Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has published a detailed presentation shared by Bitwise, the venture-backed cryptocurrency index and fund provider, explaining why the startup believes the world is ready for the first bitcoin fund traded on a major exchange.

Buried in the document, presented one week ago by San Francisco-based Bitwise to SEC commissioners Robert Jackson, Hester Peirce, and Elad Roisman,is a three-pronged argument for why Bitwise believes the cryptocurrency market is mature enough to support such an exchange traded fund: spot market efficiency, institutional-grade custody of crypto assets, and a growing futures market.

As institutional investors increasingly look for legitimate ways to gain exposure to bitcoin, while not having to dabble directly in the cryptocurrency spot market, these developments could indeed result a huge boon to the cryptocurrency industry.

However, the publication of the documents by the SEC should not be taken as an endorsement by the regulator, which regularly shares similar information it receives with the public. Just today, in fact, SEC commissioner Jay Clayton expressed doubts over the likelihood bitcoin would have an ETF on a major exchange anytime soon.

The reality is that the bitcoin market of today bears little resemblance to the crypto market of a few years ago, says Bitwise global head of research Matt Hougan. The crypto market today is one dominated by firms like Jane Street and Fidelity; it's one where regulated, institutional custodians provide world-class service and are insured by Lloyd's of London.

The 31-page slideshow was posted by the SEC as part of a number of responses submitted to a request for comment by the regulator posted in February, seeking information about the proposed bitcoin ETF, officially called the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust, which would trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Beginning on page 7 of the slideshow, the startup lists three changes that have occurred over the past two years, which Bitwise believes lays the foundation for its bitcoin ETF.

Excerpted from the presentation:

Page seven of the Bitwise presentation shared with the SEC shows that the average deviation of bitcoin price on cryptocurrency exchanges has decreased since December 2017

As hackers have proved adept at stealing bitcoin from exchanges, other companies and individuals, Bitwise presents the fact that cryptocurrencies are increasingly custodied by large institutions as a sign of maturity.

While Bitwise presents bitcoin futures trading at CME Group as another sign of maturity, bitcoin futures at Cboe, once seen as an equally important sign of maturity, were closed down in March citing lack of interest.

In stark contrast to the optimistic tone of the presentation, which can be seen in full here, SEC chairman Jay Clayton today kicked off the Delivering Alpha conference, in New York by saying of bitcoin that if [investors] think theres the same rigor around that price discovery as there is on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange ... they are sorely mistaken, according to a CNBC report. We have to get to a place where we can be confident that trading is better regulated.

While Grayscales Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) has been trading over the counter since 2013, the SEC denied Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss application for a bitcoin ETF in July 2018, and a month later, in a mass announcement, rejected nine other bitcoin ETFs. Though the fight is far from over.

As recently as yesterday New York-based institutional cryptocurrency trading platform Tagomi posted comments arguing that the New York Department of Financial Services controversial BitLicense has gone a long way to providing the kinds of regulation the SEC expects. Tagomi believes that holding a BitLicense is meaningful and a material consideration in our due diligence process, according to the statement.

The SEC has until October 14 to make its decision.

Go here to see the original:

Bitwise To SEC: 3 Reasons The World Is Ready For A Bitcoin ETF - Forbes

Exchange Boerse Stuttgart, Germanys second-largest stock exchange, has opened a regulated trading venue for digital assets, the company said.

Trading began today on Boerse Stuttgart Digital Exchange (BSDEX), a fully regulated digital asset exchange under the German Banking Act, according to a statement. As of now, BSDEX is trading only one pair, the bitcoin-euro.

The exchange announced plans to launch a fully regulated digital asset exchange in December 2018, initially planned for launch in the first half of 2019.

BSDEX will open for German retail and institutional investors slowly followed by the entire EU, the exchange noted. Like other cryptocurrency exchanges, trading will be open nearly 24/7. Speaking with CoinDesk, the exchange said it plans on adding ethereum, litecoin, and XRP euro trading pairs this year and tokenized assets sometime in 2020.

The market in cryptocurrencies is worth billions, and more digital assets will emerge on the basis of blockchain, CEO Dr Dirk Sturz said in the statement. Our goal is to build up the leading European trading venue for those assets.

Boerse Stuttgart partnered with SolarisBank on the initiative. The bank will process payments and custody euro funds.

BSDEX will give retail and institutional investors direct access to digital assets and provide flexible and relatively low-cost trading. We believe blockchain is set to bring about significant changes in the financial industry, and we want to leverage its potential to create the trading venue of the future, said Peter Grokopf, CTO at BSDEX, in a statement.

A year ago, Boerse Stuttgart announced the launch of an initial coin offering (ICO) platform and more recently started trading litecoin and XRP exchange-traded notes (ETNs).

Boerse Stuttgart exchange via Boerse Stuggart

Link:

Germany's No. 2 Exchange Launches Bitcoin Spot Trading - CoinDesk

Bitcoin price is showing bearish signs below $10,000 against the US Dollar. BTC is likely to continue lower if it breaks the $9,600 low and $9,500.

Yesterday, we discussed the chances of more downsides below $10,000 in bitcoin against the US Dollar. The price followed a bearish path and broke the $9,850 and $9,800 support levels. Moreover, there was a close below the $9,850 level and the 100 hourly simple moving average. Finally, the price spiked below the $9,650 support and a new weekly low was formed near $9,601.

More importantly, there was a break below yesterdays highlighted contracting triangle with resistance near $9,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. At the moment, the price is consolidating losses above $9,600. It tested the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent slide from the $10,079 high to $9,601 low. An immediate resistance is near the $9,800 level.

There is also a connecting bearish trend line forming with resistance near $9,800 on the same chart. The key resistance is near the $9,850 level (the recent support). Additionally, the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent slide from the $10,079 high to $9,601 low is near the $9,850 level. If there is a break above $9,850, the price could test the $9,950 resistance area and the 100 hourly SMA.

To move into a positive zone, the price must settle above $10,000 and the 100 hourly SMA. Conversely, the price might continue to move down below $9,600. The next key support is near the $9,500 and $9,400 levels, below which there are chances of another slide towards the $9,200 level.

Looking at the chart, bitcoin price is showing a lot of bearish signs below $9,850 and $10,000. Therefore, there are high chances of more downsides below the $9,600 level. However, it wont be easy for the bears to gain momentum below $9,500 in the near term. On the upside, the $10,000 level is now a solid resistance.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD The MACD is likely to move back into the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is currently correcting higher towards the 40 level.

Major Support Levels $9,600 followed by $9,500.

Major Resistance Levels $9,800, $9,850 and $9,950.

See the original post:

Bitcoin Price (BTC) Breakdown Looks Real, More Downsides Incoming? - newsBTC

Technically speaking, its impossible to destroy bitcoins. But it is possible to send coins to an unspendable address, rendering them redundant to all intents and purposes. In October 2011, thats exactly what Mark Karpeles did when he consigned 2,609 BTC to eternal oblivion due to a scripting error.

Also read: Bitcoin History Part 16: The First Mt. Gox Hack

In the last installment of Bitcoin History, Mt. Gox had just suffered its first hack in summer 2011. Less than four months later, its hapless CEO Mark Karpeles was to suffer another embarrassing episode when he wiped out a weeks takings for the bitcoin exchange. Compared to other losses Gox was to endure, this one was a drop in the ocean, and has thus been largely lost to history. The incident deserves revisiting, however, as it provides a cautionary tale on the dangers of meddling with the Bitcoin client, and a lesson in how to destroy coins.

Most of the bitcoin community learned of the event, like so many incidents from the early days, on the Bitcointalk forum where, on October 29, 2011, user genjix started a thread titled someone fucked up and lost a lot of money. By way of explanation, they posted the following code:

Few readers had any idea what was wrong from looking at the code, but genjix was on hand to explain. The standard transaction script, which in this case read 76a90088ac, should have had 14 in place of the 00, which in scripting language means push 0 bytes, genjix observed. Its a tx which has been sent to nothing. Obviously someone was hacking at bitcoin or making a custom version and messed up although I have no idea what it was doing with so much money.

The answer to that latter question didnt take long to arrive from Internet Relay Chat, where on the Mt. Gox IRC, Karpeles, aka Magical Tux, confessed to being the one whod created the faulty transaction script and nuked 2,609 BTC:

MagicalTux: thats a problem, but not the worst problem we ever faced

MagicalTux: all the broken withdraws have been re-issued

MagicalTux: just spent one week of BTC-only income

Lest there were any doubt as to the finality of the transaction, Bitcointalk user BTCurious wrote: Theyre gone. No chance of retrieval.

Sending coins to a wrong or nonexistent bitcoin address is extremely rare. All bitcoin addresses have a checksum which significantly reduces the odds of inadvertently entering an incorrect address. Karpeles had been tinkering with the Bitcoin client, however, and chose a valuable transaction with which to get experimental. As he acknowledged on IRC:

MagicalTux: I need to limit the number of inputs in a tx, seems that normal bitcoind dont like a tx with 293 inputs.

BTCurious explained over on the Bitcointalk forum:

The bitcoin protocol supports a lot more than just sending coins from A to B, even though thats mainly what you see in the normal client nowadays. The miners need to accept unusual transactions though, as long as they adhere to the bitcoin protocol.

Reaction to Karpeles screw-up was mixed, with an intense debate breaking out on IRC as to whether Bitcoins scripting capabilities ought to be limited to prevent such a mistake from happening. This wasnt as simple as it sounded, however, with Core developer Gregory Maxwell noting:

Glyph-Minus-229: the protocol doesnt prevent sending to invalid addreses?

gmaxwell: No, the protocol makes MANY things possible.

gmaxwell: The transactions are little programs that govern their redemption.

gmaxwell: There is probably no polynomial time that can identify all unspendable transactions.

One IRC user was unwilling to dismiss the incident as bad luck, describing it as another blow to mtgoxs tech reputation.

And this is the guy whom 90% of Bitcoin users trust their money to, wrote forum user Raoul Duke, accompanied by a rolling eyes emoji. Of Karpeles, he presciently wrote It seems hes closer to losing the Mt. Gox balance than running away with it. Speculating on what would have happened to Bitcoin had Karpeles made that mistake when sending 442,000 BTC, as he did in a record-breaking transaction four months earlier, he confessed: Thinking about this stuff gives me the chills.

The 2,609 bitcoins Mark Karpeles accidentally destroyed in October 2011 cant be moved, but they can be viewed. In Tuxs defence, Bitcoin was much less user-friendly back then, and executing complex transactions required more tinkering than it does today.

They will remain, till the end of time, in the unusually named bitcoin address s-272edf45031dd498e7b3ae89e11ff21b. Attempting to summarize the impossibility of retrieving those BTC, forum user etotheipi wrote: In order to spend these coins, you have to furnish a public key that, when you apply ripemd160(sha256(pubKey)) is equal to 0x00. Unfortunately, ripemd160 only produces 20-byte hashes. Even if you somehow did have a string that produces such an impossible hash, good luck finding the associated private key.

Given that the coins Mt. Gox lost were only worth $8,300 at the time, it wasnt seen as a big deal. Today, those coins would be worth $26 million. The fact that theyve resided in the same address for the last eight years, untouched, is a testament to Bitcoins finality.

Bitcoin History is a multipart series from news.Bitcoin.com charting pivotal moments in the evolution of the worlds first cryptocurrency. Read part 16 here.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Did you know you can verify any unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction with our Bitcoin Block Explorer tool? Simply complete a Bitcoin address search to view it on the blockchain. Plus, visit our Bitcoin Charts to see whats happening in the industry.

Kai's been manipulating words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $12. It's long gone. He's previously written whitepapers for blockchain startups and is especially interested in P2P exchanges and DNMs.

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Bitcoin History Part 17: That Time Mt. Gox Destroyed 2609 BTC - Bitcoin News

Arthur Hayes, the CEO of BitMEX, the most widely utilized BTC margin trading platform, has opined Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, is likely dead.

I think theyre already dead, said Hayes about Satoshi, adding that he does not believe the identity behind the creator of bitcoin will ever be revealed.

Satoshi is said to have 980,000 BTC, worth $9.716 billion based on the current value of bitcoin at $9,913.

Earlier this year, when the bitcoin price peaked to $14,000, the net worth of Satoshi spiked to $13.72 billion. Since then, the bitcoin price has retraced by more than 29 percent within a two-month span.

When Satoshi initially launched bitcoin in 2009 with key figures like Hal Finney during the early development stage of the cryptocurrency, Satoshi envisioned a currency that does not depend on the presence of third-party service providers and financial institutions, processing payments in a purely peer-to-peer manner.

The whitepaper of bitcoin reads:

Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. While the system works well enough for most transactions, it still suffers from the inherent weaknesses of the trust based model. Completely non-reversible transactions are not really possible, since financial institutions cannot avoid mediating disputes.

Bitcoin was created to operate as an alternative currency system to transfer value between individuals that could render most of the existing financial services and currencies in existence useless over the long term, that may potentially placing a target on the back of the creator of bitcoin.

Although it remains unclear whether Satoshi deliberately decided to hide his identity prior to and after the launch of bitcoin at will, it will be challenging to definitively prove the real identity of Satoshi.

Even if an individual can mathematically and cryptographically prove to be Satoshi by signing the wallet Satoshi owns, there is always a possibility that the wallet could be stolen or the keys may have been in jeopardy.

There is also a possibility that Satoshi is not an individual but rather a group of cryptographers that contributed to the launch of bitcoin, in which case it would be even more difficult to prove the identity of the creator of bitcoin.

If the intent of Satoshi was to never spend the coins in the wallet that contains billions of dollars in bitcoin and maintain the identity behind the moniker private, it would be in the interest of both bitcoin and investors in the asset class that the identity of Satoshi remains private.

The CEO of BitMEX foresees the bitcoin price achieving $100,000 in the next three years, which would place the net worth of Satoshi at $98 billion, making Satoshi the second richest individual in the world behind Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

The bitcoin price could reach $100,000, securing a market capitalization of $2.1 trillion if a growing number of investors, particularly institutions, begin to consider and use the cryptocurrency as a safe haven asset and a store of value.

So far, based on the performance of BTC throughout 2019 amidst intensifying geopolitical risks, BTC has not shown strong signs of a safe haven asset when compared to traditional safe havens like gold.

However, as its value increases and the infrastructure supporting the asset class improves with the emergence of more regulated trading venues, the perception of bitcoin could change, allowing it to appeal to a bigger market of investors.

September 23, 2019 12:18 PM

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Bitcoin Creator Satoshi is 'Already Dead', Claims BitMEX CEO - CCN.com

Authorities in the United Kingdom plan to auction $662,000 worth of Bitcoin seized from an online criminal. The nations police force will be working with the Irish auction house Wilsons Auctions to facilitate the sale.

The auction is the first of its kind in the UK. Alongside the Bitcoin for sale will be various other crypto assets, as well as luxury goods seized.

According to a post to Wilsons Auctions website, the Bitcoin, worth around $662,000 at the time of writing, will be sold with no reserve. The sale will take place across two different auctions from 12:00 GMT this Wednesday.

The first will be an online-only auction. It will run for 24 hours from midday on the September 25. This online sale will also feature other crypto assets. These include ether, XRP, and others not mentioned explicitly.

The second sale of Bitcoin will take place at 18:00 on Thursday 26th September. An additional 15 lots of BTC will be available in this Unreserved Government Auction. Those wanting to bid on lots will do so either online or in person. As well as the Bitcoin on sale there will also be various other items. These include seized cars, watches, jewellery, and other luxury goods.

Wilsons Auctions Asset Recovery Director Aidan Larkin commented on the companys involvement in this UK first:

We are delighted to be marking another first at Wilsons Auctions by carrying out the first auction of Bitcoin under the instruction of a UK police force.

Wilsons were also involved in another Bitcoin auctioning first earlier this year. The company was the first private auction firm to hold a public sale of Bitcoin in the world. Larkin continued:

Following the success of our world-first public auction of Bitcoin, which achieved global attention, we are excited to continue to roll out this secure service to both our public and private sector clients.

According to the post relating to the auction, the sale is being held on behalf of the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU). The assets under the hammer were seized from a cyber criminal who was convicted for offences relating to personal data hacking. The individual sold the stolen data in exchange for cryptocurrencies.

Although this Bitcoin sale is a first in the UK, other authorities around the world have held similar auctions previously. One of the most high profile was that involving the Bitcoin seized after the dark web marketplace, Silk Road, was shut down in 2014. Since then, there have been numerous other examples of such auctions taking place in both the US and overseas.

Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Signal Technically in Bear Territory; Can BTC Recover?

Originally posted here:

$662K in Criminal Bitcoin to be Sold at UK Auction this Week - newsBTC

The Ethereum network's daily transaction fees surpassed Bitcoin for the first time since March yesterday, according to crypto-assets data providers Messari and Coin Metrics.

Analysts argue that fees can be a more accurate indicator of demand than transaction count or transaction volume, which are both subject to spoofing.

Messaris data showed that, over a 24 hour period earlier this week, $207,000 was spent on transactions on Ethereum, while Bitcoin lagged at $180,000. And one reason for the increase in fee revenue is Tether.

In July, Tetherthe most popular stablecoinmigrated to Ethereum from its original protocol Omni, which is built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.

A Coin Metrics report, published this week, highlights the effect on BTCs and ETHs fee trends. ETHs fees have been rising, while BTCs have been in decline throughout the last thirty days.

Tether accounted for over 25% of all Ethereum transactions on September 8th, and has consistently accounted for more than 10% of all Ethereum transactions since mid-August, said the report.

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The situation is in stark contrast to 2017, when it was normal for Bitcoin to have fees that were ten or even 25 times higher fees than Ethereum, said the report. And it shows that Ethereum has gained significant ground in the past two years.

But this is not the first time Ethereum has flipped Bitcoin on fees, according to Coin Metrics. The last recorded occurrence was in March 2019.

However analysts predict that continuing demand for Tether means its going to happen more regularly now.

In response to growing demand, mining pool Bitfly this week tweeted that Ethereum is now testing a raise in the gas limit, which translates to a total capacity increase of 25% for the network. Fees also act as proxy for demand for Gas, the token users pay to perform operations on the network. The limit on available gas is set by the mining pools.

The raise saw use of the Ethereum network reach an all-time high, as measured by the amount of gas used, according to Etherscan data.

Ethereum total daily gas used. SOURCE: Etherescan

The majority of gas demand is from non-standard contracts requiring heavier computations, according to market intelligence provider Glassnode. A gambling smart contract is now reported to be taking 57% of all network capacity.

At the Ethereal Summit, last weekend, Vitalik Buterin confirmed that testing is underway to improve network performance and eventually to reduce transaction fees.

Meanwhile, a new Ethereum update, Istanbul is primed for release in the autumn. It promises to make room for further capacity, if fees rise considerably in the meantime.

Read more here:

Ethereum daily transaction fees surpassing Bitcoins - Decrypt

Derivatives marketplace CME Group has announced that it will offer options on its bitcoin futures contracts starting in the first quarter ofnext year.

The Chicago-based company first launched its futures product back in December 2017, at the same time as its Windy City rival, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

In its announcement on Friday, CME said the launch of bitcoin optionsis aimed to provide clients with additional tools for precision hedging and trading. The launch is pending regulatory review.

Tim McCourt, CME Group global head of equity index and alternative investment products, said:

Based on increasing client demand and robust growth in our Bitcoin futures markets, we believe the launch of options will provide our clients with additional flexibility to trade and hedge their bitcoin price risk. These new products are designed to help institutions and professional traders to manage spot market bitcoin exposure, as well as hedge Bitcoin futures positions in a regulated exchange environment.

The firm detailed that, since the 2017 launch, it has seen 20 successful futures expiration settlements, with over 3,300 individual accounts trading the contracts. Close to 7,000 CME bitcoin futures contracts are traded on average each day, the firm added.

In March 2019, CBOE abruptly changed tack and halted the futures product. That left CME as the sole provider of bitcoin futures in the U.S.

CME will have a new rival from on Monday, however, when the Intercontinental Exchange and its subsidiary Bakkt begin offering a new futures product. Unlike CMEs cash contracts, though, ICE will be offering a physically settled product, meaning customers will receive actual bitcoin instead of the cash equivalent.

Tim McCourt image via CoinDesk archives

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CME Group Is Launching Bitcoin Options Early in 2020 - CoinDesk

British authorities are set to auction off half a million pounds worth of cryptocurrencies that were seized from Elliot Gunton, a 19-year old hacker from Norwich, UK.

The seized cryptocurrencies confiscated from Guntonwho was found guilty of illegally supplying online personal data and hacking services last monthincluded Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and ordered to repay more than 400,000.

The loot contained a multitude of different crypto assets that have now been collected by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit and sent to the UK-based auction house Wilsons Auctions.

Wilsons Auctions are selling the currency with no-minimum reserve. The first sale begins at noon GMT on September 25, running for 24 hours, and the second will take place at 6pm GMT the following day. In total 15 lots of bitcoins are going on sale to bidders in person and online.

Want the best of crypto news straight into your inbox?

The digital asset listing is also a first from the UK police. However, it wasnt a first for the auction house that managed the first public auction of bitcoins on behalf of the Belgian Government in March 2019. The sizeable loot of 315 bitcoins (worth $1.1 million back then) was sold in an auction that had bidders participating from more than 90 countries.

Speaking ahead of the auction, asset recovery director at Wilsons Auctions, Aidan Larkin said, Following the success of our world-first public auction of bitcoin, which achieved global attention, we are excited to continue to roll out this secure service to both our public and private sector clients.

In July this year, it was reported that UK police were receiving training on how to handle cryptocurrencies. It looks that training came in handy.

Originally posted here:

UK Police to auction off $620,000 of seized bitcoin - Decrypt

Square Crypto, the division of the publicly traded payments company that focuses exclusively on bitcoin, just announced three new hires to work on open source projects.

Among them is Facebook and BitGo alum Arik Sosman, most recently a member of the social media giants Calibra subsidiary. He told CoinDesk:

My personal areas of interest are privacy and [Layer 2] scalability, though well see what the team ultimately ends up working on. Im extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to join this amazing team, and to focus on contributing to the most important cryptocurrency and ecosystem.

The other two notable hires, Lightning Labs alum Valentine Wallace and Google alum Jeffrey Czyz, are joining to help grow the FOSS [free and open software] developer base, according to company tweets.

Square Crypto is still hiring as well, looking for a designer to join the team led by former Google product director Steve Lee.

Software engineering is far from the only realm people can make contributions to open-source projects in, Sosman said. Steve himself being a product manager is but one example.

According to another company tweet Thursday, Square Crypto is still deciding what our first project will be, adding:

Theres no project we wont consider, as long as it improves or proliferates bitcoin.

Jack Dorsey image via CoinDesk archives

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Square Crypto Hires Lightning, Libra Developers for 'Bitcoin Dream Team' - CoinDesk

Bitcoin has experienced a resurgence in 2019. Its price has risen by around 175% since the start of the year, with investors becoming increasingly bullish about its prospects.

While this could continue in the near term, significant risks remain in play for the virtual currency. They may hold back its performance, and produce a volatile shareholder experience.

As such, buying a diverse range of stocks could be a better idea than adding the virtual currency to your portfolio.

While the price of Bitcoin may have surged higher in recent months, its prospects continue to be highly uncertain. Its price level is determined by supply and demand among investors, which makes it impossible to know whether it offers good value for money at the present time.

Looking ahead, the risks facing the world economy could lead to a challenging period for Bitcoin. Threats such as a global trade war and weakness in the European economy may cause investors to adopt an increasingly cautious stance. This may mean that their appetite for riskier assets, such as Bitcoin, recedes to some degree over the coming months.

Furthermore, there has recently been a focus on value stocks among many investors. They have been favoured over growth stocks to an increasing degree as investors search for margins of safety following a decade-long bull market. This may mean that assets which have risen in value, such as Bitcoin, become less popular among increasingly value-focused investors.

Of course, virtual currencies could eventually replace traditional currencies. In an increasingly digital world, it appears to be a natural progression. In addition, the security which blockchain technology provides could make virtual currencies increasingly appealing, and hasten consumers shift towards them.

Despite this, regulatory risks and a lack of infrastructure may hold back the progress of Bitcoin to some degree. Alongside this, competition from other virtual currencies may mean that Bitcoins long-term prospects are somewhat limited.

As such, the investment appeal of the stock market appears to be higher than it is for Bitcoin. Certainly, there are risks facing the world economy at present. They could lead to a period of uncertainty that ultimately produces paper losses for investors.

However, with the stock market likely to recover from any future downturn that it experiences, it offers a clearer path to capital growth than Bitcoin. In other words, Bitcoin may prove to be a successful investment. But, there is a relatively high chance that it will encounter challenges which it is unable to successfully overcome.

While growth is never a given when it comes to the stock market, history shows that buying a diverse range of stocks at fair prices generally produces impressive returns in the long run. Therefore, at what could prove to be a worthwhile time to invest due to investor uncertainty, the stock market appears to offer a superior risk/reward ratio than Bitcoin.

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Should I buy Bitcoin today after its 175% surge? - Yahoo Finance UK

As noted in yesterdays article, if we were to present a trade review of our best trade ideas for 2019, AUDNZD would feature prominently. One of our other top performers for 2019 would be Bitcoin which after this mornings 15% fall, again warrants our attention.

In our most recent update on Bitcoin from August 27th, https://www.cityindex.com.au/market-analysis/august-rains-no-help-to-bitcoin/ we wrote that while traditional safe-haven assets including gold, the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Franc had all found solid support during the volatility of August, Bitcoin had remained curiously unloved.

The lack of movement in the Bitcoin price during August was perhaps the first real warning that something was not quite right.

Inevitably after the event, a variety of reasons are being offered as to the cause of the sell-down, including margin calls, a break of technical support and a new Bitcoin futures contract. However, one of Bitcoins inherent attractions is the opaque decentralised world in that it operates, and this means we will never know for sure what caused the drop.

Technically, the failure to break/close above trend channel resistance $12k in early August was a reason we suggested taking some profit on longs in the run-up to $12k. It was also the reason we suggested raising the trailing stop on all remaining longs to $10.7k, to ensure a profit on the long trade opened in late July at $9.7k. Since then we have remained sidelined, waiting to rebuy Bitcoin to break/close above trend channel resistance currently at ~$10.3k. Or on a dip towards the 200-day moving average near $8k.

After reaching the 200-day moving average at $8k overnight, I would expect to see Bitcoins price stabilise in coming sessions. Assuming it does so and should a bullish daily reversal candle form that includes a daily close above the 200-day moving average it would warrant re-opening a small long position. I will then look to add to the long position on a break/close above trend channel resistance $10.3k, looking for a move to $15k. Keep in mind, that if Bitcoin fails to stabilise ~8k, the next downside level is not until trend channel support at ~6.8k.

Source Tradingview. The figures stated are as of the 25th of September 2019. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation

Disclaimer

TECH-FX TRADING PTY LTD (ACN617 797 645) is an Authorised Representative (001255203) of JB Alpha Ltd (ABN 76 131 376 415) which holds an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL no. 327075)

Trading foreign exchange, futures and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange, futures or CFDs you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss in excess of your deposited funds and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange, futures and CFD trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts. It is important to note that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Any advice provided is general advice only. It is important to note that:

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Bitcoin hits our 8k support - City Index

NEW YORK Bitcoin will need stronger regulation before it's traded on a major exchange, and investors should be wary until that happens, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton said Thursday.

The cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $177 billion, has seen a number of attempts to go mainstream, including efforts to launch exchange-traded funds that would give retail investors an easier path into the space.

However, regulators have been reluctant amid violent price swings, a string of negative headlines involving fraud and a general level of skepticism about the stability of the crypto industry. Bitcoin was trading around $9,875 Thursday, up about 54% over the past year but off 51% from its all-time high just above $20,000, according to Coinbase quotes.

"If [investors] think there's the same rigor around that price discovery as there is on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange ... they are sorely mistaken," said Clayton, the opening speaker at the Delivering Alpha conference, presented by CNBC and Institutional Investor. "We have to get to a place where we can be confident that trading is better regulated."

The closest bitcoin has come to being listed on a public exchange was when the CME added futures trading. However, the actual coins do not trade on a major listing.

The crypto topic came amid a wider-ranging discussion at the ninth Delivering Alpha gathering in New York.

Clayton has been campaigning lately on getting retail investors greater access to public markets, and he reiterated his position Thursday that he'd like to see private companies launching IPOs sooner and with more access.

"If the growth opportunities have shifted not all the way but to a substantial extent into our private markets and ordinary investors don't have access to them, that's not good," he said. "The question is, what do we do about it?"

He suggested "some kind of funds structure" but did not elaborate on any specific plan.

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SEC chairman says he doesn't see bitcoin trading on a major exchange until it is 'better regulated' - CNBC

Theres an individual called Nobody competing to be the next mayor of Keene, the libertarian enclave and crypto mecca located in New Hampshire. On September 21, the bitcoin cash-accepting mayoral candidate announced the 10th anniversary of the annual 420 Rally will be held this weekend on September 28. Nobody and the events organizers are hoping to see some civil disobedience during the annual pot rally at Central Square.

Also read: Market Update: Low Volumes and Uncertainty Shake Crypto Traders

On Saturday, September 28, the mayoral candidate named Nobody has announced the 10th anniversary 420 Rally will be held at 4:20 p.m. EDT. The candidate is a libertarian activist who formerly went by the surname Rich Paul but legally changed his name to Nobody. The Keene campaigner asserts that if he is elected he will reduce the size and scope of government as much as he possibly can.

If Nobody gets elected hes told the public that he will attempt to end the war on drugs and laws against prostitution. In addition to his staunch libertarian stance, Nobody accepts cryptocurrencies for donations. Currently, Nobody accepts cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash (BCH), BTC, DASH, and XLM. The candidates website explains why people should vote for Nobody to be Keenes next mayor:

Nobody will end the foreign wars and Nobody will end the war on drug users. Nobody will end the war on prostitutes and Nobody will end the war on gamblers. Nobody will let you live your life your way and Nobody will fix the economy. Nobody will tell you the truth and Nobody knows the trouble youve seen, because Nobody does it better.

For the 10th anniversary 420 Rally in Keene, Nobody, Executive Director, and the 420 Foundation plan to host a peaceful assembly to demand redress of the grievances of the victims of the drug war. We have made a lot of progress in 10 years, but we have a long way left to go, Nobodys announcement details. We have gained medical, we have gained decriminalization, we have, most recently, loosened the cruel and pointless constraints on medical marijuana Most importantly, we have won the hearts and minds of the people but we are not done. Nobody insists that his plan to win the war on drugs will emulate the examples in Sweden and Portugal. Moreover, his mayoral candidacy is not the end of his campaign. Nobody revealed he will be speaking about his race for governor and vice-president at the 420 Rally on Saturday.

Nobody was arrested for selling cannabis in 2013 and was jailed when he first moved to the libertarian enclave. They threw me in jail for a while and they let me out, Nobody explained to the Union Leader in August. Nobody told the public at his trial that there was an FBI conspiracy that was targeting the Free State movement activists residing in the region. The Union Leader notes that court records indicate the informant who Nobody sold the drugs to worked for the FBI. Free Keene blog author Ian Freeman (the co-host of Free Talk Live) also announced the 420 Rally scheduled for Saturday and wrote that Nobody is a veteran Free Stater who promotes marijuana and cryptocurrencies. Nobody is a longtime Keene resident that loves cannabis, cryptocurrency, and freedom, Freeman wrote on September 21. Hes a blogger here at Free Keene and has also launched a campaign website at electnobody.com. Freemans blog post added:

Definitely stay tuned to the hottest and likely most entertaining mayoral race in Keene for years.

Keene and New Hampshire, in general, is called the Free State because many freedom-loving residents have changed laws for the better and its people consider the state one of the freest in the country. Theres also a very dense population of libertarians who live there and cryptocurrencies are thriving in the state. A few Bitcoin Cash developers reside in the Free State and the payment processor Anypay is also based in New Hampshire.

In addition to BCH proponents, the Free State has a decent number of Dash community members residing there. Nobody is also one of the rare politicians to accept cryptocurrency donations, and not just one but four different assets. The 420 Rally in Keene aims to have participants meet up at Keenes Central Square at 4:20 p.m. to smoke cannabis in an act of mass civil disobedience protesting New Hampshires insane drug prohibition, according to Freeman. Both Freeman and Nobody hope people can join the rally and the mayoral candidate reminded people to bring some marijuana to share.

Bring your own bud, and some to share, Nobody concluded. Even though [New Hampshire] is safer due to decriminalization, be careful if you have more than 21 grams.

What do you think about Nobodys campaign and the 420 Rally being held on September 28th? What do you think about Nobodys candidacy for Keenes mayoral seat? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Free Keene, Nobody, Sentinalsource.com,

Do you need to track down a Bitcoin transaction? With our Bitcoin Explorer tool, you can search by transaction ID, address, or block hash to find specific details, and for a look at the broader crypto space explore our Bitcoin Charts tool.

Jamie Redman is a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open source code, and decentralized applications. Redman has written thousands of articles for news.Bitcoin.com about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

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Bitcoin Cash-Accepting Mayoral Candidate 'Nobody' Hosts Keene's 420 Rally - Bitcoin News

Bitcoin Price Forecast:

Bitcoin prices cratered over 10% on Tuesday as an area of longstanding support around $9,545 was breached. The initial break was gradual but bears quickly took control and pressured prices comfortably beneath the area of technical support resulting in the subsequent bloodbath. Falling from $9,300 to $8,600 in just 15 minutes, the afternoon price action was enough to put BTCUSD on pace for its worst daily performance since July 16 when the coin dropped more than 13%.

Suffering a bearish break, the coin will now look for subsequent support in an attempt to stem further losses. An immediate level of note is the 200-day moving average which currently resides around $8,300. A break below this level could see losses accelerate as bearish momentum builds. If pierced, Fibonacci support around $7,100 may look to provide secondary support. BTC still enjoys a year-to-date return of 126% but Tuesdays breakdown is a worrisome development for cryptocurrency believers.

To that end, Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin suffered similar losses as the cryptocurrency market endures another rout akin to the crypto selloff in late August.While Bitcoin and the various altcoins apart from XRPUSD - have enjoyed positive returns in the year-to-date, the recent string of losses will likely work to further undermine market sentiment and could bring about a continuation lower barring a fundamentally bullish development to shift the tide.

While the abrupt declines are undoubtedly concerning, the quick recovery effort from XRPUSD could suggest some factions of the crypto market believe the selloff is overdone creating potential for a period of consolidation before continuing lower. As Bitcoin looks to regain its footing, follow @PeterHanksFX on Twitter for further updates and analysis.

--Written by Peter Hanks, Junior Analyst for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Peter on Twitter @PeterHanksFX

Read more:Dow Jones Forecast: Nike Earnings to Deliver Trade War & Retailer Insight

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Bitcoin Price Plunges Through Support; ETH, XRP & LTC Slide Similarly - DailyFX

A former lawyer, software engineer and Wall Street veteran walk into a bar. By the time they leave, everyone there is jazzed about bitcoin.

Thats how the three founders of the Israeli investment platform iAngels are promoting crypto adoption, by working with blockchain startups to secure investment and educating traditional venture capitalists about the space.

Were building the crypto ecosystem together with them, iAngels co-founder Mor Assia said of her firms startupportfolio, which includes an equity stake inmining hardware manufacturer Bitmain and token holdings in everything from Tezos toTelegram. Having an engineering background is very helpful when talking with entrepreneurs, especially when doing deep dives on specific technologies.

Plus, according to the team, the iAngels subsidiary fund 21M Capital has more than $60 million in assets under management, with bitcoin making up 20 percent of the portfolio. Co-founder Agada Nameri, the former lawyer, told CoinDesk that the fund has provided 40 percent returns this year to investors who were skeptical about holding crypto assets directly.

Most of our investors are more traditional, Nameri told CoinDesk in Tel Aviv. We are able to provide portfolio management in this industry. Were the bridge between the old world and this new industry.

The third co-founder, Shelly Hod Moyal, added:

I definitely see myself as a bitcoiner. We manage funds for thousands of investors from 50 countries. Weve been very active in explaining and educating. Ive had talks in elderly homes explaining to them what is bitcoin, and what is blockchain.

Regardless of how they view themselves, these investors dont match how most people expect bitcoiners to look and act. They arent bitcoin purists, having participated in initial coin offerings by startups like Orbs and Bancor. Yet even beyond being a woman-led investment firm, a rarity in its own right, these women acknowledge theres a delicious irony coloring their participation in the space.

In particular, Assia, wife of eToro founder Yoni Assia, is also the daughter-in-law of First International Bank of Israel board member David Assia. Even as part of one of the most powerful banking families in Israel, Assia is educating her four children to value decentralized technology more than traditional financial institutions.

This is the way theyre going to live their lives, she said. Theyre not going to be reliant on traditional banking.

Image: iAngels co-founders Agada Nameri, Shelly Hod Moyal and Mor Assia (left to right) via Ali Powell for CoinDesk

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These iAngels Are Bringing New Heavyweights Into Bitcoin Investing - CoinDesk

Bitcoin Price Recovers
If you like your investments to be exciting—if at times unnerving—then cryptocurrency is the market for you. While the Bitcoin price soared to new heights in 2018, it came crashing down just as fast in a massive meltdown that had many detractors dolling out "I-told-you-so's" left and right. But now the shoe is on the other foot, as the cryptocurrency market is once again on the rise as "Big Tech" looks to play an increasingly significant role in the future of digital currency.

First, let's explain why the Bitcoin price is on the comeback.

There are a number of factors that are motivating the push to five digits, but here's the biggest one:.

The post Bitcoin Price Nears $10,000: Is This the Cryptocurrency Comeback Bulls Have Been Expecting? appeared first on Profit Confidential.

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Bitcoin Price Nears $10,000: Is This the Cryptocurrency Comeback Bulls Have Been Expecting?

Facebook Cryptocurrency
In its effort for world dominance, Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is now going to add a new cryptocurrency, Libra, to its company. This means the social media giant is now officially looking to become a world bank of sorts, and that holds huge implications, both for FB stock and for the cryptocurrency market.

So what is Libra?

The new cryptocurrency, which was just announced by Facebook, will be publicly available by 2020. It will be operated by Calibra, a newly formed subsidiary of Facebook, with the goal to, "provide financial services that will let people access and participate in the Libra network.".

The post Facebook’s Entry Into Cryptocurrency Could Make the Market Soar appeared first on Profit Confidential.

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Facebook’s Entry Into Cryptocurrency Could Make the Market Soar

Bitcoin Price Surge
Even the most bearish on Bitcoin (BTC) must have known that it would make some manner of recovery.

Following its devastating fall in 2018, Bitcoin is beginning to mount a comeback, more than doubling its value since its lowest point in late 2018. But just how high can the Bitcoin price climb? To some, that number is $50,000.

Some traders believe that the cryptocurrency can soar to this new all-time high, and are betting a lot of money on it in certain corners of the Internet. (Source: "Could Bitcoin Hit $50,000? In Wild.

The post Could the Bitcoin Price Possibly Break $50,000? The Bulls Say “Yes” appeared first on Profit Confidential.

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Could the Bitcoin Price Possibly Break $50,000? The Bulls Say “Yes”

THE TEAM

Bitcoin was created by an anonymous name called Satoshi Nakamoto Other notable names rumored to be part of the team include

The practical uses of Bitcoin

If you have the required hardware, you can mine bitcoin even if you are not a miner. There are different ways one can mine bitcoin such as cloud mining, mining pool, etc. For cloud mining, all you need to do is to connect to the datacenter and start mining. The good thing about this is that you can mine from anywhere and you dont need a physical hardware to mine.

For mining pool, all you need to do is to join a mining group, and if that team solves a computational problem, blocks are added to the blockchain, they get the reward and you get a share of it based on your contribution.

PoW algorithm-SHA-256 is used for mining. Which utilizes a lot of computational power.

Bitcoin mining saps energy, costly, uses more power and also the reward delays. For mining, run software, get your wallet ready and be the first to solve a cryptographic problem and you get your reward after the new blocks have been added to the blockchain.Mining is said to be successful when all the transactions are recorded in the blockchain and the new blocks are added to the blockchain.

Notes for investors

Die-hard Bitcoin supporters believe that bitcoin is the future; we are just scratching the surface.Considering the continuous rise of bitcoin in the market capitalization, it is one investment every investor needs to take advantage of it.

The current market capitalization of bitcoin stands at an all-time high of $109 billion. As at January 2016, bitcoin was traded at I BTC for $970 but today is being traded at $6,600 for 1 BTC.

From the statistics presented above, it that bitcoin is one investment, you will never regret embarking on. It keeps recording an impressive results daily in the cryptocurrency market.

MUST READ!

Cryptocurrency investment is speculative, and it involves unquantifiable risks the market is full of uncertainty, susceptible to attack and capital loss, and sensitive to secondary issues, time may do not permit to mention here.Seek advice before investing.

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Bitcoin Price Live and Bitcoin Chart, BTC Value, BTC to USD, News