality into bitcoin to meld transaction signatures together.
“For example Schnorr input signature aggregation is way more efficient with 100 people than with [two],” Fiscor said, adding: “Same goes for Bulletproofs. Or just simply tinkering on the optimal mix outputs given a set of inputs.”
Fiber optic cable imagevia Shutterstock
• Why Academics Love Bitcoin – and Crypto
• I Started the Silk Road Wikipedia Page (Because Bitcoin) || Bitcoin batching remains consistent even as transaction fees rise: Bitcoin’s system enables users to send multiple payments in a single transaction by leveraging thesendmanyremote procedure call. This feature calls on the Bitcoin Core software to create and broadcast a single transaction that sends outputs to multiple addresses. More commonly known as “payment batching,” the feature helps reduce the number of individual transactions created by the sender and the transaction fees they have to pay.
Data saved when batching (Source: Bitcoin.it)
With the recent uptick in bitcoin’stransaction feesand overall price, we decided to take a look at whether Bitcoin users are batching. We will use thepayments metricdevised by the team attransactionfee.infofor our analysis.
Join Genesis nowand continue reading,Bitcoin batching remains consistent even as transaction fees rise! || Fundstrat Co-Founder Thomas Lee Says Bitcoin’s Volatility Favors a Long-Term Approach: Fundstrat Global Advisers Co-FounderThomas Leesuggested that bitcoin’s (BTC) volatility makes a long-term approach towards it more appropriate for most traders in a tweetpublishedon June 27.
In his tweet, Lee intended to remind others that “bitcoin is a hypervolatile asset” and that this makes it “great for volatility and other dedicated traders.” Still, he noted that most should probably use a different approach instead:
“For most, taking a long-term view is more appropriate.”
Lee’s remarks were an answer to a Bloomberg’stweetpointing out that bitcoin is up 39% this week, but that it has lost over $1,800 of value within about 10 minutes today in acorrection.
Representing the opposite view, Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary suggested in an articlepublishedtoday that people tempted to invest in bitcoin should “keep in mind these investing bubbles that burst — tulip bulbs and Beanie Babies.” She further notes:
“The current price surge for bitcoin has many people fearing they will miss out on a big opportunity to make a lot of money. But buying bitcoin is still akin to gambling.”
As Cointelegraphreportedearlier today,Amazon-owned, leading gamestreamingplatformTwitchhas enabled bitcoin and bitcoin cash (BCH)paymentsagain amidcryptomarket uptrend.
Also today,news brokethatBitMEX, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, saw record volumes across its operations as bitcoin hit $13,000.
• Focus on Bitcoin, Not Blockchain, Crypto Entrepreneur Proclaims
• Kraken Raises Over $13 Million In Its Latest Fundraising Round
• Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital to Launch Crypto Options Contracts Trading: Report
• CME: Open Interest in Bitcoin Futures Contracts Hit All-Time High
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 ฿: $11100.3 https://t.co/N0BZQbcl79 #bitcoin || XRP
BTC下落の中、下落幅がかなり抑えめです。
swell後、もう一上げが期待されることによる買い圧の強さでしょう。
現在はトライアングル内で調整が進行中。
上抜けでインパルス波、下抜けで調整C波
命運の分かれ目です。 || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket || Début d'une série de mini-articles pour ceux qui aimeraient découvrir Cryptodidacte "de l'intérieur" ! Pas de prise de tête, j'écris à chaud, sur le vif, selon mon envie.
Aucun intérêt pédagogique, uniquement pour les + curieux. 🤗
#Bitcoin $BTC $Crypto
https://t.co/maKNGUwQ1k || Pump-Dump-repeat
$BTC || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket || まじで3月にBTCかっとけば良かった || A positive narrative?
Institutional investors?
Geopolitical circumstances?
#Bitcoin pumping over $8k makes people think
https://t.co/FdiiHChbeW https://t.co/v2KNdWTrCM || 【パニックFX】2019/05/30 絶対に負けられないFXが、ここにはある https://t.co/Mc1f0iVEgJ || $EPAZ's Bitcoin Sharing & Blockchain Social Media App Webbeeo Is In Alpha Testing Phase https://www.owltmarket
|
Trend: down || Prices: 10256.06, 10895.09, 9477.64, 9693.80, 10666.48, 10530.73, 10767.14, 10599.11, 10343.11, 9900.77
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2021-06-28]
BTC Price: 34434.34, BTC RSI: 45.62
Gold Price: 1779.60, Gold RSI: 34.24
Oil Price: 72.91, Oil RSI: 64.05
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Ray Dalio: ‘I Have Some Bitcoin’: Concerns about a looming global debt crisis have taken the world’s top hedge fund manager from doubtingbitcoin(BTC) to dabbling in it.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said the U.S. dollar is on the verge of devaluation on a level last seen in 1971 and that China is threatening the greenback’s role as the world’s reserve currency. In such an environment bitcoin, with its gold-like properties, looks increasingly attractive as a savings vehicle, said Dalio, whose firm started 2021 with $101.9 billion in assets under management, making itthe world’s largest hedge fund.
“Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond” in an inflationary scenario, Dalio said during an hour-long conversation with CoinDesk Chief Content Officer Michael J. Casey.
Related:Bitcoin Rises to Near $40K After Musk Tweets About BTC Mining’s ‘Promising’ Renewable Usage
Now, his interest is more than hypothetical or academic.
“I have some bitcoin,” Dalio volunteered in the middle of the interview, recorded on May 6 and to be broadcast Monday duringConsensus by CoinDesk 2021.
Dalio joins fellow billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller in not only expressingpessimism about the dollarbut takinga positionin bitcoin. Broadly, the traditional finance world has gone from ignoring or shunning to tentatively embracing cryptocurrencies, some looking to profit from their day-to-day volatility, others seeking a haven from inflation as governments swelled money supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Bridgewater’s chief financial officer, John Dalby, recently leftthe storied firmto join NYDIG, the bitcoin custodian and prime brokerage that facilitated insurance giant MassMutual’s$100 million crypto buy.
Related:Marty Bent: Bitcoiners Must Fight for Energy Narrative
After expressingskepticismabout the cryptocurrency as recently as November, Dalio began to show achange of heartthis year. “There exists the possibility that bitcoin and its competitors can fill that growing need” for an alternative store of value, hewrotein January.
Dalio’s off-the-cuff remark to CoinDesk about owning “some” BTC represents the closest thing to an endorsement from him to date. Nonetheless, in the same conversation, hereiterated his concernthat governments, fearing competition from bitcoin to state monetary systems, could crack down on its owners.
“Bitcoin’s greatest risk is its success,” Dalio cautioned.
More than a decade ago, on the heels of the 2008 financial crisis (and during the nascent stages of Bitcoin), Dalio began studying the rise and fall of the three most recent global reserve currencies: the Dutch guilder, the British pound, and the U.S. dollar, he recounted.
As Dalio sees it, currency supremacy moves in three “cycles” that may occur simultaneously: the creation of debt and financial assets; an “internal cohesiveness clash cycle” (“as the wealth gaps grow and the value gaps grow – and political groups grow – you have a greater amount of conflict”); and the rise of another great power to challenge the existing top currency.
Whether a currency can withstand such cycles depends on the strength of the economy behind the global reserve currency.
The U.S. dollar is currently in the midst of the first cycle, where “debt and credit create buying power,” said Dalio, who is co-chairman and co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater.
Yet, these are short-term “stimulative” and long-term “depressants” because such things as government debts will eventually have to be paid back, he warned. Nonetheless, those debts are issued, but it gets increasingly difficult.
“All of those financial assets are claims on real stuff, real goods and services,” Dalio said. “And when the pile becomes very big, and the incentives for not holding that are no longer there, you have a problem.”
That happened to the U.S. once before, Dalio noted. After the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement, global exchange rates were tied to the dollar which, in turn, was backed by gold. However, in the 1960s federal spending skyrocketed due to an expansion of entitlement programs at the same time the U.S. was boosting its defense spending to battle the Soviets in the Cold War as well as pay the escalating costs of the Vietnam War.
The higher debt eventually caused a depletion of America’s gold reserves from about 20 metric tons in the late 1950s to under 10 metric tons by 1970. Sensing the situation was no longer tenable, President Richard Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard in 1971. The dollar has been a “fiat” currency ever since.
The current situation now resembles 1971, Dalio warned.
“As you look at the budgets, and you look ahead, we know we’re going to need a lot more money, a lot more debt,” he said.
“You need to borrow money? You have to print that. You need more money? So, taxes go up and that produces a dynamic. Now I can keep going on about what happens in that dynamic. It may be capital controls. … I painfully learned in 1971 that it causes stocks to go up. It causes… gold, bitcoin, real estate, everything to go up, because it’s really going down in dollars. And that’s the part of the cycle we’re in.”
A major narrative surrounding bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is that they serve as an inflation hedge, or at least will benefit from fiscal and monetary stimulus.
As governments around the world continue their attempts to stave off economic crises with more spending, much has been made about the prospects of inflation. In the 12 months ending April, the annualized inflation rate for the U.S. was 4.2%, well higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% long-term target, though a large part of that was because the rate is being compared to April 2020, a month where many of the world’s economies ground to a halt.
There are two types of inflation, Dalio said: one caused by supply and demand, where labor demand is high and capacity is low, forcing prices up; and monetary inflation due to a devaluation of the currency.
As money gets pumped into the economy, it intertwines the two inflation types.
“We will have a hell of a lot of demand because we put all that money in cash all over the place,” said Dalio. At the same time as the money supply has increased, yields have fallen to lows as investors snap up bonds and other assets such as real estate.
“It’ll change the amount that is in the hands of individuals, and so on,” he said, “and that’ll move on because cash is trash. I mean, I’d say that because it’ll have that negative real return.”
It is that second, monetary type of inflation that will ultimately hold sway, according to Dalio. That could be good for assets such as real estate, stocks and cryptocurrencies, but only up to a point.
“As those prices rise – like a bond – their future expected returns go down,” he said. “As they come closer to the interest rate … then there’s no longer the incentive to buy those things. And you could have trouble. It becomes very difficult to tighten monetary policy, because the whole thing falls apart. Everything’s interest rate-sensitive.”
The central bank then has to resort to more money printing, he added, and that could eventually lead assets to have a negative real return despite nominal increases, as was seen in the 1970s.
Coming in to fill the vacuum of the dollar’s decline is China, which has done some fiscal stimulus and relativelymuted monetary stimulus since the start of the pandemic.
The world’s most populous country is also being helped by loosening restrictions on foreign investment into the country, Dalio said.
“In 2015, only 2% of Chinese markets were open to foreigners. Now it’s over 60% [but] if you look at the relative pricing, and so on, it’s a whole different story because they’re not doing quantitative easing,” he said. “They still have an attractive bond market. They have attractive capital markets that are more open. And as they’re more open, big investors – institutional investors, central banks, and so on – view themselves as underweighted there,” meaning their holdings in China are insufficient, relative to the returns they can generate.
A capital market drawing in investments can translate into added strength to the Chinese renminbi.
“When you buy a Chinese financial asset, like buying an American financial asset, you have to buy their currency. So it’s supportive to their currency and it’s also supportive to their assets,” said Dalio. He said China gains the capacity to bill and lend in its currency when there are capital inflows. “China has been very reticent to do that [so as] not to disrupt the system. But you’re seeing more of the internationalization of the renminbi. It has appeal for borrowers and lenders. … That dynamic is really following the same arc of monetary systems and empires pattern.”
With one currency (the dollar) possibly on the wane while another (the renminbi) possibly ascendant, there is the chance a neutral cryptocurrency such as bitcoin could act as gold did in previous centuries.
While he suggested a diversified portfolio could include the oldest and largest cryptocurrency by market cap, there are risks many may not be considering, according to Dalio.
“One of the great things, I think, as a worry is the government having the capacity to control almost any of them, including bitcoin, or the digital currencies,” he said. “They know where they are, and they know what’s going on.”
Governments may start to worry should bondholders sell their bonds in favor of bitcoin. “The more we create savings in [bitcoin], the more you might say, ‘I’d rather have bitcoin than the bond.’ Personally, I’d rather have bitcoin than a bond,” Dalio said, chuckling. “And then the more that happens, then it goes into bitcoin and it doesn’t go into credit, then [governments] lose control of that.”
Such a situation could lead those governments to crack down on bitcoin holders.
One indicator, Dalio said, is the relative value of bitcoin versus gold. Excluding government reserves and jewelry uses, the value of gold is roughly $5 trillion, he estimated, about five times that of bitcoin. “It’s about 80/20 right now in the world, so that’s something I’d watch, too. But I think those things probably are going to rise relative to bonds.”
There is one scenario where rising debt can be overcome, and that’s through productivity. And while that’s harder to measure than before, it will hinge on technology, he said.
“The world is going to change at an incredibly fast pace,” Dalio said. “Whoever wins the technology race, wins it all, economically, and militarily. … That’s what the next five years looks like.”
• Rocky Mountain Institute Proposes Protocol to Track Climate Emissions
• Hedge Fund Billionaire Ray Dalio Has Officially Bought Bitcoin || Telecom Stock Roundup: Verizon Boosts DOOH Portfolio, Ericsson Tests 5G & More: U.S. telecom stocks have witnessed an uptrend for the most of the past five trading days, tapering slightly toward the end, buoyed by the optimism surrounding proposed federal funds for domestic chip production. The turn of events followed Democratic lawmaker Chuck Schumer’s revised bipartisan legislation to approve $52 billion for boosting domestic production of semiconductor chips and R&D activities over the next five years. The funding proposal will be included in the revised bill that the Senate is likely to take up soon. Industry observers feel that the federal funding could unlock private capital and benefit the overall sector, which possibly triggered the accretion over the past week.Various experts opine that this, in turn, could set the ball rolling for creating of about seven to 10 new chip manufacturing units with investments from states and private sector firms. Although it could take a bit of time for the investments to percolate and prove beneficial for the industry, the positive steps in this regard have seemingly infused confidence, boosting pent-up demand from post-pandemic revival. The FCC has also revealed that more than 1 million U.S. households are seeking relief under a temporary $3.2 billion broadband subsidy program created by Congress in December. The program aims to offer discounts on monthly broadband bills and on purchase of laptops or tablet computers to lower-income Americans and/or people who have been affected by COVID-19.Meanwhile, Ethiopia has chosen a U.S.-backed consortium against that financed by China to build a nationwide 5G network. The deal was secured by a group of telecommunications firms led by Vodafone Group PLC with low-interest loans financed by the United States International Development Finance Corporation. The losing bidder was South Africa's MTN Group Ltd., which was partly financed by a China-based investor. The deal is likely to test the estranged Sino-U.S. relationship as President Biden aims to thaw ties by extending the deadline for trading with certain China-based entities that are deemed to have close ties with the communist military. The new restrictions are presently scheduled to take effect from Jun 11 and follow another move to take off China-based telecom firm Xiaomi from the U.S. government blacklist.Regarding company-specific news, portfolio enhancement, 5G trials, investor update, earnings, and collaborations primarily took center stage over the past five trading days.
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Stories
1. Verizon Media — the media and online business unit ofVerizon Communications Inc.VZ — recently extended its Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) portfolio with a one-stop solution for advertisers. The integrated platform will aid digital advertisers in campaign planning, execution and measurement activities to effectively execute and measure promotional campaigns as well as drive operational efficiencies in media investments.The DOOH platform is widely expected to witness healthy growth amid various lockdown restrictions. In such a scenario, the availability of all digital marketing opportunities under a single roof is likely to be beneficial for the advertisers. This, in turn, is likely to bolster their omnichannel marketing strategy for improved customer engagement activities.2.EricssonERIC recently carried out successful tests for 5G network validity in cross border travel across vehicles as part of the EU-funded 5GCroCo project. The tests undertaken in collaboration with Swedish car manufacturing firm Volvo Group are likely to sow the seeds for large-scale connected car program in the near future.Ericsson conducted the trial at the AstaZero test track in Sweden by deploying a 5G mobile radio network in two Volvo cars that enabled them to receive an HD map of the route ahead. The maps were updated with information from sensor readings and real-time feeds through the Mobile Edge Cloud, offering relevant information about boundaries, obstacles and turning lanes. The functionality was facilitated by the Cooperative, Connected and Automated Mobility ecosystem that enables autonomous and connected cars to behave like smart clusters rather than individual units.3. The top management ofAT&T Inc.T has debriefed investors about the underlying growth opportunities and the subsequent core business focus post its game-changing deal with Discovery, Inc. Notably, the carrier aims to spin off its media assets and merge them with the complementary assets of Discovery. John Stankey, the chief executive officer of the company, also shed some light on its continued business transformation initiatives to create long-term value for shareholders.Post completion of the deal, AT&T will receive $43 billion in a combination of cash and debt securities and will own 71% of the new entity, while Discovery will own the remainder. The transaction is expected to enable the carrier trim its huge debt burden and focus on core businesses. Markedly, AT&T intends to achieve a leverage ratio target of 2.5 by the end of 2023. The company has been divesting its non-core assets to increase its liquidity and shed excess baggage to be nimbler.4.Viasat, Inc.VSAT reported mixed fourth-quarter fiscal 2021 financial results, wherein the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate but the top line missed the same. Accelerated investments in ViaSat-3 constellation, sustained momentum in Satellite Services segment, diligent operational execution, new contract awards and accretive subscriber base amid COVID-19 woes drove the quarterly results.On a GAAP basis, net income in the March quarter was $7.4 million or 11 cents per share compared with $1.6 million or 3 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The improvement was primarily driven by top-line growth. Higher operating income was a contributing factor as well. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents. Quarterly total revenues increased 0.7% year over year to $595.8 million. The upside was primarily driven by strong revenue growth in the Satellite Services segment backed by sustained sales backlog and new contract awards. However, the top line missed the consensus estimate of $607 million.5.Ciena CorporationCIEN recently announced that Openreach will deploy its networking solutions to augment network capacity in order to better serve customers. The end-to-end network deployment and service rollout will also enable the U.K. carrier to extend network capabilities, gain greater control over its operations while reducing costs and improving its reliability quotient.Per the deal, Openreach will leverage Ciena’s Routing and Switching portfolio to offer a hub-and-spoke model for multiple 10GbE/100GbE links at key network locations. Powered by WaveLogic coherent optics, the 6500 Packet Optical platform offers a robust infrastructure that is highly scalable and cost-effective. This will facilitate the carrier to better address evolving customer demand for data-intensive applications across a single, converged packet-based transport network. This, in turn, will enable the company to enhance real-time visibility and proactively take steps to address any potential issue.
The following table shows the price movement of some of the major telecom stocks over the past week and the six months.
In the past five trading days, Arista has been the best performer with its stock gaining 4.4%, while Verizon was the sole decliner with its stock falling 1%.Over the past six months, Arista has been the best performer with its stock appreciating 20%, while Bandwidth declined the most with its stock falling 30.4%.Over the past six months, the Zacks Telecommunications Services industry has gained 10.4% while the S&P 500 rallied 16.1%.
In addition to 5G deployments and product launches, all eyes will remain glued to how the administration implements key policy changes to safeguard the interests of the industry.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.Zacks’ has just revealed 3 companies that can help investors capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 3 crypto-related stocks now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportAT&T Inc. (T) : Free Stock Analysis ReportVerizon Communications Inc. (VZ) : Free Stock Analysis ReportCiena Corporation (CIEN) : Free Stock Analysis ReportEricsson (ERIC) : Free Stock Analysis ReportViasat Inc. (VSAT) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research || Bitcoin Holders Become Net Buyers for First Time Since October as Death Cross Looms: Investors with a longer-term horizon look to be boosting their bitcoin holdings amid calls for a more profound price drop. Glassnode data shows the bitcoin hodler net position change, which tracks net buying/selling activity of those holding coins for six months or more, has flipped positive for the first time since late October. Hodl is crypto slang for hold. It shows HODLers are buyers here, Delphi Digital said in its daily market commentary dated June 16. The net positions of BTC HODLers is a strong indicator of how longer-term investors are thinking about BTC. Related: Mining Council: We Must Counter ‘Misinformation’ About Bitcoin’s Environmental Damage Supply held by long-term holders has increased from 11 million to more than 11.6 million in the past few weeks, according to Glassnode. While holders are now injecting bullish pressure into the market, that does not necessarily imply a sharp rally. Past data show bullish trends mostly pick up the pace after sustained accumulation by holders. For example, the indicator remained positive for most of 2018, which was a negative year for bitcoin, and early 2019, when the cryptocurrency remained sidelined below $5,000. Bullish mood returned to the market in the second quarter of that year, pushing the cryptocurrency to $13,880 by the end of June. Bitcoin scaled that peak in October 2020 after a gap of 16 months. During that period the cryptocurrency was mainly in a bearish trend, falling from $13,000 to $4,000 between August 2019 and March 2020. Holders were net buyers throughout and during the subsequent recovery, and began distributing coins in November. Related: Market Wrap: Bitcoin Struggles Below $40K as Traders Digest Fed Statement It remains to be seen if they will continue to be net buyers over the coming weeks and restore the battered market confidence. Some chart analysts, though, are worried the cryptocurrency could see more selling in the short term because the daily plot shows the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMA) are set to produce a death cross (bearish crossover) in the next day or two. Story continues According to Krakens research, the previous instances of death crosses on the daily chart coincided with either a sell-off in the days that followed or a continued macro downtrend that confirmed a bear market. Macro funds, which bought bitcoin as a store of value, may sell if U.S. Treasury bond yields rise further. The U.S. two-year yield reached a 12-month high of 0.219% and the 10-year yield rose nearly 10 basis points to 1.59% on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled a future interest rate increase for earlier than some had anticipated. Also read: Federal Reserve Officials Raise 2021 Inflation Projection, Powell Addresses Asset Purchases Bitcoin is currently trading at $39,450, a 2% gain on the day. Related Stories What We Mean by Adviser: The Difference Between RIAs and IARs Paraguay Entertainment Group to Accept Bitcoin, Ether, SHIB Next Month || One password allowed hackers to disrupt Colonial Pipeline, CEO tells senators: By Stephanie Kelly and Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of Colonial Pipeline told U.S. senators on Tuesday that hackers who launched last month's cyber attack against the company and disrupted fuel supplies to the U.S. Southeast were able to get into the system by stealing a single password. Colonial Pipeline Chief Executive Joseph Blount told a U.S. Senate committee that the attack occurred using a legacy Virtual Private Network (VPN) system that did not have multifactor authentication in place. That means it could be accessed through a password without a second step such as a text message, a common security safeguard in more recent software. "In the case of this particular legacy VPN, it only had single-factor authentication," Blount said. "It was a complicated password, I want to be clear on that. It was not a Colonial123-type password." The panel was convened to examine threats to critical U.S. infrastructure and the Colonial attack, which shut key conduits delivering fuel from Gulf Coast refineries to major East Coast markets. Cyberattacks also hit U.S. meatpacking plants owned by JBS, showing the breadth of infrastructure facing cyber threats. The Colonial Pipeline hack demonstrated that much of the company's infrastructure remains highly vulnerable and the government and companies must work harder to prevent future hacks, senators said during the hearing. Security experts call the use of a single-factor login system a sign of poor cybersecurity "hygiene." They recommend two-factor authentication, which requires a secondary measure like a mobile text or hardware token, and most major companies require this across all internal applications. Senators questioned Blount about the company's preparations and the timeline for responding to the ransomware attack, which shut the line for days and led to a spike in gasoline prices, panic buying and localized fuel shortages. Story continues "I'm alarmed this breach ever occurred in the first place," said Senator Gary Peters, the committee's chairman. "Make no mistake: if we do not step up our cyber security readiness, the consequences will be severe." The FBI attributed the hack to a gang called DarkSide. Some senators suggested Colonial had not sufficiently consulted with the U.S. government before paying the ransom against federal guidelines. Blount said he made the decision to pay ransom and to keep the payment as confidential as possible because of concern for security. "It was our understanding that the decision was solely ours to make about whether to pay the ransom," he said. Blount said Colonial did not have a plan in place to prevent a ransomware attack, but did have an emergency response plan. The company notified the FBI within hours. Blount said Colonial has invested over $200 million over the last five years in its IT systems. When pressed to answer how much Colonial has spent to keep its pipeline cyber secure, Blount repeated that amount. A company spokesperson later clarified the $200 million was for IT overall, which includes cyber security. On Friday, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco urged companies to tell federal authorities whether they paid ransom to cyberattackers, information that can help investigators. Blount said even after getting the key from the hackers, the company is still recovering from the attack and is bringing back seven finance systems that have been offline since May 7. On Monday, the Justice Department said it had recovered some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline. Colonial Pipeline previously had said it paid the hackers nearly $5 million to regain access. The value of the cryptocurrency bitcoin has dropped to below $35,000 in recent weeks after hitting a high of $63,000 in April. As a result, the government recovered about 60 of the 75 bitcoin paid, but the value has dropped, falling short of the total dollar amount Colonial paid. Bitcoin seizures are rare, but authorities have stepped up their expertise in tracking the flow of digital money as ransomware has become a growing national security threat and put a further strain on relations between the United States and Russia, where many of the gangs are based. (Reporting By Stephanie Kelly and Jessica Resnick-Ault, additional reporting from Christopher Bank; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio) || Synthesis Bank Introduces Institutional-Grade Quant Trading Strategies: GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2021 / Recently, Synthesis Bank announced that by introducing its institutional-grade quant trading strategies, it has achieved another major milestone in the crypto investment space. Synthesis Bank is the world's first cryptocurrency tokenized investment bank built on Ethereum smart contract. According to research, the global crypto market cap is estimated at $1.37T as at the time of writing. Crypto assets are a high-risk investment, thus, trading them without unique strategies in place can often lead to loss of cryptocurrency holdings. Quite a number of potential and existing crypto investors lack the necessary strategies required to help them make profits and maximize the value of their digital assets. Interestingly, the smart investment service - Synthesis Bank, has developed unique trading strategies to enable investors maximize their returns seamlessly while also protecting their funds. Synthesis Bank investment methodology is derived from its experience of institutional financial markets professionals, private banking, funds management, and technology development. Built by a team of experienced data scientists and engineers, Synthesis Bank employs highly advanced technologies in order to stream real-time level 1 order book data and execute trades at millisecond-scale. Synthesis Bank's seasoned team applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to their data sets to develop proprietary algorithmic strategies. These strategies are optimized to volatile market conditions that exist in digital assets markets, as well as combined with Synthesis Bank trade execution engine through APIs to place and continuously monitor trades. Synthesis Bank is backed by top service providers like Ethereum, Certik, Kucoin, Binance, Swiss crypto vault, Bitcoin Suisse, Metamask, and Equinix. The DeFi platform - Synthesis Bank, utilizes a number of algorithms and API feeds to screen and shortlist market demand and anticipated liquidity. The shortlist is examined, researched and calculated using a scoring system developed in-house so as to maximize risk-adjusted portfolio returns. Story continues Synthesis Bank aims to identify high performing crypto listings while also eliminating setup and operational costs set by middlemen, thereby increasing returns. Synthesis Bank Proprietary Trading Strategies Synthesis Bank introduces top-tier blockchain funds management through a number of positions and algorithmic trading strategies: ALGO/HFT High-frequency trading (HFT) is a method of automated investing employed by top investment banks and market players who combine large order volumes with rapid executions. It uses algorithms to act upon pre-set indicators, signals and trends. Synthesis Bank enables traders to use cloud-based virtual private servers (VPSs) in order to gain a co-location advantage similar to that with traditional markets, thereby allowing them to run their algorithms directly from the internet. MARKET MAKING Synthesis Bank continuously quotes tradeable bid and ask offers on a market and waits for other market participants ('takers') to fill their orders. It utilizes all the necessary information to generate market orders that maximizes expected returns of the strategy. CROSS EXCHANGE MARKET MAKING It combines elements from both arbitrage trading and market making in order to profit from differences in liquidity between trading pairs from two or more different exchanges. This strategy allows market makers to actively create the potential for capturing price differentials, while also enabling them to 'clone liquidity' from one exchange to another. ARBITRAGE It constantly monitors different markets and ensures risk free profits by simultaneously purchasing an asset at a lower price and selling at a higher price when trading opportunities arise. Synthesis Bank Arbitrage strategy helps to monitor multiple exchanges for any price dislocations and transact whenever a profitable trading opportunity arises. Additionally, Synthesis Bank allocates its portfolio through the platform's trading desk with little human aid. It utilizes open source protocol to enable managers to simplify and automate fund administration. The protocol uses the blockchain to perform functions like segregated asset custody, fee accounting, net asset value calculation, and management of investor in-flows and out-flows. Thus, it's pretty glaring that Synthesis Bank is on the path to revolutionize the crypto investment space with its innovative investment solutions. Social Links https://www.facebook.com/Synthesis-bank-105011331449429 https://www.linkedin.com/company/73903257/ https://twitter.com/synthesisbank https://t.me/synthesisbk https://www.instagram.com/synthesisbank/ https://synthesisbank.medium.com Media Contact Company: Synthesis LLC Contact: Marcos Pouchan E-mail: info@synthesisbank.co Website: http://www.synthesisbank.co/ SOURCE: Synthesis LLC View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/652983/Synthesis-Bank-Introduces-Institutional-Grade-Quant-Trading-Strategies || Bitcoin Fund Outflows Slow but Investors Start Exiting Ether Funds: Money being pulled out of digital-asset investment funds slowed somewhat last week. However, while net redemptions from bitcoin -focused funds shrank, some investors seem to be souring on ether . Overall, digital-asset funds experienced net outflows of $21 million during the week ending June 11, down from $94 million pulled out of funds the prior week, according to a Monday report by CoinShares. The decline in outflows might be an early sign of bearishness has peaked. Related: DeFi Projects Continue Flocking to Layer 2 Solution Polygon Investors have been pulling money from bitcoin funds in recent weeks as the price of the largest cryptocurrency by market value traded below $40,000, down from the all-time high near $65,000 reached in April. Read more: Bitcoin Options Smile Shows Market Fearful of Downside Despite Tesla News Funds focused on altcoins including ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, as well as XRP had been favored over the past month as investors diversified from bitcoin funds. The latest data suggests that trend might be starting to shift. Ether had the largest outflows on record [since 2015] last week, totaling $12.7 million, according to CoinShares. Meanwhile, outflows in bitcoin funds last week totaled $10 million, significantly less than the previous, record week of $141 million. Trading activity in bitcoin investment products rose by 43% compared to the previous week, according to the report. XRP funds saw minor outflows totaling $2.8 million last week following a six-week run of inflows totaling $21 million. Flow data suggests mixed opinions among investors as sentiment weakened over the past month, according to CoinShares. Related Stories Human Protocol Expands hCaptcha Tool, Launches Wallet to Make AI Smarter Market Wrap: Bitcoin Sustains Musk Jump as Crypto Sentiment Improves Bitcoin and Ether Price Indicators Support Near-Term Relief Rally || US household wealth surged $20 trillion despite pandemic: ING: Total U.S. household wealth increased $20 trillion from the end of 2019, anew report from ING(ING) found.
Despite the pandemic leavingthousandsof businesses closed and millions unemployed, the level of household wealth actually increased during the past 18 months. The Federal Reserve Flow of Funds data for the first quarter of 2021 showed the U.S. household balance sheet standing at a grand total of $154.2 trillion, up from $134.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2019. Household wealth did fall to $127.8 trillion at the end of March 2020, but rebounded after the stimulus packages and relief payments were enacted.
Wealthy Americans have been the biggest recipient of the gains. “The biggest contribution to the financial wealth gains came from corporate equities and mutual funds due primarily to risk appetite rebounding and equity markets surging higher on unprecedented Federal Reserve and government stimulus,” the report said. “The same reasons led to strong performances for pension and life insurance funds.”
The report also found substantial economic gains made within low-income households. “Lower income households will also have contributed significantly to this increase,” the ING report found. “Government stimulus checks … combined with uprated and extended unemployment benefits contributed to huge increases in household incomes over the past 14 months.”
While the stimulus check may have temporarily provided low-income households with higher disposable income, in the long run, significant disruptions to employment and lack of stable incomes could leave individuals in worse positions than before.
Instances of food insecurity, poor educational outcomes, and marital/relationship issueswere exacerbatedfor some under the pandemic, an Urban Institute survey found. The instability associated with covid initially increased poverty within the first few months that the pandemic began in the U.S.The Human Rights Watchconducted an analysis earlier this year finding that “the pandemic’s economic fallout has had a devastating and disproportionate impact on the rights of low-income people who were already struggling.”
Even so, the response to the pandemic has been effective in increasing wealth and income levels across the nation, according to the ING report. And as more people return to work, greater spending opportunities may fuel greater inflation. “In an environment where supply constraints persist, this adds another reason to argue that the demand growth in the economy is likely to outpace the supply side capacity [and] another argument for inflation staying higher for longer,” the report said.
Ihsaan Fanusie is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter@IFanusie.
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Follow Yahoo Finance onTwitter,Facebook,Instagram,Flipboard,LinkedIn,YouTube, andreddit || Gold Down over Soft U.S. Jobs Data: By Gina Lee Investing.com – Gold was down on Monday morning in Asia after lower-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data released during the previous week eased investors’ concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve would tighten its current dovish monetary policy. Gold futures edged down 0.12% to $1,889.75 by 12:04 PM ET (4:04 AM GMT). The dollar, which usually moves inversely to gold, inched up on Monday while the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped below 1.6%. Data released on Friday said that non-farm payrolls in May increased to 559,000, higher than April’s 278,000 reading but below 650,000 figure in forecasts prepared by Investing.com. The lower-than-expected figure eased investors’ concerns about potential runaway inflation and earlier-than-expected interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion spending plan would be good for the U.S. even if it results in inflation that persists into 2022 and interest rate hikes. “If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” Yellen told Bloomberg. Some investors remained cautiously optimistic. “We are seeing some long covering in Asia today, with risk hedges being unwound after an uneventful news weekend, helped by a slightly stronger dollar and with Bitcoin rallying... although gold has corrected in recent sessions, the bullish fundamentals remain in place. Only a sharp steepening of the U.S. yield curve is likely to change that,” Jeffrey Halley, OANDA senior market analyst, told Reuters. Investors now await the European Central Bank's policy decision, due to be handed down on Thursday. The Fed is also scheduled to meet from Jun. 15 to 16. On the demand front, India, the second-largest gold consumer globally, posted the biggest discounts in eight and a half months last week as the number of COVID-19 cases in India topped 28.8 million as of Jun 7, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Story continues In other precious metals, silver dropped 0.7% and palladium fell 0.3%, while platinum edged up 0.2%. Related Articles Gold Down over Soft U.S. Jobs Data Oil eases as investors await Iran nuclear talks this week Gold Holds Advance After U.S. Jobs Data, Yellen’s Comments || Bitcoin Eyes Second-Biggest Monthly Drop on Record: Bitcoinis on track for the second-biggest monthly percentage decline on record, despite bouncing from session lows in Asia.
The cryptocurrency changed hands near $36,200 at 9:00 am UTC, representing a 37.5% loss for May. Prices hit a low of $34,195 early today.
The monthly decline beats the 37% drop seen in November 2018 and is just short of the record 40% slide in September 2011, according to Bitstamp data.
Related:Bitcoin’s Long-Term Put Options See Sustained Demand as Price Consolidates
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, is on track to end May down 12%, the first monthly loss since September 2020. Meanwhile, gold has gained 7%, its biggest monthly rally since July 2020, and the S&P 500 is little changed on the month, per data provided by TradingView.
The bitcoin marketlooked weakearlier this month amid continued selling by whales, or large investors with an ability to make or break price trends. The cryptocurrency took a beating afterTesla disowned bitcoinas means of payment, citing environmental concerns. The move dashed hopes for widespread corporate adoptionraised bythe carmaker’s decision to adopt bitcoin in February.
The market mood soured further after China’srecent regulatory announcementsand on concern of an earlyscaling backof stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Bitcoin slumped from $58,000 to almost $30,000 in the eight days to May 19 and has traded sideways ever since, with the upside capped by the 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at just above $40,000.
Related:Bitcoin, Ether Etch Largest Daily Gains in a Week
According to blockchain analytics firm Glassnode, the price crash was driven mainly by panic selling by new investors who bought coins during the first-quarter bull run. Meanwhile,holdersandinstitutionshave been buying the dip in a sign of confidence in cryptocurrency’s long-term price prospects.
The supply held by whale entities – clusters of addresses controlled by a single network participant holding at least 1,000 coins – has increased by over 25,000 BTC to 4.149 million since May 19.
Looking forward, a sustained accumulation by large investors might be needed to restore battered market confidence. The number of whale entities rose in tandem with the price between October and February.
Chart analysts foresee a relief rally in the short term, as the sell-off looks overdone.
“Bitcoin is newly oversold from an intermediate-term perspective, and there is a new short-term ‘buy’ signal from the DeMARK Indicators today that supports a two-week rebound,” Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner of Fairlead Strategies, said in a weekly research note published on Monday.
DeMark indicators compare the most recent maximum and minimum prices to the previous period’s equivalent price to measure the demand of the underlying asset.
Stockton, however, said the bounce is likely to be short-lived because intermediate-term momentum is to the downside, as indicated by the negative reading on the weekly MACD histogram.
Also read:Biden’s 2022 Budget Includes New Crypto Reporting Proposals
The overall bias remains bullish, with the likes ofRay Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, preferring to hold bitcoin over bonds in aninflationary environment.
• Bitcoin Miner Marathon Will No Longer Censor Transactions, CEO Says
• Human Rights Foundation Gives Out $210K in Bitcoin Development Grants || Oil drillers and Bitcoin miners bond over natural gas: By Laila Kearney (Reuters) - On U.S. oil patches stretching along the Rockies and Great Plains, trailers hitched to trucks back up toward well pads to capture natural gas and convert it on the spot into electricity. The trailers - carrying pipes, generators and computers - are called “mining rigs.” But their owners aren’t there to drill for oil. They are using stray natural gas unwanted by oil companies to power their search for another treasure: cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are virtual coins exchanged without middlemen, such as central banks, to purchase goods and services. Extracting the currency from cyberspace, however, requires vast amounts of often-expensive electricity. Supercomputers must run constantly in a race against other “miners” to solve complex math problems in order to unlock digital vaults holding the currency. Placed in mobile trailers, these supercomputers run as hot as 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius), and in the cold of western North Dakota, people stay warm just by sitting near them, cryptocurrency miners say. The miners are increasingly sending these rigs out to oil fields because it’s one of the cheapest ways to obtain the energy they need. Oil and natural gas come from the same wells, but at these sites, drillers are seeking crude oil and have no pipelines to get the gas to market. That typically forces them to burn it off in a process called flaring - creating carbon dioxide emissions - or to vent it into the atmosphere directly as methane. "The sweet spot for us is stranded, low volumes of gas that don't justify a pipeline," said Steve Degenfelder, land manager at Wyoming-based producer Kirkwood Oil and Gas LLC, which has formed an alliance with Bitcoin miners. Oil companies face pressure from investors and government officials to reduce emissions that lead to global warming. Sometimes they give the gas away for free to cryptocurrency miners; other times they sell it. "Oil and gas companies don't like to flare their gas - that's money that's burning away," said Degenfelder, which works with miners connected to EZ Blockchain, a Chicago-based energy and technology company, to cut flaring at some of its 600 oil wells across the Rocky Mountains. HIGHLY UNCERTAIN Some environmental advocates and investors say cryptocurrencies are not a long-term solution to unwanted natural gas emissions, both because the currency’s future is highly uncertain and because Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency companies produce their own emissions. The global Bitcoin industry’s overall C02 emissions have risen to 60 million tons, equal to the exhaust from about 9 million cars. That’s up from 20 million tons from two years ago, according to a March report by Bank of America analysts. Story continues Values of Bitcoin, the best known cryptocurrency, plunged from record highs after billionaire Elon Musk tweeted that his electric car company Tesla Inc would no longer take the virtual coins as payment, citing concerns over "rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions.” The currency plunged in value https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/bitcoin-is-now-worst-all-financial-worlds-2021-05-19 over two weeks before starting to recover Thursday. Andrew Logan, senior director of oil and gas at Ceres, the Boston-based clean-energy investor group, said there are better ways to use stranded gas, including to power hospitals and schools. However, that would require building pipelines to carry the product out of the oil patch, he said. "I think we need much more durable and long-term solutions that really bring that gas to market and let it be used for whatever its highest purpose is," he said. Proponents say the new oil-cryptocurrency alliances in North America move mining for virtual coins away from Asia, home to more than 60% of such operations, which largely rely on coal-powered electricity. Coal combustion produces roughly twice as much C02 as natural gas. "It helps cut emissions at (an oil) producer level, but also globally by reducing mining in parts of the world where coal is likely the power source," said Mark Le Dain, vice president of strategy at oil and gas software company Validere Technologies Inc, which tracks energy molecules and their use. Environmental advocates and some investors note, however, that the harmful emissions don’t disappear - they are transferred from one industry to another. "It's not like you're eliminating the emissions, it's that you're turning them into this other thing, Bitcoin,” Logan said. CATCHING IMAGINATIONS The allure of Bitcoin remains for miners despite the challenges of cryptocurrency markets. Even after the recent price crash, a single Bitcoin was worth more than $40,000 on Thursday - almost 90 times its value five years ago, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Some cryptocurrency mining companies say the mobility of their natural gas-fueled operations is key, giving them flexibility to draw natural gas from different sites as it becomes available. "The idea that you could plug in these (computers) and then take them somewhere else just really caught my imagination," said Haley Thomson, a former electricity trader and president of new cryptocurrency mining company Imperium Digital. A variety of business models have been born. In some cases, cryptocurrency miners pay the oil firms for their natural gas wholly or in part using the coins they mine. In the case of Kirkwood, EZ Blockchain uses stranded natural gas to make Bitcoin, giving it all to Kirkwood. EZ Blockchain makes money by supplying equipment and mining services for a fee. Industry experts and academics who study energy uses say there are fewer than 10 large-scale Bitcoin mining companies in North America that run on stranded natural gas. Many cryptocurrency miners run smaller operations in the United States and Canada - some fueled by a single well. But some major oil companies have signed on. In North Dakota, a top oil-producing state, Norway's Equinor ASA and Canada's Enerplus Corp are among those that have used such mining to reduce flaring, company spokespeople confirmed to Reuters. Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems Inc is one of the continent’s largest Bitcoin mining companies using otherwise stranded gas. It expects to double its current staff of 55 this year, said Cully Cavness, co-founder and a former oil and gas engineer. Crusoe has about 40 mobile containers in oil shale basins. It plans on increasing that number to 100 after receiving $128 million in financing last month from investors including Chicago-based firm Valor Equity Partners LP and Lowercarbon Capital. Crusoe’s partners have included Kraken Oil & Gas Partners LLC, which produces about 10,000 bpd of oil, making the company the largest oil producer in Montana. "We're going to need a lot more people," Cavness said. Meanwhile, government regulations and incentives are in the offing that could benefit oil and cryptocurrency companies. The U.S. Senate passed a measure in April to reverse former President Donald Trump's weakening of methane emission regulations. That could fuel the use of Bitcoin mining to cut flaring, academic experts said. Lawmakers in Texas and New Mexico also are looking to crack down on emissions. North Dakota and Wyoming this year passed laws that give tax breaks to oil producers that provide gas to cryptocurrency and other data miners that would otherwise have been flared. "I think it's gonna be a big chunk at what we look at for the future in North Dakota,” said state Senator Dale Patten, who authored North Dakota’s bill. (Laila Kearney reported from New York. Editing by David Gaffen and Julie Marquis) View comments
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Trend: down || Prices: 35867.78, 35040.84, 33572.12, 33897.05, 34668.55, 35287.78, 33746.00, 34235.20, 33855.33, 32877.37
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
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[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
These Are Americans' Top 5 Financial New Year's Resolutions: The start of a new year often means resolving to do better at everything from fitness to family to finances. In fact, this year, a good 80% of Americans are making money-related resolutions that can change their lives for the better. Here are the top five financial matters U.S. adults want to get ahead of next year, along with the percentage of folks who are resolving to tackle them, as compiled by Principal Financial : Save more money each month (40%) Pay off credit card debt (32%) Reduce spending (31%) Sock away more for retirement (27%) Build an emergency fund (21%) Clearly, these are some pretty critical goals. And the sooner we all get ahead of them, the more we stand to gain. 2018 in white letters on a background of colored circles and confetti IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES. Saving more money We all want to save money, and the one thing that often stops us from doing just that is not having a clear sense of where our hard-earned paychecks end up going. And that's precisely why you need a budget . Without one, you'll have no accurate way of tracking your spending and identifying ways to cut corners. Once you have that budget in place, you'll be able to play around with different expense categories and free up more money to stick in the bank. Best of all, creating a budget is easy -- you can do it in an hour or less. Eliminating debt If you're carrying a whopping balance on your credit card, you're not alone. Credit card debt recently reached an all-time high in the U.S., with the average balance-holder owing somewhere in the ballpark of $16,000. Ouch. The problem, of course, is that for every day you carry a balance, you end up accumulating interest charges that, over time, can end up surpassing the amount you borrowed in the first place. If you're serious about paying off that pesky debt, then you'll first need the budget we just talked about to see where you're wasting money and where there's room for additional savings (meaning, money you can apply to your outstanding balance). You might also think about getting a side hustle -- something an estimated 44 million Americans are doing. Working a second gig is a great way to drum up extra cash and get rid of debt sooner. Reducing your spending We all have expenses that are fixed, like our rent or student loan payments, and those that are variable, like our grocery and utility bills. If you're serious about cutting your spending, then you'll need -- you guessed it -- an accurate budget that'll show you what wiggle room you have. From there, it's really a matter of deciding what you are and aren't willing to give up, and making the right changes. Story continues Say you're currently spending $200 a month on leisure activities, and another $200 on restaurant meals and takeout. If your goal is to cut your monthly spending by $200, then you might look at those two categories and decide which makes you happier -- getting to attend concerts and events, or not having to cook. Or, you might decide to stop paying for cable and the gym, and instead continue going out with friends and purchasing prepared food. The choice is really yours, but the key is to make a substantial enough change that it impacts your finances for the better. Building your nest egg With roughly one-third of Americans having absolutely no retirement savings, it's safe to say that millions of workers are headed on a dangerous path. Without independent savings, you'll have no way of keeping up with your living costs once you stop working (Social Security will, in a best-case scenario, provide only half the income you need as a senior). That's why it's critical to build that nest egg during your working years, and the sooner you start, the more time you'll give your money to grow. Come 2018, workers under 50 will be allowed to contribute up to $18,500 per year to a 401(k) and $5,500 to an IRA. Those 50 and over, meanwhile, get a catch-up provision that raises these limits to $24,500 and $6,500, respectively. Even if you can't max out, if you save consistently throughout your career and invest your money wisely, you stand to establish a pretty solid nest egg in time for retirement. Case in point: Socking away just $300 a month for 30 years will leave you with an ending savings balance of about $285,000 if your investments generate a fairly conservative 6% average annual return during that time. Set aside $500 a month, and all other things being equal, you'll wind up with $474,000 in retirement cash. Establishing your emergency fund Most Americans are woefully unequipped to deal with a true financial emergency. An estimated 57% of U.S. adults have less than $1,000 in savings, while 39% have no savings at all. A solid emergency fund, meanwhile, should contain enough money to cover at least three months' worth of living expenses, and ideally more like six months' worth. If your emergency stash is low or nonexistent, then building some cash reserves should actually trump other goals like funding your nest egg or paying off credit card debt. And if small changes in your budget don't do much to help you boost your short-term savings, then you may need to get more aggressive. This could mean slashing a couple of key expenses, like giving up a car or downsizing to save money on rent, or it could mean committing to a side job for the better part of the year to play catch-up. Either way, this is one resolution you don't want to botch, because without a solid safety net, you risk a host of negative financial consequences the minute an unplanned expense comes your way. The problem with New Year's resolutions is that many of us tend to make them and break them. But if you commit to any of the above and stick to them, you'll be in a much stronger financial position by the time 2018 comes to an end. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . View comments || Why Earnings Season Could Be Great for Murphy Oil (MUR): Investors are always looking for stocks that are poised to beat at earnings season andMurphy Oil Corporation MURmay be one such company. The firm has earnings coming up pretty soon, and events are shaping up quite nicely for their report.
That is because Murphy Oil is seeing favorable earnings estimate revision activity as of late, which is generally a precursor to an earnings beat. After all, analysts raising estimates right before earnings—with the most up-to-date information possible—is a pretty good indicator of some favorable trends underneath the surface for MUR in this report.
In fact, the Most Accurate Estimate for the current quarter is currently at 4 cents per share for MUR, compared to a broader Zacks Consensus Estimate of 2 cents per share. This suggests that analysts have very recently bumped up their estimates for MUR, giving the stock a Zacks Earnings ESP of +61.54% heading into earnings season.
Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Murphy Oil Corporation Quote
Why is this Important?
A positive reading for the Zacks Earnings ESP has proven to be very powerful in producing both positive surprises, and outperforming the market. Our recent 10 year backtest shows that stocks that have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better show a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and have returned over 28% on average in annual returns (see more Top Earnings ESP stocks here).
Given that MUR has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and an ESP in positive territory, investors might want to consider this stock ahead of earnings. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Clearly, recent earnings estimate revisions suggest that good things are ahead for Murphy Oil, and that a beat might be in the cards for the upcoming report.
Don’t Even Think About Buying Bitcoin Until You Read ThisThe most popular cryptocurrency skyrocketed last year, giving some investors the chance to bank 20X returns or even more. Those gains, however, came with serious volatility and risk. Bitcoin sank 25% or more 3 times in 2017.Zacks’ has just released a new Special Report to help readers capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.See 4 crypto-related stocks now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportMurphy Oil Corporation (MUR) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. || Why Don't More People File for Social Security at 70?: There's a reason 62 isthe most popular ageto file for Social Security -- it's the earliest age you're allowed to get at those benefits. On the other hand, 70 is a fairlyuncommonage to claim Social Security. As my colleague Sean Williams reported last year,only 3% of all seniors wait until 70to take benefits. And this can only mean one thing -- that a glaring number of beneficiaries are making a huge mistake.
To understand why it's troublesome that so few people claim Social Security at 70, let's review how the program works. In a nutshell, your benefit payments themselves are calculated based on your 35 highest years of earnings. Once your base benefit payment is established, you'll be eligible to collect it in full upon reaching what's known asfull retirement age.
Your full retirement age is based on your year of birth, as follows:
[{"1943-1954": "1955", "66": "66 and 2 months"}, {"1943-1954": "1956", "66": "66 and 4 months"}, {"1943-1954": "1957", "66": "66 and 6 months"}, {"1943-1954": "1958", "66": "66 and 8 months"}, {"1943-1954": "1959", "66": "66 and 10 months"}, {"1943-1954": "1960", "66": "67"}]
DATA SOURCE: SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
That said, you actually have an eight-year window to start collecting Social Security. As stated above, you can access your benefits as early as age 62, but if you do, you'll face a reduction in payment for every year you file before your full retirement age. For example, if your full retirement age is 66 but you take benefits at 62, you'll only end up with about 75% of your base benefit amount.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
Now here's where things get interesting. If you hold off on Social Securitypastyour full retirement age, you'll accumulate what are known asdelayed retirement credits. These credits accrue up until age 70 and result in an 8% benefits increase per year. This means that if your full retirement age is 66 but you wait until 70 to claim Social Security, you'll end up collecting 132% of your base benefit amount -- for life.
Now technically speaking, you don'thaveto file for Social Security upon reaching 70. But since there's no financial incentive to wait any longer, it's generally considered the latest age to start taking benefits.
So why don't more people hold off on Social Security and boost their benefits in the process? It's simple: They need or want the money sooner.
Most older workers are woefully unprepared for retirement, with close to one-third of those 55 and over having no savings to show for whatsoever. So what happens when you're forced to retire sooner than expected, which is the case for a whopping 60% of Americans? If your savings aren't enough to cover the bills, accessing your Social Security benefits seems like the most reasonable avenue to take -- which explains why so many folks file at 62.
Then there are those who take benefits early because they're convinced that Social Security isgoing broke, and that if they don't act quickly, there won't be enough money left over for them. But while it's true that the program is facing some fiscal challenges, it's in no danger of running out of money anytime soon, so frankly, those who rush to take benefits for this reason are falling victim to a very flawed line of thinking.
Of course, if you're in a position where you've saved adequately for retirement and your benefits are just gravy, then there's no huge danger in filing early. But that's not the case for most Americans. The median savings balance among households nearing retirement is a sorry $17,000, which, if we apply a 4% annual withdrawal rate (which has long been the standard), gives us a yearly retirement income of less than $700. In other words, most seniors need all the money they can get out of Social Security, and the fact that the overwhelming majority don't take steps to boost their benefits by waiting until 70 is glaringly problematic.
If you're behind on retirement savings and are counting on Social Security to provide the bulk of your senior income, then it absolutely makes sense to hold off until 70 and boost your payments to the greatest extent possible. That said, there is one exception, and it's if yourhealthis notably poor and you don't expect to live very long. Technically speaking, Social Security is designed to pay you the same lifetime benefit regardless of when you first file, but that assumes you live an average life expectancy. If you pass away much sooner than the average person your age, you'll lose out on benefits. On the other hand, if your health is great, there's a good chance you'll come out way ahead by claiming Social Security as late as possible.
Given thatmore and more Americansare now planning to work longer, we may soon see an uptick in seniors who file for benefits at 70. But if you're in your early or even mid-60s and are thinking it's time to pull the trigger on Social Security, ask yourself this: Can I really afford to lose out on potential income? If the answer is no, then take it as a sign that waiting until 70 is a move to strongly consider.
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The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || What Happened in the Stock Market Today: The stock market pulled back on the last trading day of 2017, albeit after several quiet sessions of modest gains earlier in the week. It's been a great year for equities overall, despite widespread political strife, as global growth helped bolster commodity prices and corporate profits. All told on Friday, theDow Jones Industrial Average(DJINDICES: ^DJI)andS&P 500(SNPINDEX: ^GSPC)fell roughly half a percent.
[{"Index": "Dow", "Percentage Change": "(0.48%)", "Point Change": "(118.29)"}, {"Index": "S&P 500", "Percentage Change": "(0.52%)", "Point Change": "(13.95)"}]
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Friday's losses were fairly broad; tech stocks were a primary driver, with theTechnology Select Sector SPDR Fund(NYSEMKT: XLK)down 0.53%. Oil stocks fared even worse, with theSPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF(NYSEMKT: XOP)falling 1.04%.
Among individual stocks making noteworthy moves,TiVo(NASDAQ: TIVO)popped on rumors that the digital-video recording company was the subject of acquisition interest, andAmazon.com(NASDAQ: AMZN)pulled back after the online retail giant inadvertently drew some Twitter fire from President Trump.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES
Shares of TiVo soared 11% today after TheStreet.comcited anonymous sourcesstating that the DVR specialist had received multiple buyout bids of just over $20 per share from interested private-equity buyers. TiVo closed on Thursday at $14 per share.
It's not terribly surprising that private investors might want to make a move now. TiVo shares are down more than 20% for 2017, and sit well below the roughly $18 per share at which they traded when itmergedwith digital entertainment patent technology company Rovi late last year. Since then, TiVo has instituted aparticularly generous dividendpolicy -- offering a payout that yields roughly 4.6% annually at today's prices -- struck multiple new service agreements with the likes ofAltice USAandLiberty Global, and more recently received a significant favorable ITC ruling in apatent infringement caseagainstComcast.
That said, the sources also noted that TiVo has not yet launched a strategic review process, so it's far from certain that it will entertain a buyout offer. But given the prospect of a juicy acquisition premium, it's hard to blame investors for bidding up TiVo stock.
Meanwhile, shares of Amazon.com fell 1.4% today after President Trump suggested onTwitterthat the U.S. Postal Service should charge "much more" to ship packages for the online retail juggernaut.
"Why is the United States Post Office, which is losing many billions of dollars a year, while charging Amazon and others so little to deliver their packages, making Amazon richer and the Post Office dumber and poorer?" Trump Tweeted on Friday morning. "Should be charging MUCH MORE!"
This isn't the first time Trump has criticized Amazon. In August, heerroneously arguedthat Amazon doesn't pay sales taxes, is "doing great damage to tax paying retailers," and has resulted in "many jobs being lost!" And over the past year -- keeping in mind Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos personally ownsThe Washington Post-- Trump also railed against the "Amazon Washington Post" for allegedly fabricating stories.
It's also unclear what impact pressure from Trump could have on the Postal Service in this regard. Its rates are set by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. And even if it were allowed to hike its parcel rates, Amazon could either pivot toward other shipping companies likeUPSandFedEx, or ramp up its efforts to increase the scale of itsown package-delivery service.
In short, it's easy to see why Amazon stock dropped today. But I'm not convinced that Trump's threatening words should be of much concern to longer-term investors.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Steve Symingtonhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Twitter. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast, FedEx, and Liberty Global. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Why Bitcoin May Not Be Digital Gold After All: To explain Bitcoin’s exponential rise over the past year, proponents of the cryptocurrency often come back to the same refrain. Think of Bitcoin, they say, as digital gold--a so-called “store of value” that, like the precious metal itself, doesn’t need to have a lot of practical uses to be worth a lot of money. The price of a Bitcoin, which first surpassed the gold price nearly a year ago, is now worth more than seven times the value of an ounce of the metal (currently priced at $1,338). That’s after the Bitcoin price has tumbled recently to its current value around $10,000, half what it was worth at its all-time high last month. But whether Bitcoin can actually replace gold (let alone traditional government-backed currency) has been a matter of fervent debate--quite literally, as evidenced by an event last week entitled “Gold Versus Bitcoin,” held at a New York comedy club, in which well-known gold proponent (Jim Rickards debated James Altucher, a self-help author now peddling Bitcoin investment advice under the moniker “crypto-genius.” (The gold side, represented by Rickards, prevailed.) Cameron Winklevoss, who with his twin brother Tyler reportedly turned settlement money from their lawsuit into more than $1 billion in Bitcoin , has suggested the cryptocurrency could “disrupt” gold, calling it “gold 2.0.” Now, in a rare move, a major Wall Street bank has weighed in, too. Offering their latest market outlook Tuesday, investment strategists from Citigroup’s wealth management arm directly questioned Winklevoss’s argument--but still suggested that Bitcoin could offer better returns than gold. “Amid record low volatility in other asset classes, the grand scale of the volatility in cryptocurrencies is welcomed as a return vehicle by many traders,” the strategists from Citi Private Bank wrote in their report. “What should the expected return of the most volatile asset class be? Generally, the highest.” Indeed, Bitcoin has made investors far richer than gold has recently, with the cryptocurrency returning 1,116% over the past 12 months, compared to less than 12% for gold. But investors turn to gold in order to diversify their portfolio, using the metal as a safe haven protecting against a drop in the stock market. After all, gold historically has shown a negative correlation with stocks--meaning when stocks go down, gold typically rises, and vice versa. Story continues Bitcoin, on the other hand, not only is far more volatile than both stocks and gold (as illustrated in the chart above), but trades unpredictably, even maniacally, without any relationship to other assets or even gold itself. In its analysis, Citi Private Bank found that Bitcoin’s correlation to the S&P 500 was virtually zero, while its correlation with gold was .054, meaning gold and Bitcoin only trade in sync about 5% of the time--a relationship so negligible as to be insignificant. Those erratic movements would make it hard for Bitcoin to serve the same purpose as gold does for investors. What’s more, the Citi strategists doubt whether the world even needs a new version of gold, when governments long ago stopped pegging the value of paper currency to the metal: “Is a fixed supply of money, a digital gold standard, really superior to a flexible money supply?” the report’s authors wrote rhetorically. Still, Citi believes that Bitcoin’s ability to rise, no matter how other markets are trading, bodes well for investors, at least for the time being. “Low correlations between asset prices are also a sign of ‘bull market psychology,'” according to the report. “This benefits near-term returns at the expense of the future.” Because of those potential winnings, Citi advised that it would be reasonable for investors to own a small amount of cryptocurrencies, as such “opportunistic, speculative investments” could “have a role” in investment portfolios--as long as they don’t “overwhelm” the returns of more traditional stocks and bonds. Though the bank stopped short of dismissing Bitcoin altogether, it was highly skeptical that it or any of the other almost 1,500 other cryptocurrencies now in existence would survive, comparing the digital currencies to “lottery tickets.” Of the other cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin, the Citi strategists wrote, “We expect a great many to have a dubious future.” But that future could also be more distant than many cryptocurrency critics think. Noting that the value of tech stocks at the height of the dot-com bubble was many times the size of the current cryptocurrency market (with a total value of about $519 billion), Citi’s report conceded that it may be a while before the crypto bubble bursts: “Bubbles can build in plain sight, be duly identified, and prove highly durable for a period measured in years.” See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com South Korea Discovered $600 Million in Illegal Cryptocurrency Trading. But There Are No Plans to Ban It A Court Is Going to Decide Whether the Government Can Regulate Bitcoin Like Stocks BlackRock's Larry Fink Calls Cryptocurrencies 'An Index of Money Laundering' 50 Cent Forgot About Those Bitcoin He Got in 2014 and Now They're Worth $8 Million This Is What the Average Bitcoin Owner Looks Like || 5 lesser-known cryptocurrencies you should definitely know about: 5 lesser-known cryptocurrencies you should definitely know about When you hear the word cryptocurrency, you probably think of Bitcoin and with good reason. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world. But if youre looking to dive into the world of digital finance, here are some important cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin that are worth your consideration. 1. Litecoin Originally created to be a faster version of Bitcoin , Litecoin is the cryptocurrency with the fourth largest share of the market. But this digital currency is growing at a breakneck pace. In 2017, the price of Litecoin increased by more than 7,000 percent. Litecoin costs about $250 per coin , making it much cheaper than bitcoin. 2. Ethereum Ethereum has the third largest market share of any cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. But unlike other digital currencies, Ethereum is a software platform and a programming language , meaning programmers can use it to create new apps. The cryptocurrency run through Ethereum is technically called Ether, and it can be sold, bought, or traded like other digital currencies. New Year's Snapshot 1. Bitcoin - $225 B 2. Ripple - $86 B 3. Ethereum - $74 B 4. Bitcoin Cash - $41 B 5. Cardano - $18 B https://t.co/dHFQxQ3V8g CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) January 1, 2018 3. Zcash Zcash bills itself as a more secure cryptocurrency. According to the Zcash website , Zcash builds on the existing work from the Bitcoin core team to enable privacy preserving transaction data. The currency launched in 2016, so its definitely a cryptocurrency to keep your eye on. 4. Dash Formerly called Darkcoin, Dash was created in 2014, and its value increased by 8,000 percent in 2017. Like Bitcoin, Dash tokens can be transferred to prepaid debit cards in order to be spent. Three stores currently accept Dash directly as a form of payment. Unlike Bitcoin, Dashs website states that the currency can be sent instantaneously . Story continues 5. Ripple Ripple became the second biggest cryptocurrency today , January 2nd, overtaking Ethereum for the title. And with a price of $2.34 per each coin (called XRP), its one of the most affordable ways to invest in the digital marketplace. This currency sets itself apart with its link to banks and other pre-existing financial institutions. About 100 banks use Ripples payment systems, including Bank of America and U.S. Bank. Ripple's #XRP become second-largest #crypto by market cap https://t.co/IidTR86h2V Forbes Crypto (@ForbesCrypto) December 29, 2017 With hundreds of cryptocurrencies on the market, the world of digital money is a complex and often confusing one. But its worth knowing whats available especially with the recent Bitcoin pricing crash and rumors of a Bitcoin bubble. Still, despite the promising look of cryptocurrencies, we think its perfectly fine to keep using cash. || Here's Why Bitcoin Plunged 25% in January but Ethereum Soared: Bitcoin (BTC-USD), Ripple (XRP-USD), and most other leading cryptocurrencies are well in the red after the first month of 2018. Concerns about stronger regulatory action pressured the cryptocurrency markets throughout most of January. Only one of the top five cryptocurrencies -- Ethereum (ETH-USD) -- finished the month with a gain.
What were the forces behind January's cryptocurrency price moves, and what financial measure should prospective cryptocurrency investors focus on?
Image source: Getty Images.
Here's a look at the five largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and how much each has changed over the past 24 hours, as well as during the month of January.
[{"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin (BTC-USD)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$10,056.00", "Day's Change": "(0.7%)", "Monthly Change": "(24.7%)"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ethereum (ETH-USD)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1,109.10", "Day's Change": "4.3%", "Monthly Change": "47.4%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ripple (XRP-USD)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1.11", "Day's Change": "(4.6%)", "Monthly Change": "(45.3%)"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin Cash (BCH-USD)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1,475.50", "Day's Change": "(1.6%)", "Monthly Change": "(36%)"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Cardano (ADA-USD)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.50", "Day's Change": "(6.1%)", "Monthly Change": "(29.6%)"}]
Data source: investing.com. Prices and daily changes as of Jan. 31, 2018, at 1:45 p.m. EST; prices are rounded to the nearest cent where appropriate.
Most major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC-USD), performed poorly in January. Ripple (XRP-USD), which had been driven higher by speculators in the wake of major partnership announcements withAmerican Express,Santander, andMoneyGramInternational, was the month's biggest loser, down by more than 45%. The only winner in the top five was Ethereum (ETH-USD), which soared to an all-time high in January and regained its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The primary driver of the decline in cryptocurrency prices was a fear of global regulatory scrutiny, particularly in key crypto market South Korea. In mid-January, fears that South Korea and China could crack down on cryptocurrency trading caused$300 billionin cryptocurrency market cap value to evaporate in one week. And while many cryptocurrencies have recovered a bit from the lows, asteady streamof regulatory news items have added to volatility and kept prices depressed.
Unlike most of its peers, second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH-USD) had agreatJanuary. Most of the gains took place toward thebeginning of the monthafter reports that Ethereum network transaction volume had doubled and that there had been instances of more than 10 transactions being processed per second.
If you're not a cryptocurrency investor yet and are thinking about buying one of these (or any other) digital currencies, it's important to recognize how volatile they can be. Pay particular attention to the "monthly change" column in the table above: Theleast volatileof the top five digital currencies moved by about 25% for the month, and January was actually a relatively quiet month by cryptocurrency standards.
An investment in cryptocurrencies can easily fluctuate by 25%, 50%, or even more in a relatively short period of time, so while there's nothing wrong with speculating with your extra money, don't put any money into cryptocurrencies that you aren't willing and able to lose if things don't go your way.
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Matthew Frankelowns shares of American Express. He has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends American Express. The Motley Fool has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Bitcoin holds overnight gains after last week's rout: NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin held its overnight gains in early U.S. trading on Tuesday as the world's biggest and best-known cryptocurrency rebounded on light trading volume from its worst week since 2013.
At 8:33 a.m. (1333 GMT), the digital currency was last up almost 10 percent at $15,300.00 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange. It lost nearly 30 percent at one point last Friday at $11,159.93.
(Reporting by Richard Leong in New York, Lisa Twaronite in Tokyo and Vidya Ranganathan in SingaporeEditing by Chizu Nomiyama) || An investing startup that grew by $100 million in a single day just got some big name backing: Robots VCG/Getty Images Robo-adviser Wealthfront landed $75 million in a new fundraising round, the company announced Thursday. Tiger Global Management, the New York-based investing firm, is leading the fundraise. Wealthfront will use the cash to enhance its Path tool and continue to attract younger investors to its purely automated platform. Tiger Global Management is making a big bet on a California investing startup. Wealthfront, a robo-adviser with more than $9 billion under its management, announced Thursday that Tiger Global, the New York investment firm, would lead a $75 million fundraising round. The firm, which declined to share its valuation with Business Insider, was founded in 2011. It counts Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, and Greylock Partners among its investors. Wealthfront plans to use the new capital to enhance its Path platform, which allows users to view all of their financial accounts. "Path's appeal to young people propelled our growth such that people under 45 now represent 85% of our clients," Wealthfront cofounder Andy Rachleff said in a statement. "We believe our success with this group is based on our unique ability to optimize and automate our clients' personal finances." Wealthfront has adamantly held on to its belief that the future of financial advice is in automation. Unlike fellow robo-adviser Betterment and incumbent rivals such as Charles Schwab, Wealthfront has remained a pure robo without human advisers. The strategy appears to be working. On Wednesday, the firm's assets grew by $100 million, a spokesperson told Business Insider. That growth was fueled by both new desposits and stock market gains. "A software only approach specifically appeals to a younger demographic, and we have embraced that," Rachleff told Business Insider during a recent visit to New York. "Whereas the rest of the industry, as Wayne Gretzky would say, is skating to where the puck is, not where it is going to be," he added. Story continues That laser focus was part of the appeal for Tiger Global. "Wealthfront's exclusively software-based model gives the company a superior approach to capture the younger, fast-growing market of investors," said Lee Fixel , a partner at Tiger Global Management, in a press release. "We're excited to support continued growth of the business and help Wealthfront become to the Millennial generation what Charles Schwab is to Baby Boomers." In just three years global millennial wealth could stand at $24 trillion, according to UBS, the Swiss money manager, up $7 trillion from 2015. NOW WATCH: The CIO of a crypto hedge fund reveals why you should be cautious of the ICO bubble See Also: Bitcoin is fighting back Bitcoin futures are getting burned The 11 biggest ICO fundraises of 2017 || Berkshire Hathaway's Book Value Will Soar in the Fourth Quarter: Warren Buffett'sBerkshire Hathaway(NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B)will likely be one of the biggest winners of the tax reform bill recently passed into law. The company stands to benefit from a lower corporate tax rate on its earnings from operating businesses and capital gains. The most immediate impact of tax reform will show up on Berkshire's balance sheet when it reports fourth-quarter earnings, as its book value could soar 13% in a single calendar quarter.
Buffett often says his favorite holding period is "forever," precisely because holding onto winners allows Berkshire todelay making cash paymentsfor taxes. Berkshire Hathaway ended the last quarter with deferred tax liabilities of roughly $86.6 billion, the vast majority of which is attributable to gains on investments that it hasn't sold.
Berkshire's deferred tax liabilities were calculated assuming that it would eventually pay a corporate tax rate of roughly 35% on its gains when the profits on its biggest winners are realized. Because the corporate tax rate was reduced to 21% from 35% during the quarter, its deferred tax liabilities will have to be adjusted down to reflect the change in the corporate tax rate in its next earnings report.
Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.
In November, Barclays analyst Jay Gelb estimated that a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 20% could send Berkshire's book value rising by as much as $27 billion due to its deferred tax liabilities, according toBloomberg. Based on his analysis, book value could rise by 9% from the third quarter from lower tax liabilities.
Berkshire's investments are concentrated in companies that have the most to gain from lower corporate income taxes. As of Sept. 30, 2017, Berkshire's publicly traded portfolio was valued at approximately $178 billion. Of that, nearly $73 billion was invested in banks, insurers, and financial companies, which are largely viewed as the biggest winners of tax reform since they generate the vast majority of their profit in the United States.
Four of its largest winners since Sept. 30 are detailed in the table below. Note that three of the four companies are banks. Without question, Buffett is one of theworld's best bank investors.
[{"Stock": "Bank of America", "Gain Since Sept. 30": "$2.9 billion"}, {"Stock": "Wells Fargo", "Gain Since Sept. 30": "$2.7 billion"}, {"Stock": "Apple", "Gain Since Sept. 30": "$2.1 billion"}, {"Stock": "American Express", "Gain Since Sept. 30": "$1.3 billion"}]
Data sources: WhaleWisdom and Google Finance.
I calculate that Berkshire's publicly traded portfolio has gained $13.6 billion since the end of the third quarter, adding another $10.7 billion to its book value, after accounting for taxes at a 21% rate.
In all, capital gains on Berkshire's vast securities portfolio ($10.7 billion) and a reduction in Berkshire's deferred tax liabilities ($27 billion) could net shareholders a 12% increase in book value in the fourth quarter. Of course, this assumes that Berkshire's operating companies -- its insurance companies, BNSF railroad, utilities, and others -- add nothing to its bottom line, a highly unlikely outcome.
Assuming its operating businesses and valuation changes to its derivatives portfolio generate net earnings of $4 billion in the fourth quarter -- a result roughly equal to its average quarterly result in 2017, a period that includesrare losses in insurance underwriting-- book value could leap 13%. Shareholders will be very pleased with the company's next earnings report.
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Jordan Wathenhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AAPL and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL and short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL. The Motley Fool recommends AXP and Barclays. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
The #BitcoinPizza would be worth US$160,343,000.00 right now (down -5.93% in the last 24 hours): #Bitcoin ||
¿Con una aportación de $22 dólares en BTC aprox. más comisiones, recibimos $120.00 y… https://www.instagram.com/p/Be0gJIHgWMJ/ || 01/06 07:00 Crypto currency sentiment analysis.
BTC : Positive
BCC : Neutral
ETH : Positive
ETC : Positive
https://goo.gl/5hp6Cz #BTC || 英語できる人翻訳頼むhttps://www.banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings?ID=D8EC44B1-F141-4778-A042-584E0F3B9D39 … || Definitively stating that Bitcoin is a bad investment also makes you a ‘Bitcoin expert’. pic.twitter.com/1HHj8nS7So || $BTC is now worth $11,400.00 (+1.86%) #BTC || Oracle shares market system systems on it's way down. While btc around corner for a start of recovery. The chances of BTC recovery may happen sooner because od this? Leave comments on your thoughts, retweet and revive 2008 event. Log those memories for a second. || Sell небыло по тв, этот мем уже если че)) || Déclarations du patron de la Banque des Règlements Internationaux - "Le bitcoin devient une bulle, un montage Ponzi et un désastre environnemental" (AFP) http://www.levif.be/s/r/c/794865 via @redacTendances || https://twitter.com/heartdaughter/status/951954823724888064 …
The FREE #Bitcoin is worth about $7.00 now!
#BTC
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Trend: up || Prices: 8129.97, 8926.57, 8598.31, 9494.63, 10166.40, 10233.90, 11112.70, 10551.80, 11225.30, 11403.70
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2017-06-15]
BTC Price: 2464.58, BTC RSI: 50.66
Gold Price: 1252.20, Gold RSI: 44.51
Oil Price: 44.46, Oil RSI: 32.72
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Young Footballers from Antigua and Trinidad emerge as winners of Flow Ultimate Football Experience: PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD--(Marketwired - May 11, 2017) - Thirteen-year-old Ronaldo Flowers of Antigua and 16-year-old Che Benny of Trinidad and Tobago will gain the ultimate football experience as they head to Old Trafford in Manchester, UK to see Manchester United play against Crystal Palace on May 21. The young footballers won the trip after reaching the final round of the Flow Ultimate Football Experience which was hosted by Flow and the Manchester United Football Club in Trinidad. The event, which took place recently, was the culmination of a series of competitions across Flow's 15 markets throughout the Caribbean. The finals at President's Grounds, St Ann's saw two young footballers from each country vying for the coveted prize. Among the 30 participants, 15 countries were represented -- Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Turks & Caicos. The players were also each accompanied by a parent or guardian and their coach. They participated in a two-day skills session with one-on-one training with Manchester United Soccer School Coaches (MUSS), Head Coach Mike Neary and Billy Miller. This is the second year of collaboration between Flow and MUSS. Through the Flow Ultimate Football Experience, the two partners gave the young athletes a greater opportunity at success and brought the region closer to one of their favourite sports. Ronaldo Flowers has been given the nickname 'Flower Power' on the field. Originally from Jamaica but lives in Antigua, Flowers was named after the famous footballer. The youngster has been playing the game for the past four years and has in his vision to become a professional player. He plays central attack and midfield positions, which allow him to do what he likes best, score goals. "It felt like a dream coming true," Flowers said following the announcement. "The challenge was very difficult because there were other talented players but I played hard." Story continues Che Benny has been playing football since the age of five when his uncle took him to see St Ann's Rangers -- the team with which he still plays. Team coach Everett Williams, who was also present at the weekend challenge, says Benny was born with a natural talent. He was happy Benny received the exposure playing with other footballers in the Caribbean. "I stepped up to the plate," Benny said after winning the award. He also hopes to meet his favourite footballer, the Red Devils' midfielder Juan Mata when he visits Manchester. Young Benny also said "football is my passion, I eat, sleep and dream about football and playing the sport professionally." Flowers and Benny, along with their coaches, will travel to the world-famous football stadium to see Manchester United's final Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace. This VIP experience will also include a visit to the Manchester United Museum and Tour, taking in the history of the club followed by a tour of the iconic stadium. The two winners received their trophies from top officials present on the stage including Trinidad and Tobago Sports Ambassador and former Manchester United player, Dwight Yorke and Trinidad's Minister of Sport, Hon. Daryll Williams. Minister Williams thanked Flow in his remarks for providing this kind of opportunity for young footballers in the region. Minister Williams reflected "I looked up to Dwight Yorke when I was a young footballer as being an inspiration for Caribbean players however there were no such opportunities like this one from Flow and Manchester United. Through this Flow Ultimate Football Experience you youngsters now have access to some of the best coaches and players in the world of football." "I am pleased for them both!" said a very proud Wendy McDonald, Flow's Senior Director of Communications for the Caribbean, "This is a-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and definitely the "ultimate football experience" that these two young footballers have been given through Flow's partnership with Manchester United. We will continue to follow their journey to Manchester and we hope this will encourage even more aspiring footballers from the Caribbean to be ready for opportunities like this." About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 6 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3138743 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3138746 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3138749 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3138752 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3138755 || Hertz shares plunge 18% after first-quarter loss nearly doubles Wall Street estimate: Hertz Global ( HTZ ) stock tumbled Tuesday, a day after the car rental company reported a bigger-than-expected earnings loss and revenue that fell below analysts' estimates. Lower rental prices and lower resale value for its used vehicles crimped the earnings report. Shares of the stock closed down more than 14 percent during Tuesday, as investors digested the weak quarterly report and lack of future guidance from management. After the bell on Monday the company reported a first quarter earnings loss, excluding items, of $1.61 per share on sales of $1.92 billion. The Street was anticipating Hertz to post a much smaller loss for the quarter of 91 cents on better sales of $1.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. The company's net loss from continuing operations widened to $223 million during the period, from just $52 million a year ago. Hertz also booked an impairment charge of $30 million in the quarter. Hertz will likely continue to struggle to get better resale values for its cars so long as U.S. used-car prices continue to fall, as more and more vehicles return to the market following their leases' end. Used cars and trucks price index Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Hertz's vehicle sales volume was up 21 percent year over year, but the value is dropping. The company noted that net depreciation per vehicle was up by 15 percent. "We are placing significant emphasis on fleet quality, the customer experience, brand development and systems transformation," CEO Kathryn Marinello said, attributing the wider losses to increased investments being made in a "turnaround" effort. With the blessing of billionaire investor Carl Icahn , Hertz's biggest shareholder, Marinello recently replaced CEO John Tague. The company has performed more poorly than competitors because Hertz's fleet is particularly outdated with fewer SUVs. And competition is stiffer than ever in the age of Uber and Lyft. As of Tuesday's close, shares of Hertz have fallen more than 63 percent over the past 12 months and are down about 40 percent this year. Story continues HTZ 12-month performance Source: FactSet More From CNBC Apple's former CEO shares the one iPhone feature he'd like to see next Bitcoin spikes to fresh record after Fed's Kashkari speaks about blockchain Bet on 'repatriation stocks,' UBS says || Bitcoin Wallets Under Siege From 'Large Collider' Attack: A group called the Large Bitcoin Collider claims it can smash open bitcoin wallets by using a so-called brute force attack, which directs mass amounts of computer power at individual wallets in order to guess their private keys. The project, which has been underway for months, relies on a distributed network of computers (similar to bitcoin itself), and invites anyone to participate-those who do could potentially share in the proceeds of the wallets cracked open. A trophy list on the home page of Collider (an apparent reference to the Hadron Collider ) suggests the group has successfully opened over a dozen wallets, though only three had any bitcoin in them. Its unclear if the group is motivated by financial gain or the cryptographic challenge of smashing wallets-the answer is probably both based on the sites webpage and outside observers. A Q&A list on the Colliders website says robbing even a tiny amount from non-profit group like the Internet archive would make you an unconditional jerk. But it also suggests other wallets are fair game, and that proceeds would be divvied up among the Collider participants. Meanwhile, others think the wallet-smashing endeavor is a fools errand, according to Motherboard , which first reported on the Large Bitcoin Collider. In this view, the project is too hard and the rewards too low and infrequent (as this Reddit commenter explains ) to pay off. But some speculate the goal of the project is not to rob a whole lot of wallets, but instead to strike a mother lode from a long-lost wallet from bitcoins early days: About 10% of Bitcoins were created early, before 2012, and have never been traded. If somebody ever finds the key of the early lost Bitcoins, theyll have a huge payoff, over a billion dollars. Speculation is that either Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever he is, is holding onto them for a big payoff, or somebody lost the private key for all those early Bitcoins. As the years go on, the second explanation seems more likely, said the top comment on the site Hacker News . Story continues Get Data Sheet , Fortune s technology newsletter. As for the process of cracking open wallets, it involves the laborious task of creating private keys-which are dozens of characters in length-and trying them against existing bitcoin addresses. The Collider has so far created and checked 3,000 trillion private keys, a researcher told Motherboard. As for the legality of all this, its unclear. On one hand, the law is pretty clear that you are not supposed to join a conspiracy in order to rob people. But on the other hand, as the groups website points out, It is not illegal to search for colliding private keys. For bitcoin owners, the risk of the Large Bitcoin Collider performing a stick-up on your private wallet is pretty tiny for now. But if the process also results in someone creating a collision for bitcoins general hashing algorithm-as happened with the longtime crypographic standard SHA-1 (cracked by Google this year)-that would spell a lot more trouble, though as one reader points out , bitcoins encryption algorithm can be upgraded. This article was originally published on FORTUNE.com || New Flow Kids App Delivers Anytime/Anywhere Content To Caribbean Children: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Jun 8, 2017) - Flow 's younger viewers now have a kid-friendly service that delivers children's content anytime, anywhere, on any device via the new " Flow Kids" app specially developed by Toon Goggles , the top kids' on-demand entertainment service. The Flow Kids app offers viewers approximately 1000 hours of high-definition children's content -- thousands of fun and educational cartoons for boys and girls, live action shows, comedy, engaging games for preschool to older age groups -- something for every child. "We're pleased to have partnered with Toon Goggles as we introduce an exciting new option for children's educational and entertainment programming to the region," said James Tooke, SVP Content & Media at Cable & Wireless , operator of Flow. "We've invested significantly to secure the world's best content for our audiences, and we of course wanted to ensure that the young ones weren't left out. With Flow Kids , children now have the ability to stream their favourite shows and play fun, interactive games any time of the day, keeping them entertained for hours on end. Plus, Flow Kids is not only jam-packed with fun games and entertainment -- it's also educational, intuitive, easy-to-use and a safe platform for kids of any age. We're confident Flow Kids will put a smile on every child's face." Aside from the diverse selection of content, Flow Kids offers other features to enhance the viewing experience for children and parents alike. For example, for those parents who'd like to ensure their children are watching content that's suitable for their age, Flow Kids has a built-in parental control switch to allow them control over what shows, music or games kids can access. The app also allows for access over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, and has the ability to store content, so kids can watch their favourite shows even when they're not connected to the Internet. Commenting on the innovative app and the cosmopolitan perspective it offers children, Stephen L. Hodge, C.E.O. of Toon Goggles said, "Growing up on the small Caribbean island of Anguilla, and as a father of three myself, I know first-hand how important it is for kids to gain a global perspective, and the fun and educational content on Flow Kids helps facilitate that. We feel that our partnership with Flow and Cable & Wireless meets both our companies' goals of increasing quality media options for kids everywhere." Story continues Flow Kids is available to Flow subscribers for free via the mobile app, once they have a Flow broadband package, mobile bundle or TV account and a Flow ID. A premium version will also be available for a fee, which will give users the ability to access content via their mobile and Flow's video-on-demand service on up to 5 devices, including smart TVs and set-top boxes. Flow Kids is available in twelve Flow markets: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands. About C&W Communications C&W is a full service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, C&W provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. C&W also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at http://www.cwc.com/ , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next generation networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across 6 million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com || Bitcoin Is Twice as Valuable as Gold Right Now: A single bitcoin is now roughly twice as valuable as an ounce of gold.
The most recent flurry of buying helped send the price of bitcoin up over $2,600 in trading Friday, while the value of gold has stayed at about $1,267 per ounce. Bitcoin’s value has since pared its gains, and traded at about $2,433 midday Friday.
Just two months ago, bitcoinonly just inched above the value of gold.
The surge comes as thecryptocurrency gainslegitimacy in countries such as Japan, and Chinese regulators look to be growingmore tolerant of bitcoin. Despite bitcoin’s volatility, some investors have also come to see the currency as a good place to store funds in times of geopolitical uncertainty.
Gold, too, is known to be a “safe haven” asset -- investors buy the precious metal when turmoil looks just around the bend. But while gold has risen 10% this year, bitcoin has risen 153%.
See original article on Fortune.com
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• This 18-Karat Gold Toilet Is Now Open For Public Use || Bitcoin Services Inc. Provides Shareholder Update: KALAMAZOO, MI / ACCESSWIRE / May 3, 2017 /Bitcoin Services Inc. (OTC PINK: BTSC) announced today that it began mining Monero in the 1st quarter of 2017. Monero is currently one of the top digital currencies with a market cap of over 300 mil USD. The Company is pleased to announce their earnings on May 12, 2017, and a launch of a new website in the upcoming weeks. In addition, Bitcoin Services Inc. has begun developing a new Crypto currency wallet that will let users safely store multiple digital currencies in one wallet. Bitcoin Services Inc. would also like to congratulate all Bitcoin users for reaching a historic all time high on April 2nd of 2017.
About Bitcoin Services Inc.:
Our business operations are Internet based to the consumer and consist of two separate streams, as follows: (1) bitcoin mining, and (2) blockchain software development. The principal products and services are the mining of bitcoins, and the development and sale of blockchain software. The market for these services and products is worldwide, and sold and marketed on the Internet.
Safe Harbor Statement:
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and section 21e of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Those statements include the intent, belief, or current expectations of the company and its management team. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Accomplishing the strategy described herein is significantly dependent upon numerous factors, many that are not in management's control. Some of these factors include the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital, attract qualified management, attract new customers, and effectively compete against similar companies.
CONTACT:
info@bitcoinservicesinc.com
SOURCE: Bitcoin Services Inc. || Hertz shares plunge 18% after first-quarter loss nearly doubles Wall Street estimate: Hertz Global(HTZ)stock tumbled Tuesday, a day after the car rental company reported a bigger-than-expected earnings loss and revenue that fell below analysts' estimates.
Lower rental prices and lower resale value for its used vehicles crimped the earnings report.
Shares of the stock closed down more than 14 percent during Tuesday, as investors digested the weak quarterly report and lack of future guidance from management.
After the bell on Monday the company reported a first quarter earnings loss, excluding items, of $1.61 per share on sales of $1.92 billion. The Street was anticipating Hertz to post a much smaller loss for the quarter of 91 cents on better sales of $1.94 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
The company's net loss from continuing operations widened to $223 million during the period, from just $52 million a year ago. Hertz also booked an impairment charge of $30 million in the quarter.
Hertz will likely continue to struggle to get better resale values for its cars so long as U.S. used-car prices continue to fall, as more and more vehicles return to the market following their leases' end.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hertz's vehicle sales volume was up 21 percent year over year, but the value is dropping. The company noted that net depreciation per vehicle was up by 15 percent.
"We are placing significant emphasis on fleet quality, the customer experience, brand development and systems transformation," CEO Kathryn Marinello said, attributing the wider losses to increased investments being made in a "turnaround" effort.
With the blessing of billionaire investorCarl Icahn, Hertz's biggest shareholder, Marinello recently replaced CEO John Tague.
The company has performed more poorly than competitors because Hertz's fleet is particularly outdated with fewer SUVs. And competition is stiffer than ever in the age of Uber and Lyft.
As of Tuesday's close, shares of Hertz have fallen more than 63 percent over the past 12 months and are down about 40 percent this year.
Source: FactSet
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• Bet on 'repatriation stocks,' UBS says || Get ready for a possible 'second wave' of that massive global cyberattack: Microsoft Windows users, brace yourselves. People are worried a second wave of cyberattacks could strike around the world on Monday as employees return to their desks and log onto their computers. Security experts say the unprecedented ransomware attack that on Friday locked up computers across the globe including UK hospital, FedEx, train systems in Germany among other institutions in exchange for payment, could cause even more trouble as the work week begins. On top of that, copycat versions of the malicious software have already started to spread. "We are in the second wave," Matthieu Suiche of the cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies told the New York Times on Sunday. SEE ALSO: Meet the 20-somethings who stopped a worldwide cyberattack Officials urged companies and organizations to update their Microsoft operating systems immediately to ensure networks aren't still vulnerable to more powerful variants of the malware known as WannaCry or WannaCrypt. The outbreak, which began last Friday, is already believed to be the biggest online extortion scheme ever recorded. WannaCry locks up computers, encrypts their data, and demands large Bitcoin payments, which begin at $300 and rise to $600 before the software destroys files hours later. Cyber criminals targeted users in 150 nations, including the U.S., Russia, Brazil, Spain, and India, along with major government agencies, such as the U.K.'s National Health Service and Germany's national railway. Two researchers in their 20's had halted the ransomeware attack on Saturday after discovering and activating the software's "kill switch." The temporary fix initially helped slow down the rate of infected computers. But some networks may have caught the malicious bug after workers went home, meaning the malware is already there, waiting for employees to power up their computers. "The way these attacks work means that compromises of machines and networks that have already occurred may not yet have been detected, and that existing infections from the malware can spread within networks," Britain's National Cyber Security Center said in a statement on Sunday. Story continues "This means that as a new working week begins it is likely, in the U.K. and elsewhere, that further cases of ransomware may come to light, possibly at a significant scale," officials warned. The cyber criminals, whose identities are still unknown, also rebounded from the kill switch activation by releasing a second variation of the malware. Europol, the European Union's policing agency, said the attack remains an "escalating threat" whose numbers "are still going up" after a brief slowdown on Friday. The agency estimates some 200,000 victims — including 100,000 public and private sector organizations — have been affected since the start of the cyberattack. The 22-year-old British cyber researcher who found the kill switch said he was now looking into a possible second wave of attacks. "It's quite an easy change to make, to bypass the way we stopped it," MalwareTech, who uses an alias, told the Associated Press . The WannaCry malware exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was reportedly developed and used by the U.S. National Security Agency. Experts said this vulnerability has been known for months, and Microsoft had fixed the problem in updates of recent versions of Windows. But many users did not apply the software patch, AP reported. So, in case you needed another reminder, update your software often. And maybe change your passwords while you're at it. WATCH: This aerial yoga mat doubles as a portable hammock Https%3a%2f%2fvdist.aws.mashable.com%2fcms%2f2017%2f5%2f9c29e79e 5889 3fc6%2fthumb%2f00001 || Why leaked NSA hacking tools are not like stolen Tomahawk missiles: Last week a malicious computer worm dubbed WannaCry 2.0 began attacking older, unpatched versions of Microsoft operating systems,infecting hundreds of thousands of systemswith ransomware that held user data hostage in exchange for Bitcoin payments.
The cyberattack used code from a powerful National Security Agency tool called EternalBlue, which a mysterious group of hackers known as The Shadow Brokers leaked earlier this year. Tech companies have been quick to blame the NSA for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in commercial products like Windows, to say nothing of losing them.
On Sunday,Brad Smith, Microsoft’s(MSFT)president and chief legal officer,arguedthat an “equivalent scenario with conventional weapons would be the U.S. military having some of its Tomahawk missiles stolen.”
The next day, Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, speaking via video chat to the K(NO)W Identity Conference in Washington D.C. from an undisclosed location in Russia,repeatedSmith’s argument.
“An equivalent scenario to what we’re seeing happening today would be conventional weapons, produced and held by the U.S. military, being stolen, such as Tomahawk missiles,” Snowden said while describing Smith’s letter to a crowd less than a mile from the White House.
U.S. officials acknowledge that the NSA deserves scrutiny about protecting tools it develops to collect foreign intelligence. “They’ve absolutely got to do a better job protecting [the hacking tools],” General Keith Alexander, head of the NSA from 2005 to 2014,toldThe Washington Post. “You can’t argue against that.”
However, the Tomahawk analogy may be a stretch. Dave Aitel, a former NSA research scientist and CEO of the cybersecurity companyImmunity, explained why hacking tools are not like bombs.
“The very first thing is you can steal a Tomahawk missile from me, but you cannot steal it from me without me knowing you’ve stolen it,” Aitel said. “And of course, you can steal an exploit or other intellectual property from me and I may never find out. Another is that two people can have [the same exploit] at the same time.”
Aitel, who specializes in the offensive side of cybersecurity, added that “deep down, the biggest difference is that you have to learn a lot about exploits to protect yourself, and I don’t really have to learn a lot about Tomahawk missiles to protect myself from Tomahawk missiles.”
Nevertheless, the analogy has been relatively well received. Travis Jarae, CEO and Founder of One World Identity, which hosted the conference in Washington, andpaid a speakers bureauto digitally host Snowden, said that the Tomahawk analogy is “not wrong” given the contemporary threat environment.
“Warfare is digital,” explained Jarae, who was previously Global Head of Identity Verification at Google. “We spy on people digitally … I thought it was a little aggressive to compare it to a missile, but [government hacking] is very damaging.“
Aitelnoted that it makes sense why Smith and others in the tech business would make that argument.
“[Brad Smith’s] job is to create favorable economic conditions for Microsoft at a strategic level, and if he pressure governments to stop using exploits, then that helps him from a PR perspective,” Aitel said. “It doesn’t help the users because people are still going to have exploits. That’s always going to be true.”
Snowden also echoed Smith’s criticisms of the U.S. government’s decision to develop secret software exploits, telling the audience at the K(NO)W Identity Conference that secret government exploits are a problem, and the NSA should have voluntarily revealed the EternalBlue exploit long ago.
But other former NSA officials have pushed back against that idea,tellingthe Washington Post that EternalBlue netted an “unreal” foreign intelligence haul that was like “fishing with dynamite.”
“Edward Snowden knows full well the value of the signals intelligence program — and that includes the NSA’s hacking — to our national security,” Aitel said. “This is not for play. They’re not building exploits for fun. It’s not a hobby. It’s for distinct and important national security needs.
“So when he says ‘Give up your exploits,’ he essentially is saying, ‘We don’t need signals intelligence,’ which we do.”
Ultimately, according to Aitel, companies like Microsoft placing the blame on the NSA with crude analogies equating NSA hacking tools to U.S. cruise missiles only serves to muddy the larger debate.
“The bigger issue is Brad Smith and Microsoft, who continue to insist that everything fall their way in terms of how vulnerabilities are handled, which I don’t think helps the conversation around cybersecurity,” Aitel said. “There are a lot of very interesting things in cybersecurity that don’t involve Microsoft’s bottom line, and those are worth talking about.”
READ MORE:
The simple reason so many companies were hit by the WannaCry 2.0 ransomware
As tensions rise with Russia, U.S. colleges still pay for Snowden speeches
No, your Apple computer isn’t immune from ransomware
‘Risk’ director discusses the ‘tragedy’ of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks || 3 Market Surprises Impacting ETFs: Predicting market action is fraught with challenges. Often the market takes unexpected turns, delivering investors with surprising ETF performances. So far this year, there have been a few “surprises” worth noting. Volatility Is Very, Very Low So far in 2017, market volatility has been historically low any way you measure it. The CBOE VIX Index is sitting below the 10 mark—a level that’s lower than 99%-plus of all its closing prices since 1990, according to ConvergEx’s Nick Colas. That it’s so low has people wondering whether it could actually go to zero. CBOE’s head Ed Tilly says it cannot, by the way. (CBOE owns ETF.com’s parent company, Bats Global Markets.) If you measure volatility from the perspective of the S&P 500, we should have already seen at least 19 days of 1%-or-wider moves so far in 2017, based on historical norms, Colas says. But year-to-date, the S&P 500 has only moved 1% or more in just three days. “It’s not your imagination. U.S. equity markets are much calmer than usual,” Colas said. These are definitely strange days. From an ETF perspective, there are 19 volatility exchange-traded products on the market today. Most of them are either leveraged or inverse, but the biggest of these strategies is not. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) , with $820 million in assets, tracks an index with exposure to futures contracts on the VIX with average one-month maturity, and exposure resets daily. VXX is down more than 45% year-to-date, bringing its one-year results to a loss of more than 77% in 12 months. Despite the decline, investors have poured $163 million in fresh net assets into this exchange-traded note so far in 2017. “The upshot is that actual U.S. equity market volatility should begin to rise (at least modesty) in the coming weeks,” Colas said. “If you buy our construct that volatility follows cycles, then we should be at the trough of one right now. That should cause a pullback in stocks, but it does not portend a subsequent meltdown or melt-up, for that matter.” Story continues 10-Year Treasury Yields Are Falling, Not Rising Following the U.S. presidential election last fall, many market pundits were calling for higher U.S. Treasury yields, and at least through March of this year, that seemed to be the trajectory we were on. J.P. Morgan , for example, projected 10-year Treasury yields to hit 2.85% by the end of 2017 amid two or three Federal Reserve rate hikes, “less accommodative” bank policy and a deteriorating fiscal balance. That would amount to a 16% increase in yields from levels seen at the end of 2016. And for a while, that forecast—similar to many others—was spot-on, as 10-year yields rose as high as 2.60% by mid-March. The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates and the twists and turns of the new administration were helping push yields higher. But since then, yields plummeted to a low of 2.18% in April, and are now hovering around 2.40%, at levels lower than at the end of 2016. In the ETF space, a look at the performance of the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (IEF) and the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) show just how much the Treasury market has turned course in recent weeks (see chart below). Investors have not bailed on TLT, but have instead poured more than $1.2 billion into the fund so far this year, and nearly $150 million in IEF. Bitcoin Prices At Record Highs Despite ETF Rejection Everyone was waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to decide whether to approve the market’s first bitcoin ETF, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust (COIN). The idea was that a “yes” from regulators would translate into massive bitcoin demand, bringing retail and institutional investors into the bitcoin fold for the first time. Prices would rise. But the SEC said no, rejecting COIN . Those massive inflows never materialized because the ETF never launched. So bitcoin prices, everyone thought, should drop as a result. And prices did fall initially—but only initially. They have since rallied to a record highs, hitting $1,700, and climbing about 90% year-to-date. That rally has been picking up pace in recent weeks. ETF investors don’t have a clear vector into bitcoins yet, except for very small allocations in the Web X.0 ETF (ARKW) and the Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) . Each ETF accesses bitcoin through the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), with an allocation of about 4% each. GBTC is up 82% so far in 2017, helping drive gains in both these technology funds, which have had a stellar run so far this year. Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com Contact Cinthia Murphy at cmurphy@etf.com Recommended Stories Brazil ETFs Crumble Under Latest Scandal New Giant Among Emerging Market ETFs 3 Market Surprises Impacting ETFs Measuring Smart Beta ETF Performance First US Listed European Volatility ETNs Launch Permalink | © Copyright 2017 ETF.com. All rights reserved
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
[Bitcoin] is a very exciting development, it might lead to a world currency. I think over the... $ell/฿uy http://bit.ly/2mdYD3U #Bitcoin || Not if someone steals all their bitcoins & donates them to charity, which is just a matter of time. Security & bitcoin still haven't met. || One Bitcoin now worth $1245.35@bitstamp. High $1252.32. Low $1233.00. Market Cap $20.280 Billion #bitcoin || 12:00~13:00のBitcoin市場は反落だったみたいだね。
直近の市場の平均Bitcoinの価格は188521.0円
変化率は0.745%
14:00までは反騰になる?
【AIコメントです:テスト中@パターンB】
#bitcoin
#AI || One Bitcoin now worth $2838.00@bitstamp. High $2868.23. Low $2700.00. Market Cap $46.488 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/uMYqavQ5hf || Easy Free #Bitcoin #FreeBitcoin WinBitcoin. http://ift.tt/1dBS5NK pic.twitter.com/dAvKscUIAS || One Bitcoin now worth $1758.31@bitstamp. High $1815.00. Low $1753.00. Market Cap $28.714 Billion #bitcoin || Bitcoin 101: What is Bitcoin? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dzGth933EA … || New to Bitcoin... Why was I charged so much? http://ift.tt/2sDMkkG #bitcoin #blockchain #cryptos #reddit || #AudioCoin #ADC $0.001124 (7.00%) 0.00000056 BTC (4.70%)
|
Trend: up || Prices: 2518.56, 2655.88, 2548.29, 2589.60, 2721.79, 2689.10, 2705.41, 2744.91, 2608.72, 2589.41
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2017-01-10]
BTC Price: 907.68, BTC RSI: 49.16
Gold Price: 1184.20, Gold RSI: 57.77
Oil Price: 50.82, Oil RSI: 45.15
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Facebook, Amazon, and Google Have Rebounded from Donald Trump Dump: Donald Trump hasn’t declawed the FANG stocks for good, it seems.
Stock market investors have recently been caught up in a rally that has become known as theTrump Bump: Stocks have mostly zoomed forward since Trump won the election, putting the Dow Jones industrial averagewithin striking distance of 20,000 for the first time ever.
But there are some notable companies that experienced more of a Trump Dump. That seems to be changing in the early days of 2017.
The Nasdaq has risen nearly 3% in the first five trading days of this year, outpacing both the Dow, up only about 0.7%, and the S&P 500, up 1.5%. Indeed, the Nasdaq was the only major U.S. stock index to rise Monday, setting a new record high for the third trading day in a row.
The reasons: A number of technology companies that were among some of investors’most hatedstocks in 2016, especially since Trump became president elect, have recently been on a rapid rebound, including Facebook , , , and .
The group of so-called FANG stocks all fell in the wake of Trump’s election late last year (with Facebook stock down more than 7%), leading some high-profile investors such as DoubleLine CEO Jeffrey Gundlach toswear them off entirely.
Now, however, all four companies have more than recovered their post-Trump losses. Facebook stock has already gained nearly 9% in 2017, while shares of Amazon and Netflix are both up more than 6%. Google’s stock is up almost 5% so far this year.
They’re not alone. Nasdaq stocks including Tesla and Yahoo have also kicked off 2017 strong, with Tesla shares returning nearly 8% and Yahoo stock up more than 7%. Chinese tech giant Baidu , also listed on the Nasdaq, has gained more than 8% so far this year.
It’s hard to say exactly why the FANG stocks and other tech companies have bounced back so forcefully in early 2017, or if the trend will continue. After all, January stock performance hasrecently been a poor indicatorof how the market will act for the rest of the year.
For now, investors may simply be hoping that President Trump won’t be asbad for tech companiesas some had expected. Facebook, for one, has already taken steps toaddress concerns over fake newsstories that had hurt the tech stock following Trump’s election.
Still, it isn’t simply a reversal of behavior among stocks that had surged or sank after the November election. stock, which fell after Trump won, has fallen slightly further in 2017. And stock, thebig winner of the Trump rally, is still rising.
But as least for now, investors are biting into technology FANG stocks once again.
See original article on Fortune.com
More from Fortune.com
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• Verizon Is Still on the Fence About the Yahoo Deal || Gartman: Bitcoin Is Nearly Incomprehensible At This Point: After skyrocketing 43.7 percent in the final two weeks of 2016, the Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTC: GBTC ) has made a sharp reversal in the past two days. On Thursday, the ETF plummeted 11.6 percent . In early Friday trading, the GBTC is down another 7.7 percent. According to Dennis Gartman , author of The Gartman Letter, a Bitcoin selloff was inevitable. Gartman says the recent runup in Bitcoin came from Indian and Chinese citizens rushing into the currency to avoid weakness in their native denominations. “These sorts of things always...ALWAYS...end badly and they ended yesterday amidst early buying panic and then even greater panic selling,” Gartman writes. Gartman adds that he hasn’t ever seen anything like the trading action in Bitcoin in the past 48 hours. He predicts that the panic-selling is not yet over and Bitcoin investors could be staring at significantly more downside in coming days. He also hints that the complexity of Bitcoin’s technology may be scaring off potential investors. “Bitcoin may be the currency of the future but quite honestly we find it quite nearly incomprehensible at this point,” Gartman concluded. The GBTC ETF was up roughly 90 percent in 2016. A new big-board-listed Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF could be launched sometime in 2017. See more from Benzinga How Did Bitcoin Perform This Year? © 2017 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin jumps above $1,000 for first time in three years: By Jemima Kelly LONDON (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin kicked off the new year by jumping above $1,000 for the first time in three years late on Sunday, having outperformed all central-bank-issued currencies with a 125 percent climb in 2016. Bitcoin - a web-based "cryptocurrency" that has no central authority, relying instead on thousands of computers across the world that validate transactions and add new bitcoins to the system - jumped 2.5 percent to $1,022 on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its highest since December 2013. Though the digital currency has historically been highly volatile - a tenfold increase in its value in two months in late 2013 took it to above $1,100, before a hack on the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange saw it plunge to under $400 in the following weeks - it has in the past two years been more stable. Its biggest daily moves in 2016 were around 10 percent, still very volatile compared with fiat currencies, but markedly lower than the trading of 2013, which saw daily price swings of as much as 40 percent. Bitcoin may have been boosted in the past year by increased demand in China on the back of a 7 percent annual fall in the value of the yuan in 2016, the Chinese currency's weakest showing in over 20 years. Data shows most bitcoin trading is done in China. Bitcoin is used to move money across the globe quickly and anonymously and does not fall under the purview of any authority, making it attractive to those wanting to get around capital controls, such as China's. It is also may appeal to those worried about a lack of supply of cash, such as in India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed high-denomination bank notes from circulation in November. "The growing war on cash, and capital controls, is making bitcoin look like a viable, if high risk, alternative," said Paul Gordon, a board member of the UK Digital Currency Association and co-founder of Quantave, a firm seeking to make it easier for institutional investors to access digital currency exchanges. Though bitcoin is still some way off the all-time high of $1,163 that it reached on the Bitstamp exchange in late 2013, there are now more bitcoins in circulation - 12.5 are added to the system every 10 minutes. Its total worth is at a record-high above $16 billion, putting its value at around the same as that of an average FTSE 100 company. (Reporting by Jemima Kelly; Editing by Peter Graff) || Expect more blockchain hype in 2017: The price of the digital currency bitcoin rose more than 100% this year.
At the outset of 2016, the controversial coin was trading around $430. This week, it cleared $900, its best level since 2013. As Bloomberg points out, it “crushed every other currency.”
But the talk this year was all about blockchain.
Blockchain, the open, tamper-proof, peer-to-peer ledger technology that underlies bitcoin, hascaptured the excitement of banks and financial institutionswho want to apply the technology to a wide range of processes—without bitcoin. (What exactly is blockchain?Watch this video.)
This year, IBM announced the creation of a new unit called Watson Financial Services to encompass Watson, cloud, and all blockchain-related offerings and strategy. The computing giant created new jobs specifically devoted to blockchain, with the aim of harnessing blockchain technology for client services.
Big banks and payment processors, too,staffed up for blockchain. On job networks like Monster.com, Yahoo Finance found more than 100 posts at companies like American Express, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Capital One, Citigroup, Fidelity, and JPMorgan.
Walmart partnered with IBM on a pilot program totrack the pork supply chain in Chinausing an IBM blockchain built through theHyperledger Project, an open-source group created by the Linux Foundation. IBM was a Hyperledger Project founding member, along with Accenture, Intel, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and others.
Jerry Cuomo, IBM’s VP of blockchain technologies,told Yahoo Financethat 2016 began with “blockchain tourism,” companies expressing public interest in experimenting with blockchain, but not necessarily doing anything real. Ramesh Gopinath, IBM’s VP of blockchain solutions, now says “there has clearly been a transition from experiments to real deployments.”
To be sure, the examples of real deployments are still lacking. The average consumer doesn’t know or care about blockchain, and skeptics dismissall the “blockchain-without-bitcoin” talk as just talk.
On the bitcoin blockchain, “miners” upload transactions in bundles called “blocks” and are rewarded in bitcoin as an incentive for mining; the transaction records are permanent and immutable. Bitcoin entrepreneurs insist that the entire point of a blockchain is negated if banks try to apply the same technology in a closed, permissioned context, without a digital currency.
Some say banks will eventually come around to the uses of bitcoin itself.Balaji Srinavasan, CEO of 21.co, compares it to old narratives around online dating. “It was like, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds, it’s for nerds,” he says, “and then suddenly, oh, here’s Tinder, and now it’s totally flipped and normal and you’d be crazy not to date that way.”
Even if major mainstream applications of blockchain haven’t come along yet, big companies have at least made real investment, demonstrating a faith that all of this will go somewhere. Companies like Chain now offer “blockchain as a service” (BaaS), building specialized blockchains for these high-profile clients.
Oliver Bussman, former CIO at UBS,writes on his advisory firm’s blogthat 2017 “will be the ‘year of the pilot’ for blockchain in financial services, as it moves from a proof-of-concept technology into production, especially in the cross-border payment and trade finance areas,” but adds that broad adoption of blockchain technology will still “happen more quickly outside of financial services—in areas like supply chain management, in e-government, or health care.”
Meanwhile, the membership list continued to grow for R3 CEV, a consortium for banks and financial companies interested in deploying blockchain technology to improve their operations. R3 expects to close a new funding round of $150 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Blockchain hype continued to grow in 2016, and in 2017 it will only get louder.
The headlines weren’t as kind to bitcoin.
In August,hackers stole $54 million worth of bitcoins from Hong Kong bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, the largest bitcoin exchange in the world by US dollar volume. It was the largest bitcoin hack since the infamous hack of Mt. Gox in 2013.
In December, the peer-to-peer payment app Circle, which had also offered the ability to buy and sell bitcoin and was one of the earliest prominent bitcoin startups, announced it would no longer allow bitcoin buying on its app. The company said it would still use bitcoin as a settlement token on the back end, and it had already been pivoting away from being bitcoin-only when itadded the ability to deposit money via Visa, MasterCard or debit card, but the damage was done: news headlines touted that a prominent bitcoin company “gives up on” bitcoin (Fortune), “pulls the plug on” bitcoin (Wall Street Journal) or “says bye-bye” to bitcoin (pymnts.com).
Circle isn’t the first prominent bitcoin startup to move away from bitcoin publicly. Bitreserve, a cloud bank led by former Nike CIO Anthony Watson,changed its name last year to Uphold, dropping the “bit” found in so many bitcoin company names.
And there’s more: theIRS subpoenaed the bitcoin company Coinbase, one of the most well-funded bitcoin startups and provider of the most popular US bitcoin wallet, for personal information of its users from the past three years.
But blockchain, too, had low points in 2016. This month, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Santander alldropped out of R3. This comes despite JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon saying in January of this year that bitcoin was “doomed,” but “the blockchain is a technology, which we’ve been studying… and yes, it’s real. If it proves to be cheap and secure it will be adopted for a whole bunch of stuff.”
Don and Alex Tapscott,authors of the book “Blockchain Revolution,” summarize the banks-and-blockchain hype in 2016 this wayin an op-ed at Coindesk: “2016 was the year that many bank CEOs woke up to both the threat and the opportunity of the blockchain. At a meeting of 50 CEOs of the 50 largest banks back in January, most were skeptical. Now most are investigating how this technology might transform their companies and industry services.”
Expect the “blockchain, not bitcoin” narrative to continue among Wall Street circles in 2017, despite the eye-rolls it garners from bitcoin faithful.
But the appeal of bitcoin, as an investment, shouldn’t be underestimated.
Bitcoin, like gold, isseen as a safe haven asset, uncorrelated to the mainstream markets. So when there’s uncertainty in the economy, many investors turn to bitcoin, and when there are tightened capital controls in countries like China, many investors turn to bitcoin.
With the start of a new US presidential administration,there will be some uncertainty, and that might push bitcoin even higher.
—
Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering technology and sports business. Follow him on Twitter at@readDanwrite.
Read more:
Bitcoin price soars, but it isn’t just about Trump and Clinton
Here’s where big banks stand on blockchain
Why 21.co is the most exciting bitcoin company right now
Coinbase is more bullish on bitcoin than ever || Award Winning Flow Lend Issues Over US$1M in Mobile Credit in Less than Six Months: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Dec 20, 2016) - Flow has been keeping its prepaid mobile customers connected with its cashless mobile top-up app, Flow Lend , which advanced more than US$1Million in less than six months in mobile credit -- and, in partnership with JUVO , won the Mondato Innovation Award for Digital Finance and Commerce (DFC) earlier this month. James McElvanna, VP Products, Cable and Wireless , operator of Flow said, "We are proud to have partnered with JUVO to develop an app that addresses the needs of our customers, which in this case is anytime, anywhere access. Since many of our prepaid customers don't use credit cards, and usually rely on in-store cash top ups, Flow Lend gives them the assurance that they can always stay connected, even when they are out of cash and can't make it to a top-up station. We're happy to provide this convenient option to our customers, and we're honoured to be recognized for our efforts and investment in technology that has transformed our customers' experience." Steve Polsky, Founder and CEO of JUVO said, "C&W is a true partner and we are thrilled to be working with their team to offer Flow customers real time access to credit to help them stay connected. Receiving the Mondato Innovation Award, along with the high volume of credit advances issued via Flow Lend, reaffirms the real need for this solution -- and we're excited to provide the Identity Scoring technology that powers it." All prepaid mobile customers who top up regularly are eligible for credit advance from Flow Lend. The app tracks the frequency of top ups and other usage patterns to determine which customers have met the requirements for an advance. Once approved, customers can use Flow Lend to request instant, interest-free credit when they're running low. The loan amount must be repaid within 30 days via any regular Flow top up method. By consistently paying back on time, they can gradually borrow more and never have to worry about running out of credit. Story continues "We are addressing a real need for many of our customers who may have little or no credit and may be caught in a situation where they desperately need to be in contact," said McElvanna, highlighting the app's benefits. "For example, the mother who needs to call the doctor's office to make an appointment for her sick child no longer has to wait until she has the cash to go buy credit; the teenager who's nearing a low balance late at night doesn't have to leave the comfort and security of his/her home to visit a top up centre. Regardless of the circumstance, Flow Lend is available to our customers, anytime, anywhere." Flow Lend is available in all Flow's mobile markets across the region for both Android and iOS smartphones. EDITORS NOTE: About Mondato Innovation Award for Digital Finance and Commerce (DFC) The Mondato Awards were created to recognize excellence and innovation in Digital Finance and Commerce (MFC) and Digital Finance Plus (DF+) . The winners represent some of the most innovative DFC and DF+ solutions from emerging startups, as well as established companies paving new paths in the industry. C&W Communications in partnership with Juvo received the 2016 award. Juvo was founded with an overarching vision: to establish financial identities for the billions of people worldwide who are creditworthy, yet financially excluded. In partnership with mobile network operators, Juvo's proprietary Identity Scoring technology uses data science, machine learning and game mechanics to create an identity-based relationship with anonymous prepaid users, opening up access to otherwise unattainable mobile financial services. Juvo is a privately held company backed by global business leaders and luminaries in the world of tech, mobile and finance. Its executive team comprises accomplished industry leaders across the data science, consumer internet, financial services and mobile telecom fields. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Miami, London, Buenos Aires, Manila, Jakarta and Hanoi, Juvo has a reach of over 100 million subscribers across four continents and is deployed in 23 countries. For more information, follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn , or find us at www.juvo.com All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. About C&W Communications CWC is a full-service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers. CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region. Learn more at www.cwc.com , or follow C&W on LinkedIn , Facebook or Twitter . About Liberty Global Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who subscribe to over 59 million television, broadband, internet, and telephony services. We also serve 11 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access points. Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group ( NASDAQ : LBTYA ) ( NASDAQ : LBTYB ) and ( NASDAQ : LBTYK ) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group ( NASDAQ : LILA ) and ( NASDAQ : LILAK ) ( OTC PINK : LILAB ), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets. For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com . Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093327 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093322 Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093330 || Big China bitcoin exchange says no government pressure on outflows: By John Ruwitch
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The head of a major bitcoin exchange in China says few people there use the cryptocurrency to get around rules on how much money they can take out of the country, and despite a publicized meeting with the central bank last week the exchange, BTCC, hasn't been told explicitly to check capital outflows.
Bitcoin's price took a steep dive on Friday after China's central bank cautioned investors to take a rational and careful approach to investing in the digital currency. The price had surged to record highs.
The central bank's comments come as Beijing escalates a campaign to check capital outflows and slow the depreciation of the yuan currency (CNY=CFXS), which lost nearly 7 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar last year.
With bitcoin's soaring price and the relative anonymity it affords, some believe the digital currency was becoming an attractive option for tech-savvy Chinese to hedge against the yuan and circumvent rules that limit individuals to $50,000 of foreign exchange each year.
The Shanghai office of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on Friday it had met with BTCC to understand the platform's operations, highlight the risks, remind the exchange to abide by the law, and "urge the platform to carry out self-examination and corresponding clean-up and rectification" according to law.
Asked if BTCC had received direct pressure on outflows, CEO Bobby Lee, who founded BTCC in 2011, said: "No. Not as of yet... Nothing verbal or written to us."
In Beijing, the PBOC told two of China's other big bitcoin exchanges, Huobi and OKCoin, not to mention the depreciating yuan when advertising their platforms, the influential news outlet Caixin said, citing people familiar with the meeting.
Star Xu, CEO and founder of OKCoin, confirmed there had been a meeting of the PBOC and leading bitcoin exchanges on Friday to discuss the operation of trading platforms.
"The industry can benefit from balanced, risk-based regulation and/or oversight, and we look forward to further constructive discussions with the regulators and industry participants," Xu told Reuters in an emailed comment.
Huobi's chief operating officer Zhu Jiawei said in an emailed response to Reuters queries that Huobi plans to work with other bitcoin firms to establish an alliance and rules to self-govern the industry.
While it's possible to buy bitcoin with yuan and then sell it abroad for a foreign currency, BTCC's Lee said "to be honest, not many" people were doing it because of the cost.
The renminbi price of bitcoin carries a premium to the price in other currencies, he noted. In addition, buy or sell orders in the 100,000 yuan ($14,423) to 1 million yuan ($144,233) range, and up, would influence the bitcoin spot price and affect the transaction.
"For that range, you're not going to be able to do it at a good rate. You're going to lose 10 percent of your money," Lee said. "Maybe the individual household might buy 20,000 more dollars worth of bitcoin than their $50,000 (forex) quota, but that's a drop in the bucket."
Still, Lee said various indicators, like active trading accounts, new users, actual deposits and withdrawals, were "very active" in China, and some key BTCC metrics were at "all-time highs", though he declined to be more specific.
NOT LEGAL TENDER
Bitcoin is not regulated in China, but the PBOC has declared it is not legal tender, and is instead a "virtual good", Lee said. That puts it in the same category as other goods.
"If I pack a suitcase and take a plane to the United States, do the clothes, does the computer in my suitcase, does the watch I wear count towards capital flight?" he said. "Where do you draw the line?"
He said no new or planned rules regarding bitcoin were discussed in the latest meeting with the PBOC, and he estimates it will be two to three years before China regulates bitcoin.
In a statement on its website, BTCC, which calls itself the world's longest running bitcoin exchange, said it regularly meets with the PBOC and "work(s) closely with them to ensure that we are operating in accordance with the laws and regulations of China."
Exchanges in China say they account for more than 90 percent of global bitcoin trading, which would help explain why a shift in Chinese demand would sharply affect the price.
But many bitcoin experts say Chinese exchanges overstate their volumes in the digital currency, and attribute sharp moves to speculation by, for example, U.S.-based hedge funds.
(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ian Geoghegan) || KRUGMAN: The 'America we knew and loved is gone': american flag rocks iran (Reuters) Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist and liberal New York Times columnist, said Monday that he has lost faith in the future of the United States. In a series of tweets following President-elect Donald Trump's expected triumph in the Electoral College vote , Krugman seemed to be despondent with the state of the US. "So it's official, and it's vile: the loser of the popular vote installed by Russian intervention, a rogue FBI, and epic media malfunction," Krugman tweeted. "We should never accept this as OK. It may be the new normal, but that's a new normal in which the America we knew and loved is gone." The economist has for weeks expressed his concern about a Trump administration, calling into question the president-elect's choices for Cabinet positions, Trump's business conflicts of interests, and the influence of the FBI and Russian hackers on the election. Krugman also followed up with a series of tweets Tuesday morning attacking Trump's nominees for various economic posts such as the Office of Management and Budget, Treasury secretary, and the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. "Are people noticing that the Trump economic team is shaping up as a gathering of gold bugs?" tweeted Krugman. Krugman said Rep. Mick Mulvaney , Trump's nominee for budget chief at the OMB, is a "conspiracy theorist." The economist pointed to a speech from Mulvaney in which he praised bitcoin as "not manipulable by any government" and attacked the Federal Reserve. Related: For more news videos visit Yahoo View , available now on iOS and Android . Krugman also attacked Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury pick, for his connections to hedge fund manager John Paulson, who has incorrectly predicted massive inflation in recent years. The highest praise was given to Larry Kudlow, who is expected to be named the head of the Council of Economic Advisers. "In this crew, Kudlow who thinks it's always the 1970s, but doesn't seem to see hyperinflation under his bed is the most reasonable," Krugman said. Story continues View Krugman's tweets below: So it's official, and it's vile: the loser of the popular vote installed by Russian intervention, a rogue FBI, and epic media malfunction. Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 We should never accept this as OK. It may be the new normal, but that's a new normal in which the America we knew and loved is gone Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 Are people noticing that the Trump economic team is shaping up as a gathering of gold bugs? 1/ Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 Treasury goes to a guy with little public profile, but hangs out with John Paulson (who is also close to Trump) https://t.co/GSiJOfuiOq 2/ Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 And Paulson has been predicting inflation -- sometimes double-digit -- from Fed policy for years 3/ https://t.co/cIocJFsh7P Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 Budget director appears to be John Bircher and conspiracy theorist (but aren't they all? But note economic views 4/ https://t.co/d8M15ztSXm Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 Birchers want return to gold and silver, Mulvaney seems to agree 5/ pic.twitter.com/hTyHc3JbB6 Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 In this crew, Kudlow -- who thinks it's always the 1970s, but doesn't seem to see hyperinflation under his bed -- is the most reasonable 6/ Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 Whoops -- forgot Mulvaney's Bitcoin derp: "He praised bitcoin as a currency that is "not manipulatable by any government."" 7/ Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) December 20, 2016 NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him More From Business Insider Trump calls Paul Krugman 'demented' for suggesting he has an 'incentive' to benefit from a 9/11-style attack 'I'm asking you a simple question': Fox News host confronts RNC chair over Trump's denial of Russia hacks POLL: A majority of Republicans think Trump won the popular vote || Bitcoin Activity in India Has Doubled Since the Banknote Ban: Early in November, Indiaabolishedthe 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes in an effort to fight corruption and so-called "black money". Since then, interest in Bitcoin appears to be increasing in the Asian country based on a variety of different metrics. Although there was already a vibrant Bitcoin community in India, the recent move to clamp down on illegal income and tax evasion seems to have sparked new interest in the peer-to-peer digital cash system.
So who uses Bitcoin in India? According toSunny Ray, who is the president and co-founder of Indian bitcoin exchangeUnocoin, there are two main categories of Bitcoin users in the country.Inan interviewwithBitcoin Uncensoredco-hostChris DeRosejust before the large denomination banknote ban was put into place, Ray claimed that 40 to 50 percent of their users are savers who view bitcoin as a digital gold. "India is the largest gold market in the world," said Ray. "If you couple that with—I think it's something like 20 or 25 percent of the world's programming and IT population also live in India—digital gold is obviously something that I think people have the capacity to get."Ray also noted that roughly 20 percent of Unocoin's users are freelancers who use Bitcoin as a cheaper alternative to PayPal. Ray noted that Bitcoin currently offers what are essentially negative fees for freelancers based in India because of the relatively higher price bitcoins sell for in the country.During the Bitcoin Uncensored interview, Ray stressed that his estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, as the very nature of Bitcoin makes it difficult to get real user data.
So what's happened since India got rid of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes? For starters, Ray toldCoinJournalthat Unocoin has seen a doubling in traffic and trading volume over the past 30 days.An increase in trading volumecan also be seenonLocalBitcoins, where the daily volume has increased from around 1.25 million rupees (around $18,500) per day before the cash ban to around 2.5 million rupees per day in early December. There was also an all-time high of more than 5.5 million rupees (just over $81,000) worth of bitcoin traded on November 26th.
It's important to remember that LocalBitcoins trading volume is a rather rough metric because many traders continue exchanging bitcoins off of the site after finding someone they trust.
Bitcoin currently trades at a high premium in India due to capital controls in India, which make it difficult for Bitcoin companies, such as Unocoin, to settle against foreign exchanges; however, Unocoin is currently working on a method to bring more bitcoin liquidity into the Indian market.In ablog poston their website,BitGohas noted the value of India-based transactions co-signed by them has increased by 240 percent since September.
While there's been a nice uptick in Bitcoin activity in India over the past month or so, Ray believes the larger effects of India's removal of the 500 and 1000 rupee banknotes from circulation will be seen over the long term.
"Right now, people are being very careful with their spending," said Ray. "We think it will be long term because with all of the restrictions, the push towards digital money, and the amount of new money that's entering the banking system, some of that will find a home in bitcoin." || Award Winning Flow Lend Issues Over US$1M in Mobile Credit in Less than Six Months: MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Dec 20, 2016) -Flowhas been keeping its prepaid mobile customers connected with its cashless mobile top-up app,Flow Lend, which advanced more than US$1Million in less than six months in mobile credit -- and, in partnership withJUVO, won theMondato Innovation Award for Digital Finance and Commerce (DFC)earlier this month.
James McElvanna, VP Products,Cable and Wireless, operator of Flow said, "We are proud to have partnered with JUVO to develop an app that addresses the needs of our customers, which in this case is anytime, anywhere access. Since many of our prepaid customers don't use credit cards, and usually rely on in-store cash top ups, Flow Lend gives them the assurance that they can always stay connected, even when they are out of cash and can't make it to a top-up station. We're happy to provide this convenient option to our customers, and we're honoured to be recognized for our efforts and investment in technology that has transformed our customers' experience."
Steve Polsky, Founder and CEO of JUVO said, "C&W is a true partner and we are thrilled to be working with their team to offer Flow customers real time access to credit to help them stay connected. Receiving the Mondato Innovation Award, along with the high volume of credit advances issued via Flow Lend, reaffirms the real need for this solution -- and we're excited to provide the Identity Scoring technology that powers it."
All prepaid mobile customers who top up regularly are eligible for credit advance from Flow Lend. The app tracks the frequency of top ups and other usage patterns to determine which customers have met the requirements for an advance. Once approved, customers can use Flow Lend to request instant, interest-free credit when they're running low. The loan amount must be repaid within 30 days via any regular Flow top up method. By consistently paying back on time, they can gradually borrow more and never have to worry about running out of credit.
"We are addressing a real need for many of our customers who may have little or no credit and may be caught in a situation where they desperately need to be in contact," said McElvanna, highlighting the app's benefits. "For example, the mother who needs to call the doctor's office to make an appointment for her sick child no longer has to wait until she has the cash to go buy credit; the teenager who's nearing a low balance late at night doesn't have to leave the comfort and security of his/her home to visit a top up centre. Regardless of the circumstance, Flow Lend is available to our customers, anytime, anywhere."
Flow Lend isavailable in all Flow's mobile markets across the regionfor bothAndroidandiOSsmartphones.
EDITORS NOTE:About Mondato Innovation Award for Digital Finance and Commerce (DFC)The Mondato Awardswere created to recognize excellence and innovation in Digital Finance and Commerce (MFC) andDigital Finance Plus (DF+). The winners represent some of the most innovative DFC and DF+ solutions from emerging startups, as well as established companies paving new paths in the industry. C&W Communications in partnership with Juvo received the 2016 award.
Juvo was founded with an overarching vision: to establish financial identities for the billions of people worldwide who are creditworthy, yet financially excluded. In partnership with mobile network operators, Juvo's proprietary Identity Scoring technology uses data science, machine learning and game mechanics to create an identity-based relationship with anonymous prepaid users, opening up access to otherwise unattainable mobile financial services.
Juvo is a privately held company backed by global business leaders and luminaries in the world of tech, mobile and finance. Its executive team comprises accomplished industry leaders across the data science, consumer internet, financial services and mobile telecom fields.
Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Miami, London, Buenos Aires, Manila, Jakarta and Hanoi, Juvo has a reach of over 100 million subscribers across four continents and is deployed in 23 countries. For more information, follow us onTwitterorLinkedIn, or find us atwww.juvo.com
All trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
About C&W CommunicationsCWC is a full-service communications and entertainment provider and delivers market-leading video, broadband, telephony and mobile services to consumers in 18 countries. Through its business division, CWC provides data center hosting, domestic and international managed network services, and customized IT service solutions, utilizing cloud technology to serve business and government customers.
CWC also operates a state-of-the-art submarine fiber network -- the most extensive in the region.
Learn more atwww.cwc.com, or follow C&W onLinkedIn,FacebookorTwitter.
About Liberty GlobalLiberty Global is the world's largest international TV and broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation networks that connect our 29 million customers who subscribe to over 59 million television, broadband, internet, and telephony services. We also serve 11 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi service across seven million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ:LBTYA) (NASDAQ:LBTYB) and (NASDAQ:LBTYK) for our European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ:LILA) and (NASDAQ:LILAK) (OTC PINK:LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Liberty Global Group operates in 12 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Ziggo, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Mas Movil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a subsea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please visitwww.libertyglobal.com.
Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093327Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093322Image Available:http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3093330 || 2016: The Volatility Year That Wasn’t: Sometimes how we feel about the market bears absolutely no resemblance to reality. When I look back at 2016, I’m exhausted. And when I talk to many advisors, I hear similar comments: “What a year!” they say. “We had such an awful winter, and then all the craziness around the election!”
But the reality is that this was actually one of the most placid years in recent history. Here’s the actual, 30-day realized volatility of the S&P 500 for the last 10 years:
What this excellent chart from Bloomberg suggests is that our current market is in one of the lowest volatility periods we’ve seen in ages, and while we’ve had some spikes, particularly in the spring, it’s just about as boring a market as you can get.
Of course, you can’t actually trade this chart; instead, what you can trade, sort of, is the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX—a derivative calculation based on the implied volatility of strips of S&P 500 options. Here’s what the VIX chart looks like over the past 10 years:
Even the quickest glance suggests these are pretty good proxies for each other, and while they’re not identical, they even “base” around the same number: 10 for low-vol periods, 80 for crazy spikes.
And using options is actually sensible, because for a sophisticated investor, making a specific bet on volatility would most easily be done with options. You want to bet the S&P 500 is going to spike in either direction? Options players have a plan for you—a straddle. Think we’re range-bound and want to bet on it? The wonderfully namedIron Condoris for you.
Managing volatility is in fact what options are designed to do, so that’s why the CBOE uses the real-world expressions of sentiment from options traders to compute the VIX.
The Contango Conundrum
Like options themselves, there’s nothing inherently bullish or bearish about the VIX itself. Using either options or futures contracts on the VIX index, investors can bet on either increasing or decreasing volatility.
The problem is that in a low-volatility environment like we’ve been in, most investors are going to guess that future volatility will be higher than today’s volatility, and thus they will bid up the price of the futures contracts themselves. A lot. Here’s what the futures curve looks like right now for the VIX:
With VIX at 12, buying the front-month futures contract will cost you 14. To put that in perspective, that means that, if VIX remains at 12, you can expect to lose $2 for every $14 invested in a single month. That $2-a-month decay continues from the first to the second month as well.
That means even if you’re right, and VIX is going to rise, you’re facing a 14.2% head windevery month. That’s a 396% head wind every year. Of course, thecontangoisn’t always this bad, but it’s generally been sharply upward-sloping all year long.
If you think that means investing in a long VIX-futures-based ETF for the last year has been tough, you’re right. The top three worst-performing ETFs over the last year all track near-month VIX futures contracts: theiPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX), theVelocityShares Daily Long VIX Short-Term ETN (VIIX)and theProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY).
‘Force Of Nature’ For Investors
The reason you can’t see three ETF lines on the chart is because these funds are, for all intents and purposes, identical in their returns. The problem is contango: It’s a force of nature, and there’s no getting around it as a futures investor.
While this isn’t a pretty chart, it’s worth noting that these funds have done exactly what they said they were going to do day after day. If you went into the month of June with a position in one of these funds, you were up over 25% in a matter of days as you caught the pre-Brexit spike in volatility.
But remember, the VIX was never intended as some sort of “long only” asset to invest in—it’s a measurement of the state of the market, just like humidity is a measurement of the state of the atmosphere.
Investors can, and do, capitalize on it in other ways, either by shorting funds like this to capture contango, or investing in the suite of inverse products, such as theVelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (XIV)or theProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY), that take the opposite bets:
Again, two strategies following the same basic strategy—taking the “sell” side of the VIX futures trade. These funds not only profit from contango, they’ve also benefited from relatively calm fluctuations in the VIX itself, which means the daily-rebalance effect common to most leveraged and inverse funds hasn’t cut into returns.
Of course, just like June was a great time to be in the long ETFs, it was murderous for these funds: If you got the timing wrong, you could have been down more than 35% in a matter of days when volatility spiked.
What’s In An (Inverse) Name?
Honestly, at ETF.com, we can end up trapped a bit by our own analytical framework. As a matter of course, we exclude leveraged and inverse funds from things like performance charts, because otherwise, every list would be nothing but the most levered version of whatever theme was hot (or awful) at the time. But in the case of VIX, that leads to some missed opportunities for analysis.
A long bet on the VIX is no different than a short bet on the VIX in theoretical terms. VIX is mean-reverting by definition, unlike any other investment I can think of in finance. So to my mind, this bizarre year, or relatively calm markets but high anxiety, has made VIX ETFs both the worstandnearly the-best-performing products in the market.
At the time of writing, the author held no positions in the securities mentioned. Contact Dave Nadig atdnadig@etf.com.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
#bitcoin #inglês Why is everyone against coinbase? via /r/Bitcoin http://ift.tt/2hURrrS || MMMBTC || Micronoticia: Los venezolanos no creemos en el Bitcoin. Lo usamos por necesidad según Jim Epstein http://bit.ly/2hcFjOV pic.twitter.com/5Cl1tUMNJc || MMMBTC || Today's Bitcoin Price 749.00 USD via Chain || Bitcoin Facilitates Exchanging To Foreign Currency At Lower Fees https://www.fxinter.net/en/free-realtime-forex-news.aspx?ID=181601&direct=Bitcoin+Facilitates+Exchanging+To+Foreign+Currency+At+Lower+Fees … || Kylie Jenner FINALLY Poses Nude. Shows Her Bare Butt <#f%5> http://www.btcgallery.com/07af5ad09b4b || MMMBTC || 1 KOBO = 0.00000224 BTC
= 0.0000 USD
= 0.0000 NGN
= 0.0000 ZAR
= 0.0000 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-11-19 09:00 pic.twitter.com/96vAlZNdqm || 1 DOGE Price: Bter 0.00000030 BTC #doge #dogecoin 2016-11-16 00:31 pic.twitter.com/27bXQ9ADzx
|
Trend: up || Prices: 777.76, 804.83, 823.98, 818.41, 821.80, 831.53, 907.94, 886.62, 899.07, 895.03
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
SEC, CFTC, FinCEN Warn Crypto Industry to Follow US Banking Laws: The heads of three U.S. financial regulators warned the cryptocurrency industry to abide by banking laws in a joint statement published Friday. The statement, signed by Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Heath Tarbert, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Kenneth Blanco and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, “reminds” actors in the crypto space that they must comply with various banking and financial services laws in the U.S., regardless of what they call their cryptocurrencies or tokens. The agencies referred to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which outlines how different financial services businesses should register with regulators. Related: CFTC Chairman Confirms Ether Cryptocurrency Is a Commodity Specifically, the agencies explained that the “nature of the digital asset-related activities” a person participates in will determine which agencies that person should register with, as well as which other laws they need to comply with. “For example, something referred to as an ‘exchange’ in a market for digital assets may or may not also qualify as an ‘exchange’ as that term is used under the federal securities laws,” the statement reads, adding: “As such, regardless of the label or terminology that market participants may use, or the level or type of technology employed, it is the facts and circumstances underlying an asset, activity or service, including its economic reality and use (whether intended or organically developed or repurposed), that determines the general categorization of an asset, the specific regulatory treatment of the activity involving the asset, and whether the persons involved are ‘financial institutions’ for purposes of the BSA.” Blanco, Tarbert and Clayton defined the scope of their agencies with regard to cryptocurrencies and service providers in additional comments published with the joint statement, addressing futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, exchanges, broker-dealers and mutual funds, as some examples. Each of the agency directors went as far as to describe which types of companies their regulatory bodies oversee. Story continues Related: SEC Rejects Bitwise’s Latest Bitcoin ETF Proposal In his comments, Blanco seemingly applied the BSA to virtual currency service providers, noting that his agency published interpretive guidance in May to address “money transmission denominated in value that substitutes for currency,” including cryptocurrencies. “As set forth in the 2019 CVC Guidance, a number of digital asset-related activities qualify a person as an MSB [money services business] that would be regulated by FinCEN,” he said. “FinCEN’s BSA regulations also provide that any person ‘registered with, and functionally regulated or examined by, the SEC or the CFTC,’ would not be subject to the BSA obligations applicable to MSBs, but instead would be subject to the BSA obligations of such a type of regulated entity.” Clayton said his agency’s mandate is to protect investors, ensure fair markets and aid capital formation, which generally oversees the securities space, but added that the BSA does provide the SEC with some other requirements. “Broker-dealers and mutual funds are required to implement reasonably-designed AML Programs and report suspicious activity. These rules are not limited in their application to activities involving digital assets that are ‘securities’ under the federal securities laws,” he said. Jay Clayton image via CoinDesk archives Related Stories YouNow Sees Strong Revenue Growth After SEC Approves Token Distribution Canada’s Blockchain Sector Wants Legal Clarity, New Report Shows || Bitcoin may not be traded on a major exchange for a while: Bitcoinhas an uphill battle before it is traded on a major exchange, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton said Thursday.
“If [investors] think there’s the same rigor around that price discovery as there is on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange ... they are sorely mistaken,”Clayton said at the Delivering Alpha conference, presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. “We have to get to a place where we can be confident that trading is better regulated.”
The digital currency is currently traded on cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, but has not yet been approved for trading at major exchanges like the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange. Investors can trade bitcoin futures at CME Group.
Even bitcoin exchange-traded funds are having trouble receiving approval. Cboe last week withdrew its application to list the VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin ETF, theSEC said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
Bitcoin soared by more than 2,000 percent in late 2017 to a high of $19,870 a coin before plunging by 84 percent to a low of $3,169 in December 2018. It has since hit a high of almost $14,000. On Thursday, bitcoin was trading near $9,880 a coin and had amarket capitalization of $177 billion.
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• Sharia Goldbugs: How ISIS Created a Currency for World Domination || Canadian Bitcoin mining firm ramps up capabilities as hashrate rises: Canadian company Bitfarms has bought 2,500 A10 Avalon miners, to increase its mining capacity. This comes as the Bitcoin hashrate continues to break records , making it harder to mine new bitcoins. The Bitcoin hashrate is a measure of the total computing power of Bitcoin miners around the world, who use computational energy to “mine” new bitcoins. The new A10’s were launched in March this year, offering high computational power while consuming little power–relative to older models. With 2,500 more mining machines, Bitfarms’ total mining power will rise to 51 Megawatts, a lot of energy but still a drop in the ocean compared to the power the whole Bitcoin network churns through. Digiconomist.com estimates that the Bitcoin network uses 73 Terawatt hours a year. REPORT: Booming bitcoin mining industry faces crunch point Bitfarms CEO Wes Fulford, said, in a press release , that the new deliveries will “more than double the hash power reported in the second quarter of 2019.” Bitcoin miners are having to step up their game in light of increasing competition for new bitcoin rewards. Bitcoin’s hashrate recently surpassed 100 quintillion hashes per second. That means that miners need to have bigger and more powerful machines in order to profit from mining Bitcoin. With this in mind, Canada’s Bitcoin mining industry has been doubling down on mining equipment and energy supplies. Blockstream, a Canadian blockchain company known for its work on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, created a mining pool with utility provider Hydro Quebec back in August. And Hydro Quebec promised earlier this year to keep energy cheap for crypto miners, setting aside hundreds of megawatts for a handful of companies. In fact, lots of big mining companies, like Bitmain and Innosilicon , are failing to meet demand for miners caused by the rising price of Bitcoin. Major mining retailers are sold out as they struggle to deliver on backlogs of orders, according to a recent report . Currently, Bitcoin miners are already spending half a million dollars an hour to keep the network running. Which seems a lot but is still lower than the $750,000 that they can take home in block rewards (with transaction fees on top of that). || Opera Browser Adds Bitcoin Payments to Android Update: The Opera web browser has added bitcoin e-commerce and TRON integration to its Android app, the company said.
The enhanced crypto functionality will let Opera for android users make bitcoin payments directly from its built-in digital wallet and interact with decentralized apps (dapps) on the TRON blockchain. It could increase crypto visibility among the browser’s claimed 300 million users.
Charles Hamel, Head of Crypto at Opera, told CoinDesk:
Related:Bitcoin’s 3% Price Rise Neutralizes Bearish Setup
Of the top-five browsers chrome, safari, Samsung Internet, UC browser and Opera – Opera remains the only one to have digital wallet integration. Now it is another tech move by one of the web’s oldest apps.
Though technically a legacy product (Opera launched as a research project over two decades ago) the Norway-based web surfer pivoted towards crypto in the past year, regularly expanding digital wallet functionality to its mobile and desktop offerings.
In July 2018, Opera for Androidpiloted an ethereum digital walletas a step towards “Web 3.0:” the vision of a decentralized future internet built on a blockchain. It thenbegan studyingblockchain “growth opportunities” with financial services advisors Ledger Capital that October.
Related:Researchers Uncover Bitcoin ‘Attack’ That Could Slow or Stop Lightning Payments
Since then, Operaintroduced a “web 3 ready”android browser, a crypto-friendly iOS app, adesktop browserwith native digital wallet support, andpartnered with a Swedish crypto brokerto sell Scandinavians discounted ETH.
Hamel told CoinDesk that the apps are now synchronized and optimized for adoption of a future web3. But he said that adding bitcoin was a challenge, as much because of its differences as its use-cases.
“Bitcoin is a completely different beast that requires its own infrastructure and has a payment-focused usage scenario.”
Wallet image via Opera
• Looming Death Cross Suggests Bitcoin May Be Nearing Price Bottom
• Binance Hikes Leverage to 125x for Launch of Bitcoin-Tether Futures || Bitcoin May Be Headed for a Stronger Price Bounce: View Bitcoins moving average convergence divergence (MACD) histogram is charting higher lows, indicating seller exhaustion. Other indicators are also reporting oversold conditions. A falling channel on the hourly chart may end with a bullish breakout and fuel a rally to $8,800. On the way higher, BTC may encounter resistance at $8,500 (200-day average). The case for a stronger corrective bounce would weaken if prices find acceptance below $8,000. Bitcoins stalled recovery rally may soon gather pace, as a key indicator is reporting seller exhaustion. The top cryptocurrency by market value is currently trading at $8,130 on Bitstamp, having faced rejection at highs above $8,500 on Oct. 1. With the $400 pullback, the corrective bounce from Sept. 30s lows near $7,700 looks to have ended. Bitcoins MACD histogram, however, is telling otherwise. Related: Coinbase Pro Is Increasing Its Fees And Users Arent Happy A technical tool used to identify trend strength and trend changes, the MACD has recovered sharply from the Sept. 26 low of -236 to -56 suggesting weakening bearish momentum. Daily MACD chart The MACD has produced shallower bars below the zero line over the last few days. The higher lows indicate seller exhaustion, as noted above, and indicate scope for a stronger corrective bounce. Daily and hourly charts Related: Gold, Not Bitcoin, Is Drawing Haven Demand on US Recession Fears The long tails attached to the previous two candles (above left) indicate selling pressure weakened weakened on Wednesday and Thursday, allowing prices to recover lost ground before their UTC closes. Put simply, buyers are beginning to test sellers resolve in keeping prices low. Additionally, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) continues to report oversold conditions with a below-30 print. All-in-all, the falling channel seen on the hourly chart (above right) appears likely to end with a bullish breakout. That would imply a continuation of the rally from lows near $7,700 and could fuel a rally to $8,833 (June 2 high). Story continues On the way higher, BTC may encounter resistance at the 200-day moving average (MA), currently at $8,503. The average proved a tough nut to crack on Oct. 1. The bullish case would weaken if prices find acceptance below $8,000 in the next 24 hours, although that looks unlikely. Also, any rally to $8,800 or higher could be short-lived, as longer duration charts are still biased bearish . Disclosure: The author holds no cryptocurrency assets at the time of writing. Bitcoin image via CoinDesk Archives; charts by Trading View Related Stories Bitcoin Price Risks Further Decline After Recovery Rally Stalls Bitcoins $800 Price Recovery Runs Into Key Resistance || Bitcoin drops below $9,000: Over the past several hours, bitcoin prices fell from $9,750 to as low as $8,590— a downswing of over 10%. According to data fromRekto, over the past 24 hours, derivatives exchange BitMEX saw over $380 million worth of XBT Perpetual Swap contracts liquidated. The low represents a new bottom over the past three months. || Scientists propose a new way to build a scalable, low-energy Bitcoin: A new study by a team of research scientists claims to have cracked Bitcoins scalability problem. And it does it by eliminating the need for consensus among systems to confirm a transaction, the researchers claim. The study is detailed in a paper by researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne in Switzerland. The paper, which recently won the Best Paper award at the International Symposium on Distributed Computing in Budapest, describes a very different approach to validating a transaction in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin . Up until now, consensus among systems has been considered a necessity to solve Bitcoins double-spending problem , a situation in which the possibility of a transaction being duplicated in a ledger is eliminated. Most approaches to tackle this problem involve achieving a quorum or agreement among all systems comprising a blockchain . But a quorum has several drawbacks. It is expensive in terms of resources and consumes massive amounts of energy. Quorum can also be time-consuming, if a backlog of transactions piles up in a blockchain or if it relies on consensus among systems spread across multiple geographical regions. Bram Cohen at last releases his Chia Networks green paper The new study, however, suggests that a quorum is not necessary to validate a transaction. Instead, it aims for an agreement about the transaction from a random sampling of systems within a network. Not another Bitcoin fork Rachid Guerraoui, lead author of the study, stresses that the algorithm proposed in their paper is not a variant of existing consensus algorithms, such as proof of work or proof of stake . Proof of work is typically used to decide who decides the consensus value, he told Decrypt , adding that their proposed algorithm also does not run nodes to elect leaders. Instead, it uses a gossip protocol, the same one that is used to communicate nonces or headers of different blocks in Bitcoin, to spread information about a transaction. Story continues A small group initially confirms the transaction and communicates the transactions details to another, larger group which propagates it further to other groups and so on. To accomplish this task, the system uses Contagion, a probabilistic algorithm that mimics the spreading of a contagious disease in a population. It consists of three sub-protocolsMurmur, Sieve, and Threshold. The three protocols are responsible for ensuring validity, totality, and consistency of a transaction and for sending the original sampled process to a bunch of randomly picked systems within the network. The size of the randomly sampled systems ensures whether the transaction is valid or not. Guerraoui said that the size should be logarithmic with respect to the overall system size, meaning it should be large enough to ensure that hackers are not able to penetrate the system. However, it should also be smaller than a quorum, ensuring that it is no more than a representation of the overall network. Besides reducing the amount of time and resources required to confirm a transaction, the Contagion algorithm also uses minimal energy. The energy [used to propagate and validate a transaction] is that of sending messages on the Internet, Guerraoui explained. The team behind the paper plans to open source the protocol with the help of E.U. funding to disseminate the studys findings. People can then use our protocol to build cryptocurrencies that are cheap to run, said Guerraoui. That might lead to more coins in an ecosystem already teeming with thousands of cryptocurrencies. || Bitcoin Flat as ECB, Global Central Banks Set to Meet with Libra Representatives: Investing.com - Bitcoin was flat on Monday in Asia as officials from the European Central Bank (ECB) and 25 other central banks are set to meet with Libra representatives later in the day. Bitcoin inched up 0.1% to $10,330.1 by 1:15 AM ET (05:15 GMT). Ethereum rose 3.8% to $194.40, while XRP stayed unchanged at 0.26220. Litecoin traded 1.8% higher to $71.437. Libra representatives will meet with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), which consists of 28 member banks including the Bank of England the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, later in the day. Facebook revealed its plan to launch Lirbra, the companys own cryptocurrency, in 2020 earlier this year. The project has been met with caution by banks and has drawn criticisms from global regulators. Benoit Coeure, an ECB executive, said regulatory requirements to operate Libra in the European Union will be very high. He added that it was the right time to step up our thinking on a central bank digital currency, as Reuters said that the ECB is currently considering its own digital currency plans. Other reports suggested that Coeure might provide a report on digital coins to G7 finance ministers in October. Meanwhile, French Finance Minister BrunoLe Maire expressed his opposition to the development of Libra in Europe, asseting that our monetary sovereignty is at stake. He encourages European central banks to accelerate work on issues around possible public digital currency solutions, adding that he would discuss the potential for a supposed EuroCoin next month. Related Articles Report: Philippine Police Raid Alleged Cryptocurrency Scam, Arrest 277 Germanys Largest Bank Joins JPMorgans Blockchain Network XRP Fork Unlikely to Succeed, Ripple Continues to Face Angry Investors || Bitcoin drops back below $8,000 ahead of Zuckerbergs Libra testimony: Bitcoin has perilously fallen back below $8,000 as the market anticipates Mark Zuckerbergs testimony on Libra before the House of Representatives. The Facebook CEO is expected to defend the launch of Libra in spite of mounting regulatory scrutiny around the company. The announcement of Libra earlier this year acted as a precursor to Bitcoins 350% rally to the upside that climaxed at $14,000 in June. However, a Senate hearing with Libra co-founder David Marcus highlighted various concerns with the companys proposed cryptocurrency, notably the decision to base it in Switzerland and the potential threat of destabilising the US dollar. As the cryptocurrency market anticipates more scathing remarks from US lawmakers and government officials, Bitcoin is on the brink of a major correction below $7,000. The dreaded death cross on the daily chart is edging closer as the 50 EMA slopes dangerously towards the 200 EMA. There have been two crosses of these moving averages since 2014, both of which resulted in 60% to 70% corrections. Its also worth pointing out that since October 7 the 22 EMA on the daily has acted as a point of resistance for Bitcoin, which again is suggestive of a move to the downside. The $7,900 level of support is also looking increasingly fragile, it has now been tested consistently for the past month and will get weaker with every touch. Short-term targets remain at $7,400 and $6,750 although $5,900 may come into effect depending on the volume and volatility of the downswing in price. From a bullish perspective, if positive comments come out of the Libra hearing Bitcoin will need to rally above $8,800 to reject the upcoming death cross, this could provide a platform back into the $9,000 region although a surge in volume is needed. For more news, guides and cryptocurrency analysis, click here . The post Bitcoin drops back below $8,000 ahead of Zuckerbergs Libra testimony appeared first on Coin Rivet .
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
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Download the app & get $25 of free BTC once you trade 100 USD worth of crypto: https://t.co/iVDVxhNm3N
@verge @vergecurrency @XVGWhaleReal @VergeAus @VergeBull @VergeAddict @thevergearmy #btc || $BTC #bitcoin $GLXY.V || @UpbitID @klaytn_official #KLAY #Klaytn #Upbit
https://t.co/C35t3WfPSr || Get Free Bitcoin https://t.co/cXS4uzcEoc || The only reason I think $ins hasn't explode yet is because of btc.
Previous triangle broke down and it recovered really fast and after last drop on btc it's now breaking current triangle from the top... will it break hard finally?
Let's see! https://t.co/juv2HIv9uI || ブラックまとめ : 【悲報】ビットコインが今回大暴落した原因・・・ #仮想通貨 $BTC
https://t.co/NmS5sum7W5 || Curate #ICO! The #Clothing #Crypto #IEO! #Cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #eth #btc #xmr #xrp #fashon https://t.co/KNNklEr9GW || New post: ブロックチェーン業界、従業員の半数は仮想通貨取引所に勤務RT @EMURGO_Mickey: 財団ではないけど、Ca https://t.co/xWKYYrmKbj || BTC, Bitcoin, ETF, Mutual Fund, ETN, NASDAQ, google, oracle
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Trend: down || Prices: 8757.79, 8815.66, 8808.26, 8708.09, 8491.99, 8550.76, 8577.98, 8309.29, 8206.15, 8027.27
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
American CryptoFed Becomes First Legally Recognized DAO in US: With notice from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s office, the American CryptoFed became the first legally recognized decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in the United States.
Wyoming recently became the first state to pass legislation recognizing DAO’s as a distinct form of limited liability company (LLC). The law came into effect at midnight on July 1, 2021.
Wyoming’s Secretary of State Edward Buchanan highlighted the state’s spirit of innovation when he noted these parallels. “Wyoming has a reputation for being on the leading edge of business technology, beginning in 1977 with the recognition of LLCs,” he said. “We are proud to continue this innovation by offering legal protections to Decentralized Autonomous Organizations.”
Marian Orr, CEO of the American CryptoFed DAO, also acknowledged Wyoming as the leading digital assets jurisdiction in the USA. However, with the passing of theDAO law, it has arguably become the top blockchain jurisdiction in the world. This means “that creating a true digital currency with mass acceptance is now possible.”
The American CryptoFed DAO will be governed through its governance tokens. These will be issued pursuant to the token definition described in the Token Safe Harbor Proposal 2.0, which was outlined by SEC CommissionerHester Peirce. This way, rules get set by the consensus of the governance token holders and are not influenced by a central government. The transaction records are then stored transparently and immutably on the blockchain.
“In time, my role as CEO will vanish, as all governance token holders will be voting on governance matters without the influence of an executive team,” Orr said.
The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG), which represents 165 of the largest merchants in the United States, also expressed its support of the filing. John Drechny, CEO of the MAG reaffirmed his group’s stance on advocating for competition in the payment acceptance space. American CryptoFed becoming the first legal DAO in the U.S. sets a precedent for broader payment acceptance, he added.
Wyoming seems to be staking a greater claim in the crypto sphere recently. Last week, U.S. Senator from Wyoming Cynthia M. Lummisencouraged bitcoin (BTC) minersto come to her state. Senator Lummis tweeted on July 3, “If you are in the Bitcoin mining space, please reach out. We WANT you in Wyoming.” || Market Wrap: Bitcoin Sells Off as Regulatory Concerns Resurface: Cryptocurrencies traded lower on Thursday as regulatory concerns resurfaced. Bitcoin broke below initial support at $34,000 and is down about 5% over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency could stabilize around $30,000, which is the bottom of the month-long trading range. There is a lack of a “real catalyst or market-moving events right now,” wrote QCP Capital in a Telegram chat. “We expect volatility to remain under pressure until mid [to] late August.” “With BTC, we have seen some funds speculate that the lack of narrative combined with lower levels of liquidity on exchanges may lead to a pop in prices if a positive headline is to occur,” wrote Chris Dick , quant trader at crypto trading firm B2C2. Latest prices Related: USDC Assets to Be Disclosed in SEC Filings, Circle CEO Says Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC) $32962.45, -4.68% Ether (ETH) $2157.6, -8.93% Traditional markets: S&P 500: 4321.07, -0.85% Gold: $1801.8, -0.11% 10-year Treasury yield closed at 1.3%, compared with 1.318% on Wednesday Regulatory headwinds Growing concerns from regulators have been weighing on cryptocurrency prices over the past few months. This week, China’s crackdown intensified when the nation’s central bank issued a warning about the risks of stablecoins. “Global stablecoins may bring risks and challenges to the international monetary system,” said Fan Yifei, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on Thursday. The banker also said the central bank was already taking measures against cryptos. Related: Why China’s Ban on Crypto Mining Is More Serious Than Before In Europe, several countries are proposing forming a new agency to crack down on cryptocurrencies that could potentially be used for money laundering. Concerns also include terrorist financing and organized crime, which should be addressed at the European Union level, according to documents reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. Cryptocurrency risks were also reviewed by 15 West African nations during parliamentary meetings on Thursday. And in the U.S., Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gave the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) until the end of this month to figure out its role in regulating cryptocurrencies. Grayscale discount Some analysts are not convinced that bitcoin could receive a boost from the expiration of investor restrictions on the sale of shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency fund. (Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, of which CoinDesk is an independent subsidiary). Story continues “We don’t expect these unlocks on [their] own to have significant impact on the overall market outside of GBTC itself,” QCP Capital wrote in a Telegram chat. “Most of the large institutional positions who had subscribed in-kind before have already been unlocked earlier, and they have held off selling at the current discounted price.” Flows shifting from stablecoin cash to crypto The stablecoin supply ratio (SSR), which measures the relationship between bitcoin supply and stablecoin supply, is stabilizing after a sharp decline from the January peak. “A low SSR implies high quantities of stablecoins on the sidelines – or more buying power to purchase risk-on digital assets,” wrote David Grider, strategist at Fundstrat , in a Thursday newsletter. SSR shows that flows have shifted from bitcoin to stablecoins for most of the year, but recently bottomed out. This could point to investor confidence in bitcoin’s price direction as stablecoin cash is put to use. Circle to go public Circle, operator of USD coin , the world’s second-biggest stablecoin, announced it is listing on the New York Stock Exchange via an acquisition by Concord, a special purpose acquisition company , or SPAC, led in part by former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. The deal values the crypto financial services firm at $4.5 billion. The Boston-based firm generates income in three ways, according to its investor presentation: from transaction fees on USDC and interest earned on its reserves; transaction and treasury services (TTS); and SeedInvest, the equity crowdfunding platform it purchased in 2019. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, wrote in a tweet that the transformation from a private to a public company “creates an opportunity for Circle to also provide significantly more transparency about the business we are building around USDC, and about the reserves that back USDC.” USDC has grown to about $25 billion outstanding from less than $1 billion a year ago, while an increasing number of investors have demanded more insight into assets backing the stablecoins. Altcoin roundup Circle losses from email fraud: Circle lost over $156 million on its blockbuster buyout and subsequent jettisoning of the crypto exchange Poloniex, the payments company revealed Thursday. The company also lost another $2 million to email fraudsters in an “incident” that occurred last month. Terrorists hold crypto: Israeli officials have moved to seize potentially millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from addresses it says are controlled by Hamas. The wallets, 84 in all, hold a mix of cryptocurrencies including BTC, DOGE , ADA , XLM , XRP , ETH and others. Relevant news Bank of America Creates Team Dedicated to Researching Crypto Can Taiwan Become Asia’s Crypto Haven? Not Yet Elizabeth Warren Gives SEC July 28 Deadline to Figure Out Crypto Regulation Other markets All digital assets on the CoinDesk 20 ended lower on Thursday. Notable losers as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET): polkadot (DOT) -11.25% the graph (GRT) -9.9% uniswap (UNI) -9.01% Related Stories Reflation-Trade Rethink Keeps Bitcoin Under Pressure Bitcoin Struggles Within Choppy Range, Could Stabilize at $30K View comments || Bipartisan US Bill Would Define Digital Assets, Emerging Technologies: U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif) have reintroduced a bill to define how federal regulators should treat cryptocurrencies.
If signed into law, the Securities Clarity Act would treat digital assets as commodities, not securities, meaning startups would be free to sell and trade cryptocurrencies without having to worry about registering them as securities with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Emmer, the bill’s lead sponsor and a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said “regulatory uncertainty” has been harmful to the crypto industry’s growth within the U.S.
Related:Republican Senator Highlights Bitcoin’s Battle in Shedding Criminal Baggage
“There has been an unreasonable approach by regulators as to how federal securities laws should be applied to transactions involving the sale of blockchain-based tokens, and this lack of clarity is hurting American innovation,” Emmer said.
Read more:Bipartisan Crypto Bills Pass US House of Representatives – Again
Emmer originally introduced the bill in September 2020, with the support of then-Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas). The addition of Democratic co-sponsors is new and may aid the bill’s passage through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, though it’s unclear whether the lawmaking body will do so at this time.
This bill has been endorsed by the Chamber of Digital Commerce, the Blockchain Association and Coin Center.
Related:Chinese Crypto News App CoinWorld Is Closing
UPDATE (July 15, 2021, 17:04 UTC):Updated to clarify the bill was first introduced last year.
• Italian Regulator Says Binance Is Unauthorized
• SEC Settles Charges Against Coinschedule Operator for Touting ICOs || Malaysian authorities crush 1,069 crypto mining rigs with a steamroller: How do authorities dispose of confiscated cryptocurrency mining rigs? In a city in Sarawak, Malaysia, authorities got rid of 1,069 rigs at once by crushing them with a steamroller, Vice reports. According to Malaysian publication Dayak Daily , the PCs were confiscated over six raids conducted between February and April this year. Sarawak Energy Berhad, the electric utility company of the Malaysian province, is accusing the mining operators of stealing electricity for their activities. The operators allegedly stole RM8.4 million worth of energy, or around $2 million USD, from the company. People who want to seriously mine cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum use PCs built for that purpose, and the process usually consumes a huge amount of electricity. That's why it's no surprise that energy theft is commonly reported in places where miners operate. In Ukraine, for instance, the country's Security Service raided a mining operation that used PS4 Pros as their machines, and the operators were also accused of stealing electricity from the country's power grid. The Malaysian city's police chief Hakemal Hawari told Dayak Daily that energy theft for mining operations has been so rampant this year, three houses burned down as a result of illegal electric connections. You can watch the steamroller crush the mining rigs in the video below. If you're wondering, that's RM5.3 million ($1.26 million) worth of hardware being haphazardly smashed by a gigantic machine. || Chinese Bitcoin Miners Have Already Shipped Equipment To Kazakhstan, Report Shows: What Happened: Shenzhen-based Bitcoin miner BIT Mining (NYSE: BTCM ) has already shipped some of its mining equipment outside China, according to a press release from the company. The company reported that 320 mining machines with a capacity of 18.2 PH/s had been delivered to a facility in Kazakhstan, which is expected to be fully operational by June 27. A second and third batch, totaling 2,600 mining machines with a theoretical maximum total hash rate capacity of 102.3 PH/s, are also expected to be delivered to Kazakhstan before July 1, 202. Why It Matters: The companys overseas deployment strategy was put into effect after it received a notice from the State Grid Sichuan Ganzi Electric Power supplier notifying them that the power supply would be suspended on June 19. BIT Minings Chinese subsidiary was one of the 26 Bitcoin miners that were forcibly shut down by local authorities on Sunday after a government crackdown on crypto mining and trading in the region further intensified. "We are committed to protecting the environment and lowering our carbon footprint. We have been strategically expanding our operations overseas as part of our growth strategy, commented Xianfeng Yang, CEO of BIT Mining. Following our investments in cryptocurrency mining data centers in Texas and Kazakhstan, we are accelerating our overseas development for alternative high-quality mining resources, he added. According to a report from The Washington Post , Chinese miners are now focused on expanding to other geographies, including the U.S. Right now in China, everybodys scared. The question is not whether you pull out, but immediately or gradually, said one miner under the condition of anonymity. Price Action: Bitcoin was trading at $32,418 at the time of writing, up 1,81% from its earlier dip below $30,000. See more from Benzinga Click here for options trades from Benzinga Dogecoin Selloff Continues Despite Elon Musk's Attempt To Rescue The Coin Crypto Analysts Confirm Bitcoin's Bear Market As The Price Falls Below ,000 © 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Which Cryptocurrency Are You Invested In? Take Our Poll: Cryptocurrency hasbecome such a hot topic and commoditythat it has even started to spawn its own offspring — in a manner of speaking, at least.
With Baby Doge, a “new crypto birthed by fans of the Doge Coin online community,” havingmade its NASCAR debut over the past weekendon Brandon Brown’s No. 68 Chevrolet Camaro, its now abundantly clear that the prevalence and variety of cryptos on the market have made them nearly impossible to ignore. After all, there areover 9,300 altcoins(crypto other than Bitcoin) currently to consider.
Take Our Poll:Which Cryptocurrency Do You Invest In?
From Bitcoin to Ethereum to Dogecoin, those who are invested each have their preferences and reasons behind which they choose to spend their money on in the hopes of a hefty return — even if the number of Americans invested in crypto is only around 14% of the population, according to a recent Gemini crypto exchange report. However, that number is expected to more than double over the next year.
So, where does your allegiance lie? We want to know:Are you currently investing in cryptocurrency, and if so, which is the coin for you? Let us know by answering our latest anonymous poll.
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Last updated: July 15, 2021
This article originally appeared onGOBankingRates.com:Which Cryptocurrency Are You Invested In? Take Our Poll || GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stocks, dollar sluggish, all eyes on Fed meet this week: (Updates with mid-afternoon trading)
* European shares fall, Asian stocks at 2021 lows
* Bitcoin jumps on short-covering, Amazon speculation
* Govt bond yields post sizable drop
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Koh Gui Qing
NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks touched record highs in choppy trade on Monday and the dollar weakened, as investors avoided making new and bold bets before this week's Federal Reserve policy meeting that might offer clues on the outlook for monetary policy.
The performance in U.S. shares contrasted with sharp losses in Asia overnight, when MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1% to its lowest since December, hurt by concerns over tighter regulations in China.
In the United States, investors will closely parse comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday after a two-day policy meeting for clues on how the central bank will start tapering its asset purchases, its assessment of inflation risks, and the future of interest rates.
"Powell will likely highlight that the recovery is on track but COVID remains a key downside risk," analysts at Bank of America said, adding that details about the Fed's tapering of asset purchases would probably be revealed in future meetings.
By afternoon, U.S. shares were still vacillating between modest gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.2 points, or 0.16%, to 35,117.74. The S&P 500 gained 4.6 points, or 0.1%, to 4,416.38 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.5 points, or 0.09%, to 14,823.54.
In a sign that risk appetite remained firm on Wall Street, bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency and sometimes an indicator of the demand for risk, soared 12% to $39,671.41, while ether jumped 7.8% to $2,365.24.
Speculation that online retailing giant Amazon might accept bitcoin as payment sparked the latest rally, and short sellers covering their positions added to the surge.
On the other hand, the U.S. dollar, which usually benefits when investors are seeking safety, softened as investors turned their attention to the Fed meeting.
The dollar index fell 0.301% to 92.612, but not far from a 3-1/2-month high of 93.194 struck last week. A softer dollar bolstered the euro, which gained 0.28% to $1.1804.
The dollar has gained nearly 4% from a low on May 25 as an improving U.S. economy bolstered the outlook for the Fed to start paring asset purchases as early as this year.
Indeed, investors have been pulling money out of Asian and emerging market stocks and U.S. shares instead, attracted by forecast-beating earnings and a recovery in the U.S. economy.
Bond markets have remained remarkably untroubled by the prospect of eventual tapering. Yields on U.S. 10-year notes have fallen for four weeks in a row - they slipped to a low of 1.221% on Monday before edging back up to 1.272%.
But the drop in Treasury yields has done little to undermine the dollar, in part because European yields have fallen even further amid expectations of continued massive bond-buying by the European Central Bank.
Gold prices also weakened as investors turned cautious ahead of the Fed policy meeting. Spot gold dropped 0.3% to $1,796.82 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures gained 0.05% to $1,798.70 an ounce.
Oil prices reversed earlier losses, buoyed by views that a tight supply for the rest of the year will support prices.
U.S. crude recently fell 0.01% to $72.06 per barrel while Brent was at $74.50, up 0.54% on the day.
(Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by Nick Macfie, Alex Richardson and Dan Grebler) || Mexico says cryptocurrencies are not money, warns of risks: By Anthony Esposito and Abraham Gonzalez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican financial authorities on Monday said that crypto assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not considered currencies under current laws, warning that financial institutions that operate with them are subject to sanctions. The joint statement by the Bank of Mexico, finance ministry and banking regulator comes after Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego on Sunday said his banking business, Banco Azteca, may begin using bitcoin, which would make it the country's first bank to start accepting the cryptocurrency. Earlier this month, El Salvador made a dramatic move to make bitcoin a legal tender, a world first. "The financial authorities reiterate their warnings ... on the risks inherent in the use of so-called 'virtual assets' as a means of exchange, as a store of value or as another form of investment," the statement said. "The country's financial institutions are not authorized to carry out and offer to the public operations with virtual assets, such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP and others in order to maintain a healthy distance between them and the financial system." Mexican financial institutions must also avoid transmitting to their clients the risks associated with cryptocurrency operations, the statement said, adding that the use of so-called stablecoins - a form of cryptocurrency usually pegged to a traditional currency - was not permitted under current Mexican law. Finance minister Arturo Herrera said at a news conference that under current rules cryptocurrencies are prohibited from being used in the Mexican financial system, underscoring that the prohibition will likely not change in the near term. Cryptocurrencies tend to be volatile and speculative assets and while they can be traded, they do not serve the same function as money, "since their acceptance as a means of payment is limited and they are not a good reserve or value reference," said the statement. Story continues The stern warning was seen as aimed at halting Salinas Pliego, an ally of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's MORENA party. The magnate had previously backed a MORENA bill that would have forced the Bank of Mexico to buy up foreign cash in a bid to help migrants and tourists repatriate U.S. dollars. The bill, seen largely benefiting Azteca, one of the country's leading remittance processors, was eventually overhauled but not before it shook confidence in the country's financial system as authorities said it could compel the central bank to add laundered drug money to its reserves. "It's a reaction to the comments Salinas Pliego made over the weekend. It's a way of saying his bank can't accept bitcoins even though he wants to ... it's a way of putting a stop to him," said Luis Gonzali, co-director at Franklin Templeton Investments in Mexico. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Abraham Gonzalez; Additional reporting by Sharay Angulo; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Aurora Ellis) || John McAfee, maverick who set up a lucrative cyber-security business and made and lost millions obituary: McAfee circa 1989 holding a stethoscope to a computer with an ice bag on top of it, illustrating the computer virus which he was able to eradicate at home - John Storey/Getty Images John McAfee, who has died in a Barcelona prison aged 75 , was a cybersecurity pioneer and creator of the eponymous anti-virus software which netted him a $100 million fortune; he subsequently became known for his colourful pronouncements and eccentric behaviour, which culminated in his fleeing Belize in 2013 disguised as a street hawker when wanted in connection with a murder. McAfee became interested in computer viruses in the mid-1980s while working for Lockheed, the aerospace company, on a top-secret voice recognition project. It was at this time that Brain, a virus created out of curiosity by Pakistani programmers, began to infect thousands of computers across the world, having been distributed by floppy disk. On working out how to eradicate the problem, McAfee shared the solution via the bulletin board, the forerunner of the world wide web. The clamour for it showed him that there was a market for such technology and, slightly before the likes of Peter Norton and Eugene Kaspersky, he set up an anti-virus business from home in Santa Clara, California. I knew the field would become extremely large, he later told the BBC. Its why we have graffiti on the walls of the inner city. People like to deface things. They like to disrupt things. John McAfee in Montreal, August 2013 - Shutterstock Within three years, he was turning over $5 million per year. McAfee admitted afterwards that the secret of his success lay in convincing firms that they needed his VirusScan software and to this extent he exaggerated the risks of viruses in what was still the infancy of the online age. He appeared regularly on television predicting widespread disaster and one journalist would later call him a master manipulator. Others thought in retrospect that his programmes were a way of manifesting more widely his own paranoia, which had been enhanced by prolific drug use in his youth. In 1992, the McAfee company was listed on the Nasdaq exchange for tech stocks and the founders shares valued at $80 million. Two years later, however, he sold these and severed his connection with the firm. It was eventually bought by Intel in 2010 for $7.6 billion. After several changes of name, it reverted to McAfee in 2017. Story continues By then, McAfee had for years openly said that he no longer used the software as it was too much trouble. Although he had had investments in Zone Labs, and in an early instant messenger, Tribal Voice, he had largely drawn back from the industry, not least as he had become a scalp for hackers. He took to buying computers through third parties, and to spending much time practising yoga. He had married for a second time and took out advertisements encouraging teenagers to avoid drugs. McAfee in 2019 during an interview with AFP on his yacht at the Marina Hemingway in Havana - ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP via Getty Images Then, in 2007, his wealth plummeted from an estimated $100 million to just $4 million when stocks and property values crashed with the onset of the recession. McAfee had invested much of his riches in building mansions for the super-rich which he could then not sell. He reacted by moving to Belize, where newspaper profiles were soon depicting him as a latter-day Kurtz leading a Heart of Darkness-style existence. In a swamp near the ruins of a Mayan temple, he built his own encampment, patrolled by ex-convicts and filled with Tibetan art, a baby grand piano and a clutch of teenage girlfriends. His ostensible reason for basing himself there was to fund research into natural antibiotics. McAfee, who at 65 sported a surfers goatee, dyed blond hair, tattoos and cargo shorts, began to inject himself with testosterone. Journalists sent to interview him discovered that his American girlfriend had left him after finding he had a new lover, a 16-year old prostitute named Amy. Their relationship had survived an attempt by Amy to shoot McAfee and make off with his money. Events took a more serious turn in 2012. First, McAfees house was raided by police on suspicion that he was manufacturing methamphetamine. He denied this, claiming he was being harassed after not paying a $2 million bribe to a politician. There followed a series of rows when he attempted to police himself a nearby village where he had settled Amy for safety but which he believed was a nest of cocaine smugglers. Drug-addled and unhinged were two epithets applied by others to him. Then in December, McAfees former neighbour, Gregory Faull, was found shot dead. The two men had been on bad terms, in part over suspicion as to who had poisoned McAfees dogs. McAfee ultimately decided to flee the country, having stained his teeth and adopted various disguises, among them that of a drunk tourist. However, his whereabouts in Guatemala was accidentally given away when the online magazine Vice published a photograph of him with the location data still attached. He was arrested but after faking two heart attacks managed successfully to fight extradition to Belize, being sent instead to America. The Belize police subsequently said that he was not wanted for Faulls murder, only for questioning. McAfee claimed that they had sent assassins after him. The countrys prime minister Dean Barrow characterised him as extremely paranoid, even bonkers. In 2017, plans were announced to make a film of McAfees life starring inevitably Johnny Depp. John David McAfee was born on a US army base in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, on September 18 1945. His father was an American serviceman, his mother English, and the base US territory, which later proved a crucial qualification when McAfee decided to run for president in 2016. He grew up in Virginia, where he recalled a childhood leading a local gang of boys. We got to escape from the real world, he said, and create one of our own. His father, however, who worked as a road surveyor, was an alcoholic and would beat him and his mother, who had a job as a bank clerk. When John was 15, his father shot himself. McAfee speaking at a conference event in Phuket, Thailand, 2018 - Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg McAfee graduated from Roanoke College, having studied Mathematics, in 1967. He supported himself hawking magazine subscriptions and discovered that he was a natural salesman, albeit most of his earnings went on alcohol. He then began a PhD at Northeast Louisiana State University, but this came to an end when it was discovered that he was sleeping with a student he was supervising. The pair subsequently married. He then had jobs with some of the largest technological enterprises of the day, including Nasas Institute for Space Studies and Xerox. Like many in the industry, however, he had become a heavy user of drugs. In 1969, he had concocted a fake CV to get a position with Missouris railway company, which used an IBM computer to co-ordinate train schedules. McAfee had begun to experiment with hallucinogens, which were still exerting their effect when he went to work. He ended up, in his words, stark, raving mad, hiding behind a rubbish bin in an alley, and never returned to the office. His marriage came to an end, but his addictions continued during later jobs in the information technology sector, where he claimed he and co-workers openly drank whisky and snorted the cocaine he sold. He even took a year off to travel around Mexico peddling drugs. In 1983, however, he renounced his vices with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous and thereafter claimed to have remained sober. After returning to the US in 2013, he settled in Tennessee with his third wife Janice, a former escort 40 years his junior. There he had set up a technology incubator. Anonymity online became his chief preoccupation. In 2014 four years before the revelations about the harvesting of data collected by Facebook he warned against the use of apps on smartphones. These, he said, were used to spy on people. He then began to market an app which revealed which permissions had been granted by the user. John McAfee is photographed in his La Selva beach home in 2001 - Rick Martin/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images McAfee announced that for the 2016 election that he would seek the nomination of the Libertarian Party as their presidential candidate. His platform included the legalisation of marijuana, free market economics and more controls on online giants such as Google. In the event, the White House went to Donald Trump. Latterly, McAfee had claimed to be able to decrypt messages sent via WhatsApp and to hack the iPhone. He had also promoted Bitcoin, predicting that by 2020 each would be worth $500,000. If Im wrong, he promised, Ill eat my dick live on television. Last October John McAfee was arrested at Barcelona airport when he was about to board a flight to Istanbul, having been accused by US authorities of tax evasion. He was found dead in his prison cell on Wednesday, from apparent suicide, hours after Spains highest court had approved his extradition to the United States. His wife survives him. John McAfee, born September 18 1945, died June 23 2021 || Bitcoin tanks even as inflation jumps: Bitcoin backers praise the leading cryptocurrency as an inflation-proof "store of value." They contend that because the number of coins that can ever be issued is fixed, Bitcoin isn't subject to the kind of manipulation practiced by the Federal Reserve. The Fed's easy money policies, the argument goes, threaten to cause heavy inflation in the years to come because the central bank keeps swelling the money supply to spur economic growth. That practice is bound to create new dollars faster than the U.S. produces new products, hiking prices faster than salaries, and denting the purchasing power of America's households.
That can't happen with Bitcoin, say its adherents. Their idol can't be debased. Park your savings in Bitcoin or collect your paycheck in coins instead of dollars, and you'll safeguard your purchasing power. Over time, as dollar prices rise, the value of your Bitcoin holdings will rise at least in tandem to keep you whole. It's one of the few places were you can both protect your standard of living, and still make a killing.
Today, we're witnessing a shocking, unexpected surge in inflation that may or may not be long-lasting. That's a major test for Bitcoin's alleged virtues. So how's it performing as a hedge against prices for groceries, appliances, used cars, gasoline, and sundry other consumer and producer items that at least for now, are far outpacing incomes?
We'll examine Bitcoin's record versus two inflation measures, the Consumer Price Index, and the Treasury's 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate. The CPI is a current yardstick that shows the change each month over the previous year. The breakeven numbers are forward-looking. They project the average yearly rate of price increases over the next decade.
We'll start with Bitcoin versus the CPI. From January to October of 2019, the CPI was rising most months at an annual clip between 1.6% and 1.8%. But from late that year through February of 2020, the economy strengthened, and shortly before the pandemic struck, consumer prices were waxing at 2.3%. Not even close to a scare, but still a significant uptick.
Over those fourteen months, Bitcoin staged a big rally, vaulting from $3700 to $10,200. In hindsight, it like more a speculative bull run than a reaction to modestly rising prices. Still, inflation and Bitcoin moved in the same direction, though not nearly in the same proportions.
From mid-February to the end of August of last year, the CPI readings plunged below 0.5% in the depths of the COVID-19 crisis, before rebounding to 1.4% in September. Investors stuck with Bitcoin even though its protection might have seemed less important as inflation eased well below early 2020 levels. It began and ended that span at nearly the same level of around $11,000.
From September of 2020 through February of this year, inflation as measured by the CPI remained extremely mild, toggling between 1.4% and 1.7%. But Bitcoin more than quadrupled from $10,000 to $47,000. Bitcoin wasn't dancing to the CPI's tune. The big inflation surge started in March at 2.6%. In April the CPI waxed 4.2%, followed by ascending increases of 5.0% in May and 5.4% in June.
At first, Bitcoin appeared to be responding to the inflation alarm. It hit an all-time record of almost $65,000 in mid-April. But as inflation kept accelerating, Bitcoin suddenly reversed course, dropping by 50% from the peak to $32,500 at mid-afternoon on July 13. Americans' purchasing power, as measured by the CPI, was eroding at a pace not seen in years. Yet if you'd invested in Bitcoin as a safe haven when inflation took off in March, rather than staying even, you'd have lost a big chunk of your investment. Using the CPI as a metric, Bitcoin flops as an inflation hedge.
Of course, timing is everything: If you invested in Bitcoin as a counterweight to inflation a year ago, or in 2019 or 2017, the coin's stellar rise is no doubt making you feel like a genius today. It's the newcomers who turned to the asset as inflation started to soar who are suffering now, as CPI and $BTC move in opposite directions.
The 10-year Breakeven Index miorrors the rate on TIPs, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities that give investors a return in excess of expected price increases across the economy. The Breakeven rate was steady from January of 2019 to the pre-pandemic period in February of 2020, averaging around 1.7%. It didn't show the same upward tilt at the end of 2020 into 2021 that registered in the CPI. In contrast, Bitcoin's price tripled in those fourteen months to over $10,000. It showed no relationship with the steady-as-you go future anticipated by steady-as-you go Breakeven rate.
From February to September of 2020, the Breakeven dove and then rebounded to about where it started at 1.65%. Bitcoin didn't move much either, bouncing around but ending the period about even at $11,000. Then, the Breakeven and Bitcoin took off in tandem. From September 1, the Breakeven roared from 1.65% to 2.53% on May 17, 2022. Over the same interval, Bitcoin exploded from $11,400 to $43,200. Bitcoin looked like gold on steroids. It was not only outracing inflation, but delivering a giant windfall along the way.
It didn't last. Bitcoin was already on a downward spiral when the Breakeven rate reached its peak. Since then, that rate has eased slightly while the CPI kept rising fast. But the promise that Bitcoin would provide a shield against outsized price increases in the future isn't playing out. It's lost one-quarter of its value since inflation reached that new plateau in mid-May.
At $32,500, Bitcoin is selling at the same price as on January 1, 2021, when the Breakeven Rate was 1.7%, one-thirdlowerthan today.
Bitcoin marches to its own drummer, and neither today's inflation, nor its expected trajectory in the years ahead, sets the beat. Fans are struggling to explain Bitcoin's crazy rhythm. To love Bitcoin, it's better to believe, and forget about getting wonky and analytical about something that's too crazy to explain.
This story was originally featured onFortune.com
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: down || Prices: 46365.40, 45585.03, 45593.64, 44428.29, 47793.32, 47096.95, 47047.00, 46004.48, 44695.36, 44801.19
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis for 2021-08-17]
BTC Price: 44695.36, BTC RSI: 58.49
Gold Price: 1785.00, Gold RSI: 49.13
Oil Price: 66.59, Oil RSI: 38.81
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitcoin (BTC) Bounces Back But Fails to Reclaim $36,000: Bitcoin (BTC) has been moving upwards since bouncing on June 22. So far, it has managed to reach a local high of $36,623 on June 29.
However, BTC has failed to reclaim several important resistance levels. In addition, technical indicators do not indicate a bullish reversal is in the cards.
BTC rebounded considerably during the week of June 21-28. It reached a low of $28,805 but created a long lower wick (green). It proceeded to reach a close above the $32,600 horizontal support area. This area is crucial because BTC hasn’t reached a close below it since the beginning of the year, though some wicks have breached it.
The weekly close was ahammer candlestick, which is often seen as a bullish sign.
Despite the close above horizontal support, technical indicators are still bearish. The MACD is decreasing and negative, the RSI has fallen below 50, and the Stochastic oscillator has made a bearish cross (red icons).
Therefore, the bounce is not sufficient to confirm a reversal.
The daily chart provides a somewhat mixed outlook. BTC seems to be trading in a range between $31,400 and $40,550. It has been doing so since the initial drop on May 19. It bounced at the support area on June 22 and has been moving upwards since.
On one hand, the upward movement was preceded by very significant bullish divergence in the MACD signal line, the RSI, and the Stochastic oscillator.
However, none of the three currently has a bullish reading. The MACD signal line is still negative, the RSI is below 50, and the Stochastic oscillator has made a bearish cross.
While BTC is roughly halfway to the resistance area of $40,557, it has decreased sharply today and is in the process of creating abearish engulfing candlestick. Doing so would likely confirm that the trend is bearish.
The long-term wave count is not yet entirely clear.
While bitcoin has clearly been on a downward trend since April 14, it’s not yet certain if the downward movement ended on June 22 (green icon), or if BTC is still in the fifth and final wave of a bearish impulse (black count).
While the former would suggest that the bottom is in, the latter would indicate that the price could continue decreasing towards $23,600 and potentially $19,800.
A closer look at the movement supports the bearish scenario.
The ongoing upward movement looks like an A-B-C corrective structure (red). There are two main reasons for this:
• The overlap between the upward movement and the rejection (red line).
• The move ended at a confluence of Fib resistance levels; the 0.618 Fib retracement level (black) and the 1:1 A:C target (red).
Therefore, it’s more likely that BTC has yet to reach its low and that another downward movement will follow. || U.S. stocks, real U.S. bond yields slip as Fed meets; China tremors: By Koh Gui Qing NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks fell from record highs on Tuesday while real U.S. bond yields hit all-time lows, as a sell-off in Chinese shares, economic growth concerns and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting put investors on guard and drove profit taking. Unsettled by events in China overnight, where share prices skidded on concerns about the impact of a recent tightening in government regulations, global stock markets pulled back on Tuesday as volatility spiked. In the United States, investors turned cautious as they awaited the Fed's policy statement at the close of its two-day meeting, which began on Tuesday. All eyes will be on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell says at a post-meeting news conference on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), especially in relation to inflation, economic growth, interest rates and when the Fed will likely start reducing its purchases of government bonds. Some investors worry that the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus may thwart the global economic recovery, at a time when inflation in countries such as the United States has accelerated faster than expected. A stalled economic recovery and rising price pressures would complicate monetary policy, and force central banks to balance the objectives of supporting growth and tempering price rises. "There is some concern over where we are on monetary policy," said Peter Kenny, founder of Kenny’s Commentary LLC and Strategic Board Solutions Llc in New York. "There's no question that the Fed is going to address the elephant in the room, and that is inflation," Kenny said. "It appears that inflation is not transitory." Analysts agree that low interest rates are generally a boon for equities and any sign of a faster-than-expected tightening in the Fed's policy - whether raising interest rates or tapering bond purchases - could rattle the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.2% at 35,059 points, and the S&P 500 shed 0.5% to end at 4,401 points. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.2% to 14,660 points, its biggest one-day drop since May 12, hurt by some bets that the earnings growth of tech stocks is already priced into valuations. Story continues The pan-European STOXX 600 index finished 0.54% lower and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.81%. Still, losses on Wall Street and in Europe were modest compared with overnight declines in China. The blue-chip Chinese CSI300 index plunged 3.5%, while the Hang Seng Tech index tumbled almost 8%, losing a whopping 17% in just three days. [.SS] In keeping with the muted mood in markets, the yield on 10-year Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS) hit an all-time low of -1.147% before rebounding to -1.129%. [US/] Real, or inflation-adjusted, bond yields across major economies have fallen in recent sessions, which analysts attribute to growing concern about the economic outlook, as well as technical factors such as hefty bond-buying by central banks. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was down at 1.238%. Currency investors also played it safe before the Fed meeting outcome. The dollar, which has risen broadly for more than a month on expectations that, as the economy strengthened, the Fed would tighten its policies, gave up some gains on Tuesday as investors shunned big bets before Powell's remarks. The dollar index fell 0.17%, and a softer dollar lifted the euro by 0.16% to $1.1821.[USD/] The somber mood led oil prices to give up earlier gains. U.S. crude settled 0.36% lower at $71.65 per barrel and Brent was at $74.48, down 0.03% on the day. The slight risk aversion amongst investors benefited bullion. Spot gold added 0.1% to $1,799.64 an ounce. U.S. gold futures gained 0.28% to $1,799.50 an ounce. [GOL/] Cryptocurrencies, a barometer of investors' risk appetites, also succumbed to the cautious overtone in markets and pared earlier gains. Bitcoin last rose 1.8% to $37,960.44, recouping some losses after Amazon.com Inc offered a qualified denial of a weekend news report that said it was preparing to accept cryptocurrencies. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn, Dhara Ranasinghe, Sujata Rao in London and Alun John in Hong Kong; editing by Steve Orlofsky, Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis) || Eric Adams, Mayor of All the Bitcoins: Eric Adams will be the next mayor of New York City. The former New York Police Department cop was declared winner of the Democratic primary yesterday, so unless there’s an improbable surge from his Republican opponent, cat rescuer and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, Adams will take over from Mayor Bill de Blasio in January following November’s general election. I live in New York City, and I hate to perpetuate the general media’s East Coast bias, but in this case, a mayoral election really seems to matter outside the city – especially for cryptocurrency businesses and traders. New York has some of the country’s most restrictive cryptocurrency rules, the much-bemoaned “Bitlicense.” That’s particularly onerous because New York City is a major financial center, so the 2014 law has hampered crypto offerings by New York City-based entities, and to New York residents. This article is excerpted from The Node , CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here . Related: The Case for Collaborating on Crypto Regulations But Adams has been vocally pro-crypto, saying in late June that New York City would become the “center of bitcoins” under his leadership. Adams isn’t nearly as passionate about bitcoins as erstwhile mayoral rival Andrew Yang, and from his slight malapropism it’s a fair guess Adams is not exactly a crypto expert, though he did also speak positively about crypto in 2015 . Instead, Adams’ promise (like his statements in 2015) came in the middle of a much broader endorsement of disruptive innovation. New York City, Adams said, should “become the center of life science, the center of cybersecurity, the center of bitcoins … We’re going to be the center of all the technology.” In short, Adams seems to be more focused on well-paying jobs and a vital economy than on changes to the status quo of financial regulation. In many ways, this is hugely bullish for the sector, a sign that “crypto” is stealing some limelight from “Silicon Valley” as a synecdoche for innovation and growth. And New Yorkers were eager for that message thanks to an unemployment rate of 10.9% in May, far above the national rate of 5.9% . That’s probably thanks above all to the loss of tourism, which is a huge driver of the New York economy, during the coronavirus pandemic. Story continues It’s also a meaningful signal locally given the 2019 progressive backlash against plans to build an Amazon headquarters in the borough of Queens , which had its justifications but was seen by some as anti-jobs. Adams is more of a centrist than those anti-Amazon activists, and has aimed mostly at appealing to blue-collar New Yorkers. Much of his platform focuses on small business, but the nod to tech is part of that larger promise of more and better jobs. Related: Didi’s Downfall and the Case for Web 3.0 It’s not as if Adams has much sway on the crypto issue anyway: The Bitlicense was imposed by state legislators in Albany, and the New York mayor generally has a contentious, if not outright hostile, relationship with the state capital. His chances to get any changes on the Bitlicense are close to nil. So if Adams wants to make New York City more of a “center of bitcoins,” his real options include the kind of programs he pursued as Brooklyn borough president, including investment in STEM programs for local students . It’s an uphill battle to get more hometown kids into the pipeline for the local tech industry, but if any city can pull it off it’s New York, which has some of the country’s most well-regarded public secondary schools and universities. It’s also possible that Adams’ quality-of-life measures could help attract new businesses or individuals to the city. Those include enhanced child-care services and a firm-but-just approach to violent crime, which has been edging up. The timing would certainly be right, given an ongoing outmigration from the San Francisco Bay Area and a historic dip in rents in New York City. But those are ultimately edge issues – New York’s advantages for crypto or any other business are bigger and longer lasting than any one mayor. That’s made clearest by the comparison to Miami, which has also made a recent push to attract crypto businesses , but has some serious disadvantages in the effort. To pick just one, only 29.8% of Miami-Dade County residents have a bachelor’s degree , according to census data, compared to 37.5% in Brooklyn and 61.3% in Manhattan. Traditionally, that difference in talent pool has been a determining factor. Businesses hoping to hire the very best people, which usually includes the most innovative companies, are more likely to locate near big talent pools. That’s why despite the hassle of the Bitlicense for companies that move crypto, the city is already the home to important blockchain firms, including Chainalysis, Grayscale and its sister company, CoinDesk. Of course, that calculus has itself changed dramatically during the pandemic. The new acceptance of work from home (WFH) means companies are more likely to hire employees who don’t live near their headquarters, especially for white-collar tech and information jobs. New York City currently stands to lose as much as $720 million in tax revenue from commuters who aren’t working in the city. So while he may make some efforts to make New York into a friendlier city for crypto, Adams’ most important task will be simply keeping the city a place where people actually want to live. Related Stories CryptoPunks Get Punked Fashion Redefines Finance: The Logic of Digital Luxury || The Bear Case for Bullish Is Spelled E-O-S: There was a wave of what I’ll call bemusement in crypto circles last Friday when blockchain firm Block.One and investors including Peter Thiel announced they would take the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish public. The listing would take place via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), or a merger with a listed company, at a valuation of $9 billion. There are a number of uncertainties swirling around the plan, not least because the exchange doesn’t exist yet. David Z. Morris is CoinDesk’s chief insights columnist. In fact, Bullish was nearly invisible until May of this year, when Block.One announced that it was committing bitcoin and EOS tokens, then worth nearly $10 billion, to create a large liquidity pool for the exchange. The exchange itself is expected to launch later this year – when it will go up against a half-dozen far more established players in the U.S. exchange market, even as exchange activity trends downward as a bear market sets in. Related: Condo Management Meets Decentralized Governance All that is reason enough to question the wisdom of Bullish as an investment. But the real eyebrow-raiser for my money is the involvement of Block.One and its downtrodden smart-contracts platform EOS. Given years of consistently disappointing results from the company and affiliated projects, and a strange push to use EOS in the operation of the otherwise fully centralized Bullish, many crypto longtimers immediately wondered whether building a profitable crypto exchange is the only motive for the SPAC. The brief, tragic history of Block.One and EOS Block.One was founded in 2016 as a launchpad for EOS, a would-be “Ethereum killer” that raised a record $4.1 billion via an initial coin offering in the first half of 2018. Like many ICOs, that raise was later deemed an unregistered security offering by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Block.One paid a $24 million fine in 2019 – seen by many at the time as a comically paltry slap on the wrist relative to the amount raised. Story continues Despite its massive war chest, EOS has failed to become even a remotely credible competitor to Ethereum, largely thanks to a failure to address deep design flaws. EOS was conceived by Dan Larimer, a co-founder of Block.One along with CEO Brendan Blumer, using a “delegated proof-of-stake” design that Larimer touted as the next generation of blockchain tech. But that didn’t really pan out: Within months of EOS’ launch, it became clear the voting process for selecting validator nodes was being aggressively gamed by cartels looking to capture block rewards. That led to a “brain drain” as engaged, grassroots node operators were effectively pushed off the network. The problems also turned off developers : EOS currently hosts only one of the top 25 distributed applications (dapps), according to DappRadar . No EOS dapp has daily volume over $100,000, while Ethereum has at least 25 dapps with daily volume over $1 million. The Binance Smart Chain, Tron and Polygon systems have all attracted more activity than EOS, even though BSC and Polygon launched more recently. Related: We Should Sign On to the Web, Not to Websites Larimer joined that brain drain in January when he announced his departure from Block.One and EOS to work on “personal projects.” That continued a trend for Larimer, a once-prominent cryptocurrency leader who over time gained a reputation for moving on swiftly from projects he founded. That’s what happened at both BitShares, Larimer’s first big project, and Steem, a decentralized media project. BitShares is now essentially dormant, and Steem has struggled after Larimer’s departure. Those missteps and failures led to abjectly awful bull market performance by the EOS token, which sank by more than 30% over the past 12 months in BTC terms. Since its peak in May 2018, the token is down nearly 95% versus BTC. Formerly a top 10 token, EOS has sunk to rank 27 by market cap, according to CoinGecko. EOS, remember, is Block.One’s reason for existing. Block.One, Rewarded Block.One said in May that the exchange would use “EOSIO and the EOS Public Blockchain to produce a cryptographically validated, provable, and immutable audit trail of all transactions processed on the Bullish platform.” This has led to some confusion that Bullish will be a decentralized exchange, or DEX – a category that has seen explosive growth over the last year. But Bullish would be just as centralized as Coinbase, with the slight addition of writing receipts to EOS. That could have some transparency benefits, but doesn’t make the exchange meaningfully decentralized. But the architecture does hint at a possible secondary motivation behind Bullish: Whether it turns out to be a successful exchange or not, Bullish’s use of EOS for recordkeeping will make EOS seem more successful, or at least promising, by creating on-chain transaction volume as well as fees and other revenue. Block.One currently holds just under 6% of all EOS , worth roughly $250 million, according to EOS Authority. (Transaction costs on EOS are quite a tangle. Some transactions are nominally free, but costs are arguably just moved around into staking requirements and RAM fees for onboarding dapp users . Last year Block.One introduced a pay-as-you-go fee option.) Those fees and costs would ultimately be paid by Bullish users – to the benefit of Block.one. In other words, Block.One is creating a spin-off that will in essence be its own long-term customer, for a service of unclear utility. The MicroStrategy Theory Another compelling angle on Bullish came Friday from Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX co-founder, who in a Twitter thread focused on the $6 billion in crypto reserves that Block.One and other investors have injected into Bullish. Those reserves amount to about two-thirds of the proposed value of the Bullish SPAC. That led SBF to speculate that, rather than a competitor to Coinbase or Bakkt, “Maybe Bullish is really another MicroStrategy.” In other words, maybe the real investment here is not in any innovation Block.One and Peter Thiel might bring to crypto exchanges, but in Bullish’s crypto reserves. The public listing will, like MicroStrategy stock, be investable by some entities that can’t directly buy crypto, such as (in theory) institutions. As the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has shown , some investors are willing to pay a premium for these crypto-equity workarounds, though the near 50% markup on Bullish’s holdings might be a bit steep. (Grayscale is a CoinDesk sister company.) Another key distinction is that while MicroStrategy has been laser-focused on bitcoin, the reserves behind Bullish will be much more of a mixed bag. The $10 billion supplied by Block.One to stand up Bullish in May (which has since declined in value) was over 90% bitcoin, but also included 20 million EOS tokens, or about 2.5% of the total. (It’s unclear whether these funds have already been moved from Block.One’s EOS wallets). As an exchange, Bullish would also wind up holding an assortment of other coins. So, hey, maybe there’s really demand for a public stock that’s like MicroStrategy but with a jumble of altcoins on top of a barrel of bitcoin! It certainly seems more likely than there being huge demand for yet another centralized exchange. Related Stories Market Wrap: Bitcoin Rises After Volatile Week What Investors Need to Know About Circle’s Listing || OptionRoom CEO responds to ChainSwap hack: The ChainSwap protocol suffered a serious security over the weekend in a hack that saw crypto thieves making off more than $8m in stolen tokens from liquidity pools. OptionRoom was among the worst hit, with the hackers able to steal $ROOM tokens from liquidity pools valued at $550,000. This has seriously hit the price position of OptionRoom’s tokens, with $ROOM plummeting in value by more than 90% in just three hours on Saturday night. In comments to Coin Rivet, OptionRoom CEO Marsel Adawi addressed the hack and explained how the company was responding to the theft. CEO Marsel Adawi As news broke of the ChainSwap hack, it very quickly became clear that OptionRoom had been one of worst affected, with exchange liquidity pools essentially vanishing. OptionRoom CEO Marsel Adawi OptionRoom CEO Marsel Adawi “The hacker was able to acquire 2.3M tokens on the Ethereum chain, and 10M tokens on the BSC chain,” Marsel Adawi told Coin Rivet. “We noticed the attack before any tokens were sold by the hacker and we decided to remove liquidity from UniSwap and PancakeSwap immediately in order to protect token holders and liquidity providers from the hacker dumping.” Following the $550,000 theft, the OptionRoom team have moved quickly, with the CEO saying they had been “able to recover $443,974 by selling tokens from the deployer into the Uniswap pool”. “This way we managed to withdraw liquidity on behalf of liquidity providers for the project,” he said. “The recovered amount will be distributed among the liquidity providers based on their share of the pool”. He also expressed his gratitude to the community for ‘staying positive and trustful’, saying: “Once we’re done with the process, everything will be business as usual in the OptionRoom protocol.” “We are currently processing Ethereum and BSC logs in order to know the exact amount each holder was holding at the moment of the hack to be able to airdrop the new tokens to ROOM/COURT token holders,” he added. “This process will take up to two weeks to complete”. The CEO remains confident the project will recover, and be ready for the protocol to go live in August. What is OptionRoom? OptionRoom is a user-governed oracle as a service (OaaS) and forecast protocol for use on the PolkaDot network, providing users with a bridge to external data for use cases such as limitless prediction markets, decentralised polls, mediation, surveys, and curated lists. The project operates using two tokens – $ROOM which acts as the reward and utility token powering the oracle – and $COURT, which is the governance token for the oracle protocol used to authenticate information. Story continues The protocol also operates a buy-back mechanism related to market settlement votes. More crypto news and information If you want to find out more information about Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general, then use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started. As with any investment, it pays to do some homework before you part with your money. The prices of cryptocurrencies are volatile and go up and down quickly. This page is not recommending a particular currency or whether you should invest or not. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. View comments || Bitcoin rallies after dropping below $30,000 on China crackdown: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Tom Wilson and Alun John NEW YORK/LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bitcoin recovered from a five-month low on Tuesday in volatile session in which it fell below $30,000, extending losses sparked a day earlier when China's central bank deepened a crackdown on cryptocurrencies. But its outlook remained tilted to the downside, analysts said. The world's largest cryptocurrency dropped to $28,600, its lowest since early January. It was last up 3.7% at $32,802, and remains about 13% higher so far this year. Bitcoin's earlier fall also pressured smaller coins such as ether. It tumbled 11% on Monday, its largest one-day drop in over a month, with losses of roughly 56% since hitting an all-time high of just under $65,000 in mid-April. The earlier sell-off was sparked by the People's Bank of China urging China's largest banks and payment firms to crack down harder on cryptocurrency trading, the latest tightening of restrictions on the sector by Beijing. "The underlying fundamentals of the crypto-asset world have not changed and this correction was more of a when, not if," said Iqbal Gandham, vice president of transactions at Ledger, a digital asset management solution. "Any asset class which sees a meteoric rise in the same way as we have seen in crypto is expected to correct. The situation in China has perhaps exacerbated this, along with the increased rate of adoption of altcoins by new users, following tweets of various crypto personalities." Bitcoin's chart outlook has darkened after it broke below the neckline of a massive head-and-shoulders top formation at $30,393, bringing closer a test of key chart support that could potentially wipe roughly 40% off its current value. After Monday's PBOC statement, banks including Agricultural Bank of China and Ant Group's payment platform Alipay said they would step up monitoring to root out crypto transactions. Ether, the token used for the Ethereum blockchain and the second-largest cryptocurrency, last traded up 0.8% at $1,900. It earlier dropped to $1,700, its lowest in a month. Story continues It broke through key structural support in a sign that longs could be capitulating as China's crackdown rippled through the cryptocurrency universe. HASH RATE TUMBLES Evidence of the impact of the mining curbs is emerging. The so-called hash rate of the bitcoin network - a measure of its processing power that shows how much mining is taking place, on Monday hit its lowest level since late 2020. Authorities in major bitcoin mining hubs including Sichuan, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia have issued their own curbs with greater details on the restrictions. Iran in late May also banned the energy-intensive mining of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin for nearly four months, as the country faces major power blackouts in many cities. On Tuesday, state media reported that police have seized 7,000 computer miners at an illegal crypto farm, their largest haul to date of the energy-guzzling machines. The crackdown on miners will likely hit prices in the short-term, market players said. Mike Novogratz, founder and chief executive officer at Galaxy Digital, a crypto-focused financial services firm, and one of the largest crypto investors, told CNBC on Tuesday that China's actions has created "a retail deleveraging." "A lot of crypto happens in Asia, a lot of it is Chinese focused. So were seeing big liquidations, so it's hard to call a bottom." Three industry associations in China last month issued a similar ban on crypto-related financial services, though market players said it would be hard to enforce as banks and payment firms could struggle to identify crypto-related payments. Beijing's targets are crypto miners, but China's State Council, or cabinet, said last month it would tighten restrictions on producers as well as traders of bitcoin. (Reporting by Tom Wilson in London, Alun John in Hong Kong and Andrew Galbraith in Shanghai, and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York; Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; Editing by Dan Grebler and Marguerita Choy) || First Midwest Bank Trust Division Holding 29.5K Shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust: First Midwest Bank Trust Division has reported holding 29,498 shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust as of June 30, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
• According to the 13F SEC filing, the Joliet, Ill.-based bank purchased one lot of 20,655 shares and another lot of 8,843 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
• First Midwest Bank Trust Division has $14 billion of assets under management and provides fiduciary, investment and private banking services to individual, corporate and governmental clients. It is the third largest independent, Illinois-headquartered bank.
• Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, of which CoinDesk is an independent subsidiary.
Read more:Grayscale ‘Unlockings’ Poses Downside Risk to Bitcoin Price, JPMorgan Says
• Reflation-Trade Rethink Keeps Bitcoin Under Pressure
• Bitcoin Struggles Within Choppy Range, Could Stabilize at $30K
• Bitcoin Price Seesaws in Tight Range Awaiting Bullish Catalyst
• Survey Suggests Most Salvadorans Wary of Bitcoin as Legal Tender || Customers Bancorp's (CUBI) Shares March Higher, Can It Continue?: As of late, it has definitely been a great time to be an investor inCustomers Bancorp, Inc.CUBI. The stock has moved higher by 4.8% in the past month, while it is also above its 20-day SMA too. This combination of strong price performance and favorable technical could suggest that the stock may be on the right path.
We certainly think that this might be the case, particularly if you consider CUBI’s recent earnings estimate revision activity. From this look, the company’s future is quite favorable; as CUBI has earned itself a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), meaning that its recent run may continue for a bit longer, and that this isn’t the top for the in-focus company. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency has sparked one of the most exciting discussion topics of a generation. Some call it the “Internet of Money” and predict it could change the way money works forever. If true, it could do to banks what Netflix did to Blockbuster and Amazon did to Sears. Experts agree we’re still in the early stages of this technology, and as it grows, it will create several investing opportunities.
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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportCustomers Bancorp, Inc (CUBI) : Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here. || BTC On-Chain Analysis: Realized Cap & Market Cap Ratio Historically Indicates Bottoms: BeInCrypto –
A look at on-chain indicators, more specifically the ratio between the realized and market capitalization levels, in order to draw parallels to previous bull runs.
The current ratio between the realized and market capitalization levels has historically been marked with bottoms.
This storywas seen first onBeInCryptoJoin our Telegram Groupand get trading signals, a free trading course and more stories likethisonBeInCrypto || BTC, ETH, XRP, ZEN, DIA, TOMO, HBAR — Technical Analysis July 13: Bitcoin (BTC) is trading inside a range between $31,300 and $40,550. Ethereum (ETH) has completed a leading diagonal. XRP (XRP), DIA (DIA), and Horizen (ZEN) have broken out from descending resistance lines. TomoChain (TOMO) has reclaimed the $1.96 horizontal area. Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) is trading inside a descending channel. Bitcoin (BTC) Since May 19, BTC has been consolidating inside a range of $31,300 and $40,550. On July 12, it fell to a low of $32,658 after creating a bearish candlestick, but has bounced since. Despite the bounce, technical indicators in the daily time-frame are leaning bearish. The RSI is still below 50 and the MACD has created one lower momentum bar. In addition to this, the Stochastic oscillator has made a bearish cross. BTC Chart By TradingView Ethereum (ETH) ETH has been moving upwards since reaching a low of $1,700 on June 22. So far, it has reached a high of $2,410 before falling. The decrease caused a breakdown from an ascending wedge. Currently, ETH is trading just above the 0.618 Fib retracement support level at $1,968. It’s possible that the wedge was part of a leading diagonal pattern. If so, ETH would be expected to increase towards the $2,880 horizontal resistance area. ETH Chart By TradingView XRP (XRP) XRP had been following a descending resistance line since June 1. It made four unsuccessful attempts at moving above the line before finally managing to break out on July 4. After two days, it returned and validated the line as support (green icon). If it begins an upward move, the closest resistances would be found at $0.80-$0.87. These targets are the 0.5-0.618 Fib retracement resistance levels. XRP Chart By TradingView Horizen (ZEN) ZEN had been following a descending resistance line since May 8 after reaching a high of $169.23. It made five unsuccessful attempts at moving above the line before finally breaking out on June 30. However, it has yet to initiate any significant upward movement. In addition to this, technical indicators are relatively neutral. The closest resistancea is found at $93.91. This is the 0.382 Fib retracement resistance level. Story continues ZEN Chart By TradingView DIA (DIA) DIA had been following a descending resistance since May 20. While following it, it dropped all the way to a low of $0.921 on June 22 but has been moving upwards since. On July 6, it broke out from a descending resistance line. So far, it has reached a high of $1.57 on July 13. Technical indicators in the daily time-frame are bullish. The RSI is above 50 and moving upwards and the Stochastic oscillator has made a bullish cross. In addition, the MACD is nearly positive. The closest resistance is found at $2.79. DIA Chart By TradingView TOMO TOMO has been moving upwards since May 19. On July 2, it broke out from a descending resistance line that had been in place since April 10. Shortly after, it reclaimed the $1.96 area, which is now likely to act as support. TOMO proceeded to reach a high of $2.51 before dropping. The high was made very close to the 0.618 Fib retracement resistance level. Technical indicators are bullish. The MACD is positive, the RSI is above 50, and the Stochastic oscillator has made a bullish cross. As long as TOMO is trading above the $1.96 horizontal area, the trend remains bullish. TOMO Chart By TradingView HBAR HBAR has been decreasing inside a descending parallel channel since March 15. It proceeded to reach a low of $0.138 on June 22 but bounced almost immediately after, leaving a long lower wick in place. In addition, the low validated the $0.155 area as support. There are several bullish divergences in place. Therefore, HBAR is expected to reclaim the midline of the channel and potentially move towards its resistance line. HBAR Chart By TradingView For BeInCrypto’s latest bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
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Trend: up || Prices: 44801.19, 46717.58, 49339.18, 48905.49, 49321.65, 49546.15, 47706.12, 48960.79, 46942.22, 49058.67
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Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
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[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Bitfarms Operating Hashrate to Grow 35% to Over 1.3 EH/s with the Delivery of 4,500 Miners From MicroBT: TORONTO and BROSSARD, Quebec, Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitfarms Ltd. ( Bitfarms , or the Company ) (TSXV: BITF / OTC:BFARF), one of the largest, oldest and most cost-effective public bitcoin mining operations in the world, is pleased to announce we have increased our previously announced order of 3,000 MicroBT M31S+ miners by 50% to a total of 4,500 miners. These 4,500 miners will be delivered on schedule and be in production over the next 30 days. Bitfarms current mining operations consists of five sites in Quebec, utilising environmentally friendly hydroelectric power. With the successful installation of these 4,500 miners, Bitfarms operational hashrate will increase 35% from 965 PH/s to 1.3 EH/s utilizing existing infrastructure. Additionally, the high efficiency of these miners will improve our overall efficiency by 12.5% to 49 w/TH, resulting in a direct reduction in Bitcoin Gross Mining Costs*. At prevailing mining difficulty levels as of February 17th, 2021, this translates to: 1. Daily production of over nine (9) Bitcoins 2. Daily Bitcoin production value over US$450,000 based on Bitcoins recent all time high of over US$50,000 3. Bitcoin Gross Mining Costs below US$7,000 per Bitcoin As of Jan 1, 2021, almost all of our daily Bitcoin production has been added to our balance sheet in a Bitcoin retention pilot program. In just 46 days, this pilot program has accumulated over 250 BTC. During that period, the average daily Bitcoin price was ~$40,800. With Bitcoin recently surpassing US$50,000, Bitfarms is excited to report the early success of this program. With the addition of the new miners, the Company intends to continue to add more Bitcoin to its balance sheet at a faster pace and with lower per unit costs. Bitfarms expects to have approximately 500 BTC in the program in approximately 30 days. The installation of these 4,500 miners will increase Bitfarms operational fleet and will maximise the utility of our current infrastructure. To prepare for future equipment purchases, Bitfarms recently began construction of Phase II at our site in Cowansville. This will expand the site capabilities from 4 MW to its full 16.7MW capacity and be able to accommodate up to 4,700 new generation miners. The buildout also includes a new repair lab and operations command center which is expected to be operational in Q2 2021. Story continues Id like to wish a happy Chinese New Year and thank our partners at MicroBT for their sustained efforts over the last nine months to produce and deliver over 12,000 high efficiency Bitcoin miners to us. MicroBT miners are well known in the industry for their superior reliability and operability, contributing 100% of our hashrate growth over the same period. We are thrilled to continue to expand our relationship with MicroBT, especially at a time when the Bitcoin mining industry is more popular than ever, said Emiliano Grodzki, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Bitfarms. About Bitfarms Ltd. Founded in 2017 Bitfarms is one of the one of the largest, oldest and most cost-effective public bitcoin mining operations in the world. Bitfarms run vertically integrated mining operations with onsite technical repair, data analytics and engineers to deliver high performance and uptime of operations. Having demonstrated rapid growth and stellar operations, Bitfarms became the first Bitcoin mining company to complete its long form prospectus with the Ontario Securities Commission and started trading on the TSX-V in July 2019. Bitfarms is currently listed as a Rising Star by the TSX-V. Bitfarms has a diversified production platform with five industrial scale facilities located in Quebec. Each facility is 100% powered with environmentally friendly hydro power and secured with long-term power contracts. Bitfarms is currently the only publicly traded pure-play mining company audited by a Big Four audit firm. To learn more about Bitfarms events, developments and online communities: Website: www.bitfarms.com https://www.facebook.com/bitfarms/ https://twitter.com/Bitfarms_io https://www.instagram.com/bitfarms/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitfarms/ Defined Terms * Bitcoin Gross Mining Costs consist of electricity and other direct production expenses. This is a non-IFRS performance measure. Please see the Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures section of Bitfarms management discussion and analysis filed on www.sedar.com . EH/s: Exahash per second. PH/s: Petahash per second. w/TH: Watt per Terahash. Cautionary Statement Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws that are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. The information in this release about future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking information. Other forward-looking information includes but is not limited to information concerning: the intentions, plans and future actions of the Company, as well as Bitfarms ability to successfully mine digital currency, revenue increasing as currently anticipated, the ability to profitably liquidate current and future digital currency inventory, volatility of network difficulty and digital currency prices and the resulting significant negative impact on the Companys operations, the construction and operation of expanded blockchain infrastructure as currently planned, and the regulatory environment of cryptocurrency in the Provinces of Canada. Any statements that involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time it was made, and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the global economic climate; dilution; the Companys limited operating history; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for the Company to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development and need for continued technology change; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on the Company and the industry; network security risks; the ability of the Company to maintain properly working systems; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. In addition, particular factors which could impact future results of the business of Bitfarms include but are not limited to: the construction and operation of blockchain infrastructure may not occur as currently planned, or at all; expansion may not materialize as currently anticipated, or at all; the digital currency market; the ability to successfully mine digital currency; revenue may not increase as currently anticipated, or at all; it may not be possible to profitably liquidate the current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on operations; an increase in network difficulty may have a significant negative impact on operations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the anticipated growth and sustainability of hydroelectricity for the purposes of cryptocurrency mining in the Province of Québec, the ability to complete current and future financings, any regulations or laws that will prevent Bitfarms from operating its business; historical prices of digital currencies and the ability to mine digital currencies that will be consistent with historical prices; an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of digital currencies, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains; and there will be no regulation or law that will prevent Bitfarms from operating its business. The Company has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of the Bitfarms normal course of business. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information other than as required by law. Contacts For corporate inquiries: Geoff Morphy gmorphy@bitfarms.com For media inquiries: Ellis Ballard ellis@yapglobal.com || Half the Professionals Surveyed in Anonymous Poll ‘Trust’ Crypto: A recent survey conducted byBlind, an anonymous professional network for tech professionals, found that 50% of professionals trust cryptocurrency and 57% currently own some.
The data was gathered from a survey of 1,800 respondents over the course of the last couple of days. Respondents included employees of Twitter, Amazon, JPMorgan and a variety of other companies.
The survey asked respondents whether they trust cryptocurrency, whether they own any and whether they would accept cryptocurrency as payment as part of their total compensation.
Related:BitGo Receives NYDFS Approval for New York Trust Charter
“The most surprising takeaway from this survey is that only half of survey respondents trust cryptocurrency,” said Fiorella Riccobono, who ran the survey and collected the data. “Given companies like Tesla, PayPal, Square, and Twitter have all shown their exposure tobitcoin, I expected their confidence to trickle into the tech industry and their respective employees more.”
Interestingly, employees of big banks seemed to trust crypto more than those in tech jobs.
For example, 90% of professionals at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and 70% of Goldman Sachs professionals say they trust cryptocurrency. This seemingly is in line with a renewed interest in cryptocurrencies by institutional investors during the currency bull run, including Goldman Sachsre-launching of its crypto trading deskon March 1 after a three-year hiatus. Comparably, only 52% of professionals at Amazon and 50% of Apple professionals trust cryptocurrency.
Read more:Amazon Managed Blockchain at Last Supports Ethereum, Ending a Two-Year Tease
Related:Colombia's First Commercial Bank to Pilot Crypto Services
Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said they would accept crypto as part of their total compensation, led by 80% of employees at Credit Karma, the credit monitoring company. Just 38% of employees at PayPal, a company that recently entered the crypto fray, said they would accept compensation in crypto.
While Riccobono was surprisedtrust in crypto wasn’t higher, other respondents employed by companies that have shown familiarity with crypto held bags. For example, 75% of Twitter professionals who responded to the survey own cryptocurrency, and 64% of the Bloomberg respondents said they did.
Read more:Tesla Invests $1.5B in Bitcoin, Plans to Accept Crypto Payments
Users of Blind can also share posts, or ask questions.A Facebook professional on Blind wrote, “Half my wealth in crypto[.] It’s the future of money, and you’ll probably do it too someday. Is it risky? Yes. But I am highly confident it will pay off.”
Meanwhile, anAmazon professional postedthat one of his or her concerns is that people who don’t understand blockchains generally don’t mentally separate blockchain utilization (e.g., cryptocurrency) from the underlying technology that makes everything possible (the blockchain itself).
“It’s concerning because if people don’t make that distinction, then the failure of one or more trending cryptos will cause people to mentally write off the benefits or the potential benefits of the underlying technology,” the anonymous professional wrote. “That’s why I’ve been looking at investing in currencies that exist on underlying systems that I think are scalable beyond simple payment ledgers.”
And asone professional at LinkedIn putit:
Just bought around 100K worth of bitcoin. YOLO. Bitcoin to the
According to Riccobono, Blind decided to run this survey because it is apparent that decentralized finance is likely to impact significantly how banks operate in the future.
“Users on Blind have begun to recognize the potential to shift the whole financial system at a macroeconomic level,” she said.
• Half the Professionals Surveyed in Anonymous Poll ‘Trust’ Crypto
• Half the Professionals Surveyed in Anonymous Poll ‘Trust’ Crypto || ECB's Lagarde calls for regulating Bitcoin's "funny business": FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde called on Wednesday for global regulation of Bitcoin, saying the digital currency had been used for money laundering activities in some instances and that any loopholes needed to be closed.
Bitcoin has come out of its niche in recent years and is now bought by ordinary people, investment funds and even large corporations. Some have even taken out loans to buy more of the cryptocurrency, whose value has increased almost tenfold since last March.
But its largely anonymous nature has raised concerns that it could be used for money laundering and other illegal activities.
"(Bitcoin) is a highly speculative asset, which has conducted some funny business and some interesting and totally reprehensible money laundering activity," Lagarde said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference.
Lagarde did not provide specific examples of money laundering cases but said she understood there had been criminal investigations into illegal activity. She did not elaborate.
The cryptocurrency sector is still mostly lightly overseen or unregulated, although global standards on areas such as anti-money laundering (AML) have emerged.
She joined a number of regulators from across the world in calling for implementing global rules for cryptocurrencies.
"There has to be regulation. This has to be applied and agreed upon ... at a global level because if there is an escape that escape will be used," Lagarde said.
For more coverage from the Reuters Next conference please click here or www.reuters.com/business/reuters-next
To watch Reuters Next live, visit https://www.reutersevents.com/events/next/register.php
(Reporting by Alessandra Galloni, Francesco Canepa and Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans) || Bitcoin Tops $40,000 for the First Time, Pushing the Value of the Worlds Cryptocurrency Over $1 Trillion: Theres never been a lack of skepticism surrounding cryptocurrency . And its fair to say the jury still wavers at times. But with 2021 just a week old, the worlds most polarizing and misunderstood currency is making a strong case for its staying power. On Thursday, the price of a single Bitcoin, the oldest virtual currency, topped $40,000 for the first time, according to Business Insider . The 12 percent increase on the day pushed the total value of Bitcoin to over $700 billion and all cryptocurrency to over $1 trillion for the very first time. More from Robb Report Crypto-Cat? This Sleek 52-Foot Sailing Catamaran Was Just Bought With Bitcoin 'Sitting This out Seems a Poor Option': Why Now Is the Best Time to Invest in Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin vs . Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Should You Invest In? The surge continued into Friday, with Bitcoin valued at over $41,000 as of press time. That means that value of Bitcoin has risen by over 400 percent over the last year. Interest in the virtual currency has been especially high over the last month, during which time its value has more than doubled. The interest has reportedly been driven by investors desire for an alternative asset not tied to a central bank, unlike the dollar or euro. Of course, that interest may or may not last. If nothing else, cryptocurrency has proven itself to be quite volatile in recent years. The value of Bitcoin, for example, crashed from $19,000 to $3,200 between 2017 and 2018. For now, the news is good. With a market cap of over $1 trillion, cryptocurrencies are now worth almost half as much as Apple, the worlds most valuable company, reports Business Insider. It also makes cryptocurrency more valuable than the entire Swiss economy. While the recent surge in Bitcoin value is great news investors, this is especially true for Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator of the virtual currency is believed to own one million Bitcoin. If true, Ars Technica reports that the investment would put his net worth at more than $40 billion. That would make him one of the 35 richest people in the world, according to the Bloombergs Billionaire Index . Bitcoin may be the currency that has most benefited from the recent surge in interest, but other virtual currencies have also seen their value rise as well. By the end of trading on Thursday, Ether, which is used by the Ethereum network, was valued at $140 billion Meanwhile, other notable currencies arent doing too shabby either. Tether is now worth $22 billion, Litecoin sits at $11 billion, and Bitcoin Cash checks in at $8 billion. Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter . For the latest news, follow us on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram . || The Crypto Daily – Movers and Shakers – January 13th, 2021: Bitcoin , BTC to USD, fell by 3.63% on Tuesday. Following on from a 7.31% slide on Monday, Bitcoin ended the day at $34,123.0. It was the 4 th consecutive day in the red. It was a mixed start to the day. Bitcoin slipped to an early morning low $33,762.0 before making a move. Steering clear of the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the first major support level at $31,270, Bitcoin struck a mid-morning intraday high $36,656.0. Falling short of the first major resistance level at $38,912, Bitcoin slid to an early afternoon intraday low $32,427. While steering clear of the first major support level, Bitcoin fell through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008. Late in the day, Bitcoin briefly revisited $35,500 levels before sliding back into the deep red. Despite of the late reversal, Bitcoin avoided a fall back through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008. The near-term bullish trend remained intact, in spite of the latest sell-off. For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $18,504 to form a near-term bearish trend. The Rest of the Pack Across the rest of the majors, it was a mixed day on Tuesday. Bitcoin Cash SV rallied by 10.22% to lead the day. Binance Coin (+0.12%), Cardano’s ADA (+4.89%), Crypto.com Coin (+5.88%), Polkadot (+4.45%), Ripple’s XRP (+1.66%) also found support. It was a bearish day for the rest of the majors, however Chainlink (-4.13%), Ethereum (-3.56%), and Litecoin (-4.28%) joined Bitcoin in the red. Early in the week, the crypto total market cap rose to a Monday high $1,040.51 before falling to a Monday low $804.33bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $888.48bn. Bitcoin’s dominance rose from a Monday low 68.39% to a Monday high 69.97%. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s dominance stood at 69.00%. This Morning At the time of writing, Bitcoin was down by 3.12% to $33,058.0. A bearish start to the day saw Bitcoin fall from an early morning high $34,105.0 to a low $32,931.0. While leaving the major support and resistance levels untested early on, Bitcoin fell through the 23.6% FIB of $33,008. Story continues Elsewhere, it was a mixed start to the day. Polkadot bucked the trend early on, rising by 0.69%, with Bitcoin Cash SV and Crypto.com Coin flat. It was a bearish start for the rest of the majors, however. At the time of writing, Ethereum was down by 3.65% to lead the way down. For the Bitcoin Day Ahead Bitcoin would need to move through the pivot level at $34,402 to bring the first major resistance level at $36,631 into play. Support from the broader market would be needed for Bitcoin to break out from $35,500 levels. Barring an extended crypto rally, first major resistance level and Tuesday’s high $36,656.0 would likely cap any upside. In the event of an extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could test resistance at $40,000 before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $38,631. Failure to move through the $34,402 pivot would bring the 23.6% FIB of $33,008 and the first major support level at $32,148 into play. Barring another extended crypto sell-off, Bitcoin should steer clear of sub-$30,000 levels. The second major support level at $30,173 should limit the downside. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – Pullback into 3735.00 Could Alleviate Some Pressure Natural Gas Price Forecast – Natural Gas Markets Gap Higher E-mini Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM) Futures Technical Analysis – Reaction to 30893 Sets Tone into Close E-mini NASDAQ-100 Index (NQ) Futures Technical Analysis – Strengthens Over 12946.25, Weakens Under 12808.00 Oil Tries To Settle Above The $53 Level Gold Price Prediction – Prices Consolidate as Inflation Trends Higher || Long-Term Netflix Bear Admits He Got These Key Things Wrong About The Company: Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter has been one of the most prominent long-term bears onNetflix Inc.’s(NASDAQ:NFLX) stock, despite the streaming video-on-demand company’s stellar run over the last decade.
While Pachter remains bearish on Netflix, he admitted in an interview with Bloomberg on Sunday that he made some key miscalculations when it comes to the SVOD company.
Subscription Growth:The Wedbush analyst said he never anticipated Netflix would hit 200 million subscribers, as it revealed in itslatest quarterly earnings report.
“I thought they were close to saturated in the U.S. Even this quarter, 850,000 more is impressive. They just keep adding people,” Pachter told Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw.
Ability To Upend Cable:The Wedbush analyst thought cable companies would put up a bigger fight than they eventually did.
Viacom, A&E Network, CBS, and NBCUniversal —instead of keeping Netflix as far away from their programming as possible — gave in to the checks in exchange for licensing their content, giving Netflix the initial run, as per Pachter.
Once Netflix’s streaming service began chipping away at the market share of cable companies, the latter responded by launching their own streaming services, further undercutting cable.
Original Content:Pachter noted that Netflix has managed to churn out decent original content against his expectations. “At $14, you’re not getting ripped off,” according to the analyst.
“They turned positive free cash flow and didn’t lose anybody. They grew revenue and had the astute move of raising prices during all this,” Pachter told Bloomberg. “Suddenly, they are much healthier than I thought.”
See Also:Netflix Is Now A Free Cash Flow Story: Analysts React To Q4 Earnings
Why Is Pachter Still Bearish?The analyst said he still doesn’t see how Netflix can possibly reach the goal of 600 million subscribers. “There’s just not that many people that can subscribe to Netflix,” as per Pachter.
Under the Wedbush analyst’s valuation model, Netflix would need to raise its service’s price by $5 and double its user base to meet his free cash flow target.
Price Action:Netflix shares closed 2.5% lower at $565.17 on Friday.
Latest Ratings for NFLX
[{"Jan 2021": "Jan 2021", "DZ Bank": "Pivotal Research", "Upgrades": "Maintains", "Hold": "", "Buy": "Buy"}, {"Jan 2021": "Jan 2021", "DZ Bank": "Morgan Stanley", "Upgrades": "Maintains", "Hold": "", "Buy": "Overweight"}]
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© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin surges as Tesla invests $1.5bn: WATCH: Tesla buys $1.5bn of bitcoin Bitcoins ( BTC-USD ) price hit a new record Monday, surging almost 16% in the afternoon and crossing $44,000, amid news that Tesla ( TSLA ) invested $1.5bn (£1.1bn) in the cryptocurrency, and may even start accepting it as payment for its products. In a filing with the SEC, Tesla said it has invested an aggregate $1.5bn in bitcoin, and may acquire and hold digital assets from time to time or long-term. It added that it expects to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for [its] products in the near future, subject to applicable laws and initially on a limited basis, which [it] may or may not liquidate upon receipt. Bitcoin hit new records on Monday, crossing $44,000. Chart: Yahoo Finance Simon Peters, cryptoasset analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro, noted that if there were any doubters as to the mainstream acceptance of bitcoin, this surely must mark the end of any scepticism. Multiple other brands already accept bitcoin as payment, and we would imagine that, in time, other major companies will follow Tesla's example. The world is moving online more and more and bitcoin sits at the heart of online transactions, and with this kind of endorsement from a multi-billion dollar company, it's likely the price will hit $50,000 by the end of the week, he added. A note by Wedbush Securities said the move by Tesla could be a potential game changing move for the use of bitcoin from a transactional perspective. Previously, tweets by Tesla CEO Elon Musk have fuelled the bitcoin price. The move highlights the power that Elon Musk has in shaping price action and moving markets. Hes now putting his money (shareholders) where his mouth is, noted Neil WIlson, chief market analyst for Markets.com. WATCH: What is bitcoin? However, he added that given Musks comments in support of bitcoin and adding #Bitcoin to his Twitter bio on 29 January raises a real question about possible market manipulation. Musks tweeting record is chequered to say the least and he has had his knuckles rapped by the SEC in the past. Story continues READ MORE : Bitcoin retains its pull as 60% of investors plan to buy in 2021 He said that the move will also raise questions for fund managers who may not want to invest in a company with this kind of risk on its balance sheet we know bitcoin is very volatile this is normal FX risk x100. Tesla is now starting to take on big FX risk this may not worry a lot of investors, but some conservative types might be concerned. Meanwhile, the price of dogecoin ( DOGE-USD ) has also surged in recent weeks after Musk began tweeting about it . The rise has coincided with a surge of populism in financial markets around the world. Dogecoin hit a new all-time high on Sunday night , as celebrity attention including by Musk continued to buoy up the price of the joke token. A survey published last week showed almost two-thirds of UK investors intend to buy bitcoin in 2021 and well over half expect its value to increase to $60,000 (£43,000). WATCH: What are the risks of investing in cryptocurrency? || Why We Should Take Dogecoin Seriously: Nothing says 2021 like dogecoin, a dog-themed cryptocurrency that has recentlyskyrocketed in value,thanks in part to the support of Elon Musk and other celebrities. For a time it was the10th largestcryptocurrency. Dogecoin finished 2020 at less than half a penny per DOGE, according toCoinDesk’s dogecoin price index. It now trades at or above 5 cents, putting its year-to-date returns at around 1,000%.
It may be tempting to write this off as a speculative frenzy or just a fluke, but that would be missing the larger picture. We should take note of dogecoin’s rise, if only because it reflects some of the key tensions of this moment in time.
Emily Parker is CoinDesk’s Global Macro Editor.
Related:Libra Co-Creator's VC Firm Co-Leads $12M Round in ‘Decentralized GitHub’
Here are just a few things that dogecoin mania says about the world we live in now.
Dogecoin is literally named after a dog, and is represented by a Shiba Inu. The rapper Snoop Dogg recently rebranded himself asSnoop Doge. If this all sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is. Dogecoin’s creators fully intended it for it to be a joke, and absurdity is baked into its verydesign.
Today, some of the more serious people in the not-always-serious crypto industry are annoyed by dogecoin’s prominence. They have spent years trying to convince people that cryptocurrency has real technology behind it, even if no one outside of the industry had the slightest idea how it worked. And now,finally,the world is paying attention. Almost every day there seems to be another brand name trying to get in on the action. PayPal. Tesla. Mastercard. Harvard. Morgan Stanley. America’s oldest bank (BNY Mellon). The list goes on, andbitcoin’s price has responded accordingly, passing $50,000 this week.
See also: Michael Casey –Money Reimagined: Memes Mean Money
Related:First Mover: Who ISN'T Dabbling as Bitcoin Passes $52K, Ether Tops $1,900
But now, you have this punchline of a coin taking up some of the spotlight that bitcoin worked so hard to obtain. What kind of message does that send to the non-crypto world?
It sends a message that we should already know: What once seemed absurd to many can become dead serious. Before 2016, much of the world saw Donald Trump as an outrageous reality TV star who had no chance of winning the U.S. presidency. They saw him as a joke, and many still do. But he still held the most powerful position in the world for four full years.
This is obviously not a perfect comparison, and the point isn’t to liken dogecoin to Trump. It’s simply to say that dogecoin “joked” its way to a roughly $7 billion market cap, and that’s real money. It also means that if DOGE mania bursts, some people are going to face some very real losses.
How does this happen? How does something that seems patently absurd become undeniably real? It’s in part because reality seems to be increasingly shaped by collective belief, rather than underlying facts.
This collective belief can prevail over more practical concerns.Until recently, Dogecoin was essentially abandoned by developers, with its last major software release happening two years ago. Others have pointed out that itlacks its own miners, which makes it vulnerable to attack. Critics will say the recent DOGE boom is driven entirely by speculation, rather than fundamental value.
Dogecoin is asentiment-drivenasset. But lately, a lot of things feel that way. Value is created by crowd sentiment and powered by the rocket fuel of social media. The most obvious example is GameStop, where Redditers joined forces to drive up the price of a heavily shorted stock. A more recent example is MarsCoin,which shot up over 1,000%after Musk mentioned it on Twitter.
What’s different now is that social media can translate collective belief into collective action at an unprecedented pace and scale.
Teenagers rise to dizzying levels of fame on TikTok, buoyed by the collective support of fans and the app’s mysterious algorithm. Do those seconds-long videos deserve global acclaim? Are these people deserving of fame? Maybe not, but it also doesn’t really matter. Some are becoming millionaires. This may be harmless, but less so are internet-driven conspiracy theories that don’t have to be based in fact to have real-world consequences. People just have to believe they are true.
Collective belief has always been a powerful force, but it can’t move markets on its own. What’s different now is that social media can translate collective belief into collective action at an unprecedented pace and scale. Celebrities like Musk have been able to leverage their massive fan bases to drive people to make concrete moves like purchasing DOGE and driving up its price.
The idea of collective belief is at the heart of money, and thus of crypto culture. Without a shared belief in its value, fiat currency would be little more than paper and metal. But while central governments can print money and have an impact on price, bitcoin is meant to be independent of that system. Bitcoin’s price, to put it simply, is determined by the amount that people are willing to pay for it. In the early days, that was only a few cents. Now, it’s reached over $50,000.
Dogecoin represents an ideal of what cryptocurrency was supposed to be. It is truly weird, and lives outside of the financial system. Its founders have effectively left the scene, leaving it to community rule. Big banks want nothing to do with it. It seems safe to say that it will be a while before we see a major headline featuring both Goldman Sachs and dogecoin.
Bitcoin has clearly grown up, and is gaining the respect of more traditional players. That’s good for mainstream adoption, and perhaps for the industry as a whole. But bitcoin’s maturation has also come with a degree of centralization – outsized influence is enjoyed by big investors (known as whales), as well as certain mining pools and exchanges.
See also: Michael Casey –Money Reimagined: Narratives Wall Street Can’t Control
Musk is a well-known fan of bitcoin and has suggested that dogecoin should become the“people’s crypto”– i.e., a democratic form of money. This taps into the zeitgeist we saw in the GameStop frenzy, which was an assertion of strength by retail investors over big hedge funds. But is GameStop, as entertaining as it may have been to watch, really going to alter the balance of power in the financial world?
Democratization of finance is hard to achieve. So it should come as little surprise that Dogecoin isn’t that decentralized after all. Musk recently pointed out that Dogecoin’s wealth is tooconcentrated.This claim was backed byCoin Metrics,which noted that the top 100 DOGE addresses hold 68% of its total supply, compared to 13.7% for bitcoin.Put another way, the top 1% of DOGE addresses have 94% of total supply.
Musk has tried to address this problem byurgingbig DOGE holders to sell, even offering to pay money for them to void their accounts. But it’s hard to escape the irony here. An unfathomably rich man pumped DOGE’s price and then complained about a concentration of power, which he offered to fix himself.
Dogecoin should be taken seriously, if not literally. Its rise is highlighting tensions that aren’t going away anytime soon. We should pay attention to them. Otherwise, the joke’s on us.
• Why We Should Take Dogecoin Seriously
• Why We Should Take Dogecoin Seriously || You don't have to trade GameStop, SPACs, or Bitcoin for big returns: A version of this article first appeared in the Morning Brief. Get the Morning Brief sent directly to your inbox every Monday to Friday by 6:30 a.m. ET.Subscribe
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
FromGameStop(GME) toBitcoin(BTC-USD) toSPACsand everything in between, it'shard to keep track ofall the wild market moving headlines that have crossed in 2021 so far.
But amid this backdrop, there's another massive story: the stock market continues to climb to new highs.
On Friday, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed ata record high of 3,934. Year-to-date, that's an impressive 4.7% gain. The market has already blown past theyear-end targets of a handful of Wall Street strategists, and we're only halfway through February.
This comes asearnings smash expectationsand theprospect for further earnings growth is robust.
"While investors continue to debate how soon business activity will return to 'normal,' the 4Q 2020 earnings season surprisingly revealed that S&P 500 profits have already surpassed their pre-pandemic level," Goldman Sachs' David Kostin wrote on Friday. "65% of S&P 500 firms reported EPS more than a standard deviation above consensus, ranking just behind 3Q 2020 as the best quarter in at least 23 years."
Kostin also raised his estimate for S&P 500 2021 earnings per share (EPS) to $181. This marks hissecond revisionsince unveiling his 2021 targetsjust three months ago. And he isn't alone. Kostin notes consensus estimates for S&P 500 EPS in 2021 "have jumped by $5 in the last few weeks as strong 4Q results have led to positive earnings revisions in 10 of 11 sectors."
And he thinksthe good newscould keep coming.
"With the market already expecting a strong rebound, what is the next upside catalyst for US equities? One possible answer is fiscal stimulus," Kostin said. "[Last] week our economists lifted their expectations for near-term fiscal stimulus to $1.5 trillion. They also revised their forecast for 2021 US real GDP growth to 6.8%, including an 11% annualized rate in 2Q."
Though he notes some parts of the stock market will fare better than others from stimulus.
"If every dollar of the estimated $1.5 trillion package were added to corporate revenues, S&P 500 earnings would rise by about 4%, but this likely overstates the actual eventual impact," Kostin said. "The industry composition of the S&P 500 means index EPS gains will be less than the stimulus-enhanced economic recovery. In contrast, the economic sensitivity of small-caps helps explain why the Russell 2000 has risen by 16% YTD."
Nevertheless, earnings seem to be telling us we'reearly cycle.
Sure, GameStop, Bitcoin and SPACs are all assets making traders mountains of money. But while some may bedesperate for better returns, being broadly diversified (e.g. investing in an S&P 500 index fund) continues to be a winning strategy.
BySam Ro, managing editor. Follow him at@SamRo
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For tutorials and information on investing and trading stocks, check out Cashay || Advisors Warming Up To Bitcoin: Fear of missing out is a real thing. Look no further than the bitcoin market.
Almost 10% of advisors today are allocating to bitcoin, according to a survey released this week from Bitwise and ETF Trends. That, at face value, may not sound like much, but that number represents roughly a 50% growth in the number of advisors investing in the cryptocurrency versus just a year ago.
What’s more, the survey, which reached 1,000 financial advisors, found that almost 20% of advisors who have not jumped into bitcoin yet are most likely doing so this year. And about 76% of advisors think that more than a third of their clients are already investing in the cryptocurrency “outside of their advisory relationship.”
‘Reputational Risk’
As one analyst put it at a (virtual) industry event earlier this year, advisors may be finding that the “reputational risk” of missing out on the opportunity in bitcoin is now greater than the risk of getting the bet wrong. Bitwise’s survey would seem to suggest that might very well be true, as investors demand access for bitcoin, and they wait for no one to get it.
So far, the demand for bitcoin has found its way into the cryptocurrency directly, which can be bought through a brokerage account.
It has also landed in funds such as the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW), which owns 10 different cryptocurrencies, and has bitcoin leading the mix with about 80% of the portfolio; and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), which is a physical bitcoin trust.
These portfolios, each costing 2% in fees, often find themselves battling large premiums because they behave almost like closed-end funds, meaning investors pay more for a share than the underlying is worth.
The ETF Dream
For now, they’re as good as access gets for those looking to invest in bitcoin through a fund. But imagine seeing an ETF tackle these inefficiencies through the creation/redemption mechanism, while lowering costs and fees, and democratizing access as the wrapper is known to do.
It wasn’t that long ago that there were as many as nine bitcoin ETFs in SEC registration. It was a mad race to be first—a race that ended in aresounding “no” from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which must approve any ETF. The SEC has yet to thaw on the subject of bitcoin.
But that could change. Yes, we’ve been saying that for almost five years, only to have our hopes dashed by regulators, but that’s what many are hoping for in 2021.
Van Eck Reenters Race
At least one ETF issuer turned down by the SEC in late 2018 is already back with another proposed bitcoin ETF in registration.
TheVanEck Bitcoin Trust, detailed in late December, will hold bitcoin, custodied in cold storage, and determine pricing based on the MVIS CryptoCompare Bitcoin Benchmark Rate, which takes into account prices across five different bitcoin exchanges, according to the prospectus. Included here are Bitstamp, Coinbase, Gemini, itBit and Kraken.
If approved, VanEck’s trust would be the first ETF to access the space. VanEck hasn’t disclosed planned fees, but most expect the ETF to cost notably less than the 2% price tag on BITW and GBTC.
Speculative Money
There are plenty of naysayers about the opportunity in bitcoin, and more broadly, in cryptocurrencies. Some say the action in the bitcoin is still mostly speculative money making waves in an unregulated market. They could be right. This could be the opportunity of a lifetime, or the biggest regret in recent memory. Who knows?
What we do know is that, as this survey shows, financial advisors are increasingly adopting bitcoin into portfolios, and for reasons that have nothing to do with speculation.
What’s been driving demand for bitcoin among advisors is a growing concern about inflation hedging and diversification—the need for uncorrelated return streams. There’s also concern about the outlook for the U.S. dollar in the face of a ballooning U.S. balance sheet, and of course, some FOMO.
Remember that financial advisors are expected to pursue what's best suited to investor goals, but registered financial advisors are fiduciaries, and many have jumped into bitcoin as they fulfill that role. That’s no trivial fact.
Cinthia Murphy atcmurphy@etf.com
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Permalink| © Copyright 2021ETF.com.All rights reserved
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
None available.
|
Trend: up || Prices: 51206.69, 52246.52, 54824.12, 56008.55, 57805.12, 57332.09, 61243.09, 59302.32, 55907.20, 56804.90
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
Here's Why Ripple Is Up 14% Today: Cryptocurrencies are generally performing well on Monday, with nine of the top 10 by market capitalization in positive territory. After a solid weekend of gains, leading digital currency bitcoin (BTC-USD) is trading for more than $11,500 and is roughly 13% higher than it was a week ago.
However, Ripple (XRP-USD), the third-largest cryptocurrency, is the day's standout. Up by about 14% today, there are renewed rumors that Ripple could finally be listed on the leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange soon. Here's a rundown of today's cryptocurrency price action, where the Ripple rumors came from, and what it could mean for the currency.
Image source: Getty Images.
Here's a look at the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and how much each has changed over the past 24 hours.
[{"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin (BTC)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$11,510.00", "Day's Change": "3.2%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ethereum (ETH)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$858.96", "Day's Change": "0.5%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ripple (XRP)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1.05", "Day's Change": "13.6%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin Cash (BCH)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1,273.70", "Day's Change": "2.3%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Litecoin (LTC)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$212.90", "Day's Change": "2%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Cardano (ADA)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.30", "Day's Change": "5.2%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "NEO (NEO)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$118.25", "Day's Change": "(5%)"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Stellar (XLM)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.38", "Day's Change": "7.9%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "EOS (EOS)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$8.07", "Day's Change": "3.5%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Monero (XMR)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$366.18", "Day's Change": "5.5%"}]
Data Source: www.investing.com. Prices and daily changes as of March 5, 2018 at 11 a.m. EST, and prices are rounded to the nearest cent where appropriate.
If you create an account on leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, there are currently four digital currencies available to you -- bitcoin (BTC-USD), Ethereum, bitcoin cash, and Litecoin. Of the five largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Ripple (XRP-USD) is the only one that isn't available on the platform.
Therefore, if you want to trade Ripple (or any other cryptocurrency aside from the four I mentioned), it can be difficult to do so directly, especially for U.S.-based investors. You generally have to buy bitcoin (BTC-USD), Ethereum, or another cryptocurrency offered by U.S. dollar-based exchanges, and then transfer it to another exchange where it can be traded for a wider assortment of cryptocurrencies.
This isn't the first time these rumors have been circulating. There has been speculation that Coinbase would integrate Ripple (XRP-USD) since the currency begangaining mainstream tractionlast year.
However, there's a good reason for the renewed speculation. Ripple's CEO Brad Garlinghouse is set to appear on CNBC's Fast Money on Tuesday -- and so is Coinbase President Asiff Hirji. Two other cryptocurrency executives are also set to appear on the show.
There's been no confirmation of any announcement set to take place, and it's entirely possible that the two are simply scheduled to discuss cryptocurrencies in general. However, the addition of Ripple to the Coinbase platform could be a big boost to the digital currency's mainstream interest.
Ripple has arguably done the best job of any cryptocurrency (bitcoin included) when it comes to gaining real-world momentum, such as withits partnershipswith companies likeAmerican Express,Santander, andMoneyGram International, so it's no surprise that it has gotten lots of investor interest. Listing on the Coinbase exchange would make it far more accessible as well, and could certainly be a positive catalyst for the price.
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Matthew Frankelowns shares of American Express and owns Ethereum and Litecoin tokens. The Motley Fool recommends American Express and has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Billionaire George Soros is reportedly getting ready to dive into crypto: George Soros Mike Coppola/Getty Images George Soros' investment business, Soros Fund Management is set to invest in cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg. Adam Fisher, who oversees global macroeconomic investing for the fund, has gained internal approval to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies. George Soros himself described cryptocurrencies as a "typical bubble," back in January. The investment fund founded by billionaire George Soros is preparing to dive into cryptocurrency trading, even though Soros himself previously described them as a "bubble," according to reports. Adam Fisher, who oversees global macroeconomic investing for Soros Fund Management, has gained internal approval to invest in and trade cryptocurrencies, according to Bloomberg, which said he hadn't yet made any bets on the digital coins. The move comes despite Soros' apparent distaste for cryptocurrencies as an investment. Earlier this year, at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Soros called cryptocurrencies a "typical bubble which is always based on some kind of misunderstanding." He added: "Bitcoin is not a currency. A currency is supposed to be a stable store of value. And a currency that can fluctuate twenty five percent in a day cant be used, for instance, to pay wages because wages could drop twenty five percent in a day. So, its a speculation based on a misunderstanding." Soros is no longer involved in the day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management, so is unlikely to have been directly involved in the firm's decision to trade crypto. The fund, which started in 1969, is perhaps most famous for its massive bets against the British pound just before the Black Wednesday crisis in 1992 when the UK dropped out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The bets, which helped crash the currency, earned Soros the nickname "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England." Story continues Soros Fund Management is currently in charge of about $26 billion of assets. A spokesman for the fund declined to comment to Bloomberg. NOW WATCH: There's only one thing that can rescue stocks from a trade war disaster See Also: Bitcoin had its worst start to a year ever Here's how much cryptocurrency scammers are making by ripping off 'greedy' investors Bitcoin Foundation cofounder: Crypto isn't in a bubble 'bitcoin is the pin that's going to pop the bubble' SEE ALSO: 'The survival of our entire civilization is at stake': Billionaire George Soros issues a stark warning to the global elite at Davos || Here's Why Bitcoin Is Up 11% Today: After starting April with a dismal performance, bitcoin (BTC-USD) is soaring on Thursday, with the leading digital currency up by nearly 11% as of 9:00 a.m. EDT. Other major cryptocurrencies are following suit, with all of the 10 largest cryptocurrencies in the green and eight of them up by double digits.
While today's price action is likely the result of a few factors, here's a rundown of where the cryptocurrency market stands today and what could be causing the upward momentum.
Image source: Getty Images.
Here's a look at the 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and how much each has changed over the past 24 hours.
[{"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin (BTC)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$7,704.70", "Day's Change": "11%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ethereum (ETH)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$463.12", "Day's Change": "10.4%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Ripple (XRP)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.57", "Day's Change": "12%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Bitcoin Cash (BCH)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$710.50", "Day's Change": "8.6%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "EOS (EOS)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$9.20", "Day's Change": "27.3%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Litecoin (LTC)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$122.10", "Day's Change": "7.4%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Cardano (ADA)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.20", "Day's Change": "22.3%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "Stellar (XLM)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$0.23", "Day's Change": "12.2%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "NEO (NEO)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$61.75", "Day's Change": "13.4%"}, {"Cryptocurrency Name (Code)": "IOTA (MIOTA)", "Price in U.S. Dollars": "$1.19", "Day's Change": "14.5%"}]
Data source: www.investing.com. Prices and daily changes as of April 12, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. EDT, and prices are rounded to the nearest cent where appropriate.
Earlier this week, I wrote an article about how cryptocurrency investors who have profited from sales of their coinsmay owe the IRSmore than they are capable of paying with cash they have on hand. So, it was fair to assume that as the April 17 tax deadline approaches, there could be selling pressure as cryptocurrency investors sell some of their digital currency holdings in order to cover their tax bills. In fact, this could be a big reason for bitcoin's slow start to April.
However, I also mentioned in the article that it generally taxes a few days to convert cryptocurrency profits into usable cash in a checking or savings account. Since there are only a couple of weekdays left until Tax Day, it's possible that the peak of this tax selling is now behind us.
Another possible factor in bitcoin's (BTC-USD) sudden jump is a short squeeze, brought on by a wave of traderscovering their short positions. Until recently, short squeezes in bitcoin weren't a major concern. However, with this year's rollout ofbitcoin futures, traders have the ability to bet against bitcoin. And although there aren't futures for the alt-coins in the chart, bitcoin's momentum could certainly be fueling the surge in the entire cryptocurrency market.
If you're not familiar with the concept of a short squeeze, here's a simplified explanation.
Let's say that you short-sell 100 shares of a stock currently trading for $100, so you're hoping to profit as the price falls. Instead, the stock price jumps up to $110, meaning that you're $1,000 in the red. So, you decide to cut your losses and cover your short by buying shares. As this happens, it creates additional demand for the stock, and has the effect of adding to the upward pressure. And if the stock price gets high enough, traders can be forced to cover their positions, even if they don't want to.
Short squeezes are generally characterized by sharp, rapid moves, which is exactly what we saw in bitcoin Thursday morning. In fact, most of bitcoin's gain occurred in a span of just a few minutes around 7:00 a.m. EDT. It's entirely possible that some buyers came into the market, and as the price climbed, short covering kept the upward trajectory alive.
CNBC contributor Brian Kelly thinks that this is exactly what happened. "Once [bitcoin] broke higher, shorts were squeezed and forced to cover," he said.
It remains to be seen whether buyers are coming back into bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptocurrencies or if Thursday morning's price action is just a quick rebound and nothing more. After all, while short squeezes tend to be over quickly, if tax selling is truly coming to an end as several analysts are suggesting, it could mean a sustainable change in the supply/demand dynamics.
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Matt Frankelowns Ethereum and Litecoin tokens. The Motley Fool has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Zagat Sale Is Latest Sign of Alphabet's Aimlessness: Zagat was once the first name in restaurant reviews. Restaurants angled for a spot in the pocket-sized guide, and any diner worth their salt had one on his or her shelf. Perhaps it made sense, then, that Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) , which considers its mission to organize the world's information, acquired the company in 2011 for $151 million. It's what's happened since then that's harder to understand. Last week, Alphabet sold the review brand to the Infatuation for an undisclosed amount, but it probably wasn't much more than peanuts. The search giant's sordid odyssey is the latest reminder that the company struggles when it tries to expand past search and advertising, and that its acquisition strategy is often misguided. Several people eating a variety of food at a restaurant table. Image source: Getty Images. A melange of mismanagement The Zagat acquisition was spearheaded by Marissa Mayer. In 2011, she was the Google executive in charge of maps and saw the restaurant guide as a value-add for her division. However, Mayer left in 2012 to head up Yahoo, and Zagat seemed to spiral into irrelevance. Its app release in 2013 was dismissed by critics for a poor interface and moving away from the brand's historical strength in reviews, and Alphabet ultimately ended up favoring its own recommendations over Zagat's. The search leader never gave Zagat sufficient resources and harvested what talent stayed at Zagat over the years. It also made poor strategic decisions, and last year, didn't release a guide. Given how low the brand has fallen, a sale may have been the only way to save it. For years, Alphabet has angled for a piece of the recommendations business, offering to buy Yelp for $500 million in 2009 and Groupon for $6 billion in 2010. Alphabet can be glad that the latter was rejected, as Groupon is worth just $2.5 billion today. These struggles underscore the other problems the company has had in trying to move beyond its core search business. Other acquisitions also have disappointed. Story continues In 2014, Alphabet acquired Nest for $3.2 billion, which seemed like an excellent play for the smart-home market, but two years after the acquisition, Nest's CEO was forced out and the company delivered little in the way of innovation. Today, Amazon , with its voice-activated Alexa technology, is widely considered to be a leader in the smart-home market and looks set to extend its lead with its recent acquisition of smart-doorbell-maker Ring. Alphabet acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in 2012, and then sold it to Lenovo for $2.9 billion in 2014 because the tech giant was unable to turn the handset brand into the foundation of its own smartphone business. In search of a strategy Alphabet's search business is so profitable that the company can afford to spend billions of dollars on "other bets," which include its Waymo autonomous-vehicle division, Nest, Google X, Google Fiber, and others. However, unlike its peers, the company seems to have no coherent strategy uniting its various business experiments and divisions. Amazon has cleverly tied together disparate businesses with its Prime loyalty program, and almost every one of the company's inventions seems designed to make ordering on its website easier. Its cloud-computing division has been so profitable that it needs no justification. Facebook has built a fortress in social media with the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, which offer ample opportunities for monetization, in addition to its namesake site. And Apple is trying to leverage its installed base of over 1 billion devices into services revenues and extract more profits from higher-priced iPhones. Even Microsoft is clearly focused on the office and the enterprise market with its cloud investments and other moves like the acquisition of Linkedin. Alphabet's "other bets," on the other hand, don't seem to have a unifying strategy. Excess cash from its lucrative search business could be better spent paying a dividend or buying back more stock. Like Apple and Microsoft, the company is approaching maturity, and investors would be better served by disciplined capital allocation rather than seemingly random experiments. More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten is an employee of LinkedIn and is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft. Jeremy Bowman owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Facebook. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Why SunPower Corporation Shares Popped 17% Today: What happened Shares of SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWR) jumped as much as 16.8% in trading Wednesday after the solar manufacturer announced the acquisition of SolarWorld Americas' operations. Shares settled a bit by midday, but were still up 10% as of 12:25 p.m. EDT. So what The main asset SunPower is buying is the Hillsboro, Oregon, manufacturing facility, which has 430 megawatts (MW) of solar cell capacity and 550 MW of solar panel manufacturing capacity. The company will restart existing manufacturing lines and sell legacy products in the U.S., but it will also install P-Series manufacturing equipment, which takes commodity solar cells and stacks them like shingles to create a solar panel that's more efficient than traditional manufacturing methods. It's the P-Series product that SunPower will likely sell to utility customers in the U.S. Utility-scale solar installation in a field. Image source: SunPower. There weren't a lot of details in the acquisition announcement, so we don't know the purchase price or how much capacity SunPower plans to add to the existing facility. But the fact that SunPower is making a big move to acquire U.S. manufacturing capacity to become the largest solar manufacturer in the U.S. is major news for the company. Now what Until we know more, it's hard to gauge the impact this deal will have on SunPower's bottom line. SolarWorld's facility went through bankruptcy last year, so SunPower may have to make changes to lower the cost structure to make solar panels from the facility competitive in today's market. Solar tariffs on competing products will help make the economics better than they were last year , but we don't know exactly how much of an effect the Oregon facility will have on SunPower's finances. Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about these expansion plans, but want to know management's full plan for U.S. operations before buying into this as a game-changer for SunPower in the long term. Story continues More From The Motley Fool 3 Growth Stocks at Deep-Value Prices 5 Expected Social Security Changes in 2018 6 Years Later, 6 Charts That Show How Far Apple, Inc. Has Come Since Steve Jobs' Passing 10 Best Stocks to Buy Today The $16,122 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss Bitcoin's Biggest Competitor Isn't Ethereum -- It's This Travis Hoium owns shares of SunPower. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . || Roku Is Taking the Right Steps: Roku(NASDAQ: ROKU)says selling media players is not its end game, but rather part of a strategic play to make it a competitive alternative to other streaming media services. The appearance of theRoku Channel on smart TVs made bySamsung(NASDAQOTH: SSNLF)is the first manifestation of this grand design for growth.
Because this is but one of a number of catalysts that could bolster Roku's fortunes, investors may want to seriously consider investing in this beaten-down media company.
Image source: Getty Images.
Until Roku's recent announcement of its partnership with Samsung, the only way someone could view the Roku Channel was to have one of its streaming boxes. While the boxes allow users to watch video from any number of platforms, includingNetflix(NASDAQ: NFLX),Amazon.com(NASDAQ: AMZN), HBO Go, Hulu, and others, their ability to keep Roku growing is limited. The hardware side of the business is merely a means to an end, not the end itself. The real goal is account growth.
Although Roku currently makes most of its revenue from hardware sales, amounting to $102.8 million in the fourth quarter, or 55% of the total, its ad-supported video platform is more profitable. Roku generated just $9.8 million in gross profit from device sales, for gross margin of 9.5%, but made $63.7 million from its platform, or 74.6% in gross margin.
That's why Roku said in its quarterly earnings press release: "Our primary focus in selling players is to increase active accounts; we are not focused on maximizing hardware revenue and hardware gross profit."
At the end of the fourth quarter, Roku had 19.3 million active user accounts who streamed 4.3 billion hours of content in the quarter, up from 16.7 million accounts at the end of the third quarter and 13.4 million a year ago. Hours of video streamed has risen 55% over the past year.
That, of course, was all from within its own device ecosystem. Expanding beyond its own branded hardware to Samsung smart TVs should help accelerate account growth and content streamed, as will moving onto other systems and platforms. None has been announced yet, but we're likely to see more such announcements.
Last August, market analysts at Parks Associates found that more than any other streaming media device -- including those from Amazon,Apple, and Google -- Roku was the leading brand and had increased its market share with 37% of the installed base, up from one-third in the year-ago quarter. Amazon was the only other provider that saw its share rise in the period studied, from 16% to 24%.
Image source: Roku.
There's now a Roku device to meet every consumer price point across the spectrum, from high-end players to portable "sticks" similar to Amazon's Fire TV Stick or Google's Chromecast. And Roku is using them as a loss leader of sorts to grow its accounts base. By bringing in as many people across as many devices as possible as cheaply as possible, the company can then get them onto its platform, where it can generate revenue and higher profits from its ad-supported content.
Platform revenue more than doubled last year and now accounts for 45% of the total. Roku notes that if it was a traditional "multichannel video programming distributor," fancy words for a company like a cable operator, it would be the third-largest distributor in the U.S. behindComcastandAT&T, and just ahead ofCharter Communications.
Although Roku is still generating losses at the moment -- some $63.5 million at the end of 2017 -- it's the future where the real opportunity is. Cord-cutting is resulting in an uptake in so-called "skinny" bundles, but add-on channels will have them grow increasingly fat until they look like a typical cable offering. Thus, it's in original content where the true driver lies for streaming services. Netflix and Amazon are budgeting billions of dollars toward such programming, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Roku eventually move in that direction as well.
Long before then, however, the Roku Channel will create an even stronger brand for the streaming company and give it a wider competitive moat. It also provides a way for its existing content partners to reach a broader audience and monetize their content, making them a willing partner in its expansion. Because a lot of the content is hidden within other apps on a Roku device, the Roku Channel helps bring them to the service and allow both Roku and the content-owner to monetize them.
That helps broaden the market Roku can address and will increase the amount of hours of content that's streamed, helping to increase its revenue per user even further. Last quarter average revenue per user jumped 48% to $13.78 and the greater availability could help that figure grow further.
The adoption of its services by more people who will watch more content causing platform revenue to rise should begin pushing Roku's shares higher, making its currently discounted stock a buy now.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Rich Dupreyhas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || There Are Nearly 50 Million Smart Speaker Users in the U.S.: The smart speaker market is booming, and this year will be aparticularly momentous oneas adoption accelerates. Tech giants continue to jump into the market and expand existing offerings while fine-tuning their voice-controlled virtual assistants. That has important implications beyond just the device manufacturers themselves, as smart speakers are turning into veritable computing platforms. Third-party services will have an opportunity thrive on those platforms, innovating entirely new revenue models.
There are now nearly 50 million smart speaker users in the U.S.
Image source: Amazon.
Voicebot has partnered with PullString and RAIN Agency to release a new report on the growing smart speaker market and related audience, detailing findings based on a national survey of 1,057 U.S. adult consumers. The report points out that smart speakers were the "number one gift during the 2017 holiday season," with 16% of respondents saying they either gave or received one as a present.
Approximately 20% of U.S. adults now have access to a smart speaker, which translates into 47.3 million U.S. users. Note that there's a distinction between smart speaker owners and users. Unlike mobile devices, smart speakers are stationary and can be accessed and used by anyone in the household, so some of the users the study refers to may be users that are not the primary owner.
On average, households contain 1.8 smart speakers, as consumers are increasingly starting to place smart speakers throughout the home in different rooms. About two-thirds of households only have a single smart speaker, 85% of households have one or two, and 15% of households have three or more. A little over 2% of households have five to 10 devices, and 1.7% of households just can't get enough and have more than 10 devices.
That's good news for manufacturers, as there is plenty of upside. Not only is there lots of room for growth in terms of first-time adopters, but also within the majority of households that only have one device. This is why it's becoming increasingly important to offer adiverse range of smart speakers that span various price points.
Of course, any discussion of smart speakers would be remiss if we don't talk about market leaderAmazon.com(NASDAQ: AMZN). WhileAlphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL)subsidiary Google is making a noticeable dent in the market, Amazon had a dominating 72% share of the installed base in 2017.
[{"Manufacturer": "Amazon", "Smart Speaker Market Share Installed Base 2017": "71.9%"}, {"Manufacturer": "Google", "Smart Speaker Market Share Installed Base 2017": "18.4%"}, {"Manufacturer": "Other", "Smart Speaker Market Share Installed Base 2017": "9.7%"}]
Data source: Voicebot.
Within "Other," Sonos was the leader, thanks in part to integrating Alexa in its products like the new Sonos One. That means Alexa's overall position is even stronger than just looking at Amazon-branded devices.
Better late than never,Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL)just officially jumped into the market last month with its (delayed) launch of the $350 HomePod. Rumors suggest that the Mac maker is working on a "HomePod Mini" that would be priced at a relatively more affordable $150 to $200. Apple will likely stay out of the low-end part of the market, despite unit growth being concentrated there.
Amazon's Echo Dot and Google's Home Mini, both aggressively priced around $50, are enjoying brisk sales and grabbed a combined 41% of the market last year, according to the report. Sales of Home Mini overtook the regular Google Home in just three months. It's hard to imagine Apple venturing that far down into the market.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.Evan Niu, CFAowns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || How to Trade Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin and Ethereum CFDs on the Forex Market: If you have any interest in trading and investment at all, it would be hard to miss that cryptocurrency trading is the hottest ticket in the market at the moment. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and many others have excited investors with the possibility of substantial profits and a completely new way of thinking about what a currency is and how it works. What Exactly is a Cryptocurrency? Oddly enough, the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, didnt start off to create a whole new way of thinking about currency, but as a technology to prevent the same amount of regular electronic cash being sent twice to two different people. The process of validating transactions to prevent this, via a system known as a blockchain , became known as mining, as those doing the validating received Bitcoins as a reward for validating traditional electronic transactions. These coins soon took on a value of their own, and have now become a trading juggernaut. What Do You Need to Know About Trading Cryptocurrency? Trading cryptocurrencies dont require any specialist knowledge, and in fact, its not all that different to trading in Forex, commodities or many other markets. Despite its unusual nature, crypto still rises and falls like any other market, and is still subject to predictable external factors in a way that gives you the opportunity to make substantial profits. Its especially easy to get into crypto with OctaFX because you can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin in MetaTrader 4 and 5, alongside Forex and commodities. You neednt rely on guesswork to predict which cryptocurrencies are worth investing in and which arent, as our free Trading Signals plugin offers detailed technical analysis and some of the best crypto price predictions in the market. octafx MT4 Low Costs and Buying Power A sensible approach to any sort of investment is to minimize initial outlay to maximize the potential for profit, especially one so volatile as investing in cryptocurrency. OctaFX will set you up well in this regard, by offering some of the lowest spreads in the business, and the opportunity to trade micro-lots as small as 0.01 lot, so you dont need a huge initial outlay to profit from Bitcoin, Litecoin or Ethereum. Story continues OctaFX will also provide you with added muscle for your crypto trades with free leverage to maximize your profit potential, and theres no commission to be paid for trading volume, and no deposit or withdrawal fees. Dont Miss the Perfect Moment When investing in something quite so volatile as a cryptocurrency, maximizing your profits relies on buying and selling with pinpoint accuracy, at the second the market offers the most potential. OctaFX will allow you to do this thanks to some of the fastest execution on the market. Buy and sell for the price you see, with no delays, and make deposits and withdrawals instantly. Both fiat currencies and Bitcoin are accepted, without commission or delay, and the process is smooth and completely straightforward. OctaFX also maintains an excellent record of minimizing slippage, with 97.5% of all orders completed without any slippage at all. How to Predict the Biggest Cryptocurrencies Price? So now youre fully briefed on trading cryptocurrencies, maybe youd like to know a bit more about the currencies themselves. Three of the biggest, most volatile and most exciting are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Bitcoin the Digital Gold Bitcoin is the first digital currency, created back in 2009. The main difference from traditional currencies (EUR, USD, JPY, etc) is that transactions are decentralized, highly secure, and whats more, completely private. Bitcoin is one of the most volatile, discussed and popular instruments among cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin trading mainly happens on news, for example, a bullish trend before Bitcoin forks (this is the separation of Bitcoin when cryptocurrency owners get part of a new crypto). A bearish trend is usually seen after news regarding the ban of Bitcoin in some countries (China, for example). Bitcoin can be easily predicted using technical analysis figures, making your trading more profitable. Bitcoin is the most profitable instrument for trading in USD. Right now, the leverage for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at OctaFX is set to 1:2, which is more than enough considering the high volatility of that instrument. Apart from that, you also can trade Bitcoin in micro lots (0.01) which allows planning your trading budget effectively. OctaFX sets the amount of 1 lot to 1 Bitcoin, which is comparatively low and requires less investment. Ethereum Invest in the Future Ethereum is the second most interesting instrument to trade in USD. Nowadays there are more and more ways to buy Ethereum for fiat without changing it into Bitcoins. That means that the price of Ethereum is now less dependent on the Bitcoin price compared to other cryptocurrencies. It can be considered an independent instrument. Ethereum is a system to support smart contract technologies to invest in the ICOs of new start-up companies. The more start-ups are interested in Ethereum the more expensive it becomes. To analyze the price of the Ethereum its wise to research how many ICO contracts are about to be issued in exchange for Ethereum. Compare results with existing data the more contracts, the higher the price. Its also good to pay attention to news about other cryptocurrencies supporting ICOs and competing with Ethereum. The most important competitors are Waves and Bitshares. Technical analysis figures work well with Ethereum too. Combining that information with the Ethereums volatility of the last few months, Ethereum can sometimes lead to more profit than with Bitcoin. Litecoin Crypto Silver Litecoin was first issued in 2011 and is quite similar to Bitcoin. If Bitcoin can be defined as the gold of todays cryptocurrencies, this makes Litecoin the silver. Litecoin provides secure and fast transactions inside the blockchain, with the ability to purchase goods on the internet. The main difference from Bitcoin (and the central benefit of Litecoin) is the capability of processing much higher volumes in one transaction. While Bitcoin can only have up to 21 million coins, Litecoin offers four times as many 84 million. The Litecoin price now greatly depends on Bitcoin. That makes it possible to use the Pairs trading strategy with Bitcoin as the main currency to successfully forecast Litecoin changes. One lot at OctaFX equals 100 Litecoin. Theres currently a lot of talk around cryptocurrencies some predict a fast rise and a dramatic fall, while others are confident that they are the currency of the future. Sounds interesting? You can keep reading the hottest news and best articles on cryptocurrency, but youll get much closer to understanding how it works by cryptocurrency trading . So what are you waiting for? Start getting profit from crypto right now! This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Natural Gas Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis AUD/USD Forex Technical Analysis Traders Still Probing Major Retracement Zone at .7818 to .7743 S&P 500 Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 27/03/18 Ethereum Price Forecast March 27, 2018, Technical Analysis GBP/USD Daily Fundamental Forecast March 27, 2018 || Better Stock: Square, Inc. (SQ) vs. Mastercard (MA): Square(NYSE: SQ)estimates that by 2025, worldwide credit and debit card payment volume will reach$45trillionannually. With the world becoming more digital every day -- and with 85% of global transactions still being made in cash -- this colossal market should only continue to grow for decades.
Square andMastercard(NYSE: MA)are two businesses that are poised to profit handsomely from this megatrend. But which is the better buy today?
As the world shifts away from cash and toward digital transactions, Mastercard and Square stand to benefit. Image source: Getty Images.
Let's take a look at some key metrics to see how these payment leaders stack up in regards to financial strength.
[{"Revenue": "Operating income", "$2.21 billion": "($54.21 million)", "$12.50 billion": "$6.62 billion"}, {"Revenue": "Net income", "$2.21 billion": "($62.81 million)", "$12.50 billion": "$3.92 billion"}, {"Revenue": "Operating cash flow", "$2.21 billion": "$127.71 million", "$12.50 billion": "$5.56 billion"}, {"Revenue": "Free cash flow", "$2.21 billion": "$101.61 million", "$12.50 billion": "$5.13 billion"}, {"Revenue": "Cash and investments", "$2.21 billion": "$866.05 million", "$12.50 billion": "$7.78 billion"}, {"Revenue": "Debt", "$2.21 billion": "$358.57 million", "$12.50 billion": "$5.42 billion"}]
Data source: Morningstar Company Filings.
Mastercard is a financial titan, with profit and cash flow that dwarf those of Square. And while Square is on solid financial footing with more than $500 million in net cash on its balance sheet, Mastercard's net cash currently checks in at more than $2.3 billion. Thus, this matchup is rather one-sided in regards to financial fortitude, with Mastercard the clear leader.
Advantage: Mastercard
Mastercard may be the more financially sound business at this point in time, but Square is growing much faster.
SQ Revenue (TTM)data byYCharts
Wall Street expects Square to grow its revenue by more than 33% in 2018 and 28% in 2019, while Mastercard's sales are anticipated to rise by about 16% and 12% during that same time. Moreover, analysts estimate that Square will increase its earnings per share at an incredible 87% annually over the next five years. Mastercard, meanwhile, is expected to grow its EPS by about 20% annually over the next half-decade.
With its recent past -- and, more importantly, expected future -- growth exceeding that of its larger rival, Square has the edge here.
Advantage: Square
No better-buy discussion should take place without a look at valuation. Let's now check out some key value metrics for Square and MasterCard, including price-to-sales, price-to-earnings (P/E), and price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratios.
[{"P/S": "Trailing P/E", "7.93": "N/A", "14.79": "48.17"}, {"P/S": "Forward P/E", "7.93": "60.23", "14.79": "24.94"}, {"P/S": "PEG", "7.93": "1.20", "14.79": "1.44"}]
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Mastercard's stock is more expensive on a price-to-sales basis, which is to be expected since it's the far more profitable business. On a forward P/E basis, however, Square is the much more expensive stock. But what I find most interesting is that Square's PEG ratio -- which factors in its significantly higher expected EPS growth rate -- is considerably lower than that of Mastercard. And so, rather surprisingly, I'm going to give Square the edge in terms of current valuation.
Advantage: Square
Mastercard and Square are both great options if you're looking for a way to profit from the surging growth of electronic payments. But with its stronger growth prospects and more attractively valued stock, Square is the better buy today.
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Joe Tenebrusohas no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Mastercard. The Motley Fool owns shares of Square. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. || Marvell (MRVL) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Up Y/Y: Keeping its earnings streak alive, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. MRVL reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results. Quarterly revenues and earnings not only came ahead of the mid-point of the company’s guided ranges but also beat the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. Additionally, the top and bottom lines marked a significant year-over-year improvement. Per the company, this growth stemmed from better sales execution and efficient cost management. Marvell president and CEO Matt Murphy stated in a press release that "Our strong fourth quarter and fiscal year results continue to demonstrate that Marvell's strategy is working and that our team is executing it very well.” Quarter Details Marvell’s revenues increased 8.7% year over year to $615.4 million surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $611.6 million. Moreover, reported revenues came ahead of the mid-point of management’s guided range of $595-$625 million (mid-point $610 million). In the end markets, storage revenues (53% of total revenues) grew 4% year over year and 3% sequentially on better-than-expected demand at the SSD (Solid-State Drive) segments, along with elevated demand from enterprise and data-center operators. The networking business (25%) increased 5% year over year and 3% sequentially mainly due to increase in the network of processor product line, i.e. switch, PHY and embedded. Revenues from connectivity (14%) climbed 31% year over year, primarily driven by solid demand for “high-end voice-enabled” and home media streaming applications. However, sequentially, the segment’s revenues slipped 16%. Other product (8%) revenues during the quarter grew 20% year over year and 5% sequentially. Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Quote Marvell’s non-GAAP gross profit came in at $383.1 million, up 17% on a year-over-year basis. Gross margin also increased from 57.8% to 62.3% on a year-over-year basis, primarily buoyed by a favorable product mix and higher revenue base. Gross margin also came in marginally higher than management’s expectation of 62%. Non-GAAP operating expenses rose 2.4% year over year to $217.6 million and were within the company’s expectations of $215-$220 million. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses contracted 210 basis points to 35.4%. Marvell’s non-GAAP operating margins came in at 26.9% compared with 20.3% reported in the year-ago quarter. The results were positively influenced by higher gross margin and lower operating expenses as a percentage of revenues. The company reported non-GAAP net income of approximately $164.8 million during the quarter as compared with $118.4 million reported in the prior-year quarter. On per-share basis, non-GAAP earnings came in at 32 cents, up 45.5% from the year-earlier quarter’s earnings of 22 cents. Quarterly non-GAAP earnings also came ahead of the mid-point of management guided range of 29-33 cents (mid-point 31 cents) as well as beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Balance Sheet Marvell exited the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1.841 billion as compared with $1.732 billion in the previous quarter. The company carries no long-term debt. Cash from operating activities during the fiscal amounted to $571.1 million. During the fiscal, Marvell repurchased stocks worth $527.6 million and paid dividend of $119.3 million to its shareholders. Outlook Marvell projects first-quarter fiscal 2019 revenues in the range of $585-$615 million (mid-point $600 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $595 million. Management expects GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin to be approximately 62% and 63%, respectively. GAAP operating expenses are expected to lie between $250 million and $260 million, while non-GAAP operating expenses are estimated to be approximately $215 million. The company anticipates non-GAAP earnings per share in the band of 29-33 cents (mid-point 31 cents), while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 29 cents. On GAAP basis, earnings are projected to come between 22 cents and 26 cents per share. Our Take Marvell ended fiscal 2018 on an impressive note, reporting better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. Furthermore, the company provided encouraging fiscal first-quarter earnings guidance. Though macro headwinds and stringent regulations might put its financials under pressure in the near term, we believe strong demand for Marvell’s 4G LTE products will act as a catalyst. This will be supported by growth from the company’s wide range of the recently-launched Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. In an effort to expand offerings beyond hard disk drives to high growth areas such as data centers and wireless communications, Marvell entered into an agreement to acquire Cavium in the last quarter. This buyout will provide the company an opportunity to expand its offerings and access newer markets. The company’s current restructuring initiative will help Marvell improve cloud infrastructure and applications, which are projected to drive the top line. The latest buyback scheme also reflects sound financial position and favorable prospects. Nonetheless, intensifying competition in the High Definition (HD) storage drive market makes us increasingly cautious about the stock’s prospects. In the HD storage drive market, Broadcom AVGO is Marvell’s main competitor as these two are the primary SoC (system on a chip) suppliers. Also, NXP Semiconductors, QUALCOMM QCOM and Texas Instruments offer various components to the market. Given the fact that Broadcom has been trying to acquire Qualcomm, while the latter is already in process to buy NXP Semiconductor, the former will become a bigger entity, along with enhanced capabilities, which can supply SoCs as well as components. This might dampen Marvell’s long-term prospects. Therefore, despite the company’s strong quarterly results, Marvell’s shares declined roughly 3% during yesterday’s after-hour trade. The stock has unperformed the industry to which it belongs to in the year-to-date period. Marvell has gained 12%, while the industry recorded growth of 12.7%. Story continues Currently, Marvell has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). A better-ranked stock in the semiconductor space is NVIDIA Corporation NVDA which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here . NVIDIA has a long-term expected earnings per share growth rate of 10.3%. Don’t Even Think About Buying Bitcoin Until You Read This The most popular cryptocurrency skyrocketed last year, giving some investors the chance to bank 20X returns or even more. Those gains, however, came with serious volatility and risk. Bitcoin sank 25% or more 3 times in 2017. Zacks’ has just released a new Special Report to help readers capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly. See 4 crypto-related stocks now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) : Free Stock Analysis Report QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Limited (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
2018/03/18 00:30
#Binance 格安コイン
1位 #IOST 0.00000217 BTC(1.83円)
2位 #STORM 0.00000254 BTC(2.15円)
3位 #TNB 0.00000323 BTC(2.73円)
4位 #POE 0.00000356 BTC(3.01円)
5位 #TRX 0.00000360 BTC(3.04円)
#仮想通貨 #アルトコイン #草コイン || #BitcoinScam
Bhardwaj brothers — who own a chain of bitcoin mining operations in India and Bangkok — arrested in Rs 2000 cr case http://www.zeebiz.com/india/news-bitcoin-scam-bhardwaj-brothers-arrested-at-delhi-airport-in-rs-2000-cr-case-41809?Src=fb … || #Bitcoin, #ETHEREUM and #Ripple continue to make headlines for their worst Q1 price performances in history.
Conversely #BitPay - the largest global #Blockchain Payment Provider - just closed $40 Million in its extended Series B funding round.
#Crypto #BTC #business #startups || Help Wanted! Japan Needs Crypto Engineers
https://news.bitcoin.com/help-wanted-japan-needs-crypto-engineers/ …
$BTC #BTC || ワタシが死ぬわけないでしょバカhttps://twitter.com/Cm9Pc7cVyG799b6/status/982769158801649664 … || До 0.001 BTC в сутки без вложений! http://massplaza.ru/plaza/msg/view/194434/ … || To the outside world, a "supercomputer" appears to be a single sys http://bit.ly/1NDk7cE #Cybersecurity #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/uPyLGtrWBo || でもすり抜けて放置じゃなくてちゃんと成行で遅れてでも切ってくれるわよね？ || https://bitnation.co/ #Holon #Blockchain #Bitnation #DAO #ethereum #bitcoin #cryptocurrency #ICO #tokensale.https://twitter.com/MyBitNation/status/981661691824844801 … || BitcoinGenesis has 1 new tx
( input: 0.00012685 BTC / 1.00 USD)
Final balance: 66.82597684 BTC / 524.64K USD
#BitcoinGenesis #cryptopaymon
|
Trend: up || Prices: 8930.88, 9697.50, 8845.74, 9281.51, 8987.05, 9348.48, 9419.08, 9240.55, 9119.01, 9235.92
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
High Prices And Expensive Gifts offered by PowerBTC to Bitcoin Sellers: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 7, 2016 /With the rise in popularity of Bitcoin commerce, many online firms are finding creative new ways to take advantage of this valuable virtual resource. However, none are more market-savvy than PowerBTC, an up-and-coming financial world star that is taking e-commerce by storm.
PowerBTC LLC (http://www.PowerBTC.com), an already well known cryptocurrency trader on the virtual market, has its on-going offer of higher-than-the-market-price premiums on Bitcoin purchase. Their offer is time-limited but comes along with a bunch of benefits for 10+ or larger transactions. While their standard approach of Bitcoin sellers remains a bonus of 10% more than the market's official rate, the company has added few more additional premiums and gifts for volume business.
While having listed all of them below, customers can be assisted and given additional information at any time.
POWERBTC CURRENT PROMOTIONAL OFFERS:
10+ BTC (24-karat gold coin);20+ BTC (24-karat gold coin +3 %);30+ BTC (24-karat gold coin +5 %);50+ BTC (24-karat gold coin +8 %)
24-karat gold coin worth of 450 USD based on the gold market price.
Tom Clark, the CEO of PowerBTC, commented: "We are happy that with this promotional offer we will be able to help the Bitcoin community. By riding on this next wave of digital technology, we hope to become a major leader of the Bitcoin community, and offer exceptional deals for all Bitcoin purchases. It's about staying in-step with the times, and we know that Bitcoin is a wise investment and are confident that it can take us to the top."
A visit tohttp://www.PowerBTC.comreveals a cleanly-designed website that is easy to use, making Bitcoin transactions quick and easy. Users only need to enter their email address, and bank or PayPal information and they will be ready to take advantage of this new promotional offer.
While the offer may appear to be a bit chaotic for the regular seller, the mechanism behind it is based not only on the company's appetite for Bitcoin purchase, but also on the outcome of the Bitcoin PowerBTC is reinvesting, together with a sophisticated calculus and certain principles common within any financial services business.
Rates are updated constantly, following current market trends, for the most accurate information. Combined with knowledgeable staff and a regularly updated news page, this gives PowerBTC the edge over competitors in the field by offering a depth of market knowledge that is unrivaled.
PowerBTC is currently purchasing Bitcoins so any interested sellers should visit their website as soon as possible for the best deals. For more information, visit,http://www.PowerBTC.com.SOURCE:PowerBTC LLC || Vitaxel Group Entered a Platform Agent Agreement with Bitspark to Launch Bitcoin Remittance Service in Malaysia: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA / ACCESSWIRE / August 9, 2016 / Vitaxel Group Limited(VXEL) (the "Company" or "Vitaxel"), a multi-level marketing direct seller, with an emphasis on travel, entertainment and lifestyle products and services, today announced that the Company signed a Platform Agent Agreement with Bitspark Limited ("Bitspark") to launch BitSpark's bitcoin remittance service in Malaysia.
This agreement will allow Bitspark to add Malaysia and the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) as a supported country and currency. As a result, the customers in Malaysia are offered access to Bitspark's full services at local money transfer outlets and provided an option for individuals to utilize mobile payments. Currently, Bitspark's market has reached to Philippine, Indonesia and Vietnam with over 100,000 cash pickup locations.
Vitaxel & Bitspark Signing aPlatform AgentAgreement
To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:
[https://www.accesswire.com/uploads/Vitaxel1.jpg]
Bitspark's Chief Executive officer Mr. George Harrap stated, "Today we signed our final master agreement on bringing the Bitspark Remittance platform to Malaysia, both teams at Bitspark and Vitaxel have been working hard to make this happen and today we have reached an exciting new milestone. I think this signals the start of a working relationship that we can build on over time for new products and markets to meet the needs of our customers with our industry leading services in the financial space."
Vitaxel's Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ryan Leong, commented, "We believe that our collaboration with Bitspark, a 'game-changer' innovative fintech company, will move us closer to our corporate goals. We are commited to provide the most effective technology to deliver the best value to our current and future customers."
About Bitspark Limited
Founded in April 2014,Bitsparkspecializes in remittances services in the Asia Pacific region and is known for introducing the world's first brick-and-mortar bitcoin remittance vendor in Hong Kong. Bitspark provides the world first cash-in cash-out remittance platform for individuals and Money Transfer Operators to send money to emerging markets cheaper, quicker and to more destinations than ever before leveraging Bitcoin as the means of transmission with zero prior Bitcoin knowledge.
About Vitaxel Group Limited
Vitaxel Group Limited is a market leader in MLM and e-commerce space, has over 5,000 distributors in 16 countries in Asia. With three significant operating subsidiaries, Vitaxel SDN BHD (Vitaxel) and Vitaxel Online Mall SDN BHD (Vionmall), and the Vitaxel Singapore PTE. Ltd. ("Vitaxel Singapore"), Vitaxel is primarily engaged in the direct selling industry utilizing a multi-level marketing model with an emphasis on travel, entertainment and lifestyle products and services; Vionmall is engaged in the development of online shopping platforms geared to Vitaxel and its members and third party providers of products and services.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involving known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including the risk factors discussed in the Company's periodic and other reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Vitaxel Group LimitedEmail:info@vitaxel.comPhone: 03-2143 2889
SOURCE:Vitaxel Group Limited || Verizon is making a foray into the 'game changer' technology Wall Street is pumped about: verizon (REUTERS/Steve Marcus) Verizon Communications, the largest telecommunications company in the US, is experimenting with blockchain technology. Blockchain technology, which powers Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, depends on a distributed ledger that allows users to verify transactions without an intermediary. Autonomous Research has called the technology a " game changer ," and Goldman Sachs has said that the technology " has the potential to redefine transactions ." Blockchain has tons of applications that are being explored by banks, startups, exchanges, and corporations that want to get in on the action. Business Insider obtained a copy of the US patent, filed on May 10, for a passcode blockchain that Verizon has apparently been working on for three years. The patent relates to digital content think an e-book or a digital-music or video file. Verizon declined to comment. Here is a passage from the filing: "The DRM (digital rights management) system may maintain a list of passcodes in a passcode blockchain . The passcode blockchain may store a sequence of passcodes associated with the particular digital content and may indicate a currently valid passcode. For example, a first passcode may be assigned to a first user and designated as the valid passcode. If the access rights are transferred to a second user, a second passcode may be obtained and added to the blockchain , provided to the second user, and designated as the valid passcode. Thus, the first passcode may no longer be considered valid. If the second user transfers the access rights to a third user, a third passcode may be obtained and added to the blockchain , provided to the third user, and designated as the valid passcode. Thus, the first and second passcodes may no longer be considered valid. "Furthermore, the expiration date associated with the key may continue to be in effect with respect to the second user and/or any subsequent users. Thus, if access rights for a particular digital content are associated with a rental period, or a subscription period, users may continue to transfer the rights to other users during the rental period." There is quite a bit of excitement about having digital rights on a blockchain-type system. It could allow for pay-per-usage, for example, while smart contracts the contractual clauses that form part of a transaction could provide automatic payment distributions, according to a Moody's Investors Service report. A blockchain of digital rights for consumer products music and news articles, among others could ensure that artists or authors are paid immediately once a consumer reads an article or listens to a song, with funds proportionally distributed as per contractual clauses. Story continues Given lower transaction costs on a blockchain, micro-payments through a blockchain would be more feasible, allowing for a pay-per-usage setup each time an article is read or a song is listened to. NOW WATCH: Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam explains why he bought AOL More From Business Insider GARTNER: The blockchain 'hype' has peaked Blockchain and bitcoin companies raised $290 million in the last 6 months World Economic Forum releases blockchain report View comments || Leveraged Buyout Corporation Announces Intention to Commence a Tender Offer for Shares of Yasheng Group: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 1, 2016 / Leveraged Buyout Corporation ("LBOC") announced today that it intends to commence a tender offer to the shareholders of YaSheng Group ("HERB") (OTC: HERB ) to purchase up to 81,000,000 shares of HERB's Common Stock at a purchase price of $11.00 per share. The offer will require that each shareholder deliver at least 51 of each 100 share owned. LBOC targets to own approximately 51% of the issued and outstanding shares of HERB Common Stock. The offer price of $11.00 per share represents an extraordinary premium over market value for 6 reasons: HERB is trading at a deep discount based on its earnings, and; Payment is in the form of corporate notes that will pay interest in OTCcoin (OTX) a new digital currency that rides on the rails of the Bitcoin blockchain, and; The notes will mature in 10 years with annual interest payable at the rate of 1 OTX per $1 face value. OTX is thinly trading on international cryptocurrency exchange C-CEX ( https://c-cex.com/?p=otx-btc ) Notes are to be backed by the shares tendered and held in safe keeping by HERB's transfer agent. LBOC is a newly formed entity. Important Information about the Tender Offer LBOC has not yet commenced the tender offer referred to in this press release. This press release does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. This press release is for informational purposes only. The offer to purchase the shares of HERB Common Stock from its shareholders and the solicitation of the shares will be made only pursuant to the offer to purchase and the related letter of transmittal, which are expected to be mailed to HERB shareholders shortly after commencement of the tender offer subject to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. About LBOC : LBOC is a subsidiary of a holding company whose principal holdings include digital currency and related assets. LBOC was formed to capitalize on companies whose market cap is deeply discounted in the markets from the tangible values. As its name reveals it seeks to buy out controlling interests on leverage utilizing cashless financing. About HERB: YaSheng Group is a U.S. holding company and conducts business operations in China. The Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in agriculture, livestock, and biotechnology. YaSheng specializes in developing, processing, marketing, and distributing a variety of food products grown in North West China. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward looking statements in this press release are also forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those relating to the contemplated tender offer described in this press release, including uncertainty about the timing of the tender offer, that, if the tender offer is commenced, the conditions to closing the tender offer may not be satisfied, uncertainties as to the amount of shares that will be tendered in the tender offer and LBOC's ownership interest in YASHENG Group following the tender offer, risks relating to the continued listing of YASHENG Group's Common Stock on the OTC Markets Stock Exchange and the continued status of YASHENG Group as an SEC reporting company, and the risk that the expected benefits to LBOC from the tender offer may not be realized or maintained. LBOC cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive. Story continues CONTACT : info@LBOCorp.com SOURCE: Leveraged Buyout Corporation View comments || Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Brian Klein, a lawyer for Murgio, said he disagreed with the decision. "Anthony Murgio maintains his innocence and looks forward to clearing his name at his upcoming trial," he added. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft) || This infographic shows the questionable effectiveness of UN Peacekeeping missions: (French UN soldiers run from Sarajevo's Radio and Television building on July 27, 1993 after it came under attack by artillery shells.Chris Helgren/Reuters)
TheUnited Nationshas long been a purported force for change in developing countries and other international crises.
Public opinion on their undertakings have been mixed at best, with the role of UN Peacekeeping missions particularly under the microscope.
Wearing their recognizable light blue berets and helmets, UN peacekeepers have been bothsuccessfulin resolving conflicts andcriticizedfor their lack of action during life-threatening emergencies.
The following infographic fromNorwich University Onlineexplains UN Peacekeeping missions and seeks to explain if the missions are even effective in the long run.
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• Fintech could be bigger than ATMs, PayPal, and Bitcoin combined || Bitcoin is money, U.S. judge says in case tied to JPMorgan hack: (Adds comments from Murgio's lawyer) By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin qualifies as money, a federal judge ruled on Monday, in a decision linked to a criminal case over hacking attacks against JPMorgan Chase & Co and other companies. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan rejected a bid by Anthony Murgio to dismiss two charges related to his alleged operation of Coin.mx, which prosecutors have called an unlicensed bitcoin exchange. Murgio had argued that bitcoin did not qualify as "funds" under the federal law prohibiting the operation of unlicensed money transmitting businesses. But the judge, like her colleague Jed Rakoff in an unrelated 2014 case, said the virtual currency met that definition. "Bitcoins are funds within the plain meaning of that term," Nathan wrote. "Bitcoins can be accepted as a payment for goods and services or bought directly from an exchange with a bank account. They therefore function as pecuniary resources and are used as a medium of exchange and a means of payment." The decision did not address six other criminal counts that Murgio faces, Nathan wrote. Brian Klein, a lawyer for Murgio, said he disagreed with the decision. "Anthony Murgio maintains his innocence and looks forward to clearing his name at his upcoming trial," he added. Prosecutors last year charged Murgio over the operation of Coin.mx, and in April charged his father Michael with participating in bribery aimed at supporting it. Authorities have said Coin.mx was owned by Gery Shalon, an Israeli man who, along with two others, was charged with running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme targeting a dozen companies, including JPMorgan, and exposing personal data of more than 100 million people. That alleged scheme generated hundreds of millions of dollars of profit through pumping up stock prices, online casinos, money laundering and other illegal activity, prosecutors have said. Shalon has pleaded not guilty, and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan. He hired new lawyers last month and is seeking permission to replace lawyers who joined the case in June, a Monday court filing showed. The case is U.S. v Murgio et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00769. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft) || Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Bitfinex exchange in Hong Kong: By Clare Baldwin
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, rattling the global bitcoin community in the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange.
Bitfinex is the world's largest dollar-based exchange for bitcoin, and is known in the digital currency community for having deep liquidity in the U.S. dollar/bitcoin currency pair.
Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users' accounts and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses.
"The bitcoin was stolen from users' segregated wallets," he said.
The company said it had reported the theft to law enforcement and was cooperating with top blockchain analytic companies to track the stolen coins.
Last year, Bitfinex announced a tie-up with Palo Alto-based BitGo, which uses multiple-signature security to store user deposits online, allowing for faster withdrawals.
"Our investigation has found no evidence of a breach to any BitGo servers," BitGo said in a Tweet.
"With users' funds secured using multi-signature technology in partnership with BitGo, a lot more is at stake for the backbone of the bitcoin industry, with its stalwarts and prided tech under fire," said Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency website CryptoCompare.
The security breach comes two months after Bitfinex was ordered to pay a $75,000 fine by the U.S. Commodity and Futures Trading Commission in part for offering illegal off-exchange financed commodity transactions in bitcoin and other digital currencies.
BITCOIN SLUMP
Tuesday's breach triggered a slump in bitcoin prices and was reminiscent of events that led to the 2014 collapse of Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox, which said it had lost about $500 million worth of customers' Bitcoins in a hacking attack.
Bitcoin plunged just over 23 percent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 percent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform.
Tackett added that the breach did not "expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain", the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority.
A bitcoin expert said the scandal highlighted the risks of companies using cryptography for their ledgers.
"The more you rely on its benefits, the greater the potential for damage when keys are stolen. We still have some way to go to create highly secure but convenient systems," said Singapore-based Antony Lewis.
The volume of bitcoin stolen amounts to about 0.75 percent of all bitcoin in circulation.
It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. On an online forum, Bitfinex's Tackett said he was "nearly 100 percent certain" it was no one in the company.
Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities.
The security breach is the latest scandal to hit Hong Kong's bitcoin market after MyCoin became embroiled in a scam last year that media estimated could have duped investors of up to $387 million. The bitcoin trading company closed after the scandal.
The president of the Hong Kong Bitcoin Association said the only way to protect information is to disperse it in so many small pieces that the reward for hacking is too small.
"For an attacker, the cost-benefit strategy is quite easy: How much is in the pot and how likely is it that I'm getting the pot?" said Leonhard Weese.
(Additional reporting by Hera Poon in HONG KONG, Jeremy Wagstaff in SINGAPORE and Jemima Kelly in LONDON; Editing by Will Waterman) || Cyber threat grows for bitcoin exchanges: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - When hackers penetrated a secure authentication system at a bitcoin exchange called Bitfinex earlier this month, they stole about $70 million worth of the virtual currency. The cyber theft -- the second largest by an exchange since hackers took roughly $350 million in bitcoins at Tokyo's MtGox exchange in early 2014 -- is hardly a rare occurrence in the emerging world of crypto-currencies. New data disclosed to Reuters shows a third of bitcoin trading platforms have been hacked, and nearly half have closed in the half dozen years since they burst on the scene. This rising risk for bitcoin holders is compounded by the fact there is no depositor's insurance to absorb the loss, even though many exchanges act like virtual banks. Not only does that approach cast the cyber security risk in stark relief, but it also exposes the fact that bitcoin investors have little choice but to do business with under-capitalized exchanges that may not have the capital buffer to absorb these losses the way a traditional and regulated bank or exchange would. "There is a general sense in the bitcoin community that any centralized repository is at risk," said a U.S.-based professional trader who lost about $1,000 in bitcoins when Bitfinex was hacked. He declined to be named for this article. "So when investing, you always have that expectation at the back of your head. I lost a small amount compared to the others, but I know of traders who lost millions of dollars worth of bitcoins," the trader said. The security challenge for the bitcoin world does not appear to be letting up, according to experts in the currency. "I am skeptical there's going to be any technological silver bullet that's going to solve security breach problems. No technology, crypto-currency, or financial mechanism can be made safe from hacks," said Tyler Moore, assistant professor of cyber security at the University of Tulsa's Tandy School of Computer Science who will soon publish the new research on the vulnerability of bitcoin exchanges. Story continues His study, funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and shared with Reuters, shows that since bitcoin's creation in 2009 to March 2015, 33 percent of all bitcoin exchanges operational during that period were hacked. The figure represents one of the first estimates of the extent of security breaches in the bitcoin world. In contrast, data from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization, showed that of the 6,000 operational U.S. banks, only 67 banks experienced a publicly-disclosed data breach between 2009 and 2015. That's roughly 1 percent of U.S. banks. Among the world's stock exchanges, however, security breaches are much higher, with hackers attracted to the large pools of cash moving in and out of these trading venues. The latest survey of 46 securities exchanges released three years ago by the International Organization of Securities Commissions and World Federation of Exchanges found that more than half had experienced a cyber attack. Moore collaborated on the research with Nicolas Christin, associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Janos Szurdi, a Ph.D. student also at Carnegie. In 2013, Moore and Christin wrote a research paper on security risks surrounding bitcoin exchanges when Moore was still a professor at Southern Methodist University. That research entitled Beware of the Middleman: Empirical Analysis of Bitcoin Exchange Risk was peer-reviewed and presented at the 17th International Financial Cryptography and Data Security Conference in Okinawa, Japan in 2013. In the most recent study, the rate of closure for bitcoin exchanges in Moore's research edged up to 48 percent among those operating from 2009 to March 2015. Hacking did not necessarily trigger the closure in each case. "A 48 percent closure is not acceptable, but not surprising given that bitcoin is a new technology," said Richard Johnson, vice president of market structure and technology at Greenwich Associates. Johnson has written reports on risk and security issues in the crypto-currency world. Profitability is a big problem for bitcoin exchanges, with many of them unable to generate enough volume to keep afloat. Bitcoin exchanges overall could be launched for as low as $100,000 up to $1 million, said Erik Voorhees, founder and chief executive officer of digital currency exchange ShapeShift. That is a fraction of what U.S. forex exchanges' are required to put up. Retail FX trading platform FXCM, for instance, is required by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have at least $25 million in capital at all times. RECOVERING LOSSES A key factor tied to the risk posed by exchanges is whether customers are reimbursed after closure or after the loss of bitcoins following a hack. Each closure and breach have been handled differently, but Tandy's Moore said the risk of losing funds stored in exchanges are real. In the case of Bitfinex, which is now up and running after the hack August 2, customers lost 36 percent of the assets they had on the platform and were compensated for the losses with tokens of credit that would be converted into equity in the parent company. At Tokyo's MtGox, customers have yet to recover their investments more than two years after closure. Experts say trading venues acting like banks such as Bitfinex will remain vulnerable. These exchanges act as custodial wallets in which they control users' digital currencies like banks control customer deposits. "The big exchanges that hold customer deposits are a big target for hackers," said ShapeShift's Voorhees, "and unfortunately most bitcoin exchanges store user funds." When customers' checking accounts are hacked, there is always a third party at the bank that can step in to deal with the theft. Not so with bitcoin, said Seattle-based Darin Stanchfield, chief executive officer at KeepKey, a hardware wallet provider. He expects more of these attacks to happen despite efforts to improve security at bitcoin exchanges. "Unfortunately because of its irreversible nature, bitcoin requires near perfect security." (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Edward Tobin) || This CEO says he was shut out by tons of investors in Silicon Valley for classifying his workers as W-2 employees: (Hometeam CEO Josh BrunoHometeam)
The debate about whether "on-demand" economy workers should be classified as independent contractors (who use IRS Form 1099) or employees (who use Form W-2) rages on, but one startup CEO found that for Silicon Valley venture capitalists, there was a clear preference for 1099s.
On-demand startups like ride-hailing Uber or delivery service Instacart generally rely on 1099 workers who aren't technically employees of the company.
And there's a simple reason: Having employees on your payroll can get expensive.
Last year, the food delivery serviceMunchery told Business Insiderthat hiring its drivers as employees instead of contractors adds an estimated 20-30% to cost per hour. That's a ton.
But having your workers on 1099s restricts the type of training and support a startup can give, and this can decrease efficiency. The cost-benefit analysis of 1099 versus W-2even causedvalet startup Luxe to switch from W-2 to 1099, and then back to W-2. It can sometimes be tough for a startup to decide which is best for it and its workers.
But Josh Bruno, the CEO of senior-care startupHometeam, said that for him it was always clear that Hometeam's1,000-plus caregiversneeded to be on W-2s. They needed a lot of training, and Bruno wanted to give them the sense that Hometeam was investing in them for the long haul.
But unfortunately, when Bruno was trying to raise money, that wasn't what Silicon Valley VCs wanted to hear.
"I was kicked out of every office on Sand Hill Road," Bruno said, referring to the iconic street that houses many famous Silicon Valley VCs. Bruno said he even had a verbal agreement with a "flashy name" VC, who then wouldn't go through with the investment unless Bruno put his workers on 1099s.
Why? One reason, Bruno said, is because big names like Uber and Lyft were doing it. Bruno's main competitor, Honor, which was named one of Business Insider'shottest San Franciscostartups to watch in 2016, originally used 1099s. It has since switched to W-2s.
But it wasn't simply because everyone was doing it, Bruno said. The deeper reason rested in what a 1099 represented.
Bruno said that to VCs he spoke with, a 1099 meant a job that was both easy and repeatable. The worker is a part that can be swapped in, which is good because it means the business will be easier to scale, Bruno explained. And it would be easier to get the kind of growth the VCs were looking for.
Not all VCs think this way, even among those whom Bruno was pitching. Hometeam has so far raised $43.5 million from Kaiser Permanente Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Lux Capital, IA Ventures, and Recruit Strategic Partners.
Honor has raised $62 million total, andrecently raised $42 millionlong after switching its workers to W-2s.
But Bruno's experience raises useful points about how "gig economy" workers are conceptualized by both startups and VCs. The more that workers swing toward the W-2 side, the less they seem like cogs in a machine, but the less they feel like part of a startup that can use technology to scale itself rapidly, up and up.
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[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
1 KOBO = 0.00000000 BTC
= 0.0000 USD
= 0.0000 NGN
= 0.0000 ZAR
= 0.0000 KES
#Kobocoin 2016-09-12 04:00 pic.twitter.com/yfp68KveVw || 1 #bitcoin = $10380.00 MXN | $572.38 USD #BitAPeso 1 USD = 18.13MXN http://www.bitapeso.com || #UFOCoin #UFO $0.000012 (0.62%) 0.00000002 BTC (-0.00%) || Win bitcoin. Daily drawing. Details: R3, HSBC Experts: Collaboration is Key for Blockchain Potential http://www.btcstory.com/c/76d0/faf0d || Bitfury Research Seeks to Shine Light on Bitcoin Mixing Methods: A new Bitfury white paper aims to advance th... http://cur.lv/11mmuz || 22Sep2016 12:00 UTC #Bitcoin #Blockchain status - Last 24h: 164 blocks mined - 1,624,898 BTC output - 230,967 transactions || #Telmi Bitcoin und Euro: 0.0010 BTC = 0.51 EUR 1.00 EUR = 0.0020 BTC Konverter http://dlvr.it/M2n7SD || #coindesk Big Banks Band Together to Launch 'Settlement Coin': Four banks have reportedly partnered ... http://bit.ly/2c4wwRs #bitcoin || One Bitcoin now worth $571.01@bitstamp. High $579.95. Low $571.00. Market Cap $ 9.043 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/3n0pBMRgSn || #BTA Price: Bittrex 0.00001101 BTC YoBit 0.00001200 BTC Bleutrade 0.00001100 BTC #BTAprice 2016-08-24 19:00 pic.twitter.com/TnZfAQ2INV
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 608.04, 606.17, 604.73, 605.69, 609.73, 613.98, 610.89, 612.13, 610.20, 612.51
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis for 2015-04-20]
BTC Price: 224.63, BTC RSI: 37.03
Gold Price: 1193.50, Gold RSI: 48.68
Oil Price: 56.38, Oil RSI: 64.04
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
SEO And Marketing Practitioner Michael Taggart Announces Appearance At Glazer Kennedy Insider's Circle Super Conference 2015: BOISE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / March 24, 2015 /Michael Taggart, a marketing mentor and SEO expert who has stated he can help startups create 7 figures in only 12 months, has recently announced that he will appear at the Glazer Kennedy Insider's Circle (GKIC) Super Conference 2015. This will be one of the many events where Taggart, who is also known as Michael X, has been requested to speak in regards to his work with marketing, SEO, and press releases.
Through the various conferences and other assemblies whereMichael Taggart talks press releases, he has grown an audience who access his training regularly. Each year, training on press releases with Michael Taggart averages tens of thousands of marketers who are looking to learn more about advancing their search engine optimization skills and targeting a larger volume of traffic for e-commerce.
The GKIC Super Conference, which takes place over the dates of April 29th to May 2nd, with a bonus day on May 3rd will be hosted in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Speakers such as Mike Stewart, Jeff Johnson, Lee Milteer, and Dean Jackson will also be speaking alongside Michael X, who has been hailed by the GKIC team as, "The Coolest Marketer In America". The conference coordinators had the following to say about Michael X in regards to his marketing efforts:
"One of the most renowned marketers in the world, especially in terms of local search marketing and mobile SEO, his interests include Bitcoin and crypto assets, giving him a reputation for technologically advanced knowledge, and the title of "the coolest marketer in America."
Some of the other conferences that have includedpress releases with Michael Taggartare the 7 Figure Speaking Empire, the Traffic and Conversion Summit, and SEO Rockstars, among many more. The Michael Taggart release press advantage can be enjoyed by new and upcomers in the internet marketing world, and he has made it clear through his many social media platforms and company websites just how big of a difference it can make when Michael Taggart talks press releases. He has said the following about what his goal is in terms of SEO training for startups and entrepreneurs:
"Having been in the SEO world as a practitioner, teacher, and speaker on the subject, my goal has been to show people how to get faster results and more exposure in less time by doing things right."
At first glance, theMichael Taggart release press advantageseems to be similar to that of other marketing training in this niche, but the strategy of using press releases with Michael Taggart include a number of incentives that competitors don't seem to offer. The differences can be seen in the many client testimonials available on Michael's Adventure Marketing company site, as well as various other online resources designed and maintained by Michael and his team.
For questions or concerns regarding this press release or for more information on Michael X Marketing, please use the following contact information to get in touch:
Company Name: Michael X MarketingContact Name: Michael TaggartPhone Number: 1 (208)908-0626E-mail Address:support@adventuremarketing.comE-mail Address: 5430 Misty Ridge Way, Boise, Idaho 83713
SOURCE:Michael X Marketing || Columbus International Inc. Closes Upon Its Acquisition by CWC: BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2015) - Columbus International Inc. ("Columbus") is pleased to announce that it has received the requisite approvals, satisfied all necessary conditions and has closed upon its transaction to be acquired by Cable & Wireless Communications PLC ("CWC") as previously announced on November 6, 2014. The acquisition, valued at US$3.025bn, will enable the combined company to significantly accelerate growth, improve service delivery to customers in the region, offer customers a more comprehensive portfolio of high-quality products and services, and strengthen its position against larger competitors. The increased scale and capabilities of the combined company will provide the technical platform and financial capacity to help enable the combined company to drive greater innovation and expand its geographic footprint.
The combination of the two companies is consistent with global industry trends, where convergence of fixed and mobile networks, increasing content consumption growth, and continuing development of online applications are driving requirements for high bandwidth, fixed line networks and TV capabilities. Operators in Europe and North America, as well as regional competitors, are acquiring and constructing networks that are capable of supporting ever-growing data needs along with new video capabilities.
Columbus believes that the combined strengths of both companies will accelerate growth, provide the necessary scale to enhance the customer experience, and help to allow Columbus to achieve its goal to become the "Best service provider" and "Employer of Choice" in the region. Similarly, the combination of the two businesses supports CWC's new strategy and its four primary areas of focus: Drive Mobile Leadership; Accelerate Fixed-Mobile Convergence; Reinforce TV Offer; and Grow Business to Business and Business to Government sectors. This strategy is underpinned by their announced US$1.05billion Project Marlin capital investment program. Additionally, CWC believes that the combination of the two businesses will generate material operating cost and capital expenditure synergies.
The combination of Columbus' pay TV capabilities and next-generation, state-of-the-art fibre networks with CWC's region-leading mobile footprint and existing fixed line infrastructure will significantly expand product and service offerings for customers and also advance CWC's quad play ambitions. The combined business will also deliver the benefits of superior quality network infrastructure, fixed-mobile products and bundles, superior TV content at competitive rates, and a more attractive portfolio of products and services in the B2B and B2G segments.
For both companies, the combination transaction will enable greater focus on the Caribbean, Andean and Latin American markets, a region that offers attractive growth.
Cox & Palmer acted as lead legal counsel to Columbus, supported by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer together with Mills & Reeve (UK corporate and securities), Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler (bond and financing) and Morgan Lewis & Bockius, LLP (USA regulatory)
Citigroup Global Markets Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as financial advisors to Columbus.
About Columbus International Inc.Columbus International Inc.is a privately held diversified telecommunications company based in Barbados. The Company provides digital cable television, broadband Internet and digital landline telephony in Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia and Curacao under the brand nameFlowand in Antigua under the brand nameKarib Cable. Columbus also provides next generation connectivity and IT solutions, managed networking and cloud-based services under the brandColumbus Business Solutions. Through its subsidiary,Columbus Networks, the Company provides capacity and IP services, corporate data solutions and data centre services throughout 42 countries in the greater Caribbean, Central American and Andean region. Through its fully protected, ringed submarine fibre optic network spanning more than 42,300 km and its 38,000 km terrestrial fibre and coaxial network, Columbus' 3,150 plus professionals provide advanced telecom services to a diverse residential and corporate client base of approximately 720,000 customers.
For more information visit:www.columbus.co
About Cable & Wireless CommunicationsCable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) is a full-service communications provider operating in 16 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. With four leading brands: Mas Movil (Cable and Wireless Panama), LIME (the Caribbean excluding The Bahamas), BTC (The Bahamas) and Cable and Wireless Seychelles, CWC offers mobile, broadband, TV, domestic and international fixed line services and serves over 5.5m customers. CWC also provides premium data centre hosting, domestic and international managed data network services and customised IT Service Solutions to businesses and governments through our Cable & Wireless Business Solutions division.
We are the market leader in most of the products we offer and the territories we serve.
For more information visit:www.cwc.com. || Meet The 3 Companies Goldman Sachs Says Are Leading The Bitcoin Revolution: Goldman Sachs' equity research analysts say that bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies could be the "future of finance" as the demand for a new way to move money continues to rise. In a report titled The Future of Finance: Redefining The Way We Pay in the Next Decade , authors James Schneider and SK Prasad Borra say merchants will be the largest companies to benefit from the shift toward cryptocurrencies and highlight three existing bitcoin-based businesses as the leading firms in the cryptocurrency space— Coinbase , BitPay and Ripple Labs . Coinbase Coinbase is a California-based firm that opened the first regulated bitcoin exchange in the U.S. this year. The company was able to raise $75 million in funding from several high profile investors including the New York Stock Exchange in order to roll out the exchange, which has gained regulatory approval in roughly half of U.S. states. The company also recently joined the Internet Association alongside big shots like Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN ) and Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB ) in an effort to keep the cryptocurrency's interests at the forefront of internet regulation. BitPay BitPay is a global payment processing firm that allows merchants to accept bitcoin in exchange for goods or services. The company has signed several high-profile deals in the past year, bringing bitcoin one step closer to public adoption. Most recently, BitPay partnered with Adyen in order to make bitcoin acceptance possible for some of the world's largest companies using their current payments system. Related Link: Bitcoin Company Raises Record Amount Of Cash For Mystery Operations Ripple Labs Ripple Labs is a digital payments company that uses the technology powering bitcoin in order to allow companies to transfer money internationally. The firm uses a cryptocurrency similar to bitcoin in order to validate transactions and make worldwide money transfers in various currencies simple and cost-effective. The company recently hired Ex-Federal Reserve official Norman Reed as its Chief Compliance Officer, saying that Reed's experience will help the company move forward and integrate into the banking sector. Story continues See more from Benzinga Currency War Questions Could Cloud Trade Agreements © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || New App Allows Seamless Bitcoin Investment: Pieter Gorsira is hoping to take some of the confusion out of investing in cryptocurrency by giving people a way to invest seemingly trivial parts of their income into bitcoin quickly, easily, and often without even thinking about it.
Gorsira is the man behind a new startup calledLawnmowerwhich is looking to help people save their ‘loose change' by investing in bitcoin.
A Little Off The Top
Lawnmower connects to a user's bank account and rounds each purchase up to a whole number and invests the extra cents in bitcoin.
For example, a purchase of $2.50 would result in Lawnmower taking the additional $0.50 and saving it. Once a user has at least $4.00 in savings, the app purchases a bitcoin.
Adding Up
The idea behind the appis to integrate saving and spending to make it easier for users to accumulate funds.
Not only does it promote saving, but it also allows people to expose themselves to bitcoin without making a huge commitment.
How It WorksThe company requires users to set up a Coinbase account, as the bitcoins are bought using that exchange, and is able to link to multiple bank accounts.
At the moment, Lawnmower is only in beta testing, but the company is hoping to use the feedback from current users to launch a comprehensive product to the general public soon.
Related Link:Cryptocurrency Finds A Place In Education With Smileycoin
While bitcoin has had a difficult year, scaring many users away with its volatility, Lawnmower claims users' small investments over time help mitigate some of that risk.
A New Market
While bitcoin has typically seen the most usage among the tech-savvy crowd, Lawnmower is hoping to find a new audience for the cryptocurrency.
The company believes that much of the general public is interested in bitcoin, but don't have the technological know-how to get involved.
Lawnmower removes some of those barriers and allows people who wouldn't otherwise invest dip their toe into the cryptocurrency pool.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Bitcoin Exchange itBit says it won part of bitcoin auction: NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Bitcoin exchange itBit on Tuesday said it had won part of the U.S. government's third auction of bitcoins seized from Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted last month of operating black market website Silk Road. The company said it won 3,000 of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned last week by the U.S. Marshals Service. The Marshals Service said earlier on Tuesday there are two other unidentified winners, which took 27,000 and 20,000 coins respectively. In late trading on Tuesday, bitcoin was up 1.8 percent at $292.19 (BTC=BTSP). That put the value of the 50,000 bitcoins auctioned at $14.6 million. ItBit was founded in 2012 as a global exchange for institutional and retail investors. It has offices in New York and Singapore. Last week's auction attracted 34 bids from 14 registered bidders. That was more than the last bitcoin auction in December when just 11 buyers submitted 27 bids. The first auction in June attracted 45 bidders and 63 bids. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Andrew Hay) || Yoox Merger With Net-a-Porter Creates A Force To Be Reckoned With: Online retail has traditionally been associated with low cost, but Italy'sYoox SpA(OTC:YXOXF) and fashion websiteNet-a-Porterhave proven that there is also a market out there for online luxury retail.
Now the two have decided to join forces and cement their position as a major player in the quickly growing industry.
On Tuesday, Yoox announced its plans to buy high-end fashion website Net-a-Porter in an all stock deal that will create Yoox Net-a-Porter Group, estimated to be worth around $2.86 billion.
The new company is expected to generate over $1.4 billion worth of revenue per year.
Luxury Moves Online
The merger comes at a time when online retail is taking off and luxury goods consumers are beginning to turn to the web rather than visiting brick and mortar stores.
Its estimated that about 40 percent of the world's luxury brands can't be found online, but that statistic is slowly changing as high-end department stores likeNeiman Marcus GroupandSaks Incestablish more of an online presence.
Related Link:Can Tidal Compete With Existing Music Streaming Services?
The Best Of Both Worlds
Retailers likeAmazon.com, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMZN) andAlibaba Group Holding Ltd(NYSE:BABA) have become increasingly interested in the fast growing luxury market, but Yoox and Net-a-Porter have the advantage of experience on their side.
Yoox is responsible for the technology behind several high-end designers' websites and runs three designer clothing retail sites of its own, while Net-a-Porter's business focuses exclusively on selling designer clothing and footwear.
Yoox founder and CEO Federico Marchetti told theNew York Timesthat the merger will allow both companies to benefit from the other's strengths.
Net-a-Porter is well known for its editorial content and ability to engage customers, something that Marchetti said Yoox is lacking.
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© 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || Colorado Residents To Decide If The Government Keeps Or Refunds Their Money: Colorado stands as a shining example of just how beneficial the marijuana industry can be for state governments. The state's recreational marijuana sales were taxed at a staggering 28 percent, resulting in nearly $60 million worth of tax dollars this year. While that figure is below initial projections, it provided the state with an entirely new source of income. One of the key reasons voters elect to legalize marijuana is the increased funding for projects they care about, and Colorado is no exception. The revenue brought in by pot sales in Colorado was earmarked for projects like school construction and upkeep , but the state's tax law may return those funds to taxpayers instead. Related Link: What States Support Marijuana Legalization? Refund Colorado's legislation says that the state government is only allowed to bring in a certain amount of money each year via tax dollars, and the marijuana tax money has exceeded that figure. The law dictates that the government must return the excess to taxpayers, but state officials say they should be allowed to keep the money and spend it as they promised. Up To The Voters Lawmakers in Colorado are currently working on a bill that will allow voters to determine what happens to that extra money. Instead of making the refund, state officials are appealing to residents to let the government keep the money in order to carry out the projects that were promised to voters when marijuana was legalized. The bill itself will take some time, but if put to a vote, many believe that the state's population will wave their refund. Image Credit: Public Domain See more from Benzinga Rand Paul Uses Bitcoin To Boost His Campaign Spoiler Alert: Google Could Be Watching What You're Watching Why U.S. Tech Companies Are Getting Slammed In Europe © 2015 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. || 10 things in tech you need to know today: (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Good morning! Here's the tech news you need to know this Thursday.
1. Uber had a bad day yesterday.The ride-hailing service was declared illegal in Germany,its offices were raided by French police in Paris, andfounder Travis Kalanick was charged with running an 'illegal' taxi service in South Korea. But in one piece of good news,Uber cars now outnumber yellow taxis in New York City.
2.Yahoo is pulling out of China.It's axing 200 employees in the country — bringing the total laid off since October up to between 700 and 900. It's part of CEO Marissa Mayer's cost-cutting efforts.
3.A top Silicon Valley investor claims software will replace doctors and lawyers.Keith Rabois says that "one of the most interesting things we’ve noticed over the last decade is the ability of math and machines to replace human judgement, particularly expert judgement... and it’s finally possible now to use data and machine learning techniques to replace the judgement of experts in law and in healthcare."
4.Apple's rumored TV service could have 7 million subscribers by the end of 2016.BI Intelligence crunched the numbers on the streaming TV service the Cupertino company is believed to be building.
5.A former Facebook employee is suing the social network over alleged sex discrimination and harassment.She's being represented by Lawless & Lawless — the same firm representing Reddit CEO Ellen Pao in a sex discrimination case against VC firm Kleiner Perkins.
6.Evolution, the deep web's top drugs marketplace, has vanished overnight in an apparent scam.Tens of millions of dollars-worth of Bitcoin are missing, andthe price of Bitcoin dropped more than 6% in response to the news.
7.The UK government is going to regulate Bitcoin exchanges.On Wednesday, the Treasury announced it would apply anti-money laundering rules to the digital currency and invest in research in the sector.
8.The Guardian, Financial Times, Reuters, CNN, and The Economist have formed an ad alliance to take on Google and Facebook.Tech giants dominate the industry, but the media companies hope their combined weight will be enough to make an impact. The alliance is called Pangaea.
9.Nintendo's stock is skyrocketing.The rise follows the announcement that the Japanese games company is to start making games for smartphones in an alliance with DeNA.
10.Nearly 40% of iPhone owners are interested in buying an Apple watch.It's good news for Apple as it gears up to launch its first-ever smartwatch in April.
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• 10 things in tech you need to know today || Digital Currency Student Debt Solutions Offered by Bitcoin Alternative DNotes with Long Term Savings Plans for Students: DNotes Launched the First Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan (CRISP) for Students, Aimed at Providing Them Multiple Solutions and Opportunities; Universities, Schools and Clubs will be Apportioned Codes Allowing Enrolled Students to Register to be Awarded 500 free DNotes ILLINOIS, USA / ACCESSWIRE / March 30, 2015 / Market stable cryptocurrency DNotes launches their third long term Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan (CRISP) for Students. Following the launch of CRISP for Kids and CRISP for Retirement. While Bitcoin has struggled with explosive volatilities, second generation Bitcoin alternative DNotes has achieved remarkable stability and reliable appreciation since inception, making it a viable savings alternative with potential high returns that could help students avoid crippling student loan debt upon graduation. DNotes Co-Founder Alan Yong explained that student debt hardship is a growing global problem, with damaging implications in future job and wealth creation for students. This global problem can be a great opportunity for DNotes and participating students. CRISP For Students mission is to engage and involve students worldwide to participate by having an ownership stake in the most innovative technology revolution since the Internet, positioning them to benefit from potential high returns and job opportunities. These students will become the next generation of DNotes' leaders, innovators and stakeholders, who will provide further solutions to global problems. Humanity now lives in a hyperconnected world and by the year 2020 more than five billion people worldwide will be equipped with smart phones that are even more powerful and feature rich. New technologies are making it possible to solve problems on a global scale that were previously impossible to solve. Bitcoin is one such technology considered by many as the most innovative and disruptive since the Internet. Essentially, Bitcoin is the future of money; a decentralized digital currency, coupled with an immensely powerful Blockchain that removes the need for trusted third parties in financial transactions. Story continues Alan Yong, DNotes Co-Founder and pioneer of the first commercial tablet computer, warns that student loans are a major threat to long-term wealth accumulation and overall student well-being. Yong points to research by the Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI), that found students with outstanding debt, regardless of how little, are more likely to defer the purchase of revenue generating assets till later in adulthood. Yong added that, "The current student generation may not have access to publicly funded retirement entitlements in the future. This is why the DNotes team has moved to alleviate inadequate private savings. CRISP For Students will assist students to get started with a digital savings account without having to pay for it, allowing them to gain immediate exposure and experience with digital currency - the future of money." DNotes Director of CRISP For Students, Timothy Goggin, said that universities, schools and related clubs will be apportioned codes that will allow enrolled students to register to be awarded 500 DNotes. Students will be asked to provide their code, e-mail, institution and course of study. If a student is unable to register, they will be prompted with instructions on how to best ascertain a code from their institution of study. Some students may also be employed to help the DNotes team with ongoing projects and marketing, while earning crucial work experience with people in the top of their field. Central to DNotes long term strategic plan is the creation of highly scalable building blocks, as the foundation of its own ecosystem. Those strategic building blocks include CryptoMoms; a currency neutral site dedicated to encourage female participation, DNotesVault; free and secure storage for DNotes' stakeholders with 100% deposit guarantee, and CRISPs; a family of Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plans. CRISP for Students will become an integral part of DNotes ecosystem, with plans to include a conduit of scholar funds and an online global student marketplace. This is a global initiative to build the next generation of DNotes leaders and stakeholders, leading to mass consumer and mass merchant adoption of DNotes as a medium of exchange. Universities, students, clubs and schools worldwide are invited to contact DNotes at contact@dnotescoin.com to arrange for distribution of free DNotes to students to initiate their cryptocurrency savings, and to learn of other exciting opportunities in the world of emergent digital currencies. About DNotes And Alan Yong: DNotes co-founder Alan Yong established personal computer company Dauphin Technology in 1988, which had contracts with IBM, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Treasury. Having been well regarded as a visionary of a different tech era, emerging cryptocurrencies remind Yong of the early years of personal computers in the late 1980's. For more information about us, please visit http://dnotesvault.com/crisp-for-students.php . Contact Info: Name: Alan Yong Email: Contact@DNotescoin.com Organization: DNotes SOURCE: DNotes || Why Billionaire Investor Reid Hoffman Is Betting Big on Bitcoin: Reid Hoffman has an expert eye for promising tech startups. The LinkedIn chairman and co-founder's early stakes in Facebook, Airbnb and Dropbox prove he's able to see the next big thing before most of us even know what it is -- and it’s paid off for him time and again.
These days, the so-called“startup whisperer”is placing his bets on Bitcoin. As a full-time partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners, he claims his primary focus is to invest in“world-class entrepreneurs with new categories of ideas with the possibility of massive scale.”One of those entrepreneurs isWences Casares, co-founder ofXapo, an ambitious, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bitcoin wallet and storage startup. With Hoffman leading the charge, Greylock invested $20 million in Xapo last year.
“Bitcoin has the potential to be a massively disruptive technology,” Hoffman wrote in apostannouncing the investment last July. “It is the leading digital currency and it’s growing fast.”
Related:LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman: Success Tips From Silicon Valley
Then, in November -- a month before Bloomberg declared Bitcointhe worst-performing currencyof 2014 -- he announced a hefty personal stake in Bitcoin that he brokered, a $21 million investment intoBlockstream. The Montreal-based startup aims toimprove upon Bitcoin’s blockchainbackbone, the shared public ledger upon which the virtual currency’s entire network relies.
We caught up with the father of online professional networking recently to find out why he’s betting big on Bitcoin and why he thinks the controversial cryptocurrency is here to stay. What follows are portions of that interview, edited for clarity and brevity.
Related:Why This Internet Pioneer Thinks Bitcoin Has the Power to Break the Cycle of Poverty
When did Bitcoin first pique your curiosity and when did you become a believer?I first got into it after speaking with Wences Casares, who I refer to as Patient Zero for Bitcoin in Silicon Valley. Patient Zero is the first infection of a viral contagion.
I’d been paying attention to Bitcoin because a couple of other people that Wences had talked with, like Katana Capital founder Charlie Songhurst, had also talked to me about it and said that it was very important. No one had made the argument in a way that stuck yet, but it made me curious. I started to really think about it, so I sought out Wences in the summer of 2013. We had a fairly thorough conversation. He articulated very strong positive theories about Bitcoin and I began to feel empowered.
Related:IBM Looking at Adopting Bitcoin Technology for Major Currencies
What is most interesting about Bitcoin to you? What attracts you to it?Once I started really digging into it, I came to realize that there are three aspects to Bitcoin that are interwoven and Bitcoin is most interesting because of them. They are: One, it’s an asset, like digital gold 2.0. Two, it’s a currency in as much as currency is like the digital app that allows you to begin to transact and trade. And, three, it’s also a platform where you can build financial and other products on top of it. These attributes all bound together are what convinced me that there’s a certainty that there will be at least one global cryptocurrency and that there’s a good argument that it’s Bitcoin, or that Bitcoin is one of them, if not THE one. And, if Bitcoin isn’t that global cryptocurrency, than something else will be.
I think that a global cryptocurrency that is an asset, a currency and a platform, is pretty essential for good progress in what we can do when it comes to building products and services, banking the unbanked in the third world and creating effective commerce across borders, among other things.
Related:'Days Felt Like Years': What Morgan Spurlock Found When He Tried to Survive on Bitcoin for a Week
You’ve said that you’re not concerned with the day-to-day price of Bitcoin, that you’re more focused on the long-game outlook of your Bitcoin investments. Why?My investment philosophy is very much long-term. I don’t do any small trades, like, “Oh, I’ll own this for a year and then I’ll sell it.” I invest only in long-term trends. That’s part of the reason I’m a venture investor. When I invested in Airbnb, when it was totally a new and random thing, most people said, “No way, no one’s gonna’ have strangers over at their house to rent a room, etc.” I saw it differently.
When I invest, I think, “What is the way the world should be and is this investment part of that end? Is this plan the best plan for that to happen?” So that’s minimum five years. When it comes to Bitcoin, that’s the framework that I think about it in.
Why do you think the price of Bitcoin has diminished so much since late 2013, when it soared above $1,000?I think that the price drop has gotten lost in asset speculation. A lot of people were like, “Oh, my God, I gotta’ get in now!” They thought it was a get rich quick scheme. Obviously the run up was driven by speculation. Speculation tends to be very volatile to, “Oh, my God, it’s headed down now. Oh, get out quick.” Speculators are not long-term buyers. Speculators are cash in on the upswing and know when to get off the boat.
Honestly, I don’t even check the price. I don’t even know what it is right now. I would guess it’s around $200-ish. Once it went down to $200, it’s actually not been that volatile since. The volatility decreased after that big drop and it’s now coming to a point where it’s at the current clearing price.
Related:How a Teenage Entrepreneur Built a Startup on Bitcoin Riches
What are the biggest challenges holding Bitcoin back from mass adoption?There aren’t enough use cases that make it easy enough to transact in Bitcoin yet. It has to be easy to use and reliably fulfill people’s needs. Most of the places a digital asset is needed very badly are not places like the U.S., where I can sit with my dollars in the bank. It’s more like Argentina or Ukraine or Russia. Those areas still have to get to the point where it’s useful.
Once you get the asset store working in those locations, you have to figure out where people want to transact in Bitcoin. Is it cross-border transactions? Is it other types of transactions that are unique and difficult to do?
While it’s cool thatOverstockwill accept Bitcoin, a lot of people in the U.S. have credit cards and can buy from Overstock with them, so they don’t need to get Bitcoin in order to buy from Overstock. Most mass adoption of technology doesn’t just go do something just because it’s cool. When you get mass adoption, it’s because it’s serving a need.
Related:Winklevoss Twins: Bitcoin Is Like a 'Child Taking Its First Steps' But Will One Day Win the Finance Marathon
What is your advice to those considering investing in the Bitcoin space?Roughly speaking, it’s very much like a venture investment. What I tell people who are angel investors investing in it, even though I think that the likelihood that Bitcoin will go to zero is very low, I say don’t invest in something you’re not willing to lose, or lose a good portion of. Now, for portfolio management, like if you have $10,000 and you invest $500, that’s usually kind of an unsafe side bet.
If you’re interested in Bitcoin, if you believe it’s part of how you think the world should be, the way the world will eventually end up going towards and you want to participate in that, then it might be for you. Or, if you’re in some place where you have no real, good asset value store and you’re uncertain about the banks, you’re uncertain about the government currency, then Bitcoin can provide a useful asset store for you.
Related:16 Startup Trends That Will Be Huge in 2015
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
Current price: 196.02£ $BTCGBP $btc #bitcoin 2015-03-16 21:00:08 GMT || Screen-Shot-2015-03-09-at-10.25.00-AM.png (839×465) http://buff.ly/1Eb8Snu
#bitcoin pic.twitter.com/EcOuRrvli0 || Current price: 272.31$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-03-07 00:40:03 EST || LIVE: Profit = $70.13 (0.46 %). BUY B57.00 @ $269.58 (#BTCe). SELL @ $271.27 (#Bitfinex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 16969.00 INR Sell : 16426.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin || 1 #BTC (#Bitcoin) quotes:
$273.76/$275.55 #Bitstamp
$273.00/$273.12 #BTCe
⇢$-2.55/$-0.64
$278.08/$278.62 #Coinbase
⇢$2.53/$4.86 || Current price: 264.25$ $BTCUSD $btc #bitcoin 2015-03-20 00:20:03 EDT || LIVE: Profit = $1,080.65 (28.88 %). BUY B16.73 @ $222.64 (#BTCe). SELL @ $230.00 (#VirCurex) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || In the last 10 mins, there were arb opps spanning 26 exchange pair(s), yielding profits ranging between $0.00 and $814.27 #bitcoin #btc || buysellbitco.in #bitcoin price in INR, Buy : 17698.00 INR Sell : 17144.00 INR. Buy and sell bitcoin in #India using #buysellbitcoin
|
Trend: no change || Prices: 235.27, 234.18, 236.46, 231.27, 226.39, 219.43, 229.29, 225.85, 225.81, 236.15
|
Analyze the provided historical prices, technical indicators, news, and social media sentiment from the last 60 days. Based on this context, predict the overall trend (up, down, or no change) and the specific daily closing prices for Bitcoin for the next 10 days.
|
[Technical Analysis]
Not fully available.
[Random Sample of News (last 60 days)]
How to avoid the massive WannaCry ransomware attack: On Friday a major piece of malware hit the web, and throughout the weekend infected hundreds of thousands of computers, taking down everything from businesses to the U.K.’s National Health Service. The software, dubbed WannaCry 2.0, is what’s known as ransomware.
A type of malware that burrows into your computer, ransomware encrypts the files on your machine, keeping you from being able to access them. The malware’s creator then asks that you to pay a fee to unlock your data.
The first round of the WannaCry 2.0 attack seems to have passed. But chances are the creator, or some other hacker, will repurpose the malware and send it back into the wild again.
Here’s how can you avoid this software, and what can you should if your machine is infected. The biggest tip I can give you is to simply keep your computer’s software updated.
And of course, never pay these ransoms.
Let’s start with the basics. A particularly nefarious form of malware, ransomware is a piece of software criminals use to lock you out of your computer by encrypting its files and holding them for ransom for a specific dollar amount. WannaCry 2.0 uses a vulnerability in Microsoft’s(MSFT)Windows operating system to attack users’ computers.
The vulnerability was originally made public when a hacking group released the exploit online, claiming to have stolen software exploits from the National Security Agency.
If your machine is infected, and you don’t pay up, you can potentially say goodbye to your photos, tax documents, pay stubs, and any other documents you’ve saved throughout the years.
This isn’t some idle threat, either. If you don’t pay, your documents will disappear or simply stay locked up until you completely reformat your system.
Ransomware programs sometimes require you to pay in Bitcoin, an anonymous currency that can’t be tracked.
However, criminals have increasingly begun demanding payment in the form of iTunes or Amazon gift cards, since the average person doesn’t know how to use Bitcoin, according to McAfee’s Gary Davis.
The amount you have to pay to unlock your computer can vary, with some experts saying criminals will ask for up to $500.
To be clear, ransomware doesn’t just target Windows PCs. The malware has been known to impact systems ranging from Android phones and tablets to Linux-based computers and Macs.
According to Davis, ransomware was actually popular among cybercriminals over a decade ago. But it was far easier to catch the perpetrators back then since anonymous currency like Bitcoin didn’t exist yet. Bitcoin helped changed all that by making it nearly impossible to track criminals based on how victims pay them.
There are multiple types of ransomware out there, according to Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisor with the computer security company Sophos. Each variation is tied to seven or eight criminal organizations.
Those groups build the software and then sell it on the black market, where other criminals purchase it and then begin using it for their own gains.
Ransomware doesn’t just pop up on your computer by magic. You actually have to download it. And while you could swear up and down that you’d never be tricked into downloading malware, cybercriminals get plenty of people to do just that.
Here’s the thing: That email you opened to get ransomware on your computer in the first place was specifically written to get you to believe it was real. That’s because criminals use social engineering to craft their messages.
For example, hackers can determine your location and send emails that look like they’re from companies based in your country.
“Criminals are looking are looking up information about where you live, so you’ll click (emails),” Wisniewski explained to Yahoo Finance. “So if you’re in America, you’ll see something from Citi Bank, rather than Deutsche Bank, which is in Germany.”
Cybercriminals can also target ransomware messages to the time of year. So if it’s the holiday shopping season, criminals might send out messages supposedly from companies like the US Postal Service, FedEx or DHL. If it’s tax time, you could receive a message that says it’s from the IRS.
Other ransomware messages might claim the FBI has targeted you for using illegal software or viewing child pornography on your computer. Then, the message will tell you to click a link to a site to pay a fine — only to lock up your computer after you click.
It’s not just email, though. An attack known as a drive-by can get you if you simply visit certain websites. That’s because criminals have the ability to inject their malware into ads or links on poorly secured sites. When you go to such a site, you’ll download the ransomware. Just like that, you’re locked out of your computer.
Ransomware attacks vulnerabilities in outdated versions of software. So, believe it or not, the best way to protect yourself is to constantly update your operating system’s software and apps like Adobe Reader. That means you should always click that little “update” notification on your desktop, phone, or tablet. Don’t put it off.
Beyond that, you should always remember to back up your files. You can either do that by backing them up to a cloud service like Amazon(AMZN)Cloud, Google(GOOG,GOOGL)Drive or Apple’s(AAPL)iCloud, or by backing up to an external drive.
That said, you’ll want to be careful with how you back up your content. That’s because, according to Kaspersky Lab’s Ryan Naraine, some ransomware can infect your backups.
Naraine warns against staying logged into your cloud service all the time, as some forms of malware can lock you out of even them. What’s more, if you’re backing up to an external hard drive, you’ll want to disconnect it from your PC when you’re finished, or the ransomware could lock that, as well.
Naraine also says you should disconnect your computer from the internet if you see your system being actively encrypted. Doing so, he explains, could prevent all of your files that have yet to be encrypted from being locked.
Above all, every expert I spoke with recommended installing some form of anti-virus software and some kind of web browser filtering. With both types of software installed, your system up to date, and a backup available, you should be well-protected.
Oh, and for the love of god, avoid downloading any suspicious files or visiting sketchy websites.
Even if you follow all of the above steps, ransomware could still infect your computer or mobile device. If that’s the case, you have only a few options.
The first and easiest choice is to delete your computer or mobile device and reinstall your operating system. You’ll lose everything, but you won’t have to pay some criminal who’s holding your files hostage.
Some security software makers also sell programs that can decrypt your files. That said, by purchasing one, you’re betting that it will work on the ransomware on your computer, which isn’t always the case. On top of that, ransomware makers can update their malware to beat security software makers’ offerings.
All of the experts agree that the average person should never pay the ransom — even if it means losing their files. Doing so, they say, helps perpetuate a criminal act and emboldens ransomware makers.
Even if you do pay up, the ransomware could have left some other form of malware on your computer that you might not see.
In other words: Tell the criminals to take a hike.
More from Dan:
• Microsoft is setting itself apart from Apple in a big way
• Microsoft declares war on Amazon’s cloud services
• How a new Microsoft prototype has given a woman with Parkinson’s a crucial ability
• How Microsoft’s Cortana is taking on Amazon’s Alexa
• How to delete your data from your old devices
• Warren Buffett: AI is good for society but ‘enormously disruptive’
Email Daniel atdhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at@DanielHowley. || Fretting over savings, Mrs Watanabe turns to bitcoin: By Minami Funakoshi and Joyce Lee TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - Long the preserve of geeky enthusiasts, bitcoin is going mainstream in Asia, attracting Mrs Watanabe - the metaphorical Japanese housewife investor - South Korean retirees and thousands of others trying to escape rock-bottom savings rates by investing in the cryptocurrency. Asia's moms and pops, already regular investors in stock and futures markets, have been dazzled by bitcoin's 100 percent surge so far this year. In comparison, the broader Asian stocks benchmark has gained 17 percent over the same period. Even after a tumble from last week's record $2,779.08 high, bitcoin rose more than 60 percent in May alone - driven higher in part by investors in Japan and South Korea stepping in as China cooled after a central bank crackdown earlier this year. (For a graphic on bitcoin economy click http://tmsnrt.rs/2skLZ3c) Over the last two weeks, and encouraged by Japan's recognition of bitcoin as legal tender in April, exchanges say interest has jumped from the two countries. Bitcoin trades at a premium in both, due to tough money-laundering rules that make it hard for people to move bitcoin in and out. "After I first heard about the bitcoin scheme, I was so excited I couldn't sleep. It's like buying a dream," said Mutsuko Higo, a 55-year-old Japanese social insurance and labor consultant who bought around 200,000 yen ($1800) worth of bitcoin in March to supplement her retirement savings. "Everyone says we can't rely on Japanese pensions anymore," she said. "This worries me, so I started bitcoins." Asia has proved fertile ground for bitcoin due to the region's thriving retail investment culture, where swapping investment tips is already common. China, Japan and South Korea are home to several of the world's busiest cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a ranking by CoinMarketCap. "Right now, it's a form of speculation, like stocks," said Park Hyo-jin, a 27-year-old South Korean who owns around 3 million won ($2,700) of bitcoin. "I don't think anybody in South Korea buys bitcoin to use it." The risks, though, are rising too. Bitcoin is largely unregulated across Asia, while rules governing bitcoin exchanges can be patchy. In Hong Kong, bitcoin exchanges operate under money service operator licenses - like money changers - while in South Korea they are regulated similar to online shopping malls, trading physical goods. Often there are no rules on investor protection. BITCOIN WHEN YOU DIE Park and Higo were drawn into bitcoin by friends. Others are attracted through seminars, social media groups and blogs penned by amateur investors. Noboru Hanaki, a 27-year-old Japanese web marketer and bitcoin investor, said his personal finance blog gets around 30,000 page views each month. The most popular post is an explanation of bitcoin, he said, noting that when the bitcoin price surged last month, readership of the article doubled. Rachel Poole, a Hong Kong-based kindergarten teacher, said she read about bitcoin in the press, and bought five bitcoins in March for around HK$40,000 ($5,100) after studying blogs on the topic. She kept four as an investment and has made HK$12,000 tax-free trading the fifth after classes. "I wish I'd done it earlier," she said. Not everyone's making money. The bitcoin frenzy has spawned scams, with police in South Korea last month uncovering a $55 million cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that sucked in thousands of homemakers, workers and self-employed businessmen seduced by slick marketing and promises of wealth. Seminars in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong promote similar multi-level marketing schemes that require investors to pay an upfront membership fee of as much as $9,000. Members are encouraged to promote the cryptocurrency and bring in new members in return for some bitcoins and other benefits. One such Tokyo scheme offered members-only shopping websites that accept bitcoin, 24-hour assistance for car and computer problems, and bitcoin-based gifts when a member gets married, has a baby - or even dies, according to marketing materials seen by Reuters. Leonhard Weese, president of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong and a bitcoin investor, warned amateur investors against speculating in the digital currency. "Trading carries huge risk: there is no investor protection and plenty of market manipulation and insider trading. Some of the exchanges cannot be trusted in my opinion." Some larger exchanges have voluntarily adopted security measures and compensation guarantees, according to their websites, although there are dozens of smaller platforms operating more or less unchecked. In South Korea, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has set up a task force to explore regulating cryptocurrencies, but it has not set a timeline for publishing its conclusions, an official there said. In Japan - where memories are still fresh of the spectacular 2014 collapse of Mt. Gox, the world's biggest bitcoin exchange at the time - the Financial Services Agency (FSA) said it supervises bitcoin exchanges, but not traders or investors. "The government is not guaranteeing the value of cryptocurrencies. We are asking for bitcoin exchanges to fully explain the risk of sharp price moves," an FSA official said. Some professional investors say bitcoin can be a useful hedge to help diversify a portfolio, but investors should be cautious. "This is an extremely volatile and innovative asset class," said Pietro Ventani, managing director of APP Advisers, an asset allocation strategy firm. (Reporting by Minami Funakoshi in Tokyo and Joyce Lee in Seoul, with additional reporting by Michelle Price in Hong Kong and Yoshiyuki Osada, Takahiko Wada and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo; Writing by Michelle Price; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Ian Geoghegan) || Yes, Bitcoin is a bubble and it’s about to burst: The popularity of trading Bitcoin has now reached the point where none other than the New York Times sees fit to declare cryptocurrencies, or more specifically initial coin offerings, “The Easiest Path To Riches On The Web.” Not to be left out, CNBC published abrief tutorialon trading crypto with your smartphone and MarketWatch featured ateenage bitcoin millionairewho now forecasts a $1 million price target.
These are exactly the sort of headlines and stories that characterize a speculative mania otherwise known as a “bubble.” For anyone who was around during the dotcom mania this should quickly bring back memories of all the folks who flocked to day-trading tech stocks. But to really understand the mania you need to look no further than the primary argument in buying crypto in the first place. Investors here claim the value comes from the limited supply. The trouble is there is an unlimited number of types of coins that can be created!
What makes the “initial coin offering” craze that much crazier than the day-trading mania is that these are essentially nothing more than very thinly-veiled ponzi schemes. In fact, someone saw fit to to actually create aPonziCoin(at least they’re up front about it).
Now some will make the argument that it can’t be a bubble when so many are calling it a bubble. These folks should have learned this lesson during the housing bubble. The fact is it’s only a bubble once everyone acknowledges it’s a bubble. And by the time they do the game is up.
We’re seeing the very same thing in Bitcoin today. Crypto traders know it’s a bubble. Like every bubble (or ponzi scheme) they’re counting on a greater fool paying an even more insane price so they can realize a profit. But it looks like we may have already reached the point of maximum foolishness. Time will tell.
Header image via Bitcoin.org || Jeff Gundlach has a theory on why bitcoin is surging: Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital, said Tuesday there could be a connection between bitcoin prices and the decline inChinesestocks.
In a Tuesday afternoon tweet, Gundlach noted that bitcoin has doubled in less than 2 months, while the Shanghai composite has fallen "almost 10%" over the same time period. In contrast, most major indexes have climbed so far this year — the MSCI World Index is up nearly 8.8 percent.
The theory is the Chinese search for safe investments outside the country when asset prices fall sends buyers intobitcoin. The Chinese yuan's weakness in the last two years has also contributed to capital flight.
However, now more than just Chinese investors are driving bitcoin's price. Gundlach isn't wrong — there's just more to the story.
"I think it is part of the equation but not the entire reason for the move in bitcoin," said Brian Kelly, CEO of BKCM and a CNBC contributor, in an email.
Kelly, who manages a fund focused on digital currencies, pointed to increased demand from trade denominated in Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar.
Trade in the Japanese yen has taken a greater share of volume, sometimes about half, as local authorities recognized bitcoin as a legal form of pay.
Meanwhile, Chinese demand shrank drastically this January when the People's Bank of China began investigating local bitcoin exchanges.
China's share of global bitcoin trade volume, as measured by trade in yuan, has fallen from a roughly 80 to 95 percent share to 10 percent or less since January, according to CryptoCompare.
Six-month bitcoin trade volume by currency
Source: CryptoCompare
The Shanghai composite(Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC)has also fallen this year under pressure from increased Chinese regulation. The index is also down not quite 10 percent over the last two months — the composite has fallen 5.65 percent between March 22 and Tuesday, in local currency terms.
Bitcoin has risen 120 percent from $1,037.44 on March 22 to a fresh record of $2,291.09 on Tuesday.
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• Australia's market operator eyes more offshore listings || Bitcoin surges to all-time high above $1,700: By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Digital currency bitcoin hit a record high on Tuesday as demand for crypto-assets soared with the creation of new tokens to raise funding for start-ups using blockchain technology. Blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin, is a financial ledger maintained by a network of computers that can track the movement of any asset wthout the need for a central regulator Bitcoin hit a record $1,760.40 on the BitStamp platform and was last at $1,747.89, up 6 percent on the day. So far this year, bitcoin has surged nearly 80 percent. Bitcoin's market capitalization on Tuesday soared to $52.5 billion, according to data from coinmarketcap.com. Aside from being an asset that can be traded on exchanges like stocks and bonds, bitcoin has become a mode of payment for some retailers, such as Overstock.com, and a way to transfer funds without the need for a third party. "We have an influx of new capital in the space and that capital goes back and forth among crypto-assets and bitcoin," said Chris Burniske, blockchain products leader at ARK Invest in New York, which manages exchange-traded funds. "Bitcoin is still the main liquidity provider in the market and people use it to buy other crypto-assets." That said, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari has been skeptical about bitcoin's outlook, noting that blockchain has more potential for being adopted in the future than the digital currency itself. "I think sentiment has shifted in the markets, in the Fed," Kashkari said at a technology conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Still, a big part of bitcoin's recent surge is the increase in demand for other digital currencies being sold in so-called "initial coin offerings," or ICOs. Under ICOs, blockchain start-ups sell their tokens directly to the public to raise capital without any regulatory oversight. At least 40 start-ups have launched an ICO this year, according Smith + Crown data. "For the first time in financial history, founders can access capital from both large and small investors armed with nothing more than a slick website," said Arthur Hayes, chief executive at crypto-currency derivatives trading platform BitMEX. Analysts say the foundation for bitcoin's gains was set last July in a process called "halving," in which rewards offered to bitcoin miners shrink. That has constrained bitcoin's supply. Bitcoin relies on so-called "mining" computers that validate blocks of transactions by competing to solve mathematical puzzles every 10 minutes. In return, the first to solve the puzzle and clear the transaction is rewarded with new bitcoins. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Dan Grebler) || Leon Cooperman: I settled with the SEC because 'I'm wealthy' and an easy target: Fresh off a settlement with government regulators regarding insider trading charges, hedge fund titan Leon Cooperman said he would have won the case but chose to settle instead. Cooperman's firm agreed earlier this month to a $4.9 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after allegations of insider trading. As part of the settlement, Omega Advisors admitted to no wrongdoing. In a live interview Tuesday with CNBC, Cooperman said his lawyers assured him his case was solid, but that proceeding with a trial would have been difficult. "My lawyers told me that the probability of my winning would be overwhelmingly high, that if I didn't win it had nothing to do with the merits of the case," he said. "It would have to do with the fact that I'm a former Goldman partner, I'm a hedge fund manager, I'm wealthy. Those are enough factoids that impress juries." His lawyers also told him that the cost of a trial could hit $20 million due to appeals the government likely would have filed if it had lost. Cooperman said the SEC initially had offered a settlement of $9 million and a five-year ban from the industry, which he rejected. The ban in particular essentially would have taken the 74-year-old Cooperman out of business for life. "I didn't want to tilt at windmills," he added. "I didn't want to go on for another two or three years, because I promised my investors from day one that this would not cost them anything — between the insurance and my own money I would take care of everything and that basically it would not distract me from doing the job." SEC officials declined comment to CNBC on Cooperman's statements. Cooperman said he's received high levels of support from clients and colleagues during his ordeal. Billionaire businessman Mark Cuban chimed in on Twitter during Cooperman's interview: Great job on @CNBC Leon Cooperman. Way to join the SEC ass kickers club. They are still a mess. In statements before the settlement, Cooperman repeatedly denied the firm did anything wrong. Cooperman did not receive any suspension from the securities industry, perhaps the most significant part of the settlement. Story continues The commission had alleged that Cooperman used his standing as a major shareholder in Atlas Pipeline Partners to get confidential information that he ultimately used to trade and gain $4 million in profits. Along with the cash settlement, Omega is required to keep an outside consultant on hand to monitor trading for the next five years. Cooperman said the cost to his firm has been major and "way out of proportion to what was reasonable." In all, Omega has lost about $4 billion in client asset withdrawal, taking the total under management to $3.6 billion. "The process in my opinion was totally abusive. It's a problem that the government should address," he said. More From CNBC Steve Cohen reportedly plans record-breaking $20 billion hedge-fund comeback Bitcoin is outperforming major assets but hedge funds are still staying away General Motors shareholders advised against hedge fund-backed plan || A sneak peek inside New York City's first Amazon bookstore: Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN)'s first New York City bookstore, Amazon Books, will open on Thursday morning, marking Amazon's highest-profile move into bricks-and-mortar retail to date.
With over 3,000 titles on sale, the Columbus Circle store is one of two stores planned for the Big Apple, and six that are already open around the U.S. By displaying ratings and reviews, the store leverages Amazon's 20 years of book-selling data, in many ways mimicking the experience of Amazon.com.
Amazon Books divides books into sections by what is popular nearby and what is read fastest on Kindle. In the most popular area of the store, books are displayed on shelves in groupings that often recommended together online.
A customer review, the number of total Amazon.com reviews and a star rating are displayed under each book on the shelf. All the books in the store either received four-star ratings and above on Amazon.com, or come from lists of best sellers or a hand-curated selection of new, yet-to-be reviewed titles.
Amazon even selected the Columbus Circle neighborhood on Manhattan's west side based on data about nearby book purchases, Kindle ownership and Prime membership, in addition to factors like foot traffic and tourism, according to Jennifer Cast, vice president of Amazon Books.
Online shopping tends to be driven by searches for products that users already know about, Cast said. But the brick-and-mortar locations aim to provide a "mecca of discovery" for book lovers, Cast said. The books all have the covers, not the spines, facing out, to encourage browsing —even though the store could have fit as many as 5,000 more titles if books were displayed the conventional way, Cast said.
The store also provides a strong incentive for customers to join Amazon's online loyalty program, Prime — a program that analysts say prompts more spending on Amazon.com. Though it's possible to check out like a regular bookstore, Amazon Books offers significant discounts to Amazon Prime members who make purchases through the app.
It's all part of Amazon's push to give consumers new ways to shop with more information and flexibility, Cast said.
Using a camera within the app, consumers can scan their purchases, opting to either have them shipped or scanned by the cashier. There's also an electronics section with Amazon's Kindles and Echos, and more technology-inspired products are coming, including more integration with audiobooks on Audible, Cast said.
Amazon first made its name selling books, but the bookstores are far from its only brick-and-mortar experiment. The company also has plans forconvenience stores and grocery storesthat use cutting-edge technologies like computer vision.
Amazon's new store, which opens at 10 a.m. ET on Thursday, will open as many big retailers are closing their physical locations and moving online. Retailer Bebe decided last month toclose all its stores, and JCPenney kicked offliquidation salesthis week ahead of the closure of 138 stores.
Analysts say that Amazon stands to benefit most from some of the pain in the retail industry. Cantor Fitzgerald Amazon analyst Naved Khan noted that store closures announcements this year are two times higher than a year ago, amid competitive advantages for Amazon.
Publishers also complain that as more books appear on Amazon, it'sharder to pay authorsand dampens demand for risky or unusual books.
But Cast said the "small but great" store represents Amazon's philosophy of using "data with heart." Rather than rely on just a few book store employees to cater to everyone's taste, "we let our customers be the voice," Cast said.
More From CNBC
• Here's why Ford is panicking in self-driving cars: Alphabet years ahead
• Bitcoin may have doubled this year, but rival Ethereum is up 2,000%. Here's why
• Start-up training experts to help people figure out what genetic tests mean || How Bitcoin Is Like Donald Trump: InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips
Bitcoinand other cryptocurrencies share a similarity to President Donald Trump because people keep finding themselves looking at the sizzle, when they should be eyeballing the steak.
Source: Shutterstock
Bitcoin & Co. are the sizzle. Blockchain — the technology they’re derived from — is the steak.
Crypto-currencies are backed by nothing, save the excess cash available to buy and trade them. They can rise in value as quickly as they fall because they’re even less real than the baseball cards you had as a kid.
It’s true. Some people are “making” real money with them, getting in early. But when the leaders of a “market” are convictedconvicted felons, you’re dealing with professional wrestling, not a real sport.
Blockchain — the idea of an encrypted ledger, with an audit trail to resist manipulation, andan Internet-like structure to resist attack— is the steak here.
• Should You Buy Bitcoin? 3 Pros, 3 Cons
Blockchain can secure all kinds of markets, and fully automate markets like payments you thought were automated already. This lies at the heart of the technology.
The more scaled the database technology behind a blockchain, the greater its throughput and the more business it can handle. This is the reason the cryptocoinEthereumis now outperforming Bitcoin in the market. Ethereum is a newer implementation of the blockchain technology. Its transaction processing systems have greater throughput, andeven faster systems are being developed for it.
But blockchain is not just about throughput. Blockchain systems allow information to be entered into a financial system just once, kept securely and matched by machines. There’s no re-checking and paperwork involved. This doesn’t just eliminate clerk jobs. It eliminates banking jobs, broker jobs anda host of white-collar functionsnow filling the skyscrapers of central cities around the world.
It can also eliminate oversight jobs. Early Bitcoin pioneers liked to claim their system was private and anonymous. That’s why it attracted illegal markets like Silk Road and continues to attract ransomware hackers. But it doesn’t have to be private, which is behind efforts by big banks and governments to control (and tax) it.
The key to blockchain is Internet-based technology bypassing gatekeepers. Keep that in mind whenever you read a story about blockchain.
The big news on the cryptocurrency front was the bursting of what looks to have been a bubble in leading currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Ethereum seems to have peaked at $413 per coin on June 9, hitting an intra-day low of $208 on June 26 before recovering to about $292 two days later. This had analysts with history degrees trotting out their “tulip mania” charts. Bitcoins peaked at $3,000, falling back to $2,550.
This could be just a blow-off in a hot market — Ethereum was at $25 at the start of the year, Bitcoins at $1,000 — orit could be the start of something larger.
The cryptocurrency markets are filled with speculators and traders. It is a global market, and we are a long way off from the kind of stability that would let these products stand in for real money.
• Bitcoin Is Cryptocurrency, But It's Not Currency
But as commodities, they are fun.
A group called theDecentralized News Networkin New Jersey is announcing the first version of its blockchain-powered news service.
DNN has built a blockchain that will let editors or publishers order political stories, freelancers sign up to write them, and handle the payments.
Writers will get a small number of “DNN Tokens” when they sign up, installingMetaMask, an Ethereum plug-in, which would be used on the test bed atKovan, a Turkish research institution. Editors and publishers would buy Kovan tokens and offer them to writers through the testbed.
Dana Blankenhornis a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of the historical mystery romanceThe Reluctant Detective Travels in Time, available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him atdanablankenhorn@gmail.comor follow him on Twitter at@danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned no shares of companies mentioned in this story. To follow the value of crypto currencies bookmarkCoinmarketcap.
The postHow Bitcoin Is Like Donald Trumpappeared first onInvestorPlace. || Daily Market Forecast, June 26, 2017 – EUR/USD, Gold, Crude Oil, USD/JPY, GBP/USD: GBP/USD: Pound Rebound Continue The Pound has continued to get stronger in early trading against the U.S Dollar as the week has begun. The U.K government has announced it will pursue trade talks with emerging markets globally. The Pound is above the 1.27 mark handily, and the 1.28 mark may be interpreted as resistance. Traders may look for short-term reversals today, but the Pound’s rebound should be taken seriously. Gold: Central Bank Shadows Gold has sold off slightly this morning. The precious metal made solid gains last week and was able to hold onto its value. The 1250.00 U.S Dollars an ounce price could be viewed as support. Gold will be affected by central bank leaders who will be speaking this week almost on a daily basis. The precious metal is likely to see heavy speculation in the coming days. EUR/USD: Test of Values Coming The Euro continues to trade near the 1.12 level against the U.S Dollar. The European currency has been in a tight range the past week, but has maintained the upper realm of its value nicely. However, the Euro may be ready to break the consolidated mode it has idled within and test higher prices. The European Central Bank holds its forum this week and will certainly provide trading impetus. Crude Oil: Traders Speculating on Reversal Crude Oil has gained early. The commodity has shown support around the 43.00 U.S Dollars a barrel level holding. Traders may be tempted to continue to test for upward momentum, based on the hope a reversal is developing after the rather strong downward trend Crude Oil has experienced the past few weeks. USD/JPY: Scalpers Market The Yen has experienced a tight range against the U.S Dollar and its consolidated band continues to be seen today. Traders may find the opportunity to take advantage of small movements scalping, if they are patient enough to let momentary price action take its natural path. The 111.00 mark between the Yen and U.S Dollar remains a talking point. Yaron Mazor is a senior analyst at SuperTraderTV. Story continues SuperTraderTV Academy is a leader in investing and stock trading education. Sign up for a class today to learn proven strategies on how to trade smarter. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Choice Act Reduces Regulatory Burdens, but Makes System Less Safe Big Data and Big Speculation will set the Tone for the Week The EUR and the GBP on the Offensive, while the USD Shifts to Defense Gold Prices Correct As Expected Daily Economic Calendar – June 26, 2017 Bitcoin Poised to End Week off Weekly Highs Despite Expectations of Indian Adoption || Is Bitcoin a Currency or a Bubble?: • (0:30) - Bitcoin Value Triples in 2017
• (2:00) - How To Buy Bitcoin and Who is Buying It?
• (7:20) - How is Bitcoin Impacted By Ransomware
• (9:40) - How Does Bitcoin Have Value?
• (12:20) - Bitcoin V.S. Ethereum
• (14:00) - How To Invest Into Bitcoin
• (20:55) - Marijuana Cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offering and Block Chain Tech
• (25:40) - Episode Roundup: Podcast@Zacks.com
Welcome to Episode #86 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.
Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.
In this episode, Tracey is joined by Dave Bartosiak, editor of the Zacks Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor, and who also hosts Zacks Live Trader, which trades options on YouTube, to discuss a topic that is getting a lot of interest on Wall Street: the Bitcoin trade.
Bitcoin is a digital currency which has tripled in value in 2017. It hit as high as $3,000 before pulling back.
Whenever something triples in a short period of time, you can be guaranteed that people are taking notice and want to get in.
What IS Bitcoin? Tracey knows it from the ransomware attacks but it’s more complex than that. Dave breaks it down.
How Can You Play the Bitcoin Trade?
1. Buy Bitcoin using the Bitcoin wallet.
2. If you qualify, buy the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which is called the “ETF of Bitcoin” even though the SEC has turned down the Winklevoss’ attempt to actually launch an ETF. The SEC has been concerned the market is unregulated. The GBTC trades on the OTC market.
3. Invest in hedge funds that buy Bitcoins.
4. Buy into companies that are developing the back end, such as Microsoft’s (MSFT) cloud business, Azure, which just won a contract with India’s largest banks to host the nodes that will relay transactions on their distributed ledger systems. Amazon (AMZN) is another option as its cloud business has been pushing blockchain for over year.
Investing in Bitcoin is difficult. Trading it is pretty easy.
The industry reminds Tracey of the marijuana trade, which is also hot but hard to invest in. She and Dave did a podcast earlier this year on the marijuana stocks: Can You Get Rich Off the Marijuana Stocks?
Is Bitcoin the new tulip mania?
Will it crash and burn or is there something to this rally?
Find out the answers on this week’s podcast.
[In full disclosure, Tracey owns shares of AMZN in her personal portfolio.]
Want to Learn How to Trade Options?
Have you always wanted to trade stock options but are unsure where to begin or what to look for?
Each week, Zacks’ Dave Bartosiak will bring you a detailed explanation of the trades “live” on YouTube.
Watch him go through the trade as he answers your questions in real time.
Become one of Dave’s minions. Join the Zacks Live Trader community today. Click here for a free 14-day trial >>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.Click to get this free reportClick for Free Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Stock Analysis Report >>Click for Free Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Stock Analysis Report >>SPDR-GOLD TRUST (GLD): ETF Research ReportsSPDR-SP 500 TR (SPY): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research
[Random Sample of Social Media Buzz (last 60 days)]
One Bitcoin now worth $2822.72@bitstamp. High $2868.23. Low $2790.00. Market Cap $46.243 Billion #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/aZL5tRuFyo || $2425.61 at 23:00 UTC [24h Range: $2390.00 - $2517.11 Volume: 8947 BTC] || Hoy con el Google Developer Group de #Valencia a las 19:00, en @bbooster_org #blockchain #bitcoin y un poquito de http://laeradelasblock.com pic.twitter.com/sn0d1XwBH5 || $1765.99 at 15:45 UTC [24h Range: $1733.00 - $1868.00 Volume: 13801 BTC] || 2017-06-05 18:00
1 BTC son: 14.889.573Gs. #btc #gs #pyg #bitcoin #paraguay #guaranies || Sure but can you #trust them? The people that set them up, if they are losing out they change the guidelines. #bitcoin #engagors || World News of Bitcoin http://trafficinfinityx.com/share/5941dc48f93d41610608c784/?social_media=twitter … || #Bitcoin -0.38%
Ultima: R$ 9157.01 Alta: R$ 9467.02 Baixa: R$ 9152.00
Fonte: Foxbit || LIVE: Profit = $9,666.44 (1.40 %). BUY B349.06 @ $1,989.10 (#Bitfinex). SELL @ $2,002.00 (#BitStamp) #bitcoin #btc - http://www.projectcoin.org || #BuyBitcoin for #BitcoinBetting and place your #Bitcoin #Bets today at http://btf.st/CoinMama pic.twitter.com/yWqFpR1cBV
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Trend: down || Prices: 2506.47, 2564.06, 2601.64, 2601.99, 2608.56, 2518.66, 2571.34, 2518.44, 2372.56, 2337.79
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