Interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, is boomingfueled by unprecedented central bank stimulus measures and rocketing demand for alternative finance.

The bitcoin price, up around 30% so far this year, is being left in the dust by huge gains seen by some smaller cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency after bitcoin, has almost doubled in value so far this yearand the number of active ethereum addresses is growing at nearly twice the rate of bitcoins.

Bitcoin remains the world's most valuable cryptocurrency by a wide margin, though a recent rally in ... [+] the price of some smaller cryptocurrencies has left bitcoin in the dust.

Ethereums active address count has increased by 118% since the beginning of the year, data from blockchain analytics firm Messari, first reported by crypto news site Decrypt, has shown.

Meanwhile, bitcoins active address count has increased by just 49%.

"The level of development on ethereum is crazy: initial coin offerings, stablecoins, non-fungible tokens, decentralized exchanges and other decentralized finance applications, Web 3 use cases," Messari chief executive Ryan Selkis said via email, though he added bitcoin remains "the industry's dominant asset and most important project."

The ethereum price has also surged this year, with ethereum's tradable token ether now trading at around $240up almost 90% from $130 at the start of January. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has seen its post-coronavirus crash rally halted in its tracks since May with bitcoin repeatedly trying and failing to break the psychological $10,000 per bitcoin level.

Despite the excitement swirling around ethereum, recent setbacks, including a warning that ethereum 2.0 may be delayed again, is leaving the door open for competitors.

"There's a lot of demand for smart contract platforms that scale, so there's a big opening in the market right now with ethereum 2.0 delayed, [processing] prices high, and well-funded competitors launching imminently," Selkis said.

The ethereum price has ticked up over the last 12 months with ethereum outpacing bitcoin's recent ... [+] rally by a considerable margin.

One such cryptocurrency, chainlink, has been boosted by a surge of interest in decentralized finance, sometimes known as DeFithe idea that blockchain entrepreneurs can use bitcoin and crypto technology to recreate traditional financial instruments such as loans and insurance.

The chainlink price is up by around 1,000% on the last year, hitting fresh all-time highs over the last few days.

However, some cryptocurrency and ethereum developers have cautioned against investors viewing blockchains and cryptocurrency tokens as in competition.

"Viewing other blockchains as competitors to ethereum isnt the right framework to view the crypto space," Kosala Hemachandra, founder and chief executive of MyEtherWallet, who's been developing on ethereum since its 2015 launch, said via email, adding delays to ethereum 2.0 "arent stopping or slowing the many projects building on ethereum."

DeFi has been found to be one of the biggest drivers of ethereum growth in recent months, with DeFi applications accounting for over 97% of all decentralized app volume on ethereum according to a July report from Dapp.com.

"Different blockchains have separate goals and purposes," Hemachandra said.

"Some are primarily focused on value transactions while others support decentralized app development, for example. You have to look beyond market cap to really evaluate blockchain development."

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Ethereum Is Beating Bitcoin In More Ways Than One - Forbes

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) price is trading sideways for most of the month of July as the volume figure keeps falling. In the meantime, the payment giant Visa is supporting the emerging Bitcoin payments startup.

Zap, a Bitcoin payments startup company that has recently announced its partnership with Visa, has discreetly secured $3.5 million in new investments, according to Forbes. The startup joined Visas Fast Track Program in June.

While Zap is not the first Bitcoin payments company in the world, its different from its rivals because it utilizes a new platform developed on top of Bitcoin, known as the Lightning Network, that takes seconds to confirm a settlement instead of the usual 10 minutes.

Apart from being very fast, the platform also has much lower Bitcoin transaction fees compared to traditional payment fees.

One of the early use cases for us is content creators. Journalists or video game streamers or adult film actors and actresses, put up profiles backed by our infrastructure, and anyone in the world can tip them, says Jack Mallers, founder of Zap.

Mallers thinks hell gain an advantage over other crypto startups, like Coinbase, by moving the transactions off-chain and cutting the fees included in smaller transactions.

Our users today, dont ever know were using bitcoin when theyre using dollars. Its just kind of like weve melted it in the background, he said. I think tens of millions of people will be using this stuff in the next few years, and that just takes a little bit of capital.

Zaps partnership with Visa was announced last month, and the startup said it will be rolling out its card within a year. Just like how the Visa Network controls traditional banks, providing them with instant payment services, the Lightning Network handles Bitcoin payments but has no gatekeeper.

Were contractually obligated to launch one in the next 12 months and we plan on launching one in the next few months, Mallers said.

The paperwork is fully inked, and its coming out.

BTC/USD has been moving sideways in the past two weeks. The price action looks very depressed as it left the symmetrical triangle, however, without a follow-up. Shrinking volume confirms a decrease in interest in trading Bitcoin in the past two weeks.

However, a low volume usually takes place before the explosive move takes place. Hence, we cant expect the depressing price action to continue for much longer as the buyers still aim to push price movements above the $10,000 mark.

Bitcoin price has continued to range in the past two weeks. The volume has also shrank, which may point to a potentially explosive move soon as the trading range gets more narrow.

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Shrinking volume may lead to an imminent breakout in Bitcoin price - Invezz

Bitcoin scammers have been threatening to expose sensitive videos of their victims if they are not paid off.

Fraudsters have been sending spam emails that allege they have recorded video of you getting yourself off, which they threaten to expose if they are not paid off.

The emails claim that the scammer is from out of the country, and cannot be targeted by local law enforcement.

Scammers allege that based on their potential victims visiting bad websites that infected computers with malware, they now have video of lewd acts that they threaten to share with friends and family.

In order to obviate the disgrace for the term of life, you should send 18 Dash coins to a certain address, and your prestige will not be damaged, the fraudsters wrote in an email to Daily Voice.

The scammers offer a 24-hour deadline to transfer the bitcoin, with the compromising video allegedly being disseminated within 48 hours.

The FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center said it has seen an increase in reports of online extortion scams during the current "stay-at-home" orders due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Because large swaths of the population are staying at home and likely using the computer more than usual, scammers may use this opportunity to find new victims and pressure them into sending money, they wrote in a report.

The scammers are sending emails threatening to release sexually explicit photos or personally compromising videos to the individual's contacts if they do not pay. While there are many variations of these online extortion attempts, they often share certain commonalities.

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Bitcoin Scammers Claim To Have Compromising Videos Of Victims - Yonkers Daily Voice

The motivations and implications of a Twitter hack that had everyone from Coinbase to Kanye shilling a scam for bitcoin.

Expert commentary provided by Dr. Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of Elliptic

Wednesday, at around 2:15 p.m. EDT, prominent Crypto Twitter accounts started sharing a similar message about abitcoingiveaway. A couple of hours later, Elon Musk and Bill Gates were saying they were feeling generous and wanting to give bitcoin away. A couple more hours and every verified blue check mark account on Twitter was taken down. Its the great Twitter hack of 2020.

It was an attack with massive implications, if not much monetary gain.

On this episode NLW breaks down:

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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No, the Twitter Hack Wasn't About Bitcoin - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Weiss Ratings has outlined key reasons why investors should be bullish about bitcoin, seeing a ferocious rally with the price of the cryptocurrency expected to hit $70,000 next year. In addition, the Federal Reserves massive money-printing and institutional investments into cryptocurrencies add to the bullishness.

Weiss Ratings analysts Bruce Ng and Juan Villaverde explained last week why investors should be bullish about bitcoin despite some sideways consolidations. Weiss Ratings currently ranks bitcoin first among all cryptocurrencies overall.

One of the three key reasons why the analysts are bullish about bitcoin stems from a price prediction based on the stock-to-flow analysis (S2F). The popular forecasting model now points to a ferocious rally over the next 12 months or so, they wrote.

Ng and Villaverde described that S2F is based on the common-sense notion that the scarcer a commodity is, the more valuable it becomes, adding that scarcity is measured by circulating supply. For example, Gold has an S2F of 62, which is the number of years of current production required to match global above-ground holdings, they clarified.

After the May Bitcoin halving, 6.25 new bitcoins are being created every 10 minutes, meaning it would take an estimated 56 years for new mintage to match Bitcoins circulating supply, they continued. Notice how close that is to the S2F number for gold, which makes sense because bitcoin is fast becoming a major rival to gold as a safe-haven investment.

The analysts added that previous S2F predictions line up quite well with bitcoins actual price performance, as seen in the chart above, elaborating:

Now, based on the history of the halving, current S2F analysis says bitcoin should reach $70,000 by sometime around mid-2021 Even if it turns out to be only half right, you could still triple your money.

The other two reasons Weiss Ratings analysts highlighted were QE infinity and institutional money flowing into cryptocurrencies. The covid-19 pandemic environment has pushed the Federal Reserve to print $2.9 trillion in new paper money in just 13 weeks, or about $22 million a minute, the analysts detailed. By any measure, this is corruption of money on an industrial scale, they exclaimed, predicting that investors will pour money into bitcoin and gold as a safe haven when they lose confidence in paper money.

Billionaire investor Mike Novogratz has also been saying that central banks printing record amount of money is the best environment for bitcoin.

The last major factor Ng and Villaverde focused on was the increasing interest in cryptocurrency among institutional investors, such as by Paul Tudor Jones who invested about $210 million of his own money into bitcoin. Grayscale Investments has been adding bitcoin to its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust faster than the rate of new coins being mined and recently, venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz raised half a billion dollars to invest in crypto startups. The analysts opined:

The sheer weight of institutional-sized money flows into a small market like bitcoin can have truly explosive effects.

Are you bullish on bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Weiss Ratings

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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'Ferocious Rally': Weiss Ratings Bullish on Bitcoin, Price to Hit $70K Next Year | Markets and Prices - Bitcoin News

There is no doubt that cryptocurrency specifically Bitcoin (BTC), which is frequently used as a barometer for the health of the entire sector has made a comeback. As of the writing of this article, Bitcoin stands at a little over $9,000, very close to the $10,000 rebound that investors hoped for sometime this year and we are barely in the third quarter.

Although there are signs that crypto winter is over, many experts are still understandably cautious.

Related: What's Next for the Industry as 'Crypto Winter' Thaws?

Cryptocurrency has been a notoriously unstable investment, first selling at less than a penny and then varying from $400 to $1,242 between all of 2013 and 2016. In 2017, crypto investors were gleeful (and some, probably, quite smug) to see the currency reach the insane height of $4,400 and then end the year breaking an astonishing $20,000 all this after plummeting to $2,000 that same September.

Of course, what followed that bright season in the cryptocurrency industry was what we refer to as crypto winter the drastic drop in value following several high-profile Ponzi schemes, successful hacks, crypto-jacking attempts and overall negative media coverage.

In this article, we will discuss the question of whether crypto winter is over, whether those who have already invested have a reason to be hopeful, and whether those who havent should jump on the bandwagon soon before prices skyrocket. We will also place a focus on blockchain technology as it exists both inside and outside the cryptocurrency industry, and why widespread adoption of this new technology is an indicator of cryptocurrencys future success.

For many of the experts, the answer seems to be yes. From crypto enthusiasts to Forbes, the current viewpoint of many is that Bitcoin is poised to make huge gains for the next 10 years. Although the vagaries of the cryptocurrency industry are as mysterious as Satoshi Nakamoto himself, it seems that we have headed into a period of stability during which the fundamentals of cryptocurrency are better understood and trusted.

Only 4% of Americans polled cite cryptocurrency as their preferred long-term investment, but this is very likely going to change in the near future, as Bitcoin has nothing but room to grow.

Many compare the future of Bitcoin to that of the internet, and claim that the commodity is going through the same growing pains of scalability, availability and ease of use that the internet first went through from 1995.

Similarly, market experts note that although only 11% of Americans own Bitcoin, those numbers are on par with other huge technological developments in their early stages, such as smartphones.

Many point out that the disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak to traditional banking and investing institutions may be a motivator to invest in the digital currency to protect against inflation and the questionable resilience of fiat currencies.

Many experts also suggest that cryptocurrency transactions arent completely secure and anonymous without the use of a virtual private network, or VPN. They are also irreversible. Once a coin is gone from your account, it can easily vanish without a trace. Hackers have taken advantage of this by breaking into exchanges and stealing small amounts from each user.

So, it will likely take time until Bitcoin gains trust from the wider public, but for those willing to take a risk, it might be the most profitable investment of 2020, specifically for those who are willing to wait 10 years to witness the true extent of its growth.

Although much is left to be seen about the future of cryptocurrency, no one can deny that the idea of creating a digital-only currency is as old as science fiction. From transportation to food to medicine to video games, a wide variety of industries continue to look to blockchain technology for logistical and transactional solutions. In seven years, it is estimated that $300 billion worth of food products will be tracked using blockchain technology, saving over $100 billion annually.

In 2018, JPMorgan surprised the traditional financial world by publicly stating that blockchain technology is the way of the future for cross-border payments. A year after that, IBM, Citibank and Barclays announced the development of their own blockchain-based platforms, and Dubai made a statement that it has a new goal to become blockchain-powered by 2020.

Although this is still a relatively new technology, there is little doubt that blockchain and the cryptographic technology it uses will rapidly dominate the landscape in coming years. Countless top-tier engineers, product developers and designers are building real solutions on top of blockchain, working to perfect this technology for widespread use across various industries.

It is possible that we may have to wait until blockchain technology is fully understood, utilized and appreciated by the masses in order to provide cryptocurrency a much-needed publicity boost.

After all, although currencies and monetary investments like cryptocurrencies can go through wild ups and downs, there is nothing more stable than an already proven and reliable technological solution like blockchain.

Many unanswered questions and problems that still exist are unsettling to cautious investors, but these obstacles bear resemblance to other successful, ground-breaking technologies such the internet and Apple smartphones. Furthermore, much of the negative press about the problems associated with Bitcoin is due to scams that could have been easily avoided with adequate financial knowledge and cybersecurity.

Also, lets not forget that traditional banking institutions have a vested interest in making cryptocurrency seem like a questionable investment. Of course, big banks and traditional investing platforms have significant power to fund research and news stories that influence opinions on a daily basis. This might be more of a reflection of their fear of competition rather than a legitimate portrayal of the value of the cryptocurrency industry.

Certainly, if you prefer safe and reliable investments with moderate-to-low gains in the short term, Bitcoin is probably not the right investment for you.

However, if you are looking to potentially gain big by investing in a growing new industry, and are not afraid of the spring cleaning that is currently needed to make improvements to the future security and useability of cryptocurrency, it might be just the right time to buy Bitcoin.

After all, where there is no risk, there is no reward and it may be wise not to wait until everyone is singing the praises of Bitcoin in the coming years to make the decision to invest.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Sam Bocetta is a freelance journalist specializing in United States diplomacy and national security with an emphasis on technology trends in cyber warfare, cyber defense and cryptography. Previously, Sam was a contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, working in partnership with architects and developers to mitigate controls for vulnerabilities identified across applications.

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Crypto Winter Could Really Be Over as New Bitcoin Starts to Bloom - Cointelegraph

For many years now physical bitcoins have been a very popular trend, but one specific type called the Casascius physical bitcoin collection has intrigued people for years. Last December, someone redeemed a 100 BTC Casascius bar and since then 560 Casascius coins worth $5.1 million have been redeemed. As of today, there are only 20,901 Casascius coins or bars left in the world, with roughly $424 million worth of bitcoins loaded on them.

Bitcoins believe it or not can have nostalgic value, especially when they are tethered to a physical bitcoin. During the last decade, numerous manufacturers have created physical bitcoins that have been loaded with the digital currency.

Most all of these types of coins are collectors items, as the physical attributes can give the cryptocurrency numismatic value. One of the most popular physical bitcoin creators was Mike Caldwell who issued the Casascius physical bitcoin collection from 2011 to 2013.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government shut down Caldwells operation by telling him he could no longer load the physical coins with real digital bitcoin. However, during Caldwells tenure of making the Casascius physical bitcoin collection, he minted close to 90,000 BTC in various denominations.

On July 12, 2020, theres only 45,760 active BTC held on Casascius physical coins or bars in existence, as there were roughly 46,320 active BTC coins in December 2019. That means at todays BTC/USD exchange rates out of the 560 coins redeemed, $5.1 million in BTC was spent.

Last December when news.Bitcoin.com reported on the 100 BTC gold bar that was redeemed on the 23rd, it was the last 100 BTC peeled since then. So far the highest increment peeled between December and now, was a few 25 BTC coins. At the time of writing, there are still 48- 100 BTC bars that have not been spent, leaving $44.4 million left (100 BTC bars) unspent to-date.

Caldwell also minted a number of 1,000 BTC bars and so far, most of those have been redeemed. The series one 1,000 BTC bar data shows that 87% have been redeemed. The series two Casascius bars only stored 500 BTC and every single one of those bars have been peeled.

Although some individuals are lucky enough to own the series one 1,000 BTC Casascius coins minted in 2011. Only six were manufactured and there are four coins left, and that means only 33.33% of the BTC has been spent so far. It could be possible that due to the size of these coins being much smaller (28.6mm) than the bars (80mm x 40mm x 6mm), a few may have been lost.

In the Casascius collection, there are a lot more physical coins with smaller increments between 0.5 BTC to 25 BTC. As mentioned above, Casascius coins have given bitcoiners a lot of nostalgia, and lots of these coins have gathered numismatic value that far exceeds the BTC value stored on the coin.

For instance, on Ebay theres two Casascius coins selling for far more than the original BTC value. One example shows a rare 2011- 1 BTC physical Casascius coin selling for $101,000. Another seller on the eBay auction website wants $25k for his 2013- fully funded 1 BTC Casascius coin.

There are not that many Casascius coins on eBay, but theres a whole lot more coins from manufacturers like Denarium and BTCC Mint. Caldwell did make a number of unloaded Casascius bitcoins that contain no real digital currency value, and those trinkets sell for $25 a pop.

People can follow the redemption cycle of Casascius bitcoins on Twitter by following the bot called Casascius Coin Tracker (@Casasciusbot). When news.Bitcoin.com reported on the 100 BTC bar peel, it was the largest month between now and then for redemptions with 172 coins peeled. In mid-March 54 coins were redeemed and so far only 14 Casascius coins have been peeled in July.

Of course, the biggest month in a long while was December 2017, when the public witnessed 1,172 redeemed Casascius coins. As 560 Casascius coins worth $5.1 million have been redeemed since December 2019, it shows that these physical bitcoins are becoming rarer by the day. Its likely that as scarcity continues to take hold of these loaded physical bitcoins, they will always be worth more than the original digital load value.

What do you think about the number of Casascius coins left in existence? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, casasciustracker.com

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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$424 Million and Numismatic Value: There's Only 20000 Casascius Physical Bitcoins Left Unspent | Featured Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

Bitcoin (BTC) begins Monday by avoiding another test of $9,000, but what could happen to change the mood or even set off a bull run?

Cointelegraph takes a look at five major facts that could influence the BTC price during the coming week.

The macro outlook seemed more or less stable on Monday. Prior to trading, futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and more were modestly up, despite concerns mounting over coronavirus.

Specifically, one source quoted by Bloomberg warned on Sunday, the sentiment is one of worry both about the spread of cases and the United States response to protect the economy.

If the Federal Reserve intervenes in equities yet again and adds to its balance sheet, it would increase the sense of an artificial presence on the markets in terms of competition.

There is an emerging possibility that the Fed hasnt gone far enough, quantitative strategists at Sanford C. Bernstein wrote in a note.

If that came to pass, then maybe valuation of the market simply doesnt matter.

Fed balance sheet as of July 7. Source: Federal Reserve

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin has shown no signs of lessening its dependence on stocks in recent weeks. Moves up or down appeared to shape BTC/USD performance, with last weeks trip from $9,000 to near $9,500 and back down again being no exception.

Analysts particularly eye the S&P 500, an index with which Bitcoin currently shows a 95% correlation.

Coronavirus is also weighing on U.S. consumer confidence, fresh data meanwhile shows, with five indicators all flashing bearish in July after recovering during the two previous months.

On the topic of macro, trader sentiment in cryptocurrency still contrasts with that of traditional markets.

That was the conclusion from two incarnations of the Fear & Greed Index, a basket of factors designed to show whether traders are overly risk-off or unduly confident.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains in the fear category with little movement for several weeks. By contrast, the traditional market equivalent is flashing greed, while slowly trending downwards towards neutral.

On a scale of 1 to 100, Monday scored 59, down 7 points from the same time one month ago. The cryptocurrency equivalent measured 43 for Monday and 38 last month.

Fuelling traditional greed was extreme greed in stock price breadth, while derivatives put and call options, along with safe-haven demand, also sat firmly in the greed range.

Crypto Fear & Greed Index 1-month chart. Source: Alternative.me

The greed narrative fits with other signs that stocks, in particular, are overly buoyant.

As noted by market commentator Holger Zschaepitz on Monday, the correlation between the Nasdaq and S&P 500 is on the up, in what he describes as a sign of exuberance.

At the same time, banks are gearing up for a dismal quarterly performance, something that is on track to be the worst since the 2008 financial crisis.

As Cointelegraph noted, misgivings about stocks recovery since March have long persisted in Bitcoin circles. The Feds interventions, in particular, have fuelled accusations that the entire atmosphere is now artificial, and true value is of limited relevance.

Numbers this week show that investors themselves have in fact gone for cash and gold not equities in 2020. Inflows into the two assets beat others since the start of the year, similar to 2008-9.

Inflows as a % of assets under management chart. Source: Jeroen Blokland/ Twitter

Monday sees a new Bitcoin difficulty adjustment, the latest in a series of bullish moves that underline miner confidence.

With the event just hours away at press time, estimates suggest a difficulty uptick of around 9.5%.

This is much stronger than the previous move two weeks ago, which was stagnant, and on the way to matching last months 15% surge, which was the largest since early 2018.

Difficulty represents how much effort is required to solve equations when mining new Bitcoin blocks. Upward adjustments suggest more competition, with Mondays estimate slowly increasing over the past week.

At the same time, the network hash rate, having reached an all-time average high last week, has tailed off slightly. Data from Blockchain estimates a seven-day average of 124.42 EH/s for Monday, having previously hit 126 EH/s.

Hash rate is a sensitive and inexact metric, but nonetheless provides an idea of how much computing power is being dedicated to Bitcoin mining. Major swings are not uncommon, and a popular theory suggests that bullish progress for hash rate is followed some time later by a copycat Bitcoin price move.

Bitcoin 7-day average hash rate 1-month chart. Source: Blockchain

Bitcoin futures markets generated few opportunities for price movements over the weekend. Low volatility means that markets will begin Monday in a similar position to that at which they ended on Friday.

If Monday and Friday do not match, a gap opens up in futures markets which the BTC/USD spot tends to fill in subsequent days or even hours.

CME Bitcoin futures chart showing lack of weekend gap. Source: TradingView

Nonetheless, futures remain a source of suspicion for some. As Cointelegraph reported, in-house analyst filbfilb warned last week that weak performance could be a sign of worse to come.

Specifically, one indicator showed uncanny similarities to the days before Bitcoins March crash. Should history repeat itself, he added, the drop, however, should not be as intense as at that time.

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Stocks, Greed and Exuberance: 5 Things to Watch in Bitcoin This Week - Cointelegraph

When it comes to making money from the worlds financial markets, you have no shortage of options these days. Forex, cryptocurrencies, stocks, funds, ETFs, commodities These are just some of the ways you can potentially generate profits.

Some financial strategies are more likely to make you wealthy than others, however. If youre serious about generating wealth, I say forget about cryptocurrencies and forex trading, and instead, put your money into a Stocks and Shares ISA.

Its easy to see why cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have caught the attention of many investors. Had you bought a decent amount of Bitcoin a decade ago, youd probably be a millionaire by now.Yet looking ahead, I think its unlikely Bitcoin will generate the same returns for investors. The chances of Bitcoin being adopted as a proper currency look slim. Meanwhile, regulators are cracking down on cryptocurrencies in a big way. This means there is now more downside risk. If your goal is to build real wealth, Id steer clear of Bitcoin.

Id also steer clear of forex trading. Why? Simply because the majority of forex traders lose money. Just look at the stats. According to forex.com, 72% of retail investor accounts on its platform lose money. Meanwhile, on fxcm.com, it says 75% of retail investor accounts lose money. Of course, there are plenty of forex traders that do make good returns trading the worlds currency markets. However, becoming a top forex trader is not easy.

If youre looking for a straightforward way to build wealth, I think youre better off putting your money into a Stocks and Shares ISA. With this type of ISA, you can invest your money in a wide range of wealth-building assets. And any gains you make will be completely tax-free.

With a Stocks and Shares ISA, you have plenty of investment options.

One option is to invest in a global equity fund such as Fundsmith Equity. This is a top-performing investment fund that owns stocks such as Microsoft,PayPal, and Unilever. It has returned about 20% per year over the last five years.

Another option is to invest in an investment trust such as Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. This is a tech-focused investment trust that owns stocks such as Amazon, Tesla and Netflix. This trusts share price has risen about 230% over the last five years.

You also have the option to invest in individual companies yourself. For example, you could buy shares in companies that you know such as Apple, Alphabet (Google), or JD Sports Fashion. All of these companies have delivered strong returns for investors in recent years.

Alternatively, you could invest in fast-growing smaller companies. Smaller companies are generally riskier than large companies, however, they tend to produce higher returns. For example, video game company Keywords Studios has turned a 2k investment into about 22k in just five years.

Invest 500 a month into a Stocks and Shares ISA and earn 10% per year on your money, and youre looking at a one million pound investment portfolio in around 30 years. With a simple investment strategy, its very easy to build real wealth within a Stocks and Shares ISA.

The post Bitcoin and forex are unlikely to make you wealthy. But a Stocks and Shares ISA could do so appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Edward Sheldon owns shares in Microsoft, PayPal, Unilever, Keywords Studios, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Alphabet, Apple, and JD Sports Fashion and has a position in Fundsmith. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fools board of directors. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (C shares), Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, PayPal Holdings, and Tesla. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Keywords Studios and Unilever and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft, short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft, and long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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Bitcoin and forex are unlikely to make you wealthy. But a Stocks and Shares ISA could do so - Yahoo Finance UK

A panel of experts is predicting the price of bitcoin will rise to $10,337 by September before adding a further $2,611 to end the year at $12,948.

The findings are drawn from a Finder Cryptocurrency Predictions Report for July 2020 and the latest figure is roughly $2,500 less than the price predicted in the April report.

In the report, 28 panellists drawn from academia, crypto research firms, and hedge funds are also asked to give their sentiments about bitcoin.

Some 50% of those surveyed believe now is the best time to buy bitcoin.

According to the findings, half of the panellists (50%) thinks now is the time to buy, with a little under a third (32%) suggesting holding. Only 18% say now is the best time to sell.

Meanwhile, two of the panellists who share this buy sentiment argue their case in the same report. Kinetic Trading CEO David Wills, one of the two panellists, believes events sparked by the coronavirus pandemic have created the best scenario to buy. He said:

I am a big follower of Plan B stock to flow analysis. This combined with the debasement of fiat currency in the wake of covid-19 is the perfect set-up for a bull run in the second half of the year.

Echoing Willis sentiments is Coinmama CEO, Sagi Baksi, who notes a few different factors at play.

Baksi points to the stock to flow model, the financial instability, as well as the printing of money by the US Federal Reserve. From these pointers, he concluded that now is the time to buy bitcoin.

Gavin Smith, general partner at Panxora, is one of the few dissenting panellists. He thinks now is the best time to sell.

While agreeing with the long-term inflation outlook, Smith does point out that the global economy has been hit by a negative demand shock caused by covid-19.

This hit is a strong enough basis for a short-term significant decline in the value of bitcoin as the deflationary demand shock filters through.

Smiths prediction for the end of year value for bitcoin of $7,000 sharply contrasts with the panels average prediction.

In the meantime, bitcoins value appears to have stabilized above $9,000 since the halving. It has only breached the $10,000 mark a few times despite some bullish predictions.

Do you think bitcoin is currently trading at a discount? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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A Panel of Experts See Bitcoin Averaging $12948 by Year End - Bitcoin News

Crypto-focused institutional trading desks are lately springing up. While Wall Street investment banks and hedge funds are still in the early stages of involvement, a class of crypto-native funds founded by institutional pros is by now well established.

Cointelegraph interviewed the co-founder of one of these funds, CMS Holdings Dan Matuszewski, to learn more about his views on the crypto market.

Before involving himself in crypto in 2012, Matuszewski worked for some years at Bay Hill, an institutional hedge fund. Most of his career was nevertheless tied to crypto, with a brief stint at Kraken and a longer tenure as the head of the OTC desk at Circle.

In 2019, Matuszewski left Circle to co-found CMS Holdings, a fund that operates like a hedge fund despite only working with principal capital the co-founders own money.

He shared his views on the growing derivatives market in crypto, highlighting some of the differences with traditional markets.

While derivatives have been growing, their volume is still below that of spot, or direct crypto trading. The majority of derivatives volume comes from futures, a derivatives contract that seeks to closely follow the price of the underlying asset. Commenting on this, Matuszewski said:

The derivatives market is always going to dwarf the spot market, just because theres bigger access to leverage and it's just a lot easier to trade.

But Matuszewski finds it odd that leverage in crypto is so high. The fact that you can go 100x on Bitcoin, it's kind of wild to me, he added. In his view, these crypto derivatives are really treated more like a casino rather than a hedging tool, as they see much higher retail trader participation who have much more of a gambling mentality. Though he disclaimed that traditional derivatives products are also highly speculated upon.

The differences in risk approaches are amply shown by CME Bitcoin futures. While the exchange allows double or triple digits of leverage for gold futures, on Bitcoin the maximum leverage is only about 3x, though it varies each day as maintenance margins change.

I hope a lot of people aren't doing that [using 100x leverage]. But Arthur [Hayes, CEO of BitMEX,] put out a post about BitMEX average margin usage [...] and its high. People are pretty wound up on that thing.

Matuszewski noted that futures by themselves are not particularly new for crypto, as some platforms offered them even when he first got into crypto in 2012. BitMEX popularized them in 2018, which led to a host of competitors springing up. But Matuszewski believes they do not have much to compete on:

There's only a couple of permutations right now. You give people more things to trade, or you give them more access to trade what they have already. So its either leverage or new assets.

On leverage, he noted that theres not that much further you can go. Until volatility falls to consistently low levels, there will be an upper bound on it. You can't give somebody 500x leverage in Bitcoin because the bid offer [spread] will just liquidate them, he added.

Nevertheless, he believes that the derivatives market will keep growing:

I think that's the trend, I think people will be getting more in the derivatives space than spot going forward. Options markets will grow, Deribits had very good growth on that thing, CME just got into it.

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Institutional OG: The Fact That You Can Go 100x Leverage on Bitcoin Is Pretty Wild - Cointelegraph

Coinbase is selling its blockchain analytics software to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service. Following criticisms from the crypto community, CEO Brian Armstrong defended Coinbases position.

Public records on the U.S. governments websites reveal that the San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase has signed a contract with the U.S. government for its blockchain analytics software. The records were first spotted by The Block.

The contract, awarded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was signed on May 9. It went into effect the next day with a tentative end date of May 11, 2024. The obligated amount is currently $49,000 and the potential award amount is $183,750. The contracting agency is the U.S. Secret Service, a federal agency that investigates monetary crimes such as fraud and counterfeiting; it was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.

Following the news of Coinbase selling its analytics software to the U.S. Secret Service, many people took to Twitter to criticize the companys action, with some urging others to delete Coinbase, saying that the company is bad for bitcoin and crypto.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong quickly defended his companys decision. Blockchain analytics software is nothing new has been around a long time it uses publicly available data to try and track crypto transactions usually to catch bad actors, he tweeted.

Armstrong proceeded to explain that his company started off by using some of the existing blockchain analytics services out there. This worked out ok, but the issue with it was that we dont like sharing data with third parties when we can avoid it, and they didnt support all the features/chains we needed. So we realized at some point we would need to bring this capability in house, the CEO described, elaborating:

Its expensive to build this capability, and we want to recoup costs. There is an existing market for blockchain analytics software, so we sell it to a handful of folks as well. It also helps us build relationships with law enforcement which is important to growing crypto.

Last month, it was reported that Coinbase wanted to sell its analytics software to two other U.S. government agencies: the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Meanwhile, the company is reportedly planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.

What do you think about Coinbase selling its analytics software to the government? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, U.S. government

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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US Dept of Homeland Security Buys Analytics Software From Coinbase | News - Bitcoin News

Chaincode Labs researcher Clara Shikhelman has been studying mathematics in university since she was 14 years old. Now, as the bitcoin companys newest post-doctoral fellow, she is exploring ways to optimize the Lightning Network.

Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadioorRSS.

This episode is sponsored byBitstampandCrypto.com.

In this audio interview, CoinDesks Leigh Cuen and Chaincode Labs researcherClara Shikhelmantalk aboutbitcoinand what attracted them to it.

As a co-founder of the IsraeliWomen in Mathematics Association, Shikhelman has been researching complex math problems for nearly a decade. But she said bitcoin offers especially interesting puzzles to solve because this technology may have the potential to change the world. Shes one of many young researchers who identify with the cypherpunk movement.

There are a lot of people like me, their main thing is academic, Shikhelman said. They are not the classic cypherpunk people, but [t]hey believe in privacy, in political change.

Until recently, most people associated with thecypherpunk movementwere technologists in the 1980s and 1990s who circulated mailing lists about encryption and other privacy tech topics. The term was created byfeminist hackitvist Judith Milhon, although it is widely associated with software engineers such as bitcoin veteran Adam Back. Many of the original cypherpunks are still active in thecryptocurrency spacetoday. However, theyve also inspired a new generation of self-identified cypherpunks with different skills now also exploring the subcultures proverb that cypherpunks build things.

In Shikhelmans case, shes focused on mathematical research to make bitcoinsLightning Networkreliable. Like her predecessors, she shares a love of cypherpunk literature, such as novels by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson. These fantasy worlds help her think outside the box and apply math to ideas with cypherpunk potential, meaning the potential to use privacy tech to promote social change. Such solutions-oriented research is a fundamental part of building technology, just as valuable as adding open source code to a Github repo.

Lets talk big. Lets think huge. Lets talk about thousands of years in the future, changing humanity, Shikhelman said.

In order to build privacy into the bitcoin ecosystem, technologists first must understand the mathematical aspects of the system. Just as safety equipment works best when it fits the person (an oversized helmet can be more dangerous than none at all), software works best when designed with both the details and holistic value flow in mind.

Lightning will need more than justonion routingfor good privacy guarantees going forward, said cypherpunk journalistJanine Rmer, who writes anewsletterabout bitcoin privacy tech. Lightning is one of many adaptations that will expand Bitcoins ability to carry larger and larger portions of the global economy.

Similar to Shikhelman, Rmer is a researcher who views herself as part of the broader cypherpunk movement.

A lowercase c cypherpunk, she joked, acknowledging she was never involved with the movements founding fathers.

This social movement is not preoccupied with overthrowing or altering governments, in stark contrast with Bitcoin Twitters anarchist undertones. Instead, Rmer said, rather than seizing power the movement is focused on working to make things un-take-over-able. In short, unseizable assets, self-sovereign data and other types of independence in a digital world.

I prefer the term informational self-determination, which is used in the German constitution, Rmer said.

As for bitcoin, Shikhelman described Bitcoin Core as pretty much stable and running, meaning her focus has now turned to privacy-centric usability for the Lightning Network. With regards to bitcoins reliability so far, Rmer agreed.

I hope bitcoin will become/keep being something that survives under adversity, and gives the people who use it at least enough privacy that they can escape from whatever preys on them. Whether thats the state, banks, corporations, abusive family or partners, Rmer concluded.

Formore episodesand free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe withApple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadioorRSS.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Listen: What a Bitcoin Researcher Says About Lightning - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Two Italian 17-year-olds were arrested for paying Bitcoin (BTC) to see children being sexually abused, tortured and murdered in live streaming.

Local media Il Messaggero reported on July 15 that the deep web website viewed by the two also allowed users to pay extra to decide what torture the children would be subjected to next. Italian law enforcement explained:

Users that were able to reach those kinds of obscure environments are allowed to take part in acts of sexual violence and torture on minors, performed live by adults.

The services offered by the website have different costs. Viewing a pre-recorded video costs much less than watching live, but in both cases the viewing concludes with the death of the child. The article also provides another example, according to which viewers can for instance request them to amputate a childrens arm or to pour hot oil over the victim. Law enforcement said:

The live requests really cost a lot of money and ensure particularly high profits to the foreign organizations that carry out those inhuman acts.

The two were searched as part of an ongoing investigation that has so far involved 25 people 19 minors and six over 18 residing in 13 Italian provinces. The operation is nicknamed Delirio delirium in Italian by local law enforcement. It started in October and resulted in tens of searches.

The two arrested are a man and a woman who exchanged details pertaining to what they referred to as a red room. The man often shared with the women grim details of the livestreams.

Media found include pedopornographic videos self-made by minors, videos of children as young as three-year-olds being molested by adults, and videos depicting violence often accompanied by Nazi symbology.

It is unclear whether the website offering the services was shut down, but presumably only some of its viewers were caught. Local law enforcement has not answered Cointelegraphs inquiry.

Cryptocurrencies pseudonymity and the lack of governmental control over them make them suitable for criminals. Among such criminals, we can find political dissidents, whistleblowers and journalists, but also pedophiles, drug dealers and black-hat hackers.

There have been many worldwide reports on the use of Bitcoin and other crypto assets specifically in child porn dealings. For instance, at the end of June Spanish law enforcement took down a dark-web child porn ring that used cryptocurrency transactions to pay for content.

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Two Teens Arrested After Paying Bitcoin to See Livestream Murder on Dark Web - Cointelegraph

Today I want to talk about how to invest in stocks. This might seem strange, given that the FTSE 100 is down by nearly 20% this year, while gold and Bitcoin have both risen by nearly 30%.

However, I believe that if you want to invest and get rich, the stock market offers far bigger long-term opportunities than Bitcoin or gold. Let me explain why.

Bitcoin was originally invented as an alternative currency. Despite this, hardly anyone actually uses it. Most people who own Bitcoin only seem to want to trade it in the hope that the Bitcoin price will rise. I dont see this as a sensible way to invest its just gambling to me.

Things are a little better with gold. Although the yellow metal will never expand or generate income, gold has been used to store wealth and make payments for thousands of years. I think that will continue. I also like golds portability and security unlike Bitcoin, physical gold cant be hacked.

However, the reality is that the last time gold rose above $1,800/oz. was nine years ago. That peak was followed by a six-year slump that saw the yellow metal lose up to 45% of its value.

I dont think this is a good time to buy gold. But falling share prices mean that I do think its a good time to invest in stocks.

When you own shares, you own a slice of a real business. Assuming you invest in profitable, successful companies, this means that the value of your shares is backed by profits, assets and cash dividends.

Unlike Bitcoin and gold, shares do have an intrinsic value the value of the business you part-own. Most good businesses grow over time. They add new customers or products, or increase their prices to reflect stronger demand. This is reflected in rising share prices and larger dividends.

Getting started in the stock market is easier than you might think. The first thing Id do is open a tax-free Stocks and Shares ISA. You can pay up to 20,000 a year into an ISA and all future profits and income will be free of tax.

The simplest way to start buying stocks is to just put cash into a cheap tracker fund, such as a FTSE 100 index ETF. However, many indices especially the FTSE 100 are heavily weighted to a few sectors.

Almost 30% of the FTSE 100 is made up of oil stocks, miners and banks. Technology stocks account for less than 1%. Personally, I want more exposure to sectors with good long-term growth potential, such as tech and pharmaceuticals. Im not so keen banks.

The way I approach building a stock portfolio is to choose 15-20 good quality stocks that Id be happy to hold for at least five years. I then start to buy them gradually, investing a fixed amount of cash each month.

By investing regularly, I can profit from periods when prices are low. I can also avoid any risk of putting all my cash into the market just before a crash. Dividends get reinvested whenever I buy new stocks.

This is how I invest in stocks. Its not sexy and exciting like Bitcoin, but Im pretty certain its a better way to get rich.

The post Forget gold and Bitcoin. This is how Id invest in stocks to get rich appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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Forget gold and Bitcoin. This is how I'd invest in stocks to get rich - Yahoo Finance UK

A Parisian street artist is receiving hundreds of dollars every day in bitcoin donations from his painting that speaks about fiat and money printing.

Pascal Boyarts latest mural, Confessions of a Red Jester, is a modern interpretation of the 1862 painting Staczyk by Polish romanticist painter Jan Matejko. The original depicts a lonely jester against a lively ball in the background.

Boyart said he has earned about 0.0514 bitcoin (BTC) or around $500 in the five days to July 10. Since 2017, the artist, famed for his practical graffiti frescoes, has received over 1.3 BTC or $12,100 in donations from various artworks. His website also accepts donations in ethereum, litecoin and monero.

The latest piece, which can be seen on Paris rue de Montmorency, features a QR code, together with a spray-painted Bitcoin logo and a wallet address, allowing for direct BTC donations from admirers.

Boyarts rendition takes the crypto-angle a step further, with fiat money littering the floor around the solemn jesters feet.

The French artists past work has examined the relationship between art and money. In an interview published on Medium in 2018, Boyart said that digital financial assets represent a type of freedom thats reminiscent of the early days of the internet.

He stated that bitcoins decentralization is a good thing for creativity, and, therefore, good as a means for facilitating donations. Boyart said the top cryptocurrency provides a more direct relation with the people who love art and more horizontality in the business of art.

What do you think about Boyart tying art to bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

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'Fiat and Money Printing' Street Mural Earns $500 in Bitcoin Donations in Five Days | News - Bitcoin News

The FTSE 100s 18% decline since the start of the year may cause some investors to focus their capital on other assets, such as Bitcoin and gold.

While they may offer superior return prospects in the near term due to recent trends, the stock market has a long history of recovery. Furthermore, golds high price and Bitcoins lack of fundamentals may make them relatively unattractive.

Therefore, buying a diverse range of stocks such as the two companies discussed below could be a shrewd means of improving your financial future, and boosting your chances of retiring early.

FTSE 100 retailers such as Next (LSE: NXT) have endured unprecedented challenges so far in 2020. Coronavirus has caused the companys sales to plummet, although its recent update suggested that it has the financial means to survive what could be a very challenging period for the sector.

In fact, the business forecasts that even in its worst-case scenario of a 40% reduction in sales this year, it will remain profitable and in a position to reduce debt levels. This suggests that it could even grow market share at the expense of rivals that do not have the same balance sheet strength as Next.

Furthermore, the company has invested heavily in its online operations in recent years. It has strengthened its supply chain, and its online retail platform could be a means of accessing changing consumer trends as a higher proportion of shoppers use e-commerce facilities.

While the Next share price may come under pressure due to weak consumer sentiment, it appears to offer long-term recovery potential that could allow it to outperform the FTSE 100 in the coming years.

Another FTSE 100 share that could prove to be attractive on a long-term basis at the present time is RBS (LSE: RBS). The bank faces a very difficult short-term operating outlook, with rising unemployment, weak consumer confidence and political risks such as Brexit likely to weigh on investor sentiment in the coming months.

This has been reflected in its share price decline of 48% since the start of the year, with low interest rates likely to mean that its profitability comes under further pressure in the near term.

However, the banks recent quarterly update highlighted its improved financial strength. This could help it to overcome a challenging operating environment, while its medium-term plans to cut costs may lead to a more efficient and leaner business.

With RBS having recently traded at its lowest level since the financial crisis, it could offer a wide margin of safety that factors in the risks facing the FTSE 100 banking sector. While it is a relatively risky investment, it could nevertheless prove to be a profitable one over the coming years as the economys performance improves.

The post Forget gold and Bitcoin. Id buy these 2 FTSE 100 shares to get rich and retire early appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Peter Stephens owns shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of Next. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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Forget gold and Bitcoin. I'd buy these 2 FTSE 100 shares to get rich and retire early - Yahoo Finance UK

Bitcoin traders seem unfazed by the massive Twitter hack on Wednesday, as the price of the top cryptocurrency has largely remained steady.

Prominent U.S. figures including billionaires Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos were targeted by hackers in an apparent Twitter bitcoin (BTC) scam. The official accounts of former president Barack Obama as well as aspiring presidents Joe Biden and Kanye West were also hacked.

According to data from crypto analytics firm Skew, bitcoins implied volatility is having a muted reaction to the Twitter hack.

Over the past one month, bitcoins implied volatility has averaged 55%, said Skew. The figures suggest that the BTC price may remain subdued for a time, perhaps until around September or October, say analysts.

There doesnt seem to be a major concern about this unexpected event triggering a move in the bitcoin price, Skew observed.

Implied volatility measures the markets expectations of the bitcoin price over specific periods. It is usually used to price options contracts, and the fact that the price didnt move the earth in the wake of the Twitter breach means traders might not be concerned about the event.

It is likely that investors are clear that the hack is not an attack on bitcoin well, because Bitcoin cannot be hacked but a breach on the social media platform Twitter is possible.

Now, amidst the potentionally reputation-damaging widespread media coverage, there was some expectation that the hack would lead to panic selling and a crash in the bitcoin price.

But BTC held steady, sliding a marginal 0.72% over the past 24 hours to $9,127, according to figures from markets.Bitcoin.com. The benchmark cryptocurrency has largely traded in the lower $9,000 range in the last few days, as investors exercise caution.

Bitcoins implied volatility hit 200% in March, when the BTC price lost half its value in a matter of minutes the great crash that has become to be known as the Black Thursday. However, the metric has been in decline ever since, at one point averaging around 45% early this month.

What do you think about the bitcoin price response to the Twitter hack? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Skew.com,

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Bitcoin Investors Unfazed By Great Twitter Hack, as Volatility Remains Stable | Markets and Prices - Bitcoin News

On Wednesday, a large number of Twitter accounts were compromised and the hackers used the accounts to tweet about a bitcoin doubling scam. According to multiple reports, a Twitter employee was paid to give the hackers an internal tool that let them leverage high-profile social media accounts.

It was a crazy day in the world of cryptocurrencies, as a massive number of high-profile people and organizations like Bill Gates, Apple, Uber, Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, and many others had their Twitter accounts hijacked. After the incident, a number of armchair sleuths and investigative journalists uncovered a wealth of information about the Twitter issue.

The popular columnist Joseph Cox detailed that he obtained leaked screenshots of an internal tool that was used by the hackers. According to the report, Cox says that one of his anonymous sources revealed that the culprits paid [a] Twitter insider. He also mentioned that Twitter was still investigating whether or not the employee leveraged the tool or merely allowed others to use it.

On Twitter, the Block Crypto analyst Larry Cermaks recent Twitter thread gives a comprehensive look at the incident as well. Cermak says that it all started at 2:16 PM ET with a known crypto account @Angelobtc asking for payment to join a fake telegram paid group.

The takeaway is that the hacker started with large crypto accounts and stuck to only a few formats and addresses, Cermak continued. The hacker then moved to non-crypto celebrities two hours after the first hack. They only used three BTC addresses. What I will say is that its totally unacceptable that it took Twitter to act as long as it did. At 4:17 PM ET it was absolutely clear to anyone that was paying attention that Twitter is compromised. It took Twitter 2 hours (at 6:05 PM ET) to start acting.

Another finding stemming from Joseph Cox explains that U.S. Senator Ron Wyden complained to Twitter about using end-to-encryption (e2e) for direct messages two years ago, and the firm never acted upon the idea.

In September of 2018, shortly before he testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, I met privately with Twitters CEO Jack Dorsey, Wyden tweeted. During that conversation, Mr. Dorsey told me the company was working on end-to-end encrypted direct messages. The Senator continued:

Its been nearly two years since our meeting, and Twitter DMs are still not encrypted, leaving them vulnerable to employees who abuse their internal access to the companys systems, and hackers who gain unauthorized access.

Many people are concerned about the direct message access, as any person who was hacked in the incident may have had their chat logs scraped. The organization Fight for the Future tweeted a petition to the masses in order to convince Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to protect an accounts direct messages. Its long past time for Twitter to implement default end-to-end encryption on direct messages, the group said. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) director of cybersecurity, Eva Galperin, also told the public in a tweet that the EFF was also begging Twitter to implement e2e.

Twitter wouldnt have to worry about the possibility that the attacker read, exfiltrated, or altered DMs right now if they had implemented e2e for DMs like EFF has been asking them to for years, Galperin tweeted after the event.

In addition to the famous people and organizations that saw Twitter accounts compromised, the crypto community has been abuzz with the conversation. The blockchain intelligence researchers, Whitestream, believe that some of the bitcoin addresses used during the Twitter incident sent funds to known Bitpay and Coinbase addresses. Twitter also responded to the hacking incident and noted that it was aware of the coordination with an insider. Twitter said:

We detected what we believe to be a coordinated social engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools. We know they used this access to take control of many highly-visible (including verified) accounts and Tweet on their behalf. Were looking into what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed and will share more here as we have it.

By the end of the day, armchair sleuths noticed that the hackers raked in more than $114,000 worth of BTC and sent out more than half of the funds to external wallets. Moreover, the accounts that were hacked had an aggregate total of close to 140 million Twitter followers.

Speaking about the subject in an email sent to news.Bitcoin.com Danny Scott, CEO at Coincorner, commented on the Twitter hack fiasco.

Its also highly unlikely the hacker did this for monetary gain, Scott said. Contrary to what many people still believe, bitcoin isnt anonymous and all eyes around the world will now be on these bitcoin addresses, and can track where it moves via Bitcoins public blockchain. Scott concluded by adding:

Its a shame that people are now associating Bitcoin with this Twitter hack as Bitcoin itself has never been hacked and wasnt the problem in this scenario. The problem was a centralised service (Twitter) which I feel helps emphasize the benefits of Bitcoins decentralised nature and how an attack like this could not occur on Bitcoin.

What do you think about the massive Twitter breach and the findings after the incident? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Twitter,

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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The Twitter Hack Fiasco: Compromised Internal Tool, Paid Insiders, Direct Message Fears - Bitcoin News

The promise of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was to go mainstream and in essence create a new medium of exchange that was borderless and completely democratic, but several obstacles still stand in the way. Following up on previous discussions on this exact topic, this article seeks to provide some actionable business advice.

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In other words, bitcoin was introduced with the promise to democratize the financial system, but in order to make this a reality several significant issues still need to be addressed. The recent news from Paypal should be seen as encouraging, but crypto native solutions still have room for improvement to lead to wider adoption.

Cryptocurrency was first introduced as an idea and concept that would revolutionize the ability of individuals and institutions to conduct transactions, but that promise has not exactly become reality. Decentralizing access to financial information and financial resources lies at the core of blockchain, but also has served as a headwind to broader adoption. There are an array of issues that remain in terms of cryptoassets, but attempting to solve these issues with a blanket approach is bound to be rife with errors and oversteps.

That said, several specific issues seem to consistently crop up pertaining to widespread adoption across different economic sectors.

Usability. One of the largest problems when it comes to bitcoin and other cryptoassets is that these cryptoassets are not necessarily easy to use on a day-to-day basis. If people are not able to access crypto holdings in a manner that is easy, user friendly, and convenient, it is difficult to see how mass market adoption will occur. Private keys and cold wallets might be common knowledge for individuals involved in the crypto space, but the general non-expert public might not be as comfortable with these components.

The recent launch of the Binance powered debit card and layer-two improvements designed to make Bitcoin easier to use are clear indications that significant efforts are underway in this area. Ease of use, and making crypto as similar to current financial transactions are key factors to help encourage wider utilization.

Interoperability. To have any medium of exchange actually function as a medium of exchange it is important that this item be able to be used, exchanged, and accounted for on an easy-to-understand basis. In other words, for any cryptoasset to actually be used as a fiat alternative it will need to be able to interact and work with other existing technology systems. For example, how simple will it be use a cryptoasset to go shopping, buy groceries, or conduct any other transactions versus fiat currencies?

Specifically, the key to broader adoption is to break down the silos that have sprung up in the blockchain space, akin to how the Internet evolved from a walled-garden model to a more open source platform. Being able to swap crypto information between different networks is key to spurring further innovation; projects like R3 Corda, SIAchain, and IBM IBM Hyperledger Fabric are simply a few of the examples of how interoperability is moving to the forefront.

Bifurcating the marketplace. Technical specifications connected to cryptoassets may make perfect sense to those individuals familiar with, or veterans of, the space, but there does seem to be need for different levels and types of cryptoassets. Just like not every person that uses the U.S. dollar needs to have a detailed understanding of the federal banking system, it is unrealistic to expect every individual, small business owner, or investor will want to be required to understand the nuances of different cryptoasset tools and options. Linking back to the first point, usability, there seems to be a need for consumer oriented products as well as for products more applicable for use by institutional clients.

This is already occurring; in addition to the thousands of cryptoassets currently being traded, different use cases have already led to increased differentiation. From truly decentralized crypto like bitcoin, there are now stablecoins (whose market capitalization is measured in the billions), as well as the accelerating investment into the development of central bank digital currencies. Far from being negative, as critics of centralized options would state, these developments are another sign of maturity and growth.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may have been designed to replace and serve as an alternative to fiat currencies, but that idea has not quite lived up to its promise. Yet. Taking a handful of steps toward solving a few of the issues standing in the way of broader adoption can lead to dramatic benefits across the board in terms of both functionality and adoption.

The future of money is digital and most likely will have some crypto component, that much is clear, and while there are questions as to what the final form will be, it is important for everyone to be engaged and proactive participants in the process.

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Bitcoin And Other Crypto Can Accelerate Adoption By Tweaking A Few Things - Forbes