Daily Archives: January 31, 2020

Bitcoins (BTC) risk-return is a different beast compared to even the darling of the stock market of the 2000s, Amazon.

That was the conclusion drawn by one of the cryptocurrency industrys best-known analysts and the creator of a uniquely accurate Bitcoin price model.

Uploading a chart showing BTC risk-return versus Amazon stocks, U.S. bonds, gold and the S&P 500 on Jan. 24, PlanB showed Bitcoin behaved completely differently as an investment.

Amazons significant losses in the year 2000, combined with its revered recovery ever since still keeps it far below Bitcoins risk-reward ratio.

Bitcoin is a different beast! PlanB summarized, describing Amazons position on the chart as much closer to normal.

Amazons share price appeared to shake off revelations involving Saudi Arabia allegedly hacking CEO Jeff Bezos this week. Both $AMZN and BTC nonetheless fell over the past seven days, with the latter potentially reacting to uncertainty stemming from China.

Bitcoin risk-return vs. major investments. Source: PlanB/ Twitter

The impressive contrast comes days after Cointelegraph reported on Bitcoins risk-adjusted returns outperforming every major investment offering based on a four-year investment.

Then, PlanB appeared to hint that four-year periods the time between each reduction in the new Bitcoin supply could continue to boost performance.

Further, cryptographer Nick Szabo added, the susceptibility of traditional instruments to react to government and central bank meddling in currency markets meant Bitcoin was a natural fit for long-term, or low-time preference, investors.

PlanBs price model, stock-to-flow, has correctly called much of Bitcoins historical behavior and continues to forecast a level of $100,000 for BTC/USD in 2021.

At current levels, markets continue to conform to stock-to-flow, at $8,300 trading just below its suggested range. Before the next halving in May, $8,300 is, in fact, the average price the model says Bitcoin will trade at before moving significantly higher.

Read more here:
Bitcoin Risk-Return a Different Beast Compared to Amazon: Analyst - Cointelegraph

Bitcoins recent movement up towards its 2020 highs at $9,200 caught some bears by surprise, as it appeared to elucidate a significant amount of strength amongst BTCs bulls.

Bears are currently fighting back, however, as one whale just put up a 500 BTC market sell on cryptocurrency exchange Binance, which could be one of the factors behind the cryptos inability to stabilize above $9,000.

Coupled with this bearish BTC sell order is the fact that Bitcoins open interest is about to hit $1 billion, which is a level that has historically been touched just prior to massive selloffs.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading up 2% at its current price of $8,950, which marks a slight decline from its daily highs of $9,150 that were set yesterday evening when bulls attempted to push the crypto back towards its 2020 highs.

In the near-term, the resistance at this level appears to be growing increasingly strong, and unless bulls generate significant buying pressure, this latest rally could ultimately result in a bearish double top formation.

One factor that has heightened the bearishness of the rejection is the fact that a whale just placed a 500 BTC sell order worth nearly $4.5 million on Binance, creating a sell wall that may prove to be insurmountable for bulls.

Theres something we havent seen in a long while. A 500 BTC sell on [Binance], Hsaka, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, explained in a recent tweet.

For as long as this sell wall is in place, all the buy orders around BTCs current price will be absorbed, thus leading it to stagnate or drift lower.

Another factor that could lead Bitcoin to see some further bearishness is the fact that Bitcoins open interest is just a hair beneath $1 billion.

The reason why this is important (and bearish) is because historically BTC has incurred sharp selloffs each time its open interest balloons to this level.

Open interest on #bitcoin is currently at $943 million. Every time weve hit $1 billion weve seen a pretty big sell off. Lets see if this time will be different, Jacob Canfield a prominent crypto analyst on Twitter explained in a tweet.

The coming several hours will likely provide insight into the long-term significance of these recent developments, and will provide clarity as to whether or not the latest rejection at $9,150 will mark another local high.

See more here:
A Massive 500 Bitcoin Sell Order Hits Binance For First Time in a While, Heres What It Means - newsBTC

INDIA - 2020/01/23: In this photo illustration a Cryptocurrency Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a ... [+] smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Fortunes are changing in cryptocurrency markets. A rally that began three weeks ago lost steam last week.

By Saturday evening, Bitcoin was down 6.43%, ETH was down 7.38%, XRP was down 8.44%, and LTC dropped 11.20%. Bitcoin slid back towards the key $8,000-mark.

The retreat was board with only 18 out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies advancing and 82 dropping.

That's a significant change from the previous when 90 cryptocurrencies advanced out of the top 100.

And it came as the spread of coronavirus unsettled financial markets.

That should have come as a surprise to digital asset experts. Bitcoin has emerged as a safe-haven asset in times of global uncertainties, according to some studies. And should have been rallying rather than retreating last week.

koyfin_20200126_081340494

Is Bitcoin's pull-back just the pause of the rally or something more serious?

Christopher Brookins, Founder and CIO at Valiendero Digital Assets, thinks that Bitcoin is re-affirming his previous position that the rally takes a "breather."

"At the time of writing, the Hurst Exponent is still recovering from oversold levels and its recent "breather," with a value of 0.52, he says. The resumption in upward trajectory after its brief consolidation and value still being far from overbought territory bodes well for price in the near to mid-term."

Brookins' estimates apply the Hurst exponent (H) model, which is rooted in mathematics founded by Benoit Mandelbrot, to determine if a financial market is trending or not.

Screen Shot 2020-01-25 at 7.40.21 PM

He's watching the $8400 (short-Kumo Cloud) and $8600 (long-Kumo Cloud), but he remains bullish in the digital currency, in the face of the upcoming halving.

And he sticks in his previous prediction that ETH price increases are unlikely to last for a sustained period, and that will lag behind BTC.

"As stated prior, given the dramatic reversal in Hurst values to overbought, ETH price increases are unlikely to last for a sustained period in 2020," he says. "Furthermore, given the divergence between ETH and BTC Hurst values, we expect BTC to begin demonstrably outperforming ETH over the coming weeks and months."

Screen Shot 2020-01-25 at 7.52.55 PM

He also sticks with his prediction that LTC price increases are unlikely to last for a sustained period. They will also lag behind BTC.

"As stated prior, given the dramatic reversal in Hurst values to overbought, LTC price increases are unlikely to last for a sustained period in 2020," he adds. "Furthermore, given the divergence between LTC and BTC Hurst values, we expect BTC to begin demonstrably outperforming LTC over the coming weeks and months."

Screen Shot 2020-01-25 at 7.58.50 PM

Excerpt from:
Bitcoin, ETH, XRP, And LTC Rally Fades: What's Next? - Forbes

Over the past few days, crypto assets from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Dogecoin and Maker have surged higher.

Since bottoming in the $8,200 range, the leading cryptocurrency BTC has surged as high as $9,425, marking a 15% gain. Although ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has closely trailed Bitcoin, some say that a bigger surge for the altcoin will soon come to fruition.

Indeed, below, you can see Ethereum still trading below last weeks high of $177, despite Bitcoin trading as high as 3% above its previous local high around $9,200.

Cryptocurrency trader Trajan of Split Capital recently noted that Ethereums volatility is currently lagging behind that of BTC. Despite this, he noted that as soon as ETH finds its legs, the price of the leading cryptocurrency can soon see a price of around $200 a further 15% gain from the current price of $175.

He isnt the only one that thinks so.

Cryptocurrency trader Polar Hunt recently noted that ETH has been trading in a descending broadening wedge pattern, an often bullish price pattern, since July of last year. With this in mind, the trader wrote:

Current BTC price action is only here to shake you out of ETH before $238.

Satoshi Flipper, a prominent cryptocurrency trader, recently noted that Ethereums weekly chart is showing relatively bullish signs after bottoming around $120.

He specifically noted that theHeiken Ashi candles, which are a special charting technique used to more easily determine trends, have turned green on the weekly chart,suggesting a medium-term bull trend is forming.

Flipper added that Ethereum has broken out of a falling wedge structure that constrained price action for six months, boding well for bulls.

Not to mention, analysts are currently expecting the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin to continue to push higher over the coming days, further supporting the bullish case for ETH.

Read this article:
Bitcoins 15% Weekly Gain Could Send Ethereum Flying: Heres Why - newsBTC

Bitcoin (BTC) has shed 6% in a week thanks mainly to Chinese New Year and uncertainty over coronavirus, commentators are suggesting.

Analyzing Bitcoin price data along with Chinese stocks performance on Jan. 24, social media resource Light said a slump in performance had spread to cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360

Over the past several days, it notes, Bitcoin has in fact broadly correlated with stocks. Such behavior is reminiscent of what many perceived as a reaction to another global event the Iran crisis earlier this month.

China coronavirus-driven risk-off blanketing Chinese equities and Bitcoin. Iran correlation, now Chinese equities, Light commented.

The analysis summarized:

If there was ever a statement to the effect, Bitcoin has now made it to the global stage.

Bitcoin vs. Chinese equities. Source: Light/ Twitter

Coronavirus continues to spread beyond China, despite authorities attempts to contain it by imposing travel bans and boosting healthcare provision.

BTC/USD has lost just over 6% in the past seven days and at press time trading at $8,300. The virus factor comes at a sensitive time historically, data reveals, with Chinese New Year traditionally creating sell pressure for Bitcoin.

Compiled by trader and analyst Alex Krueger, figures circulating on Twitter show that in the run-up to the celebrations, Bitcoin returns often turn out negative.

In 2019, they averaged around -0.2% losses for the week prior, but Krueger himself appeared unperturbed by the results.

Nothing special, he summarized on Jan. 22.

As Cointelegraph reported, critics have protested against the theory that Bitcoin price action is directly influenced by geopolitical or other world events.

Nonetheless, issues involving China tend to impact the market conspicuously, against the backdrop of a blanket crypto trading ban imposed by Beijing in 2017. The country still accounts for the majority of Bitcoin mining activity.

Continue reading here:
Nothing Special Bitcoin Slumps 6% on Coronavirus, Chinese New Year - Cointelegraph

The Bitcoin.com Exchange continues to rapidly expand its offerings. The latest asset to join it is the Trustverse token, which is now listed for trading on Bitcoin.coms premier trading platform. To promote the success of the new listing, Trustverse is conducting a giveaway of 1 million TRV tokens.

Also Read: You Can Now Buy Cryptocurrency With Credit Card on Bitcoin.com Exchange

Bitcoin.com Exchange has listed the Trustverse token for trading (TRV/BCH) on January 28, 2020. This AI-powered blockchain-based platform strives to create an invest and relax experience where investors can obtain the information they need in a comprehensible manner to make informed decisions.

Ultimately the project aims to build a universe of trust, hence the name. To achieve this goal, they have integrated a variety of services into the platform, which are all named after planets in the solar system.

Jupiter is their Digital Asset Analytics service that helps traders navigate complex indicators and markets by providing a comprehensive outlook on the crypto markets, similar to the weather forecast. When the market is bullish, Jupiter will show a sunny outlook, while bearish sentiment will result in an image of less clement weather.

The wallet complementing the platform is called Mars and provides users with control and transparency. Currently, the wallet can be used to store bitcoin, bitcoin cash and ERC20 tokens. In addition to enabling peer to peer transfers, the wallet offers escrow services.

The third planet in this universe is Pluto, a Wealth Management dapp helping people to properly take care of insurance and managing inheritance. To prevent losses of digital assets in case of death, Pluto allows users to define conditions in which private keys are released to their inheritors with the help of smart contracts.

Two of the offered services, Jupiter and Mars, have been integrated with the Samsung blockchain ecosystem, making them more broadly available. And Trustverse is working on soon adding the next two planets, Mercury and Neptune. In the joint platform, all services can be accessed via the token (TRV), which is used to pay for different financial services and to run smart contracts.

Bitcoin.com Exchange was launched in early September 2019 as an easy-to-use platform with world-class security and a powerful trading engine. The platform employs institutional-grade encryption, two-factor authentication (2FA) and IP whitelisting to keep user accounts secure at all times. Available digital assets include ADA, ATOM, BCH, BTC, EOS, ETC, ETH, LTC, ONT, TRX, USDT, WAVES, XLM and XRP.

To promote the success of the new listing, Trustverse is giving away 1,000,000 TRV tokens to users on the platform. Users with net deposits (deposits minus withdrawals) of over 50,000 TRV made during the activity period will share a pool of 1,000,000 TRV. The activity period ends 31/01/2020 at 23:59 (UTC). See full details here.

What do you think about Bitcoin.com Exchange listing the Trustverse token? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

Verify and track bitcoin cash transactions on our BCH Block Explorer, the best of its kind anywhere in the world. Also, keep up with your holdings, BCH and other coins, on our market charts at Bitcoin.com Markets, another original and free service from Bitcoin.com.

Avi Mizrahi is an economist and entrepreneur who has been covering Bitcoin as a journalist since 2013. He has spoken about the promise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at numerous financial conferences around the world, from London to Hong-Kong.

Original post:
Trustverse Token Now Listed for Trading on Bitcoin.com Exchange and Users Can Win 1 Million TRV - Bitcoin News

After a long and cryptic series of tweets on Bitcoin (BTC), SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk elaborated his stance on cryptocurrencies in a Jan. 20 podcast. Noting that hes neither here nor there on Bitcoin, Musk focused on its use for illegal transactions.

The billionaire has recently been in the spotlight for several short and cryptic tweets related to cryptocurrency. On Jan. 10 he published a tweet saying Bitcoin is *not* my safe word.

This follows an equally cryptic tweet from April 2019, saying Cryptocurrency is my safe word.

But while they were generally considered to be jokes, especially in light of previous tweets where he pledged to take Tesla private at $420, Musks early history is deeply tied to the financial technology industry.

In 1999, Elon Musk founded X.com, an online bank that through later mergers became PayPal. He mentioned the company in the podcast, noting:

If PayPal had executed the plan that I wanted to execute on, I think it would probably be the most valuable company in the world.

The interviewers then asked what Musk thought about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, given their spiritual similarity to X.com. Musk replied that hes neither here nor there on Bitcoin.

While referring to Satoshis white paper as pretty clever, he prefaced by saying that his stance on cryptocurrencies gets the crypto people angry. He continued:

There are transactions that are not within the bounds of the law there are obviously many laws in different countries and normally cash is used for these transactions. But in order for illegal transactions to occur, the cash must also be used for legal transactions. You need an illegal-to-legal bridge. That's where crypto comes in.

Musk noted that cash is increasingly harder to use, but any alternative would have to be usable for both legal and illegal purposes, as it doesnt count otherwise.

Even though he may not be entirely sold on cryptocurrencies, Musk sees a clear purpose for them:

You must have a legal to illegal bridge. So where I see crypto is effectively as a replacement for cash. I do not see crypto being the primary database [for transactions].

Despite the negative connotation from being used for illegal purposes, he emphasized that hes not being judgmental about crypto. In Musks view, the governments overreach in certain aspects:

I think there's a lot of things that are illegal that shouldn't be illegal. I think that sometimes governments just have too many laws about the missions that they should have, and shouldn't have so many things that are illegal.

While not a full endorsement, Musk is not exactly opposite to cryptocurrencies. In an earlier part of the interview, he said that banks are in trouble though he primarily referred to competitors such as Stripe.

Here is the original post:
Elon Musk Reveals His True Opinion on Bitcoin and Crypto - Cointelegraph

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

How many credit cards do you have? If youre like the average American, you carry four in your wallet.

Chances are your credit cards are from different banks. But if you dumped out your wallet on the table and laid all your cards side by side, youd notice something odd.

While all the cards are from different banksand they all have their own special privileges, prestigious names, and color schemesmost have one thing in common:

Visaor MasterCardstamped on the bottom right.

Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) Created a Global Currency

It hardly matters what bank you use. At the end of the day, your card likely needs Visa or Mastercards payment network to function.

Over 80 million stores accept Visa or Mastercard. With one of their cards in your wallet, you can buy stuff anywhere in the world.

Visa and Mastercard have effectively created a universally accepted moneya global currency. $13trillionflowed through their networks last year. Thats 24X more than Bitcoin processed in 2019, according to CCN.

They make money by taking a small cut of each transaction, like a tollbooth on a highway. Both Visa and Mastercard are minting record profits, and their stocks have handed investors tremendous gains:

Visa and Mastercard

Heres why this is important for you.

Banks Stranglehold on Money Is Weakening

For many decades, weve had to deal with banks to move money. If you wanted to cash your paycheck, wire money, or get a credit card, you often had to talk to a banker.

These days, you can do all these things without ever stepping foot inside a bank. You can even get a mortgage without ever talking to a human banker!

Sending money no longer means writing a check and waiting three days for it to clear. Now you can send and receive money instantly withPayPals (PYPL)Venmo.

Roughly 50 million Americans use Venmo every month. You can even pay your taxes with PayPal.

Have you ever usedSquares (SQ)little white box that swipes credit cards? It plugs into your smartphone to turn it into a cash register. Over two million small businesses use it to accept cards instead of cash.

And getting a credit card no longer requires filling out piles of paperwork and answering a bankers questions. Smartphone giantApple (AAPL)made a splash when it debuted its shiny new titanium credit card last August.

These disruptors will end banks as we know them. Nobody cares if banks have fancy lobbies with marble floors these days. Most Americans just want a fast and convenient way to manage their money.

I havent stepped foot in a bank in years. And foot traffic into branches has fallen close to 50% in the past decade.

Many folks assume old money companies like Visa and Mastercard are in trouble too. These folks are wrong.

Visa and Mastercard Are Untouchable Stocks

What few people realize isall the "money disruptors I just mentioned are plugged into Visa and Mastercards networks.

Apple designed its titanium card to resemble its sleek products. But did you know it runs on Mastercards network? And credit cards from PayPal, Square, and Stripe all have Visa or Mastercard logos.

These disruptors arent ripping out the pipes of our financial system and trying to cut out Visa and Mastercard. Instead, theyre partnering with them, sending even more money flowing through their networks.

Remember, each time you pay with a card, Visa and Mastercard collect a small fee. In fact, even when you pay with your phone, these giants make money.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay, are simply apps built on Visa and Mastercard networks!

Nobody Can Touch These Untouchable Stocks

How we move money around and pay for things has changed for good. Yet these changes have only cemented Visa and Mastercards dominance.

Theyve built payment networks nobody can match. More than 30,000 banks use their credit cards. There are 3.4 billion Visa cards alone in circulation!

And now partnerships with PayPal, Square, and others are injecting a new wave of growth into Visa and Mastercard. Visas sales shot up 11.5% last year to a record $22 billion. And Mastercards revenue jumped 20% to $14.5 billion.

They Are Two of the Most Consistently Impressive Businesses Ive Ever Analyzed

Visas profit margins are 5X better than the average US stock. It turns 52 cents on every dollar into pure profit. Mastercards profit margins are 3X better than the average S&P 500 company. If youre investing for the long haul, you could do a lot worse than owning these two undisruptible tollbooth stocks.

Get my report"The Great Disruptors:3 Breakthrough Stocks Set to Double Your Money".These stocks will hand you 100% gains as they disrupt whole industries.Get your free copy here.

Go here to see the original:
The Invisible Global Currency Thats 24 Times Bigger Than Bitcoin - Forbes