Bitcoin Prices Will go Even Higher Once Regulations Become Clearer

Global Stock Markets

Ryan Rabaglia isn’t ready to stop being bullish about Bitcoin any time soon. The Octagon Strategy trader believes that the top-ranked cryptocurrency can still hit new highs.

BTC prices have risen above $6,500 after twice dropping below $6,000 in June 2018.
Regulatory Certainty Will Take Pressure off Bitcoin

In a recent interview with CNBC, Rabaglia declared that clearer market regulations were the likely catalyst for a sustained Bitcoin price rally. According to Rabaglia, regulatory uncertainty was putting immense pressure on the market.

He also said that mainstream investors were reticent on committing fully to the market since the laws guiding crypto commerce are still somewhat vague

In another development, David Garrity, the CEO of GVA Research believes the current BTC price surge is a temporary relief. Speaking recently, Garrity opined that trading levels had come under pressure in the market. Thus, a “relief rally” was inevitable.

Garrity also pointed to the emergence of some positive regulatory developments as the reason the current BTC price surge. According to the GVA Research CEO, recent comments by the SEC concerning the status of Bitcoin and Ethereum, in particular, have taken away some of the negative sentiment among retail investors in the market.

Unlike Rabaglia, Garrity identified end-user adoption as the critical parameter that will drive any sustained BTC price rally. He decried that lack of significant Bitcoin use cases especially in the payments market.

In addition to slow adoption, Garrity mentioned a large number of government investigations into activities in the market as another reason for the price struggles of 2018.

Bitcoin slips again on reports of US DoJ investigation

Global Stock Markets

Bitcoin shed another 4 per cent of its value after a media report that the US justice department had begun criminal investigations into potential price manipulation of several cryptocurrencies, taking its losses for the week so far to 14 per cent. 

The largest of the cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was trading around $7,300 on Thursday morning, according to Coinbase figures, down from $8,500 on Monday.

Bloomberg reported the move by the Department of Justice earlier on Thursday. Other digital coins also fell on the news — Bitcoin Cash, a bitcoin clone, lost 6 per cent, while ether, the cryptocurrency used on the Ethereum blockchain, was down some 6.5 per cent.

Regulators across the globe have become increasingly vocal about cryptocurrency risks.

But enforcement actions, led by the US’ Securities Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, have so far focused on policing initial coin offerings — the novel fundraising mechanism which gained popularity last year, as a way for entrepreneurs to raise digital money while providing scant, if any, guarantees for investors.

 There have long been fears that unregulated cryptocurrency markets are vulnerable to manipulation by traders. After crashing from a $19,000 high in December to $7,200 by February, bitcoin rallied back up to $11,000 in March. It did not hold the high ground for long: it dipped below $7,000 in April.

Bitcoin Price Prediction 2018: Can cryptocurrency hit $50,000 this year?

Global Stock Markets

Can Bitcoin hit $ 50,000 this year? While most of the cryptocurrencies are much below their earlier highs but there are newer and newer predictions coming up for cryptocurrencies. One such prediction is that Bitcoin can rise to as high as $ 50,000 in the calendar year 2018.

A cryptocurrency portfolio manager by the name of Jeet Singh, stated at World Economic Forum in Davos, that the current volatility is completely normal when it comes to the cryptocurrencies space. He also stated that it is normal for cryptocurrencies to fluctuate by 70% to 80%. This is one of the main reasons why the current volatility does not worry him at all. [sm_bitcoin_price]

He compared cryptocurrencies to the current bellwether companies like Microsoft as well as Apple. Initially, their stocks were also pretty volatile. However, as the companies develop their business model, the stocks not only rose but they become much more stable as well.

However, many of the investors are actually currently worried due to the high volatility in cryptocurrencies. According to him, however, long-term investors need not fear the volatility at all. Since they are here to stay for a longer period of time, they would have no problem at all in holding the cryptocurrencies for a longer period of time as well.

He further added that Bitcoin would reach as high as $ 50,000 this year. If indeed that happens, the current price of Bitcoin being around just $ 10,000, that would be a fivefold increase once again.

Whether the portfolio manager is right or wrong, only time would be able to tell. The truth is that currently, many of the investors are worried about putting new money into Bitcoins. Only once they are sure that the volatility would end and the Bitcoin resumes its uptrend you can be sure that most of the investors would actually get ready to invest in this cryptocurrency.

For now, however, most of the investors are keeping away from the cryptocurrency boom. Many of the investors are just holding their holdings patiently in order to find out whether the cryptocurrencies resume their uptrend or not. It is still too uncertain for most of the investors to take a call. On the other hand, institutions are increasing their presence in the cryptocurrencies pace as well which is sure to benefit the cryptocurrencies space and would add value and credibility to the cryptocurrencies in the future as well. This is one of the main reasons why it is not seeing further fall after creating a bottom few weeks back. Also, once the regulatory hurdles are sorted, you can be sure that the value of cryptocurrencies would again more.

Bitcoin prices in 2018 have been marked by volatility which has made bitcoin price prediction in short-term a bit of a challenge, even for the experienced analysts. As at the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin took a dip from 10k to under 8k following news that search engine giants, Google will ban crypto-related ads. So far, 2018 has presented its own surprises though not a dramatic as the rollercoaster we say in 2017.

History generally has a way of repeating itself but bitcoin has a lot of history which makes it an equal challenge predicting which history will be repeated. It takes more than a study of past trends to get predictions spot-on this time and so we ended this article by highlighting certain area expert analysts were looking at.

Analysts, enthusiast, and industry figures have very diverging opinions and bitcoin price predictions for both long and short-term. Optimism is still high in many quarters—reports of a new survey among British financials suggest a wide majority will buy more coins in hope of price resurgence later this year.

Bitcoin Price Continues to Decline as Bears Continue to Reign

Global Stock Markets

Today will prove to be another difficult day for all cryptocurrency markets. The bearish pressure is not relenting by any means, as market makers are intent on keeping the prices down for some time to come. 

With the Bitcoin price now dropping below $8,200, it seems to be a matter of time until the value dips below $8,000 once again. That would certainly trigger an even bigger sell-off in the altcoin department.

It has been documented over the past few months how the Bitcoin price is seemingly incapable of catching a break. No solid positive momentum has been achieved at this stage, and it seems things will not necessarily improve in the near future either. The past three months have seen some attempts at recovering losses, but ultimately seem to result in lower lows for the Bitcoin price.

More specifically, three months ago, the Bitcoin price was hovering near the $12,0000 mark. Ever since that time, it has dipped below $11,000, then $10,000, and even hit $7,200 a few weeks later. While that is still the proverbial bottom as of right now, it remains to be determined if any positive momentum can be generated before the year 2018 comes to a close. The current trend doesn’t look all that promising so far, but things are always subject to change in the world of cryptocurrency.

Over the past 24 hours, the Bitcoin price has lost another 1.95% of its value. This decline pushes the price per BTC below $8,200, and will seemingly result in a price dip below $8,000 by the time the weekend has come to a close. It remains unclear what is causing all of this negative Bitcoin price pressure this year, but it seems evident things will not improve anytime soon.

Even the Bitcoin trading volume is on the decline as of late, which is anything but promising. More specifically, the trading volume has dropped to $8.894bn, which is $2bn below what one would expect to see these days. This seems to indicate the overall demand for the world’s leading cryptocurrency is on the decline, which doesn’t bode well for Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrency on the market these days.

OKEx is still leading the charge in terms of Bitcoin trading volume, which is a bit surprising. Its USDT pair remains extremely popular and is well ahead of Bitfinex’s USD pair and the USDT market on Binance. All three platforms generate over $215m in 24-hour volume, which is rather interesting to keep an eye on. With Huobi and OKEx’s TRUE pair in the five as well, there is only one fiat currency market to speak of. That can prove to be problematic for the Bitcoin price moving forward.

Whether or not the Bitcoin price can recover from this latest setback, remains to be determined. Anything is possible in the world of cryptocurrency these days, even though the current trend looks anything but promising. Then again, the weekend is usually very different from the rest of the week when it comes to cryptocurrency trading, and this weekend may prove to be somewhat interesting in this regard.

Two Chinese bitcoin mining equipment makers plan $1 billion Hong Kong listings

Asian Stock Markets

Two Chinese bitcoin mining equipment makers plan to raise up to $1 billion each from Hong Kong listings this year, riding on strong global interest in cryptocurrencies, IFR reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plans.

Canaan Creative filed a listing application to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on Monday, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported.

Zhejiang Ebang Communication has also started working with advisers on a proposed Hong Kong float of up to $1 billon, reported IFR.

Ebang listed on China’s National Equities Exchange and Quotations, also known as the New Third Board, in 2015 and was

delisted from the over-the-counter market in March after announcing in January that it would seek a Hong Kong listing.

Chinese bitcoin mining equipment makers are hungry for capital to fund their growth as the heightened interest in cryptocurrencies has led to a surge in demand for their machines.

Canaan, which sells “Avalon” mining machines with customised super-fast ASIC chips, made revenue of more than 1 billion yuan in 2017. Although cryptocurrencies can be mined using regular computer equipment, specialised processing devices dedicated to mining are more effective and can generate more income.

The company’s co-chairman Jianping Kong told Reuters in April that he expected China’s push to promote the domestic chip industry to help drive growth for the company.

Credit Suisse, CMB International, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are joint sponsors for Canaan’s float, according to IFR.

Canaan Creative declined to comment. Ebang could not be immediately reached for comment. All the banks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Canaan’s IPO valuation has yet to be set as there is no listed comparable and the prices of cryptocurrencies have

fluctuated a lot, reported IFR. It was valued at $500 million in mid-2017, IFR said, attributing it to one of the people.

US Judge Rules - Cryptos Are Commodities,

Global Stock Markets

A U.S. district judge has backed the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in defining cryptocurrencies as commodities.

According to a Memorandum & Order for a court case that the CFTC had brought against cryptocurrency business operator Patrick Kerry McDonnell, Judge Jack Weinstein from a district court in New York ruled that "virtual currencies can be regulated by CFTC as a commodity."

"Virtual currencies are 'goods' exchanged in a market for a uniform quality and value. ... They fall well within the common definition of 'commodity'," the judge wrote in the order on Tuesday.

At issue in the case was whether the CFTC had the authority to regulate cryptocurrency as a commodity in the absence of federal level rules, and whether the law permitted the CFTC to "exercise its jurisdiction over fraud that does not directly involve the sale of futures or derivative contracts," according to the document.

In both instances, Weinstein answered in the affirmative, meaning the case can be brought against the defendant.

The judge further granted a preliminary injunction barring the defendant from further engagement in cryptocurrency investment as the case continues.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, the CFTC defined cryptocurrencies as commodities as far back as 2015, a decision that has led the agency to recently target cryptocurrency businesses that it considers are hoaxing investors.

In one of several cases filed in January this year, the CFTC sued McDonnell and his company CabbageTech for allegedly absconding with customers' digital assets.

The agency said at the time that McDonnell branded himself as a cryptocurrency investment expert with trading advice that could result in highly attractive returns on investment.

Yet soon after customers sent in money and cryptocurrencies, the defendant allegedly misappropriated the funds, according to the case.

There’s a new cryptocurrency in town: the petro.

Global Stock Markets

The newest cryptocurrency is the invention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The “petro,” as the cryptocurrency is known, was launched this week as a very creative Hail Mary by a struggling autocrat.

The website for the cryptocurrency claims that in its first issue, opened for trading on Feb. 20, it made available 100 million tokens, each selling for about $60, a figure that is close to the price of a barrel of oil. Each petro is supposedly backed by a barrel of oil, though analysts are not sure what this means in practice. Maduro values this issuance at $6 billion: $60 for each token for 100 million tokens.

The currency is one of many sold as tokens on the New Economy Movement platform, a technology that supports cryptocurrencies. The New Economy Movement blockchain confirmed on its Twitter account that it was the platform that the Venezuelan government had selected for the petro, while also adding that it does not make political endorsements.

Unlike Venezuela’s official currency, the bolivar, the petro exists online only and is not regulated by the central bank. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ether, the petro is controlled by a government, although it is not clear which specific government entity is responsible for issuing the currency. The minister of science, technology and university education was by Maduro’s side at the launch, suggesting that the petro might fall under his jurisdiction.

 The United States prohibits Americans from buying and selling petros, arguing that Venezuela is using them to skirt tough sanctions. That’s probably true. Here is what you need to know about this cryptocurrency.

1. Venezuela is sort of rich

Venezuela’s riches have always been underground. The country sits atop the world’s largest proved oil reserves, estimated at 300 billion barrels of crude. Since the oil was discovered in 1914, the country has sought ways to translate “rich in oil” into just plain rich. Beginning in the mid-1970s, a series of Venezuelan governments approached this in more or less the same way: have a state-owned oil company extract the oil and sell it abroad, distribute some of the money to citizens and keep the rest. However, Maduro has mismanaged the national oil company, and world oil prices have plummeted — leading Venezuela into its current crisis.

2. But it’s not very rich right now

Venezuela is deeply in the red. In all, the country owes foreign creditors about $60 billion. The country has just under $10 billion in foreign reserves, the lowest level the country has seen in at least two decades. Maduro surprised analysts by making a few debt payments last year, though Venezuela eventually defaulted in November. Venezuela’s next debt payment of $753 million is due in August. The majority of Venezuelan citizens go to bed hungry; many are starving and living without necessary medicine and health care, leading to riots and mass emigration.

3. The petro is not a new Bitcoin but a new way to get money from oil

The petro is officially the first cryptocurrency backed by a country. Until now, one of the things that made cryptocurrencies distinct from regular currencies was that none have been the official currency of any country, backed by any one economy or controlled by a central bank.

The petro is almost all of the above. So why invent a new national currency? Under Maduro oil production in Venezuela has fallen to just around two million barrels per day and is unlikely to recover soon. The government has tried — and failed at — other strategies to raise revenue, such as selling oil assets to Russia. As Maduro has consolidated power in autocratic ways, including stripping the National Assembly of its powers, the United States cut off Maduro’s access to credit markets last August. That made it even more difficult for the government to bring in the cash it desperately needs to stay in power.

Selling petro tokens that are backed by the crude is a way to get money from oil without having to put in the effort to extract it. The oil fields that are being flaunted as backing the petro have a recovery rate of only about 6 to 8 percent — meaning that existing technology only allows for the extraction of a small portion of the underground reserves — and would be expensive to develop. Selling cryptocurrency that is supposedly backed by these resources is a quick way to convert this into much needed foreign exchange.

While Maduro claims that these tokens are backed by oil reserves, Venezuela’s constitution says that oil belongs to the public domain. As an “inalienable and imprescriptible” resource, it cannot be used as collateral.

4. Earnings from the petro won’t do most Venezuelans any good

Everyone in Venezuela needs foreign exchange. The regime needs it to stay in power and Venezuelans need it to buy food and medicine, which can no longer be purchased with the nearly worthless bolivar. The country is facing a dramatic food and medicine shortage. Many countries, including the United States, have offered to send emergency humanitarian aid, including food and medicine. But the Venezuelan government insists that there is no emergency, and has refused to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country. Given this refusal to acknowledge the very real crisis, the government is unlikely to use petro revenue to help citizens in a meaningful way.

The petro tokens can be purchased only with U.S. dollars. Venezuela’s exchange rate controls severely limit the amount of foreign currency that Venezuelans can buy.

Bitcoin is Back Over $10K, But Rally Looks Weak

Global Stock Markets

Bitcoin is witnessing a minor corrective rally today, but the bulls may have a tough time regaining control, the technical charts suggest.

CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) fell to $9,592.96 at 01:59 UTC - the lowest level for one week. As of writing, the BPI is seen a little higher at $10,090.

It is worth noting that the global average price calculated by CoinMarketCap is holding around $200 higher, largely due to the "Kimchi premium" - that is, BTC is changing hands above $11,000 on Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. Meanwhile, across western exchanges, the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is trading closer to $10,000.

The cryptocurrency has depreciated by 1,86 percent in the last 24 hours, CoinMarketCap indicates.

So, it appears a relief rally has gathered pace, a move indicated by the bullish relative strength index (RSI)

BTC is stuck inside a falling channel, creating lower lows and lower highs. However, the RSI continues to diverge in favor of the bulls, so the corrective rally could be extended further towards $10,250 (falling channel resistance).

However, only a daily close (as per UTC) above $11,228 (38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from the record highs), would signal a revival of the rally from Feb. 6 lows below $6,000.

Moreover, the odds are stacked against the bulls as, against the backdrop of the bearish "gravestone" doji reversal on the daily chart reported yesterday, BTC is more likely to extend the decline towards $8,800 (1-hour head and shoulders breakdown target as per the measured height method).

Additionally, as seen in the chart above, the 50-hour moving average (MA), 100-hour MA and 200-hour MA have topped out in favor of the bears.

Bitcoin Prices at 20-day High Near $11K

Global Stock Markets

Bitcoin price has rallied 84 percent from recent lows, suggesting a bottom is in place, although a long-term bull revival is still not certain, according to the price charts

Over the weekend, CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) rose to $11,279.18, its highest level since Jan. 29. As of writing, the BPI is seen at $10,800 - up 1.59 percent in the last 24 hours. However, a bout of profit taking seems to have pushed the cryptocurrency back below $11,000 today.

While the "V"-shaped rally from the Feb. 6 low of $5,947.40 certainly paints a bullish picture, investors are still divided on whether BTC has found a long-term bottom below $6,000.

Bitcoin seems to have bottomed out below $6,000 as indicated by bullish doji reversal, but the weekly indicators are still less clear about the long-term prospects for the bulls, as discussed below.

Last week's green candle marked a positive follow-through to previous week's long-tailed doji candle and confirmed a bullish doji reversal. So, it appears a bottom has been made at $5,873.

That said, the position of the relative strength index (RSI) indicates the job is still half done. As discussed last week, during the bull run (2015-2017), at no point were the bears strong enough to push the RSI below the support zone of 55.00-53.00. However, the RSI did drop below the support zone during the recent sell-off, signaling a bear market.

Further, it still remains below resistance zone of 53.00-55.00 (former support). Hence, a long-term bullish reversal is still not confirmed.

Also, a look at the short-duration chart indicates a key Fibonacci level has come into play. Bitcoin prices on Coinbase's GDAX exchange created a red candle (down day) yesterday at $11,228.25, which is the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement of the sell-off from $19,891.99 to $5,873.

A move of the weekly RSI above 53.00 would confirm the long-term bull reversal and open the doors for a re-test of record highs. However, on the way higher, bitcoin prices could face resistance at $17,174 (Jan. 6 high)

Meanwhile, a drop below $9,017.41 (Jan. 17 low) would add credence to the bearish weekly RSI, and the bearish 50-day MA and 100-day MA crossover, and could yield a deeper sell-off towards $7,000.

Bitcoin price: Cryptocurrency value stabilises after dramatic recent decline

Global Stock Markets

The value of bitcoin plunged last month, amid fears that trading was about to be banned in South Korea. It then stabilised briefly, before plummeting again.

The volatile cryptocurrency hit a record high when it passed $19,850 in mid-December, and its value has shifted unpredictably ever since, with frequent wild drops and recoveries.

The rapid drops are partly the result of continuing fears about regulation, as well as anxiety provoked by a series of high-profile thefts.

Its value tumbled spectacularly at the start of February, falling from $10,000 to $6,000 in four days. However, it now appears to be stable.

It is worth $8,822 as of Wednesday morning UK time, according to the Coinbase exchange.

Its value is up more than 8 per cent from a week ago, but down more than 36 per cent from a month ago. 

The most recent price drops were huge, and followed reports about potential cryptocurrency regulation and trading bans.

South Korea recently stopped allowing people to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies anonymously, but says it isn’t planning to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.

Meanwhile, Theresa May has hinted that the UK government could introduce similar measures, and the US government is concerned about bitcoin’s popularity amongst criminals.

Recent goings-on have demonstrated just how quickly things can change for investors.

The cryptocurrency’s value plummeted ahead of Christmas, dropping by almost $2,000 in just an hour at one point, and almost slipping below the $11,000 mark. 

It then bounced back, before tumbling again in mid-January, recovering again, and plummeting at the start of February.

Bitcoin is notoriously volatile, and its value is expected to continue to shift unpredictably.

Its rise last year also led to increasing amounts of interest in other digital currencies, such as ethereum, litecoin and Ripple XRP, and more and more people are now looking to invest in digital currencies.

However, there are serious fears that bitcoin has created a bubble that could burst at any moment.

Numerous financial experts have advised potential investors to avoid getting involved with bitcoin, and the SEC has told people to “exercise caution” and be wary of scammers.

But others have speculated that it could eventually rise towards the $1m mark.

Bitcoin has no central bank and isn’t linked to or regulated by any state.

An anonymised record of every bitcoin transaction is stored on a huge public ledger known as a blockchain.

However, transactions made with the cryptocurrency are irreversible, which makes investors in bitcoin attractive targets for cybercriminals.

Millennials Love Bitcoin And Hate Stocks

Global Stock Markets

Financial pundits the world over, more comfortable in dealing in tangible commodities and assets, have described the cryptocurrency scene as too volatile to risk long-term investment. 

Whether you agree with them or not, it’s hard not to see why they should reach such a conclusion.

Almost all of the large financial and commercial institutions have taken a pass when it comes to utilising Bitcoin or its competitors in anything but the most experimental test markets.

So much so that when Banco Santander recently announced its roll-out of an altcoin powered money transfer application, it was big news.

Meanwhile, the digital currency market has had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster, from immense highs at the end of 2017 to more than a two-thirds drop in value over the following six or seven weeks, resulting in a loss of $100 billion in real terms. It’s little wonder those whose job is essentially predicting the future are a little cagey.

However, if market experts are put off by cryptocurrencies, some millennials are taking quite the opposite view, finding investment in altcoins considerably less intimidating than playing the stocks and shares game.


But despite the unpredictable nature of cryptocurrencies, some millennials find investing in it less intimidating than putting money in the stock market or other traditional investments.

Those aged between 18 and 39 seem less willing to take a chance with traditional investment opportunities, with many of them being put off by the financial crisis of 2008, which saw a global stock market loss of $14 trillion.

Clearly, if you were growing up or entering adulthood during those dark days, as most millennials were, the memories of the market crash will have left certain psychological scars, whether you’re aware of them or not.

Bitcoin and its ilk might be more volatile, at the moment, but it’s also more open. Indeed, the very foundation upon which altcoins are based – the blockchain – is all about transparency.

There is no insider dealing: transactions are there on the blockchain for all to see – if they have a will to. And, as for rises and drops, compared to the $14 trillion lost by the traditional markets in ‘08, $100 billion is suddenly chicken feed.

Besides, with bankers, investment firms and hedge fund managers out of the equation (for the time being, at least) many see digital finance as leaving them in control of their own money.

Bitcoin slides further, headed for worst week since 2013

Global Stock Markets

THE SUDDEN plunge of bitcoin has continued as the cryptocurrency’s value dropped to just $8,369 (£5,870) after it plunged by more than 17 per cent in 24 hours.

The online currency has so far seen a turbulent 2018, with its value continuing to all after it reached an all time high of nearly $20,000 (£14,000) in December last year.

Since the turn of the year Bitcoin’s value has decreased by more than 50 per cent.

Throughout 2017 Bitcoin saw its price rise by more than 1,500 per cent from the beginning of the year after the value of a single Bitcoin has soared from $954 (£668) in January.

The decline over the past month comes after experts warned that the digital currency was in a bubble that would eventually crash.

Despite the trend in the collapse of the value of the original online currency, there are some who believe the current drop is due to confusion surrounding the Indian Government’s stance on cryptocurrencies.

 

India is not the only country to have announced its intentions to crackdown on the use of the digital money.

In January South Korea introduced a raft of measures aimed at regulating Bitcoin and similar currencies such as Ripple and Ethereal.

A ban on anonymous trading was implemented by the Asian power in a bid to crack down on all possible criminal activities the secret nature of trading Bitcoin allowed.

Can Ripple (XRP) Overtake Bitcoin (BTC) In 2018? - Part II

Global Stock Markets

How does Ripple work?

Ripple has a novel system compared to the majority of cryptocurrencies, which has earned it the title of being one of the most scalable and fastest cryptocurrencies available.

While Bitcoin was created with an ideology to move away from traditional banking systems, the ripple was designed to be compliant with banks and their networks. This is enhanced by the ripple network’s sheer transaction processing capabilities. At the moment, the ripple network can process up to 1,500 transactions per second, while bitcoin can process only 10.

However, both networks are underpinned by powerful Blockchain technology. This refers to the system that is responsible for recording all transactions made on the network, like a digital ledger, but also for encrypting transactions. While bitcoin utilizes its vast community of miners to verify transactions and mine new Bitcoin, the Ripple network is mainly controlled by its startup. However, since expanding they have started to utilize third parties to aid in verifying transactions.

This system has allowed for increased stability on the ripple network. The company stated in a recent blog post that they were planning on shifting from single-handedly managing their own nodes, to employing trusted third-parties to perform this service instead.

While some cryptocurrency advocates feel that ripple’s system is still too centralized, ripple responded by locking their remaining cryptocurrency holdings in an encrypted account and now only releases a limited amount per month.

What causes the ripple price rise?

The ripple price has grown immensely in the last few weeks. At the start of December 2017, XRP stood at $0.25, reached $1.00 at the start of January and has since grown to $2.20. This sharp price increase is considered to have come about due to investors cashing in their bitcoin to invest in other cryptocurrencies. This accounts for the fact that the ripple price has continued to grow despite the fact that the bitcoin price has decreased.

In addition, the price boost has likely been encouraged by the fact that several major Japanese credit card companies announced that they would be conducting test pilots using ripple for projects that include international payments. Ripple is also significantly cheaper than bitcoin which makes it an easier investment.

At the moment, there are 28 billion ripples in circulation compared to bitcoin’s 16.7 million. Ripple boasts a total market cap of just over $90 billion, which makes it the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency. Second only to bitcoin.

How to invest in ripple

Ripple is widely available on most of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency trading platforms such as Kraken and BitStamp. To buy ripple, you would have to create an account on the exchange of your choice and verify your personal information. After your account has been verified, you can deposit funds into your account to purchase XRP.

At the moment, the ripple is available on over 50 exchanges, with many more promising to add support for it in the near future. However, the cryptocurrency is still unavailable on one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms, Coinbase. The exchange’s CE, Brian Armstrong, previously stated that ripple was merely a distraction from bitcoin.

According to a virtual currency analyst from Interactive Investor, Gary McFarlance, there are several cryptocurrencies that are similar to ripple. A notable one is Stellar Lumens, which was created by a previous ripple executive. Stellar has also shown impressive growth but is yet to match that of ripple.
Considering ripple’s rapid rise to prominence, it is still too early to tell whether Ripple will hold onto its current value. In addition, the fact that it’s becoming widely utilized by centralized institutions makes it unlikely to ever truly overtake bitcoin, however, it definitely makes for a worthy competitor.

Can Ripple (XRP) Overtake Bitcoin (BTC) In 2018? - Part I

Global Stock Markets

Bitcoin’s trajectory of the last year has been nothing short of incredible. The continued record highs have attracted the attention of the media, the public, governments, banks, and many more. 

 

As more and more cryptocurrency millionaires popped up, more investors wanted a piece of the action, until we found ourselves in the midst of a massive crypto hype.

However, it’s not just bitcoin that captured the attention of millions around the world. Ripple quietly grew to prominence until a few weeks ago, when it spiked with over 36,000%, more than doubled in its price and quickly became one of the new darlings of the crypto world.

Ripple’s boom followed shortly after several international banks, as well as Korean and Japanese credit card firms, stated that they would use Ripple technology to pilot test projects.

At the time of writing, ripple (XRP) is worth an average of $2.20 and it is available on several major cryptocurrency exchange platform. Granted, it pales in comparison with bitcoin’s price of $13,800 per BTC, but it’s not so shabby when considering that ripple grew from a humble $0.006 just a year ago. In addition, the cryptocurrency’s sheer supply has ensured that it is currently the world’s second most lucrative cryptocurrency.

However, this begs the question, why exactly did ripple grow as much as it did in the last year, and does it have the potential to overthrow the grandfather of cryptocurrencies?

What is Ripple?

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that is underpinned by a larger Blockchain network. Similarly, the ripple has its own payment network that is referred to as XRP, although even the most avid of ripple advocates simply call it “ripple.”

Ripple is also underpinned by a larger Blockchain network, which consists of several technological processes that ensure that all transactions are recorded securely online. This underlying Blockchain network is widely considered to be the future of payment systems.

However, this is where most similarities between the two end. Ripple was established in 2012, but initially, it was not designed to act as a form payment. Instead, the network was created to verify and record assets, including its own virtual currency, XRP.

Bitcoin was designed to be a decentralized peer-to-peer monetary system, where community members gave their own computer processing powers to verify and create new blocks and mine new Bitcoin, and as a reward received Bitcoin proportional to their efforts.

In contrast, the ripple was established with a ready limited amount of 99 billion XRP ready for distribution which could be either traded or used as a means to navigate between other assets which would allow users to evade transactions fees.

Quicker than Bitcoin

The team behind ripple have previously stated that their network has several advantages over the bitcoin core network. Most significantly is that the ripple network offers much quicker and cheaper transactions. The average transaction conduct on the ripple network takes about 3 seconds and costs one-millionth of XRP.

In addition, bitcoin has lost utility due to its exorbitant transaction fees and times. However, the ripple network has encouraged interesting partnerships with traditional financial institutions such as UBS, American Express, and Santander as the ripple network has the potential to be used practically in foreign exchange situations.

Bitcoin, Ripple and EOS price prediction: BTC/USD $10,800 level is the key

Global Stock Markets

Bitcoin toying with dangerous levels as purchases don't appear. EOS in a similar position, while Ripple paves the way for them.

BTC/USD lacks room and must take a decision. BTC/USD 240 min

The current standings in the crypto board demand the highest attention and clear thinking. In a technical analysis, maintaining its validity until the price says otherwise is as important as reconsidering the situation and assuming a new analysis that may contradict our previous beliefs. Lacking the ability to reassess in time is the fastest way to the abyss.

Right now, the BTC/USD bullish prediction is still valid, especially taking into account the unquestionable upside long-term trend and the apparent normalcy of the current retreatment from all-time highs. Nonetheless, we must be aware that the support levels are really close to the current price. A closing below $10,800, just a few points below the current price, would force us to reassess the scenario.

The MACD is extremely flat and in the equilibrium zone. The key insight is a lack of advantage from any side. No deviations, no extrema: dead calm.

The Directional Movement Index delivers juicier information. Purchases have decreased during the last bearish term as much as sales have increased. The downward trend keeps accelerating, and given the small room in the current geometric structure, a break à la Ripple must be laid on the table.

Ripple, lacking the force to leave the support behind, keeps moving laterally

XRP/USD 240 min

In the past days, Ripple has been in the same position the BTC/USD is today. Keeping a slightly upside trendline, it has broken the triangular structure to enter an expansive environment that, given its narrowness, is very unlikely to provide any tranquility to buyers. The chances that Bitcoin follows the same route as Ripple are quite high.

Ripple's MACD is, as Bitcoin's, extremely flat and thus giving no insights about the trending projections. In this case, the news is that there isn't news.

The Directional Movement Index shows a more advanced pattern than Bitcoin's. The purchases have risen together with the extension movement as sales have decreased.

The situation is tricky, since it should be solved without any volatility increase. At the current levels, the supports would not resist higher price ranges.

EOS on watch. Accelerates its decrease and approaches the support with no brakes: EOS/USD 240 min

EOS is in a fragile position. Although there's still some room until it reaches the trendline support, its downside move keeps accelerating and the sales have increased a considerable amount.

The MACD is moving in the negative zone, with a decreasing continuity profile that is set to be valid in the short term.

The Directional Movement Index shows the sales increasing significantly, as purchases decrease and the decreasing trend accelerates. The projection is threatening the price development in the next sessions. It is very likely that the price break the support, something that we have already seen in EOS.

The situation is still of uneasy calm, with all the crypto board in limiting positions, very close to supports and casting doubts on the bullish perspectives.These are kind of situations, in which very few traders are brave enough to buy, conceal some of the best opportunities. However, we must take into account that there are chances of closing the position in losses. Only by keeping this in mind we can avoid being caught up without control of our position.

Chinese bitcoin exchange BTCC acquired by Hong Kong investment fund

Asia Stock Markets

China’s first Bitcoin exchange said it has been acquired a by unnamed Hong Kong-based blockchain investment fund after a regulatory crackdown by Chinese officials.

BTCC, which was known as BTC China when it was founded in 2011 and run by American Bobby Lee, was purchased for undisclosed terms.

The company will now focus exclusively on the international market and its three major products, BTCC Pool, Mobi and USD Exchange, which will be led by Denver Zhao, Mark Ma and Aaron Choi, respectively.

Earlier this month, China escalated its crackdown on cryptocurrency trading. Officials plan to to block domestic access to local and offshore platforms that enable centralized trading.

China began its clampdown on the market last year by banning initial coin offerings first, and then calling on local exchanges to stop trading in cryptocurrencies.

The move will allow the company to expand into international markets following mainland China’s crackdown on all things cryptocurrency.

Founded in 2011, BTCC was China’s oldest bitcoin exchange until it was forced to close its doors in September because of China’s ban on exchanges.

Following the ban, the company shifted to bitcoin-related services, including running a bitcoin mining pool and providing wallet services.

But with China threatening to crack down further on any services related to cryptocurrency, including potentially mining, that may not have been a viable long-term business plan either, at least within China.

With the acquisition, the company will take its past experience and technology global. It had already registered in the U.K. and to offer bitcoin-to-U.S. dollar trading.

Although the Hong Kong blockchain investment fund that acquired BTCC was not named, there is a surprising reason behind that.

According to Calvin Cheng, a Singaporean businessman and former Singaporean parliamentarian who advises the investment fund, the fund hasn’t “thought of an English name!”

The taxman is after your bitcoin profits — though the law is a grey area

Australian Stock Markets

Regulators are playing catch-up when it comes to the brave new evolving world of cryptocurrencies.

The Australian Taxation Office believes bitcoin, ripple, ethereum and hundreds of other digital currencies are "a form of property".

What bitcoin says about us

"Any financial gains made from the selling of bitcoin will generally be subject to capital gains tax (CGT) and must be reported to the ATO," a spokesperson from the tax office said.

But this remains a grey area that is yet to be tested in a court of law.

Until that happens, the ATO has advised cryptocurrency owners to keep good records of their intentions, transactions, and who received payments.

It might be wise to heed that advice, given the tax office has warned it will be looking out for tell-tale signs of crypto tax dodgers living beyond their means.

"The ATO is here to help those that are genuinely trying to meet their tax obligations," the spokesperson said.

This includes using "a range of existing powers" which are used to address "unexplained wealth and conspicuous consumption that may arise through profits derived from cryptocurrency investment".
Beware crypto taxes
 

One of Australia's leading tax experts has warned that many investors mistakenly think their cryptocurrency profits are tax-free.

This means the gains they make from investing in cryptocurrencies may be taxed fully as income — rather than capital gains — so they will miss out on the tax discount after holding the currencies for more than a year.

Some tax experts believe at least 90 per cent of people who claim to be "cryptocurrency investors" are really speculators, even if they have held the asset for more than 12 months.

The crypto revolutionOnce the preserve of criminals, cryptocurrencies have become the vehicle of choice for speculators and dissidents.

Their rise in popularity has largely been due to people's "fear of missing out" (when one sees their friends and neighbours investing and making huge gains).

Another reason is their mistrust and hostility towards the traditional banking system.

So having the option of using a currency that is not affected by the government is a good thing."Too much of a good thing it seems for governments to remain on the sidelines.

Bitcoin To Hit $50,000

Global Stock Markets

It has been predicted that Bitcoin could reach prices as high as $50,000 this year, although it will be as volatile as ever.

These predictions have been made by Jeet Singh, who is a cryptocurrency portfolio manager, who has also said that it is common for virtual currencies to fluctuate by as much as 70 or 80 percent. He compared Bitcoin to technology giants.

He say, If you look at Microsoft or Apple, when they went public, their stocks were very volatile because the market wasn’t mature.

This volatility might have worried new traders, but experienced traders are likely to be much less concerned, as they are used to larger fluctuations.

This does mean though that as Bitcoin becomes more mainstream, and even inexperienced traders get a better understanding of cryptocurrencies as a whole, this volatility is likely to calm down, which has led him to make huge predictions

The fact that Bitcoin is so volatile has meant that it has received a lot of criticism, and even that it is a bubble that will soon burst.

Stephen Poloz, the boss of Bank of Canada, has previously claimed that virtual currencies would never be used as a real currency, and have even branded it as a form of gambling, and not a legitimate investment.

Japan raps Coincheck, orders broader checks after $530 million cryptocurrency theft

Asian Stock Markets

Japan’s financial regulator said on Monday it would inspect all cryptocurrency exchanges and ordered Coincheck to get its act together after hackers stole $530 million worth of digital money from its exchange in one of the biggest cyber heists on record. 

The theft highlights the vulnerabilities in trading an asset that global policymakers are struggling to regulate and the broader risks for Japan as it aims to leverage the fintech industry to stimulate economic growth.

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) on Monday ordered improvements to operations at Tokyo-based Coincheck, which on Friday suspended trading in all cryptocurrencies except bitcoin after hackers stole 58 billion yen ($534 million) of NEM coins, among the most popular digital currencies in the world.


Coincheck said on Sunday it would return about 90 percent with internal funds, though it has yet to figure out how or when.

The NEM coins were stored in a “hot wallet” instead of the more secure “cold wallet”, outside the internet, Coincheck said. It also does not use an extra layer of security known as a multi-signature system.

The FSA said it ordered Coincheck to submit an incident report and measures for preventing a recurrence by Feb. 13.

If necessary, it will conduct on-site inspections of other exchanges, an official told a briefing.

The regulator said it has yet to confirm whether Coincheck had sufficient funds for the reimbursement.

Japan started to require cryptocurrency exchange operators to register with the government only in April 2017, allowing pre-existing operators such as Coincheck to continue offering services ahead of formal registration.

The FSA has registered 16 cryptocurrency exchanges so far, and another 16 or so are still awaiting clearance. Coincheck’s application was made in September.

NEM fell to $0.78 from $1.01 on Friday but recovered to $0.97 on Monday, according to CoinMarketCap. Crypto-currency related shares mostly rose in Tokyo, with GMO Internet, which offers cryptocurrency exchange service, gaining 5.7 pct.

Singapore-based NEM Foundation said it had a tracing system on the NEM blockchain and that it had “a full account” of all of Coincheck’s lost NEM coins. It added that the hacker had not moved any of the funds to any exchange or personal accounts but that it had no way to return the stolen funds to its owners.

In 2014, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, which once handled 80 percent of the world’s bitcoin trades, filed for bankruptcy after losing around half a billion dollars worth of bitcoins. More recently, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Youbit last month shut down and filed for bankruptcy after being hacked twice last year.

World leaders meeting in Davos last week issued fresh warnings about the dangers of cryptocurrencies, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin relating Washington’s concern about the money being used for illicit activity.

Bitcoin Price Watch: Wait and Watch

Global Stock Markets

So we are finally approaching the end of this week and we’ve had a really odd week as far as volatility in the bitcoin price is concerned.

 Things are really unpredictable and we’ve not been able to judge where things are going to go within a couple of hours, never mind a day or more, which has translated to some pretty tough trading.

Not that we mind tough trading – our strategy is designed to take advantage of it, in fact – but it just makes things a little more awkward and necessitates that we stay on top of our risk management a little more, rather than keep things loose.

Anyway, enough of that.

Let’s get some levels in place that we can employ for the session going forward and see if we can pull a profit from the albeit volatile market.

As ever, take a quick look at the chart below before we get started so as to get an idea where things stand. It’s a one-minute candlestick chart and it’s got out primary range overlaid in green.

The range we are looking at for the session today comes in as defined by support to the downside at 10386 and resistance to the upside at 10562.

We are going to focus primarily on our breakout strategy for the time being, purely because this range is a little tighter than normal and we don’t want to risk getting into an intrarange entry only to subsequently miss out on a breakout signal.

So, with that said, we’re going to look at getting in long towards an upside target of 10670 if we see price close above resistance. A stop on the trade at 10530 looks good from a risk management perspective.

Looking short, a close below support will signal a downside entry towards 10250.

Let’s see how things play out.