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Global Cloud Computing Market Competitive Analysis 2019 By Top Companies Strategies Till 2028 – Sound On Sound Fest

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

New York City, NY: Dec 02, 2019 Published via (Wired Release) The research offers the Cloud Computing Market 2019 Basics:Definitions, categorization, software, and analysis. Furthermore focuses on market product stipulation, arrangements, procedures, Cloud Computing improvement and so on. Thereafter, it studies the worldwide Cloud Computing market vital regional market demands. For example, profit, potential, stock price, manufacture, dispersion, requirement development speed, and forecasting, etc. In the long run, this market report set up SWOT analysis.

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Segregation of the Global Cloud Computing Market:

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Cloud Computing Market Segmentation, By Deployment: Private Cloud, Community Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Public Cloud. Cloud Computing Market, By Service:Platform as a Service (PaaS),Infrastructure as Service (IaaS),Software as a Service (SaaS)

Cloud Computing Market Report Figures The Below Companies:

CA TechnologiesCisco SystemsGoogleHPAmazon.ComIBMMicrosoftSAP AGYahoo! IncOracleFlexiantCitrix Systems IncENKI ConsultingAkamai Technologies IncCitrix SystemsInc

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Global Cloud Computing Market Competitive Analysis 2019 By Top Companies Strategies Till 2028 - Sound On Sound Fest

Crypto Is UnstoppableIs Bitcoin Really On The Cusp Of A Huge Santa Rally? – Forbes

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets have been trapped in a downward trend for months, but with just a few weeks until Christmas and bitcoin bulls still upbeat, could we be in for (another) Santa rally?

The bitcoin price is around half its year-to-date highs, with most altcoins (but not all) struggling to keep pace with bitcoin and having a worse time of it.

Now, bitcoin and crypto heavyweights are predicting a sudden price surge, technical data is looking positive, and recent developments suggest 2020 could be a big year for bitcoin.

A so-called Santa rally is when markets get a boost in the run up to Christmas and bitcoin has ... [+] historically seen some of its biggest bull runs through December.

"We will see $10,000 bitcoin again and welcome $100,000," ethereum cofounder and creator of bitcoin rival cardano, Charles Hoskinson, said last week, brushing off suggestions bitcoin could be in terminal decline as so-called FUDfear, uncertainty and doubt. "Crypto is unstoppable. Crypto is the future."

If bitcoin does stage a late in the year rally, it wouldn't be the first time crypto markets have soared in December. Towards the end of 2013 bitcoin rocketed to what was an all-time high of over $1,000 per bitcoin.

A few years later, December 2017 saw bitcoin's epic bull run peak at almost $20,000. But a lot has changed since then.

"I think bitcoin's weakness since July is understandable," Tom Lee, head of research at bitcoin and crypto strategy boutique Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC in a recent interview, blaming the decline on increased regulatory scrutiny on crypto in the wake of Facebook's troubled libra project and U.S. president Donald Trump's criticism of bitcoin.

"I don't think adoption has really grown since July and if you can't grow adoption, network effects don't take place and so bitcoin drifts lower. But does this change the 10-year, five-year, or even two-year outlook for bitcoin? I don't think so."

Lee is upbeat about the year ahead, pointing to new money flowing into crypto markets as equity reaches new highs, the eagerly-anticipated bitcoin halvening, scheduled for May, and China's growing interest in bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology.

Meanwhile, technical data remains surprisingly positive for bitcoin.

Bitcoin chart watchers are eyeing the so-called Trading Envelope Indicator, which could be "a crucial inflection point," according to analysis by financial newswire Bloomberg.

A break below the indicator's lower band could mean a sudden sell-off, though a bounce could herald a rally of around 15%.

Elsewhere, bitcoin's "bullish three-day chart pattern is still intact," bitcoin, crypto and blockchain news outlet Coindesk has found.

Bitcoin's two biggest bull runs have both happened in the run up to Christmas, with many in the ... [+] bitcoin and crypto industry hoping history will repeat itself this year.

However, a bitcoin mini-rally over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which saw the bitcoin price add over 10% in less than 48-hours, has been almost erasedand some are beginning to doubt a fresh breakout could be imminent.

"My conviction level has come down quite a bit. Particularly, as the continuation and strong breakout has yet to develop," Mati Greenspan, the founder of research outfit Quantum Economics and formerly of brokerage eToro, wrote in a note yesterday.

"It's also worth noting that neither sentiment nor volumes have seen any drastic improvement over the weekend and are once again at the lows. Still, nothing changes sentiment like price and a strong push above $8,000 at this point could very easily pave the way to the recent highs near $14,000."

The bitcoin price is now trading at around $7,300 per bitcoin, up from around $3,500 at the beginning of the year.

Despite insistence from bitcoin bulls that a return to all-time highs is just around the corner, bitcoin holders might have to be happy with a mere doubling of prices in 2019.

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Crypto Is UnstoppableIs Bitcoin Really On The Cusp Of A Huge Santa Rally? - Forbes

Bitcoin Trades Range-Bound As Investors Wait And See – Forbes

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Bitcoin markets have been suffering a certain malaise lately, showing little volatility.

Bitcoin prices have been trading within a relatively tight range lately, experiencing minimal volatility as market observers wait for the next major catalyst to drive the cryptocurrency higher or lower.

The digital asset started moving primarily between $7,200 and $7,800 late last month, narrowing to a smaller range of roughly $7,200 to $7,400 on November 30th, CoinDesk price data shows.

The cryptocurrency has been experiencing this relative calm as it follows a broader, downward trend, during which it has repeatedly notched lower highs, additional CoinDesk figures reveal.

[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]

Bitcoin is in a general downward trend with temporary technical bounces from oversold price points, said Joe DiPasquale, CEO of cryptocurrency hedge fund managerBitBull Capital.

The upcoming holiday season may also result in thinning volumes, adding further pressure on the price, he added.

Meanwhile, investors have adopted a wait and watch approach to see if any market catalysts help conclusively drive the market in a particular direction, concluded DiPasquale.

Bullish Technicals

While bitcoin has managed to stay within a reasonably defined range over the last several days, it has also been displaying some bullish technical signals, giving market observers hope that it may experience a positive breakout soon.

Mati Greenspan, founder of the newsletterQuantum Economics, weighed in on these developments, helping shed some light on the situation.

Over the last week, technical indicators have shown signs that a reversal may be in the cards soon, he stated.

At the moment, sentiment and volumes are at the lows. A strong push past the $8,000 [level] could very easily open the way back to the recent highs of $14,000, said Greenspan.

At the same time, Greenspan emphasized the limited nature of relying on technical analysis, noting that past performance is not always an indication of future results.

Adam Vettese, an investment analyst for eToro, also weighed in, stating that the technical picture is encouraging but not conclusive.

The price action still has a little bit further to go to reverse the long-standing downtrend, he added, so I would want to see a bit of a stronger reversal first.

Sentiment Data

Crypto investors have been particularly bullish or bearish, according to sentiment figures provided by cryptocurrency analytics platformTheTIE.io.

From a short-term point of view Bitcoin sentiment is very flat, Joshua Frank, cofounder of TheTIE.io, said yesterday.

Tweet volumes today are below average and daily Bitcoin sentiment is sitting right around 54% (neutral), he added.

The chart below depicts the relationship between price, daily sentiment and tweet volume:

Bitcoin prices, sentiment data and tweet volume.

There is nothing to suggest a strong upwards movement is coming from a purely sentiment point of view, said Frank.

Waiting For Whats Next

Considering the widespread malaise affecting the bitcoin markets, Marouane Garcon, managing director of crypto-to-crypto derivatives platformAmulet, summed up the mindset of many traders, investors and analysts.

I think that were all waiting for whats next, he stated.

I think the market needs more utility, added Garcon.

He mentioned decentralized finance, describing it as an exciting sector thats experiencing great growth and it has a great use case.

There needs to be a reason or several reasons for people to get excited about crypto again, said Garcon.

Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether and EOS.

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Bitcoin Trades Range-Bound As Investors Wait And See - Forbes

Now Is One of the Top 3 Greatest Buying Opportunities for Bitcoin: Analyst – CCN.com

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

The top analysts on Crypto Twitter (CT) are seeing a bloody Christmas for bitcoin. Many widely-followed accounts are predicting a price drop to between $6,000 and $5,000. If theyre right, then bitcoin is headed for another 30% plunge after already retracing by nearly 50% from this years high of $13,880.

These traders have amassed huge followings because they present scenarios that are likely to play out. But they dont always get it right. Its worthwhile to find gems or exceptional analysts who have a few hundred followers. They dont get a lot of attention because some of them present contrarian ideas. One of them is Riggs; the quant analyst boldly claims that the recent bitcoin dip is a gift to bitcoin holders.

What a time, thats how Riggs ended his tweet about bitcoin that has garnered close to 900 likes. Those concluding words indicate the analysts level of confidence. According to Riggs, the number one cryptocurrency is at a price level that looks extremely attractive. The trader emphasized that there were only two other instances in bitcoins history that offered the same buying opportunity.

To drive his claim, the trader points to the beginning of the 2013 and 2017 bull markets. In both periods, bitcoin had just risen from a crippling bear market.

The surge in price was then followed by a significant pullback. The three arrows on the chart point to the instances when the price touched the green indicator. Those moments appear to mark the end of the retracement.

These times offered the best chances to enter the market before the top cryptocurrency went into the stratosphere. They seem to have offered minimum risks and maximum growth opportunities.

The quant analyst is not only relying on charts to argue his ultra bullish case. The trader also mentioned upheavals around the world that might spark demand for the dominant cryptocurrency. In a tweet, Riggs wrote,

Millions already need BTC to survive, to send money to their families, to preserve their wealth.

Trader Riggs bolsters his assertions by plotting a chart of bitcoins supply and demand over time. Based on the chart, demand for bitcoin would plummet before we enter 2020. However, it will eventually pick up and then skyrocket towards the end of 2020.

On the other hand, supply would take a nosedive next year. This is somewhat accurate because the May 2020 halving would decrease block rewards by half.

Trader Riggs presents a compelling bullish narrative but its still wise to practice risk management strategies to protect your capital. Think about setting stops in accordance to your risk appetite. You can also consider buying other assets.

Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, echoes these sentiments. When asked if bitcoins price is a godsend to long-term holders, the trader told CCN,

No, bitcoin is a risky asset.

The analyst added,

As it seems to me at the moment it could be undervalued. But Ive been wrong before. Any investment in emerging technology comes with a great deal of risk, which is why we continuously research and always diversify.

After a 50% bitcoin retracement, Riggs tells us that its time to buy despite the warnings of many big CT accounts. Only time will tell whos right.

Disclaimer: The above should not be considered trading advice from CCN. The writer owns bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.

This article was edited by Sam Bourgi.

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Now Is One of the Top 3 Greatest Buying Opportunities for Bitcoin: Analyst - CCN.com

Watch the first-ever bitcoin TV commercial launched in France – Fox Business

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Thomas Lee on how to invest in bitcoin, why he considers bitcoin to be a safe haven, the state of the markets and why he does not predict a recession.

Bitcoin is making waves again with its first TV ad in France.

The 18-second spot, which has been running multiple times a day on the countrys free-to-air station, TF1, advertises services from Paris-based financial firmKeplerk. The company allows people to exchange money for bitcoin at about 6,500 local convenience stores.

Customers can buy physical vouchers in the amounts of 50 euros, 100 euros or 250 euros, and, after a processing fee, convert them into bitcoin that appear in their mobile wallet.

Oh c'est sympa a! one Twitter user wrote, which translates to Oh, thats nice!

Digital currency has been gaining momentum in France, ranking on Bitcoinists top-20 countries adopting the tech. BeInCrypto, which reported news of the ad, said another campaign was launched months ago to allow bitcoin payments in 25,000 locations.

And other reports have predicted a bitcoin boom in the country on the news that more and more retailers there are preparing to accept the currency at some point in 2020.

This is not the first time bitcoin has appeared on TV, however. Earlier this year, in the United States, a national ad from New York-based crypto investment firm Grayscale Investmentsran urging investors to forgo gold and pick up bitcoin instead.

You see where things are going, it said. Digital currencies like bitcoin are the future.

THE FCC IS MAKING IT EASIER FOR POLICE TO FIND YOU

According to a report from Coincodex, the United States is among the top countries in terms of share of bitcoin users, making ita prime market for more digital currency TV ads.

CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO

Strict state-level regulations, though, could make firms wary of launching new initiatives.

The value of one bitcoin is currently hovering around $7,700.

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Danish bank staff banned from buying Bitcoin with their own money urged to dump holdings – The Next Web

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

A Danish bank has successfully won a court case that means it can now prevent its staff from buying Bitcoin BTC and other cryptocurrencies.

That sounds fine on the surface, but a potential ban doesnt refer to buying cryptocurrency on the job, it extends into employees private lives.

According to a release made by Danish court yesterday, Nordea Bank is now free to prevent its staff from buying and trading cryptocurrencies in their own time, Bloomberg reports. They are also banned from buying crypto on behalf of others too.

How the bank will enforce a ban and what happens if someone breaches the policy remains unclear.

The bank will let its staff continue to hold any crypto they already own, but it is encouraging them to sell what they have and refrain from making future investments.

The dystopia is here.

Nordea bank has cited risks and a lack of industry regulation for its decision to advise staff against messing with the digital assets. But even so, a company dictating what staff can and cant do in their personal lives seems to be overstepping a boundary.

But thats not all.

Nordea will let its staff invest in the banks own cryptocurrency-based products and financial instruments. So thats ok? But regular Bitcoin isnt, go figure.

Product development staff at Nordea will be allowed to make minor investments in cryptocurrency if they have a legitimate business reason for doing so.

The irony doesnt stop there, though. As CoinDesk points out, Nordea bank has previously been investigated for money laundering. Reuters reported earlier this year that the banks headquarters were searched in relation to the claims.

The court-issued press release also says that staff should not conduct trades in financial instruments to the point that it puts their own financial position in jeopardy.

Sure it sounds bad, and the thought of a company dictating what its staff can and cant do outside of work makes my skin crawl, but it would look quite bad for a bank to have employees that appear to make awful financial decisions. It makes sense that a bank wouldnt want its staff taking risks on Bitcoin, it happens to the best of us.

Published December 3, 2019 16:01 UTC

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Danish bank staff banned from buying Bitcoin with their own money urged to dump holdings - The Next Web

Bitcoin Corrects And What’s Next – Seeking Alpha

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Editor's note: Seeking Alpha is proud to welcome M. Zack Norman as a new contributor. It's easy to become a Seeking Alpha contributor and earn money for your best investment ideas. Active contributors also get free access to SA PREMIUM. Click here to find out more

While Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and cryptocurrency prices have sharply corrected downwards, it may have already signaled a new bottom at $6,500, as it has bounced sharply to the $7,400 resistance point within hours, marking increased accumulation pending the +50% pullback.

Source: Coin360

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a large market rout, with overall market cap dropping to below $200 billion for the first time since May 10th 2019 at the end of the months long crypto winter, talked about as the crash of November 2018.

Source: TradingView (Zack Norman)

Bitcoin dropped to below $7,000 for the first time since May 17th, 2019, touching a new low of around $6,500 on November 25th, 2019. This marked a +52% pullback from 2019's high of $13,800 on June 26th, 2019.

Source: TradingView (Zack Norman)

Just a month before in late October, Bitcoin along with other cryptocurrency pairs had risen +40% (Bitcoin rose to a high of $10,600) after positive comments by the President of China, Xi Jinping, as he endorsed China's development of the Blockchain industry, and sought to harness the abilities of its technology for China's industrial growth. However, no mentions were made then of any cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.

Source: TradingView (Zack Norman)

Soon thereafter, Chinese citizens started to search the internet about "Blockchain", with search results reaching new highs, with a +1,382.79% daily surge on Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU).

Surging search volumes for "Blockchain", and modest increase for "Bitcoin" on Baidu and WeChat. Source: The Block

On November 11th, 2019, China's largest and most influential state news agency, Xinhua, published an article headlining Bitcoin, titled Bitcoin: The First Successful Application of Blockchain Technology on their newspaper. The article itself explained the various machinations of Bitcoin, such as how Blockchain works, currency mining, and P2P transactions. China had also lifted cryptocurrency mining from its blacklist, thus pulling it from a grey-area that long remained legal, but controversial.

1) As these developments were viewed as a positive sign forward for cryptocurrencies, it opened the doors for increased speculation. However, the overreaction was soon made aware by China's authorities, as they made attempts to further increase scrutiny of cryptocurrencies, as reported by CoinDesk and The Block.

Their crackdowns began targeting companies and projects related to cryptocurrency and Blockchain, citing fraudulent activities. The action undertaken by Chinese authorities is widely agreed to be the primary cause for the recent plunge to $6,500, as investors and traders are fearful of any potential ban as China plans on releasing its own digital currency soon.

2) Another reason to be concerned about is potential miner capitulation. As more cryptocurrency miners are losing their net worth due to market downturns, they are obliged to sell more of their cryptocurrency holdings to maintain their operations, and if necessary to upgrade their hardware. A market downturn, as is with the current +50% pullback, will push more miners to capitulate, and to dump their cryptocurrency holdings onto public exchanges, thus increasing supply with only moderate demand.

According to data from Blockchain.com, cryptocurrency miners' revenue have also dropped to its lowest level since May 2019. Source: Blockchain.

On TradingView, The Hash Ribbons indicator is a useful tool to identify potential miner capitulation, by also taking into account hash rate and momentum. Grey circles show a potential beginning to miner capitulation, while succeeding green circles mark a recovery period, with blue circles indicating good buying opportunities.

Historically, miner capitulations have not always had a significant impact on price. However, there are uncertainties now, as we are seeing more institutional entry into cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin is only 6 months away from halving in 2020.

Source: TradingView (Zack Norman)

The capitulation may have already started, as analyst ByteTree has shown on Reddit; one cryptocurrency miner placed a large $17.6 million sell order, thus dumping into the markets just around the descending $8,000 mark, days before the current downturn.

Source: ByteTree (Reddit)

3) Next, the liquidity markets in the cryptocurrency space are at the lowest in recent months, with bid-ask offers widening sharply in the past 3 months, further exacerbated by the downturn, following miners dumping their holdings onto the open markets to maintain their operability. Here, VanEck director, Gabor Gurbacs, quoted data from Skew Markets, showing increasing bid-offer spreads on some cryptocurrency exchanges.

Source: Gabor Gurbacs, Skew Markets (Twitter)

The lack of liquidity has also been blamed on China's recent crackdowns, thus creating a negative sentiment for investors and traders, as they attempt to avoid trading on the markets until further news from China comes out.

From the low of $6,500 on November 25th, 2019, it took about 7 hours later for the price to rebound above $7,000, as investors and traders are buying the dip. As of December 3rd, 2019, prices have settled near the $7,400 mark, as it was rejected sharply at the $7,800 resistance.

It's worth mentioning, however, that prices dipped slightly on November 27th, 2019, under $7,000 after cryptocurrency exchange UpBit announced a cybertheft of $50 million worth of Ethereum tokens.

Source: Coin360

Historically, Bitcoin usually has a roughly 40-50% pullback after every rapid upwards surge. Since mid-December 2018 until late-June 2019, Bitcoin surged approximately +340% in that 6-7 month period. It has currently pulled back marginally more than usual, by approximately 52% from its late-June 2019 highs of $13,800.

Currently, there are 2 issues that could play critical to Bitcoin's price and the overall cryptocurrency market, which is what we need to look out for - 1) if there are any further negative news to come out of China, and what their crackdowns may lead to; 2) whether there is continued market illiquidity, and whether cryptocurrency miners are capitulating en masse.

Disclosure: I am/we are long BTC-USD. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Bitcoin Corrects And What's Next - Seeking Alpha

Here Are The Key Bitcoin Levels To Watch – Forbes

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

(Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

After hitting nearly $14,000 in late June, Bitcoin has disappointed investors by falling 50%. Bitcoins price action over the past five months appears to be forming a channel pattern as the cryptocurrency bounces between its downward-sloping support and resistance lines. A decisive, high-volume break above this channel would signal that further gains are likely ahead, while a break below this channel would increase the probability of further downside action. It is also important to keep an eye on the $6,000 support level that has played an important role in the past two years.

Bitcoin Daily Chart

The weekly Bitcoin chart puts the $6,000 support level and the price channel of the past five months into better perspective. If Bitcoin is going to launch another bullish move, the $6,000 support would be an important base to do it from. If Bitcoin breaks below both its price channel and the $6,000 support level, it would increase the probability of further bearish action as the 2019 rally continues to unravel.

Bitcoin Weekly Chart

For now, investors and traders should keep an eye on how Bitcoin acts within its channel and at its critical $6,000 support level.

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Here Are The Key Bitcoin Levels To Watch - Forbes

Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Keeps Dumping BTC Blamed for Bearish Price Action – U.Today

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Cover image via 123rf.com

Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here is not investment advice it is provided for informational purposes only. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of U.Today. Every investment and all trading involves risk, so you should always perform your own research prior to making decisions. We do not recommend investing money you cannot afford to lose.

On Tuesday, the XRP price slid below the $0.22 level where it had been holding for a long while. At the time of writing, the third largest coin is trading at $0.2149, instead of sitting at $0.219 yesterday.

Image via CoinMarketCap

Earlier today, the Whale Alert Twitter page published data about a 25-mlnXRP transferred. Just like on December 1, when 1 bln XRP was released from Ripple'sescrow vault, the community is again talking of an upcoming price dump, since more coins are obviouslyabout to be injected to the market.

Whale Alert reports that 25 mln XRP (thats $5,365,381) has been sent from Binance to Coinbase earlier today.

Every month, Ripple, which has 55 percent of the total XRP supply in control, unlocks 1 bln coins. Many believe that it is preventing the XRP price from surging. On December 1, onebln XRP was unlocked again and the community went mad, accusing Ripple and its co-founder Jed McCaleb now also the founder of Stellar Lumens since he regularly receives enormous XRP payments from Ripple.

This time, however, the 25 mln XRP transfer was made from Binance to Coinbase. Even though, one Twitter user commented that the sender may be using Coinbase for its custodial services, the majority of users believe that the XRP price will be forced to plunge soon.

Recently, U.Today reported that a crypto influencer @Crypto_bitlord accused Ripple of using XRP for purchasing real lifebusiness. As an example he referred to MoneyGram, saying that now after the recent investment Ripple owns a 10-percent stake at this global remittance giant.

Previously, when standing up to these accusations on Twitter, the CEO Brad Garlinghlouse told the community that these XRP sales are used for improving the Ripple ecosystem.

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Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Keeps Dumping BTC Blamed for Bearish Price Action - U.Today

Move Over Jack Dorsey And Elon Musk, Theres A New Bitcoin Believer In Silicon Valley – Forbes

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Bitcoin's epic 2017 bull run was at least partly inspired by interest in bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain from the world's biggest banks and financial institutions.

This year it was the turn of tech companies to boost bitcoin. After falling sharply in 2018, the bitcoin price rallied hard in the first half of 2019 due to tech companies from social media giant Facebook to iPhone-maker Apple eyeing bitcoin and crypto.

Now, with the likes of Tesla's Elon Musk and Twitter's Jack Dorsey talking up bitcoin, PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman has revealed he's a bitcoin believer.

PayPal's CEO Dan Schulman said he holds bitcoin and only bitcoin.

"Yes, only [bitcoin]," Schulman told Fortune magazine in response to being asked whether he holds any cryptocurrencies.

Schulman's attitude to bitcoin and crypto reflects the wider market, with many increasingly confident bitcoin will remain the largest and most popular cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin's dominance, its value compared to the whole cryptocurrency market, has risen this year as so-called altcoins are sold off. Bitcoin dominance now sits at around 65%, up from around 50% at the beginning of the year, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Schulman, who was speaking to the magazine after he pulled PayPal out of Facebook's troubled libra cryptocurrency project, also confirmed earlier reports the company has teams working on blockchain and cryptocurrency.

"We think theres a lot of promise to blockchain technology," Schulman said. "Its intriguing to us, but it really needs to do something that the traditional rails cant do."

"On the crypto side, its still very volatile, and therefore, we dont have much demand for it by merchants because merchants operate on very small margins.

"That doesnt mean that I dont think crypto is an interesting idea ... more commodity-like than it is cash-like right now. But you can think of use cases in different countries and different places where it can be more stable than the alternatives."

Many in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency industry were excited by Schulman's revelation, taking it as an endorsement of bitcoin and its potential.

"PayPal CEO owns bitcoin. Thats it. No other crypto. Only bitcoin," said crypto investor and co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital Assets, Anthony Pompliano, via Twitter, adding a fire emoji.

The bitcoin price was sent sharply higher this year as some of the world's biggest technology ... [+] companies began to develop their own bitcoin rivals.

In June, PayPal was revealed to be one of Facebook's 28 founding members of the Libra Association but the company backed out in October along with payments rivals Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe.

Facebook, the world's largest social media network that includes messaging app WhatsApp and image-based Instagram,is scrambling to make its June 2020 launch date for its bitcoin rival libraagainstmounting regulatory scrutiny and internal strife.

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Move Over Jack Dorsey And Elon Musk, Theres A New Bitcoin Believer In Silicon Valley - Forbes

The North American Bitcoin Conference Re-Engages CryptoCurrencyWire to Serve as the Official Newswire of the Longest-Running Blockchain-Focused Event…

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

NEW YORK, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkWire CryptoCurrencyWire(CCW), a multifaceted financial news and publishing company, is pleased to announce it will serve as the official newswire forThe North America Bitcoin Conference, slated for Jan. 15-17, 2020, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. The North America Bitcoin Conference Miami (BTC Miami) has a well-earned reputation as a must-attend event for every facet of the blockchain and crypto industries.

CCW will leverage its array ofcorporate communications solutionsby enhancing recognition for conference participants who are seeking to expand their visibility before investors, journalists, consumers and the general public. Effective brand awareness strategies provided by CCW include financial news and content distribution, syndicated placement, content curation, social media, wire-grade press releases, and more.

We are very pleased to be working with CryptoCurrencyWire and the affiliated InvestorBrandNetwork once again, Moe Levin, CEO of Keynote stated. As the most attended and longest running conference company in the blockchain space, Keynote believes it is a great benefit to have CCWs team of professionals onboard to further raise the visibility of BTC Miami and its thousands of participants to a worldwide audience.

The long-running success of BTC Miami continues to bring major players together from the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. While covering current key crypto topics such as regulation and adoption, the 2020 event will also offer a distinct focus on enterprise and broader applications for blockchain. Attendees will enjoy phenomenal stand-alone sessions, panel discussions and Q&A with some of the industrys leading experts and decision makers.

BTC Miami will be kicking off an exciting year for blockchain, and we are truly excited to continue working with the creative team at Keynote, Jonathan Keim, communications director of CryptoCurrencyWire, said. This premier conference attracts a host of crypto innovators, investors and entrepreneurs who are eager to promote a decentralized future. We are honored to be working with BTC Miami and welcome the opportunity to leverage our distribution channels and expertise on behalf of this tremendous event.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Relatively Muted, Signs of Further Weakness – newsBTC

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Bitcoin price is currently confined in a range below $7,400 against the US Dollar. BTC must stay above $7,200 and $7,000 to start a decent recovery.

Recently, we saw a downside break in bitcoin below the $7,400 support against the US Dollar. Moreover, BTC price settled below the $7,400 pivot and the 100 hourly simple moving average.

Finally, the price traded to a new weekly low at $7,159 and it is currently correcting higher. The recent high was near $7,410 and it seems like the price is struggling to gain strength above the $7,410 resistance.

Bitcoin is currently declining and trading below $7,400. Besides, there was a break below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent corrective wave from the $7,159 low to $7,410 high.

An immediate support on the downside is near the $7,285 level. Additionally, the 50% Fib retracement level of the recent corrective wave from the $7,159 low to $7,410 high is near the $7,285 level.

If there is a downside push below the $7,285 and $7,255 levels, the price is likely to retest the $7,200 support area. More importantly, if there is a daily close below the $7,200 support area, the price may perhaps struggle to even stay above the $7,000 support.

On the upside, there are many hurdles waiting near the $7,400 and $7,460 levels. Besides, there is a short term declining channel forming with resistance near $7,380 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.

Therefore, a clear break above the channel resistance and $7,460 is needed for a decent recovery wave. Once the price settles above $7,460 and the 100 hourly simple moving average, the bulls are likely to aim the $7,630 resistance area.

Bitcoin Price

Looking at the chart, bitcoin price is currently declining and trading below the $7,300 level. It seems like the price could retest the $7,200 support area before it could make an attempt to climb above $7,400 and $7,460 in the near term.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD The MACD is likely to move into the bearish zone.

Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) The RSI for BTC/USD is currently declining and it now well below the 50 level.

Major Support Levels $7,200 followed by $7,000.

Major Resistance Levels $7,400, $7,460 and $7,630.

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Bitcoin (BTC) Relatively Muted, Signs of Further Weakness - newsBTC

Bitcoin Has Wall Streets Love. But a Lack of Utility Means It Doesnt Have Investors. – Barron’s

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Bitcoins price may be evaporating, but Wall Street players are embracing it like never before. The owner of the New York Stock Exchange has begun Bitcoin futures trading, Fidelity is expanding its Bitcoin custody business, PricewaterhouseCoopers is auditing crypto funds, Davis Polk & Wardwell is giving them legal advice, and Marsh & McLennan is helping companies get insurance. All the boldfaced names are on board.

Those developments would seem to be bullish for the digital currency. And yet, Bitcoin has been languishing, and not just in terms of its price, which is down 16% over the past month, to $7,700. The digital currency simply isnt useful, and there is no clear path to it getting there.

There needs to be greater utility, said Adam White, the chief operating officer of Bakkt, the cryptocurrency custodian launched by NYSE-owner Intercontinental Exchange (ticker: ICE). White was speaking at a conference put on by a New York company called BlockWorks Group that aims to educate investors about cryptocurrencies.

Theres an argument that Bitcoin is a store of value, and acts like digital gold, and that is its use case, White said. That may be true. Its our thesis that the size of that pie will never be big enough to justify the aspirations and the opportunities that this technology brings.

A recent survey of crypto and blockchain CEOs and founders connected to venture-capital firm Digital Currency Group came to a similar conclusion about Bitcoins use cases. Of those leaders, 71% expect Bitcoin will mainly be used as a store of value over the next five years, and another 7.6% say it wont be useful for anything.

Bakkt is trying to push Bitcoin into the real world, working with Starbucks (SBUX) to let people pay with it at the register. But even that experiment shows Bitcoins limitations. When the service launches next year, Starbucks wont actually be accepting Bitcoinsoftware will turn it into cash before it hits the companys balance sheet.

Others have similar hopes for larger adoption. Konstantin Richter, CEO of blockchain company Blockdaemon, said at the BlockWorks conference that the biggest impact for all of us would be somebody like Square accepting Bitcoin for payments. That would probably double the price of everything. But Square (SQ) already tried to allow merchants to accept Bitcoin in 2014, before pulling the plug because of a lack of interest. Despite now allowing users of its Cash app to invest in Bitcoin, it hasnt brought Bitcoin back for merchants.

Wall Street has built a robust structure around cryptocurrency. The walls, electricity, and pipes are secure, but the building remains a shell where few want to live. In part, this is simply a matter of timing. The infrastructure had not been there in 2017, when Bitcoin was having its moment, doubling monthly and drawing millions of new retail investors. The washout that followed drove many of those investors out.

There may be no way to convince those investors to crawl back in given the rout they experienced in 2018, when Bitcoin lost 70% of its value. But some fund managers think there is another demographic that will soon get comfortable with crypto.

If you think about the wealth of this country, its in the hands of 50- to 80-year-olds, not 20- to 30-year-olds, said Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings, a crypto-focused merchant bank. We havent had this group participate in a big way yet.

A Galaxy affiliate introduced two new funds aimed at that crowd in November, with one demanding a minimum investment of $25,000. Fidelity, Bloomberg, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, and Davis Polk are all on board to track and provide custody for the products. For the first time we can actually create a fund that has institutional service providers, institutional feel, Novogratz said.

Still, one challenge to getting those 50-to-80-year-olds involved is that Bitcoin remains subject to remarkable volatility, with price moves that can be difficult to explain. Optimists say the idiosyncratic moves show that Bitcoin is uncorrelated to the rest of the market. But its one thing to invest in an uncorrelated asset, and quite another to invest in an irrational one.

Despite the pedigree of the firms now backing crypto, Bitcoins drastic price moves continue to rattle the market, including an 18% plunge in a matter of hours on Sept. 24. Explanations for the moves often seem pasted-on after the fact. People do try to reverse engineer it to link it back to an event thats perhaps caused it, says Simon Peters, an analyst with brokerage eToro. He adds that Bitcoins recent weakness has been caused by a lack of demand. Miners are looking to offload Bitcoin on exchanges, but they arent finding enough buyers, he says. Investors may be rattled by Chinas decision to ban many cryptocurrency exchanges.

Even with the recent drop, Bitcoin nears the end of 2019 in stronger shape, its price having doubled since January. In its 10th year of trading, the digital currency hit several significant milestones and drew in major new playersmost prominently, Facebook (FB) announced its Libra project to create a new digital currency that would make payments cheap and easy around the world.

Going forward, it will need a new narrative. Bitcoins most distinctive attribute is that it allows money to be transferred over the internet by people who wish to remain anonymous. Proponents call this censorship-resistance, but it also means that Bitcoin is used to fund things like child pornography rings, blackmail schemes against local governments, and subverting elections. Its no surprise that Bitcoin made several cameos in the Mueller report.

Bitcoin remains an elegant technology, with real potential. But to catch the eye of those 50-to-80-year-olds who havent yet invested, it will need a clearer purpose beyond just Wall Streets approval.

Write to Avi Salzman at avi.salzman@barrons.com

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Bitcoin Has Wall Streets Love. But a Lack of Utility Means It Doesnt Have Investors. - Barron's

How the Upcoming Bitcoin Halving Compares to Previous Cycles – Bitcoin News

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

For those standing very close to the crypto charts, it might be easy to get discouraged by the gloomy nature of recent markets. However, new comparisons of the current halving cycle to those in the past have emerged and might put some wind back into the sails of traders, hodlers, and cryptocurrency enthusiasts in general.

Also Read: As Halving Interest Grows, Spectators Discuss Miner Hoards and Capitulation

Though crypto prices took a big dip in November, with BTC falling 30% from a high of $9,486 to a bottom of around $6,575, hash rates on both the BTC and BCH chains have held relatively steady as the next block reward halving approaches. Data also points to miners hoarding coins in view of the upcoming subsidy reduction, as the event is generally viewed as price favorable. In combination with these factors, new analysis has emerged which might suggest that in spite of the recent bearish climate, things might be more on track than previously supposed.

The image above aligns the block reward halving points of three cycles (the latter half of pre-halving and the first half of post-halving), with the three cycles anchored at a common line of 100% of the cycle low. The first two cycles which are completed, and the pre-halving phase of the current cycle are displayed. Interestingly, the movements in the latter half cycles appear to follow a similar trend. As creator of the graphic, @Chartsbtc, states on their Twitter post:

Each cycle is 210,000 blocks (~4 years). This chart starts half way through the cycle and goes half way into the next cycle. This is my attempt to show the lows prior to halving and the peaks post halving but keep everything centered around the halving.

The graphic is compelling, and has many hoping for great moves price-wise in 2020 and beyond. Discussing the methodology of creating the graphic further, @Chartsbtc explains why the green price action line does not touch the 100% cycle low level: The low was a intraday price and the chart only plots the closing prices to the nearest 105th block. I wish I actually had prices per block. They further note that viewers should Keep in mind that each cycle peak will likely be lower than the prior one. Even so, should the trend repeat BTC could see a post-halving peak around $80,000. Still, this is all speculation, and other factors must be kept in mind.

With the Bitcoin Core halving estimated to be taking place in mid-May, 2020, and the Bitcoin Cash halving to likely occur a month earlier, speculation of course abounds. Other factors playing into market perception and possibly price, such as proliferating development surrounding the BCH chain, and a trend of businesses dropping BTC as a payment method due to fees and congestion (not to mention an overall shift in attitude in the BTC community from user to mere hodler), could also have unexpected affects. If the projections of the above halving data are correct, however, everyone may be in for an interesting ride in 2020.

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

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, fair use.

Did you know you can buy and sell BCH privately using our noncustodial, peer-to-peer Local Bitcoin Cash trading platform? The local.Bitcoin.com marketplace has thousands of participants from all around the world trading BCH right now. And if you need a bitcoin wallet to securely store your coins, you can download one from us here.

Graham Smith is an American expat living in Japan, and the founder of Voluntary Japanan initiative dedicated to spreading the philosophies of unschooling, individual self-ownership, and economic freedom in the land of the rising sun.

How the Upcoming Bitcoin Halving Compares to Previous Cycles - Bitcoin News

At Harvard, Grad Students Form A Picket Line Over Wages, Health Care And Protections – NPR

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Union members protest at Harvard University in May over an increasing number of harassment and discrimination cases. The union began an indefinite strike Tuesday, with one of its key proposals aimed at strengthening protections against harassment and discrimination. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

Graduate students at Harvard University began an indefinite strike Tuesday after a deadline to fulfill contract demands such as pay equity and health insurance were not met by administrators.

Negotiations between the two sides are ongoing, but the union which represents about 4,400 student workers said an agreement is not close to being met. Representatives with Harvard Graduate Students Union-UAW accused the university of neglecting several issues that students have faced for years.

The strike began on the last day of classes for the fall semester, impacting thousands of students preparing for final exams.

"Our negotiations have not yielded a fair agreement," Ege Yumusak, a Ph.D. candidate on the bargaining committee, told NPR.

"[Most] importantly, we haven't heard responses from the administration on our demands for our basic rights and protections, such as protections against harassment and discrimination, that other unionized workers on this campus have, as well as thousands of student workers across the nation," Yumusak said.

Negotiations began in October of last year, with tentative agreements being reached on several proposals. However, bargaining reached an impasse.

Harvard administrators described the strike as "unwarranted" in a statement Tuesday.

Union negotiators allege that the Ivy League university is failing to recognize the rising cost of living in the Greater Boston area. The latest proposal from university officials offered to raise the minimum rate to $15 an hour, with an 8% increase over three years for salaried student workers. However, the union said the university, with its multibillion-dollar endowment, can do better.

Grad students are also calling for the university to implement better protections from academic harassment and discrimination by establishing an independent third-party arbitrator. The proposal would not replace Title IX the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination on campus and mandates sexual misconduct investigations which union leaders said has "failed too often to be considered reliable."

Affordable health care is also on the union's list of demands. Grad students are seeking improvements to what they call inadequate dental, mental health and specialist coverage.

According to union leaders, there are also several issues the university either has refused to negotiate on or has not offered a proposal on.

Despite the disruptions during exam time, Yumusak said undergraduates are showing solidarity.

"We expect many of them to join us at the picket line," she said. "They understand that our working conditions are their learning conditions."

In addition, in solidarity with the labor action, dozens of Harvard faculty members have promised that strike participation will not have an adverse effect on their evaluation of grad students' work or academics.

Support for the strike has extended outside Harvard's campus. All 11 congressional representatives from Massachusetts, including presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, signed a letter Tuesday urging university officials to reach an agreement with the union.

Paolo Zialcita is an intern on NPR's Newsdesk.

Cerner taps Amazon Web Services to ramp up healthcare AI capabilities, predictive technology – FierceHealthcare

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Health ITcompany Cerner is deepening its partnership with Amazon Web Services to build new prediction tools and a virtual medical scribe for healthcare providers.

Cerner named AWS itspreferred cloud provider in July. At the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas this week, Cerner expanded that partnership by naming AWS its preferred cloud, artificial intelligence, and machine learning provider.

"For 40 years, Cerner ushered in health cares digital age by moving medical data from paper charts and manila folders into electronic health records,Cerner CEO and Chairman of the Board Brent Shafer said during the AWS re:Invent conference Monday.

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Cerner's work with AWS will put the company at the"leading edge of cognitive data," Shafer said.

"Where were headed is taking the digital age to a new level to reduce costs, providing more insights into diseases, and giving clinicians back valuable time," he said.

RELATED:Cerner, Amazon Web Services partner on new cloud-based cognitive health platform

The Kansas City-based company will use AWSs broad portfolio of services, including machine learning, analytics, and Internet of things (IoT), to help create the "next chapter of healthcares digital age," company executives said, which will focus on advancing the patient care experience, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.

As part of the multi-year agreement, Cerner willmigrate its core applications to AWS and willstandardizeits artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads on the public cloud.

Using AWS' capabilities, Cerner is developing a new platform, called theCerner Machine Learning Ecosystem (CMLE), to helpdata scientists build and deploy machine learningmodels for healthcare applications at scale, the company said. The goal is to uncover predictive and digital diagnostic insights that will offer earlier health interventions.

One potential use case: Developers will be able tocreate chatbots that give patients access to their personal health records and answer patients' questions about medication, diagnoses, and medical conditions.

The health IT company is focused on developingpredictive technology to help organizations preventhospitalreadmissions and reduce healthcare waste. To do this, the company is leveraging de-identified patient data to help make early determinations of what is causing return hospitalizations.

RELATED:Microsoft, Humana ink 7-year strategic partnership to leverage cloud, AI and voice technologies

The company already is working with a post-acute healthcare provider on a project to identify patients at risk of hospital readmission. usingmachine learning applied to historical data migrated to the AWS cloud.

The collaborationis part of agrowing trendof healthcare providers, payers, and technology vendors migrating to cloud platforms offered by big tech giants. Mayo Clinic has entered into a 10-year strategic partnership with Google to use the tech giant's cloud platform to accelerate innovation through digital technologies. Insurance giant Humana and Microsoft announced a seven-year strategic partnership to usecloud and artificial intelligence technologies to build predictive solutions and intelligent automation to support Humana members and their care teams.

These technology partnerships raisesome thorny issues around connections topatients' health data.Google is facingsignificant blowback, including scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers, following news that it iscollecting personal health information on millions of patients in a partnership with Ascension.

Cerner also wants to use machine learning andvoice tools to automate medical documentation and clerical work for doctors.

RELATED:Amazon Web Services launches Transcribe Medical speech recognition service for clinicians

At the conference on Sunday, AWS announced the launch ofAmazon Transcribe Medicalas a speech recognition service for clinical documentation. Cerner plans to use Amazon Transcribe Medical's transcription application programming interface to develop a digital voice scribe. That voice toll will "automatically listento clinician-patient interactions and unobtrusively capturethe dialogue in text form," Jacob Geers, solutions strategist at Cerner said in an AWS press release. "From there, our solution will intelligently translate the concepts for entry into the codified component in the Cerner EHR (electronic health record) system," he said.

The digitization of health care has inadvertently caused an increase in documentation for physicians, according to Shafer.

"Working with AWS will allow us to capture doctor-patient interaction and integrate it directly into the electronic workflow of the physician. This new advancement will help doctors and providers spend less time filling out forms and more quality time with their patients," he said.

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Cerner taps Amazon Web Services to ramp up healthcare AI capabilities, predictive technology - FierceHealthcare

Meridian ‘hopeful’ agreement can be reached with OSF HealthCare – week.com

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

PEORIA (WEEK) -- OSF HealthCare recently announced it would terminate its agreement with Meridian and that the health insurance provider owes OSF "millions of dollars."

Now, Meridian says they are working with OSF on terms for a new contract and is "hopeful than an agreement will be reached," according to a press release sent Tuesday by Meridian.

"In the meantime, our members continuity of care remains our number-one priority. In the event we are unable to reach an agreement, we have a comprehensive process in place to transition our members to alternative providers within the MeridianHealth network," according to the release.

On Monday, OSF said Meridian owes millions of dollars to the Peoria-based health care provider "millions of dollars for outstanding claims for services provided over the past five years."

OSF's notice of termination said the agreement would end December 15.

We are unfortunately at a standstill with Meridian because for years they have failed to honor the most basic components of our agreement and will not come forward to resolve outstanding accounts, said Randy Billings, OSF HealthCare senior vice president of population health in the press release by OSF Monday. We are concerned for Meridian members, which is why we contacted the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and Meridian members to make them aware of the situation.

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Meridian 'hopeful' agreement can be reached with OSF HealthCare - week.com

‘An Arm And A Leg’ Podcast Explores The Cost Of Health Care In America – WUWM

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Leading up to the 2020 election, Americas unusual approach to health care is on full display. The hot-button issue is a consistent talking point for both Democrats and Republicans since it has a huge impact on all American citizens.

Health care costs are prohibitively expensive, sometimes costing thousands of dollars for a quick trip to the emergency room, as many have experienced. These stories were part of the inspiration for the podcastAn Arm and a Leg, which showcases the horror stories and hard-fought victories of people dealing with Americas health care system.

Dan Weissman is the host and executive producer of the podcast, which premiered its third season in December. The fourth episode of the third season comes out on Thursday and deals with the hidden costs of emergency room visits.

"This is a long struggle and the cavalry is not coming."

"One of the things that I ended up thinking about, especially as we had completed two seasons, is that this is a long struggle and the cavalry is not coming," says Weissman.

Lake Effects Joy Powers spoke with Weissman about the impact and stories of health care costs in the U.S.:

Dan Weissman, host and executive producer of "An Arm & A Leg" podcast, speaks with Lake Effect's Joy Powers.

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'An Arm And A Leg' Podcast Explores The Cost Of Health Care In America - WUWM

Give it 5 stars: How doctor ratings affect your health care | TheHill – The Hill

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Consider a fantastic experience at a restaurant with delicious food, timely customer service, and amazing ambiance.A diner may feel compelled to give that business a five-star rating on Yelp. It exceeded expectations and the restaurant can benefit from the power of a positive online review.

Now consider a visit with a physician.What would make it a five-star experience? And how would excellent service be defined in the medical setting?

As a physician, my goal is always to deliver effective and empathic health care to all of my patients. My goal is not to receive a high rating. Due to bias, subjectivity and other motivations, the random online patient ratings system is a hinderance, not a reliable guide, to good health care.

For many Americans, the end of the calendar year means they have already met health insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. This can make medical services less expensive and lead patients to search online for new physicians. However, in deciding on a doctor, patients need to be cautious not to confuse customer satisfaction with evidence-based, patient-centered care.

When making decisions about their health, patients are acting increasingly like typical consumers, who value online ratings. According to a 2018 study from NRC Health, 92.4% of consumers use online reviews to guide most of their ordinary purchasing decisions. The survey revealed that 59.9% of patients say theyve selected a doctor based on positive reviews, and nearly the same percentage (60.8%) of patients say theyve avoided doctors based on negative reviews.

These trends have huge implications for the quality of health care in the U.S., since patient ratings depend on often-inaccurate and potentially biased patient perceptions, rather than on more objective measures of good medicine.

Research shows that patient ratings tend to be biased against female and minority physicians. A 2018 study in the Womens Health Issues journal showed that women gynecologists are 47% less likely to receive top patient satisfaction scores compared with their male counterparts owing to their gender alone.

Another 2019 study in Health Equity found significant difference in patient satisfaction scores between underrepresented and white physicians.

Additionally a 2018 paper in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows the different expectations that patients have for female and male physicians. Female patients tend to seek more empathic listening and longer visits, especially with female physicians. As a result, patient satisfaction with female physicians is subjected to gendered stereotypes and expectations with hidden rules for appropriate behavior.

Even if this implicit bias is overlooked in physicians, online reviews for products and services are hardly reliable.

Recently the skin care brand Sunday Riley settled with the Federal Trade Commission after the company was accused of posting fake reviews of their products on Sephora's website for two years.Thirty percent of Amazon product reviews also were found to be falsified by Fakespot, which analyzes online ratings for accuracy.

But the rippling effects of a fake review of body lotion pales in comparison to fake reviews of physicians, who deal with life and death.

In spite of this, the NRC study showed that 83 percent of patients trusted online ratings and reviews more than personal recommendations. Yet patient reviews on heavily trafficked sites, such as Vitals.com, Healthgrades.com, and WebMD.com are not vetted for accuracy.There is no verification that reviews are even written by actual patients.

This means that anyone an angry former employee or a grumpy neighbor can tarnish a physicians online reputation and sway potential patients with the click of a button.Conversely, there is nothing preventing associates of physicians from posting fake positive reviews.

Due to federal privacy laws, there is little recourse for physicians who are faced with negative online reviews. Unlike other businesses, physicians cannot respond to comments posted online because it violates patient privacy to simply acknowledge someone is a patient.This leaves doctors particularly vulnerable to personal and professional attacks.

When a Miami plastic surgeon attempted to sue two patients earlier this year for what he described as inaccurate reviews, he received negative press and additional negative reviews (that may or may not have been from actually patients).

Perhaps most importantly, though, high patient satisfaction scores have been linked to worse care.Motivation to achieve a high rating can influence doctors to prescribe unnecessary treatments and order unwarranted tests. Patients can use the threat of a poor online rating to leverage their requests.

A 2018 study in JAMA reported that telemedicine patients who received an antibiotic for a respiratory tract infection (e.g. a cold) gave high ratings.This is concerning since respiratory tract infections are usually viral and rarely warrant antibiotic use, which can lead to dangerous outcomes for patients.

Recently a Washington state physician sued her former employer, Kaiser Permanente, alleging the way the company used patient satisfaction scores hurt her career and incentivized doctors to over-prescribe painkillers. Evidence shows that patient satisfaction has played a role in the opioid epidemic.

This intense focus on patient ratings is a factor contributing to physician burnout, which also negatively affects patient care. Many doctors are under pressure to see more patients with shorter appointment times, but still maintain excellent customer service.

Patients may not know or understand that a physician may be running late not because she is rude, but because she was comforting a patient with a new cancer diagnosis.Its hard to imagine that this empathetic doctor deserves a poor online rating, but there is nothing preventing this result.

The consensus from physicians themselves is clear: there is an active petition with over 40,000 signatures to remove online ratings from Yelp and Healthgrades.com.

To be sure, checks and balances on physicians are undoubtedly important. While physicians take an oath to do no harm, no industry is free from bad actors. If in doubt, see Dr. Death podcast for an extreme example of this malpractice. Monitoring by state medical boards and hospital quality assurance committees are traditional ways to ensure patient safety.

When seeking medical care, patients can view online reviews with the understanding that they can be flawed, biased and subjective. Patients deserve the best healthcare possible and need to understand good ratings do not always lead to good doctors. Save the stars for the restaurants, not the physicians.

Lisa Ravindra is an assistant professor of Internal Medicine and a primary care physician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She is a Public Voices fellow through The OpEd Project.

Give it 5 stars: How doctor ratings affect your health care | TheHill - The Hill

Brits freak out when told the price of health care in the United States – Boing Boing

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Danzig

Brits freak out when told the price of health care in the United States / Boing Boing

"So if you're poor, you're dead." That's what a woman in the U.K. said when she was told the price of health care services in the U.S.

No doubt many people in the U.S. do die from the high price of health care, but the ones who survive but can't pay their bills are likely to be sued by the hospital.

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Brits freak out when told the price of health care in the United States - Boing Boing

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