Improving technical bias for bitcoin could have it touch the $11,000 level pretty soon, believes Mohit Sorout of Bitazu Capital – a Bengaluru-based Alpha hedge fund.
The partner predicted the upside action after studying bitcoin based on Fibonacci retracement levels. As he noted, the cryptocurrency lately bounced wildly from 61.8 percent Fibonacci level. Earlier before, it was merely correcting after establishing its year-to-date high near circa $14,000, as shown in the chart below.
Bitcoin looking to extend gains until $11,000 | Source: Mohit Sorout
Sorout said in a tweet that bitcoin is confirming a strong support area near the $7,300 level. On a weekly chart, the cryptocurrency pulled back to the upside four times from the same level since May 20.
The statements came after bitcoin slipped by as much as 15 percent after its recent price rally. Some analysts saw the move downhill as a sign of bitcoin being stuck in a bearish bias. Renowned market analyst FlibFlib, for instance, predicted the price could extend its bearish correction to below the $8,200 level.
Amsterdam-based stock trader Michaël van der Poppe, on the other hand, asserted that even a fall towards mid $8,000s would not confirm a bearish bias.
“Still hanging on the 200-Day MA. Even a retest of $8,600 or $8,800 wouldn’t be bearish after a $3,000 candle. Stuck in this trend, but overall ranging it is.”
he tweeted.
It's a surprise that so many people are bearish after one of the biggest daily moves of Bitcoin ever, +44%.$BTC#BITCOIN
Stuck between the two bias, bitcoin – at best – appears clueless as of Thursday. The cryptocurrency has been consolidating sideways within a strict range since October 27. Some believe it is because of investors’ focus on macroeconomic events, such as the Sino-US trade talks, Brexit deal, as well as the Federal Reserve’s latest decision to introduce third rate cut in a row.
BREAKING: The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by 0.25%
+ 3 Rate cuts in a row so far
+ $120 Billion in overnight repo loans
+ $60 Billion a month in treasury bill purchases
Bulls believe pessimism in the mainstream market would make investors park their capital in bitcoin, a non-correlated asset. Moreover, the launch of one mainstream bitcoin investment product after another is showing that the industry is preparing a crypto infrastructure should demand from investors arises.
Renowned analyst PlanB believes those factors could push bitcoin rate to as far as $40,000 in 2020.
When bitcoin made the world reassess the definition of currency, it presented all a sneak-peek into the future that would run on decentralized applications – or dapps.
Educational utopians see dapps as tools to make everything you see on the internet distributed. Say, if a bank is an application governed by a central authority, bitcoin is a decentralized version of a bank that involves a lot of entities to do the same tasks of recording and maintaining financial transactions. While a bank charges hefty fees, bitcoin’s distributed network does the same job for a 99.99 percent cheaper price.
The reason is simple: Bitcoin has no boss. Its code is open-source, which means changes made to its underlying functionalities come from the process of voting. In case of, say, JP Morgan Chase, CEO Jamie Dimon takes such calls. Bitcoin rewards every participant based on their inputs while JP Morgan and every other financial institution compensate the top tier of executives the most.
The launch of Ethereum revolutionized the dapps ecosystem. Now it is easier for developers to build smart contracts and launch them atop the Ethereum blockchain – a public ledger that maintains a cryptographically-verified chain of blocks containing unmodifiable data. There is now a dapp for checking weather systems, publishing news, gambling, lending money, and many other utilities.
All participants, providing their portion of computing power to maintain and secure data of those dapps on the blockchain, get rewarded handsomely. And because there are too many of them maintaining the backend, there are also fewer worries concerning a single point of failure and downtimes.
Ethereum, meanwhile, has inspired a string of copycat projects that claim to bring something innovative on the table. There are Tron, EOS, IOST, and many other blockchain platforms competing monumentally with Ethereum for its second-largest blockchain project spot.
At CoinStats, we have curated a list of top five dapps that attracted the maximum number of users in October. Two of those apps reside on Ethereum while the other two are powered by Klaytn, the global public blockchain project launched by the South Korean internet giant Kakao. The last app works from the Steem blockchain.
5. Steemit
Steemit Webpage
Steemit is a blockchain-based blogging and social media portal, which rewards its users with the cryptocurrency STEEM for publishing and curating content. It is developed by a privately held company based in New York City with a headquarters in Virginia.
The dapp, ahead of the October close, processed about 237K Steem transactions. At the same time, around 13,000 users used the content platform, thereby becoming the fifth-largest dapp by the number of users.
4. Chainlink
Chainlink Work Model Example
Smart contracts need to communicate with the data feeds, events, and broadly accepted payment methods that centralized digital agreements rely on to provide value. By offering the building blocks needed by complicated smart contracts in the form of crucial inputs and key outputs, Chainlink – an Ethereum-based blockchain project – aims to activate the next generation of smart contracts that would step beyond tokenization to become the dominant form of digital agreement.
The dapp, ahead of the October close, processed about 58K Ether transactions. At the same time, around 22,100 users used Chainlink, thereby becoming the fourth-largest dapp by the number of users.
3. MakerDAO
MakerDAO’s Dai Stablecoin Ecosystem Screenshot
The MakerDAO Collateralized Debt Position (CDP) is an Ethereum-based smart contract that manages Dai Stablecoin Ecosystem (DSE). In retrospective, CDB creates Dai tokens in exchange for collateral which it holds in escrow until the borrowed Dai gets back into the system. The process makes a decentralized lending system running atop the Ethereum blockchain.
The dapp, ahead of the October close, processed about 105.9K Ether transactions. At the same time, around 52.1K users used MakerDAO, thereby becoming the third-largest dapp by the number of users.
2. FitsMe
FitsMe Screenshot
Cosmochain is a Klaytn-based blockchain project that connects companies and users through beauty data. FitsMe, the sixth-largest beauty app on Google Play, provides values to beauty consumers within Cosmochain’s ecosystem while serving as the means for collecting beauty data from consumers.
The dapp, ahead of the October close, processed about 442.8K Klay transactions. At the same time, around 56.7K users used FitsMe, thereby becoming the second-largest dapp by the number of users.
1. Cloudbric
Cloudbric Screenshot
Cloudbric, a Klaytn-based dapp, secures the entire blockchain experience for users and businesses alike, whether it’s guarding global exchanges or protecting cryptocurrency assets.
The dapp, ahead of the October close, processed about 302K Klay transactions. At the same time, around 151K users used Cloudbric, thereby becoming the leading dapp by the number of users.
The bitcoin price crashed on Wednesday after spending almost a month in a flat trajectory.
The bitcoin-to-dollar exchange rate was trading at $7,480 as of 1735 GMT, down 8.86 percent on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe. Earlier today, the pair had established a fresh intraday low of $7,296.44, according to data collected by CoinStats’ cryptocurrency portfolio management app. Other tokens, including Ether and XRP, also dropped by 7.5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
The flash crash came on the day when Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg was appearing before the House Finance Services Committee. The noted entrepreneur was set to face hardline questions from the committee over their controversial payment project, Libra – also a cryptocurrency.
While no evidence suggests that Zuckerberg’s hearing on the Capitol Hill contributed in any way to the bitcoin’s plunge on Wednesday. But the proximity between the two events raised eyebrows of many mainstream media agencies.
MarketWatch.com indicated that investors lost confidence in bitcoin right around the Zuckerberg’s testimony. Bloomberg also spread a similar sentiment in its report published earlier today.
BitMEX Liquidation
Reddit was way faster in finding what caused bitcoin to drop by more than $550 in minutes. A post circulating on the social media forum indicated that traders liquidated $200 million worth of Long positions on BitMEX – a controversial bitcoin derivatives platform.
Bitcoin Long Positions Liquidated on BitMEX Around the Time of Crash | Source: Reddit
On a good note, bitcoin futures volume of Bakkt surged dramatically as the cryptocurrency’s spot rate fell. Crypto Twitter showcased the trading activity’s surge as a signal of institutional investors buying Bitcoin for cheap.
Part of the reason lies in bitcoin’s long term bullish calls. Maximalists believe that the cryptocurrency would jump above $40,000 to anywhere up to $100,000 by the end of 2020. It is due to bitcoin’s scarcity against the money-printing central bank policies, which makes fiat lesser attractive. Fundstrat’s Thomas Lee even believes that the injection of new money into the market would pump bitcoin as much as it pumps the stock market.
But so far in the current quarter, bitcoin’s performance has been lower-than-expected. The cryptocurrency surged impressively in the first half of 2019, rising more than 150 percent. But in the latter half, it has now dropped by close to 50 percent.
“If buyers weren’t interested in $7,800 bitcoin, they’re likely not interested in $7,500 prices,” said Josh Rager, an independent market analyst. “It likely goes lower [with] confluence support at $7,200 below. Even after a natural bounce there, it comes down to where large/aggressive buyers are interested.”
In layman terms, Rager indicated a bounce sentiment for bitcoin.
The Technicals
Bitcoin in Falling Wedge | Source: TradingView.com, Coinbase
The latest bitcoin plunge appears hard, but its fitting well in a broader bullish narrative. The price, since establishing a swing high towards $14,000, has been making lower highs and lower lows. This is called a Falling Wedge – a continuation pattern that eventually leads to an upside breakout.
As one can see in the chart above, bitcoin is now testing the support of the Falling Wedge channel. It means the price could reverse mid-term to eye the upper trendline as its upside target. It could fluctuate inside the range for as long as it reaches the Wedge’s apex. Then, a breakout could take it out of the pattern, after which it would eye $10,000.
A breakdown, on the other hand, will invalidate the Falling Wedge. The medium-term downside target then would be near or below $6,500.
So, let’s try some HODLING after all.
Disclaimer: The author does not represent the views of CoinStats. The article above is his and his opinion only. Readers’ discretion is advised.
The market valuation of Craig Wright’s controversial blockchain project, Bitcoin SV, lately jumped to its two-month high.
The BSV-to-BTC exchange rate climbed up to 20.43 percent on Monday to retest its August 29 high of 0.0143. The pair managed to establish an intraday peak of 0.0140 before correcting lower. On Tuesday, it was down by 5.90 percent from the said high, according to data gathered by CoinStats’ cryptocurrency portfolio management app.
Bitcoin SV price ticking upwards as Bitcoin takes a break | Source: CoinSats’ Cryptocurrency Portfolio Management App
The move uphill came in the wake of Bitcoin’s lazy upside over the last few weeks. The benchmark cryptocurrency saw less bullish action while its downside risks remained higher. That happened despite a poor macroeconomic outlook around the globe, which should have sent investors to consider bitcoin as safe-haven. Uncertainties over a Brexit deal and US-China trade war, in particular, could have boosted Bitcoin rates. But they didn’t.
Traders within the cryptocurrency space saw Bitcoin’s sleaziness as a signal to hedge into altcoins. That explains why top coins, including Ethereum and Ripple, lately surged impressively against bitcoin. And now, with Bitcoin SV, showing the same price movements, it is safe to assume that bitcoin is losing its shine within the crypto market.
Bitcoin SV Technical Analysis
Bitcoin SV breaks out of a bullish range | Source: TradingView.com, BitFinex
The BSV/BTC exchange rate earlier broke out of a Falling Wedge pattern. The move signaled the pair’s inclination to extend its upside. As CoinStats noted, Bitcoin SV is clearly testing 0.0143 as its next upside target. The level should excite bulls for presenting an attractive, interim Long opportunity.
There is a possibility of Bitcoin SV pulling back from the 0.0143 level, as well. Such a move would borrow its sentiment from the Bitcoin market, which itself is struggling to regain its lost bullish bias.
Analysts believe bitcoin, now priced at around $8,200, is set to fall towards $7,000. It would prompt traders to switch back to altcoins, including Bitcoin SV. Therefore, a jump above 0.0143 could allow the BSV/BTC pair to test 0.0176 as the next bullish target. That’s a medium-term call.
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Ever since hitting the $14,000 level earlier this year, bitcoin has attracted massive selling. Traders in the third and currency quarter are busy taking profits by leaving their Long positions or going Short altogether. The result is a cryptocurrency which is now down by more than 40 percent from its year-to-date top.
Bitcoin’s failure to revive its bullish momentum has sparked fears of it sliding further. True, the cryptocurrency’s price rally this year was explosive, backed by promises of larger institutional adoption after the launch of Bakkt, an Intercontinental Exchange-backed bitcoin futures platform, and trading service launches at Fidelity, E*Trade, and TD Ameritrade. But so far, Bakkt, in particular, has been unable to bring any mass capital influx to bitcoin.
The result is a dwindling buying sentiment. Even macroeconomic risks associated with the ongoing US-China trade war, Brexit, currency devaluation, hyperinflation, and recession fears have failed to boost Bitcoin in any direction.
Bitcoin slips towards $8,000 on Wednesday | Source: Coinstats’ Cryptocurrency Portfolio Management App
Global regulators are also adding their bits to the bearish fuel. At first, they have primarily spoken against Facebook’s upcoming cryptocurrency project, Libra, which could have legitimized bitcoin’s use case before billions of people across the globe. Second, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has choked the road to institutional adoption by rejecting yet another Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
A typical investor, therefore, is putting his/her capital in risk-off assets, such as bonds and gold. An easing sentiment from central banks is also making risk-on equities more attractive than bitcoin.
Why a $6,500 Bitcoin
Strong fundamentals are not proving beneficial to bitcoin, which has prompted traders to look for clues in technical patterns. To many of them, bitcoin’s downside movements are nothing but a natural correction after its explosive price rally this year. It is like catching a breath after a long run.
Josh Rager writes that each of bitcoin’s uptrend eventually suffers a 30-40 percent pullback. The market analyst tweeted:
Bitcoin 2013 market compared to 2019
2013: Bitcoin bull market pulled back 75% over 89 days before a 1600% run-up to new highs later in the year
2019: Bitcoin has currently retraced 42% over 91 days
Rager said the price could, therefore, fall towards the mid-$6,000 region, explaining:
“IMO, the lowest $BTC will hit: between $6,300 to $6,600 where there is major interest. Price currently bounced off monthly support & if this area breaks could head to $6,600 – based on higher time frames.”
Rager’s analysis fits the pattern bitcoin is trending inside as of now. The Falling Wedge represents the green area defined by a set of lower highs and lower lows. The price could fluctuate between it unless it reaches the apex, which roughly falls in the $6,500-7,500 range. After that, bitcoin could attempt a breakout to the upside, with a target towards $14,000.
The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) became the latest high-profile organization to sink its feet deep into the bitcoin ecosystem.
The global nonprofit this week announced that it would setup a new cryptocurrency wing. The so-called fund would allow them to accept donations in multiple cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. The announcement saw UNICEF openly accepting how bitcoin is better than other legacy financial systems.
For instance, the nonprofit clarified that it is cheaper for them to accept donations via bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s underlying protocol, called blockchain, makes it possible to transfer funds across borders without charging heavy fees like banks do. Moreover, the protocol allows donators to track their funds, which is never a case with the banking systems.
Henrietta Fore, the chief executive officer of UNICEF, commented about cryptocurrencies:
“This is a new and exciting venture for Unicef. If digital economies and currencies have the potential to shape the lives of the coming generations, we must explore the opportunities they offer. That’s why the creation of our Cryptocurrency Fund is a significant and welcome step forward in humanitarian and development work.”
Christopher Fabian, the principal adviser at UNICEF Innovation, also added that by integrating cryptocurrency solutions, UNICEF plans to become a benchmark nonprofit to unite charity and technology.
“We see this as a piece of learning that we need to go through to prepare for the next decade. There’s an interest in speed and efficiency. We have a good capacity to move money globally, but there’s always friction.”
Fabian said.
Ethereum Foundation Becomes Donator
The Ethereum Foundation, an independent group that oversees the development of the Ethereum blockchain, became the first entity to have made a donation into the UNICEF’s cryptocurrency fund.
The charity, as explained by UNICEF, will benefit three projects. They include the Unicef Innovation Fund, as well as a project coordinated by the GIGA initiative to provide free internet connectivity to schools across the world.
Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, said:
“The Ethereum Foundation is excited to demonstrate the power of what Ethereum and blockchain technology can do for communities around the world. Together with Unicef, we’re taking action with the Crypto fund to improve access to basic needs, rights, and resources. We aim to support the research and development of the Ethereum platform and to grow the community of those that benefit from a technology that will better countless lives and industries in the years to come. We’d like to thank UNICEF and the UNICEF family of national committees for their leadership as we create real progress together.”
UNICEF national committees in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand also accept cryptocurrency. For example, the agency’s wing of New Zealand is ready to get donations by Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.
Unicef joins aid agencies that are already accepting donations via cryptocurrencies. They are the American Red Cross and the UN World Food Programme.
Following the recent inevitable conflict between the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) and BitPay, which later followed the termination of their partnership, HKFP has now joined BTCPay.
HKFP has been accepting bitcoin since the beginning of 2015. The nonprofit news agency, which has been one of the most unbiased voices during the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, rely on donators for operational funds. Bitcoin’s peer-to-peer payment structure gives HKFP a cheaper and speedier alternative to traditional banking systems. Even if governments try to ban HKFP for its unparalleled opinions, they cannot stop the news agency to receive payments in bitcoin.
But the world’s leading cryptocurrency comes with its set of issues. Despite being a better remittance method, bitcoin is too volatile. Its price can drop or rise by hundreds of dollars, which makes it a poor store of value, unlike the real money.
Platforms like BitPay attempts to solve the said issue. They instantly convert bitcoin into local fiat so the merchants receive the money they were supposed to receive.
Lately, HKFP started having troubled with BitPay over the same service. The media house complained that BitPay refused to donate HKFP for about three months. It stated that BitPay was unable to process banking transactions over IBAN. The event marked the second time in two months BitPay had denied services to a nonprofit. Earlier, the firm stopped a large amount of donation that was intending to stop the Amazon fires. BitPay said the donations was ‘over the maximum limit’ for the platform.
HKFP founder Tom Grundy publicly announced:
Funds held for weeks simply b/c HK banks use SWIFT not IBANs.
Never use @BitPay, folks.
Truly the worst experience you can imagine – poor reputation, abysmal communication, horrible customer service, *very* high fees. Almost any alternative will be better. @spair@BitPaySupport
Bitcoin donations via BTCPay help HKFP to eliminate processing fees & allow readers to make a fully anonymous contribution. Scroll down to donate crypto: https://t.co/C3T6f6bepxpic.twitter.com/chLVChMP3T
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The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has turned down yet another bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.
The securities regulator said in a response filed Thursday that applicants Bitwise Asset Management and NYSE Arca cannot offer Bitcoin ETF services to investors in the US. It noted that the duo could not resolve issues that were raised by the commission earlier. They include price manipulation and other illicit activities notorious in the offshore bitcoin market.
SEC reminded Bitwise in particular about its own research that found huge discrepancies between the actual and reported bitcoin trading volume. The commission used the same report as its weapon against the firm’s ETF application, reminding that it could not expose US investors to the risks of a largely unregulated bitcoin market. The order read:
“Because, among other things, the Sponsor has asserted that 95% of the bitcoin spot market consists of fake and non-economic activity, but has not established that it has, in fact, identified the “real” bitcoin market, or that the “real” bitcoin market is isolated from the fraudulent and manipulative activity, we find, in each case, that NYSE Arca has not met its burden to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), and therefore the Commission disapproves this proposed rule change.”
Not Giving Up
Bitwise faced the rejection with open arms, stating that it would continue to work on the concerns raised by the SEC. Global Head of Research Matt Hougan added that Bitwise intends to file another application.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with the SEC to resolve their remaining concerns productively and plan to re-file as soon as appropriate,” he noted.
The rejection, meanwhile, followed a long process of submission and reviewing of Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF application. Earlier in January, in conjunction with NYSE Arca, Bitwise filed its proposal that, if accepted, could have been the first of its kind bitcoin derivative under the SEC. The commission confirmed that it was studying the application since March. Bur after lengthy discussions, it found issues that were too hard to ignore. placed the burden on NYSE Arca, rather than Bitwise’s proposal itself.
Bitwise’s main competitor VanEck pulled its version for Bitcoin ETF last month.
Part of the SEC’s concern included the lack of custodianship. Two years ago, when the SEC had rejected the first Bitcoin ETF, there were no insured regulated custodians for bitcoin. Now, however, Bitwise had taken care of the issue.
The company fell short only on the price manipulation front.
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Players in the financial and technology sector have different opinions about bitcoin. For skeptics, the cryptocurrency is reminiscent of Holland’s notorious Tulip bubble of 1637. They generated a wild, speculative mania and disappeared, leaving behind pretty flowers and wrecked investors.
Meanwhile, for supporters, bitcoin is the internet: a symbol of decentralization that reached its full potential decades after its first introduction. If that’s true, bitcoin has the vast potential of reaching billions of users despite its shortcomings.
In retrospective, bitcoin appears like a mix-bag of the two. As an investable asset, it is highly speculative – just like the Tulip Bulbs. People buy it because they want to sell it later at a higher price.
On the other hand, bitcoin starts behaving like the internet because of its underlying properties. Except for this time, decentralized information has been replaced by distributed finance. Big data centers are now a separate set of small computing machines joining together to run a public ledger. And the TCP/IP protocol is blockchain, the very same ledger maintaining validated and confirmed financial records.
The parallels are obvious.
Comparing TCP/IP with Blockchain
Both are like constitutions: they have a predefined set of rules and anyone looking to use their applications, i.e. internet and bitcoin, should abide by them.
Transmission control protocol/internet protocol came into existence in 1972. The protocol governs the transmission of information by breaking it into small, digitized packets with address information. TCP/IP releases those units into the network where they get transferred to their rightful recipients. Nodes at the receiving end reassembles the dissimilated packets to interpret the original data. This process creates an open, public network of information with no central authority in charge.
First used in emails, TCP/IP are now the backbone of the world wide web, the very thing the world today calls the internet.
Blockchain is similar if not entirely the same. It records financial transactions between two parties without requiring a bank or any related financial institution. It then maintains those records on an open, public ledger, accessible to anybody with an internet connection.
First used in bitcoin, blockchain is now the backbone of many projects, with the most notable ones being Ethereum and Ripple. Corporates and small startups are further integrating blockchain for managing private records. Companies like Nasdaq, NYSE, Bank of America, Fidelity, and others starting to test blockchain to replace their current validation systems.
Could Bitcoin become a Multi-billion Dollar Entity like Internet?
Any technology waits for a point where societies recognize its potential in transforming an already-established protocol. If adoption is 10, bitcoin is somewhere standing at 2.
The blockchain’s first application is slowly making its way into the mindsets of societies, economics, and political systems. In Venezuela, bitcoin is offering people a way to safeguard their savings from the country’s hyperinflation crisis. In Hong Kong, citizens are turning to bitcoin against cash shortage. And – as controversial as it may sound – the cryptocurrency is also assisting money launderers, drug dealers, and terrorists in moving money around.
But bitcoin’s widespread adoption is still 8-points away – just like it was for the internet back in the nineties. The boom did not come overnight – and there was skepticism. Nobody would have predicted the internet to become the new DNA of how the world operates. Bitcoin is standing before the same set of critics and supporters.
Users are entering the bitcoin network for all kinds of reasons: to get rich and buy themselves a Lamborghini, to safeguard themselves from poor economic policies, and to merely use it as a mode of payment. At its start, bitcoin was a payment protocol. Now, it is a store of value/safe haven/hedging asset. The definitions are changing which, in turn, are changing the way the society perceives bitcoin.
Could the cryptocurrency become the next internet? It is too early to predict. ARPAnet, the TCP/IP’s first message-sending application, ceased after the advent of better solutions. Bitcoin is not perfect, but it surely is the beginning of a new wave of financial solutions. Not a Tulip bulb, for sure!
DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused online search platform, recently conducted a study to find out the opinion of the general public about the importance of data privacy.
Results showed that nearly 80 percent of the 1,114 US respondents took measures to regulate privacy on social media over the past year. One-quarter of them went as far as deactivating their social accounts. Meanwhile, about 38.6 percent of non-social media users reported that they are using a password manager, and 24.1% said they had used a virtual private network (VPN).
Furthermore, respondents said they now remove location tags on posts to keep themselves secure geographically.
“The results are clear: not only are privacy concerns widespread, but people are, indeed, taking action,” said DuckDuckGo.
It is noteworthy that DuckDuckGo received 68 percent extra users on its privacy-focused search platform.
Good for Bitcoin
Bitcoin somewhere fits in an environment that is keen to ducking centrally-operated financial platforms. The cryptocurrency offers a way to people to practice financial privacy, wherein they can send funds to anyone around the world without involving banks and governments.
It happens by replacing central authorities with a decentralized network of transaction validators. Those counterparties do not require users to provide any personal documents and, in turn, reveal their identities. In the long run, that reduces the probability of data fraud.
Previously well-established centralized systems that provide higher privacy, such as E-gold and Liberty Reserve, have been suspended by government agencies. As for Bitcoin, the legislature is unable to regulate, control, or prohibit the circulation of cryptocurrencies.
The study reiterates the forecasts of some prominent individuals in the industry, stating that increased privacy would lead people to decentralized circulation systems. Such a drive could boost bitcoin adoption, which might increase its price as well.
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Bitcoin and altcoins appear as the solution to the ongoing geopolitical tensions between Hong Kong and China. The demand for decentralized currency is growing day by day in these countries, proving how fragile cash has become for common folks.
Hong Kong Banking System Is Paralyzed
Videos posted on the internet paint a sharp picture of financial panic in Hong Kong these days. The initiative of the army of millions of activists, that is, to extort all funds from banks, has resulted in difficult access to funds for other split-wing citizens and tourists.
Over the weekend, Hong Kong media outlets warned of panic among citizens over the lack of cash at ATMs. Rows of empty ATMs are accumulating.
There are fears the government will freeze citizens’ assets as it bows to Beijing. There are also fears of monetary devaluation as a result of domestic turmoil. Chief Investment Officer at Hayman Capital Management, Kyle Bass, thinks that account seizures could become a reality as the HK legal system crumbles.
Bank runs all over Hong Kong now. ATM machines running out of cash but there is something more important…failed leader carrie lam(b) can now officially confiscate bank accounts and assets without recourse. The HK legal system is essentially gone. #Bankruns#HKexithttps://t.co/jz9sPrA30U
Bitcoin and other forms of currencies are widespread in the country, so Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has accelerated its crypto-asset regulation agenda in a recently published document. The report supports fund managers in all areas of crypto assets, including ICOs.
Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and partner Anthony Pompliano commented on the situation saying:
“When you’re worried about your assets being seized or becoming inaccessible to you, Bitcoin’s non-seizability becomes very attractive. This aspect of Bitcoin just became important for 1+ billion people in India & Hong Kong.”
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Ripple’s XRP led intraday gains on Monday after rising 10 percent on a 24-hour adjusted timeframe, according to data provided by CoinStats’ cryptocurrency portfolio management app.
The third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization outperformed the benchmark Bitcoin, as well as the rest of the top altcoins. Bitcoin, in particular, trended in positive territory but its gains remained dwarfed in front of XRP.
“Bitcoin continued to test recent support levels over the weekend, but as of this morning, the entire crypto market seems to be making a positive push. Here we can see that XRP, IOTA, and TRX are outpacing the rest of the markets on percentage gain today. All three of which seem to have seen significant technical progress recently,”
eToro senior market analyst Mati Greenspan wrote in a note to clients this morning.
It is noteworthy that last year, XRP soared in the run-up to Ripple’s Swell Conference. The company announced partnerships with some major banks that wanted to use Ripple’s technology for cross-border payments. The same scenario is expected after this year’s Swell conference, which will take place in Singapore in November.
ChainLink (LINK)’s Dominance Today
At the time of this writing, another altcoin, which is pushed out from top-10 cryptocurrency rankings, has improved in prices by 40% during a week and recorded the top one percent gain for today. The improvement in price growth has been observed since yesterday’s parallel to XRP.
Link is still leading the way after the company just announced about a new Trusted Computation Framework with Intel, Hyperledger, and others that aims to drive enterprise blockchain adoption.
Along with @Intel, @Hyperledger, @EntEthAlliance & others, we're excited to present a new Trusted Computation Framework that leverages public blockchains, Chainlink oracles & trusted computing to drive enterprise blockchain adoption. https://t.co/BSGGZJJfwu
Researchers have found a strong correlation between benchmark cryptocurrency bitcoin and its spin-off stablecoin Tether, according to a Bloomberg report.
Blockchain data forensic firm TokenAnalyst found that Tether’s issuance of fresh dollar-pegged tokens coincided strongly with the bitcoin price rally. On a day, the asset rose by as much as 70 percent right after Tether issued million dollars worth of USDT tokens to the market.
Over the course of 2019, there has been a net total of $1.5B worth of Tether minted on both Omni (USDT Omni) and on Ethereum (USDT ERC2O).
We took a look at the relationship between $BTC price and $USDT supply over the course of history.
According to Sid Shekhar, co-founder of TokenAnalyst:
“I think the discrepancies are appearing recently primarily because Tether on ERC-20 is just much easier than Tether on Omni to use as a means of transferring value quickly. Ethereum is a speedier chain than Bitcoin. As Tether is primarily used as a way to realize gains and get in and out of volatile crypto-asset positions in times of market movement, the speed of transferring into/out of it is critical.”
The data could make it easier to predict future price moves.
“Traders can leverage this knowledge by tracking mints and burns off the ERC-20 Tether token as it’s closely tied to movements in Bitcoin prices,” Shekhar said.
The Chinese Connection
This year about $2 billion of Tether was issued, which is a significant factor. The stablecoin maintains a one-to-one ratio with the U.S. dollar. Officials at private companies believe that, via Tether’s tokens, customers’ demands for large orders are met.
Most of these investors do not want to touch fiat every time they want to buy or sell bitcoin. Tether, to them, appears as a dollar proxy, which can liquidate bitcoin and other cryptocurrency holdings smoothly via an exchange.
In countries like China, where crypto exchanges are illegal, people could pay cash over the counter to get Tethers with few questions asked. It made it easier for traders to trade ethers for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Now, starting September 9, according to an announcement, Tether CNHT is pegged to the offshore yuan and available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The new currency joins Tether’s other stablecoins backed by U.S. dollars (USDT) and euro (EURT).
Controversy Over Tether Legal Activities
Tether has been the focus of much debate and controversy. Till today, it was introduced as a way to provide liquidity in the more than $200 billion digital-asset markets. Doubts about its illegal use make it difficult for many exchanges to secure banking services.
Tether adhering to all government compliance and regulations and requires KYC compulsory, but there are some tricks following which a customer can hide its identity. On this occasion, New York Attorney General, who accused the companies behind Tether of engaging in a cover-up to hide losses and commingling client and corporate funds.
Bithumb Global announced it would work with the Indian Government to launch a regulated Bitcoin exchange. It also showed interests in promoting the cryptocurrency trade among the uninformed Indian investors.
Bithumb co-founder and managing director, Javier Sim, announced the company’s further initiatives in the Indian commercial space. The statement implied partnerships with native Indian cryptocurrency exchanges, financing new crypto-startups, as well as the introduction of new initiatives to induce Indian traders.
“We are open to talking to regulators, working with them to be a regulated exchange. We are a reliable brand from Korea and do not involve ourselves in unregulated or illegal trade,” said Sim.
Company policies include a P2P transaction model with local cryptocurrency firms. The model of buying and selling cryptos directly could eliminate the involvement of third parties.
Sim believes that the exchange via its low transaction fees will help Indian retail traders to provide higher liquidity.
Security
In 2018, Bithumb reported a loss of $180 million as a result of hacks and bearish crypto market.
Talking about the mechanisms of prevention of hacks, Javier Sim said:
“We have learned from those incidents and are using industry-leading wallet systems. We, as a leading, global exchange, assign top priority to users’ assets.”
Sim added that they “were looking for the right companies to partner with and invest in those that know the Indian market.” He also stated that he has plans of investing capital in the Indian blockchain projects.
The paper caused a great stir among the cryptocurrency investors and firms in India. It proposed a 10-year jail sentence for mining, generating, holding, buying, selling, or dealing in cryptocurrencies. With the use of lock levers, The Indian Government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hoped to prevent the scope of frauds and terror fundings.
In April last year, RBI had issued a statement barring all cryptocurrency-related services. The Central Bank stated that it would not make a partnership with businesses that had dealt with cryptocurrencies. Then the Government body added that the regulated company should completely exit such transactions within the next three months.
Public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court in July 2017, seeking a complete ban on cryptocurrencies.
The same scenario was repeated in July of this year by the four-member inter-ministerial committee (IMC), who also proposed the Government should look at introducing an official digital currency. They suggested to bar the possession of crypto-assets by individuals and companies in India.
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The newly formed Crypto Rating Council is already facing criticism for its role in categorizing cryptocurrencies.
Tyler Gellasch, executive director at Healthy Markets, observed that some members of the council might have stakes in the cryptocurrencies under evaluation. That could unduly influence their assessment of the asset in concern.
“A group of private companies jointly declaring how they think things that directly impact their bottom lines should be regulated. It isn’t likely to be all that persuasive to regulators or investors” – explained Gellasch.
Leading US exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Circle, and Bittrex, launched the Crypto Rating Council to rate crypto assets based on their utility/security features. The system, said the council, intends to clarify which cryptocurrency functions comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) standards.
As a result of the assessment, bitcoin received 1 point, which means it cannot be classified on the security list. Meanwhile, Ripple’s XRP received a 4, which means it has a higher likelihood of being called security.
Coinbase Responds
Brian Brooks, the chief legal counsel at primary United States digital wallet and exchange Coinbase, responded to the concerns raised by Gellasch. In an October 3 interview with Block Crypto, Brian suggested that the council’s compliance guidance could harm the private interests of those involved. He said their system is not a legal advisor. Excerpts:
“This is essentially an automated compliance tool, of which there are many in the financial services world. Think Hummingbird for AML compliance, or Fair Lending Wiz for fair lending compliance. No one thinks those tools represent the practice of law. And this certainly doesn’t constitute investment advice – we’re not rating the quality or value of assets, only their status as a security or not.”
Crypto Rating Council’s status as an independent body has not been approved by the SEC, CFTC, or other agencies.
According to Gellasch, many investors may use the council’s rating system and then find that the SEC doesn’t support this body. So this process, in turn, could create a mess.
In response to this opinion, Brooks flatly denied that private parties’ interest could compromise the ratings and mentioned that there are already assets rated at 5. It means that they are likely to be classified as securities.
“The point is to get clarity, not justify listing assets that wind up being deemed unregistered securities.”
At the time of the council’s launch, Kraken’s general counsel Mary Beth Buchanan expressed an opinion that the SEC would view the initiative as a positive step for the industry.
(@singhsoro) October 28, 2019
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