Monthly Archives: April 2021

The price of bitcoin dropped below the psychologically important $50,000 level on Friday, as worries over rising U.S. taxes filtered over to cryptocurrencies, adding to recent pressure already simmering on those alternative investments.

Bitcoin prices BTCUSD, -3.64% last changed hands at $47,659, a slide of 12% over 24 hours and a level not seen since early March, according to Coindesk. Losses were spread across other cryptocurrencies, with ether ETHUSD, -2.96%, on the ethereum network, also droppping around 13% over the same time period, trading at $2,120. XRP XRPUSD, -11.96%, which is pegged to Ripple, has lost 22% in 24 hours, last trading at $1.01.

The fresh losses for bitcoin represent around a 26% drop from a recent peak of $64,829 for the cryptocurrency. A 20% drop meets the widely accepted definition of a correction. Bitcoin saw a sharp slide last weekend, though the cryptocurrencys volatility mean slides of more than 10% are not unusual. Fears of increased regulation were at the heart of last Sundays pullback.

Fridays losses come on the heels of a more-than 300-point loss for the Dow industrials DJIA, +0.75% after a media report that President Joe Biden is weighing a plan to nearly double capital-gains tax on the wealthy.

It is clear thatBitcoinis more sensitive to capital gains tax threats than most asset classes. The threat of regulation, either directly in developed markets or indirectly via the taxman, has always been cryptos Achilless heel, in my opinion, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, to clients in a note.

Halley said the next bitcoin level hes watching out for is $42,000, which might come this weekend, or next week or perhaps not at all.

Hopefully, we will hear as many experts saying this is a sign ofbitcoinbecoming a maturing mainstream asset if it falls 10% this weekend, as we do when it rises, or a crypto-exchange chooses to IPO, he said.

A number of analysts have warned of a near-term downturn for bitcoin as the cryptocurrency has continued to track lower after reaching an all-time peak above $64,000 following the direct listing of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase COIN, +0.46%.

Opinion:Warren Buffett could teach traders in dogecoin, GameStop and other hot trends a few things about Mr. Market

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Bitcoin drops below $50,000, dented in part by rising U.S. tax worries - MarketWatch

A sudden recent drop in the price of bitcoin suggests the digital currencys yearlong rally might finally be running out of steam.

Bitcoin fell as much as 17% on Saturday to $52,149, with about half the decline occurring in about 20 minutes late in the evening Eastern Time. Although it recovered some of those losses by Monday morning, the price has steadily declined this week. It was trading at $49,334 early Friday.

Bitcoin topped out at $64,829 on April 14, the same day Coinbase Global Inc., the biggest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, went public in a highly anticipated offering. The two events marked the pinnacle of a heady rally for cryptocurrencies that began last year. Bitcoins price more than tripled in 2020 and doubled to start 2021 before slipping.

Yet that momentum lately has been showing signs of flagging, said Michael Oliver of the research firm Momentum Structural Analysis. Since bitcoin crossed $60,000 in March for the first time, its pace of gains has slowed and it has traded in a relatively narrow range. That was a sign, he said, that the rally could falter, as it finally did over the weekend.

We think bitcoins broken for the time being, he said, pointing to technical trend lines.

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Behind Bitcoins Recent Slide: Imploding Bets and Forced Liquidations - The Wall Street Journal

Bitcoin is setting up for a near-term downturn that could see it shed a good chunk of its recent gains, even if the longer-term outlook appears healthy for the worlds No. 1 crypto.

Thats the view of a number of analysts after bitcoin prices BTCUSD, -3.70% breached a key technical level following the exuberance for digital assets in the wake of Coinbase Globals COIN, +0.44% listing on the Nasdaq last week.

Bitcoin was off 1.8% late-morning Wednesday in New York, changing hands at around $56,000 on CoinDesk. That puts the crypto about 14% below its all-time peak at $64,829.14.

On Tuesday, researchers at Bespoke Investment Group noted that Tuesday marked bitcoins first time, in a 24-hour period, in which it fell below its 50-day moving average since at least 2014, after recording 193 straight days of prints above that level. Bitcoin was first created back in 2008-09.

Market technicians use moving averages as barometers of bullish and bearish trends in an asset.

Pankaj Balani, CEO of Delta Exchange, in emailed comments, said that bitcoin has managed to hold above its 50-day moving average in recent trade but warned that a sustained breach of the short-term price could lead to a slide to around $40,000.

The 50 DMA has been a crucial support forBitcoinsince October last year and it has held this support every time in this rally. This time around however, we seeBitcoins momentum fizzling out and BTC struggling to hold this support, Balani explained.

The Bespoke researchers noted that bitcoin tends to see declines, in the one-week, one-month, three-month periods, after upward trends lasting at least 100 days are snapped.

One week later, [bitcoin] was down all four times for a median decline of 4.6% and declines all four times. One and three months later, performance was even worse with median declines of 6.5% and 13.4%, respectively, the report read.

Researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, +1.95%, including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, wrote in a Tuesday report that waning momentum for bitcoin could spell a spiral lower for the volatile asset. The analysts said a failure to retake $60,000 could be the trigger for a sharp drop.

The JPMorgan strategist point to bearish trends in bitcoin futures markets BTC.1, -5.79%, where institutional and professional investors go to hedge their exposures to the crypto.

Referring to the attached chart, JPMorgan says that the four episodes of greater than a 10% decline in their futures position proxy, including the one over the past few days, have been attributed to an inability to trend higher.

Similar to the previous three episodes, it is likely that momentum traders, such as [commodity trading advisors] and crypto funds, were at least partly behind the buildup of long bitcoin futures in recent weeks and thus also likely behind the unwinding over the past few days, JPMorgan concluded.

If the bitcoin price fails to break out above $60,000 soon, the momentum signals shown in Figure 9 will naturally decay from here for several months, given their still elevated level, the analysts wrote.

JPMorgan researchers arent 100% sure that this time bitcoin will follow a decline with a strong snap back higher as was seen in November and in mid-February. Notably, the analysts say that flows into bitcoin have been tepid and the downturn appears to be gathering steam.

So far this year bitcoin prices have been buoyant, up 94% year to date. By comparison, gold GC00, -0.25%, which is seen as a rival to bitcoin, is down 5.5% in 2021. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.75% and the S&P 500 index SPX, +1.20% are both up around 11% in the year to date.

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Bitcoin bears are stalking crypto prices --- here's how low they could go - MarketWatch

Bitcoin replica coins are seen on November 13, 2017

Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The price of bitcoin slipped to a near one-month low Thursday after a record-shattering week ahead of Coinbase's listing on April 14 in which the world's largest cryptocurrency broke consecutive records above the $63,000-level.

Bitcoin slipped to $53,318 at 2:01 p.m. ET to its lowest since March 24. It was trading lower by 4% to 53,519 at 2:18 p.m. ET.

"BTC has slipped below the 50 [day moving average] support that it held sacrosanct through this rally, and looks like there is more downside here," Pankaj Balani, CEO of Delta Exchange, told Insider.

The slide in bitcoin may also be attributed to the rise in other coins, particularly ether, which has been taking center stage, Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex, told Insider.

Ether spiked as much as 8.5% on Thursday to a new record high above $2,560, pushing the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency near $300 billion for the first time.

"ETH has outperformed BTC this month and looks set to challenge its [all-time high]," Ardoino said, maintaining that bitcoin's place as a safe haven asset and hedge against inflation is still gathering strength.

The volatility of bitcoin however has steadily been decreasing over time, Stephen Ehrlich, co-founder and CEO at Voyager Digital, a crypto asset broker, told Insider. Even the recent sharp moves have not seen such a big rise in volatility compared to historically, he said.

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Overall, experts including Ryan Conway, SVP and head of business development & strategic partnerships at Oxygen, a digital banking platform, remain bullish on bitcoin.

"Although there are several external factors that could lead to short-term swings this week, I am bullish on bitcoin long term as it has proven to demonstrate real utility as a store of value with the potential to replace gold or even major fiat currencies as a hedge against inflation," he told Insider.

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Bitcoin is at its lowest level in nearly a month. 2 experts explain why they see more weakness ahead. - Markets Insider

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Canadas largest digital-asset investment fund manager 3iQ Corp. is hoping to raise more than $200 million by listing its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in Dubai, according to its chief executive officer.

The intent of listing on the Nasdaq Dubai exchange is to get trading at all hours around the globe, said CEO Fred Pye. We trade on the North American market times and Dubai is almost perfectly opposite of what our trading hours are, he told Bloomberg TV.

3iQ was founded in 2012 and has about $1.5 billion in assets. Its 3iQ Coinshares Bitcoin ETF, which listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange last year, is now set to become the first cryptocurrency fund to go public in the Middle East.

Dubai-based Dalma Capital Management Ltd. is the syndicate manager for the offering.

The Canadian fund is also looking to work closely with lenders in the region. Not only the banks in the UAE but also potential banks from other countries in the region, Pye said.

Bitcoin surged past the $63,000 mark earlier this month, its highest ever, before paring gains. JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists recently said if the largest cryptocurrency isnt able to break back above $60,000 soon, momentum signals will collapse.

Read: Crypto Stock Mania Tested by Sliding Prices, Bitcoin Slump

Pye is hopeful, though. Bitcoin could rise to $100,000 in the next three years because of supply scarcity, according to him.

Right now, weve seen Bitcoin consolidate in the $50,000-$60,000 range, we expect that to continue, he said.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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First Mideast Bitcoin ETF Aims to Raise More Than $200 Million - Bloomberg

Central to the Bitcoin investment thesis is increasing adoption, which can take on a variety of forms.

One of those forms is companies stashing Bitcoin on their balance sheet a move thats in its nascent stages, but one that could ultimately prove potent for prices of the largest cryptocurrency. Tesla is one name that comes to mind, as the electric vehicle maker added $1.5 billion worth of the digital asset to its balance sheet earlier this year.

However, Tesla is not the company with the largest Bitcoin holdings. According to data presented by Aksje Bloggen, MicroStrategy, Tesla, and Square, as the three leading public companies on this list, together hold $7.6bn in Bitcoins. MicroStrategy alone, as the biggest investor, has over $5bn in Bitcoin assets, notes the research firm.

Treating Bitcoin as a substitute for cash, even in small increments, can be a practical strategy for multiple reasons.

First, the cryptocurrency can appreciate far more rapidly than traditional currencies. Second, with interest rates low in the U.S., cash instruments and short-term bonds arent going to generate much in the way of returns for investors corporate or otherwise.

For its part, MicroStrategy proves a company can be a Bitcoin devotee.

According to the companys financial report from March, MicroStrategy spent over $2.2bn to acquire 91,579 Bitcoins, which are now worth over $5bn. That means the company doubled its investment in less than a year. The downside is that, unlike Tesla, MicroStrategy used more than $1.6bn in convertible debt to finance them, notes Aksje Bloggen.

With Tesla entering the Bitcoin arena in a big way, some market observers are speculating about what well-known companies could be next, with some saying Apple or Amazon make for logical embracers of Bitcoin. Time will tell if that happens, but theres also a runway for more fintech companies to follow Squares lead.

As the third-biggest Bitcoin buyer among public companies, Square Inc, spent $200 million to buy 8,027 Bitcoins. Today, the US financial services and digital payments company holds almost half a billion dollars in BTC assets, continues Askje Bloggen. With big companies rushing to invest significant amounts of money into the worlds leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoins price is expected to continue rising.

For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Crypto Channel.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

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Why Bitcoin Is Making Its Way onto the Balance Sheet - ETF Trends

More women are investing in cryptocurrency, as Coinbase Global Inc.s initial public offering and bitcoins recent record-setting high help bring the asset class further into the mainstream.

Several cryptocurrency exchanges and online brokerage firms are reporting an increase in the number of women trading crypto in the past year. Some are expecting that number to rise further, thanks in part to investors greater awareness of the asset class, their desire to buy into hot markets and the promise of boosting their savings. At the same time, some people who are using volatile markets to save expose themselves to the risk of having months of gains wiped out when the winds shift.

One in four customers who traded crypto so far in 2021 on the Robinhood Markets Inc. platform is a woman, said Christine Brown, chief operating officer of Robinhood Crypto. The firm said fewer women trade crypto on its platform than trade stocks and exchange-traded funds. Over the past two years, digital trading platform eToro Group Ltd. said the number of female crypto traders in the U.S. on its platform has jumped by half, to about 20% of all users in the U.S.

Women should have an equal seat at the table when it comes to cryptocurrency investing, Ms. Brown said.

Anthony Denier, chief executive at Webull Financial LLC, is surprised there arent more female crypto traders on the firms platform, owing in part to the availability of information about cryptocurrency investing online and womens increased interest in managing their portfolios. About 21% of the crypto traders on the firms platform are female, a number he said is rising.

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Women Step Up Trading in Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrencies - The Wall Street Journal

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Life-long educator Stephen Ritz began his career as an ordinary teacher, unaware that his destiny would lead him to provide food to those in need while encouraging healthy habits and attendance in school. "One day during a classroom fight -- literally where I thought a student was going to grab a weapon -- he reached under the radiator and came out with a handful of daffodils and the rest is history," Ritz told AccuWeather's Lincoln Riddle in a recent interview. Ritz's mission started by accident that very moment in 2000 but has since evolved and gained the attention of the pope, his community and the internet. "I was gifted a box of bulbs, daffodil bulbs and didn't even know what they were and kind of threw them away and hid them behind an old radiator in the back of a building," Ritz explained. Water and heat from the radiator caused the bulbs to grow, which inspired what is now called "The Green Bronx Machine," an educational project that feeds not only the mind but the stomach as well. That year, Ritz and his students from Public School 55 planted 25,000 daffodil bulbs across New York City. Since then, Ritz has developed a curriculum that is being used across the country in academic classes from math and science to social studies. "I grow vegetables. My vegetables grow students," Ritz said. "My students grow schools, and my schools grow community." His curriculum helps transform performance metrics and changes health outcomes for students, not only in the Bronx but for 50,000 students across America. "Our attendance here is off the hook. We've moved targeted attendance from 40% to 93%," Ritz said. And it gets them involved in their communities. "We orchestrated the door-to-door delivery of over 100,000 pounds of food," Ritz said. He went on to say that the effort that emerged since the turn of the millennium has been remarkable. "We gave birth to the first edible classroom in all of New York City, which routinely grew enough food to grow a vegan lunch for 450 students. It has now since evolved into the National Health, Wellness and Learning Center where we grow food, generate energy, have solar power, people power, along with a very rigorous academic program," Ritz said. Ritz said that when he started with the urban farm movement, he wanted to get the excitement of growing food seasonally into classrooms so it could be something that would be useful 12 months a year, not just for the two months that school was out. In Ritz's book, The Power of a Plant, the longtime teacher explains he wound up taking over a school and classroom with children who were really disconnected. And, perhaps surprisingly, the project didn't stem from him having background in science or agriculture. "You know, the interesting part of my story is I have no science background. None of it. I'm not a horticulturist. I'm not an agriculturist," Ritz said. But that didn't stop him from achieving his destiny of helping children. "Whether our children are hungry, malnourished, poorly nourished, input equals output. So in order to fuel their bodies and their brains, input is essential," Ritz said. Consumption of fruits and vegetables in childhood increases the risk of future, noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, according to the National Institute of Health. "The ability to go from being a consumer of something that is marketed to you, often without your control, to being able to produce your own food and bring it home to your family and to those in need is game-changing," Ritz said. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP The hard work being done by the Green Bronx Machine has even been recognized by Pope Francis and TV legend Oprah Winfrey. "It was so cool to get a get-out-of-school note for that day and have a letter from the pope. But remarkably, the pope has sent people here to observe our classroom," Ritz said. However, Ritz says that what he's doing is not just helping people, it's also helping the planet. "Every time I keep a burger out of a child's belly and replace it with a fresh salad or a banana, think of the footprint reduction," Ritz said. "When we teach children about nature, we teach them to nurture and when we teach children to nurture, we as a society collectively embrace our better nature," Ritz explained. Ritz likes to say he's growing citizens. "You can't go from seed to harvest without cultivation in the middle and what we're really doing is cultivating children and cultivating the future," Ritz said. Additional reporting by Lincoln Riddle and Bryan Conyers. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.

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Here's where you can shop with Bitcoin and other crypto - Yahoo Money

The crypto market generally tends to follow bitcoin, however, over the past few sessions ethereum has taken a big lead in terms of returns over the worlds biggest cryptocurrency, bitcoin.

Over the past seven sessions, ethereum has delivered a return of 5.5% against -12.4% return given by bitcoin. As of 6.50pm IST on Thursday, bitcoin was trading 1% lower at $54,914.92, while the worlds second-biggest crypto asset was more than 9% higher at $2,593.87, a fresh lifetime high.

According to experts, there are multiple factors working in favor of the altcoin. Altcoin is a cumulative term to define cryptocurrencies that came after bitcoin.

The recent price movement of bitcoin indicates consolidation. This is a healthy pullback and will provide long-term stability to the worlds largest crypto asset. Ether is rallying because of the launch of ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) on a Canadian exchange, which is seen as a major step towards making digital assets, mainstream. Ether is expected to break above $3,000 this month," said Shivam Thakral, CEO, BuyUcoin.

Moreover, technical factors are also not working in favor of bitcoin, which has a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.

Recently, bitcoin closed below its 50-Day simple moving average (SMA) for the first time since 8 October 2020. According to global cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, the move lower coupled with bitcoins inability to immediately get back over the 50-day SMA suggests that the bears could be taking control of the market in the short term.

Until it closes above the 50-day SMA, one can expect bitcoin to remain rangebound between $51.000 and $58,000 historical relevant support and resistance levels, respectively, Kraken said in a note.

According to experts, this divergence between ether and bitcoin over the last few days has both short-term and long-term forces behind it. Over the past year, a lot of investors who got into bitcoin have become aware of ethereum and started diversifying their crypto portfolios. Thats why youve seen ether in a general strong uptrend since early 2020. That trend has gotten stronger as the news of Eth 2.0 has become better known. That innovation is going to lower fees and open up many new opportunities for innovation," said Vikram Rangala, chief operating officer of ZebPay.

While bitcoins most well-known use case is as a store of value, ethereum has several use cases. Its a software platform for things like non-fungible tokens and financial services, among others.

Investors are learning that. In March, with the Coinbase IPO and other bullish bitcoin news, some investors may have sold their ether to move into bitcoin. Now that this bitcoin rally seems to be ending, people are taking profits and moving value back into their long-term ether investments," Rangala added.

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Why is ethereum on a tear of late, outperforming bitcoin? - Mint

ZUG, Switzerland, April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Bitcoin Association, the Switzerland-based global industry organisation that works to advance business with the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain, today announces that it has appointed two new Ambassadors for the Asia-Pacific region as part of its global ambassador programme, with George Siosi Samuels appointed as Ambassador for the South Pacific and Masumi Hamahira appointed as another Ambassador for Japan.

Bitcoin Association Ambassadors are experienced professionals from the Bitcoin SV ecosystem who work to raise awareness and improve understanding of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and BSV digital currency, as well as the power of the original Bitcoin protocol to support a massively scaled distributed data network for the world. With today's additions, there are now 22 Bitcoin Association Ambassadors representing 23 different countries and territories.

George Siosi Samuels is the managing director of Fai, a community tech consultancy working to bridge gaps between communities and technology, particularly in small and developing nations and regions. Fai is working together with BSV ecosystem companies nChain and Elas Digital to help the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu build using the BSV blockchain - the world's first national digital ledger to become the world's first paperless society. In addition, Samuels is the founder of Hon, a BSV blockchain-based social accountability platform that can be utilised across a range of different use cases, including the ability to improve the productivity of remote workers worldwide. Hon was voted the #1 judges' choice during the Draper University Pitching Competition run by venture capitalist Tim Draper's organisation.

Masumi Hamahira is a veteran financial executive, having spent 22 years working for MUFG - the world's fifth-largest bank - including in Malaysia. An expert in the requirements of Islamic Finance, Hamahira also serves on the board of directors for the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals (CIIFP). Supporting BSV initiatives in his individual capacity (rather than on behalf of MUFG or CIIFP), Hamihara is an initial member of the Bitcoin SV Technical Standards Committee and already serves as Bitcoin Association's Ambassador for Malaysia. Having relocated from Malaysia to Tokyo, Japan, Hamahira now will also act as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador in Japan (adding to efforts of Ken Shishido, the Association's first appointed Ambassador for the country).

Speaking on today's announcement, Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen, commented:

"As Bitcoin SV continues to demonstrate its utility across a variety of business use cases all over the world, especially in countries in Asia-Pacific, we continue to expand our global Bitcoin Association team to help spread the word and support the ongoing BSV growth story. Both George and Masumi have demonstrated ability as leaders in their respective business fields and as strong advocates for BSV, making them ideal candidates to be new Bitcoin Association Ambassadors for the Asia-Pacific region."

Speaking on his appointment as Bitcoin Association Ambassador to the South Pacific, George Siosi Samuels, said:

"I see huge potential for the Pacific region, not just for BSV adoption, but for the underlying utility of the technology and its ability to offer leapfrogging development that will facilitate future social, cultural and economic growth. While the Pacific region is often overlooked because of its remoteness, I believe that our Pacific nations will be able to draw on our history as master ocean explorers and translate that into mastering the new digital ocean enabled by Bitcoin technology."

Speaking on his appointment as a Bitcoin Association Ambassador to Japan, Masumi Hamahira, said:

"I foresee Bitcoin SV as a driver for innovation as a global public blockchain protocol in the same way that the Internet protocol did, just as I see great potential in Japan for sophisticated corporates to use BSV in new and unique ways. In my new role, I will work to enhance the awareness of BSV among regulators, lawyers, industry associations, developers and academia by leveraging my network as a global banker and working so that we see the beautiful dawn of Bitcoin SV from the Land of the Rising Sun."

About Bitcoin Association

Bitcoin Associationis theSwitzerland-basedglobal industry organization that works to advance business on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. It brings together essential components of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others working alongside them, as well as in a representative capacity, to drive further use of the Bitcoin SV blockchain and uptake of the BSV digital currency.

The Association works to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while facilitating innovation using all aspects of Bitcoin technology. More than a digital currency and blockchain, Bitcoin is also a network protocol; just like Internet protocol, it is the foundational rule set for an entire data network. The Association supports use of the original Bitcoin protocol to operate the world's single blockchain on Bitcoin SV.

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Bitcoin Association appoints new ambassadors for Japan and the South Pacific to advance Bitcoin SV - PRNewswire