Monthly Archives: July 2020

Why Isn’t Poultry and Dairy Kosher? – Kosher – Chabad.org

Posted: July 5, 2020 at 10:25 am

This prohibition of separating milk and meat is derived from the verse "Do not cook a kid (gedi) in its mother's milk, which is repeated three times in the Torah. The sages explain that the repetition of the verse teaches us that not only is one forbidden to cook meat and milk together, but one is also forbidden to eat or derive benefit from such a mixture.

Although the verse uses the Hebrew word gedi, which is usually literally translated as kid goat, in this context, the word actually means any young domestic animal. The sages explain that the Torah simply gives an example of a "kid in its mother's milk" because that was common practice in ancient times. In fact, at other times, when the Torah wants to specify a young goat specifically, it uses the term gedi izim,kid of the goats. This implies that at times when the word gedi is used by itself, it does not necessarily refer to just a kid of the goat species.

But what about chicken and other fowl?

As mentioned, "Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk is repeated three times in the Torah. According to one tradition in the Talmud, the reason for the repetition is to include three types of creatures: 1) domesticated animals; 2) non-domesticated animals; and 3) birds.

According to this opinion, cooking or eating birds with dairy is included in the biblical prohibition.

Others, however, are of the opinion that birds are not included. The law follows this tradition but concludes that birds and dairy are nevertheless rabbinically prohibited.

Contrary to popular misconception, the rabbis were not afraid that a piece of chicken has the same appearance as a piece of meat and that people who observe chicken being consumed with milk may think that the people are eating meat.

Rather, their concern was that the kosher dietary laws regarding the preparation of fowl (but not fish) is the same as red meat. Both must be slaughtered and salted properly before they may be eaten.

In light of their similarity in Jewish law, the rabbis were concerned that people may draw wrong conclusions. Here is how Maimonides paints a picture of what these mistakes may look like if chicken and dairy would be permitted:

People may say: Eating the meat of fowl cooked in milk is permitted, because it is not explicitly forbidden by the Torah. Similarly, the meat of a wild animal cooked in milk is permitted, because it is also not explicitly forbidden.

And another may come and say: Even the meat of a domesticated animal cooked in milk is permitted with the exception of a goat.

And another will come and say: Even the meat of a goat is permitted when cooked in the milk of a cow or a sheep. For the verse mentions only its mother, i.e., an animal from the same species.

And still another will come and say: Even the meat of a goat is permitted when cooked in goat's milk as long the milk is not from the kid's mother, for the verse says: its mother.

For these reasons, Maimonides concludes, the sages forbid all meat cooked in milk, even meat from fowl, in order to safeguard the Torahs laws.

If chicken and dairy is forbidden, is there any practical difference whether the prohibition is of rabbinic or biblical origin?

The differentiation would only come into play when deriving benefit from such a mixture. So for example, if one accidentally cooked meat and milk together, he may not even derive benefit from the mixture (so he would not be allowed to feed it to his dog or sell it to a non-Jew). However, if one accidentally cooked (or bought) poultry mixed with dairy, after the fact, he is permitted to derive benefit from it and can feed it to his pet. As always, one should consult with a rabbi regarding any issues of mixtures between meat or fowl and dairy.

Once something was decreed by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish High Court) and accepted as Jewish law, it attained the binding status of a biblical commandment. For the Torah says concerning rabbinic rulings,You are to act according to the word that they tell you from that place that Gd will have chosen; and you are to be careful to fulfill exactly as they instruct you.

The Zohar explains that the same negative spiritual impact that is caused by mixing meat and dairy is also caused by mixing poultry and dairy. The Zohar then goes on to describe the great merit of being careful with the kosher dietary laws in general, and specifically the laws surrounding mixing meat (or poultry) with dairy. It was in this merit that Daniel was saved when he was thrown in the lion's den and Chanayah, Mishael and Azariah where saved when they were thrown into the fiery furnace, as told in the Book of Daniel.

At a time when we need extra protection, taking care to observe the kosher dietary laws is especially pertinent. In this merit, may we all be protected until the time when peace will reign upon the land with the coming of Moshiach. May it be speedily in our days!

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Why Isn't Poultry and Dairy Kosher? - Kosher - Chabad.org

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3-week-old baby hospitalized with brain infection after brit gone wrong – The Jerusalem Post

Posted: at 10:25 am

A three-weeks-old baby is currently in serious condition at the Bnei Zion Medical Center in Haifa due to a herpetic infection, which began in the genital area and has spread to the brain, leading to convulsions and seizures.

Laboratory tests found that the infant likely contracted the Type 1 herpes virus during his brit, directly from the mohel, who performed the ceremony using the controversial Orthodox method of blood cleaning known as "Metzitzah B'Peh," or oral suction.

Director of Pediatrics at Bnei Zion Medical Center, Prof. Itzhak Sarugo, said that "the baby was hospitalized in serious condition, with a visible inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) accompanied by prolonged convulsions and a severe skin infection that started in the groin area where the circumcision was performed."

The baby was rushed to Bnei Zion Hospital by his parents immediately after they noticed a large infection in the genital area following the brit.

During hospitalization in the pediatric ward, the herpes virus was discovered in both the cerebrospinal fluid and in the lesions that were on the baby's skin.

During the first three days of hospitalization the infant suffered from numerous seizures despite receiving treatment both for seizures and the virus.

Sarugo said that "the antiviral treatment he received is aimed at destroying the virus in the brain and preventing the inflammation of the nervous system. The baby will have to receive this treatment for the next six months."

"The herpes virus can cause a skin infection, which can spread to the brain and cause severe inflammation of the brain and even death," Sarugo said.

The neonatal herpes virus can also be transmitted while a baby passes through the birth canal, though not through the placenta, often leading to preventative C-section surgeries.

However, in adults, the virus is most often spread through saliva, sexual contact or blood transfusions.

Bnei Zion Medical Center further stated that "the nature of the lesions' diffusion and onset in the groin area and the continued spread of the lesions imply infection during the brit in the sucking stage when there is contact between the mohel's mouth and the baby's blood."

The Talmud writes that a "Mohel (Circumciser) who does not suck creates a danger, and should be dismissed from practice." Rashi, commenting on that Talmudic passage, explains that the purpose of this step is to draw some blood from deep inside the wound, to prevent danger to the baby.

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Libertarian Solutions to Reforming Police State | Opinion | Northern Express – northernexpress.com

Posted: at 10:23 am

Guest Opinion By Donna Gundle-Krieg | July 4, 2020

Americans are finally seeing the need to reform the way our society enforces laws, as the issue of police force has been placed front and center before us.

The Libertarian Party has been ahead of the game for decades on the issues of reforming our criminal justice system.

Since the 1960s, we have advocated for getting rid of laws that create victimless crimes. We have long believed in holding police accountable. Last but not least, Libertarians believe that the job descriptions, policies, and procedures of the police departments need to be reformed.

In fact, back in 1969, Lanny Friedlander, founder of the leading Libertarian magazine, Reason, said, "The police of a free society, engaging in retaliatory force only, enforcing laws of a defensive nature only, would be bound by the same laws they enforced and would stand fully accountable for their actions.

Achieving this free society starts with getting rid of victimless crimes. In other words, we need to minimize the opportunity for the police to act against the public. This means fewer laws and less intrusive enforcement of the laws that we do have.

In 1971, the fledgling Libertarian Party called for the repeal of all 'crimes without victims,' such as the prohibitions on drug use that have driven so much of the escalation in aggressive police tactics.

Fifty years later, the Libertarian Party platform states: Government force must be limited to the protection of the rights of individuals to life, liberty, and property, and governments must never be permitted to violate these rights.

We favor the repeal of all laws creating crimes without victims, such as gambling, the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes, and consensual transactions involving sexual services.

Voters in Michigan took a huge step toward repealing drug laws when they voted for recreational marijuana to be legal. According to Pew Research, in 2018, 40 percent of all arrests in the United States were for marijuana offenses. Making this drug legal certainly helps reduce the opportunity for the police to act against the public.

In addition to repealing victimless crimes, Libertarians favor holding government agencies and their employees accountable for their actions.

"We support full restitution for all loss suffered by persons arrested, indicted, tried, imprisoned, or otherwise injured in the course of criminal proceedings against them which do not result in their conviction," the Libertarian Party declared in 1979.

"Law enforcement agencies should be liable for this restitution unless malfeasance of the officials involved is proven, in which case they should be personally liable."

More recently, Grand Rapids Justin Amash, the only Libertarian in the U.S. Congress, introduced the first-ever tri-partisan bill, which would eliminate qualified immunity.

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act will restore Americans ability to obtain relief when police officers violate their constitutionally secured rights, stated Amash.

The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police is merely the latest in a long line of incidents of egregious police misconduct. This pattern continues because police are legally, politically, and culturally insulated from consequences for violating the rights of the people whom they have sworn to serve.

In addition to holding police officers accountable and eliminating victimless crimes, Libertarians believe that we must take back some of the tremendous power that society has given to police.

"Over the last 25 years, America has seen a disturbing militarization of its civilian law enforcement, along with a dramatic and unsettling rise in the use of paramilitary police units for routine police work," warned the Cato Institutes Radley Balko in his 2013 book,Rise of the Warrior Cop.

He explained that he was referring to Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, teams. These types of teams perform no-knock raids, which so often end in tragedy when police kick in the wrong door, or when a suddenly awakened resident tries to defend against intruders.

This month, libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul introduced legislation to stop the use of no-knock warrants, an idea that Democrats are also pushing in their calls for police reform. The bill requires law enforcement officers to give notice of their authority and purpose before entering a home.

In addition to qualified immunity and ending no-knock warrants, there are many other reforms that need to happen. Nearly all Americans favor at least some level of change to the nations criminal justice system, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which concluded that Americans overwhelmingly want clear standards on when police officers may use force and consequences for officers who do so excessively.

Thankfully, Americans are finally agreeing with Libertarians and implementing many of the reforms and policy changes that we have been fighting for decades.

The Libertarian party might have the deck stacked against it during elections. However, we have always been the first and often the only party to fight the battle against abusive government power.

Donna Gundle-Krieg is a Real Estate Broker in Mancelona. She is the Political Director of Northwest Michigan Libertarians, and will be on the ballot in November as a Libertarian candidate running for Mancelona Township Trustee. Contact her at dokrieg@gmail.com, or see http://www.nwmichiganlibertarians.org.

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Black Iowans have been denied right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness – The Gazette

Posted: at 10:23 am

The Declaration of Independence, signed 244 years ago this weekend, purports to be a model for people seeking to free themselves from tyranny.

But nearly two and a half centuries later, this is not yet a nation where all people enjoy the same unalienable rights life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Ongoing protests against racism and police violence offer an important reminder the dream of freedom has not been realized for Black and brown Americans.

When governments fail to protect our fundamental rights, the Declaration prescribes, the people have the right to alter or abolish oppressive systems, pursuant to their safety and happiness. With inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement, Iowa has an opportunity to start correcting these historic injustices.

The coronavirus is disproportionately affecting communities of color. People who are Black and Latino are being infected and dying of the disease at a higher rate than their white counterparts. Some of the reasons behind this divide are racial discrimination in health care and that people of color are more likely to work as essential workers.

In Iowa, Gov. Reynolds refusal to close meat packing plants and issue a stay-at-home order has compounded this divide, needlessly sacrificing the lives of Iowans. Now as restrictions are lifted statewide, cases are surging. Iowa needs a more comprehensive and adequate response to the pandemic that addresses these disparities instead of profiting from them.

Its often been said that public education is a ticket to opportunity available to all Americans. But Black Americans looking across the education landscape see too many gaps and too much inequality.

In Iowa, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress and other assessments, achievement gaps persist and may be widening. In 2019, Iowas white fourth-graders topped their Black peers by 31 percentage points, compared to a 25-point gap in 1996.

The New Statewide Assessment of Student Progress showed continuing large achievement gaps in Cedar Rapids and other districts. The district has set a goal to reduce the gap by 20 percent by 2022.

In Iowa City, an investigative report by a high school journalist, Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos, found that Black students in the Iowa City district are more than twice as likely as whites to be suspended from school. These disciplinary discrepancies are found across Iowa and push too many Iowa students from the path to an education and into the criminal justice system.

In Iowa, Black women are six times more likely to die from childbirth than white women. The causes of this problem are manifold, from access to health care to racism among doctors and nurses.

But our state is only making a bad problem worse with policies that have hallowed out Medicaid reimbursement programs. According to the University of Iowa, Medicaid reimbursed its hospital about a third of what commercial insurance plans did for services like ultrasounds and deliveries last year.

In Iowa, a quarter of families live in a child care desert, and child care does not even come close to meeting the national definition of affordable. Because of this crisis, the Iowa economy loses more than $1 billion each year due to a lack of child care.

And now, as Iowans are returning to work without access to safe and affordable child care and school districts moving to a hybrid model, parents are being forced to choose between their livelihoods and their children. From better paid leave policies to well-funded schools, more needs to be done to support Iowa parents.

Government zoning regulations and bank lending policies last century conspired to racially segregate cities in Iowa.

When the New York Times last year published its 1619 Project examining lasting effects of the North American slave trade on modern America journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote about growing up in Waterloo, where a racist lending scheme known as redlining created stark white and Black neighborhoods.

While lending and housing discrimination are officially illegal, the racial lines between neighborhoods in Iowa cities havent withered much since the federal Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act were passed in the 1960s. Analysts say Waterloo still is one of the most racially segregated cities in America.

Achieving equitable housing will require robust economic empowerment programs for Black families, but also a thorough rethinking of zoning policy by local governments.

One motivation behind the American Revolution was No taxation without representation the idea that people should not be subject to rules they have no part in making. Yet, Iowa still practices a form of this injustice.

Because of Iowas badly outdated law, nearly 10 percent of Black Iowans are barred from voting, according to the Sentencing Project. Iowa is the only state in the nation that permanently disenfranchises felons after they have completed their sentences, and minorities are disproportionately subject to felony charges.

Released felons work, pay taxes and contribute to society in many other ways. Keeping them away from the ballot box only serves to further ostracize former prisoners, making them second-class citizens. Gov. Kim Reynolds should act swiftly on her promise to issue an executive order automatically restoring voting rights, and she should refrain from imposing extra conditions or barriers.

The criminal justice system is fraught with racial disparities, but jailing people for victimless drug crimes presents a uniquely disturbing affront to racial justice.

Iowa holds an embarrassing position as a leader in arresting Black people for marijuana charges. Black Iowans are 7 times more likely than white Iowans to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to an ACLU report this year, making Iowa the 5th-worst in the country.

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The drug war is part of a larger system that victimizes communities of color, which are over-policed and where officers often use drugs as a pretext to rack up other charges. To address these disparities, state and local governments should decriminalize drugs and radically reoriented police enforcement strategies to focus on community service.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com

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A journey through the therapy looking glass insidetime & insideinformation – InsideTime

Posted: at 10:23 am

All Lives Matter

Its 3.17am and I am writing after waking several times with family, friends, a particular radio DJ and the insidious blight of systemic racism on my mind. Growing up on a council estate, I also attended a multicultural school in North West London, and have lived a life where my friends and family are those because of who they are, and not because of the colour of their skin. I recognise since studying however, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people are disproportionately represented in prison, which now troubles me greatly.

Did you know in the UK, Black men are 225% more likely to be arrested than white men? And if charged, the odds of receiving a custodial sentence are 53% higher still. For Asian men its 55% higher and other ethnic minority groups are 81% more likely to receive a custodial sentence for an indictable offence at Crown Court than a white man, even when factoring in higher not-guilty plea rates. Furthermore, a quarter of the prison population are BAME and according to the Lammy Report, commissioned in 2018, if the prison population were to reflect the make-up of England and Wales, 9,000 less BAME men and women would be behind bars. Now I am not saying that all BAME convictions are unsound but that total is 36 Grendon sized prisons, which is probably why Im awake at 3am writing this article. We need to start talking about this subject properly. Not next year or when the Coronavirus crisis is over but now.

For me, there are a lot more white drug dealers and weapon carrying violent criminals in prison than Black men with the same charge, yet the focus appears to be on Black men instead.

Living in a multicultural society in the 21st century as a white prisoner, oppression for a convict is real I can vouch for that. To experience subtle or blatant oppression for the colour of your skin however (racism), I cannot even begin to understand how that feels. I want to understand though, because my life is a fuller, richer and brighter experience than it ever would have been without the people of colour I know and care about. Yet I have learned things recently from watching the disgusting scenes in America that racism is still prevalent here too. Having discussed this at length with my neighbours Im doing lockdown alongside they dont expect special treatment; they just want equality.

Listening to the radio recently, DJ Ace a 1XTRA presenter described watching the repeated scene on live television of unarmed black man George Floyd being killed by a white police officer in the US. A deeply traumatic experience for anybody watching, yet I doubt if George was white, the same footage would have aired on breakfast television here. A poignant example of British television executives ignorance I think. Growing up, Ace and his brother agreed that if one hit the other, the argument wasnt over until the other had hit back. Once retaliated, the disagreement was settled, and it felt even. For Ace however, watching the lynching of an unarmed black man by a group of white police officers only further compounded the realities of today. He describes his personal harassment from institutions like the police as being hit but never being able to hit back. Ace described the multiple times police pulled him over, whilst driving, for suspected drug dealing. Though having never been arrested, and despite explaining he was a presenter for the BBC, he felt as though he had no way to hit back. And that, he describes, is how it feels for him as a Black man living in London today. He cannot hit back at a system which disproportionately targets his section of the community. A community which is divided because of a larger problem than gang violence or drug dealing alone; problems which some media and sections of the criminal justice system label as the cause for so many of the issues facing our society.

Implementing tangible change will meet with real scrutiny and resistance because it will mean holding a mirror up to institutions that currently are comfortable in denial.

In truth though, it is because of the very real problems of socio-economic inequality and poverty, and therefore educational attainment, work prospects and health outcomes, which has its roots not in the colour of our skin but the size of our bank accounts. Yet because BAME people are predominately from poorer backgrounds, millions of which it is now evident are essential key workers such as nurses, carers, cleaners, delivery drivers and the like, then how can we justify continually allowing these social injustices to occur?

On the occasions I have been a free man, clubbing outside London came with a guarantee my Black friends or cousins will experience a search on entry. It was as though the colour of their skin was an indication of criminality. This can only come from a persons beliefs. If people are not used to meeting people from BAME communities (which sounds absurd), then where on earth do these beliefs about profiling come from? For me, there are a lot more white drug dealers and weapon carrying violent criminals in prison than Black men with the same charge, yet the focus appears to be on Black men instead.

Much rehabilitative literature Ive read is written by predominately white middle-class people, with minimal BAME culture in mind. This does not excuse peoples individual crimes. Murder is murder, robbery is robbery, and no crime is victimless, but to rehabilitate (to support change) an offender surely needs to have a model of what to change into based on more than individual risk management alone. I believe this is where we need to redress the balance in the prison system too. Actually discussing this subject, learning about the ways in which rehabilitation can address the issues of a culturally diverse society, therefore giving Black and Asian people, my friends, realistic and achievable objectives and role models to strive to become. Im convinced a great deal of my BAME friends, when faced with the concept of change, struggle because they dont want to change into the unconscious, oppressive, passively racist role models many are presented with through the criminal justice system from childhood. Now this isnt to say people dont want to change, who wants to suffer with prison time? But giving people a real tangible road to hope surely has to become part of the solution.

We have an equalities group at Grendon which organises a multitude of team led events all year round. They cover all equality and diversity subjects including Black history, religious education, mental health awareness and LGBTQ too. It is a committee which goes beyond the standard reactive practice of the wider prison estate, where the only time problems of racism are officially addressed is when a man has no option other than to complain via the DIRF system. This proactive approach is a start, but by no means addresses the whole issue. What I have learned in my time here in therapy though is that when times are tough, quite often anger can arise, and I tend to want to focus that anger somewhere. At the moment, with lockdown and much trauma and hardship across the system, it would be easy to direct our anger towards those around us. I believe this is a mistake.

Aggression and violence never solved anything and wont do now, if anything it will just take attention away from the importance of our argument. But talking about peoples experience can begin to shed light on all the discrimination which continues to occur. Until people learn about this type of silencing systemic racism, without dismissing it then nothing will change! And my friends will continue to suffer psychologically, emotionally and aspirationally; which is unacceptable. I want to learn what its like for them so I can help to be part of a solution, and not continue to consciously or unconsciously add to a deeply shameful subject, whose roots began in colonial Britain and still penetrate language, beliefs and societal policy today, whether people care to acknowledge it or not.

Implementing tangible change will meet with real scrutiny and resistance because it will mean holding a mirror up to institutions that currently are comfortable in denial. People who are happy with the way things are, officially, who take things very personally every time questions about their imagined diverse attitudes arise. To change things would mean everybody having the courage of sharing their honest experiences. Please write about them, and send letters to our friends at the Prisoner Policy Network c/o Prison Reform Trust, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR. They want to help us all seriously. If we can build an honest picture of the subtle, though mostly blatant ways racism affects people every day on our prison wings then we can start to build a plan of education and change.

Black Lives Matter, Asian Lives Matter, damn it its the 21st century all of our lives matter man!

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Bitcoin Price Consolidating But What Happens if $9K Support Is Lost? – Cointelegraph

Posted: at 10:22 am

Bitcoin (BTC) has failed to challenge the multi-year resistance of $10,500 since the beginning of June 2020. This extended period of chop will ultimately result in one of two inevitable outcomes.

Either a massive green candle to catch bears off guard or a period of profit-taking that will see the leading digital crypto-asset fall to sub $8K levels in the coming weeks.

But what signs can we look out for to determine which direction the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization will go?

Daily crypto market performance. Source: Coin360.com

Using the Moving Average Divergence Convergence (MACD) indicator, which on the weekly chart has historically proven to be an incredibly accurate indicator for buying and selling Bitcoin, you can see that the blue MACD line is starting to point down toward the orange signal line.

Whenever the weekly MACD does this, it signals to investors and traders to either sell or short. In the early history of Bitcoin, both bullish MACD crosses (when the blue MACD line crosses up through the orange signal line) and bearish MACD crosses (what were seeing now) were infrequent they would occur once a year maybe twice.

BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: TradingView

However, in the last 18 months, they crossed nine times, thats once every two months on average since the beginning of the 2018 bear market.

The last time Bitcoin crossed bearish on the MACD there was a whopping 57% decline in the price of Bitcoin almost immediately after they crossed. So are we in store for yet another pullback? According to the Fibonacci levels, this could put downside targets anywhere between $7,916 and $3,850.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

On the daily chart, things are not much clearer. Its evident from the chart that $10,400 is the resistance and $8,800 is the support. How long this range continues is anyone's guess.

However, the last time Bitcoin broke through this level, the price soared by a further 32.2%, at which point $10,400 became support several times before eventually continuing its downtrend.

Right now, Bitcoin is dangerously close to the support level, which happens to be the 236 Fib. Losing this level opens up $7,900 as the first downside target.

Conversely, should the bulls take control and push past the $10,400 resistance level, the upside from the current price of $9,040 is a staggering 56%. Quite the trade if you can pull it off, but one that first needs to wait for confirmation, and this could take not weeks, but months to play out.

BTC/USD 1-hour RSI chart Source: TradingView

On a more positive note, the 1-hour relative strength index (RSI) indicator shows that buyers stepped in as it approached oversold territory around 31.40. Keep in mind, that anything below 30 is considered a strong buy signal.

However, on the higher time frames between the 12h and monthly charts, the RSI is very much in the middle, providing no clue as to which way the market is going to go. Either the bulls will take charge and push up BTC price 50% or the bears will drive the price down by an equal percentage.

There is quite literally nothing on the charts that can give an indication with the exception of the bearish MACD. However, sideways action can cause the MACD to cross if it lasts long enough.

ASIC producers market share. Source: BitMEX

In a recent report published on the Bitmex Blog entitled Battle for Asic Supremacy, you can see that the previous leaders in ASIC production such as Bitmain are losing their dominance. Having once occupied a 75% market share, new stars like MicroBT are fast becoming the new dominant force in this space.

But with mining rewards recently being halved, this particular industry looks somewhat like a financial black hole. For example, Canaans share prices tanked by nearly 50% shortly after a $90m IPO last year, and relative newcomers Ebang are seemingly desperate for cash after having their Hong Kong IPO rejected in 2018. Now, these firms are seeking a cash injection on United States soil after recently filing for a U.S.-based IPO in April 2020.

The unsurprising lack of financial interest in these companies will almost certainly be playing a role in the current price of Bitcoin.

The question this leaves me with is this: if no one is making any money from Bitcoin, what happens next? Is this a bullish or bearish thing? To me, the answer seems obvious, it comes across as very bearish.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart Source: TradingView

Using the current Fib levels on the hourly chart, the key levels to claim are the 618 at $9,420 and the 100% at $9,800. After $9,800, the last area of heavy resistance sits at $10,400.

Using the same chart and Fib levels, $8,800 is where the first level of support will be found. Losing this level at this stage of the game would open up the 382 on the daily chart, which sits around $7,600.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of @officiallykeith and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Demand for Bitcoin Will See a Dramatic Shift in 8 Years – Retail Investors to Eat up Entire New Supply | Economics – Bitcoin News

Posted: at 10:22 am

A recent report from ZUBR Research explains that by 2028, retail demand for bitcoin will exceed the new supply. The report highlights that in eight years as Bitcoins supply rate decreases retail size addresses [will] begin to eat up all the new supply alone. Even the next halving in 2024 could see retail accounting for acquiring 50% of the bitcoins in circulation.

Not too long ago, cryptocurrency proponents witnessed the Bitcoin (BTC) networks third halving, which cut the block reward by 50% on May 11, 2020. Just before the third BTC halving, the active supply issuance or inflation rate was around 3.8%.

Today that number is steadily dropping and at the time of publication, BTCs inflation rate is 3.51%. On June 29, a research report published by ZUBR Research details that in eight years, retail demand will outshine the rate of issuance by a long shot.

The study called Retail Investors Steady in Physical Bitcoin Snatch-Up explains how the BTC network has entered the next reward era. With 90% of all Bitcoins already mined, the remaining supply is estimated to take nearly 120 years to come to market, ZUBR wrote. This figure the remaining 10% taking another 120 years shows just how scarce the cryptocurrency already is.

In time one of the great burdens will be liquidity and physical Bitcoins become harder to come by. The researchers findings also indicate that Covid-19 gave crypto proponents a glimpse at some potential scenarios. ZUBR Research also discussed the question of whether Bitcoin is a better version of gold or not.

The study says that investors will have to weigh this decision as demand has moved in decline for gold further extending that gap available on the market during the Covid-19 crisis. No doubt, Bitcoin saw strong demand in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The demand was similarly witnessed for gold, the report highlights.

ZUBR researchers add:

There is a very critical difference to gold, however. Bitcoin supply constraints will not be a result caused by black swan events (such as the global COVID-19 lockdown that shut-in mines), but the permanent perpetual nature of the store-of-value cryptocurrency that is designed to cut off new supply.

The study notes that the researchers leveraged data from the analytics firm Chainalysis. ZUBR predicts that retail demand will continue to grow this year and by 2028 the demand will be far greater than issuance.

Just like with gold markets, the demand for bitcoin while remaining scarce could send the price of BTC sky high. The next halving will sill a lot of retail and investor demand but the fifth halving will see uncontrollable buying pressure.

Extrapolating future demand at this pace points to a very dramatic shift in 2028 when Bitcoins supply rate further decreases and these retail size addresses begin to eat up all the new supply alone, ZUBR estimates. By the time the next reward era comes around in 2024, retail could potentially account for eating up over 50% of the physical supply, the researchers added.

The paper concludes by stressing:

With retail [investors] gunning hard, these supply constraints might come sooner rather than later should growth in demand from smaller investors remain as steady as it has in the past half-decade.

What do you think about the theory that retail demand will outshine bitcoin issuance in eight years? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, ZUBR Research

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

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Demand for Bitcoin Will See a Dramatic Shift in 8 Years - Retail Investors to Eat up Entire New Supply | Economics - Bitcoin News

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Equities Buoy Bitcoin, But Price Headwinds Are Unchanged – Forbes

Posted: at 10:22 am

Data analyzing in trading market. Working set for analyzing financial statistics and analyzing a ... [+] market data. Data analyzing from charts and graph to find out the result.

Earlier today, Pfizer PFE reported that its early stage Covid-19 vaccine trials have produced optimistic results. The news sent equities and bitcoin higher, while dropping gold beneath the psychological $1,800 level.

Despite the Pfizer-led reprieve for bitcoin, its price movements since the halving have largely been disappointing, especially amidst the Feds extraordinary actions, which have benefited store of value assets like gold, historically.

The main question floating around the crypto investment world is, Why isnt price rising? Three possible explanations have floated to the top.

In 2019, a group called PlusToken, systemically scammed numerous investors throughout China to the total of more than 200,000 bitcoin, or ~ $1.84 billion, at the time of writing. Since then, the scammers have meticulously liquidated their ill-gotten gains on several exchanges. Liquidations have created a consistent and strong selling pressure to bitcoin according to notable fund manager, Travis Kling.

However, as seen by todays price action, the correlation between the S&P 500 and bitcoin has been rising steadily as Covid-19 cases spike in several states. The popular bitcoin analyst, PlanB, has stated recently that equity correlation is driving bitcoin, not scammers. He further notes that I think it is a silly narrative. In the old days if traditional markets moved without news or cause, it was always "the hedge funds.

Finally, others surmise bitcoin is a free market asset and naturally oscillates, which make correlations unstable and temporary over time. Popular crypto trader, Scott Melker, notes I do think that bitcoin has benefited from a bull market (equities) - that's just logical...but that does not mean that those assets have been correlated. He further states that if you have to make a comparison, I think a naked eye on the DXY (US Dollar Index) vs BTC chart is more compelling...clear inverse correlation.

https://www.tradingview.com/x/FRt9y4Lu/

While each faction believes their conclusions are the leading driver of bitcoins tepid movement, no one knows for certain given the unverified price effect of scammer sales, and inconsistent correlations between both equities and US dollar index to bitcoin.

https://coinmetrics.io/correlation-charts/#assets=btc-dxy,btc-s&p

Pragmatism would suggest that some combination of the aforementioned elements are driving bitcoin. However, only after time has passed and looking in hindsight, will readers know the dominant factor.

Disclosure: The author owns bitcoin and ethereum.

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Bitcoin As A Payment System Crypto Cards And The Rocky Road They Travel – Forbes

Posted: at 10:22 am

(Photo Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The financial space was rocked by the news that German fintech group Wirecard filed for insolvency owing 3.5bn. Not only a financial failure but also a seemingly elaborate and sophisticated fraud, according to EY, the companys auditor for more than a decade.

Many companies using Wirecards service would have been struck by the news, and would have had to hit the panic buttons, including a few crypto companies using Wirecard for their own card payment systems.

Already a difficult operation to get right, crypto payment, and crypto payment cards are only starting to make their way into the mainstream but it is instances like this that really hinder their potential and growth. Bitcoin has had a few changes in designation over the years, and as it stands, making it a payment system is harder than it once was.

The major cryptocurrency has undergone a number of evolutions in its some 11 years of existence. The digital currency began life as a medium for exchange in transactions, and found its first use when 10,000 BTC was traded for two pizzas (those pizzas are now worth just shy of $100 million).

But, just like the value of those two pizzas has changed, so has the designation of Bitcoin. The digital asset is today seen far more like an investable asset. Bitcoin is spoken about in the same breath as stocks and commodities and is permeating the conversations of Paul Tudor Jones and the execs at CME, Fidelity and other corners of Wall Street.

However, this fluid flow of Bitcoins designation may well be seeing a shift back towards acting like A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, as it is labelled in its own whitepaper. Recent news from Visa, PayPal and Venmo have many looking towards Bitcoin (or that should be cryptocurrencies, blockchain and the entire token ecosystem) for its potential in payments.

PayPal isrumouredto be rolling out direct sales of cryptocurrency to its over 300 million users, while it is posting job vacancies for blockchain experts. Visa has also started working towards the cryptocurrency space with apatentfor its own type of cryptocurrency, not to mention its support of the Coinbase cryptodebit card as a Visa Principal Member.

If there is indeed a move towards Bitcoin and crypto taking a new role in the evolving payments system, then the clues will probably be in the application. One of the biggest applications, and the possible bridge to the next evolution of payments, is the oldest, new, technology cards.

But, as therecent news surrounding Wirecardshows, this road for crypto cards is not an easy one. Just getting a foot in the traditional card scene can be difficult for Crypto payments solutions providers but then there are the companies that provide the payments railways to also consider.

The little pieces of plastic that nearly everyone carries around in their wallets are seen as so normal and so standard that little thought is given to their journey. However, debit and credit cards can be seen as the original fintech, and the original digitalization of cash.

This is why they are probably all the first place to look for the next iteration of digital cash and that could be crypto. I have already mentioned that Visa is doing a lot of work regarding crypto payments and tokenization, but its chief competitor Mastercard is not letting this new wave slip by.

I spoke with Suman Hughes, Director of Communications at Mastercard about their thoughts on cryptocurrency cards and the incorporation of crypto as a new payments system.

We see potential in cryptocurrency, especially in stablecoins. We have observed how using an internal stablecoin and tokenized fiat can improve settlement. We are driving the development of new products, including viable digital currencies that are safe, stable, reliable, and compliant, Hughes told me.

We are working with governments to explore Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which brings physical cash into the modern digital age. CBDCs can enable financial inclusion, increase the efficiency of payments infrastructure and reduce informal economies.

Unsurprisingly, the interest in the potential of crypto for a major payments network like Mastercard revolves around its potential for a broader application. CBDCs are certainly on the rise, and could become a standard implemented by governments, rolled out through the likes of MasterCard and into the hands of the individuals.

But, there is also no getting away from the original crypto space and those who are looking to utilize their decentralized coins and cryptos in a payments method. Coinbase,Foldand other big crypto companies have partnered with Visa and the likes to roll out cards, but there are others trying to compete.

I spoke with the CEO of Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek, a company looking to pioneer the way in regards to personal crypto payments cards. He explained how it is not a straightforward process to compete with the legacy payments networks, even if it is with a brand new technology.

Its definitely challenging for a crypto startup to roll out a card product that is ready for prime time, he told me. It needs to work well with traditional financial and payment networks, which means we have to partner with established players.

That was a judgment call we made from day one. We focused on compliance, security and privacy as the foundation on which the company should be built. Were building a globally trusted financial institution thats in the process of securing licenses in all major jurisdictions.

But we are also building for the future. Payment is always about adoption, from both a merchant and user standpoint.

It is not only difficult entering the legacy system of payment with new financial technology like Bitcoin, there are also the hurdles that come with some of these traditional companies. TheWirecard newshas rocked the financial world and with Crypto.com reliant on this company for its cards, they too were struck hard.

The FCA in the UK effectively shut down Crypto.comscard activityin the UK and Europe to try and stem the damage from Wirecards collapse, and forced Crypto.coms hand in looking for a new card service provider.

"The FCA effectively shut down Wirecard UK, the issuer of our cards in Europe. Our EU/UK cards will stop working today. All customers will receive 100% credit back to their crypto wallets within 48 hours. Were moving the card program to a new vendor, Marszalek tweeted following the news.

The latest on this saga for Crypto.com is that the FCA, the U.K. watchdog, has allowed Wirecard Card Solutions, a Newcastle-based subsidiary of troubled German company Wirecard AG, to resume regulated activity meaning that the cards from Crypto.com have been reactivated in the UK and Europe.

These kinds of events, while mostly a one-off and rare, do represent the other issues that crypto faces in trying to enter the mainstream. Payment systems are usually taken as impenetrable and as a given, but there are hidden dangers that can hold back the advancement of this space.

That being said, the future of crypto seems laid out, and on top of that, its future as a payments system is becoming more and more probable.

There are certainly tangible changes in the crypto space when it comes to payments, and how these payments will be enacted and rolled out. But there is also a long way to go. However, as Marszalek explains, the digital asset bridge has already been built by cards.

By 2030, every single person on the planet will hold digital assets one way or another. Our mission is simply to accelerate the worlds transition to cryptocurrency. Familiar form factors, like a card, play a very important role in educating main street users.

Still, Hughes explained that there are still a number of things that need to be overcome in the crypto space for payments to be normalised with these assets.

We strongly believe that for digital currencies to become trusted payment instruments for consumers or businesses, it is essential that they offer stability, regulatory compliance and consumer protections, she added.

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Stock in Crypto Mining Firms Riot and Hive Massively Outperforms Bitcoin – Cointelegraph

Posted: at 10:22 am

The share price of Bitcoin (BTC) mining firms Riot Blockchain and Hive Blockchain has produced enormous year-to-dategains, with stock in Riot nearly doubling while Hives has tripled over 2020 so far.

However, not all mining firms have fared well throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with Canaans stock falling nearly 70% since early January, and both Hut 8 and DMG Blockchain seeing scant YTD gains despite experiencing significant volatility this year.

While Bitcoin is up more than 26% from roughly $7,200 to $9,100 since the start of the year, the leading cryptocurrencys gains have been dramatically overshadowed by a handful of firms mining it.

Hive Blockchain has seen a dramatic performance this year, rallying more than 420% from the start of 2020 until mid-February, from $0.066 to $0.345. The firms shares crashed back to $0.118 over the next month as immediate economic fallout from the coronavirus took effect. However, an expansion that led toHive doublingits mining capacity saw its stock rebound to test the $0.033 area by mid-May.

HIVE/CAD 2020 YTD: Google

The firms shares have since fallen back to $0.228.

After starting the year trading for $1.22, Riot Blockchain shares rallied to $1.60 by mid-Februarybefore crashing to $0.65 in roughly one month. However, Riot produced a strong recovery, gaining over 375% to trade for $3.10 on June 10. The firms shares have since retraced to $2.29.

RIOT/CAD 2020 YTD: Google

Riots recovery may have been boosted by announcements in May that its mining revenues had grown 70% in the first quarter year-on-year, itsplans to roughly double its hash rate after Bitcoins block reward halving, and the dismissal of pump-and-dump complaints against the firm.

Riot also expanded its total hash rate capability after establishing a hosting arrangement for its Antminer S17s with fellow mining firm Coinmint in April after facing disruptions resulting from COVID-19.

However, the gains enjoyed by Riot and Hive are certainly not indicative of all miners, with Canaan suffering huge losses over 2020 so far.

After starting the year at $6.02, Canaan shed over a quarter of its value by mid-Feb when a sudden spike pushed prices up to $8.04 in a single day. Canaans stock then plummeted to $2.81 in mid-March, before embarking on a steady recovery to retest $6 two months later.

RIOT/USD 2020 YTD: Google

Since May 14, Canaans price has crashed by more than two-thirds to currently trade for $1.82.

While the YTD performance for Hut 8 and DMG Blockchain are currently sitting at an approximate break-even, both firms have seen extreme volatility during 2020.

HUT/CAD 2020 YTD: Google

Both Riot and DMG produced sudden spikes of over 60% in February followed by crashes of at least 60% by mid-March and a recovery back to trade at early-Januarylevels.

DMGI/CAD 2020 YTD: Google

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