Here’s how Hertz bankruptcy has impacted used car prices – WCVB Boston

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Here's how Hertz bankruptcy has impacted used car prices

Updated: 5:40 PM EDT Jun 9, 2020

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BEN: WITH THE PANDEMIC FORCING FAMILIES TO STAY CLOSER TO HOME, THIS YEAR COULD BE THE WORST FOR THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY, BUT ONE OF THE BEST FOR CAR SHOPPERS. AS WE REPORTED LAST MONTH, NO ACTIVITY AT AIRPORTS FORCED HERTZ RENTAL CAR TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY. THE COMPANY HAS ALREADY STARTED SELLING ITS LARGE FLEET ONLINE AT DISCOUNT PRICES, AND THAT COULD PUT PRESSURE ON OTHER AUTO DEALERS TO DROP THEIR USED CAR PRICES AS WELL. HOW GOOD ARE THE DEALS RIGHT NOW? AUTO WEBSITE I-SEE-CARS.COM ANALYZED SALE PRICES FOR MORE THAN 170,000 VEHICLES ON THE HERTZ WEBSITE LAST MONTH. ALL ARE FROM MODEL YEARS 2017 TO 2019. THE WEBSITE FOUND, HERTZ SELLING CARS FOR NEARLY $1400 LESS ON AVERAGE THAN MARKET VALUE. MANY OF THE HERTZ CARS HAVE HIGHER MILEAGE THAN A TYPICAL USED CAR, BUT EXPERTS SAY, THEYRE ALSO GENERALLY IN GREAT CONDITION WITH A REGULAR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE. I-SEE-CARS.COM SAYS HERTZ IS OFFERING ITS BIGGEST DISCOUNTS ON LUXURY CARS. AT THE TOP OF THE LIST, BMW 7-SERIES SEDANS SELLING FOR ABOUT $43,000. THATS ABOUT 13.7% LESS THAN MARKET VALUE, OR A SAVINGS OF NEARLY 7,000. THE WEBSITE ALSO FOUND, SHOPPERS CAN GET A MERCEDES CLASS-A SEDAN FOR ABOUT $28,000. THATS 13% LESS THAN OTHER DEALERS, OR A SAVINGS OF 4200. HERTZ IS OFFERING BIG DISCOUNTS ON OTHER TYPES OF VEHICLES TOO. TOYOTA TUNDRA, KIA FORTE, VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, NISSAN SENTRA. ALL AVAILABLE AT PRICES MORE THAN 10% LESS THAN MARKET VALUE. BARGAIN-HUNTERS SHOULD KNOW, YOU WONT BE ABLE TO DRIVE DOWN THESE PRICES EVEN MORE. HERTZ SAYS ITS A ZERO-HAGGLE SELLER, BUT BEFORE YOU BUY, YOU SHOULD STILL INSIST ON TAKING THE CAR TO AN INDEPENDEN

Here's how Hertz bankruptcy has impacted used car prices

Updated: 5:40 PM EDT Jun 9, 2020

No activity at airports forced Hertz Rental Car to declare bankruptcy. The company has already started selling its large fleet online at discount prices, and that could put pressure on other auto dealers to drop their used car prices as well.Auto website iSeeCars.com analyzed sale prices for more than 170,000 vehicles on the Hertz website last month between the model years 2017 to 2019.The website found Hertz selling cars for nearly $1,400 less on average than market value.Many of the Hertz cars have higher mileage than a typical used car, but experts say, they're also generally in great condition with a regular maintenance schedule.The auto website said Hertz was offering the biggest discounts on luxury vehicles, but the website also found discounts for other vehicles as well. The BMW 7 Series, Toyota Tundra, Kia Forte, Volkswagen Golf and Nissan Sentra were all available at prices more than 10 percent less than market value.

No activity at airports forced Hertz Rental Car to declare bankruptcy.

The company has already started selling its large fleet online at discount prices, and that could put pressure on other auto dealers to drop their used car prices as well.

Auto website iSeeCars.com analyzed sale prices for more than 170,000 vehicles on the Hertz website last month between the model years 2017 to 2019.

The website found Hertz selling cars for nearly $1,400 less on average than market value.

Many of the Hertz cars have higher mileage than a typical used car, but experts say, they're also generally in great condition with a regular maintenance schedule.

The auto website said Hertz was offering the biggest discounts on luxury vehicles, but the website also found discounts for other vehicles as well.

The BMW 7 Series, Toyota Tundra, Kia Forte, Volkswagen Golf and Nissan Sentra were all available at prices more than 10 percent less than market value.

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Here's how Hertz bankruptcy has impacted used car prices - WCVB Boston

Artificial eye with 3D retina developed for the first time – Advanced Science News

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Scientists at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology make artificial eye far better than anything current.

The biological eye is a highly complex organ, and people have spent decades trying to replicate this most delicate organ through technology. Existing prosthetic eyes fall short with low-resolutions and 2D flat image sensors.

Now, an international team of researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the University of California, Berkley, have overcome this shortcoming by making, for the first time, a biomimetic prosthetic eye using a nanowire array that creates a hemispherical artifical retina. I.e., a 3D image sensor.

Publishing in Nature, (paywall) the team at HKUST showcase their Electrochemical Eye (EC-Eye). Whilst holding great promise in the field of robotics and for people with visual impairments, in perhaps more tantalizing future applications, the team believes their EC-Eye may actually offer sharper vision than a natural human eye, and include extra functions such as the ability to detect infrared radiation in darkness. This of course is stepping into the realm of transhumanism, and the ethical quagmire this entails. But apart from exciting fans of science fiction, the EC-Eye most certainly has more immediate promise for those whose natural vision is severely impaired.

The key to this new artificial eye is the nanowire array mentioned above. These nanowires are derived from perovskite solar cell technology, and are essentially individual nano-solar cells, and can therefore mimic biological photoreceptors found in the retina. These nanowires were then connected to a bundle of liquid-metal wires, serving as artificial nerves, which successfully channeled the light signals to a computer screen which showed what the nanowire array could see.

With electronic-to-nerve interfaces research already well under way, it is hoped that one day these nanowire retinas could be directly implanted and attached to the optic nerves of visually impaired patients. More astonishing still, is that this artificial retina is superior to a natural retina when it comes to the shortcomings that have arisen out of the evolution of the natural retina. All retinas have a blind spot, caused by the fact the bundles of optic nerves have to connect somewhere on the retina to transport information to the brain. This connection point on the retina has no space for photoreceptor cells, and is therefore a blind spot on the retina. Thankfully, your brain fills in the blanks of this blind spot so that people with healthy vision dont see it. However, the effects of this blind spot can be seen if you like to look up at the stars at night. Find a very dim star, and try to look at it directly; it becomes hard to see, but its easier to see if you instead look directly around it.

The EC-Eye does not have such a blind spot.

Furthermore, the nanowires are higher in density than the photoreceptor cells in the human retina. Therefore, in theory, the artificial retina can detect more light signals and therefore produce a higher image resolution than even the most healthy retinas of a human with twenty-twenty vision.

The advantages of an EC-Eye over a natural eye are also the fact that using different materials can enable the detection of a higher spectral range, potentially allowing people with such EC-Eye implants to see in the dark, if their artificial retina can detect infrared light.

However, the authors caution that this technology is still in its early stages.

I have always been a big fan of science fiction, said Prof. Zhiyong Fan of HKUST in a press release, and lead author of the study, and I believe many technologies featured in stories such as those of intergalactic travel, will one day become reality. However, regardless of image resolution, angle of views or user-friendliness, the current bionic eyes are still of no match to their natural human counterpart. A new technology to address these problems is in urgent need, and it gives me a strong motivation to start this unconventional project.

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Artificial eye with 3D retina developed for the first time - Advanced Science News

Transhuman – TV Tropes

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"Your mind is software. Program it. Your body is a shell. Change it. Death is a disease. Cure it. Extinction is approaching. Fight it."

Transhumans are people who have been artificially enhanced with mental and/or physical abilities beyond what is considered normal for the species from an evolutionary standpoint. Despite the name, species-wide artificial improvement is not actually limited to humans other species or entities that are enhanced count as well. The means used for this augmentation can be anything from magic to science.

Transhumanism as a movement and a philosophy implies that people can, and should, become transhuman en masse rather than be restricted to a select few who came across such abilities through extraordinary circumstances. By implying that scientific progress may grant superhuman powers to anyone with appropriate knowledge and resources, and without any regard for predestination, luck or hard work, transhumanism is notoriously opposed to narrative exceptionalism. A positive portrayal of transhumanism generally places a work on the Enlightenment side of the Romanticism Versus Enlightenment spectrum while a negative portrayal or conspicuous absence of it does the opposite.

Proponents argue that transhumanism is an essential part of our future lives, because...

The opponents also have many arguments to support their views.

Historically, media has not been kind to transhumanists. For a long time, desiring for human improvement has been the province of dictatorial dystopian societies or a Mad Scientist with a God complex. Anarcho-Cyber Punk writers focused on how cybernetic augmentation could be abused to the detriment of society. Religious Moral Guardians object to the idea on the ground of tampering with God's creation (though, ironically, many religions espouse a transhuman plane of existence free from the sinfulness of flesh). And, particularly with the rise of far right and Neo-Nazi movements in recent years, there is the concern that transhumanism can serve as a rebranding of the old Eugenics Movement designed to make it seem more palatable. In fiction, upgrading a human being through science was usually portrayed as a bad idea strictly due to the Squick factor, and even when it wasn't, it was either shown as a Deadly Upgrade with significant disadvantages or a part of an Utopia Justifies the Means plan objectionable on moral grounds.

Curiously enough, as augmentation-based medical therapies gain traction through both in-vivo genetic engineering and advanced prosthetics and improve human lives in ways thought impossible in the past, the criticism has gradually subsided. Today, many would agree that, from a strictly utilitarian standpoint, transhumanism has a great potential to be used for good, with the criticism being mainly aimed towards the implementation and its potential pitfalls and dangers rather than the idea itself.

The word "transhuman" is now found in legitimate scientific and political debates.

In spite of being seldom mentioned by name, transhumanism encompasses many of the science fiction staples with their distinct tropes:

For some of the abilities a Transhuman might have, see Stock Superpowers; related to How to Give a Character Superpowers. See also No Transhumanism Allowed. This may be used as an aspect of a Cyberpunk or Post-Cyberpunk setting.

Compare the bermensch,notemeaning "over-man" or "superman" in German whose transcendency is psychological and moral in nature rather than physical.

Subtrope of Trans Nature. Mutants and Human Subspecies may or may not be a result of this, and they may be crippled instead of "enhanced". Contrast Formerly Sapient Species. Not to be confused with Transgender people, though medically transitioning is a mild form of real life transhumanist modification.

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How to go on holiday in a pandemic – The Economist

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Jun 12th 2020

by MARK O'CONNELL

This piece is from 1843, our sister magazine of ideas, lifestyle and culture.

IN APRIL I was supposed to be in New York for the American launch of my new book, whose subject, you may be amused to learn, is apocalyptic anxiety. Obviously I didnt go to New York. But I did have a book launch of sorts, in the form of a Zoom webinar hosted by the bookstore where the irl event had been scheduled to take place.

So one evening I sat in my living room in Dublin, while an editor I work with at an American magazine sat in his living room in Brooklyn, and we both drank our beers while having as free-flowing a conversation as the situation permitted. The event was deemed a success, given the circumstances. But it was hard not to experience a Zoom webinar as a somewhat flat and dispiriting substitute for a real gathering, in just the same way that everything these days seems a flat and dispiriting substitute for real life.

After the live-stream ended, I was sitting in front of my laptop with most of a beer to finish. I felt a nervous energy coursing through me but had nowhere to go. So I went onto Google Maps and parachuted into the exact location I should have been that evening using the little yellow flailing man that summons up Street View, Googles immersive photographic panoramas of the worlds roads.

All of a sudden I was on Flatbush Avenue. It was a bright summers day and there was traffic on the street school buses and delivery trucks, vans and yellow cabs. I could almost feel the heat coming off the pavement as I drifted insubstantially northward towards Prospect Park, ghosting through oncoming cars and ups trucks, idly looking out for a bar where we might have gone for drinks once the launch wound down.

I opened another beer, and as the night deepened into early morning I found myself returning to places I remembered from previous trips to New York, places I would have revisited had I been there now. I wandered around the Meatpacking District, trying to find the spot where, on my first trip to the city 20 years ago, a friend and I, after leaving a party, happened across an abandoned sofa on a pier, which we sat on while smoking a joint and looking out over the Hudson river as the sun came up. I made my way towards Chelsea, but couldnt find the pier, and wasnt sure I would have recognised the place anyway, not without the abandoned sofa.

In the following days, I found myself returning to Google Street View, haunting the digitised landscape of my memory. It was an exercise in nostalgia, obviously, but it was something else too. I was entering a kind of crude, 3d rendering of the way the world used to be, open and accessible and alive. All those people out in their shirt sleeves, their faces algorithmically blurred but unmasked, all those cars and vans and trucks hustling people and goods from one place to another. In the next few days, when I should have been in New York, I kept returning at odd moments to the Street View version of the city, re-enacting walks I had once taken, exploring neighbourhoods I half-remembered from previous trips, wandering through the mists of memory.

It struck me that I was engaged in a pale online imitation of a habit I have cultivated when travelling. Whenever I return to somewhere I havent been to in years, it has long been my custom to return to places I have visited before and whose memory persists. Like all the best pleasures, my satisfaction is elevated by an element of shame. Isnt travel supposed to be about new things, new places, about annexing unexplored realms to the empire of personal experience? What a ridiculous thing to do, when you think about it, to return to Amsterdam or Los Angeles or Berlin or Milan and, instead of finding fresh parts of the city to encounter, to set a course straight for the one place you remember from the last time you were there.

YOU ARE NOT VISITING A PLACE YOU REMEMBER FROM YOUR PAST; YOU ARE VISITING THE PAST ITSELF AND A YOUNGER INCARNATION OF YOURSELF

When I was writing my first book, a non-fiction account of the transhumanist movement in Silicon Valley, I made a number of trips to San Francisco. I had spent some time there in my late teens and early 20s my grandmother was from there and I still had family in the city. Whenever I had time free from researching my book, I would hunt down the places I remembered from previous visits. Amoeba Records on Haight Street, the City Lights bookstore in Chinatown and the nearby Old Saint Marys Cathedral, which has a clock tower inscribed with a biblical quotation that had always haunted me: Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil.

The appeal of this has, in one sense, less to do with any special quality of the location per se than with the vertiginous thrill of time folding in on itself. You are not visiting a place you remember from your past; you are visiting the past itself and a younger incarnation of yourself. In another sense, though, the impulse to loiter in old haunts feeds off a tension inherent in travel between the desire to discover unpredictable and exciting things and the desire to take some ownership over a place to forge a connection between the foreign and the familiar.

One of the strangest aspects of life in our new viral reality is the relentless sameness of every day. Hardly a day goes by when I dont think at least once of Estragons line in Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot: Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, its awful! In life, as in theatre, things happen in the form of people coming and going, and one of the great pleasures of travel is that it creates a sense of plot. Right now, like most of us, I am going nowhere. Not only can I not go to New York, I cant even go to the other side of Dublin. There is no coming, no going, no event of any kind.

But there is a sense in which I have, in fact, been able to travel. Within the five-kilometre radius around my home, to which I was confined for a number of weeks, I began consciously to explore an area I have lived in for most of my life. Taking advantage of the reduced traffic on Dublins roads, I cycled around the quietened landscape of the city.

I live close to Phoenix Park, a huge inner-city park with long tree-lined avenues, large wooded areas, lakes and wild deer. Before the virus struck, I had never ventured very far into it. I had gone there mostly to visit the zoo or one of the playgrounds with my kids, or for a brief run on one of its peripheral pathways. Now, almost every day, I cycle around the park, discovering regions of its sprawling interior Id previously left untouched. There are ponds and streams I had never seen before, paths I never knew existed, a large but unremarkable house I had not known Winston Churchill lived in as a child.

Recently, having read in the Irish Times about a small dolmen, a stone tomb that had been hidden away on the far side of the park since the Bronze Age, my family and I went in search of it and eventually found it in an area whose existence we were previously unaware of. Granted, it wasnt exactly the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. It was small enough for my children to sit on like a bench, and unremarkable enough that we would have passed by without noticing it had we not been looking out for it. But it was worth seeing, and the pleasure, in any case, was in finding it.

This strikes me as a strange inversion of my old compulsion, when travelling, to return to places remembered from previous visits. I have become something like a tourist in my own neighbourhood, finding the unexpected in the familiar. The place I live in feels uncannily new, the streets and buildings different now, as though I am seeing them for the first time. Sometimes it feels as though I am in a city I remember from a dream I thought Id forgotten. Maybe Ill miss that strangeness too, when the bustle returns.

I do miss the world beyond my radius: the old world, where I could visit foreign cities and retrace my steps to familiar places. But I have learned, in the meantime, to look for the foreign in the familiar. And I have learned that you dont have to go very far in order to find it. You dont even have to leave your neighbourhood.

Mark O'Connellis the author of Notes from an Apocalypse

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How to go on holiday in a pandemic - The Economist

The Best Way to Handle Your Decline Is to Confront It Head On – The Atlantic

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Read: Your professional decline is coming (much) sooner than you think

The good news is that its possible to work on extinguishing the terror of this virtual death by borrowing from techniques used to vanquish the fear of physical death.

The fear of literal nonexistence through death is addressed by many philosophical and religious traditions. Many Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, for example, display photos of corpses in various states of decomposition. This body, too, Buddhist monks learn in the Satipatthana Sutta to say about themselves as they look at the photos, such is its nature, such is its future, such its unavoidable fate.

Some monks engage in a meditation called maranasati (mindfulness of death), which consists of imagining nine states of ones own dead body:

At first, this seems strange and morbid. The objective, however, is to make death vivid in the mind of the meditator, and, through repetition, familiar. Psychologists call this process desensitization, in which repeated exposure to something repellent or frightening makes it seem ordinary, prosaic, and less scary.

Read: How happiness changes with age

Western research has tested the idea of death desensitization. In 2017, a team of researchers recruited volunteers to imagine that they were terminally ill or on death row, and then to write about the feelings they imagined they would have. The researchers then compared these thoughts with writings by those who were actually terminally ill or facing execution. The results, published in Psychological Science under the title Dying Is Unexpectedly Positive, were astounding: People imagining their deaths were three times as negative as those actually facing it. Death, it seems, is scarier when it is theoretical than when it is real.

Contemplating death can also inspire courage. There is an ancient Japanese story about a band of lawless samurai warriors notorious for terrorizing the local people. Every place they went, they brought destruction. One day they come to a Zen Buddhist monastery, intent on violence and plunder. The monks ran away in fear for their lives--all except the abbot, a man who had completely mastered the fear of his own death. He sat quietly in the lotus position as the warriors burst in. Approaching the abbot with his sword drawn, the samurai leader said, Dont you see that I am the sort of man who could run you through without batting an eye? Calmly, the master answered, Dont you see that I am a man who could be run through without batting an eye?

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The Best Way to Handle Your Decline Is to Confront It Head On - The Atlantic

The Future of Mental Health Care Will be Driven by Psychedelics – Yahoo Finance

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Houston, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2020) - Psychedelics may soon disrupt traditional medicine.

It's part of the reason Eight Capital estimate the total market for mental health treatment could be valued at up to $100 billion. "The addressable market is incredibly large, and we're still in the early innings of what any sort of psychedelic treatment could do to resolve some of these important issues," notes the firm, as quoted by Business Insider.

With plenty of clinical trials supporting psychedelic treatments, like psilocybin mushrooms for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, opioid addiction, alcoholism, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, it's only a matter of time before big pharmaceutical companies begin to invest heavily, and incorporate psychedelics into their own drug pipelines.

Psilocybin may also help treat eating disorders and obesity, too.

That's because psilocybin activates serotonin receptors, or "nature's own appetite suppressant," as noted by Psychology Today. "This powerful brain chemical curbs cravings and shuts off appetite. It makes you feel satisfied even if your stomach is not full. The result is eating less and losing weight."

In short, psilocybin may be able to meet a very large unmet need for compounds that can potentially lead to safe weight loss, and help improve metabolic health for millions. After all, there's quite a large, demanding market.

Right now, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity has tripled in size over the last 50 years. In 2016, they note, 1.9 billion adults were overweight around the world. Of those, 650 million were considered obese. Just in the U.S., nearly 34% of adults and up to 20% of children are obese. It's greatly out of control.

Psilocybin May be a Miracle Weight Loss Drug

In fact, Yield Growth Corp.'s (CSE: BOSS) (OTCQB: BOSQF) majority owned subsidiary NeonMind filed a U.S. provisional patent application in the U.S. for the invention relating to therapeutic administration of psilocybin or psilocin, combined with supportive therapeutic treatment for a patient to provide weight loss benefits and treatment for related health issues.

The provisional patent is for a proposed guided psychedelic psilocybin therapy protocol using psychotherapy prior to, during and after the psychoactive effects of the psilocybin are felt by the patient. The psychedelic assisted psychotherapy is designed to assist in gaining insights from positive psychedelic experiences, to be integrated into everyday life and to help plan, prepare and make sense of psychedelic experiences for a therapeutic result.

In addition, NeonMind has retained contract research organization Translational Life Sciences Inc. to design and plan an initial preclinical study using psilocybin which is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2020. The preclinical study is anticipated to provide data to design phase 2 human clinical trials to test psilocybin as a weight loss treatment. The phase 2 clinical trials are anticipated to begin in 2021, subject to receiving all required regulatory approvals.

For more information, visit the company's website at https://yieldgrowth.com.

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Except for the historical information presented herein, matters discussed in this article contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Winning Media which has a partnership with http://www.MarijuanaStox.com is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority and does not provide nor claims to provide investment advice or recommendations to readers of this release.

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The Future of Mental Health Care Will be Driven by Psychedelics - Yahoo Finance

New Psychedelics Stocks and Acquisitions | 2020-06-08 | Investing News – Stockhouse

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2020 is the year of many things: global conflict, devastating fires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now civil unrest in response to racism and police brutality in the United States.

It’s been a tough year for everyone, but it has also brought about renewed conversations on societal progress. How can we improve, where do we go from here, and what changes can we start to make?

Strangely to some, one of those changes is coming in the normalization of psychedelics to treat medical conditions. What was once a stigmatized and prohibited class of substances is quickly having a second wind as a treatment for depression, PTSD, and substance-abuse disorders amongst a handful of many other potential therapeutic needs.

We’re also now starting to deal with a wave of new (and previously undiagnosed) cases of depression and anxiety on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic. One week into June, we’re quickly approaching a point where many people have been at home with limited social interaction (or physical activity) for months on end.

As if on queue, the market for psychedelics companies has started to open up in a big way. More and more companies directly and indirectly invested in psychedelics are coming to public markets, and others are starting to make their moves into psychedelics widely known. 2020 is the year of many things, and it’s looking like psychedelics is one of them.

Back in May, we highlighted the impressive rise of a few of the companies involved in the psychedelics market. Those included the recently-public psychedelics companies Champignon Brands Inc. (CSE:SHRM) and Mind Medicine Inc. (NEO:MMED), as well as indirect investments like those of Yield Growth Corp. (CSE:BOSS) and Revive Therapeutics Ltd. (CSE:RVV).

Fast-forward a few weeks and we’ve seen even more companies enter the fray. On May 20, fully-integrated psychedelics company Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX-V:NUMI) went public, with business arms in clinic and therapy operation, research and development, and direct selling and distribution of psychedelics. On May 28, Ontario-based Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE:TRIP) also began listing with a plan to produce and sale psilocybin in the legal Netherlands market for the time being.

We’re also seeing an increasing wave of acquisitions and pivots into psychedelics from companies previously invested in healthcare, cannabis, and even technology. German medical cannabis distributor Pharmadrug Inc. (CSE:BUZZ) acquired Dutch psychedelics retailer Super Smart, California cannabis company Hollister Biosciences Inc. (CSE:HOLL) closed their acquisition of mushroom-based health product developer AlphaMind Brands Inc., and eCommerce CBD provider Mota Ventures Corp. (CSE:MOTA) acquired pharmaceutical psilocybin manufacturer Verrian Ontario Ltd.

And that’s not including the previous moves of companies like New Wave Holdings Corp. (CSE:SPOR) in psychedelics and esports, Empower Clinics Inc. (CSE:CBDT) in creating its own psilocybin and psychedelics division, and NewLeaf Brands Inc. recently adding a focus on psychedelics and rebranding as Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (CSE:MYCO).

No matter where you look, people and companies are getting invested in psychedelics. Though this has been a somewhat comprehensive list, there are too many to include and more are continuing to pile in. With more excitement about psychedelics and their importance on one hand, and more viable investing options entering the markets on the other, the future for these alternative medicines seems bright.

New to investing in Healthcare? Check out Stockhouse tips on How to Invest in Healthcare Stocks and some of our Top Healthcare Stocks.

For more of the latest info on Cannabis, check out the Healthcare Trending News hub on Stockhouse.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Yield Growth Corp. is a client of Stockhouse Publishing

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New Psychedelics Stocks and Acquisitions | 2020-06-08 | Investing News - Stockhouse

PSYC Expanding Their Global Reach To Showcase Psychedelic Industry Leaders and Pioneers – Stockhouse

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SAN DIEGO, CA, June 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (OTCPink: PSYC) (Global” PSYC” or the Company”) is pleased to announce that in an effort to provide its growing base of Psychedelic Spotlight newsletter subscribers with exclusive content surrounding the ongoing boom within the medicinal psychedelics space, the Company plans to launch a series of exclusive interviews with some of today’s industry-leading advocates, pioneers, and trail blazers.

Immersing ourselves within this industry and becoming a true ally for those who are currently advocating for a variety of psychedelic-related treatments is a very important objective of ours,” said Vanessa Luna Global Trac Solutions, Inc. CEO. There are a multitude of individuals across the globe who are working incredibly hard to shed an important and valuable light on the benefits of incorporating certain psychedelics such as psilocybin into therapeutic treatments for those suffering from depression, anxiety, and addiction. It is our goal to leverage the platform we are creating with Psychedelic Spotlight and utilize it as a sounding board to help amplify the relevant initiatives, perspectives, stories, and insights from the individuals who are dedicated to highlighting the many reasons why psychedelics should be regarded as the breakthrough therapy it truly is.”

In the coming weeks and months, the Company intends to reach out and speak with a variety of individuals within the growing psychedelic community in an attempt to share their unique thoughts and perspectives related to the benefits of specific psychedelics as a therapeutic treatment for certain mental disorders and will incorporate these interactions into the content it shares through its monthly Psychedelic Spotlight newsletter and website (www.psychedelicspotlight.com).

About Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (OTC Pink:PSYC)

Global Trac Solutions is a diversified holding company dedicated to identifying new and emerging industries. By utilizing our years of business development expertise our diverse team of innovators continuously leverages our experience to effectively execute go-to-market strategies in order to position ourselves for rapid growth through the creation of an evolving business foundation to enhance profitability potential.

Since 2017, PSYC has been a pioneer in the emerging software and payment processing sector of the cannabis industry and has established itself as a trusted resource for businesses operating within the industry. Today, PSYC through its network of partners and affiliates, continues to connect businesses throughout the cannabis industry with critical solutions and services ranging from payment processing technology, cutting-edge software, and ancillary services vital to compliant and effective business operations.

Most recently, PSYC has expressed its intent and commitment to positioning itself at the forefront of the psychedelic revolution and as a resource center for discovering and understanding the latest research and business opportunities surrounding psychedelic inspired medicines. In conjunction with the FDA’s more open-minded approach to psychedelic medicines, and as several major U.S. cities continue to approve the decriminalization of psilocybin, investors are speculating that the psychedelic boom could be bigger than that of cannabis. PSYC is your source for current investment related news specific to psychedelic medicines and cutting-edge research improving overall health, moving this sector into the mainstream.

We believe in a forward-thinking approach that embraces groundbreaking new technology and innovations and through the vision of business development we intend to continue to evolve into these unchartered territories as the industry leaders of the future. We truly are the right TRAC to follow.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are disclosed on the OTC Markets.com website.

Corporate Contact:

Global Trac Solutions, Inc. (PSYC) http://www.globaltracsolutions.com (619) 925-3202 info@globaltracsolutions.com

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New analysis claims the FDA rushed ketamine’s approval for depression treatment – Big Think

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There was a lot of excitement when the FDA fast-tracked ketamine trials for depression treatment in 2016. The announcement marked a major turning point in our understanding of psychedelics, which were deemed a Schedule 1 substance as part of Richard Nixon's racist 1970 "War on Drugs." Ketamine was approved for use as an anesthetic that same year; due to increasing recreational usage in the 1990s, however, it was deemed Schedule III in America in 1999.

Though ketamine is not a traditional psychedelicthey have an agonist (or partial agonist) effect at brain serotonin 5-HT2A receptorsit falls into this class due to its hallucinogenic and dissociative effects. Recently it has been referred to as a "party psychedelic." Psychedelic therapy advocates were pleased when the FDA approved a nasal spray medication for treatment-resistant depression known as esketamine in 2019. Janssen Pharmaceuticals launched Spravato shortly after.

This move is exciting. Trials of two types of ketamineracemic ketamine and esketamineshowed early positive results, even though researchers are not exactly sure how it functions in depression treatment. We do know antidepressants and antipsychotics are showing less efficacy and more chronic side effects than previously believed, however.

There is precedent in the psychedelic realm. Psilocybin, ayahuasca, ibogaine, MDMA, and LSD are showing early positive results in treating anxiety, depression, addiction, and PTSD. This does not mean we should rush blindly ahead, however.

That's the consensus reached by Mark Horowitz (writer) and Joanna Moncrieff (editor), whose recent analysis, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, concludes that we're moving too fast in clinically adopting ketamine. As their data shows, caution is necessary.

Since its discovery in 1962, ketamine has been used broadly as a sedative and anesthetic; to aid in emergency surgeries in war zones; as a bronchodilator for severe asthmatics; to treat certain type of seizures; in postoperative pain management; and now, as a nasal spray to treat depression. Unlike SSRIs and SNRIs, esketamine works immediatelyin as little as two hoursmaking it more attractive to patients and clinicians.

While treatment-resistant depression sounds extreme, Horowitz notes the definition: patients unsuccessful with two different antidepressants, a low bar for the term "resistant." The problem with trying esketamine, he writes, falls back on the FDA fast-tracking of the drug.

"Out of the three short-term trials conducted by Janssen only one showed a statistically significant difference between esketamine and placebo. These were even shorter than the 68 week trials the FDA usually requires for drug licensing."

Each trial lasted only four weeks. The FDA normally requires that two such trials show better results than the placebo; in this case, only one achieved this goal. The successful trial showed a four-point margin on a scale that goes to 60.

Failing to provide two effective trials, the FDA allowed Janssen to submit a discontinuation trial as evidence. This 16-week trial let patients either continue or stop treatment. The problem: side effects were treated as evidence of relapse, not withdrawal symptoms.

Ketamine users have a long history of withdrawal issues, including anxiety, poor appetite, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, addiction, rage, and craving. The discontinuation trial considers such effects as proof of ketamine's efficacy, not as symptoms of withdrawal.

Science writer Peter Simons explains why this is worrisome:

"Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that, within the discontinuation trial, a single site in Poland drove the apparent finding of efficacy. Data from this site suggested that 100% of the placebo group supposedly relapsed (compared with about 33% of the placebo group in all the other sites)an unlikely result. When data from this suspicious outlier was removed, the study analysis showed no evidence that esketamine was better than the placebo."

Add to this that six people in the esketamine group died during the trials, including three by suicidetwo of whom had previously shown no signs of suicidal ideationsand a troubling picture emerges. The FDA accepted Janssen's explanation: the problem wasn't esketamine, but their underlying condition. This is possible, but the company did not provide conclusive evidence.

Jennifer Taubert, executive vice president and worldwide chairman of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on "Drug Pricing in America: A Prescription for Change, Part II" February 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from a panel of pharmaceutical company CEOs on the reasons for rising costs of prescription drugs.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

According to Horowitz, this is a chronic problem with clinical trials and governing agencies.

"It would seem that themes from history are repeating: a known drug of misuse, associated with significant harm, is increasingly promoted despite scant evidence of efficacy and without adequate longterm safety studies."

He also notes that half of the patients experienced disassociation and one-third experienced dizziness. On this point, allow me to break the fourth wall. I've been experimenting with psychedelics since 1994 and am writing a book on psychedelics in ritual and therapy. I ingested a range of substances during my college years. By far, the most troublesome was ketamine. While I'm now aware of Parecelsus's dictumwhat is beneficial in small doses is toxic in large dosesI wasn't measuring it out in the 1990s.

Administered doses in Janssen's trials were considered similar to recreational usage. I recall that a bump provided an energetic lift, yet when I'd occasionally snort a line, all bets were off. After a hearty dose one evening, I laid down, sat up, and stood in succession. I couldn't tell the difference between those three physical positions. Ketamine is the most dissociative substance I've ever taken, and I stopped shortly after that last instance.

Psychedelics are the next wave of mental health treatmentscall it a continuation, given their role in traditional rituals. We came to rely on pharmacology too much in the twentieth century; hopefully we're learning from those mistakes. As Horowitz points out, however, it appears we're not.

The important word in psychedelic therapy is ritual. There are environmental and social factors entwined with our health. In the right context, psychedelics have tremendous healing power. And to be fair, some ketamine clinics are taking proper right safety precautions as well as designing treatment rooms to be more conducive to healing than sterile white rooms. Patients are anecdotally reporting success in depression treatment with ketamine. This isn't an either-or situation.

But we cannot make the same mistake we've made with CBD and believe these substances are cure-alls. We also can't afford to designate ketamine under the umbrella term "psychedelics." As Alan Watts wrote, hallucinogen is not a proper definition of the psychedelic experience, though it's fitting when describing ketamine. Conflating substances will only further confusion during a time when we need clarity. If the addictive properties and dangerous side effects of ketamine play out widely, it endangers the entire psychedelic therapy model.

We can hope for a clinically-effective dosage and delivery mechanism of ketamine. We can't, as Horowitz's analysis shows, make the same mistakes over. Pharmacological intervention has a place in psychiatry, but it's come to dominate the industry, often no better than placebo and psychotherapy. We need healing, not more side effects.

--

Stay in touch with Derek on Twitter, Facebook and Substack. His next book is "Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."

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New analysis claims the FDA rushed ketamine's approval for depression treatment - Big Think

Supporting Health-Care Professionals Suffering From Emotional Distress – Vancouver Island University News

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A Vancouver Island University (VIU) Nursing professor developing a psychedelic medicine-assisted therapy and resilience training program has received a sizeable federal government grant.

Dr. ShannonDames has been awarded a $50,000 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Knowledge Synthesis grantto support her research, which aims to helphealth-care providers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or treatment-resistant mental health issues related to depression.

The CIHR grant is part of the governments rapid research response to COVID-19 and is aimed at addressing and improving mental health outcomes during the pandemic response and beyond.

By age 40, 50% of the population will have or have had a mental illness, according to theCanadian Mental Health Association. Dames says health-care professionals are at greater risk of experiencing psychological stress due to their trauma-laden careers.

Rates of depression and PTSD were already high amongst front-line caregivers and international trends are showing us that the COVID-19 pandemic is contributing to widespread emotional distress for those on the front lines, she says.

Dames is working with a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals, including the BC SUPPORT Unit Vancouver Island Centre, an initiative that supports patient-oriented research in the region, researchers from VIU, the University of Victoria (UVic), the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Numinus Wellness Inc. to develop what could be the first of its kind in Canada a publicly offered platform that combines resilience development programming with Ketamine-assistedtherapy.Ketamine is commonly used by health-care professionals in a variety of medical settings, including for the treatment of depression. It is also currently the only legal medicine that produces psychedelic effects.

The current projects foundation is a resilience-building program calledRoots to Thrive, co-created by Dames with contributions from numerous academics and health professionals. The evidence-informed communities of practice program aims to enhance mindfulness and self-compassion to reduce stress and has resulted in significant positive wellness impacts for participants. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is integrated into the program as a tool to address barriers, relax defenses and facilitate insight.

Psychedelics like psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms, stimulateserotoninin the brain,which contributes to feelings of well-being and happiness, says Dames.They all promote non-attachment, which is the ability to recognize old belief systems and uncomfortable emotions as short-lived messengers, rather than as deep-seated threats. Administered in a supportive, therapeutic environment, it helpscultivate the self-compassion necessary toheal old wounds and work through current fears.

With a $30,000 grant from a private philanthropist, matching funds from VIUsRegional Initiatives Fund, and the CIHR operating grant, the research team is developing a programtodeliver this innovative treatment to health-care providers suffering from PTSD and treatment-resistant mental health issues related to depression, anxiety, trauma and emotional exhaustion.

The team hopesto build capacity and infrastructure within the BC Health Authority system for the program and once established it will be expanded to include people beyond first responders.

Dr. Wei Yi Song, a Vancouver Island-based Physician/Psychiatrist, saysKetamine infusion therapy has shown promising results for difficult to treat depression.

However, this type of treatment requires critical care medical practitioners limiting its accessibility, he says. Aninnovative, effective treatment strategy that can be implemented outside hospital/acute care centres would improve access to this type of remedy for those who need it most.

VIU Psychology Professor Dr. Lindsay McCunn is also involved in the research. She says the project is an opportunity to use the applied and interdisciplinary body of environmental psychology literature in the development of a psychedelic-assisted therapy program and also examine some of the interactions between social and psychological factors of working in high-stress jobs on the front lines of the public health sector.

As an environmental psychologist, I study how individuals are psychologically affected by architectural features in places such as offices and hospital settings, explains McCunn. Exposure to nature is critical to human health and thisproject will allow me to study how people respond to an innovative form of therapy and to what extent certain aspects of thephysical environment of a treatment facility as well as its surrounding natural featureshave an impact on them.

-30-

MEDIA CONTACT:

Annette Lucas, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University

C:250.618.7296 | E:Annette.Lucas@viu.ca

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Ehave, Inc. PsyTech Welcomes Todd Shapiro of Red Light Holland as Moderator in the June 17th Webinar The Future of Psychedelics: A TECHNOLOGY…

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MIAMI, June 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ehave, Inc. (OTC Pink: EHVVF) (the Company”), and its subsidiary PsyTech, announced an upcoming Psychedelic Industry Webinar. The complimentary virtual investor webinar is open to individual investors, institutional investors, advisors and analysts, and the psychedelic community. The program opens at 12:00 PM ET on Wednesday, June 17th.

This webinar is considered one of the top events in the Psychedelic Industry with more than 1400 registered attendees from 25 countries and five paid sponsors. Mr. Todd Shapiro of Red Light Holland will moderate the PsyTech webinar on the intersection of psychedelics, technology, and human consciousness. Each panelist is at the forefront of their field, utilizing techniques as varied as AI, biomimicry, predictive coding, cognitive neuroscience, microbiology, and journaling to improve psychedelic research and therapy. Join us to understand the future of psychedelics from a technological perspective, as well as how these technologies will influence mental health.

Speakers and panelists at past Psychedelic Industry Webinars include: Saul Kaye, Founder & CEO of iCAN: Israel Cannabis; Shlomi Raz, Chairman and Founder of Eleusis; JR Rahn, Co-Founder and Director of MindMed; Hayim Raclaw, Managing Director of PsyTech; Matthew Johnson, PhD., Professor of Psychiatry and Behavior at Johns Hopkins; Christian Angermayer, Founder of ATAI Life Sciences; Dr. Rosalid Watts, Clinical Psychologist at the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London; Rick Doblin, Executive Director of Multidisciplanary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS); and Dr. Mark Braunstein, The Cannabis Psychiatrist and PsyTech Medical Advisor.

Todd Shapiro, CEO of Red Light Holland said, I’m grateful to take on a small role with PsyTech to help their entire team and this entire sector reach new levels. It’s my belief, much like psychedelics anecdotally promote - NO EGO - that everyone in this space, from pioneers and advocates to scientists and doctors to even the capital markets/investors and the corporate side, work synergistically to highlight and further study psychedelics while in hopes of ending stigmas and advancing research and development to hopefully help humans all over the world.”

"Our forum has grown as we have more and more events. Our participants are leaders in the Psychedelic sector and are excited to share their knowledge with the psychedelic community. " stated Ben Kaplan, CEO of Ehave, Inc.

Speakers for the June 17th PsyTech Conference include:

Moderator: Todd Shapiro CEO: Red Light Holland (CSE: TRIP)

Tyler Bryden Founder Speak Ai & Sessions

Sarah Hashkes CEO Radix Motion

James Stephens Chief Science Office and Co-Founder Aurelius Data

For full lineup of participants and their bios, to pre-register and receive event updates click on our Webinar link. There are no fees to log-in, or attend the live presentations.

REGISTER NOW AT https://www.psytech.biz/psytech-webinar-series-june-17-registration/

Learn how you can support non-profit research to make psychedelic therapy a legal treatment at https://maps.org. Meet the challenge of donating to MAPS and Christian Angermayer founder of ATAI life Scientific will match your donation.

Ehave Inc. is proud to support and sponsor The Ketamine Fund, https://ketaminefund.org/ The Ketamine Fund is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization dedicated to providing free treatments to veterans and those who need help now.

About Ehave, Inc.

Ehave, Inc. is a provider of digital therapeutics delivering evidence-based therapeutic interventions to patients. Our primary focus is on improving the standard care in therapeutics to prevent or treat brain disorders or diseases through the use of digital therapeutics, psychedelics, independently or together, with medications, devices, and other therapies to optimize patient care and health outcomes meeting privacy and HIPAA & GDPR Compliant. Our main product is the Ehave Dashboard which is a mental health informatics platform that allows clinicians to make objective and intelligent decisions through data insight using Blockchain technology. The Ehave dashboard offers Offline Encrypted Digital Records Empowering Healthcare providers and patients and it’s a powerful machine learning and artificial intelligence platform using artificial intelligence to extract deep insights from audio, video and text to improve research with a growing set of advanced tools and applications developed by Ehave and its leading partners. This empowers patients, healthcare providers, and payers to address a wide range of conditions through high quality, safe, and effective data-driven involvement with intelligent and accessible tools.

About PsyTech

PsyTech is building a vibrant community designed to explore psychedelic health and wellness, combat stigma, and accelerate innovation. PsyTech operates two matrix divisions that deliver revenue and build an equity portfolio: PsyTech Connect and PsyTech Discovery. PsyTech Connect is a premier psychedelic community platform for live and virtual conferences and an online portal for psychedelics content. PsyTech Discovery will develop ventures in psychedelic therapeutics and education. Learn more aboutPsyTech at http://www.psytech.biz

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends,” may,” will,” plans,” expects,” anticipates,” projects,” predicts,” estimates,” aims,” believes,” hopes,” potential” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Company’s research, manufacturing and other development efforts; (ii) the Company’s ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Company’s products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Company’s industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Company’s ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the USA FDA and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in Ehave, Inc.’s Registration Statement on Form F-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 24, 2015, as amended, which is available on the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov.

For Investor Relations, please contact:

Gabe Rodriguez Phone: (623) 261-9046 Email: erelationsgroup@gmail.com

For Media Inquiries, please contact:

Laura Kam Phone: +972-54-806-8613 Email: laura@kamgs.com

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Ehave, Inc. PsyTech Welcomes Todd Shapiro of Red Light Holland as Moderator in the June 17th Webinar The Future of Psychedelics: A TECHNOLOGY...

How Liv Vasquez Uses Plants & Food for Wellness and Healing – Thrillist

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As people face their issues, Vasquez is there to call out trauma responses so they know to soothe those reactions and keep working through it. While the cannabis, journaling, and talk therapy work helps soothe and process triggers, the psychedelic element can allow you to go deeper into the cause of that trigger.

"In small amounts, on a controlled schedule, you can process a lot of trauma very quickly with psychedelics," says Vasquez. Even those small amounts can shine a light on dark corners of your memory. You dont always know what you will find in those corners. I just let my clients know that they are safe and that I am here for them on the other side of it. When they come back for our next session, we unpack it together.

One thing Vasquez is clear about is that there is no one perfect dose. And there is often trial and error when first laying down dosing guidelines and a schedule. But thats why the communication and journaling are as important an element as the treatments themselves.

Oftentimes, her clients are on the right track when she meets them. They are on their way to getting to the root of their issues, and what she does can help expedite that process by lifting some of the barriers halting their progress. She explains how unresolved trauma can be a distracting burden in this internal work. How living with trauma is like trying unsuccessfully to sleep soundly every night and going through days half exhausted and half awake.

When you acknowledge what triggers your reactions and the feelings that are rooted in trauma, it can free up space in your life, says Vasquez.

"One of my clients is a medium and a mom, she continues. Mediums already kind of live on two planes, and you have to make a LOT of boundaries with ghosts. It can take a lot of energy. She came to me because she was having problems being fully present in both her day-to-day life and her spirit work.

After six weeks of work with Vasquez, on a regimen that included microdosing mushrooms and CBD with low doses of THC on a controlled schedule, the client reported an enormous difference in her day-to-day clarity. In that case, her client just needed help utilizing her time on both planes more efficiently. And Vasquez helped her do so.

Right now, were all doing more internal work during quarantine. If youre experimenting with different modes of wellness, Vasquez recommending everyone start by journaling every step of the way.

When you're starting any new journey in plant-based medicine, or even a new diet, you must be gentle with yourself, explains Vasquez. Start by microdosing once a month, and listen to your mind and your body as you go. Cannabis and psychedelics can affect your psyche so it is important to note your observations and effects in order to make those judgment calls about dose and schedule.

Vasquez also highly recommends having someone to talk to. As a sort of safety net that helps you process the experience, the talk therapy is as important as the substances themselves. Her favorite part of her work is being that perspective; that ally at her clients side as they work through those triggers.

"Helping others with trauma helps me understand my own trauma, she says. When you live with PTSD, and help people with PTSD, there is just no feeling like it. Its validating. I feel like I have truly stepped into my power.

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How Liv Vasquez Uses Plants & Food for Wellness and Healing - Thrillist

CORRECTION: Numinus receives Health Canada licence amendment to produce and extract psilocybin from mushrooms – Canada NewsWire

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VANCOUVER, BC, June 11, 2020 /CNW/ - Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX-V: NUMI) ("Numinus" or the "Company") wishes to correct the original news release dated June 11, 2020 that contained the following errors:

Below is the corrected news release in its entirety with the updated information.

Numinus receives Health Canada licence amendment to produce and extract psilocybin from mushrooms

Numinus becomes first publicly traded company in Canada approved to conduct research of this kind under a Health Canada licence

VANCOUVER (June 11, 2020)Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX-V: NUMI) ("Numinus" or the "Company") has received Health Canada approval to amend the Company's existing Licence under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act to allow Numinus researchers to conduct research to standardize the extraction of psilocybin from mushrooms. The amendment means Numinus is the first publicly traded company in Canada to be granted a licence by Health Canada to conduct research of this kind.

With this regulatory approval, Numinus is able to proceed with the production of naturally sourced, sustainable psilocybin for research purposes that will support the emerging field of psychedelic assisted therapy and research, at lower costs to currently produced synthetic psilocybin. The licence also allows Numinus to develop and licence its own exclusive IP for further product development in partnership with leading research organizations something the research community has been seeking to secure. The work will be eligible for the Government of Canada's Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax incentive program and will lay a foundation for grant applications.

"We are proud to be at the forefront of a new therapeutic category by advancing evidence-based science focused on wellness and personal connection at its core," says Numinus CEO Payton Nyquvest. "Numinus is the only publicly traded company in Canada approved to develop a consistent psilocybin extraction method from naturally-produced mushrooms at a time when alternative therapeutic methods are increasingly being investigated and demand from clinical research is growing."

Working from the 7,000 square-foot Numinus Bioscience research facility and laboratory, senior research scientists Dr. Kristina Grotzinger and Dr. Bernd Keller will focus on developing a proprietary extraction method from mushrooms to allow for consistent dosing and application of naturally produced psilocybin. Once a proprietary method has been developed, the Company intends to explore supply agreements with leading research organizations to make use of the product in their clinical and therapeutic work.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and other leading researchers have published studies showing the benefits of psychedelic substances in treating a range of mental health issues. Further, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy status for psilocybin for the treatment of depression illustrating the growing demand for therapeutic access to psilocybin.

"In most cases, the creation of synthetic compounds are less pure than those found in nature, which is the case with psilocybin," says Dr. Grotzinger. "There is risk of contamination from solvents, gases and other chemicals, which makes them less safe to work with and requires added safety and processing expense. By working directly with the mushroom in its natural state, these risks are reduced, as is the cost to extract the psilocybin." Grotzinger added that standardized plant or fungi extracts are accepted by European standards and are a common dosage form in Europe.

About NuminusNuminus is a Vancouver-based health care company helping to support the universal desire to heal and be well. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Salvation Botanicals, Numinus has a Health Canada cannabis testing licence that allows the Company to test and analyze cannabis products from licensed producers. In addition, it is a late-stage applicant to receive a Health Canada standard processing licence to produce cannabis products. Numinus, through the same subsidiary, also has a dealer's licence which allows the Company to test, possess, buy and sell MDMA, psilocybin, psilocin, DMT and mescaline. The Health Canada license also allows import/export, testing and R&D of these substances. The expanded licence will allow Numinus to support the growing number of studies on the potential benefits of psychedelic therapies through research projects, product development, and the supply and distribution of these substances. Numinus Wellness is dedicated to therapies that enhance and supplement existing options for people wanting lasting physical, mental and emotional health with psychedelic treatments at its core when approved for therapeutic and research use. Psychedelics will be part of this offering but will only be available for treatment once approved by regulators and governing bodies a process Numinus is helping to support. For more information, visit http://www.numinus.ca.

Forward Looking StatementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, municipal, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits to operate and expand the Company's facilities; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including federal and provincial legalization, due to inconsistent public opinion, perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry, bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth; the Company's limited operating history and lack of historical profits; reliance on management; the Company's requirements for additional financing, and the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with research and development institutions, customers and suppliers. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. The Company has no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information or for any other reason except as required by law.

SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.

For further information: Investor Inquiries: [emailprotected]; Media Inquiries: Emily Edwards, NATIONAL, [emailprotected], 604-842-6490; General Inquiries: [emailprotected], 1-833-NUM-INUS (1-833-686-4687); Pour investir et obtenir des renseignements gnraux en franais: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom, [emailprotected], 888-585-6274

https://numinus.ca/

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CORRECTION: Numinus receives Health Canada licence amendment to produce and extract psilocybin from mushrooms - Canada NewsWire

Bitcoin Cash – Investopedia

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What is Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin cash is a cryptocurrency created in August 2017, from a fork of Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash increases the size of blocks, allowing more transactions to be processed. The cryptocurrency underwent another fork in November 2018 and split into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV (Satoshi Vision). Bitcoin Cash is referred to as Bitcoin Cash because it uses the original Bitcoin Cash client.

The difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash is philosophical.

As proposed by Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was meant to be a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was used for daily transactions. Over the years, as it gained mainstream traction and its price surged, Bitcoin became an investment vehicle instead of a currency. Its blockchain witnessed scalability issues because it could not handle the increased number of transactions. The confirmation time and fees for a transaction on bitcoins blockchain surged. This was mainly due to the 1MB block size limitation for bitcoin. Transactions queued up, waiting for confirmation, because blocks could not handle the increase in size for transactions.

Bitcoin Cash proposes to remedy the situation by increasing the size of blocks to between 8 MB and 32 MB, thereby enabling processing of more transactions per block. The average number of transactions per block on Bitcoin is between 1,000 and 1,500. The number of transactions on Bitcoin Cashs blockchain during a stress test in Sep 2018 surged to 25,000 per block.

Major proponents of Bitcoin Cash, such as Roger Ver, often invoke Nakamotos original vision of a payment service as reason to increase block size. According to them, the change in bitcoins block size will enable bitcoins use as a medium for daily transactions and help it compete with multinational credit card processing organizations, such as Visa, which charge high fees to process transactions across borders.

Bitcoin Cash also differs from bitcoin in another respect. It does not incorporate Segregated Witness (SegWit), another solution proposed to accommodate more transactions per block. SegWit retains only information or the metadata relating to a transaction in a block. Typically, all details pertaining to a transaction are stored in a block.

Ideological and block size differences apart, there are several similarities between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Both use the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to mine new coins. They also share the services of Bitmain, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency miner. The supply of Bitcoin Cash is capped at 21 million, the same figure as Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash also started off using the same difficulty algorithm - Emergency Difficulty Adjustment (EDA) which adjusts difficulty every 2016 blocks or roughly every two weeks. Miners took advantage of this similarity by alternating their mining activity between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. While it was profitable for miners, the practice was detrimental to increasing supply of Bitcoin Cash in the markets. Hence, Bitcoin Cash has revised its EDA algorithm to make it easier for miners to generate the cryptocurrency.

In 2010, the average size of a block on Bitcoin's blockchain was less than 100 KB and the average fee for a transaction amounted to a couple of cents. This made its blockchain vulnerable to attacks, consisting entirely of cheap transactions, that could potentially cripple its system. To prevent such a situation, the size of a block on bitcoins blockchain was limited to 1 MB.Each block was generated every 10 minutes, allowing for space and time between successive transactions. The limitation on size and time required to generate a block added another layer of security on bitcoins blockchain.

But those safeguards proved to be a hindrance when bitcoin gained mainstream traction on the back of greater awareness of its potential and enhancements to its platform. The average size of a block had increased to 600K by Jan 2015. The number of transactions using Bitcoin surged, causing a buildup of unconfirmed transactions. The average time to confirm a transaction also moved upwards. Correspondingly, the fee for transaction confirmation also increased, weakening the argument for bitcoin as a competitor to expensive credit card processing systems. (Fees for transactions on bitcoins blockchain are specified by users. Miners typically push transactions with higher fees to the front of the queue in order to maximize profits.)

Two solutions were proposed by developers to solve the problem: increase the average block size or exclude certain parts of a transaction to fit more data into the blockchain. The Bitcoin Core team, which is responsible for developing and maintaining the algorithm that powers bitcoin, blocked the proposal to increase block size. Meanwhile, a new coin with flexible block size was created. But the new coin, which was called Bitcoin Unlimited, was hacked and struggled to gain traction, leading to doubts about its viability as a currency for daily transactions.

The first proposal also drew sharp and diverse reactions from the bitcoin community. Mining behemoth Bitmain was hesitant to support Segwit implementation in blocks because it would affect sales for its AsicBoost miner. The machine contained a patented mining technology that offered a shortcut for miners to generate hashes for crypto mining using less energy. However, Segwit makes it more expensive to mine Bitcoin using the machine because it makes transaction reordering difficult.

Amidst a war of words and staking out of positions by miners and other stakeholders within the cryptocurrency community, Bitcoin Cash was launched in July 2017. Each Bitcoin holder received an equivalent amount of Bitcoin Cash, thereby multiplying the number of coins in existence. Bitcoin Cash debuted on cryptocurrency exchanges at an impressive price of $900. Major cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Itbit, boycotted Bitcoin Cash and did not list it on their exchanges.

But it received vital support from Bitmain, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency mining platform. This ensured a supply of coins for trading at cryptocurrency exchanges, when Bitcoin Cash was launched. At the height of cryptocurrency mania, Bitcoin Cashs price skyrocketed to $4,091 in December 2017.

Paradoxically enough, Bitcoin Cash itself underwent a fork slightly more than a year later due to the same reason it split from Bitcoin. In Nov 2018, Bitcoin Cash split into Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV (Satoshi Vision). This time around, the disagreement was due to proposed protocol updates that incorporated the use of smart contracts onto bitcoins blockchain and increased the average block size.

Bitcoin Cash ABC uses the original Bitcoin Cash client but has incorporated several changes to its blockchain, such as Canonical Transaction Ordering Route (CTOR) which rearrange transactions in a block to a specific order.

Bitcoin Cash SV is led by Craig Wright, who claims to be the original Nakamoto. He rejected the use of smart contracts on a platform that was meant for payment transactions. The drama prior to the latest hard fork was similar to the one before forking Bitcoin Cash from Bitcoin in 2017. But the end has been a happy one as more funds have flowed into the cryptocurrency ecosystem due to the forking and the number of coins available to investors has multiplied. Since launching, both cryptocurrencies have garnered respectable valuations at crypto exchanges.

Bitcoin Cash promised several improvements over its predecessor. But it has yet to deliver on those promises.

The most important one is regarding block size. The average size of blocks mined on Bitcoin Cashs blockchain is much smaller than those on Bitcoins blockchain. The smaller block size means that its main thesis of enabling more transactions through larger blocks is yet to be tested technically. Transaction fees for bitcoin have also dropped significantly, making it a viable competitor to bitcoin cash for daily use.

Other cryptocurrencies aspiring to similar ambitions of becoming a medium for daily transactions have added another wrinkle to Bitcoin Cashs original ambitions. They have staked out projects and partnerships with organizations and governments, at home and abroad. For example, Litecoin announced partnerships with event organizers and professional associations and others, such as Dash, claim to have already gained traction in troubled economies like Venezuela.

While its split from Bitcoin was fairly high-profile, Bitcoin Cash is mostly unknown outside the crypto community and is yet to make major announcements about adoption. Based on transaction levels on blockchain, Bitcoin still has a sizeable lead on its competition.

The second fork on Bitcoin Cashs blockchain also highlights problems with managing its developer pool. That a sizeable section of the pool thought that Bitcoin cash was diluting its original vision is troubling because it opens the door to further splits in the future. Smart contracts are an essential feature of all cryptocurrencies. However, it remains to be seen whether Bitcoin Cash pivots to become a platform for incorporating smart contract for transactions or simply for payment systems.

Bitcoin Cash also does not have a clearly-defined governance protocol. While other cryptocurrencies, such as Dash and Vechain, have innovated and outlined detailed governance protocols that assign voting rights, the development and design of Bitcoin Cash seems to be centralized with its development teams. As such, it is unclear with investors without substantial holdings of the cryptocurrency have voting rights or say in the cryptocurrency's future direction.

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Bitcoin Cash Near Key Inflection Zone: Heres Why BCH Could Rally Again | NewsBTC – newsBTC

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Bitcoin cash price corrected lower from the $270 resistance zone. BCH seems to be preparing for the next crucial break either above $260 or towards the $230 support.

After a strong increase above $250, bitcoin cash price found sellers near the $268 level. BCH price formed a new monthly high near $268 and recently started a downside correction.

There was a break below the $265 support zone and the price even spiked below $250. A low is formed near the $246 level and the price is currently well above the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

The last swing high was near $263 and the recent low was near $246. Bitcoin cash is currently trading in a range (similar to bitcoin) above the $250 support. It tested the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $263 high to $246 low.

More importantly, there is a key contracting triangle forming with resistance near $255 on the 4-hours chart of the BCH/USD pair. The triangle resistance is close to the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $263 high to $246 low.

Therefore, an upside break above the triangle resistance and the $260 level could open the doors for a fresh increase. The next key hurdle is near the $268 and $270 levels, above which the bulls are likely to aim a test of the $300 handle in the near term.

If bitcoin cash price breaks the triangle support, it could even struggle to stay above the $246 swing low. The next major support is near the $244 level or the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

Any further losses could start a steady decline towards the $230 support. Overall, the price could either rally sharply above $260 or start a fresh decline below $250.

Technical indicators

Hourly MACD The MACD for BCH/USD is struggling to gain pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BCH/USD is currently just below the 50 level.

Key Support Levels $250 and $246.

Key Resistance Levels $260 and $270.

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Returns for Bitcoin’s Forks Have Trounced Bitcoin This Year – CoinDesk – CoinDesk

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While bitcoin has outperformed gold and the S&P 500 index in 2020, data shows even better returns among leading bitcoin fork cryptocurrencies.

These cryptocurrencies are created by copying the Bitcoin source code repository through a process called forking. Developers then adjust certain parameters and features in the copied code to create a similar but distinct protocol. According to data from Messari, the three largest bitcoin (BTC) forks by market capitalization are bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin sv (BSV), and bitcoin gold (BTG).

Using an equal-weighted index of the four cryptocurrencies the returns are almost 3.5 times greater than bitcoin alone for the year to date, based onTradingViewdata. Since the beginning of 2019, moreover, this index outperformed bitcoin by a total of 435 percentage points. An equal-weighted index of just the top three bitcoin forks returned gains 3.1 times greater than bitcoin, year to date.

Individually, bitcoin sv and bitcoin gold have outperformed bitcoin by 61 and 37 percentage points, respectively, since the start of 2020. Bitcoin cash outperformed bitcoin until May. Year to date, the largest bitcoin fork has underperformed bitcoin by 11 percentage points, according to TradingView data.

Some analysts arent surprised by these returns. Cryptocurrencies with low and middle market capitalizations like these bitcoin forks tend to outperform bitcoin during marketwide bull runs, said Aditya Das, market analyst at research firm Brave New Coin. Similar trends were observed during the 2017 bullish market cycle, he explained.The miner subsidy for bitcoin and its forks also halved this year, an event that occurs once every four years and is a bullish catalyst for some investors.

These returns are mostly attributable to a strong positive correlation with bitcoins price inflation combined with higher volatility, according to Louis Liu, founder and CIO at Mimesis Capital. Nonetheless, there is definitely alpha in bitcoin forks, he said, referring to the excess returns. However, he says they were not the result of fundamental value added by improving on bitcoin.

As is usually the case, greater returns come with increased risk. Liquidity is one such concern, Das explained.

Only two of the industrys largest exchanges by traded volume, Binance and Bitfinex, support markets for all three top bitcoin forks, according to Nomics. Moreover, the largest bitcoin cash spot market, supported by Binance, is only one-tenth the size of the largest bitcoin market, also on Binance.

Forks such as bitcoin cash and bitcoin sv are likely being used purely as speculative instruments, said Kevin Kelly, former equity analyst at Bloomberg and co-founder of digital asset research firm Delphi Digital.

Whats more, he added, the liquidity profile and long-term value proposition of bitcoin forks is drastically different, if even existent, when compared to bitcoin.

UPDATE (June 9, 2020 14:46 UTC):This piece has been updated to reflect the returns of an equal-weighted index of bitcoin and its top three forks as 3.5 times greater than bitcoin returns, not 14 times greater as originally stated. Also added are returns of an equal-weighted index comprised of only the top three forks.

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

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The Difference Between Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash

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Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash: An Overview

Since its inception, there have been questions surrounding bitcoins ability to scale effectively. Transactions involving the digital currency bitcoin are processed, verified, and stored within a digital ledger known as a blockchain. Blockchain is a revolutionary ledger-recording technology. It makes ledgers far more difficult to manipulate because the reality of what has transpired is verified by majority rule, not by an individual actor. Additionally, this network is decentralized; it exists on computers all over the world.

The problem with blockchain technology in the Bitcoin network is that its slow, especially in comparison to banks that deal with credit card transactions. Popular credit card company Visa, Inc. (V), for instance, processes close to 150 million transactions per day, averaging roughly 1,700 transactions per second. The company's capability actually far surpasses that, at 65,000 transaction messages per second.

How many transactions can the bitcoin network process per second? Seven. Transactions can take several minutes or more to process. As the network of bitcoin users has grown, waiting times have become longer because there are more transactions to process without a change in the underlying technology that processes them.

Ongoing debates around bitcoins technology have been concerned with this central problem of scaling and increasing the speed of the transaction verification process. Developers and cryptocurrency miners have come up with two major solutions to this problem. The first involves making the amount of data that needs to be verified in each block smaller, thus creating transactions that are faster and cheaper, while the second requires making the blocks of data bigger, so that more information can be processed at one time. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) developed out of these solutions. Below, we'll take a closer look at how bitcoin and BCH differ from one another.

In July 2017, mining pools and companies representing roughly 80 percent to 90 percent of bitcoin computing power voted to incorporate a technology known as a segregated witness, called SegWit2x. SegWit2x makes the amount of data that needs to be verified in each block smaller by removing signature data from the block of data that needs to be processed in each transaction and having it attached in an extended block. Signature data has been estimated to account for up to 65 percent of data processed in each block, so this is not an insignificant technological shift. Talk of doubling the size of blocksfrom 1 MB to 2 MB ramped up in 2017 and 2018, and, as of February 2019, the average block size of bitcoin increased to 1.305 MB, surpassing previous records. By January 2020, however, block size has declined back toward 1 MB on average. The larger block size helps in terms of improving bitcoins scalability. In September 2017, research released by cryptocurrency exchange BitMex showed that SegWit implementation had helped increase the block size, amid a steady adoption rate for the technology.

Bitcoin Cash is a different story. Bitcoin Cash was started by bitcoin miners and developers equally concerned with the future of the cryptocurrency and its ability to scale effectively. However, these individuals had their reservations about the adoption of a segregated witness technology. They felt as though SegWit2x did not address the fundamental problem of scalability in a meaningful way, nor did it follow the roadmap initially outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous party that first proposed the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the process of introducing SegWit2x as the road forward was anything but transparent, and there were concerns that its introduction undermined the decentralization and democratization of the currency.

In August 2017, some miners and developers initiated what is known as a hard fork, effectively creating a new currency: BCH. BCH has its own blockchain and specifications, including one very important distinction from bitcoin. BCH has implemented an increased block size of 8 MB to accelerate the verification process, with an adjustable level of difficulty to ensure the chains survival and transaction verification speed, regardless of the number of miners supporting it.

Bitcoin Cash is thus able to process transactions more quickly than the Bitcoin network, meaning that wait times are shorter and transaction processing fees tend to be lower. The Bitcoin Cash network can handle many more transactions per second than the Bitcoin network can. However, with the faster transaction verification time comes downsides as well. One potential issue with the larger block size associated with BCH is that security could be compromised relative to the Bitcoin network. Similarly, bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency in the world as well as the largest by market cap, so users of BCH may find that liquidity and real-world usability is lower than for bitcoin.

The debate about scalability, transaction processing and blocks has continued beyond the fork which led to Bitcoin Cash. In November of 2018, for example, the Bitcoin Cash network experienced its own hard fork, resulting in the creation of yet another derivation of bitcoin called Bitcoin SV. Bitcoin SV was created in an effort to stay true to the original vision for bitcoin that Satoshi Nakamoto described in the bitcoin white paper while also making modifications to facilitate scalability and faster transaction speeds. The debate about the future of bitcoin appears to show no signs of being resolved.

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The Difference Between Bitcoin vs. Bitcoin Cash

The Crypto Daily Movers and Shakers -08/06/20 – Yahoo Finance

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Bitcoin rose by 0.81% on Sunday. Following on from a 0.50% gain on Saturday, Bitcoin ended the week up by 3.13% to $9,747.1.

A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $9,710.7 before hitting reverse.

Coming up short of the first major resistance level at $9,756.27, Bitcoin slid to an early afternoon intraday low $9,393.8.

Bitcoin fell through the first major support level at $9,566.57 and the second major support level at $9,464.73.

Finding late support, however, Bitcoin rallied to a late afternoon intraday high $9,814.0.

Bitcoin broke through the first major resistance level at $9,756.27 before easing back to sub-$9,700 levels. A late rally led to a move back through to $9,700 levels. The first major resistance level capped the upside in the final hour, however.

The near-term bullish trend remained intact, supported by last weeks gain.

For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $6,400 to form a near-term bearish trend.

Across the rest of the majors, it was yet another mixed day for the majors on Sunday.

Trons TRX rallied by 6.86% to lead the way.

Cardanos ADA (+0.35%), EOS (+0.55%), and Ethereum (+1.20%) joined Bitcoin in the green.

It was a bearish end to the week for the rest of the majors, however.

Bitcoin Cash ABC slid by 6.8% to lead the way down.

Bitcoin Cash SV (-1.13%), Moneros XMR (-1.54%), Stellars Lumen (-1.85%), and Tezos (-1.31%) also struggled.

Binance Coin (-0.80%), Litecoin (-0.30%), and Ripples XRP (-0.05%) saw modest losses on the day.

It was also a mixed week for the majors.

Bitcoin Cash ABC and Bitcoin Cash SV bucked the trend, with losses of 0.02% and 1.76% respectively.

It was a bullish week for the rest of the pack, however.

Cardanos ADA, Stellars Lumen, and Trons TRX led the way, with gains of 17.08, 12.65%, and 14.9% respectively.

Binance Coin (1.93%), EOS (+5.17%), Ethereum (+5.78%), Litecoin (+2.30%), Moneros XMR (-2.53%), and Tezos (+2.88%) also found strong support.

Ripples XRP saw a more modest 0.49% gain for the week.

Through the week, the crypto total market cap rose to a Monday high $289.13bn before sliding to a Tuesday low $252.62bn. At the time of writing, the total market cap stood at $272.05bn.

At the start of the week, Bitcoins rose to a Monday high 67.13% before falling to a Thursday low 65.58%. At the time of writing, Bitcoins dominance stood at 65.97%.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin was up by 0.19% to $9,765.8. A mixed start to the day saw Bitcoin rise to an early morning high $9,785.7 before falling to a low $9,745.0.

Bitcoin left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

Elsewhere, it was another mixed start to the day.

Binance Coin (+0.64%), Bitcoin Cash ABC (+0.38%), Bitcoin Cash SV (+0.09%), Litecoin (+0.21%), Moneros XMR (+0.05%), and Stellars Lumen (+0.13%) joined Bitcoin in the green.

It was a bearish start to the week for the rest of the majors. At the time of writing, Trons TRX was down by 1.00% to lead the way down.

Bitcoin would need to move back through to $9,800 levels to bring the first major resistance level at $9,909.47 into play.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Bitcoin to break out from Sundays high $9,814.0.

Story continues

Barring another broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level would likely limit any upside.

In the event of an extended crypto rally, Bitcoin could eye the second major resistance level at $10,071.83 before any pullback. Expect plenty of resistance at $9,900, however

Failure to move through to $9,800 levels could see Bitcoin struggle on the day.

A fall back through the morning low $9,745.0 to sub-$9,650 levels would bring the first major support level at $9,489.27 into play.

Barring an extended crypto sell-off, however, Bitcoin should steer clear of the second major support level at $9,231.43.

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

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U.S. Marshals Hiring Crypto Expert to Manage Massive Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin Holdings – The Daily Hodl

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The U.S. Marshals Service is ramping up its search for an expert to help organize a trove of crypto assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin.

The agency is now looking for a contractor who can help seize, maintain, store, sell and dispose proceeds from illegal activities, recovered from criminals who turn to virtual assets because of the perceived anonymity and privacy of transactions.

The USMS is also offering details on just how much cryptocurrency it holds.

Heres a look at a three-year average of its crypto portfolio, featuring more than $65 million in Bitcoin and $9 million in Ethereum.

The agency wants amanager who can handle the intricacies of crypto asset management such as creating wallets, managing blockchain forks and transferring tokens.

This includes but is not limited to such activities as accounting, customer management, audit compliance, managing blockchain forks, wallet creation and management, private encryption key generation and safekeeping, backup and recovery of private encryption key material, airdrops, etc., as well as future actions associated with the virtual currency forfeiture process.

The contract will be for one year, but can be extended for an additional four years if necessary.

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U.S. Marshals Hiring Crypto Expert to Manage Massive Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin Holdings - The Daily Hodl

Bitcoin Cash Smashes Key Resistance: Heres Why It Could Retest $270 | NewsBTC – newsBTC

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Bitcoin cash price is showing positive signs and it is trading above the $250 support. BCH is likely to continue higher and it might break the $265 and $270 resistance levels.

After a downside correction, bitcoin cash price found support near the $245 zone. BCH price traded as low as $246 and recently started a fresh increase. It broke the $250 resistance and remained well above the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

There was a break above the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $263 high to $246 low. More importantly, there was a break above a key contracting triangle with resistance near $255 on the 4-hours chart of the BCH/USD pair.

The pair is now trading above the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $263 high to $246 low. It seems like bitcoin cash is likely to continue higher above the $260 level.

An initial resistance is near the $268 level or the 1.236 Fib extension level of the downward move from the $263 high to $246 low. If the price breaks the $268 resistance, it is likely to rise further towards the $280 and $285 resistance levels in the near term.

If bitcoin cash price corrects lower in the short term, it might find support near the triangle lower trend line at $252 or $250. The main support is now forming near the $248 zone and the 100 simple moving average (4-hours).

A downside break below the $248 support and a close below the 100 SMA could initiate a sharp decline and the price may perhaps revisit the $230 support zone in the coming sessions.

Technical indicators

Hourly MACD The MACD for BCH/USD is now slowly gaining pace in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BCH/USD is currently well above the 50 level, with positive signs.

Key Support Levels $250 and $248.

Key Resistance Levels $268 and $280.

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Bitcoin Cash Smashes Key Resistance: Heres Why It Could Retest $270 | NewsBTC - newsBTC