Kask launches the new Utopia Y road helmet – Cyclingnews

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Kask has launched a new version of its popular Utopia helmet, the Utopia Y. The Utopia was released in 2018 in collaboration with Ineos Grenadiers and the new Utopia Y picks up where the original model left off. The Kask Protone helmet also features in our best road bike helmets guide.

Kask says the Utopia Y pushes the boundaries of aerodynamics and ventilation in a restyled design. Both were key considerations for the design of the original Utopia and Kask says these elements continue to feature. The brand says this makes the Utopia Y an essential helmet for road races and triathlons, where speed is key.

The Utopia Y also features what Kask calls Resistex carbon padding. A breathable material that will move moisture to the outer helmet shell. This has been fitted to the front of the helmet to help produce an optimum fit.

The Utopia Y also receives a new OCTOFIT+ adjustment system, which Kask says will guarantee greater comfort and stability. A new, larger rotation dial that is coated in a special rubber features, which the brand says will increase grip and ergonomics. This new retention system is also said to envelop a wider area across the nape of the neck.

There are also reflective graphics to aid visibility whilst cycling in traffic and a Kask logo on the side of the outer shell replicating the helmets being used by current professional athletes.

The Utopia Y, as is standard for all Kask helmets, complies with their rotational impact WG11 test, which is an internal test to measure a helmet's performance against rotational impacts.

The Utopia Y is available in a range of colours including gloss and matte white and black options as well as oxford blue, red and grey.

The Utopia Y weighs in at a claimed 260 grams for a size Medium and is on sale worldwide priced at 245 / $300 / 275 / AUD$410.

For more information head to http://www.kask.com (opens in new tab)

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Kask launches the new Utopia Y road helmet - Cyclingnews

First look | Kask bids to improve on Utopia with new Y aero helmet – BikeRadar

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Kask has updated its Utopia aero helmet with a successor, called the Utopia Y.

When the Utopia aero road helmet was launched in 2018, it was designed to balance aerodynamics and ventilation, sitting alongside the Protone Icon and Valegro as Kasks pro-level options.

From the outset, Kask does not make any aero or ventilation claims with this updated version.

The Utopia Y uses a new arrangement of Resistex Carbon padding at the front of the helmet, which Kask claims improves comfort. This padding is said to be a breathable material that allows the dissipation of moisture to the outer shell.

The Resistex padding now forms a brow around the front of the head. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

The Utopia Y weighs 258g in a size medium on our Scales of Truth (2g lighter than claimed).

Kask is also debuting its new Octofit+ adjustment system, which replaces Octofit.

According to the Italian brand, the new retention system envelops a wider area across the back of the neck. It also relies on a larger rotation dial coated in a special rubber to improve grip and ease of use. The result, it says, is improved comfort and stability.

Has Kask reached Utopia? Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Kasks faux leather chin strap design remains. Its purported to improve comfort and reduce irritation.

Kask continues to forgo using MIPS technology in its helmets; the Utopia Y passes its own WG11 internal testing protocol, which sees the helmet impacted at five different points at a velocity of 6m/s. This includes impacts to the front, front lateral, side, rear and rear lateral points of the helmet.

The Utopia Y is available in an array of colours White Matt, White Shine, Black Matt, Black Shine, Oxford Blue, Red and Grey, with a modified application of its branded graphics.

The helmet will retail for 245 / $300 / 275 / AU$410 and is available in sizes S to L.

The Utopia Y has a sleek profile. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Senior technical editor Ashley Quinlan has spent some time with the helmet ahead of its launch. These are his first impressions:

The Utopia Y would appear to be a case if it aint broke, dont fix it.

The outer shell remains practically identical to the old Utopia. The vents are in the same place and the same size, too.

Visibly, the only obvious change is to the graphic placement, along with the inclusion of two small reflective tabs under the rear vents.

The Black Shine colour scheme is certainly shiny. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

Perhaps indicatively, Kask doesnt claim any improvements in aero or cooling performance, but under the hood theres more going on that so far would seem to improve the overall package.

The internal padding now forms a brow around the front of the head (much like the Mojito 3, moving away from the design still used for the Valegro), which is said to improve fit. In reality, this could also improve comfort, as well as avoid excess sweat rolling down the face when the weather heats up.

Perhaps the biggest improvement will prove to be the inclusion of Octofit+, which is said to offer a wider range of adjustment.

Certainly, it can pull down further over the back of the head, while the adjustment dial adjusts very competently with positive clicks to bring a secure (and comfortable) cradling fit.

While the Octofit+ system undeniably improves the fit, the dial feels a little cheap compared to the competition. Oscar Huckle / Our Media

The dial looks and feels a little cheap compared to, for example, the comfortable leather chin strap and sleek lines of the overall design but this is a niggle that probably wont matter to the vast majority of riders.

Well continue to test the Utopia Y over the coming weeks and deliver a full review soon.

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First look | Kask bids to improve on Utopia with new Y aero helmet - BikeRadar

Kask Utopia Y – we test the aero model’s latest iteration – Yahoo Sports

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Side view of the Kask Utopia Y bike helmet

Today Kask has launched the Utopia Y, which is a substantive redesign of the highly acclaimed Utopia model, combining aerodynamics with aesthetically pleasing looks.

There are no claims that it's faster than the outgoing model, though. What we do know is that it's claimed to pack in some useful user-friendly features, with revamped ventilation ranking highly amongst those.

Looking every bit the part in the new Utopia Y, I put the helmet through its paces on my daily training to see what all the fuss is really about with this new performance orientated lid.

Rear of the Kask Utopia Y bike helmet

At the back of the helmet you will find a bigger dial with grippers to make tightening up the helmet much easier: at first I wasnt convinced but it actually turned out to be a really great feature, especially for clumsy hands like mine.

Internally you will find generous padded inserts which are incredibly soft, helping to achieve very high levels of comfort. Not to mention, with my very sensitive skin, the helmet strap (which is made from synthetic leather around the chin) or padding neither irritated my skin nor caused a break-out - which is something I find often occurs from helmets.

Internal padding of the Kask Utopia Y bike helmet

The Utopia Y has also passed the Kask Rotational Impact Test, which is its own testing protocol to ensure that the helmet effectively protects the brain during rotational impacts. This is something I admittedly didnt actually try out as luckily I stayed upright during testing.

Female cyclist wearing the Kask Utopia Y bike helmet

I found that the Utopia Y fitted pretty well, especially regarding the straps which were really easy to adjust: not fiddly at all. However, I did feel that in size M the helmet felt somewhat roomy after fully tightening the ratchet at the back.

This was something which surprised me, given that my M size Kask Protone fits like a glove. Therefore I would definitely suggest trying on the helmet before splashing out, but other than that I didnt have any issues and found it very comfortable and lightweight.

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If you didnt already check yourself out in windows while riding past, you certainly will once you pop this lid on your head, wow. Undoubtedly this looks the part, its really a great design and feels both fast and lightweight.

I also enjoyed having fewer vents in torrential downpours as I found my hair stayed much drier and thus kept me a lot more comfortable than when I wear more vented helmets. Still, on warmer days when doing efforts, I didnt overheat which I was pleasantly surprised about.

Overall, I really like this helmet. I felt that it performed well in a range of weather conditions and rides, making it a great all-round option for performance-focused road cyclists who are willing to fork out more for a high-end helmet.

I also think it looks really great. Something I feel other aero road helmets seem to struggle with: often looking a bit mushroom-like and bulky. But the Kask Utopia Y is genuinely a really good looking helmet, which is of course important for style conscious riders.

But, as mentioned, it certainly isnt the cheapest helmet on the market with an RRP of $300.00 / 245.00. But when compared to its competitors, namely the Lazer Vento KinetiCore which is $299.99 / 259.99 and the Specialized S-Works Prevail 3 at $300.00 / 275.00, Id say its pretty fairly priced given the quality and performance. With the Lazer coming in at 291g for a size M and the Specialized being 280g in size M, the Utopia Y is also lighter than both at 260g, which is rather impressive for an aerodynamic road helmet.

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Kask Utopia Y - we test the aero model's latest iteration - Yahoo Sports

Pagani Shows Off The New Utopia In Mantua, Italy – duPont REGISTRY News

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Mar 27, 2023 at 12:50pm ET

The new Pagani Utopia is the latest stunning hypercar from the celebrated manufacturer, known for combining the futuristic use of carbon fiber, performance technology, and advanced engineering with avant-garde looks, traditional craftsmanship, and classic performance car ethos into vehicles that are truly one-of-a-kind. With an available manual transmission and Paganis amazing signature V12 engine, the Utopia is not just a true Pagani but one of the best yet.

With just 99 examples of the car being made, its a rare and incredible sight, almost like the hypothetical Utopia its named after, and its appearance in the idyllic and historic location of Mantua, Italy made for the perfect backdrop for the monumental exotic car. With centuries of Italian history, Mantua features beautiful locations and scenes for the Utopia, and while the Utopia and Pagani have much less history, the inspirations behind both the car and the brand span across decades and centuries, which is what makes Pagani and the new Pagani Utopia such special parts of the automotive world.

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Pagani Shows Off The New Utopia In Mantua, Italy - duPont REGISTRY News

The Professional Utopians: On J. Bradford DeLong’s Slouching … – lareviewofbooks

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DURING THE PAST 150 years, the human race grew fabulously rich. This was an accident. The notion that ordinary people could be made prosperouslet alone that this could become a conscious projectwould have, for most of history, seemed daffy. Yet it happened, and today a guild of specialists argues over how to keep the process going. They are called economists, but that term is overbroad. The subset Im describing are the ones advising, and in some cases deploying, government power.

J. Bradford DeLongs new book, Slouching Towards Utopia, is subtitled An Economic History of the Twentieth Century. But it is not really a history of the economy so much as a history of economic policymaking, what worked and what didntwhere work means not only further enriching the already rich but also making the lives of average people better. Its heroes are the professional utopians, the policymakers who have figured out how to deliver on that project. DeLongs polemical aim is to show that the process has recently stalled, and to review what weve learned so we can get back on track. The book is comprehensive, beautifully written, and fun to read. DeLong has a gift for filling out abstract concepts with memorable stories. One only wishes that his history had a happier ending.

The narrative ought to be one of triumph: [L]ess than 9 percent of humanity lives at or below the roughly $2-a-day living standard we think of as extreme poverty, down from approximately 70 percent in 1870. Today, [t]here are more than enough calories produced in the world, so it is not necessary for anybody to be hungry. There is more than enough shelter on the globe, so it is not necessary for anybody to be wet, and [t]here is more than enough clothing in our warehouses, so it is not necessary for anybody to be cold. Yet utopia has not arrived.

Sometimes blunders by officials made tough times tougher. When he was chancellor of the Exchequer in 1925, Winston Churchill returned England to the gold standard, which caused deflation and widespread unemployment. In the United States, the Federal Reserve clamped down on the money supply in 1929 after the stock market crashed, a decision that only deepened the Great Depression. The Soviet Union was a decades-long study in mismanagement, whose pathologies DeLong concisely anatomizes. China under Mao Zedong was even worse. For a long time, governments had little clue as to how to regulate the un-self-regulating market to maintain prosperity, to ensure opportunity, or to produce substantial equality. But were more sophisticated now. We managed to avoid complete disaster in 2008. Surely we can do better?

The deeper problem is twofold: [M]aterial prosperity is unevenly distributed around the globe to a gross, even criminal, extent, and material wealth does not make people happy in a world where politicians and others prosper mightily from finding new ways to make and keep people unhappy.

DeLong has some intriguing ideas about what has driven the process of economic growth, which he presents with tantalizing brevity. For instance, he claims without much elaboration that the source of the great spurt in prosperity was the arrival in 1870 of full globalization, the industrial research laboratory, and the modern corporation. The result, he estimates, is that the annual growth in the global stock of useful ideas about manipulating nature and organizing humans [] shot up from about 0.45 percent per year before 1870 to 2.1 percent per year afterward, truly a watershed boundary-crossing difference. One of the books great strengths is its mapping of the big things we still dont understand, such as why industrialization took so long to spread to South America and Africa. DeLong offers some representative sketches: the sad stories of underdevelopment in India, Egypt, and China; the luckier fate of Japan in the 19th century; and the postWorld War II failures in Nigeria, Argentina, and Iran.

DeLongs portrait of modern capitalism is admirably balanced, recognizing both the spectacular innovation it has produced and its spectacular failings. These aspects, he observes, are unavoidably intertwined. Innovation has casualties. He cites Joseph Schumpeter, who famously wrote, in his 1942 book Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, that capitalism is characterized by creative destruction, driven by the new consumers goods, the new methods of production or transportation, the new markets, the new forms of industrial organization that capitalist enterprise creates. This process incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.

As a result, growth does not benefit everyone. With the Reaganite move toward neoliberal free trade, economic risk in the United States has been shifted to workers and their families. As Jacob Hacker details in the 2019 expanded edition of his book The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream, jobs have become less secure, and a college degree no longer reliably guarantees middle-class status. Lane Kenworthy reports in Social Democratic Capitalism (2019) that 15 to 20 percent of Americans, in any given year, will experience a 25 percent drop in income, and about one-third do not recover to their prior income level even a full decade later. While the country is indubitably richer, many Americans are worse off than their parents were.

The obvious solution is to figure out how to redistribute the gains without slowing the growth. DeLong observes that the neoliberal economist Friedrich Hayek had a Jekyll-Hyde aspect: he understood the productive potential of the market while resisting any attempt to ameliorate its distributive pathologies, and he has, alas, been influential on both counts. The market economy is pretty good at giving those who own propertythat is, property with market valuewhat they think they want. It cant even do that without a robust state, because it cannot by itself deliver enough research and development, for example, or environmental quality, or, indeed, full and stable employment. The 20th centurys big success stories always had the state as a backstop. Hitler stumbled upon the macroeconomic benefits of deficit spending years before Roosevelt didin both cases, as it turned out, on the military. After World War II, the Marshall Plan didnt do much to boost investment in Europe, but it gave European countries a pool of resources that could be used to cushion the wealth losses sustained in restructuringand to soothe disappointed expectations from groups of labor and capitalists and landlords who thought they were not getting their proper shares of the pie.

The book is particularly good at explaining abstruse macroeconomic concepts. For instance, DeLong makes a persuasive case that what happened from 2007 to 2009 was a Minskyite depression (named for economist Hyman Minsky), in which a shortage of safe assets creates a crisis of confidence. It is a technical problem with a technical fix (which he describes but which is too complicated to elaborate here). The fix wasnt handled well, and the effects of that bungling persist. In the United States, over the entire decade of 20062016, measured real GDP per capita grew at a pace of only 0.6 percent per yeara shocking falloff from anything that had been seen earlier in the long twentieth century. Western Europe similarly stagnated.

The core promise of what Deirdre Nansen McCloskey calls, in her 2016 book Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World, the Great Enrichment is that it can provide a better life for everyone. (McCloskey dates its beginning to 1800, but DeLong shows that it was only in 1870 that rates of poverty began to plunge.) It turns out that in order for that to happen, ordinary people have to somehow form an alliance with the professional utopians.

The inadequate response to the 2008 recession demonstrates the difficulties of developing such an alliance. The stimulus staved off absolute disaster, but it was not big enough to prevent long-term damage that continues to this day. DeLong does not grasp the political reasons for that failure. He blames Barack Obama for not pursuing deficit spending more aggressively: Starting in 2009, the US government could borrow for thirty years at a real interest rate of 1 percent per year or less. [] Yet Obama seemed completely uninterested. Actually, Obama was quite interested and fought to enact as large a stimulus as he could get. But the votes werent there for more, especially in the Senate. Joe Biden, then vice president, told a reporter: I love the left saying, well, we couldve gotten more. Okay, you go get it. You tell me how to get the sixty votes. Obama knew he was talking nonsense by calling for austerity when unemployment exceeded nine percent: Just as families and companies have had to be cautious about spending, government must tighten its belt as well. Extensive polling and focus groups had persuaded the White House that voters had imbibed the idiotic story that deficit reduction was the path to more jobs.

DeLong acknowledges that, after the Republicans took the House of Representatives in 2010, it promptly turned off the spigot of fiscal stimulus. Its not clear whether this is because they didnt understand macroeconomics or because they understood very well and hoped to deny Obama an economic recovery before 2012 election. Either explanation depends on popular incomprehension of how a Keynesian stimulus works. Obama decided that there was no hope of fixing that, so instead he pandered to it. This might have been his best option.

Genuinely democratic control over the economy wont be possible until the lower classes whom the economists want to help have some defense against quack remedies. Trump, whose electoral victory crucially depended on working-class votes, offered tax cuts for the rich, climate-change denial, and random regulatory rollbacks, largely uninformed by technocratic calculation of benefits and costs. The institutions that used to mediate between the least educated citizens and their government have become weaker and smaller than they once were. As a result, many of those citizens end up getting their information from Fox News. Workers were once clearer about their interests. During the New Deal, one mill worker declared: Mr. Roosevelt is the only man we ever had in the White House who would understand that my boss is a son-of-a-bitch. Today, many of those workers vote for Republicanspoliticians who work for that mans boss.

As Jake Rosenfeld details in his 2014 book What Unions No Longer Do, the decline of labor unions over the past several decades has only served to accelerate economic inequality, promoting the growth of new monopolies and exacerbating the disproportionate political power of the rich. That skewing of politics will persist until new centers of information and political organization develop that represent the interests of people who are not rich. The professional utopians need institutions that are invested in promoting clarity, in order to counter all the institutions that are mere factories of confusion and rage. DeLongs book is a small step in that direction. Its target audience is not the working class, but it isnt the professional economists either. Rather, it aims at a broad, curious publicprecisely the readership for whom economics needs to become less mysterious.

Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern University, is the author of Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed (St. Martins Press, 2022). Follow him on Twitter @AndrewKoppelman.

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The Professional Utopians: On J. Bradford DeLong's Slouching ... - lareviewofbooks

Bitcoin’s correlation with stocks is at its lowest since 2021 as investors grapple with the cryptocurrency’s narrative shift – CNBC

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Bitcoin has climbed steadily in March and is on pace to post its third positive month in a row , but its narrative has been on a wild ride over the past few weeks. The cryptocurrency has spent much of the past two years trading in lockstep with equities, but that trend has been coming apart since the beginning of 2023. The break became more noticeable in March, as investors rediscovered bitcoin's appeal as alternative banking system as the regional banking crisis unfolded. Bitcoin's correlation with the S & P 500 is now at its lowest since September 2021, after reaching its highest ever in 2022 , according to Coin Metrics. Meanwhile, bitcoin's correlation with gold, a traditionally "risk-off" asset, has risen. "Investors are beginning to view bitcoin as a hedge against the ongoing banking crisis and as a hard asset in this period of high inflation," said Sam Callahan, analyst at bitcoin services provider Swan Bitcoin. "Bitcoin's value proposition is fundamentally different in that it's driven by its network effect and its scarcity rather than, say, earnings growth with equities. This break in correlation is perhaps a sign more investors are waking up to this fact." Bitcoin became more of an institutional asset at the start of 2021 as big investors, short term traders and macro funds jumped into the market. Government stimulus, Fed monetary policy tightening and other economic concerns that drive the sentiment of these types of investors have also driven bitcoin prices up and down since then. The longer-term thesis never fully disappeared, however. "These correlation data show that, at least recently, bitcoin has indeed performed more like a safe-haven asset than a risk asset," Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, said in a recent note. "Given the nature of the current crisis in which the fractional reserve banking system's core limitations are tested bitcoin's fundamental characteristics genuinely distinguish it and, when custody or self-custody is done correctly, can offer a safe port in a storm." On top of that, bitcoin's price has remained sensitive to inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes. This is despite bigger-than-usual knee-jerk reactions to regulatory crackdowns on the biggest crypto exchanges. The Securities and Exchange Commission took enforcement actions against Kraken and Coinbase , and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a lawsuit against Binance . That could change, however, if the Fed's inflation-fighting rate hike campaign comes to an end, said Marc Arjoon, crypto research analyst at CoinShares. "As the Fed comes closer to the end of its hiking regime, the large macro factors affecting the variousasset classes bonds, stock, real estate and crypto will start to wane," he said. Traders are now expecting the Fed to hold its benchmark interest rate at current levels, with some forecasting lower rates as early as July, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool . Those cuts could total as much as a full percentage point by the end of the year, it shows. "As equities face risks of earnings and GDP recession, bitcoin won't have the same headwinds," Arjoon added. "This and the evident cracks in the financial system are why we've seen a divergence in returns over the last three months. If and when the Fed eventually pivots whether it comes later this year or next, this will be a boost for crypto more so as it would lead to a less risk-off environment."

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Bitcoin's correlation with stocks is at its lowest since 2021 as investors grapple with the cryptocurrency's narrative shift - CNBC

Bitcoin Eats More Energy Than Ever. Rising Crypto Prices Arent All Good. – Barron’s

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Investors have cheered a jump in cryptocurrency prices this year, but the rally is spurring more transactions and may be luring more crypto miners into the frayjust as signs point to the environmental impact of Bitcoin surging to a record high.

Bitcoin miners stand at the heart of a process called proof of work, which keeps the cryptocurrency network running. These miners use computersoften warehouses of themto solve complex puzzles in a process that facilitates securing the network and processing transactions; the incentive for doing so is payment in Bitcoin.

This process requires vast amounts of energy, and how difficult these puzzles are, which affects how much energy must be used, is largely determined by how many miners are participating in the process.

With Bitcoin prices up some 70% so far this yearas digital assets have benefited from a broad boost in risk sentiment among investorscrypto mining is quickly becoming a more attractive business after a brutal 2022.

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Skyrocketing energy prices, increasing competition, and months of low Bitcoin pricesthe largest digital asset tumbled by two-thirds in 2022wreaked havoc on miners and put intense pressure on their balance sheets. Shares plunged in publicly listed miners such as Riot Platforms (ticker: RIOT), Marathon Digital (MARA), Argo Blockchain (ARB.U.K.), and Core Scientific (CORZQ). Argo warned that it might have to file for bankruptcy; Core Scientific ended up doing so.

Despite the fact that Bitcoin has bounced back in 2023 and is on a bullish streak, the picture for miners hasnt fully improved.

Miners arent out of the woods just yet. Inflated power costs will remain a stubborn thorn in the industrys side, and could quickly worsen if governments succeed in saddling miners with an added energy tax, analysts at crypto-intelligence firm Coin Metrics wrote in a Tuesday note.

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With each 1-cent uptick in energy pricesper kilowatt-hourit makes the business case worse, adding an extra 78 cents in power costs per day for the most popular rig for mining firms, the Antminer S19, according to Coin Metrics.

Even with the latest rally in Bitcoin price, daily revenue for the S19 has barely cracked $7, making every penny count. Without a sustained uptrend, mining margins may soon revisit the cold depths of winter 2022, when the average S19 briefly operated at a loss of more than $1.22 per day, the analysts said.

The regulatory picture also looms large amid increasing U.S. scrutiny on crypto companies in recent months. While much of the crackdown has been driven by financial regulators, with enforcement actions from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission, miners arent in the clear.

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As Bitcoin consumes more electricitywith the Cambridge index trending firmly upwardbenefits to the climate from policies like those promoting electric vehicles look increasingly for naught. That could spur political action.

The Biden White House has in the past mooted a ban on digital asset mining, and more recently the Treasury Department released a budget framework on March 9 that included a 30% tax on electricity used by crypto miners.

With most miners already squeezed by razor-thin margins, a 30% increase to their primary operating expense would be a devastating blow to facilities in the U.S., said the analysts at Coin Metrics. The enactment of this tax would have an immediate chilling effect on any additional investment into mining operations within U.S. borders.

Write to Jack Denton at jack.denton@barrons.com

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Bitcoin Eats More Energy Than Ever. Rising Crypto Prices Arent All Good. - Barron's

Bitcoin climbs above $28,000 as investors shrug off regulatory crackdowns – CNBC

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Bitcoin is up 50% so far in 2023, beating major commodities and stock indexes. Industry insiders said the bank collapses have sent investors looking for alternatives to the traditional banking system and there is also anticipation of a slowdown in interest rate rises, which is helping bitcoin.

Filip Radwanski | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Bitcoin climbed sharply Wednesday as investors shrugged off initial fears surrounding U.S. regulators' crackdowns on industry giants and became willing to take some risk.

The world's largest cryptocurrency rose 3.9% to $28,399.63, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin has retaken the $28,000 level after dipping below it on Monday following news that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission FTC's lawsuit against Binance. Earlier in the day it rose as high as $28,637.25.

Ether, the second-biggest digital coin, rose 1.7% to $1,808.29.

Bitcoin has been steadily rising this year after a brutal 2022 that saw collapses of major crypto exchanges and a sharp slump in prices. Investors have taken some comfort from the thought of a reversal in the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hiking moves, which put pressure on risk assets like stocks.

The reason for the jump Wednesday was not immediately clear. However, it comes amid a broad rise in U.S. stocks. Bitcoin has been known to follow movements in equity markets, with investors treating it like more of a traditional risk asset.

U.S. regulators have sharpened their crackdown on crypto firms of late, with the CFTC suing Binance and its co-founder Changpeng Zhao for allegedly breaking trading rules by courting clients in the U.S. without authorization.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has also threatened to take legal action against Coinbase for alleged violations of securities rules.

"Broadly we are looking quite bullish here with Bitcoin reclaiming $28K and looking to target $30K next," Vijay Ayyar, head of international at crypto exchange Luno, told CNBC via email Wednesday.

"In general, when price action starts to absorb negative news this quickly, it indicates that the market is bullish and trending upward. The CFTC case against Binance, while quite important, doesn't seem to have affected the market that much."

Bitcoin had earlier gotten a boost from woes in the global banking system. Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse was recently rescued by its peer UBS in a government-backed, cut-price deal.

U.S. tech-focused lender Silicon Valley Bank and crypto-oriented banks Silvergate and Signature have also failed.

The Federal Reserve has sought to cushion the blow of the banking crisis with a lending program known as the Bank Term Funding Program, or BTFP, which aims to help banks meet their obligations to depositors.

Proponents of bitcoin say it can serve as a store of value in times of economic distress and a form of money people can access without the need for a bank account.

However, it is incredibly volatile and has been known to swing up or down 10% in a matter of hours.

"The market seems to be placing greater importance on macroeconomic factors and that the Fed has already begun a form of QE, now known as BTFP, but also that the interest rate pivot might happen sooner than later," Ayyar told CNBC.

"Against the bank failure backdrop over the past month or so and bitcoin's rise, this provides the perfect context for bitcoin to continue remaining bullish and move higher."

WATCH: Crypto enthusiasts want to remake the internet with Web3. Heres what that means

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Bitcoin climbs above $28,000 as investors shrug off regulatory crackdowns - CNBC

Crypto Price Alert: BlackRock Issues Stark Fed Warning After Huge Bitcoin And Ethereum Boom – Forbes

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BitcoinBTC, ethereum and other major cryptocurrencies have rocketed higher in the first three months of 2023with some predicting the huge price rally could just be getting started.

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The bitcoin price, following a brutal 2022 crash, has added around 70% since early January as traders increasingly bet the Federal Reserve is close to declaring victory in its war on inflation or risk triggering hyperinflation.

Now, analysts at the world's largest asset manager BlackRockBLK have warned the market is wrong to bet the Fed is about to flip dovish, predicting higher interest rates are here to stay.

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"We think the Fed could only deliver the rate cuts priced in by markets if a more serious credit crunch took hold and caused an even deeper recession than we expect, the BlackRock strategists wrote in a note seen by Bloomberg.

The banking crisis that engulfed Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate before spreading to Europe is thought to have been partly caused by the Fed's rapid series of interest rate hikes, adding to expectations the Fed would be forced to lower rates in coming months. However, the banks have stabilized this week, fueling hope the problems are contained.

"That damage is now front and centercentral banks are finally forced to confront it," BlackRock analysts wrote. "We think this means they are set to enter the new phase of curbing inflation that weve been flagging. We see major central banks moving away from a whatever it takes approach, stopping their hikes and entering a more nuanced phase thats less about a relentless fight against inflation but still one where they cant cut rates."

The bitcoin, ethereum and wider crypto price boom so far this year has been powered by "continued confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut," Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst, wrote in a note.

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Earlier this month, Fed chair Jerome Powell told Congress there is still a "long way to go" in reducing inflation that spiked to a 40-year high in 2022. Spending, hiring and consumer confidence have all held up better than some expected them to despite the Fed's hawkish stance.

"With consumer resilience again shining through, there are growing expectations that the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates again at the next meeting, but its still believed to be close to the summit of peak rates, particularly as banking lending is expected to tighten, causing a drag on the economy," Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at broker Hargreaves Lansdown, wrote in an emailed note.

I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com.Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto Price Alert: BlackRock Issues Stark Fed Warning After Huge Bitcoin And Ethereum Boom - Forbes

Is Bitcoin regaining its status as a safe-haven asset? – CoinJournal

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Bitcoin is on track for its third consecutive month of positive gains as investors continue to see it as a hedge against the recent bank failures.

Whats more interesting is that its no longer trading in lockstep with the S&P 500. In fact, data from Coin Metrics suggests the correlation between Bitcoin and equities is now the weakest since September 2021.

That makes sense, of course, considering its valuation is not coupled with earnings growth as in the case of equities. According to Alex Thorn of Galaxy Digital:

The correlation data shows that, at least recently, Bitcoin has indeed performed more like a safe-haven asset than a risk asset.

Bitcoin is currently up about 70% for the year.

On the flip side, the banking crisis has helped Bitcoin reestablished the correlation it once shared with gold. That also signals its now regaining the status as a risk-off asset. Thorn added:

Given the nature of current crisis in which fractional reserve banking systems core limitations are tested Bitcoins fundamental characteristics genuinely distinguish and offer a safe port in a storm.

Remember that the worlds largest cryptocurrency had a difficult 2022 partly because of the aggressive rate hikes. Now that were near the end of that cycle, though, its likely that Bitcoin will have a clearer path ahead for upside.

Last week, Fed Chair Powell signalled only one more rate hikes this year.

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Is Bitcoin regaining its status as a safe-haven asset? - CoinJournal

Visa and Bitcoin Rewards App Fold Expand Partnership to New Regions – CoinDesk

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Bitcoin (BTC) rewards app Fold and Visa (V) have expanded their ongoing partnership. The U.S. payments giant will now serve as the exclusive network partner for Fold's prepaid debit and credit products in North America, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, Fold said Thursday.

The bitcoin-friendly shopping app Fold first partnered with Visa in 2020 to issue a debit card offering bitcoin (BTC) rewards instead of traditional reward points, similar to the reward levels you'd expect from a credit card. Fold had followed several other companies, including Coinbase (COIN), that offered Visa cards that offer bitcoin rewards.

Users have been rewarded over $30 million in bitcoin since the debit card launch but the expanded collaboration comes at a time when the "demand for bitcoin onramps outside the U.S is growing," said Will Reeves, CEO of Fold. Under the new arrangement, Fold and Visa will enter new regions. Plans include empowering existing local financial service companies to launch their own bitcoin rewards through the Fold infrastructure.

Despite the crypto banking crisis and the collapse of entities like the FTX exchange, Visa recently said it remains committed to investing in the crypto sector, after a report claimed otherwise. "We believe that digital currencies will play a role in the future of financial services and money movement," Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa.

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Visa and Bitcoin Rewards App Fold Expand Partnership to New Regions - CoinDesk

From Bat-Signal to Bitcoin: Projecting Orange Pill on banks as EU drives crypto regulation – Cointelegraph

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The signal goes on, and he shows up. Thats the way its been. Thats the way it will be.Whenever Gotham faces an existential threat, the Bat-Signal lights up the night sky. In the DC Comics universe, Batman always shows up to save the day when hes called upon.

Bitcoiners in Germany employed a similar tactic this week, emblazoning the preeminent cryptocurrencys logo with a message to study Bitcoin on the side of the European Central Bank building in Frankfurt.The images were shared widely across social media, with notable Bitcoin (BTC) proponents and various company profiles lauding the display.

A dose of the proverbial Orange Pill is particularly pertinent, given that the global banking sector has been under the spotlight after thecollapse of major institutions, such as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States.

Meanwhile, European parliamentarians adopted a new draft bill focused on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), which sets out potential new rules enforcing Know Your Customer requirements for traditional financial and crypto-related services.

In addition, parliamentarians seek to restrict cash and cryptocurrency payments for goods and services where customers cannot be identified. As per the draft legislation, the rules limit cash payments to up to 7,000 euros for cryptocurrency transactions or 1,000 euros if the users identity is unknown.

Related: Silicon Valley Banks downfall has many causes, but crypto isnt one

These proposed new rules are separate from the European Parliaments impending Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) bill, which is set to come into effect in 2024, a proposed set of rules and guidelines aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency market in Europe.

Liam Murphy, managing director of EMEA at Wachsman, tells Cointelegraph that the AML-CFT bill adopted on March 28 is focused on approving stricter rules to close gaps in combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the evasion of sanctions in the European Union.

Murphy added that he was also looking for more clarity on whether cryptocurrency transaction limits only apply to commercial transactions and not to transfers between private individuals.

Given that Wachsman serves a number of cryptocurrency service providers as a communications firm, Murphy noted industry participants are becoming more cognizant that the sector could use regulation to meet its full potential.

Erwin Voloder, senior policy fellow at the European Blockchain Association, also spoke to Cointelegraph about the European Parliaments draft bills implications for cryptocurrency payments.

He highlighted that greater clarity over AML/CTF provisions is welcome but contended that a double standard is constantly applied to crypto payments.

Voloder said that MEPs had previously back-peddled on the need to go through a CASP for the KYC process under Article 59a due to being unnecessarily onerous, according to industry feedback:

What also remains difficult to gauge is how cryptocurrency services like decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and even decentralized autonomous organizations will be governed by potential new laws.

Voloder used an example considering that a DeFi platform may have an interface that is client-facing, but the actual economic activity takes place within the smart contract, which is abstracted and independent from the interface layer.

This suggests that there is a strategy forming at the margins of the industry that could bring liability and default reporting obligations to the DeFi space, including nonfungible tokens.

The AML-focused legislation brings crypto under its purview to tighten up commercial transactions across Europe. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency space is shining a broad spotlight on the recent failings of the traditional banking sector. What remains to be answered is which industry needs more oversight at this moment in time.

Magazine:4 out of 10 NFT sales are fake: Learn to spot the signs of wash trading

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From Bat-Signal to Bitcoin: Projecting Orange Pill on banks as EU drives crypto regulation - Cointelegraph

Coin Center Says RESTRICT Act Could Be Used to Ban Bitcoin – Decrypt

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A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill earlier this month that seeks to bolster the federal governments powers in fighting perceived foreign technology threats. And some in the digital assets industry are warning it could possibly spell disaster for crypto.

The bill entitled the RESTRICT Actwhich stands for Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technologyhas garnered the support of 21 lawmakers whove co-sponsored the bill as well as the White House, which has urged Congress to act quickly to send it to the presidents desk.

In the name of protecting Americas national security, the bill calls on the Secretary of Commerce to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, and mitigate transactions involving information and communications technology products in which any foreign adversary has any interest by establishing new procedures.

Its introduction preceded a congressional hearing on Tik-Tok last week, where officials grilled the social media applications CEO with questions about the firms ties to China.

But the bills language is so broad that it could be used to prevent Americans from conducting cryptocurrency transactions or engaging with networks like Bitcoin entirely, according to a blog post from the cryptocurrency advocacy group Coin Center.

Although the primary targets of this legislation are companies like Tik-Tok, the language of the bill could potentially be used to block or disrupt cryptocurrency transactions and, in extreme cases, block Americans access to open source tools or protocols like Bitcoin, it states.

The advocacy groups primary issue with the RESTRICT Act is that it would create a regime within the Secretary of Commerce that would effectively run parallel to the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Coin Centers Director of Research Peter Van Valkenburgh told Decrypt.

In that sense, Van Valkenburgh said the regime would be redundant and create two different parts of the executive branch [that] can independently and without a lot of procedural checks ban technologies.

Another problem with the bill, according to Coin Center, is the potential scope of the word interest, which could be exploited in order to ban Americans from using entire classes of technologies if interpreted broadly, the advocacy group warned in its blog.

As an example, Coin Center referenced the blacklisting of the Ethereum coin-mixing tool Tornado Cash last summer by the OFAC, which Coin Center is currently challenging in court.

Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the OFAC is granted the power to prevent Americans from transacting with sanctioned foreign persons.

And though its used to maintain privacy between people conducting Ethereum transactions, Tornado Cash was sanctioned by the OFAC as a whole for its alleged use by North Korean state-sponsored hacking groups to launder stolen funds.

Coin Center stated it would not object to the RESTRICT Act if it was used narrowly to prevent Bitcoin transactions with a specific recipient but cautioned against an interpretation that could argue the entire class of all Bitcoin transactions, for example, is a class of transactions in which U.S. foreign adversaries have an interest.

The advocacy group also raised concerns about the ability of Americans to challenge abuses of power based on the bills language and the potential for it to infringe on free speech compared to IEEPA.

It's going to be harder to challenge the designations made by the Secretary of Commerce under the RESTRICT Act if it was to pass into law because of the limitations on people's ability to bring challenges, Van Valkenburgh said.

The bills language is expansive in terms of the technology it would apply to, including mobile networks, cloud-based or distributed computing and data storage, payment applications, and e-commerce technology, such as online marketplaces or internet-enabled payment technology.

It's one thing to say that the national security complex should be able to ban specific examples of technology when they are directly owned and controlled by a foreign adversary, Van Valkenburgh said. But it's another thing to say that you can just identify a whole class of technologies, irrespective of their foreign ownership, and then claim that some foreign adversary has an interest in them.

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Coin Center Says RESTRICT Act Could Be Used to Ban Bitcoin - Decrypt

Can Bitcoin reach $1 million in 90 days? Expert analyzes Balaji’s … – Finbold – Finance in Bold

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Bitcoin (BTC) continues to dominate conversations in the financial world, having capitalized on the crisis in the United States banking system to reach a new multi-month high. The recent performance has prompted industry experts to offer projections on Bitcoins potential price action in the coming days.

One such projection was made by venture capitalist and former CTO at crypto exchange Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, in a tweet on March 18.

Balaji believes that Bitcoin will reach $1 million within 90 days due to the U.S. economy entering a phase of hyperinflation while warning that the world is likely to witness massive changes catalyzed by the devaluation of the dollar.

However, analyzing the viability of Balajis prediction, Matthew Kratter, founder of the Trader University YouTube channel, termed the forecast as over the top but directionally correct, as shared by MicroStrategy chair Michael Saylor in a tweet on March 24.

According to Kratter, while he views Balajis forecast as a marketing ploy, the probability of Bitcoin hitting $1 million in three months is 1-2%, but the asset has the potential to reach such price levels in the long term.

I think he is right about Bitcoin going to a million dollars. Ive talked about Bitcoin going to $5 million or $10 million per coin, just probably not in the next 90 days. I think this is a bit of a marketing ploy. If Bitcoin were to move to $1 million per coin in the next 90 days, I think that would be a terrible thing. It would actually be a sign that something major is broken, he said.

Kratter suggested Bitcoin at $1 million remains in play, noting that the asset is increasingly becoming attractive as a safe haven due to its lack of counterparty and debasement risks, which are prevalent in other assets. He noted that all other assets, including cryptocurrency, technology stocks, bank stocks, stock indices, and gold, are rapidly losing value when measured against Bitcoin.

What were seeing is everything is crashing against Bitcoin this is another way of saying that people are fleeing into Bitcoin. <> The entire financial system is unraveling, and savings and capital are being moved into Bitcoin. <> Its actually beginning to look like the Bitcoin network cant be stopped even during the financial crisis, Kratter added.

Furthermore, the author pointed out that gold, another safe-haven asset, is losing market share to Bitcoin and is depreciating relative to the maiden crypto. In his view, gold has failed to provide the security that investors are seeking during this crisis.

Interestingly, Kratter believes that Balajis forecast may be an attempt to bolster his personal reputation by aligning himself with Bitcoins coming success. Nevertheless, Kratter acknowledges that the current financial crisis and the Federal Reserves turning the money printers back on make Bitcoin an attractive option for investors.

While Kratter acknowledges that Bitcoin has limitations, such as its limited use as a form of payment and concerns about the security of exchanges and wallets, he predicts that the asset is likely to trade at $100,000 in the next three months and potentially hit $1 million by the end of the current decade.

After weeks of rallying, Bitcoin is facing resistance at $30,000. By press time, BTC was trading at $27,628 with daily losses of almost 2%.

The current Bitcoin price follows an inflow of capital that elevated the assets market cap to hit $531.717 billion. In this line, Bitcoin is on the verge of reentering the top ten category of assets by market cap globally.

Disclaimer:The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

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Can Bitcoin reach $1 million in 90 days? Expert analyzes Balaji's ... - Finbold - Finance in Bold

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Rises to $29000 for First … – Bitcoin News

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Bitcoin rose above $29,000 on Thursday, as price moved to its strongest point since last June. The surge came despite some consolidation in cryptocurrency markets, ahead of the upcoming U.S. GDP report. Ethereum was also higher, as it continued to trade above $1,800.

Bitcoin (BTC) moved to its highest point in nine months, despite cryptocurrencies mostly consolidating ahead of the upcoming U.S. GDP report.

Following a low of $28,155.83 on Wednesday, BTC/USD raced to an intraday peak of $29,159.90 earlier in the session.

As a result of this surge in price, bitcoin climbed above the $29,000 level for the first time since June 10.

Looking at the chart, the move came as BTC briefly broke out of a resistance at $28,500, with the relative strength index (RSI) moving past a similar threshold.

As of writing, the index is tracking at the 65.27 level, which is marginally above its ceiling at 65.00.

Overall, BTC bulls have moved to secure some of their earlier gains, with the price now trading at $28,582.20.

Ethereum (ETH) continued to trade above $1,800 on Thursday, however sentiment shifted after it failed to sustain a breakout at a key point.

ETH/USD rose to a high of $1,827.28 on Thursday, which comes less than 24 hours after the price was at a low of $1,776.64.

Although marginally moving above its aforementioned ceiling at $1,825, ethereum bulls were unable to maintain upward momentum.

As of writing, ETH is trading at $1,800.78, which coincides with the RSI hovering around its recent resistance level at 58.00.

The index is currently tracking at 58.25, with a move below the 58.00 level almost certainly to trigger further declines.

Momentum also appears to be slowing, with the 10-day (red) moving average nearing a downward crossover.

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Could we see ethereum rally before the end of the week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Eliman was previously a director of a London-based brokerage, whilst also an online trading educator. Currently, he commentates on various asset classes, including Crypto, Stocks and FX, whilst also a startup founder.

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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Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Rises to $29000 for First ... - Bitcoin News

$130 Million Worth of Bitcoin Shorts Liquidated as BTC Spikes Above $29,000 – U.Today

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Arman Shirinyan

Massive volume of orders liquidated from market after Bitcoin made new high

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Bitcoin recently experienced a significant spike in liquidations, reaching approximately $130 million following a price surge above $29,000.

Liquidations on the cryptocurrency market occur when traders' positions are closed, usually as a result of margin calls or stop-loss orders being triggered. A high volume of liquidations might lead to increased volatility, as large numbers of positions are closed and assets are sold off. This can create a domino effect, causing further liquidations and exacerbating price movements.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $28,613, having gained around 7% in value over the last 48 hours. Despite this increase, the digital asset has not yet reached its local high of $29,346 reached back on March 24. The market is closely monitoring Bitcoin's price performance, as breaking through the local high could potentially signal a more extended bullish run.

Interestingly, funding rates on centralized exchanges remain relatively low. This suggests that the current rally may not be fueled by leverage, which could be both a positive and negative factor for Bitcoin's price movement.

On the one hand, a rally that is not driven by leveraged positions can be considered more stable, as it reduces the risk of a cascade of liquidations due to margin calls. In this scenario, the market may be able to sustain its growth without facing a sharp downturn caused by leveraged traders being forced to close their positions.

On the other hand, low funding rates might also imply that there is a lack of confidence among traders, with many choosing not to leverage their positions in anticipation of a potential price reversal. This could hinder Bitcoin's ability to maintain its upward momentum, as traders remain cautious and unwilling to take on additional risk.

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$130 Million Worth of Bitcoin Shorts Liquidated as BTC Spikes Above $29,000 - U.Today

Crypto and the Notorious: Is Conor McGregor invested in Bitcoin? – Finbold – Finance in Bold

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With the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies, it is no surprise that celebrities and athletes are taking an interest, including the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) two-division champion Conor McGregor who has partnered with various crypto businesses, leading many to wonder how much Bitcoin (BTC) he held.

Indeed, after becoming the poster boy for Dapper Labs blockchain collectibles through CryptoKitties developers partnership with UFC in early 2021, the featherweight and lightweight double-champion has entered into various partnerships and endorsement deals that have to do with the crypto market.

In September 2022, McGregor was featured in an advertisement for the trading platform XTB which facilitates the exchange of digital assets, commodities, stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more, as the global fintech company announced his two-year gig as its brand ambassador.

More recently, in the fallout of the FTX collapse, it came to the publics attention that the Switzerland-based centralized crypto exchange Tiger.Trade (TT), endorsed by McGregor, had connections to Sam Bankman-Frieds platform, which has claimed that TT was only a partner through integration and it held no responsibility for its partners.

Having said that, despite the Irish MMA stars various exposures to digital assets and rumors of crypto investments, it is currently unknown how much Bitcoin he has, if any.

Meanwhile, McGregor is not the only UFC fighter, let alone the only famous individual endorsing crypto, as the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou gave serious thought to accepting 50% of his fight purse in Bitcoin, as Finbold reported in January 2022, and his decision was in the cryptos favor.

At the same time, American socialite Kim Kardashian came into the limelight after being charged, along with former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., and former basketball player Paul Pierce, by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the social media promotion of a controversial digital asset offered by EthereumMax (EMAX).

It should also be noted that Crypto.com became the first-ever crypto exchange platform to establish a long-term partnership with UFC as its global Official Fight Kit Partner and UFCs first-ever Official Cryptocurrency Platform Partner as part of a 10-year deal worth $175 million signed in July 2021.

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Crypto and the Notorious: Is Conor McGregor invested in Bitcoin? - Finbold - Finance in Bold

Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa’s $86 billion banking system – CNBC

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ACCRA, Ghana Block CEO Jack Dorsey and his top brass descended on Accra for the inaugural Africa Bitcoin Conference in December to talk about one of the most potentially disruptive and transformative alternatives to the continent's existing financial system: bitcoin.

Since its inception in 2008, this unfamiliar form of money has alternatively been disdained as an absurdly complex toy for libertarian techies, a legalized form of gambling, a speculative bet to get rich quick, and a vehicle for criminals and fraudsters to obscure the origins of their ill-begotten gains.

But this parallel financial system can also serve a tangible social good, offering an onramp to the financial system for people who would otherwise be left out. In countries where the vast majority of the population is unbanked, national currencies are no longer a safe store of value, remittances comprise a hefty portion of GDP, and international sanctions complicate connections to the global economy, a virtual currency that doesn't require an intermediary to approve transactions can be a vital lifeline for survival.

As cryptocurrency continues to rise in prominence and becomes a growing flashpoint for regulators, Dorsey and his deputies are providing an essential counternarrative: Bitcoin brings financial power to people who would otherwise have none.

"It doesn't matter to me if the price goes down or up, because I can still use bitcoin as a vehicle to move money around the world instantaneously," said Mike Brock, the CEO of TBD at Block, a unit which focuses on cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.

"I can exchange dollars for bitcoin and then bitcoin for Brazilian rial. There is a market for bitcoin in every corner of the world today," continued Brock.

Moving money in Africa is an expensive and complicated process.

Commercial bank branch access is limited, especially for people living in remote and rural areas. Digital banking options are also limited. Tack on rampant hyperinflation, widespread government corruption, and capital controls trapping domestic cash in banks, and money can stop making sense altogether.

"If someone wants to move money to the country next door, normally, you'd have to fill up a suitcase full of cash and move it over the border," explains Ray Youssef, CEO of Paxful.

Part of the problem stems from the continent's quasi-colonial payment framework, in which roughly 80% of cross-border payments originating from African banks are processed offshore, mostly in the U.S. or Europe. That translates to higher costs and processing times that are sometimes measured in weeks.

Then there's mobile money, which has been around since the early 2000s. Think of it like an electronic wallet tied to a phone number that does not require a smartphone or data to operate. Users can pay bills and shop with their phone through SMS texting, instead of having to rely on traditional banking options.

Africa's mobile money transactions rose 39% to more than $700 billion in 2021, according to data from the GSM Association, a non-profit representing mobile network operators worldwide. World Bank data shows that account ownership at a financial institution or via a mobile money service provider has more than doubled in the last decade, rising to 55% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa.

An employee uses a Nokia 1200 mobile phone inside an M-Pesa store in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday, April 14, 2013.

Trevor Snap | Bloomberg | Getty Images

But even as adoption proliferates, mobile money users don't get the perks of legacy banking, including earning interest on banked savings and building up a credit score based on a history of spending. Interoperability on the continent also remains a major issue with this alternative way of banking.

"The entire banking system in Africa is completely and utterly broken, even amongst the mobile money providers, the telcos," said Youssef from Paxful, a peer-to-peer crypto marketplace where users can directly buy and sell tokens with one another.

"Two thousand payment networks and only 2% of them talk to each other. That number continues to grow. It's not getting better, it's actually getting worse," continued Youssef.

Companies like Western Union and MoneyGram offer an expansive physical network of storefronts around the world designed to move money for those who are unbanked. That cash network was extraordinarily difficult and expensive to build, which is why there aren't a lot of direct competitors. It is also why those cash transfers often incur substantial fees.

Bitcoin could eliminate all these intermediaries, allowing citizens to send digital payments directly to one another, without relying on credit and without incurring multiple settlement fees along the way.

"We're going to move to a model where we can make payments without IOUs, or credit, or promises, or fiat," said Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer for the Human Rights Foundation, an organization that works with activists from authoritarian regimes around the world. "It's literally like sending a piece of gold or a $20 bill instantly somewhere else."

"If you can get access to the internet, you can settle bitcoin payments," said Brock. "And the government can't do anything about it."

Dorsey points to the example of what happened in Nigeria during the protests against the brutality of the country's Special Anti-Robbery Squad a movement referred to as #EndSARS.

"The Nigerian government went to various bank corps to stop protesters from receiving money which bitcoin made up for," Dorsey said in Accra. "So our whole reason for being as a company is solving the same problem that bitcoin will ultimately solve for everyone in the world."

Moving money on the bitcoin blockchain at its base layer has its own challenges. At times of peak demand, fees will often spike higher, and if a user is unwilling to pay a premium for the transaction, they may have to wait for more blocks of transactions to get confirmed before their transfer goes through.

Bitcoin's Lightning Network helps alleviate both of those problems by slashing the cost of transactions to virtually zero and enabling nearly instantaneous cash payments around the planet making bitcoin a more effective payment rail. This so-called "layer two" technology is built on top of bitcoin's main chain, in part because bitcoiners are conservative about introducing changes to the base layer, for fear of opening it up to hacks or other mischief.

Yellow Card Africa's largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange run by CEO Chris Maurice is also looking to embed this layer two technology into the platform, in order to drive down the price of transactions to virtually zero. Currently, the exchange doesn't charge a commission for transactions, but network fees can be pretty steep when a lot of trades are happening at once.

"It'll have a pretty big impact to our customers, because a lot of them are very price sensitive," says Justin Poiroux, the co-founder and CTO of Yellow Card.

Yellow Card's plan is still in its infancy, but Poiroux tells CNBC that he thinks the Lightning Network could ultimately provide a lot of value for its retail customers.

Bitnob CEO Bernard Parah and Cash App's crypto product lead, Miles Suter, at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in Accra, Ghana.

Bernard Parah

Because Lightning offers a universal monetary language, money can travel around the world between any Lightning-enabled bitcoin wallet. Someone who uses a platform like Block's Cash App a regulated, American financial product with 51 million monthly transacting users which integrated with the Lightning Network in Feb. 2022 can pay any Lightning invoice in the world instantly.

"It's a new way of doing business. It's a different paradigm entirely," said Gladstein.

The crypto product lead at Cash App, Miles Suter, believes that a big part of bitcoin's utility is how it gets around broken and convoluted payment systems that don't talk to each other.

"At Cash App in particular, we've always been really interested in taking bitcoin beyond just being seen an investment and bringing day-to-day utility to it," Suter told CNBC on the sidelines of the Africa Bitcoin Conference.

"In many ways, the people on the African continent are already doing that with the tools they have," continued Suter.

Bernard Parah is a 30-year-old entrepreneur living in Jos, Nigeria, about a five hour drive from the capital city of Abuja. He's the CEO of Bitnob, an app that lets users across Africa buy, save, and invest in bitcoin. Bitnob is SMS-based and piggybacks on the mobile money system, making it easier for people to send money directly into bank accounts and mobile money wallets in African countries.

Parah recently teamed up with Strike, a Lightning Network payments platform, to launch a feature called "Send Globally" that allows Americans to transfer money to people living in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya.

It uses local fiat cash on either side of the transaction, but bitcoin is used under the hood as the pipeline to jump money over the border. The end user never touches the cryptocurrency themselves.

"We're able to settle into bank accounts or mobile money accounts, without the recipients having to interact with bitcoin themselves," Parah tells CNBC.

"Over time, we've seen that there are still people who really don't understand how to use bitcoin; who don't care about bitcoin. What they do care about is their problems getting solved," continued Parah.

Bitnob CEO Bernard Parah and Strike CEO Jack Mallers announcing the launch of 'Send Globally' on stage at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in Accra, Ghana.

Bernard Parah

It feels like a wire transfer or a Venmo payment, according to Strike CEO Jack Mallers.

"It's instant. There's no debt. There's no credit. There's no delays," explains Mallers.

The model works because Parah and Mallers are willing to take on the liability associated with the transfer by holding cash in escrow on either end of the exchange.

Once the money is received in Nigeria, Bitnob which is a regulated entity with connections to the local banks will take that bitcoin and turn it into their local currency.

"It's just two regulated entities communicating over the language of bitcoin and cutting out excess fees," said Suter. "I think that's revolutionary."

Mallers says that they offer more competitive foreign exchange rates by using bitcoin as a price-setting intermediary, a sort of new world reserve currency.

"The rate that we got was actually 60% better than the traditional forex market rate," said Mallers. "The way to actually think about how we're achieving forex if we clear through bitcoin is, 'I have dollars. How many bitcoin can I get for my dollars? And then how many naira can I get for my bitcoin?'" said Mallers.

"It's acting as the most liquid, accessible, global instrument for us to clear and settle value amongst each other," he said.

The arrangement also offers a few big ancillary benefits, including interoperability with payment apps around the world that have tens of millions of users.

Block's Suter explained that Cash App could theoretically interoperate with Bitnob.

"We're only live in the U.S. right now, but that doesn't mean we can't speak to Bitnob in Nigeria and transfer value instantly and for free across these borders," Suter said of Cash App.

South African developer Kgothatso Ngako built a custodial lightning wallet called Machankura.

Kgothatso Ngako

South African developer Kgothatso Ngako, who goes by KG, has integrated the Lightning Network into the GSM network, combining the best of a few worlds, in a larger effort to meet customers where they are.

"My focus is giving people without an internet connection the ability to send or receive bitcoin," Ngako said.

KG calls his custodial Lightning wallet "Machankura" South African slang for money. Whereas most Lightning transactions today require a smartphone and data, Ngako's service integrates lightning via Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, or USSD, which is the protocol that mobile money runs on. (It is similar to HTTP, or HyperText Transport Protocol, the protocol on which the web was built.)

Ngako tells CNBC that he currently has around 3,000 users spread across eight countries, with a concentration in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. In his home market of South Africa, there are strict rules around currency exchange, which make his product even more appealing to some users looking to move their money abroad.

"The South African Reserve Bank regulates the cross-border flow of capital including the exchange of currency to and from South Africa. You need some form of approval to convert ZAR into foreign currency," said Ernest Marais, partner at Johannesburg law firm, Tabacks.

KG's Machankura is compatible with any Lightning wallet on the planet. In practice, this means that someone with the Cash App in San Francisco, for example, could instantly send bitcoin via Lightning to the phone number of someone with a data-less, basic phone living in a remote part of Uganda.

Ngako's project does face some risks, including regulatory blowback.

Marais tells CNBC that because the South African Reserve Bank cannot regulate the cross-border flow of cryptocurrency, it is considered to be illegal and a criminal offense though crypto regulation largely remains nebulous across most of the continent.

"All African central banks, except for Central African Republic, have made notices stating that they don't issue bitcoin and hence they don't regulate it," counters Ngako, adding that a bitcoin transaction cannot be considered a cross-border exchange as bitcoin transactions aren't regulated within the central bank's institution.

But the rules are confusing for everyone involved.

"The actual location of crypto assets is an anomaly. At what point does it leave the country?" continued Marais.

Ultimately, Ngako believes that once Machankura begins to scale, it will be a major driver of bitcoin adoption across the continent. To that end, Ngako is raising money and building a common refrain among the entrepreneurs on the ground in Accra.

As Dorsey said in Africa, "More and more mass adoption will, in my belief, take away all the oxygen" from governments attempting to control behavior through financial oppression.

"So what do we do? We build, we build, we build, we build, we build, they can't stop us. And that's what's important."

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Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa's $86 billion banking system - CNBC

Bitcoin MVRV Ratio Approaches 1.5 Level, Will Break Happen? – NewsBTC

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On-chain data shows the Bitcoin MVRV ratio is approaching a retest of the 1.5 level, breaking above which may be bullish for the assets price.

As explained by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the 1.5 level of the metric has held significant importance in the past. The MVRV ratio is an indicator that measures the ratio between the market cap of Bitcoin and its realized cap.

The realized cap here refers to a capitalization model for BTC that assumes that each coin in the circulating supply has its real value the same as the price at which it was last moved or transferred on the blockchain.

Since the MVRV ratio compares the market cap (that is, the normal price of BTC) with this fair-value model, the ratios value can provide hints about whether BTC is currently aptly valued or not.

When the value of the indicator is higher than one, it means the assets market cap is greater than its realized cap right now. Such a trend can imply the cryptocurrency may be overvalued currently.

On the other hand, the metric having values below this threshold suggest the fair value of BTC is above its current price, and hence, the coin may be undervalued at the moment.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin MVRV ratio over the last few years:

As you can see in the above graph, the quant has highlighted the relevant portions of the trend for the Bitcoin MVRV ratio. The region below 1, as mentioned earlier, is the undervalued zone where bottoms have historically formed for the coin. Cyclical tops, however, havent generally formed in the zone above 1, but rather at much higher values like 3 or more.

Following the COVID crash back in 2020, the MVRV bounced out of the underpriced region and showed some constant upwards momentum, until it reached higher than 3.75, and the top of the bull run in the first half of 2021 was formed.

After that, in the May-July 2021 mini-bear period, the indicator took a plunge and hit a value of around 1.5. The level, however, provided support to the metric and helped it make a sharp recovery, which ultimately culminated in the November 2021 Bitcoin all-time high price.

When the transition towards the bear market started to take place, the MVRV ratio plummeted to the 1.5 level again, but the line once again helped the indicator hold on.

This time, however, after sideways movement around the level, the indicator eventually plunged below it as the market crash due to the LUNA collapse occurred.

The decline also continued later with the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) collapse, and the metric found itself inside the undervalued region again. The ratio spent a while in this zone until the latest rally came and finally pulled it out of there. This escape above the region may suggest that at least the worst of the bear market may be over for now.

With the sharp rise in BTC recently, the MVRV ratio has also naturally continued to go up and is now approaching the 1.5 level which it had multiple encounters within the last few years.

Its possible that the coin could find resistance here and be rejected back downwards. The quant believes, however, that if a breach does happen here, then Bitcoin might be able to sustain its bullish momentum.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $28,600, up 4% in the last week.

Featured image from Dmitry Demidko on Unsplash.com, charts from TradingView.com, CryptoQuant.com

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Bitcoin MVRV Ratio Approaches 1.5 Level, Will Break Happen? - NewsBTC

XRP Overtakes Bitcoin in Volume on Top 4 Korean Exchanges – The Crypto Basic

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XRP dominates the market share in trade volume across South Koreas four largest exchanges.

XRP trade volume across the top South Korean crypto exchanges has recently seen a massive surge. The asset currently dominates the market share in Koreas four largest exchanges, comfortably overtaking Bitcoin (BTC). This development underscores renewed demand for the XRP, as South Korean traders look to leverage its latest rally.

Data from price-tracking resource CoinMarketCap indicates that XRP has overtaken BTC in trade volume dominance on UpBit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, all among South Koreas top five cryptocurrency exchanges.

XRP is witnessing a 24-hour trade volume of $569.2 million on UpBit, Koreas largest exchange. This volume represents 17.03% of UpBits trade volume in the past 24 hours. In contrast, Bitcoin sees a 24-hour volume of $188.6 million, accounting for 5.64% of total trade volume.

Moreover, XRPs trade volume on Bithumb currently stands at $137.9 million at the time of writing, representing 34.05% of the exchanges total trade volume. On the other hand, Bitcoins trade volume amounts to $71.1 million, representing 17.57% market share. Bithumb is South Koreas second-largest exchange.

Coinone, the third largest exchange in Korea, is also seeing a dominance of XRP in its trade volume, as the asset boasts a volume of $35.9 million, accounting for 42.08% of its volume in the past 24 hours. XRPs trade volume on Coinone is more than double of Bitcoins volume, which stands at $16.4 million.

XRPs dominance also spilled into Korbit, Koreas fifth-largest exchange. The asset currently commands 38.02% of Korbits total 24-hour trade volume. The assets volume stands at $2.8 million. BTC follows closely behind in market share, with 36.99%. All volumes are taken from trades against the Korean won (KRW).

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Despite a 1.71% decline in the past 24 hours, XRPs rally endures, as the asset has maintained a 22.34% gain in the past week. This positions XRP as the highest gainer among the top 100 assets by market cap.

The asset reclaimed the much-coveted $0.55 zone yesterday for the first time in ten months. It towered over the territory, reaching a high of $0.579 before facing a roadblock. XRP is trading for $0.5412, with a new goal to reclaim the $0.60 price level.

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XRP Overtakes Bitcoin in Volume on Top 4 Korean Exchanges - The Crypto Basic