Replies to post #26 on EOS (EOSUSD)

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Today we have gathered 5 unsophisticated pieces of advice which will help you manage your money more effectively and won’t need lots of effort, focus or time.

1. Set up specific goals

Financial experts insist that making a list of specific actions that you want to do can be very useful. Avoid blurry descriptions such as “save up more” to receive a more exact plan how to “work” with money. Moreover, to not overload yourself and your budget, set only 3 goals you feel more certain that you can reach. For example, “purchase of a laptop”, “purchase of a car”, “marketing courses”.

2. Make an emergency fund

No, it’s not about your saving ups, it is rather a fund for unexpected costs in case of emergency. Everybody can find themselves in trouble, that’s why it is better to be prepared in advance. When force major strikes, you won’t need to “pinch” from your savings or lend money from all your friends. By the way, hide your emergency fund as far as possible and don’t check it without the necessity.

3. Spend money only on things that help you grow

The only way to achieve this goal is to assess your current expenses. You cannot go forward not knowing what was your starting point, can you? So, learn your expense items for the year and make a conclusion which habits or things you should exclude and on which you can spend more. Set it as your rule: only spend your money on things that bring you visible and tangible benefit.

4. Set up a day without expenses

Financial advisers suggest setting up a day when you won’t have any expenses at all – and that is a very good decision which will make you more focused and attentive to your own finances. This goal is specifically useful for the young people who often do not account for their money and recklessly spend it on entertainment and fun with their friends. Who knows, maybe in future you will learn how to have even two days a week without expenses!

5. Repay your debts immediately

Make it as your goal to firstly repay all the debts: to people, banks or credit offices. Of course, you should try not to borrow money at all, but if you have done so, make it your priority to repay debts and not spending on yourself. In other words, adopt the philosophy of quick repaying rather than yielding to your whims. It is not easy, but this will make you a more organized and task-oriented person.

We hope that our advice will help you save up your money so you could grow it buying actives you are interested in with the help of our service.

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Today we have decided to have a small crash course for those who are new at the market of cryptocurrencies. And we’re going to start from the very basics.

The most important point that one has to understand, is that to keep cryptocurrency you have to have a wallet’s address and there are three ways how you can create one:

1. Use online wallets
2. Download a program to your PC
3. Buy a hardware wallet

We will quickly go through pros and cons of each way. But let’s start by telling a few words about what a wallet for cryptocurrencies is using bitcoin as a sample. Bitcoin, as any other cryptocurrency, is kept only in a form of a blockchain. Anybody can view a transaction in the net, check the balance of any wallet. This information is open for everyone. But it is impossible to tell who the owner of the wallet is.

Bitcoin wallet has two parts:

• Open key. It is the address of the bitcoin wallet, it is not a secret. It has 32-34 symbols of Latin letters and numbers. All addresses always start with the number “1” or “3”.
• Private key (sometimes called as a secret key). It is a longer sequence of letters and numbers of the Latin alphabet. You mustn’t tell it to anyone, because it is an access to the wallet.

Transaction in bitcoin network means that cryptocoins go from one wallet’s address to another. The speed of transaction is equal to emerging of a new block in blockchain (10 minutes on average).

Transaction is subject to a small fee. Depending on the network loading, its amount can change. The sender specifies its amount. By the way, commission does not depend on the amount of transaction. You can transfer amount equaling to $10, $10000 or $1 billion and still pay the same commission.

1. Online wallets

There are lots of sites which offer services for creation and keeping online-wallets. They are called “cryptowallets”. The service takes on all the issues of keeping funds safe. There are pros in that, since you don’t need to think about computer safety, plus reliability of the service is usually much better that that of a simple computer. We would like to personally recommend the service blockchain.com

2. Program on your PC

You can download programs for bitcoin wallet on the official website bitcoin.org. Here you can choose from lots of wallets supported by community: Bitcoin Core, MultiBit, Armory and Electrum. Also, you can learn the features of each of them. They slightly differ from each other. For example, Electrum does not keep all the history of transactions (blockchain) on computer, but it refers to randomly selected network nodes. Bitcoin Core, on the opposite, keeps the full history on your PC and computer must always be online for checking if the data is accurate. Today the blockchain size for bitcoin is about 200 Gigabytes. Many people recommend taking the security of a computer with bitcoin-wallet seriously. This is because in case fraudsters steal the wallet file, all your funds there will disappear. As nobody wants this to happen, you need to follow the basic rules of computer usage safety.

3. Hardware wallets

Hardware wallets are a device that keeps the private key. Their advantage is that it is switched off the Internet and there is no way anybody can hack this wallet. If the device breaks or you lose access to it, you can restore it by entering 24 random words (so called seed words).

And you can always find favorable rates for purchasing cryptocurrency on our site BestChange. com

We wish you reliable and profitable exchanges!

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Following the summary of the book we have shared this week, we would like to extend the topic and tell you about seven mistakes people
make when writing to-do lists and several ways of avoiding such mistakes.

1.Too voluminous lists

We plan to do dozens of things during the day, but all our tasks vary in their urgency, length and time required for their completion. Long lists
demotivate, because it is impossible to do every task in them.

Instead, specify 3 most important tasks which will benefit you the most in your carrier, business or you personally, and write them down in order
of their importance on a small piece of paper to keep in front of your eyes during the day.

2.Ambiguity and uncertainty

Very often we formulate our goals too vaguely, not setting forth the specific steps we need to take to achieve the result.
Instead of writing down: “Work on the presentation”, specify what exactly you are planning to do: “Make a draft of the presentation”,
“Define 3 key points of the presentation” and so on.

It is important to understand:
- what the final result would be;
- if it is possible to finish the task in one go;
- what the deadline of the task is.

3.Poor time management

It’s hard to be effective if you don’t know how many hours or days it will require you to complete this or that task. Before getting down to work,
estimate how much time you would approximately spend on this task. Even if you make mistakes in your estimations at first, they will help you to
better manage your time in the future.

4.Falling for distractions

There are days when lots of unplanned tasks emerge and unforeseen situations take place. That’s why it is important not only to structure your
schedule, but also be flexible. Every morning take a look in your calendar to check what you have planned for today and the next few days.
During the day allow at least one hour to be spent on solving unplanned situations. This amount of free time will let you considerably decrease
the level of everyday stress.

5.Focusing on tasks which are in fact not so important

There is always a temptation to fill your list with tasks which only seem urgent and important but actually do not play a big role in the long run.
To achieve results, you need to see the whole picture and write down tasks with real deadlines (for example, important meetings) and those that
have the most influence on your goals (for instance, work on the coming presentation).

6.No connection between tasks and end goals

Motivation depends on how the task is important for you personally. In these cases, we don’t have to summon up our spirits, we get down to work happily.
Before starting to write your to-do list of important tasks, think for a moment, why you include this or that point there. If it relates to your long-term goal,
you will work on it with more enthusiasm.

7.Torturing yourself with thoughts on undone tasks

At the end of the day, the list of important tasks is not a question of life and death. That’s why don’t torture yourself and start each morning with working on
three most important tasks for the day.

- - -

As always, we are trying to be interesting and useful for you, that’s why your opinion matters. Please tell us, did you find this information interesting, would you
like to read similar advice in the future?

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All of us heard many times that cryptocurrencies are only good for trading in the darknet and for laundering money. We sometimes even get requests from journalists to give comments on such questions about illegal deals with cryptocurrencies.

But let’s sort out, can bitcoin be really used for money laundering?

I think there is no need to explain what money laundering is about – it is done to give criminal money legal status and to “cover the tracks”.

Cryptocurrency sphere with its decentralization, anonymity and almost instant transactions may seem to have become the favorite place for all kinds of financial fraudsters. But there are a few problems with that.

1. Volatility of most cryptocurrencies
Although for traders constant price surges serve as a great opportunity to profit, for people using digital currencies as a medium, a fall by 10-20 per cent can be a very serious risk.

2. Difficulty of converting cryptocurrencies into fiat currencies. More and more often the exchangers and exchange markets follow the principles of KYC, CFT and AML. Cryptocurrencies still have a half-legal status in most countries. If a considerable amount of money is transferred into cryptocurrencies, after all the stages of laundering, these cryptocurrencies will need to be transferred back into cash money. That’s how, ironically, half-legal status of cryptocurrencies protects them from criminal activity.

3. The majority of digital currencies are not at all anonymous. All transactions made in blockchain are reflected in a public ledger, where everybody can track from which account the transaction was made, how much money was transferred, and by which account it was received. No, these accounts are not connected to names and surnames, but these are easily trackable by IP. There is a limited number of currencies the main task of which is totally anonymity of transactions (Monero, Zcash, Verge and others). But the result of this anonymity is, as a rule, longer time of transaction and its higher price, and difficulty of conversion due to lower liquidity.

It cannot be absolutely excluded that bitcoin might be used in illegal deals, as any currency in the world, in cash or in a cashless way. But incredibly much more often it is the cash, in particular, dollars, which is used when financing terrorism of laundering money, but the very thought of banning cash sounds absurd.

Notwithstanding all the novelty that comes with cryptocurrencies, the most anonymous and safe way of transaction is giving money from hand to hand. That is why the majority of illegal deals are done with the use of cash. As before, using cash remains more anonymous and complicated for tracking than most of cryptocurrencies.

And what do you think? Do you believe that cryptocurrency is only good for illegal deals?

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What did people use for trading before money was invented? Find out how the first coins were created, why paper money was first introduced and all the discoveries and social changes that led to our current monetary system.

Before money people used bartered goods as payment; for example, animal hides and teeth. Livestock was the most valuable commodity. Shells were also used; snail shells were very popular in China. Other goods used for payment were tools, beads, salt, crops, weapons and tobacco.

The first standardized coins were created in what is now western Turkey by King Alyattes around 7th century B.C. They were made of electrum, a naturally occurring amalgam of gold and silver. In Rome, coins were minted near the temple of the goddess Juno Moneta, which gave us the words "mint" and "money". Offa, an Anglo-Saxon king, introduced the first English coin known as the penny around 790 A.D. Because of a copper shortage, China introduced the world’s first paper money in the 9th century - 700 years before Europe did so. In the 1500s the St. Joachimsthal mine in what is now the Czech Republic introduced large silver coins called thaler. The Spanish version of the thaler became the first worldwide currency. The English called it the dollar, and the U.S. dollar was based on it.

Modern Money. The first U.S. government-backed paper bills were introduced during the Civil War. The term "greenback" comes from the intricate designs on these bills, meant to prevent counterfeiting. The largest bill in history was the 1946 Hungarian 100 million Pengo; the name was spelled out on the bills since so many zeroes couldn’t fit on the banknote, but it was only worth $0.25! The $100,000 1934 Gold Certificate was the largest bill ever made in the U.S. It was used for Federal Reserve transactions and not released to the public. The largest coin ever minted was in Australia in 2011 weighs about a ton. A U.S. nickel weighs just 5 grams—roughly as much as a hummingbird. As of 2018, there are 180 different currencies used around the world.

Bitcoin, invented in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, became the gold standard--so to speak--for virtual currencies. Virtual currencies have no physical coinage. The appeal of virtual currency is it offers the promise of lower transaction fees than traditional online payment mechanisms and is operated by a decentralized authority, unlike government issued currencies.

Despite many advances, money still has a very real and permanent effect on how we do business today.

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Back in February, the Shift Card service, which used to issue debit Visa cards with a possibility of using cryptocurrencies, announced their closure.

But the service was succeeded by one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase. The representatives of the exchange announced launching debit Visa cards with a possibility of payment with cryptocurrencies from the exchange account of the user.

It is announced that Coinbase Card will support all cryptocurrencies available at the exchange, and the users will be able to spend them on any purchases, whether it would be food in supermarkets or public transport tickets. The conversion process will be automatic and instant at the moment when the user makes a transaction using the card.

The exchange’s clients will be able to choose the cryptocurrency they are planning to spend on purchasing goods with the help of a special mobile app. Moreover this app features an option of receiving a check, viewing transaction and purchases categories.

The British payment operator PaySafe will be issuing the cards. For the time being only the UK citizens can use the service, but in a few months Coinbases is going to implement their innovation in other European countries.

And what about you – would you like to have such a card? Is there a sense in such cards?

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Today we carry on with our crash course for beginners in the cryptocurrency market. We will tell about technology that underlies almost every cryptocurrency and about the features of this technology.

Blockchain technology differs from a traditional data base by the principle of organizing information. Classical data base is hosted on servers specially designed for it and these servers are controlled by organization that owns this data base. Blockchain is not controlled by a person or organization and its security is ensured by its distributed architecture.

Block technology allows different sides not having trust for each other to exchange data without the central server. Processing and storage of transactions is carried out by all users at once. After adding data to the network by one of the participants, all other nodes of the network are used to check and confirm the correctness of these changes. In a decentralized blockchain the information is stored on all computers of all users at once, and not on a single server, which protects the network from hacking and data spoofing.

The more network participants and nodes, the more data copies. To change data in this situation one need to hack every single node in the network and modify all data simultaneously. Every block in a chain has a certain block of data, and when this block gets filled, the data gets encrypted and written in the network forever. To change data in any transaction, hackers would need not only the current block, but also all the next ones which is not only practically impossible, but also too expensive.

Adding blocks is carried out using cryptographic methods of protection and this guarantees the reliability of data without a universal processing center. However, constantly growing size of the chain of blocks can make its storage and synchronizing more difficult.

If data that is relevant only for the current time, is recorded in the usual database, the blockchain stores operations for the entire history of its existence. The system is designed in such a way that all transactions remain unchanged - they cannot be deleted.

Given its characteristics, the blockchain technology offers the ability to create enterprises and carry out operations that are quite flexible and safe. Today, the blockchain is beginning to be actively introduced into banking systems, property registration systems and various state registries, supply chain management, and in such areas as digital identity, energy, voting, games, the Internet of things and other.

You can find a good exchange rate for buying any cryptocurrency on our website BestChange. com.

Would you like to know more about this technology? Maybe you’ve got some questions about blockchain? Please ask in the comments and we will find the answers together.

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From the date of its creation in 2009, Bitcoin is an open-source project. But despite all its openness, up to date no one knows, who is the person behind the creation of Bitcoin and who is Satoshi Nakamoto?

Let’s elaborate on what is known so far. The first step was taken in 2007 with the writing of Bitcoin code. In November 2008, a programmer, or a group of programmers, using the name of Satoshi Nakamoto published the whitepaper on the Cryptography Mailing list. It was titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” and paved the way for the Bitcoin protocol.

On January 3rd, 2009, the first Bitcoin block ever was mined. A few days later Nakamoto released the updated 0.1 version of Bitcoin software with some minor bug fixes.

In the beginning, a person calling himself Satoshi Nakamoto was heavily involved with the Bitcoin community and helped them modify the underlying bitcoin protocol on the website Bitcoin.org, he – or she – had created. Satoshi remained a mystery, as the person behind this name did not reveal any personal information during the entire time of cooperation with other developers. After two years of active collaboration, Nakamoto handed the reins to Gavin Andresen, and ceased any involvement with the Bitcoin project in December of 2010.

In April 2011, Nakamoto emailed a software developer that he had “moved on to other things,” and that Bitcoin was “in good hands with Gavin and everyone.” From then on nobody has heard anything from Bitcoin’s secretive creator.

The mystery behind Nakamoto’s identity has only grown, as the Bitcoin community eagerly speculates who it could potentially be. Satoshi Nakamoto claims to be Japanese, born on April 5, 1975. To this day, it is unknown whether Nakamoto is male or female, or whether Nakamoto is even a single person or a group of individuals. Satoshi is quite a common Japanese name, and Nakamoto, though not being a top popular surname, still isn’t rare.

But the fact that his Bitcoin documentation hasn’t been published in Japanese and his perfect knowledge of English, with a twang of British English, created some suspicions among other Bitcoiners.

Some community members analyzed Nakamoto’s activity on the bitcoin forum, and their findings reveal that the chart of timestamps would suggest an unusual sleeping pattern for Japan, but be more characteristic of that of in the UK, hence giving away possible location of the posts’ author. The media has also done its digging in looking for the person behind the name Nakaomto. But the candidates they have dug up have rejected any credit for the invention of Bitcoin so far.

One thing is clear, the key to his disappearance and secrecy is possibly his huge wealth. Imagine holding 7.5 per cent of the world’s bitcoin and not being able to spend any of it.

Spending this Bitcoin on an open and transparent blockchain would be akin to coming out. Not only would every government in the world know who you are but also some very unsavoury elements who could cause you real potential harm.

The mystery of the inventor of Bitcoins remains unsolved today, but his cause is continued by the many brilliant developers of the Bitcoin community.

As always, we at BestChange.com are trying to be interesting and useful for you, that is why your opinion matters. Please tell us if you find this information useful and what other topics would you like us to cover?

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During the weekend our Chief Analyst decided to calculate how much on average a person could have earned on bitcoin for the last 5,5 years.

Of course, the received data cannot be absolutely accurate — otherwise we would have needed to get an access to all transactions of exchanging, appearance and disappearance of all existing during this time exchanges and exchange offices, information about private exchangings.

Our method is based on comparison of all possible options of purchase and sell for the last 1963 days (during the period between 27/12/2013 and 12/05/2019). We took all 1'925'703 possible options of purchase and sell at the average price on this day and multiplied it on the probability of making a transaction on this or that day. We established probability based on trading volume in this pair of days as relating to all trading volume for 5,5 years. We did not take into account trading within the day and possible private exchange operations. All data is available publicly and can be viewed on the site coinmarketcap.com

According to our calculations, if the number of investors will tend to infinity, then on average all these investors that bought and sold bitcoin on random days for the past 5,5 years, have earned 180 per cent of their capital. It does not mean that you can earn the same in the future, or that the majority of investors have earned, and not lost, on bitcoin in the past. This is just an approximate number the investors could have earned on average during this time (somebody lost 80 per cent, when another earned 1000 per cent).

Currently bitcoin shows remarkable results again and has already overcome the $8000 mark. If you decide to buy bitcoin at the best rate, you can always find the most profitable option with the help of our monitoring BestChange.com.

Would you find interesting calculations for other cryptocurrencies? Maybe you have advice or wishes how to improve our method?

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Did you know that only one third of mined bitcoins participate in the turnover? The rest of bitcoins do not move among the wallets.

Of course, this can partially be blamed on hodlers, but it is highly likely that the access to inactive wallets was simply lost or the coins were forgotten by users.

The reason for that could be a loss or breaking of private key containers, impossibility to restore passwords from online-service or their closure, incompatibility of hierarchical generation of keys and lots of other options. If you have lost a password/key to your bitcoin wallet, you won’t be able to restore it, this is how the system works.

But what about the fact that every 10 minutes miners create more and more new bitcoins?

There is a limit after which the growth of the total amount of bitcoin in the network will stop, and this limit is 21 million of coins. Moreover, every 4 years the amount of new bitcoins is reduced two-fold.

For the 10 year and a half of bitcoin’s existence there has been generated around 17,7 million of bitcoins, which constitutes around 84 per cent of their total amount. If the access to two thirds of the coins has already been lost, then around 9 million of coins are left in the turnover, 3 million coins out of which do not yet exist.

Even if we do not take into account the possibility of losing an access to wallets in the future, it still turns out that we may face a shortage much larger, that it seems at first glance.

If bitcoin ceases to be a speculative asset and turns into one of the main reserve currencies of the world’s central banks, its total capitalization will be less correlated with the actual amount of available funds.

For instance, if now bitcoin would substitute the US dollar as the main reserve currency and its capitalization was at the level of the USA national debt, then the price of one bitcoin would be a little over $1 million. And if we take into account that the real volume of bitcoins available for turnover currently is about 6 million of coins, then bitcoin would have to have the price of $3,5 million to be compatible with US debt by capitalization.

And do you believe in the future of bitcoin? What price deems fair for the cryptocurrency number one?

If you trust in the future growth of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, our monitoring https://www.bestchange.com/ is at your service: with our help you can easily find the best exchanging rates for any e-currency and have a safe transaction.

[BestChange]

Blockchain and bitcoin based on it, as any new revolutionary technology, have their drawbacks. The mechanism of ‘proof-of-work’ consensus uses enormous volumes of electricity, cryptocurrency is used for speculations and sometimes in illegal activities.

But to say that because of that the technology faces a failure, is the same as saying in 1995 that the Internet will not work because it’s clumsy and unorganized.

Bitcoin has been living for over 10 years now despite numerous predictions of its demise. And it is constantly developing. The first cryptocurrency is no longer a “toy for geeks” as it used to be in 2009. Today Blockstream satellites allow making bitcoin transactions even without Internet.

Blockstream company which deals with bitcoin blockchain pilot projects and New Zealand developer goTenna have united their efforts to improve the project that allows sending and receiving bitcoins without Internet with the help of data translation via satellites using radio frequencies which are supported by goTenna devices.

The users will be able to receive bitcoins via satellite and goTenna Mesh network without direct connection to the Internet. If you do not like the control of the local provider or your connection is down for some reason, for example, because of a natural disaster, you will still be able to make a transaction.

With all the innovative features, this technology is quite easy to use. With an electricity generator, satellite dish, Raspberry Pi, a Wi-Fi point and the necessary software you could make global bitcoin transactions.

At first sight, it sounds rather expensive. But if you divide the expenses among people, for instance, if the whole village chips in for the purchase of the equipment, the costs are not so high. To use this service, you need a small satellite dish that uses USB port to connect to PC or specialized equipment such as Raspberry Pi. To manage connection, you can use free software with open source code, for instance GNU Radio.

And the service itself has demonstrated “excellent” uptime and its network has excess capacity to ensure reliability.

And do you still think that bitcoin does not have any future and nobody uses it?

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Blockchain is not a financial pyramid.

To see this, one should understand what a financial pyramid (also called an investment pyramid) is. This is a system for receiving profit via constantly attracting money from new participants. That means the profit of the first participants is paid at the expense of funds of their followers.

It is obvious that if bitcoin does not have any dividend yield, that is, if you do not receive additional funds just because you own cryptocurrency, then bitcoin, as most of other significant cryptocurrencies, cannot be a financial pyramid by definition.

Then why such confusion? Most likely that the reason behind such a poor analogy was the poverty of intellect in most cryptocurrency critics after the events of 2017. They did not even try to learn about the principles and technologies behind cryptocurrencies but started without any reason calling them a financial pyramid. Partially they can be understood, because the previously unknown project that made it possible for people to increase their capital several times over a few months sounds very suspicious.

But what happened is that people earned profit due to the increase in the price of the active, and not because of the means of new users. Yes, to some extend it was the dramatic increase of popularity that brought about price increase, but these concepts should not be confused. Situations when demand starts to dramatically exceed supply are always accompanied by similar price increase. These can be company shares, investment fund units or even salt that can rise in price against the backdrop of false rumors. Price increase due to the growth of demand is a typical market situation, and not a disguised financial pyramid.

That being said, blockchain-based pyramids can sometimes be found, for instance, PonziCoin and Bitconnet. But these are particular cases of the misuse of the technology in creating a financial pyramid, and not vice versa.

It should be noted that there are financial pyramids that are disguised as cryptocurrency projects, only exacerbating the suspicion of inexperienced crowd. For example, they can promise profit thanks to a “unique trading robot” that multiplies your investments, or something of this kind. Of course, they have nothing to do with cryptocurrencies, and the illusion of work is maintained at expense of new client’s investments.

We hope that we have made our point clear. And what other unreasonable definitions of bitcoin have you come across? We would be happy to discuss it with you in our next articles.

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Cryptocurrencies were originally envisioned as a decentralized payment means, independent of fiat money rates and not tied to traditional valuable assets.

This peculiarity adds cryptocurrencies a characteristic feature — high volatility of the rate. Many folks gain thanks to this feature, but the possibility that the rate can dramatically drop or leap hinders the usage of cryptocurrency as a full-fledge payment means.

In order to regulate the rate, it was decided to tie up cryptocurrencies to stable assets that have long been established in the economy. Thus, they began to tie up the value of cryptocurrency to fiat money, gold and oil. Digital currencies can be tied up to any valuable asset or commodity which can make their value more stable.

Cryptocurrencies pegged to physical assets have a lower rate volatility and became known as stablecoins. Stablecoins are a compromise between fiat money and cryptocurrencies. Most often, the value of a stablecoin is pegged to fiat money. The value of these coins is equal to that of fiat currency and represents a sort of a promissory note. Every coin is leveraged to one unit of fiat money, for instance, dollar, which acts as a guarantee and provides for the value of the currency.

The most popular stablecoins are:

Tether (USDT) * USD Coin (USDC) * TrueUSD (TUSD) * Paxos Standard Token (PAX) * Dai (DAI)

And what stablecoins do you use?

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Did you know that in its modern form, credit card appeared back in 1949? Originally nobody took them seriously, but within the next few years they literally conquered the whole world.

The first universal credit card, which could be used at a variety of establishments, was introduced by the Diners’ Club, Inc., in 1950. Another major card of this type, known as a travel and entertainment card, was established by the American Express Company in 1958.

Today billions of people around the world use bank cards. The share of cashless payments is gradually growing, and they become a usual and more convenient method of payment.

According to statistics, for the year 2015, debit card usage accounted for 69.5 billion in payments, dwarfing all other forms of non-cash payments including credit cards (33.8 billion) and checks (17.3 billion). One new debit card is issued in the U.S. every five seconds. There were 471 million Visa debit cards in the U.S. and 1.09 billion in the rest of the world at the end of March 2015.

How many bank cards do you have? How often do you use cash?

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The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest in the world. It was established in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, which issued the first shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first company to issue stocks and bonds and the first to formally begin trading in securities.

In the 1600's, the Dutch, French and British governments all gave charters to companies with East India in their names. At the peak of imperialism, it seemed like everyone had a share in the profits from the East Indian and Asian campaigns except the people living there. Sea trips that brought back commodities from the East were very risky - besides pirates, there were risks of weather and losing navigation.

To minimize the risk of a lost ship ruining their profits, ship owners had long been using the help of investors who would finance the trip - outfitting the ship and crew in return for a percentage of the profits if the voyage turned out a success. These early limited liability companies often lasted for only a single voyage. They were then dissolved, and a new one was created for the next trip. Investors lessened their risk by investing in several different ventures at the same time, thereby playing the odds against all of them ending in disaster.

When the East India companies formed, they changed the way business was done. These companies issued stock that would pay dividends on all the proceeds from all the voyages the companies undertook, rather than going voyage by voyage. These were the first modern joint stock companies. This allowed the companies to demand more for their shares and build larger fleets. The size of the companies, combined with royal charters forbidding competition, meant huge profits for investors.

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Is a quantum computer dangerous for Bitcoin?

Many researches say that in less than 10 years ?omputing machines using quantum principles will threaten blockchain technology which is a basis for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin and similar systems’ defense algorithm is based on a principle of asymmetric encryption with and open and private keys. Transaction is signed by a private key, and its truth is checked with a help of an open key.

Despite the fact that Bitcoin blockchain uses asymmetric encryption, the users don’t have to worry for the safety of their coins. The open key is not stored openly. Thus, the addresses for coins transferring are not open keys, but just the results of usage of hash-function SHA-256. The hashing function performs one-sided transformation and that’s why it’s stable against quantum computer attacks.

The public key is rendered to the network in the open way just until it receives a confirmation. If an attacker receives an open key during transaction, he will have around 10 minutes to get the private key with the help of a quantum computer and try to make his own transaction from the same address but specifying a larger commission.

By the way, bitcoin mining is also relevantly safe, as the equipment for mining cryptocurrencies in the near future will be more powerful that quantum computers.

It is worth to note, that quantum calculations threaten absolutely all systems of computer security which care based on cryptography with an open key, and not only blockchain. Internet connections to render your password in Internet banking uses a similar encryption technology, same as communication in chatrooms, social networks and lots of other routine actions.

All security systems, including blockchain systems, need to take into account postquantum encryption to ensure data safety. But the most simple and effective way can be changing traditional systems by such blockchain which implements quantum-resistant cryptography.

There are several different ways of encryption with open key resistant to quantum calculations: bases on matrix, on code, multidimensional quadratic functions, and hashing function. But let us not digress into detail math stories.

The main point is that if there is a serious threat to blockchain posed by quantum computer, developers can improve the protection. Moreover, successful research and developments in this regards are being done not for the first year.

What do you think, who will be the first in this race – bitcoin developers or quantum computer developers?

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What are the Advantages of Cryptocurrency?

Over the last couple of years, cryptocurrencies gain more and more popularity. Let’s touch upon some of their main advantages in comparison to fiat money.

1. It is decentralized and does not rely on banks or governments. Transactions can take place in different parts of the world and take seconds, without the need to pay hefty charges to banks.

2. Because cryptocurrency is decentralized, it’s immune to deflation or inflation that can happen as a result of the choices of a central government.

3. Anonymity is one of the most important perks of cryptocurreny. You do not need to reveal your identity.

4. Anybody can make money through the process of mining. All what’s needed is access to a computer and the internet.

5. Because the cryptocurrency market is highly volatile it can be a high reward (but at the same time, high risk) investment.

6. Cryptocurrency is not subject to inflation. With coins like bitcoin there is a set amount that will ever be created.

7. And last but not least, since cryptocurrency exists in digital form, millions of trees can be saved by not using paper currencies. It can contribute to our environmental well-being.

You can purchase or sell cryptocurrency at BestChange – we guarantee the smoothest exchanging experience, saving your time and money!

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Exactly 63 years ago on July, 30, 1956, the slogan “In God We Trust” appeared on American dollars.

Moreover, the phrase is an official motto of the USA.

The first time the motto was used in 1864 when minting 2 cent coins, but it was adopted on the national level in 1956.

Sometimes the phrase is jokingly extended to “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash” which shows economic attitude of Americans, and shopkeepers would use it to discourage credit.

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Dear readers and users of our platform, we have two pieces of good news.

1. From now on, the offers of the exchangers are accompanied not only by a minimal, but also by a maximal exchange amount.

To see the maximum the exchanger is ready to exchange, all you need to do is to hover the cursor over the line (on mobile devices it is needed to touch and hold a finger on a selected line for some time).

We would like to remind you that the current reserves of an exchanger may be lower than a maximal exchange amount, please pay attention to this when selecting an exchanger or use the “Calculator” tab to sift out exchangers that are not suitable for you.



2. Against the backdrop of a significant flow of USDT tokens capital to the Ethereum blockchain, many large exchanges have already added support for ERC-20 standard tokens.

Now in our monitoring BestChange.com you can see two types of tokens USDT-Omni and USDT-ERC20 separately from each other with their unique exchange rates and reserves.

We would like to remind you about the difference between these tokens:

Tether Omni — these are USDT tokens launched on omni layer protocol based on Bitcoin network. Its address is a BTC format address.
Tether ERC20 are USDT tokens launched on ERC-20 protocol standard based on Ethereum network. Its address is an ETH format address.

The users are recommended to carefully familiarize themselves with the type of tokens before making any exchange operations. If you have any questions about the used standards, please contact the support service of the exchanger before making the exchange.

As always, you can find the best exchange rate for the most popular currencies on our site. BestChange.com, exchangers monitoring is always at your service.

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??The cost of bitcoin transaction fell by almost 90%

BTC trades almost reached the level of the end of 2017. This is the period when the main cryptocurrency began its famous rally, the peak of which was the increase in the coin rate up to $ 20,000. According to the information of Bitinfocharts service, since that moment the cost for transactions has dropped by almost 88%. In December 2017 commission was around $10-30, and now it has fell down to $0,58 on average. It can be due to considerable popularity of processing operations of BTC transactions at the end of 2017 in comparison with today. Then up to 400 000 operations went through the network daily, when now this figure has dropped to 300 – 350 000 transactions. Another factor influencing the commission cost is the growing popularity of SegWit protocol, the share of usage of which has recently exceeded 60 per cent.

??Transparent Volume experts: Only 17% of bitcoin transactions do not raise suspicion

According to the new service Transparent Volume of the Nomics cryptocompany, the majority of transactions with the main cryptocoin are suspicious. The experts say that only 17% of BTC operations can be considered genuine. Around 35% of transactions are evaluated within the range from “satisfactory” to “bad”. The total amount of such operations today has reached $3,99 billion.

Transparent Volume is created to monitor the circulation of digital asses between different platforms. It works in real time. Nomics believes that usage of Transparent Volume will help users obtain full and objective information about current trade volumes. The service positions itself as a platform whose work is associated with lesser risk of recording information about fictitious transactions and other misleading facts.

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There are prospects: forecasts of digital currency market participants

This week was full of various events for both participants of the cryptocurrency industry as well observers. Here are some expert comments on the current development of the digital asset market.

On Monday Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) criticized Facebook’s Libra.”Libra could reduce the ECB’s control over the euro, impair the monetary policy transmission mechanism by affecting the liquidity position of euro area banks, and undermine the single currency’s international role” . The official has also noted that Facebook’s cryptocoin will in fact be accountable to shareholders, raising trust issues, as it will not be backed by a central bank. Mersch called on regulators to take tight control over Facebook’s projects, and for users not to trust the tempting but questionable promises from the representatives of the American company.
Meanwhile, Jack Dorsey, the head of Square payment start-up and Twitter co-founder, continues to insist that cryprtocurrencies will continue to spread. The businessman believes in bitcoin, but he thinks that it is still too early to call it currency. In one of his latest interviews Dorsey notes, that bitcoin’s rises and falls in prices are more characteristic of a investment asset, such as gold. He hopes that as soon as the cryptocurrency becomes the currency of the Internet, his own start-up will pay more attention to services that create added value, rather than those that are engaged in money transfer

Mark Mobius, an investor in developing markets and Mobius Capital Partners founder said that gold-backed cryptocurrency can be an interesting phenomenon. The investor emphasized that there is a whole generation of people who have faith in the internet, and they have faith in cryptocurrencies.
“People believe in dollar because they have faith that with dollars in their hands they can buy something. Crypto enables people to buy something merely because they believe it has value”, Mobius said.

In the beginning of the week trader Peter Brandt tweeted that bitcoin has entered the fourth cycle of the parabolic uptrend that could lead it significantly past its all-time high price. The analyst is confident that the price of Bitcoin will reach one hundred thousand dollars in the long run. And although this bold prognosis does not yet have lots of supporters, one can’t ignore the fact that the price of the main cryptocoin is showing steady growth since Monday.

According to Coinmarketcap, by September,6, bitcoin rose in price up to $10 875, starting from the mark of $9 623 on the night of September,2.

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Largest chain of convenience stores in Lithuania will promote bitcoins

Narvesen chain (60 stores) and Lietuvos Spauda kiosks in Lithuania are launching the sale of bitcoin vouchers that can be exchanged online into real bitcoins. A person will not need any ID for that, they will only need to provide their email address and the address of their cryptocurrency wallet.

This project is aimed at simplifying the possibility to buy Bitcoins, even for those who have never done that. Narvesen stores and Lietuvos Spauda kiosks have been chosen for that purpose due to their popularity among Lithuanians and positive attitude to cryptocurrencies, and their clients is a necessary targeted audience.

Head of BitMEX crypto exchange is confident in explosive growth of BTC

Arthur Hayes, CEO of cryptocurrency derivatives platform BitMEX is confident that the main crypto coin will once again reach the mark of $20, 000. Crypto enthusiast thinks that will happen because of pumping the economy with newly-printed money which will lead to the loss of interest to fiat money.

Hayes believes that The US Federal Reserve will restart quantitative easing policy. Last week the European Central Bank launched the program and decreased the deposit rate down to a new historical minimum.

Analysts: Payment companies will have to look for new development options

Analysts of the consulting firm Bain & Company are confident that the payment market will soon change dramatically, as mentioned in their last report. Payment operations will cease to be a separate specialization. Digital wallets will grow in popularity among regular users.

“Payments will become free for users and, in the end, for retailers, they will be instant and embedded into other products and services. Cars and fridges, and not people, will be able to place automated orders for replenishing supplies”, - experts think.

Industry innovations will push the payment systems to search for original ways for development. Only this way they will be able to meet competition and tap into new markets.

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The market of popular crypto currencies is still in the “red zone”

During the last day the price of bitcoin was gradually growing. However, the crypto coin, as well as the other top-10 tokens, has not yet left the “red zone” of the market. According to Coinmarketcap, at 15:00 CET, the first crypto coin’s price was $9,690.

Market players have different opinions in this regard. Some insist that they hope for the prospect of BTC growth. Others say that there are no drivers for growing in price yet, and the price fluctuations are strictly speculative in nature.

During the last 24 hours, Ethereum dropped more than by 6%, having reached $197. Litecoin has demonstrated the most dramatic drop (-9.23%), having fallen down to $66.

Opinion: BTC is now more stable than a year ago

Alex Krüger, the famous cryptocurrency trader, expressed an opinion that currently the position of the first cryptocurrency is much more stable than it was in 2018. Then, the average trading BTC rate was at the level of $6,400, and this year the crypto coin has managed to get over the $10,000 mark.

The crypto enthusiast believes that the BTC rate growth signals the average increase of crypto coin’s popularity. The gradual adoption of bitcoin is also indicated by the fact that 25 thousand retailers in France, for instance, the Sephora network, plan to accept the first cryptocurrency. It is scheduled to happen already in the beginning of the following year.

Nigerian government official paid $15K ransom in Bitcoin

In a publication for Daily Trust, Nigerian government official Dr. Umar Ardo said the criminals made him pay a $15,000 ransom in bitcoin to release his kidnapped daughter.

Last week, Dr. Ardo’s daughter Amado was kidnapped at a gunpoint around a shopping center. What strikes about this incident is that it is for the first time in history that criminals demand payment in cryptocurrency.

Why in bitcoin? Investigators believe the criminals requested the ransom to be paid in bitcoin to remain anonymous and escape penalty, since blockchain transactions are completely anonymous.

Sadly, incidents like these cast a shadow at the refutation of cryptocurrencies. Despite the indisputable advantages of blockchain technology, many leaders have voiced concern regarding anonymity connected with that.ndustry innovations will push the payment systems to search for original ways for development. Only this way they will be able to meet competition and tap into new markets.

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Hidden miners were found in audio files

BlackBerry Cylance threat researches discovered malicious virus – Monero miner embedded within WAV audio files.

When played, some of the WAV had no glitches, others generated white noise. The specialists discovered embedded code Monero CPU miner, as well as the code used to establish a reverse shell to remotely connect to the victim’s network.

NewsBTC analyst: bitcoin dropped down to $7,500

Aayush Jindal, expert for NewsBTC website believes that the world’s main crypto coin will continue falling. The next levels will be $7,800 ? $7,500.

According to him, the resistance at supporting bitcoin’s price of $8,000 was a reason behind the new bearish trend on the 4-hours chart.

There is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance near $7,950 on the 4-hours chart of the BTC/USD pair. MACD and RSI indicators also signal the declining movement. Currently BTC is trading around the mark of $7,900.

Are whales to blame for bitcoin’s decline?

On Friday bitcoin lost about 1,8% in price. The dump started at night, and right on the verge of it Whale Alert analysts detected a transfer of 10,000 BTC (around $80 mln) to Binance trading platform.

If these two events are connected is not clear, but the crypto community is actively discussing the topic of bitcoin-whales manipulating the market. Unlike the classic markets, the crypto market has no protection against such activities.

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Visa and MasterCard created an Apple Pay competitor for paying for online purchases

Payment systems Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover joined their efforts to create a new option to pay for online purchases in “one click”. The joint project Click to Pay will make online checkout easier as all the payment details will be kept in one place. This eliminates the need to enter your credit card number each time.

The new payment service is expected to become the main competitor of Apple Pay and PayPal. A similar function (one-click purchase) is already working on Amazon, but the use is limited only by this online-retailer.

Ex-CFTC Chair: we deliberately collapsed bitcoin

Christopher Giancarlo, former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said that the Treasury and the SEC are responsible for bitcoin’s drop in price after reaching its historical minimum in December 2017.

According to him, the regulator intentionally approved the release of bitcoin futures on Chicago Mercantile Exchange to allow to open short positions.

"We saw a bubble building and we thought the best way to address it was to allow the market to interact with it."

Giancarlo said that the US Treasury and SEC decided to collapse the BTC price to prevent the bubble from reaching the dangerous size for the economy. In their time regulators overlooked the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis, that’s why in 2017 they took preventive steps.

Casa start-up solves the problem of passing on crypto assets

Custodial start-up Cassa offers a service of guaranteed passing on of crypto assets.

The gist of the offer is that the owner makes an agreement with Case in which he gives an additional key to his wallet.

Thanks to the fact that the optional key with multisignature is transferred to Casa, this eliminates the theft of bitcoins.

In case the owner of the cryptocurrency passes away, Casa fulfills the last will of the deceased.

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Will China buy all the bitcoins?

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the People’s Republic of China, called for more efforts to advance development in the field of blockchain technologies, which lead to a frenzy in the world of cryptocurrency. For instance, after Xi’s speech, the search volume in the app WeChat for hashtags “Blockchain” and “Bitcoin” increased 12 and 2 fold correspondingly, and Chinese cryptocoins saw a dramatic price boost during the last weekend. For instance, TRX surged by 50%, and Neo almost doubled its value, having fixed it at a little over $11 for a coin.

Against the background of this frenzy, some people saw China's growing interest in cryptocurrencies as a threat. One of them is Anthony Pompiliano, who tweeted: “Someone tell President Donald Trump that there are only 21 million Bitcoin and China is planning to buy them all. This is going to be the real US – China competition. That should get him to pay attention. The guy hates losing and will try to buy them all.”

However, despite this tweet was supported by many people, the majority favor a different opinion on forums dedicated to cryptocurrencies: “If China buys all bitcoins in free circulations, it will acquire nothing more than a large number of empty “candy wrappers”, because, as cryptocurrency owners think “in this outcome the interest to bitcoin will evaporate, and the demand for it will drop to zero”

Crypto Capital Principal indicted

According to court documents, presented to the accused by the Attorney of the Southern District of New York, Crypto Capital Pricnipal Oz Yosef was planning to transfer $ 10,000,000 to a bank located in the Bahamas for the purpose of misappropriation, which falls under the article on bank fraud.
During the investigation, the company’s funds were frozen. It must be noted that $880 of these funds belonged to Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange.

51 % attack in BCash chain

For a day, in the interval between October 24-25, one or several miners controlled half of all computing power used for mining Bitcoin Cash. During this time the unknown perpetrator(s) managed to mine 73 blocks.

This situation attracted great attention, and the position of the cryptocurrency already not very welcomed in the Internet became even more precarious. For instance, Twitter user Notgrubles suggested delisting Bitcoin Cash from main trading platforms.

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The People's Republic of China adopts the first law on cryptography

This law will come into force on January 1, 2020. Interestingly, the law is not connected directly with cryptocurrencies, but is aimed at creating standards for the application of cryptography and passwords management. However, according to experts, passing this law means nothing other than China’s approaching the launching their new national cryptocurrency. It is connected with the fact that cryptography is the main component of cryptocurrency.

TRON dislodged Ethereum in an updated Chinese cryptocurrency rating

CCID of China has presented its fourteenth rating of cryptocurrencies. The leaders occupying the first three positions remained unchanged, but also some reshuffling took place. Ethereum lost 13 points for basic-tech, due to which it ceded the second place in the rating to TRON cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin does not participate in this race to the top and from the moment of publication of the previous rating, having received a small boost to its total index, still occupies the eleventh position.

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Actions of one whale could influence on bitcoin surge in 2017 and Stellar has destroyed 55 billion of their token

Bitcoin price surge of 2017 could be fueled by one whale

The University of Texas has published research which shows that a whale was buying a large amount of BTC during drawdowns and additional emission of USDT. It is important that such a “scheme” was used only on the Bitfinex exchange.

Connection between bitcoin growth and USDT have been discussed before. TokenAnalyst experts have already noted an incredible coincidence between bitcoin pump and Tether emission. However, it was believed earlier that this had been caused by actions of lots of independent traders.

A group of researchers analyzed all BTC and USDT transaction between March, 1, 2017 and March, 31, 2018 and came to a conclusion that it had been one large player. At the same time, no similar pattern was detected on other exchanges.

It should be understood that Bitfinex controlled over 20% of the market in 2017-2018, and it is only by 2019 that the exchange’s market share dropped to 7,3%.

Stellar burst into the top 10 cryptocurrencies after destroying 55 billion tokens

Stellar team reported destroying 55 billion of tokens. They took this decision after analyzing the plan of blockchain implementation. The coins that got destroyed were mainly the ones for airdrop (out of 43,5 billion only 6 remained), as well as operational fund (out of 16 billion, 11 remained) and affiliate programs (12 billion out of 25).

This was announced at Meridian conference in Mexico, Stellar Development Foundation announced the burning and in two hours the token rate increased by 16% from $0,069 to 0,083. Currently, correction took place and Stellar’s price is $0.0806.

The developers said that no further coin burning is planned. In total, 55 billion (worth of $4 billion) of XML were destroyed.

Einstein Exchange shuts down with the debt of 16 million

Einstein Exchange clients say that the exchange’s management and employees stopped replying to requests and complaints, and the users cannot get access to their funds.

Currently, the management of the exchange has been transferred to the British Columbia Securities Commission (Canada). The total damage estimate is $16 million.

When the exchange was registered its management provided judicial evidence of possessing assets to satisfy all withdrawal requests, however refused to provide the location of the funds.

Currently the office of the exchange is closed, there is no access to their website and investigators cannot establish the location of Michael Ongun Gokturk, the exchange founder. The pages of the exchange in social networks are buried under complaints of dissatisfied customers.

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Ethereum developer confirmed the date of hardfork

The next upgrade of Ethereum blockchain called Istanbul, which the users have been waiting for over six months, will be implemented before the end of the year. This has been announced by their developer Peter Szilágyi in Twitter.

The hardfork is scheduled to take place at block 9069000 which should be generated around December, 4, 2019.Fot this new client Geth has already been launched, which already has hard fork.

The peculiarity of the upgrade will be implementing of ProgPoW, programming algorithm aimed at eliminating the advantage of ASIC-miners over GPU-miners.

But the users look more forward to the next upgrade Berlin which is scheduled for the first half of 2020.

North Korea accused of money laundering with the help of cryptocurrencies

The UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea led an investigation which discovered the connection between the country and the Hong Kong blockchain company Marine China.

According to the representatives of UK Security Council, the country’s leadership has been using various strategies with cryptocurrency to evade from international sanctions. It is reported that North Korea made at least 5,000 transactions using stolen cryptocurrenies. It was made to make establishing the source of the money more complicated.

It is believed that the North Korean hackers were using phishing attacks and computer viruses to steal digital currencies and then laundered and cashed it in Singaporean banks. The Committee has not named the total amount of stolen funds.

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Trading volume on BitMEX hit 2019 low

The daily trading volume on the largest crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX has dropped down to 86,850 BTC — lowest since the November 2018. This was brought to attention by CL, Twitter analyst.

“This market is officially lifeless,” — he wrote in his account.

BitMEX is the platform with the highest liquidity in the world for cryptocurrency derivatives trading.

Venezuelan government to gift the retirees with cryptocurrency for Christmas

Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, said that all the country’s retirees and officials will get 0.5 El Petro (around $30) as a Christmas gift.

El Petro is a national cryptocurrency of Venezuela. As the government of the country says it is fully backed by oil. The government is trying to use El Petro in the country’s economy and for trading with other countries, however, with not much success so far.

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USA can launch their own cryptocurrency

The Federal Reserve is looking into developing a digital currency in the US. It was announced by its Chairman Jerome Powell in a letter to lawmakers this week in his reply to the letter from Congressmen French Hill and Bill Foster. They are concerned that the Chinese cryptocurrency on which the Chinese government is already working can jeopardize the USA’s position in the world’s economy.

Powell specified that so far the Federal Reserve “not identified potential material benefits of a general purpose central bank digital currency to the implementation of monetary policy" and is only studying the rationale for creating it.

Tether and Litecoin have the largest portion of whales

IntoTheBlock said what percentage of the most popular cryptocurrencies is owned by the largest owners. Tether and Litecoin turned out to be the most centralized: 63% of USDT is owned by 132 addresses, and 47% of LTC is owned by 131 address.

The data for the other large crypto currencies looks like this: ETH — 151 addresses own 39%,
Bitcoin Cash — 112 addresses own 29%, Bitcoin SV — 103 addresses own 24%, and 39% of Cardano is owned by only 41 addresses.

PayPal CEO said he has bitcoins

Dan Schulman, the CEO of payment processor PayPal, revealed that he owns only one cryptocurrency, bitcoin. He also said that BTC is an “interesting idea”, and blockchain is a “promising technology”.

“As for cryptocurrency, it is still very volatile, and that they do not have much demand for it by merchants because merchants operate on very small margins. What they need to do is to turn it to fiat immediately. There is a charge for turning it into fiat, that is why any advantages in price will be eaten up by this conversion fee”, Schulman said.

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Bitcoin crashes below $7,000

Last Friday the world’s first cryptocurrency lost over 10% om price and crashed below $7,000 on a number of exchanges. Such low price of bitcoins is registered for the first time since May this year.

Against this background, the “fear index” has dipped down to extreme values at the level of 20. According to the site Alternative.me it can mean a possible growth of the cryptocurrency.

Binance CEO refutes rumors about the raid in Shanghai office of the exchange

On November, 21 media announced that the largest office of Binance in Shanghai shut down after a police raid. Many analytics connect this news to the cryptocurrencies losing prices, including bitcoin’s dropping below $7,000.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, refuted this information, calling this information a FUD block.

“No police, no raid, no office. Hope you didn’t pay to read that FUD block.” — he wrote in his Twitter-account.

The USA can make Facebook’s cryptocurrency a security

The House of Representative of the USA introduced a new bill about acknowledging managed stablecoins such as Libra as securities.

"Managed stablecoins, such as the proposed Libra, are clearly securities under existing law. This legislation simply clarifies the statute to remove any ambiguity. Bringing clarity to the regulatory structure of these digital assets protects consumers and ensures proper government oversight going forward", — stated Sylvia Garcia, one of the bill's authors.

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Fraudsters are selling Gram. Telegram warns users

Pavel Durov’s team said that selling of Gram tokens has not started yet, and asked users to not fall for scammers’ tricks.

“Some websites offer Gram for sale and pretend to be connected with Telegram. Please be advised that these sites are not official and have no relation to Telegram. Gram has not yet been given to anyone and Telegram is not selling Gram”, - states the official Telegram-channel of the company.

Cryptocurrency worth of $4.4 billion stolen in 2019

According to the research company CiperTrace, the amount of theft and scamming in the sphere of cryptocurrency reached $4,4 billion since the beginning of the year.

The report says that in Q3 of 2019 criminal have stolen the minimal amount during the past years. However, in comparison with the last year, the losses increased by $2,7 billion.

The company’s experts also named the largest crypto crimes of the year: the cryptocurrency pyramin PlusToken ($2,9 billion) and shutting down of the exchange QuadrigaCX ($195 million).

Andreas Antonopoulos: governments place a damper on bitcoin price

Andreas Antonopoulos, famous bitcoin enthusiast, said that governments act to lower bitcoin’s price, but this is not a conspiracy, it’s just their “job”.

“We know for a fact that when the bitcoin bubble started to go up really fast in 2017, the U.S. Treasury decided to fast-track the deployments of futures markets in order to stop that bubble. A lot of people see that as conspiracy, but if you look at the mandate of institutions like the Treasury, that’s actually their job”, Antonopoulos said in his interview with crypto blogger Ivan on Tech.

According to the analyst, this allowed investors to open positions for on lowering the price of bitcoin which balanced the market, as well as reduced its volatility.

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Bank of America named bitcoin the best asset of the decade, billionaires invest into BTC, and ethereum’s volatility is at its lowest

Bank of America: bitcoin is the best investment of the decade

Bank of America Merrill Lynch named bitcoin the best asset for investment of the decade. 1 dollar invested in 2010 would now be $90,026.

For comparison, 1 dollar invested in American stocks during the same period would have the price of $3.46. Myanmar's national currency was named the worst asset, since 2010 $1 invested in it now has a value of just $0.004.

Yet another billionaire bought bitcoins

The number of billionaires investing in cryptocurrencies is steadily growing.

Financial expert Bill Pulte announced his purchase of 11 BTC (around $78,000). He is the CEO of investment company Pulte Capital Partners and is worth about $11 billion. Pulte thinks the main advantage of bitcoin is an opportunity to make a transaction to any part of the world without a middleman. According to the billionaire, bitcoin canmake the life of the poor easier and make the world a better place.

Ethereum’s volatility drops to the level of 2016

Ethereum has been trading in the narrow range of $140-150 for a long time now. According to CoinMetrics.io, ETH’s volatility index dropped to 2016’s lowest.

On December, 8 Ethereum has undergone Istanbul hard fork, which did not lead to the cryptocurrency’s price growth, despite expectations

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Ethereum’s price is threatened, and the number of bitcoin hodlers is growing

Ethereum is threatened: Plus Token pyramid’s assets started moving

The organizers of a cryptocurrency pyramid Plus Token moved 789 525 ETH (about $105 million) to an unknown address. Twitter account Whale Alert paid attention to the transfer.

Matteo Leibowitz, the Block’s analyst, thinks that scammers can buy Ethereum futures for sale, crash down the spot price and close future contracts with a profit.

In the summer the Chinese police managed to detain the suspects in the Plus Token ponzi scheme case, but access to wallets could not be obtained.

The price of unspent UTXOs in loss hits a record high

The number of unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) in loss rose to all-time highs above $45 million, according to a research by Glassnode.

This indicates the rise of the number of “hodlers” - people who hold bitcoin despite its price decrease.

Federal Reserve: over 50% of bitcoin transactions are illegal

Lael Brainard, member of the United States Federal Reserve Board of Governors, said that 25% of all bitcoin users participate in illegal operations.
“One study estimated that more than a quarter of bitcoin users and roughly half of bitcoin transactions, for example, are associated with illegal activity”, — the representative of FR said at an ECB event.

She also said that only a third of exchanges meet the requirements for AML (anti money laundering), CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) and KYC (know your customer) procedure.

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Hackers steal 2 million NULS token, Ethereum hard fork scheduled for January,1 and Craig Wright “proved” he is Satoshi Nakamoto

Hackers steal 2 million NULS tokens

Threat actors hacked and official account of the NULS projects and transferred 2 million of tokens. 550 thousand of them have already entered the market, the NULS team says.

At the same time the exchange rate of the coin has stayed almost the same – the currency lost in price just 0.58%. The developers are going to make a hard fork of altcoin to prevent hackers from spending the rest 1,45 million of tokens. The hacking took place because of the NULS 2.2 version security vulnerability.

Ethereum hard fork to take place on January, 1

Ethereum’s hard fork is scheduled for block 9,200,000 which is expected to be mined by January 1, 2020. The update is designed to delay the Difficulty Bomb by 4 million blocks (equivalent to 611 days).

The developers asked nod owners to update their software before December 30, 2019.

Craig Wright “proved” that he is Satoshi Nakamoto

The Australian scientist Craig Wright demonstrated “proof” that he is the bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

During an interview with Modern Consensus, Wright showed an article to explain the choice the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym. The article is about a philosopher Tominaga Nakamoto who lived in 18 century. The printed out document, made according to Wright in 2008, also contained the following handwritten notes:

“Nakamoto is the Japanese Adam Smith. Honest Ledger + Micro Cash. Satoshi is Intelligent History. Not too hard.”

He explained that Tominaga Nakamoto wrote about “honest money and the rational nature of things”. Wright compared his with Adam Smith – one of the founders of the theory of economics.
Craig Right publicly claimed that he was the creator of bitcoin in 2019 about hasn’t yet provided sufficient evidence to prove it.

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Tone Vays: bitcoin will kill altcoins

Bitcoin’s hash rate growth will eliminate most of altcoins, trader Tone Vays says.

He noted that since December 2017, bitcoin’s hash rate has grown by 800%, which was not the case with altcoins. The trader has also added bitcoin’s dominance index went from 50% to 70% in 2019, and next year it will be 85%.

“I think we have another 10-15% in Bitcoin to gain on the sh*tcoins as it continues towards 90% and 95% and then 98%”, - Vays said.

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Dear beloved subscribers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our team wishes you an endless cash flow, sincere kindness, incredible success, interesting ideas and great health for new achievements!

We believe in you and genuinely hope that you will amass wealth, be reasonable with spending and enjoy work-life balance.

As a tradition, we wish hodlers the growth of crypto market, arbitragers – only successful schemes, and we wish miners always work with profits.

Already today you can start building your invincible financial fortress the walls of which will protect you against storms and turmoil. This fortress will help you and your family live the same lifestyle despite all the disruptions behind the fortress wall.

It is time for New Year’s resolutions and goals. Achieving them will make your life interesting, bright and successful.

Happy holidays!

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Why will altcoins disappear and what will become of bitcoin in 2020

Tone Vays: all altcoins will disappear

Analyst Tone Vays famous in crypto community thinks that the price of the most popular altcoins will drop to zero because they are worthless and cannot substitute for bitcoin.

“Who will use Litecoin when we have Lightning Network, who will use Ethereum when we have side chain Liquid Network? Will people use Binance token? I don’t know because it’s useless”, — Vays said.

He also added that he doesn’t expect to see bitcoin cost over $10,000 in 2020.

Bloomberg: bitcoin will become stronger in 2020

Bloomberg’s analysts published a report with cryptocurrency predictions, according to which bitcoin will become stronger in 2020. The experts note that bitcoin become more and more popular as investment against a weak dollar and global uncertainties.

According to them, limited number of coins and halving of the block reward in May 2020 will account for increasing price of BTC.

“Bitcoin's initial reaction to the U.S. airstrike was a good test of our premise that the first-born crypto is maturing toward a digital version of gold”, — the report says.
On January 3, bitcoin reached its seven weeks’ maximum after U.S. military attack near Baghdad which killed Iraqi general Qasem Soleimani.

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CME launched bitcoin options, and bitcoin network continues to grow

CME Group launched bitcoin options

Chicago exchange CME Group launched bitcoin options trading on January, 13. The core of the instrument are bitcoin futures contracts introduced by the company in December 2017. After the latter were launched, BTC price started going down from its historic high of $20,000 and hasn’t bounced back to that level yet.

On January,14 bitcoin grew by 4,61%, and the majority of TOP-100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization demonstrate positive dynamics.

127 million of BTC addresses appeared since the end of 2017

Despite bitcoin market being bullish, since 2017 the network got 127 million addresses. According to Decentralized, sometimes the number of new addresses registered within 24 hours reached over 300,000.

“For a sense of scale, the number of people holding more than 0 bitcoin in Jan 2011 was a mere 70,0000. Today that number is north of 28 million — a 400x growth over the decade”, – the company’s analysts write.

They add that the average day in 2019 saw Bitcoin processing over 300,000 transactions in comparison to a mere 5000 in 2011.

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Bitfinex tranferred $1 billion in BTC, and why it is too late to buy BTC

Bitfinex exchange transferred $1 billion in BTC with $80 commission

Cryptocurrency platform Bitfinex confirmed that it was them who made the mysterious transfer of 123,447 BTC (around $1,1 billion) registered by bitcoin enthusiasts. According to the company’s CTO Paolo Ardoino, the transaction was a part of a transfer of 150 thousand BTC to the platform’s hot wallet.

As a result of this operation, the second largest bitcoin address has emerged. It should be noted that the commission for the transfer of $1 B was just $80.

Why it’s too late to buy bitcoin now

In the near future bitcoin’s price will not longer increase, BK Capital Management’s co-found Brian Kelly thinks. He notes that
the growth rate of addresses in the network lags behind bitcoin’s price increase.

"The Bitcoin price got a little bit ahead of the address growth. So, just like I said about Apple, just like I said about the 'triple Qs' in 2000. When an asset goes straight up, that's means a lot of the news is priced in", — he explains.

According to Kelly, back in December the situation was the opposite, when the BTC price was on a decline, the number of addresses continued to increase. He adds that this was a strong buy signal that turned out to be spot-on.

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Miners earned $5 billion in 2019, there is a drop of interest to bitcoin as the price rises, and Peter Schiff lost his coins

Miners made an estimated $5 billion in revenue during 2019

As the specialists of The Block counted. Of that figure, $4.89 billion was in the form of block rewards and the rest – some $147 million – was made via transaction fees. The calculations were made based on bitcoin’s price at the time of mining.

For comparison, in 2018 miners got $5,26 billion in revenue, and in 2017 – $3,19 billion. The block reward will be 12,5 BTC until May 2020, and will drop to 6,25 BTC after halving.

Interest to bitcoin is dropping as the price rises

Google Trends is considered as one of the main
metrics of interest in cryptocurrencies among the masses. Almost all the time the number for “bitcoin” searches was growing after the price’s growth, however now the tendency is broken.

This was brought to attention by Twitter user Haejin. Since the beginning of January, BTC has risen in price by $ 2’000, and altcoin capitalization has grown by 50%, while the number of Bitcoin searches in Google has decreased.

Crypto skeptic lost access to his bitcoin wallet

Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, famous for his negative feedback about cryptocurrencies, said that he had lost access to his wallet. Interestingly, he blames the wallets software in the loss of the coins.

“I just lost all theBitcoin I have ever owned. My wallet got corrupted somehow and my password is no longer valid. So now not only is my Bitcoin intrinsically worthless; it has no market value either. I knew owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, I just never realized it was this bad!”, -Schiff tweeted.

Crypto community suggested that the businessman simply forgot his password and does not want to admit it.

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Bitcoin options trading volumes rise and why Ethereum will rise in price

The trading volumes of bitcoin options on CME doubled

On January 13, bitcoin options trading started on the website of CME platform. On the first day, traders exchanged 55 contracts (about $ 2.37 million), and by the end of the week volumes had grown up to 122 contracts (about $ 5.27 million).

These figures significantly exceed the trade turnover of the competing trading platform Bakkt, which launched Bitcoin options for a month. According to the Skew Analytics platform, Bakkt’s trading volumes account for a small fraction of the CME figures. In terms of turnover of BTC futures, Bakkt is also behind CME Group.

Ethereum correlates with the market better than other cryptocurrencies

According to Binance Research, the correlation of cryptocurrencies continues to increase. Ethereum has the highest coefficient (0.75), followed by Litecoin and EOS (0.74). Analysts emphasized that the trend towards the joint movement of the cryptocurrency exchange rate is intensifying in the bear market.

The top three leaders in price growth for 2019 among the TOP 10 cryptocurrencies are: Binance Coin (+ 127.56%), Bitcoin (+ 86.78%) and Litecoin (+ 29.50%). Researchers added that the altcoin season never happened, since the bitcoin dominance index for 2019 rose from 52% to 68%.

Why Ethereum will rise in price

The Ethereum network is the leader in the number of deployed decentralized applications (DApps), analysts at the DApp.com platform say.
According to them, the largest number of applications appeared on the Ethereum blockchain in 2019 - 1.2 million users registered in them.

“Ethereum has more than 1.4 million DApps users, including 1.28 million new users, as well as 137,000 old users, which makes up 10% of the total number of active application users,” the study said.

DApp.com analysts believe that the growing popularity of DApps on Ethereum will contribute to the long-term increase in the value of cryptocurrency. Experts say that the market for financial decentralized applications (DeFi) will make the greatest contribution in the near future.

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Tether issues token backed by gold, Ripple considers IPO, and Musk speaks about cryptocurrencies

Tether issues a gold-backed token

Tether, the creator of the popular stablecoin USDT, announced the launch of a new token baked by gold. Tether Gold (XAUT) represents one troy ounce within the gold bars.

The bars themselves will be kept in a Swiss vault, and Tether will pay for the storage.

“Tether Gold provides the combined benefits of both physical and digital assets, removing the drawbacks of holding gold in more traditional ways, such as high storage costs and restricted access”, — Paolo Ardoino, the CTO at Tether, said.

Elon Musk: cryptocurrencies will not replace cash

The famous businessman Elon Musk contemplated on cryptocurrencies and stated that he was neither their supporter nor the opponent, however finding bitcoin’s White Paper to be “pretty clever”.

Musk also noted that digital currencies are often used in illegal transactions, although the crypto community does not like to mention this.

“This sort of gets the crypto people angry, but there are transactions that are not within the balance of the law. And, normally, cash is used for these transactions. But, in order for illegal transactions to occur, cash must also be used for legal transactions. You need an illegal to legal bridge. That’s where crypto comes in,” — the entrepreneur said.

He added that cryptocurrencies have found their niche due to the fact that cash cannot be used everywhere, but the role of digital currencies is secondary.

Ripple CEO announces his wish to hold IPO

And this can seriously affect the price of XRP. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO at Ripple, mentioned the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) of the company during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“In the next 12 months, you’ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we’re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side… it’s a natural evolution for our company,” — he said.

In the comments to the post, Twitter users expressed the hope that the IPO would attract funds from institutional investors and positively affect the XRP price.

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Interest in the bitcoin halving has reached its maximum since 2016, and has dropped for IEO

Interest in bitcoin halving has reached its maximum since 2016

People’s interest in halving is growing - according to Google Trends, the number of “bitcoin halving” searches has grown to its highest level since 2016.

The last halving of the bitcoin block mining reward took place in July 2016, it was then when Google Trends recorded the largest number of related searches. Over the past two months, this figure has increased from 11% to 40%. The upcoming halving will take place in May 2020 - traders have high hopes for it, since previously bitcoin’s price surged some time after the event.

Larry Cermak: IEOs are dead

Initial exchange offerings (IEOs) return is near to zero, The Block analyst Larry Chermak points out. He analyzed the most popular platform and came to the conclusion that the IEO era has passed.

“IEOs are dead. There appears to be a clear relationship between the return and the number of days since the IEO. The average return of IEOs approaches 0% in 200 days. In other words, nearly no one wants to hold IEOs long term,” — he wrote in his twitter-account.

In Q III of 2019, 64% of projects showed positive returns; in Q IV their number dropped to 43%. Now only 23% of companies are in positive territory.

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Due to coronavirus, ASIC deliveries from China are delayed, and litecoin surges 17% in 24 hours

Deliveries of ASIC from China are delayed due to coronavirus

Chinese manufacturers of ASIC miners have postponed delivery of equipment due to the coronavirus outbreak. All offices and plants in the country were quarantined at least until February 10, according to Zodd Zverev, the CTO of the mining pool 1Thash & 58COIN.

“Internal logistics is almost completely paralyzed in the country, deliveries of food and strategic goods to fight the virus are in priority. Since it is forbidden to go to work and the police strictly controls this, the delivery and installation of new ASICs is practically impossible, ” he said.

In addition, the top management of mining companies, including Bitmain and Canaan Creative, left the country. They should return no earlier than the end of February — the beginning of March. Zverev believes that the slowdown in the introduction of new equipment will help miners stay in the profitable zone on the eve of halving.

Litecoin surged 17% in 24 hours and approached $70

The world’s seventh cryptocurrency by market capitalization went up by more than $10 in price and came close to $70.

LTC rises in price amid the general growth of the cryptocurrency market, but at a faster pace than bitcoin: in January, the BTC price grew by 30%, whereas litecoin strengthened by 65%.

It is worth noting that the first half of last year was very successful for LTC. Over the period from January to June, the coin added 350% in price - this was due to the halving of the block mining reward which took place in August.

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Cryptocurrency hedge funds were the most profitable asset in 2019, and how to earn BTC in Minecraft

Cryptocurrency hedge funds were the most profitable asset in 2019

Hedge funds through bitcoin as their primary asset were the most profitable for the year 2019, according to a study conducted by Eurekahedge.

The profitability of hedge funds with cryptocurrency was around 16% on average, whereas traditional hedge funds only received a profit of 10,4%.

Steve Kurtz, CEO of the Galaxy Digital cryptocurrency fund said that the investors interested in Bitcoin are “getting bigger” as the profitability of bitcoin in a duration of 1-, 3- and 10 years is looking impressive.

The revenue of ethereum miners fell by 75%

In 2019, Ethereum miners have generated $936 million in coins, down 75% in 2018, The Block reports.

ETH hash rate reached peak levels in August 2018 at around 292 TH/s, after which the capacity decreased by 43% and now it stands at about 165 TH/s. Mining was most profitable in January 2018, when ethereum was trading near a historic high of $ 1,400.

For comparison, the total income of bitcoin miners in 2019 was over 5 times higher than that of ethereum miners.

You can earn bitcoins in Minecraft

In Minecraft, the popular multiplayer game, the SatoshiQuest server has been launched, which allows players to receive prizes in bitcoins.

Each player pays $1 in BTC that goes to the treasure fund. A player who finds the loot on the vast landscape receives 85% of the fund, with 15% going back into the next round’s loot pot.

The first round of SatoshiQuest took place on January 26 and it starts over every time someone finds the treasure.

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The price of ASIC miners to rise because of coronavirus, and ethereum surpasses the $200 mark

The number of transactions in the BTC blockchain has reached 500 million

The number of confirmed transactions in the bitcoin network has exceeded 500 million. This was announced by Jameson Lopp, the developer of Bitcoin Core, in his Twitter account.

“Today, as of block 616064, Bitcoin surpassed 500 million transactions confirmed on the blockchain,” Lopp tweeted.

It is worth noting that the network is growing with great acceleration: in 2017, the number of transactions did not exceed 250 million. At the current growth rate, in two years the blockchain can surpass the 1 billion transaction mark.

The price of ASIC miners to rise because of coronavirus

That’s what Chen Feng, Sales Director of Canaan, Chinese mining manufacturer, thinks. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the country declared quarantine and closed down all enterprises, which forces miner manufacturers to postpone the delivery of equipment.

According to Feng, companies will resume work after February 10-15, and ASIC miners will start rising in price in February-March simply because of short supply. Moreover, he points out that it is not clear at the moment it is not clear when cheap logistics will resume in the country.

Ethereum has surged 10% in 24 hrs and surpassed the mark of $200

The world’s second cryptocurrency by market capitalization continues to strengthen — its price has grown by more than 10% to $210 in 24 hours.

Analysts believe that the price of ETH will continue to rise. Trader GalaxyBTC points out that the ETH/USD pair has approached the two-year resistance line, after breaking which "it’s showtime." And according to analyst Josh Rager, in two years, many will regret that they did not buy ethereum at the price of $ 200.

The majority of crypto assets from the TOP-100 show the positive dynamics over the past 24 hours. Thus, bitcoin has updated the maximum of 2020, having risen in price to the level of $ 9,700.

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Cyber criminals netted $ 4.3 billion in 2019, and Japan plans to launch its own cryptocurrency

Japan plans to launch its own cryptocurrency

The country should have its digital currency in two-to-three years, according to Kozo Yamamoto, the head of the commission for the study of banking and financial systems of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.

He noted that the government will include this question in the list of medium-term tasks and attach the paramount importance to it.

“The sooner the better. We’ll draft proposals to be included in government’s policy guidelines, and hopefully make it happen in two-to-three years,” Yamamoto said.

He thinks that each country should create a digital platform to control cash flow. This will help better handle crises and stabilize the economy.

Cyber criminals stole $4.3 billion in 2019

Threat actors stole at least $4.3 billion in cryptocurrency in 2019, according to a study by Chainalysis. In 2018, the amount consituted $3 billion.

The dramatic increase of fraud was caused by the spread of financial pyramids, with 90% of the funds stolen through six schemes. The Plus Token platform was among the most notorious ones, it promised customers daily income for storing coins. The creators of the pyramid managed to raise $2 billion, they are currently under investigation.

In 2017, most cryptocurrencies were stolen through ICOs, and in 2018, through hacker attacks.

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Tether to track USDT transactions, and US authorities want to strengthen control over the crypto sphere

Tether to track USDT transactions

The company will implement a compliance tool to track suspicious transactions in USDT tokens. The goal is to meet the requirements of regulators in various countries. To do this, Tether will use the Know Your Transaction software created by firm Chainalysis.

“Know Your Transaction (KYT) is a real-time AML compliance solution for montiroinga token’s full lifecycle, from issuance to redemption, ” Chainalysis said.

According to the Tether company, the privacy of USDT owners will not be affected. Earlier, the British regulator suspended ePayments system due to non-compliance with the requirements of the anti-money laundering law.

Trading volumes on cryptocurrency exchanges increase by 70%

Since the beginning of 2020, trade on spot cryptocurrency exchanges has increased by 70% and reached a six-month peak.

More than half of the volume falls on the Binance exchange, whose share in the total turnover has also grown, according to a research by The Block. Regulated platforms of derivatives also see an increase of activity. Open interest at Bakkt reached a record $ 12 million at the end of January, and the average trading volume went up to $26.45 million.

Things are going well on CME too — in January the average trade turnover increased by 144% to $458 million. BitMEX is also not far behind — the level of trading in perpetual BTC swaps increased by 55% in the first month of 2020.

USA to release new cryptocurrency regulation rules

The US Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are developing new requirements related to cryptocurrency. This was stated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

He did not disclose the details but noted that departments are paying great attention to working out this issue and are working closely with other watchdogs. Mnuchin also added that he shares the concerns of Congress over the use of digital currencies in illegal operations.

Earlier, the administration of US President Donald Trump proposed budget proposal for 2021, which includes strengthening control over cryptocurrency transactions.

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Best days of the week to trade BTC, and Craig Wright says he owns rights to Bitcoin network

What days of the week it is best to buy and sell bitcoin

Longhash, data analytics platform, conducted a study: which days and hours are the most profitable to buy and sell.

For this study, experts analyzed two years of hourly bitcoin price data for each day of the week, having calculated the average prices of opening, closing, as well as maximum and minimum.

It turned out that bitcoin’s price had a tendency to be at its lowest point of the week on Fridays at around 6 AM UTC, and Monday evening/Tuesday morning at midnight UTC the price is on average $170 higher than on Friday morning.

The researchers note that Monday to Tuesday night institutional traders from Asia, America and Europe open long positions. On Friday, market participants seek to take profits before the weekend.

Craig Wright says he owns rights to Bitcoin

Craig Wright, the self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator, demanded that Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash networks stop using the distributed registry, which, he said, belongs to him.

Wright said he would protect his intellectual rights to the first cryptocurrency’s blockchain in court.

“As the creator of Bitcoin, I maintain the sui generis rights to any copy of the database created from Genesis in January 2009. I shall not be relinquishing the ownership. I will be licensing it, and have already engaged in a process.”

He pointed out that only Bitcoin SV has a right to use a distributed registry, while Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash do it illegally.

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Whales buy bitcoin, and Binance can not cope with the influx of customers

Research: whales are buying bitcoin

Analysts at the Kraken exchange found that in February, major holders of bitcoin (100-1,000 BTC) became much more active. According to the report, the previous phase of the accumulation of coins by whales led to an increase in the exchange rate in January of this year. A similar relationship was observed in 2018-2019.

“We anticipate accumulation to conclude in the weeks/months ahead and volatility to re-emerge”, experts say.

There are also“smaller” investors who own amounts between 0.1-1 BTC - over the year their number increased by around 10%. However, the largest coin holders (over 1,000 BTC) are still employing “wait-and-see” tactics, analysts say.

Binance performance issues caused by an influx of users

Last week, customers of one of the largest cryptocurrency websites Binance encountered the website’s performance issues.

CEO Changpeng Zhao said that the problems were caused by an influx of users an increased load on the system. Zhao links the influx of customers with bitcoin’s price returning to $10,000.

“The difference between BTC at $10,000 this time around and the previous times is, there are a lot more users now. While this is a solid sign of strong recovery for the crypto market, it also puts on significant load for our systems,” the Binance CEO wrote.

CelticGold encourages investing in bitcoin

Another major investment company recommends its customers to invest part of their funds in bitcoin.

CelticGold specializes in precious metals trading. The company’s analysts published a report in which they had revealed the advantages of cryptocurrencies and recommended that investors allocate 1-5% of their portfolio into bitcoin.

“If you are very familiar with cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin, you can individually allocate higher percentages to Bitcoin. For the average investor, who is also invested in equities and real estate, 5% in the highly speculative and highly volatile Bitcoin is already a lot!”

CelticGold experts add that BTC is a safe haven asset, as it is not managed by central banks and governments. In addition, the number of coins is limited, and regulators cannot print new ones.

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Ripple gets in the top 100 payment systems, and oil prices are more volatile than bitcoin

Ripple got in the top 100 international payment systems

The payment system based on the Ripple company blockchain was included in the list of the 100 largest cross-border payment systems. This is the only blockchain project in the list.

The TOP-100 was compiled by the analytic company FXC Intelligence, along with Ripple, the list included Visa, Bank of America and PayPal. In addition, it contains MoneyGram, TransferGo and other payment systems that have partnered up with the blockchain project.

Oil prices are more volatile than bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies are usually blamed for considerable price fluctuations, but as it turned out, at the moment bitcoin is far from being the most unstable asset.
At the end of January, The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price's one-month realized amounted to 119.6%, while that of BTC - 54.5%. For comparison, in gold this indicator is 17.3%, the S&P 500 - 11.6%.

This is not the first time that the oil rate exceeds bitcoin in the range of fluctuations. For example, in the fall of 2019, WTI volatility increased to 133%, when BTC did not exceed 50%. Realized volatility is the standard deviation of daily price fluctuations in percentage.

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BCH, BCV and Tron dip by 20% in two days, and Morgan Creek founder urges not to trust Buffett

Founder of Morgan Creek: “I would not trust Buffett”

One shouldn’t listen to Warren Buffet’s advice regarding cryptocurrency, Anthony Pompiliano, Founder of Morgan Creek, thinks. According to him, Buffet is a great investor but knows nothing about technology.

“People will listen to Warren Buffett’s opinion because he is one of the best investors of all time. When it comes to technology, though, I think there are better people to listen to. I don’t take technology advice from someone who uses a flip phone or doesn't use email, ” Pompliano said.

He also added that Bitcoin will become the
will be the global reserve currency in the future, and national digital currencies will not be able to compete with it, since they are controlled by states and are subject to inflation.

Bitcoin Cash, Tron, and Bitcoin SV collapse by 20% in two days

Cryptocurrency market is in the red: at the moment, all TOP-20 assets, excluding the USDT stable coin, are showing a decline.

Over the past two days, the currencies that lost the most in price are BCH (-22%), BCV (-23%) and Tron (-21%) The average market price of Bitcoin fell from $9,950 to $9,158, Ethereum fell from $275 to $236, the price of XRP fell from $0.2831 to $0.2396.

The total market capitalization dropped by $31 billion: from $290.074 to $259.161. According to analysts, the reason lies in the fact that the price of bitcoin failed to gain a foothold above the strong level of $10,000.

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China suggests banning cryptocurrencies, and Craig Wright seriously plans to seize all BTC

China proposes to ban cryptocurrencies and ICOs

Chinese authorities must tighten control over the crypto sphere after the launch of the digital yuan, Chen Weigang, former Vice President of China Insurance Regulatory Commission of the Communist Party, said.

According to him, the cryptocurrency circulation and ICO should be banned.

“I always believe that speculation in cryptocurrency and ICO is not the direction of financial development and must be resolutely banned. They must be completely banned,” — the ex-official said.

He added that banks need to be prohibited from the opportunity to conduct any transactions with cryptocurrency.

Craig Wright plans to seize bitcoins through miners

Craig Wright, an Australian scientist and self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, is serious about seizing all existing coins through the courts.

Podcaster Peter McCormack published screenshots of Slack messages where Wright writes that the first BTC seizures will begin as early as 2020. Private keys won’t be required for this, since the court will order the nodes to return the bitcoins to their rightful owner, that is, Craig Wright.

“Without keys, BTC will be confiscated. Code is law, and courts can mandate patching code. Bitcoin is not encrypted. It is economic,” — the scientist writes.

He also requested data from companies including MtGox, that lost coins. Wright promised them to "return the money starting this year."

13,000 ATM’s in South Korea to support Litecoin withdrawal

Litecoin Foundation has partnered up with MeconCash, to enable Litecoin withdrawals to Korean Wonat over 13,000 ATM’s across South Korea.

Cryptocurrency will be integrated into the M.Pay platform, which allows to make transfers around the country, buy goods, pay for mobile applications and other services.

Litecoin Foundation Director Alan Austin noted that the partnership will contribute to the spread of cryptocurrency in South Korea:

“The ability to access cash through Litecoin at over 13,000 ATM’s opens the door to new opportunities within the Korean market and globally. With billions in remittances sent each year to South Korea, Litecoin (through its speed, security, and low transaction fees) offers significant advantages over traditional methods of sending money overseas,” — he said.

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Why institutional investors avoid cryptocurrencies and Google Play removes crypto news apps

KPMG: Institutional investors do not embrace the cryptocurrency market because of hackers

An audit company from the Big Four conducted an analysis of the cryptocurrency market and explained why institutional investors have not been embracing it yet.

Hackers have stolen $9.8 billion worth of crypto since 2017 due to security and code issues, the report said. A low level of security is the main reason holding large investors back, KPMG experts say.

“Institutional investors especially will not risk owning crypto assets if their value cannot be safeguarded in the same way their cash, stocks and bonds are,” Sal Ternullo, co-leader of KPMG’s crypto-asset services, said.

Google Play removes cryptocurrency news apps

Cryptocurrency news resources apps have started to disappear from Google’s Play Store for Android smartphone apps, Cointelegraph writes.

At the moment, the store has neither the application of Cointelegraph nor of the popular portal CoinDesk. According to Cointelegraph, they were not contacted by Google Play regarding. The media reached out to the company but has not yet received a response.

In December 2019, the MetaMask Ethereum wallet disappeared from Google Play, after the owners contacted the store, it was returned.

Bitfinex Exchange to delist 46 trading pairs

On March 6, the Bitfinex cryptocurrency platform will conduct mass delisting. 46 trading pairs with Ethereum, Bitcoin, DAI and Japanese Yen will be removed due to low liquidity on the platform.

Such pairs as XVG/ETH, XVG/JPY, OMG/DAI, ZRX/DAI will be delisted.

“The removal of these trading pairs is a common measure that serves to consolidate and improve liquidity on Bitfinex, leading to a more streamlined and optimised trading experience for our users,” the exchange said.

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South Korea legalizes cryptocurrencies, and the US may issue a digital currency after China

Opinion: the US will issue digital currency after China

The US authorities are closely monitoring the development of Chinese digital yuan and, if necessary, will launch their own digital currency, according to ING economist Carlo Cocuzzo.

During a presentation at Blockchain Week in London, Cocuzzo said that 90% of forex turnover is in dollars, and the United States will not want to lose leadership. If the Federal Reserve considers that it is necessary to issue digital USD as opposed to the Chinese currency, it will immediately do so.

In August last year, representatives of the People's Bank of China announced that the digital yuan will be launched soon, with the prototype and blockchain architecture of the token having been already been fully developed.

South Korea legalized cryptocurrencies

The South Korean authorities have adopted amendments to the legislation of the country, which legalize trading and storing of cryptocurrency.

For their launch they only need to be signed by the president. The government will be given a year to implement the changes, and representatives of the blockchain industry will be given 6 months to bring their activities in line with the new requirements.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, ICO projects and other blockchain companies will fall under regulation. They will be required to comply with financial reporting requirements, use real bank accounts, follow KYC procedures and certify information security management systems (ISMS).

Coinbase CEO: the number of cryptocurrency users will grow 100-fold

Today, the number of cryptocurrency users is 50 million people, but this number can grow to 5 billion, says Brian Armstrong, Coinbase exchange CEO.

The adoption of the blockchain will be similar to the spread of the Internet, Armstrong wrote in his Twitter account. In his opinion, a cryptocurrency that wants to become a world leader must meet four requirements: scalability, privacy, decentralized identity, and developer tools.

The primary goal is scalability, the businessman believes — the network must process thousands of transactions per second.

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IOTA network resumes operations after hacking, and trading volume of BTC options hits a record

IOTA network is back online after hack

IOTA Foundation relaunches network after being suspended because of a hacker attack.

On February 12, 2020, attackers stole 8.55 million tokens (about $2million) from the official Trinity wallet, affecting 50 users. IOTA founder David Sønstebø promised to pay victims back from his own wallet.

The company intends to continue cooperation with the FBI, the police of Great Britain, Germany and Malta to find the criminals.

Mark Cuban compared buying bitcoin and gold to collecting

American billionaire and owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks club, Mark Cuban, once again spoke about cryptocurrencies, comparing them to gold and collectables.

“With Bitcoin, some people value it as a store of value, which makes it like baseball cards, art [and] gold,” he said.

Cuban, however, noted the value of the blockchain technology:

“When people say cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value, they usually lose sight of the value of blockchain technology,” he added.

Bitcoin options saw record volume

On March 9, BTC options set a new trading record of $198 million.

According to the analytical service Skew, interest in options has grown amid an increase in bitcoin exchange rate volatility up to 65%.

The Deribit derivatives platform registered 86% of transactions worth about $170 million. The second most popular was the OKEx exchange with a trading volume of $23 million, followed by LedgerX and Bakkt. CME, which launched cryptocurrency instruments in January this year, registered only about 1% of the trade turnover.

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Starbucks to accept crypto payments, and Opera integrates a feature to buy BTC and ETH

Bakkt raises $ 300M in funding

Including from Microsoft. Digital asset startup Bakkt's closed the Series B round, during which the company managed to raise $ 300 million.

The funds were invested by the New York Stock Exchange ICE, Microsoft, PayU, Boston Consulting Group, Goldfinch Partners, CMT Digital and Pantera Capital. Bakkt CEO Mike Blandina said the company plans to launch a payment application this summer.

“With the completion of our Series B financing and recent acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, Bakkt is now a team of 350 employees and powers the loyalty redemption programs for 7 of the top 10 financial institutions and over 4,500 loyalty and incentive programs including two of the largest US airlines,” he said.

You can use crypto to pay at Starbucks

By using the Bakkt payment system. The popular coffee shop chain has announced a collaboration with the cryptocurrency platform in test mode - some Starbucks application users got a Bakkt Cash payment function.

“We anticipate that a range of cryptocurrencies will gain traction with customers and, through our work with Bakkt, we will be uniquely positioned to constantly consider and offer customers new and unique ways to pay seamlessly,” Starbucks had said.

Bakkt President Adam White said that the partnership will help the chain reduce payment costs for merchants.

Opera integrates a feature to buy cryptocurrencies

The U.S. Opera browser users will be able to purchase BTC and ETH directly from the browser. Users can buy cryptocurrency using a bank card or Apple Pay, and coins will be stored on a wallet built into the browser.

The Wyre payment system integrated the function, its commission will be $0.30 + 2.9% for the operation.

“Users can purchase as little as $1 worth of crypto, and there is a maximum daily limit of $250,”

“Users can purchase cryptocurrency even for $ 1, and the maximum daily limit is $ 250. As our browser-based wallet is focused around the usage of cryptocurrencies on the web and using dApps [decentralized applications], we expect the vast majority of transactions will not hit that limit,” a spokesperson at Wyre said.

The service is available in versions of Opera for PC, iOS and Android.

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Bitcoin went up by 23% in 24 hrs, and the Ethereum hashrate may drop by 30%

Bitcoin went up by 23% in 24 hours

The crypto market has started recovering: total market cap has grown by 19% over the past 24 hours.

BTC price strengthened by 23%: from $5,500 to $6,800. Ethereum rose by 22% and now costs about $148, XRP went up by 15% to $0.1720, Bitcoin Cash - by 29% to $239.

The largest price surge among the TOP 100 crypto assets was demonstrated by Bitcoin SV: the token has risen in price by more than 40% and is now trading near the $172 mark.

Trading volume on LocalBitcoins jumped by 21%

Over the past week, the trading activity at the LocalBitcoins p2p platform has increased by 21% — this is the largest jump since the summer of 2019.

The main contribution was made by Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Egypt, Japan. Moreover, the latter three countries hit all-time-high weekly fiat trade volumes The situation occurs against the background of coronavirus quarantine. For example, banks closed in Venezuela yesterday, which caused an influx of users to cryptocurrency platforms.

Opinion: Ethereum hashrate to drop by 30%

Most of the mining devices for mining ETH will soon become useless due to the increasing DAG size, developer Kristy-Leigh Minehan says.

This can lead to a sharp drop by 20-30% in the computing power of Ethereum which will make the network vulnerable to reorganization attacks, and also complicate the work of decentralized applications, she said.

Before work, each mining device must download a DAG file, which increases every 30,000 blocks. Currently, its size is 3.52 GB, which no longer allows mining ETH on Nvidia GTX 1060 3 GB graphics cards. According to a blog post by 2miners, the popular ASIC Antminer E3 will become should stop mining as early as April 8th due to the file size growth.

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The U.S. Federal Reserve says they have “infinite amount of cash” — what’s the impact on bitcoin?

Why BTC will drop to $5,000

A “death cross" formed on the BTC price, a top-down intersection of 50-day and 200-day Moving Average. This will lead to a price drop down to $5,000, Coindesk analyst Omkar Godbole thinks.

However, the drop will not happen immediately: for example, in the spring of 2018 the “cross”, bitcoin price first went up by 50% in a month, and then declined by 70% within six months.

The scenario will be cancelled if BTC can consolidate above $6,460, the analyst writes. Godbole also notes that similar crosses are forming on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 industrial charts.

Peter Brandt: Bitcoin price will drop by 50%

Well-known trader Peter Brandt believes that BTC will drop below $3,000. Responding to a comment on Twitter, Brandt posted a chart with a “descending flag” figure - if implemented, the price will go to the level of $2,700.

The trader also indicated that having declined below $7,500, bitcoin price broke the long-term support line and moved into a downtrend. Earlier, the analyst said that bitcoin will drop to zero after breaking this level.

Opinion: cryptocurrency will benefit from the crisis

Unlimited amount of U.S. dollars will positively affect bitcoin, trader Joseph Young believes.

“Fed printing unlimited money to pump markets = good for bitcoin

Devaluation of dollar over the long term = good for bitcoin

Short-term may be gloomy for bitcoin, but long-term prospect of it remains very bright,” Young tweeted.

A similar opinion is shared by Stack analyst Lennard Neo. He expects an influx of capital into cryptocurrencies due to the uncertainty central banks and governments actions amid the crisis.

CEO of Titus Investment Advisors Justin Gillespie notes that quarantine will strengthen the position of cryptocurrency. According to him, “The longer the people can’t go outside to conduct their business, the more useful the cryptocurrency should become as it can be sent and received from the safety of one’s home."

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Cash and ?oronavirus: how to stay safe when dealing with banknotes and bank cards

During the pandemic, when it is of the utmost importance to be very careful about your health and follow good hygiene practice, BestChange team wishes to remind you the necessary precautionary measures when dealing with cash and bank cards.

We already wrote that cash is one of the dirtiest things in the world and a carrier of many diseases. Various microbes live on the banknotes for quite a long time – from one up to two months. Paper money has a lot of cellulose which is the perfect media for the development of bacteria. Plastic and metal money have much fewer microorganisms, and their life is much shorter.

Speaking about COVID-19 specifically, the virus stays up to 5 days on metal materials, 4 days on wood and glass. Paper exposed to coronavirus remained safe after 4-5 days, and the virus stays on plastic for no more than 5 days.

Besides coronavirus, many other bacteria can be found on banknotes: causing skin inflammation, microorganisms associated with the vaginal tract, Escherichia coli and staphylococcal bacteria can be found – they cause intestinal diseases. Besides bacteria, fungi spores and helminthiasis (simply put, worm infections) pathogens can be found on money.

Many infectious disease specialists around the world approve of decreasing the usage of cash in favor of contactless. However, please keep in mind that the direct contact between the bank card and the terminal or touching the terminal when pressing the PIN can be also dangerous in terms of contracting the infection.

We would like to remind you recommendations of WHO: wash your hands, do not touch your face when using cash. WHO does not say that cash must be totally avoided, but theoretically, it can be a channel to contract the virus.

Please remember, that the notion “dirty money” has a real basis behind it and before biting into a snack you have just purchased with some cash, remember what is at stake. Always thoroughly wash your hands or sanitize them after being in contact with cash or touching any surfaces in public spaces, including ATMs.

Modern problems require modern solutions, electronic money and cryptocurrency get another advantage as a safer payment means of the future.

BestChange team asks everyone to follow the advice of doctors and professionals, take care of yourself and your close ones and keep your spirits up!

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Cash turnover hits record high in the U.S. and altcoins mentions on Twitter drop to a minimum

USD banknote turnover hits a 20-year high

From March 11 to March 18, the turnover of cash dollars in the United States increased by $34 billion, shooting up from $1.809 trillion to $1.843 trillion.

This is the largest growth in the last 20 years, economist John Paul Coning points out: the U.S. citizens are withdrawing money from banks amid the coronavirus epidemic. Last time a similar situation was observed in 1999 when people were afraid of digital devices failure due to the "Y2K bug"

It is noteworthy that the current increase in cash circulation is happening despite the WHO recommendations to avoid contact with banknotes, as COVID-19 can be distributed through them.

Twitter's altcoin mentions drop to a minimum

Twitter users now write about main altcoins less often - the number of mentions per day has dropped to a three-year low.

The number of posts about XRP has decreased by 60% in two months to 2,542. Ethereum was talked about slightly less — the number of tweets with the hashtag #ETH fell to 2,500, which has become the lowest engagement level since February 2017. For comparison: in December 2017, when the altcoin set a maximum price, the number of tweets about it exceeded 51,000.

Bitcoin’s “little brother” LTC has been completely forgotten —Twitter users mentioned the coin only 350 times a day. The popularity of BTC, on the contrary, has grown, its mentions have doubled since the end of January.

Small miners shutting off will help the price of bitcoin

Blockware CEO Matt D’Souza said. He analyzed the periods of decline of the network’s hash rate and noted that they were followed by a prolonged increase of cryptocurrency price. In his opinion, now the situation may be repeated.

At the moment, the computing power of the BTC blockchain has dropped to 93 EH/s. In mid-March, when the bitcoin exchange rate sank below $4,000, small miners were forced to turn off the equipment, which led to a sharp drop in the hash rate and the difficulty of mining cryptocurrency.

Matt D’Souza notes that this will benefit the price of bitcoin, as private miners quickly sold their coins to not work at a loss.

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Miners will start to switch off after the halving, and Bitstamp plans to expand its listing

Some miners will stop working after the halving

States a report by an analytic company Coin Metrics. Despite the fact that Bitcoin price has recovered to the level of $6,300, for many miners the breakeven point is higher than that.

“We expect miners to follow a cycle of decreased profit margins, increased selling, capitulation, and a culling of the least efficient miners from the network. Once this cycle is complete, the miner industry should return to a healthier state that is supportive of future price increases,” the analysts say,

Last week, Bitcoin mining complexity fell by a record 16%, according to BTC.com forecasts, after the next eight-day cycle, it will decrease by another 12%. This will also reduce the profitability of mining for inefficient equipment, according to Coin Metrics.

Bitstamp may launch trading Ethereum Classic, Zcash and Stellar

Bitstamp, one of the first European cryptocurrency exchanges, is considering listing Ethereum Classic (ETC), Stellar Lumens (XLM), Zcash (ZEC), Basic Attention Token (BAT), Paxos Standard (PAX), USD Coin (USDC) and 0x (ZRX).

The platform’s specialists will thoroughly study the technical characteristics of these cryptocurrencies, as well as their compliance with the security requirements of the exchange and the legislation of some countries. It is worth noting that Bitstamp is extremely cautious about listing coins. Currently, only five crypto assets are traded on the platform: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Cryptocurrency trading volume on exchanges increased by 60%

Trade turnover at 22 popular crypto platforms grew by 61% in Q1 of 2020, according to the report of The Block media.

In the last quarter of 2019, the figure was $96 billion, and currently, it has increased to $154 billion — almost the same level as in Q3 of last year.

The volume of transactions in the Bitcoin network increased by 11% to $ 178 billion, while the amount of commissions remained virtually unchanged at $20.12 million. The average BTC block size has slightly increased: from 1.14 MB to 1.17 MB. In January, the share of SegWit transfers exceeded 70%, and the number of public Lightning channels increased by 3%.

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Bitcoin is again trading above $7,000, and the ETH exchange balance reaches its maximum since 2016

Bitcoin has gone up to $7,000

BTC price today has gone over the mark of $7,100 —over the past 24 hours, cryptocurrency has strengthened by 5%.

Since March 13, bitcoin has grown in price by more than 80%. Most of the crypto assets from TOP-20 also added in value: Stellar (11.69%), TRON (9.51%) and Ethereum (6.42%) have demonstrated the highest growth.

Earlier we noted that the capitalization of the USDT stablecoin exceeded $6 billion for the first time. A number of analysts attribute the increase of the number of Tether tokens to the rise in bitcoin price.

ETH exchange balance reaches its maximum since 2016

Since the end of last year, the volume of ethereum stored on trading platforms has increased by 21% to 18.187 million ETH.

According to Glassnode, this is the highest level since December 2016 and it accounts for 16% of all circulating coins. Interestingly, the indicator is inversely correlated with the price of ETH. Thus, for 12 months from December 2016, Ethereum has risen in price from $6 to $ 1,350 — at the same time, the cryptocurrency exchange balance has decreased from 18 to 8 million coins.

On March 13, the ETH price fell to $95, which was the lowest since December 2018. Now the coin is trading near the $154 mark.

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Bitcoin Cash undergoes halving

On April 8, in the Bitcoin Cash network block reward was halved. It was reduced from 12.5 BCH to 6.25 BCH at block height 630’000. The night before halving, the coin went up from $251 to $275, but today it has again dropped in price to $257. In about 12 hours, halving of Bitcoin SV, another fork of the first cryptocurrency, will happen. According to BSV developer Bat Jasper, this will negatively affect cryptocurrency as it will make its mining less profitable than mining bitcoin. We would like to remind that halving in the network of BTC itself is expected on May 13, the reward will drop from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.

U.S. national debt hits a record $24 trillion

According to Trading Economics, the U.S. public debt is currently $24.018 trillion. It grew by an additional $4 trillion over 4 years under Donald Trump. The sharp increase of this figure was caused by the U.S. Federal Reserve program to support the economy during the financial crisis brought about by coronavirus. The regulator intends to print $6 trillion worth of banknotes. Earlier, TV presenter Max Kaiser called the dollar “debt coupons,” and popular writer Robert Kiyosaki called for investing in bitcoin and gold: “IF US Debt to GDP ratio 60% world sound. Today US Debt to GDP 110% and climbing. US bankrupt”, he tweeted.

The number of ETH addresses has exceeded 70 million

The number of addresses in the Ethereum network has reached 70 million, the Glassnode service draws attention.The figure began to sharply grow in November 2017 before the coin set a price record of $1,300. Since that time, the cost of ETH was mostly falling and today it is $171. Despite this, the number of addresses has increased 8.2 times since November 2017. The number of active addresses in March was about 230 thousand - the figure correlates with the price of ethereum. The maximum at the level of 715 thousand was set in January 2018, when the cryptocurrency price reached a historical record.

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China has published a new cryptocurrency rating

Bitcoin is only ranked 14th in the rating. BTC has lost three more positions, giving way to Cosmos (ATOM), Stellar (XLM) and Dash. TOP 3 remains the same since the February ranking: EOS is in the first place, followed by TRON and Ethereum. Lisk, IOST, NULS, Qtum, NEO, XLM and Dash are in top ten. This is already the seventeenth evaluation made by the China-based Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CCID). Projects are evaluated on three parameters: basic technology, applicability and creativity.

Binance exchange launches mobile bitcoin options

Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange services, announced launching bitcoin options. The function is only available in the latest version of the exchange’s mobile app. At the moment, users can trade bitcoin options paired with USDT - in the future, the platform plans to expand the list of instruments. Binance chose the American version of options in which the deal can be closed before the contract expiry date. The exchange’s statement states that their options provide “a shorter time frame compared to traditional options”, ranging from 10 minutes to 1 day.

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BTC and S&P 500 correlation hit a nine-year high

Bitcoin price and the S&P 500 index have been changing most correlated for 9 years, said eToro analyst Mati Greenspan. The correlation of the prices of the two assets reached 0.6, whereas before it did not exceed 0.3 - with a value of 1, the charts move completely identically. The analyst explained this by the coronavirus pandemic. ?Bitcoin is still considered a ?risk asset? and hasn?t achieved the safe haven status that gold has taken thousands of years to build up,? Greenspan summed up. However, he added that the profitability of BTC is still higher than the stock market: since the beginning of the year, BTC added 7% in price, while at the same time, the price of oil collapsed to the levels of the 2000s.

Opinion: only large miners will survive halving

Representatives of the mining industry believe that only large and effective miners will remain after the halving. F2Pool co-founder Wang Chun said that due to a decrease in rewards from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC, unprofitable operators could be absorbed by larger players. A similar position was expressed by Alejandro de la Torre, Poolin Vice President. In his opinion, miners using old equipment will have to disconnect after halving. The head of New Mine, Ibrahim Alkurd, noted that one should not hope for a rise in the price of bitcoin after halving. ?Miners hoping that the BTC price will jump up after halving the block reward, making their operations profitable, are in trouble,? he said. Wang Chun added that after halving, those farms will stay that are capable of mining bitcoin at a cost of $3,500.

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The balance of bitcoins on exchanges fell to a minimum

The number of BTC that users store on exchanges has dropped to a 6-month minimum. According to Glassnode, the current balance is 2.36 million coins. The indicator has been declining since March 13, when the price of bitcoin fell below $4,000. At the same time, the network activity has grown to record levels since 2017. According to TokenAnalyst analysts, investors are withdrawing cryptocurrency from exchanges, since they are considering long-term storage of coins.

65% of Twitter users believe in the strengthening of BTC after halving

The topic of halving is growing in popularity on the social network Twitter along with increased Google searches. Over the past two weeks, the number of posts mentioning the word "halving" has grown tweets-fold, reports The TIE. On May 6, users posted 2,500 tweets: 65% of them are positive, that is, their authors expect that the event will positively affect the value of bitcoin. The TIE notes that the topic of halving at the end of April surpassed the popularity of coronavirus among crypto enthusiasts.

Ex-President of Bank of China: digital yuan will replace cash

The digital version of yuan, which is already being tested by the Chinese authorities, may completely replace cash in the future, said Li Lihui, the former President of the Bank of China. He noted that unlike traditional currencies, CDBC will not depend on a third-party bank or payment system. In this case, the virtual currency must meet four key conditions: “Whether the digital yuan can become the dominant form of currency and mainstream payment means, depends on whether it has greater efficiency, lower transaction costs, enough economic scale with commercial value, and people’ acceptance,” said the former President of Bank of China. He added that CDBC will have anonymity, like Bitcoin, but the regulator will set limits on the number and frequency of operations without confirming the identity.

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The profit of miners fell by 44%. Halving is to blame

Daily earnings of miners fell from $16 to $9 million after halving on May 12. Obsolete equipment, for example, Antminer S9, has now become unprofitable. At the same time, the bitcoin hash rate fell by 16%, and the block mining time increased to 10 minutes 32 seconds. The problem should be fixed by a correction of complexity, which is expected in 5 days. The estimated difficulty will decrease by 2%.

Stablecoin capitalization exceeded $10 billion

The volume of all existing stablecoins reached $10.4 billion, having updated the historical maximum. Tether holds 85% of the market, second place is occupied by USDC, which accounts for 7.2% of capitalization. Since February, the total supply of stable coins has grown by 79%, and the share of USDT has increased by 3%. Most USDT tokens were issued on the Ethereum blockchain - $5.73 billion, $1.8 billion are working on the Tron network, $1.3 billion use the Omni blockchain.

Pavel Durov announces the closure of the TON crypto project

Pavel Durov, co-founder of VK social network and Telegram messenger, announced the closure of the Telegram Open Network blockchain project. The reason, he said, is the decision of the American court. "Unfortunately, a US court stopped TON from happening. How? Imagine that several people put their money together to build a gold mine – and to later split the gold that comes out of it. Then a judge comes and says: 'These people invested in the gold mine because they were looking for profits. And they didn't want that gold for themselves, they wanted to sell it to other people. Because of this, they are not allowed to get the gold," Durov wrote. He noted that the court banned the use of GRAM cryptocurrency in the whole world since a US citizen can get access to it. According to the businessman, this is a paradox decision, because it implies control of the American authorities over the sovereignty of other countries. “Unfortunately, we – the 96% of the world's population living elsewhere – are dependent on decision makers elected by the 4% living in the US,” concluded Durov. The businessman said that his team is stopping work on the platform and urged not to be fooled by fraudsters using the name of the project.

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Andreessen Horowitz: the cryptocurrency market is growing randomly but steadily

Venture Fund Andreessen Horowitz from Silicon Valley has analyzed the cryptocurrency market and came to the conclusion that it has been showing a “choppy yet consistent growth” since 2010. Experts studied four metrics: the price of bitcoin, activity in social networks, developer activity and startup activity. All four parameters showed positive cumulative annual growth rates. The company noted the importance of the 2017 cycle, which became the reason for the launch of “dozens of interesting projects” from various business areas. “Even though crypto cycles look chaotic, over the long term they’ve generated steady growth of new ideas, code, projects, and startups — the fundamental drivers of software innovation. Technologists and entrepreneurs will continue to push crypto forward in the coming years. We are excited to see what they build,” Andreessen Horowitz concluded.

Miner hackers attacked supercomputers

Last week, a number of supercomputers from the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Spain were attacked by crypto miners. The University of Edinburgh, Leibniz Computing Center, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, the Swiss Center for Scientific Computing are among the victims. Experts from Cado Security examined samples of malicious code and concluded that hackers gained access through compromised user data and SSH keys. There is no official evidence that the attacks were carried out by one group of attackers, but Cado Security pointed to similar virus file names and network identifiers.

Cardano creator: misinformation prevents bitcoin from spreading

Cardano founder and Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson suggested that bitcoin is misunderstood due to the abundance of false information and fears. “I started with Bitcoin and started with something called the Bitcoin education project. The goal there was to try to bring as many people as possible into our ecosystem and to also dispel a lot of the common myths, fear, uncertainty, disinformation, and misnomers and things that have been cropping up. In 2013, there was certainly a lot of them, and unfortunately today there’s even more,” the businessman said. Hoskinson created a 40-minute video in which he explained the essence of the first cryptocurrency and called for similar actions by all industry participants. The reason was the tweet by the writer Joan Rowling, who asked to tell her what Bitcoin is. Having received many answers, including from Ilon Mask and Vitalik Buterin, the author of Harry Potter books has not understood the idea of cryptocurrency and expressed her disappointment.

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Bitcoin whales withdraw 17,000 BTC over a few hours

Large holders of bitcoin in several transactions withdrew 17,320 BTC (about $169.4 million) from several exchanges, the Whale Alert service noticed. First, 5,000 BTC was sent from Bitfinex to an unknown address. Then 3,058 BTC was transferred from an account on Binance exchange; 2,645 BTC were moved from OKEx in two transactions. A little later, another 3,164 BTC were withdrawn from OKEx, and 1,593 BTC from Coinbase. The senders and recipients are unknown; all transfers were made during the evening and night of May 19. Twitter users have suggested that whales accumulate coins on the verge of the upcoming Bitcoin price increase.

Bitcoin price drops to 0 on BitMEX

On May 19, the BTC/ USD price collapsed to zero at BitMEX, one of the largest crypto derivatives trading sites. After that, the platform suspended trading for several hours. Representatives of the exchange did not explain whether there was a real deal at the rate of $0, or whether it was a technical malfunction. BitMEX said that “all funds are safe”, now the website is working as usual. The other day, a lawsuit was filed against BitMEX, among other accusations, the exchange was accused of price manipulation and fraud.

Bitcoin mining difficulty decreases by 6%

On the morning of May 20, the first change in the complexity of mining Bitcoin took place after the recent halving — the indicator fell by 6%. The reason lies in the hashrate falling after halving the block reward. Now outdated equipment can once again generate revenue at the cost of electricity below $0.05 kW/h. In some provinces of China, due to the rainy season, tariffs for miners have been reduced to $0.03 kWh/h. This may prompt miners who have switched off, to return to cryptocurrency mining, according to Alejandro De La Torre, vice president of the PoolIn mining pool. According to BTC.com, in two weeks, complexity may decrease by another 6.3%. In early March, the indicator updated its historical maximum, but after the collapse of the exchange rate to $4,000 at the end of the month, it fell by 15.95%.

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Bitcoin Cash is at risk of an attack of 51%

The Bitcoin Cash network lost 30% of hashrate after bitcoin halving - this makes it vulnerable to 51% attack, according to Yassin Elmanjra, analyst at ARK Invest.

“Bitcoin Cash is not looking healthy:

-Hashrate down 30% since halving (& only accounts for ~2% of SHA256 hash)
-Economic throughput at all time lows
-Fees are .05% of miner rev (<$100/day)
-Theoretical 51% attack costs <$10k/hr, ” Yassin tweeted.

He added that he was surprised why the capture of 51% of the cryptocurrency capacities has not yet been implemented. According to the crypto51 service, the cost of such an attack is $8,800 per hour.

Investors accumulate Ethereum

On May 24, two records were updated in the ETH network: the number of addresses containing 100 or more coins reached 47,740, and the number of wallets with one or more ETH exceeded 1,042 million. Glassnode service drew attention to these statistics. Earlier, the Grayscale fund, having bought almost half of all coins mined in 2020, reported the growth in popularity of investments in Ethereum. The clients of the fund are institutional investors who invest in securities tied to cryptocurrency. According to analysts, market participants expect a strengthening of the coin value after the launch of the Ethereum 2.0 network, scheduled for the third quarter of this year.

Canaan miner manufacturer reports loss

Hard times have come for mining equipment manufacturers. The Chinese company Canaan said it suffered $5.6 million losses in Q1. Revenue for this period amounted to $9.4 million - for comparison, in Q4of 2019, the indicator reached $66.5 million. The company's expenses in the first quarter of 2020 exceeded $15 million, which is associated with a two-fold reduction in equipment prices. “The overall market situation since December last year until January had not been too good. So the unit price per TH/s was indeed lower,” said Nangeng Zhang, CEO of the company. According to the F2Pool mining calculator, Canaan devices are significantly inferior in efficiency to the equipment of Bitmain and MicroBT.

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JPMorgan: Bitcoin is trading 25% below the real value

Although the investment bank JPMorgan does not work with cryptocurrency, the company's specialists occasionally provide analytics on it. According to the bank’s report of May 22, bitcoin today is trading “25% below what the intrinsic price would be after the halving.” The intrinsic value is calculated on the basis of the average cost of mining one coin. Thus, BTC should be trading near the $11,500 mark, which is about $2,400 higher than the current figures. According to JPMorgan, "eventually bitcoin will catch up."

Miners push the market

Miners turned into sellers, exerting pressure on the market, says analyst CryptoKea. Over the past seven days, they have sold 955 coins over what they mined. “We reached Bitcoin miner capitulation territory,” the analyst concluded. At the same time, the BTC hashrate fell to its lowest level in 2020. Even during Black Thursday, when the rate of the first cryptocurrency fell to $3,800, the computing power of the network was 94 TH/s. Now it has fallen to 90.30 TH/s. Miners switch off outdated devices, but they are forced to sell bitcoins to pay for current expenses, CryptoKea notes.

The number of “hodlers” increases to the levels of 2016

The number of coins that have not been moving for more than a year has reached 60%, according to cryptanalyst Philipp Swift. This indicates a significant increase in the number of "hodlers" - investors who prefer to hold coins for a long time. The last time this was observed in 2016, it was several months before the bull rally, Swift notes. The analyst used the data of his own HODL Wave indicator, which estimates how long the coins did not move from one address to another. Currently, the indicator value is at levels close to the historical maximum.

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Whales accumulate $4.8 billion in ETH

Ethereum held by large investors recently reached a 10-month high. The 100 largest wallets have accumulated 21.8 million ETH (about $4.8 billion). At the same time, whales have acquired 145 thousand coins over the past two days, according to the analytical service Santiment. Against this background, Ethereum price reached a 2-month high at around $224. Over the past day, cryptocurrency has risen in price by 5.77%. In addition, the number of ETH long positions on Bitfinex hit a new all-time high: since the beginning of the year, the indicator has grown by 246%, updating the historic maximum at 1.76 million ETH.

Gavin Andresen: crypto trading is all speculation

Gavin Andresen, Chief research officer at Bitcoin Foundation, expressed the opinion that traders speculate at the price of digital currencies, not paying attention to the essence of the underlying technologies. He compared the graphs of the IOTA and ZCash rates over the past year and noted that he does not see significant differences between them. At the same time, from February 12 to March 10, no transactions were made on the IOTA network due to the suspension of the wallet that was attacked. Andresen said that he could not determine from the price chart which of the projects was experiencing problems. “Probably nobody is thinking, and it is all day traders and bots,” the scientist concluded.

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Chinese authorities to close 64 mining farms

After the meeting of Yunnan province officials, it was ordered to shut down 57 illegally operating mining farms that were disguising themselves as Big Data companies. Another 7 facilities under construction must cease working. The region’s authorities noted the benefits of mining companies that take away excess electricity, but pointed out that many of them come into direct agreements with hydroelectric power plants and evade taxes. Earlier, the local power grid company demanded to stop the illegal energy consumption by miners who connect to the stations bypassing the authorities. It is reported that some farms have already put up their equipment for sale.

Bitcoin steadily rises in price in May

The principle of traditional markets “sell in May and go away” does not apply to bitcoin, according to analysts at Messari. Last month, BTC added 9%, slightly higher than the 2020 average of 8.5%. At the same time, in 2019, cryptocurrency in May rose by 54% with an average return of less than 8% per month. And in just 10 years, Bitcoin showed a positive trend in May 8 out of 10 times, while in 6 cases it was higher than the monthly average. Among classical traders, there is an opinion that in the summer there is no significant growth in the market, so it makes no sense to open long positions until the fall.

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CoinMetrics: signs are emerging that may mark the beginning of an altcoin season

The analytical service CoinMetrics drew attention to the price growth of some crypto assets. Cardano has risen 40% in the past week after announcing the launch date for the next major update “Shelley”. OmiseGo price doubled after Coinbase announced the coin’s listing In addition, ETH price grew by 14% per week, ahead of a number of “core assets” - and the majority of altcoins work on the ethereum blockchain, analysts note. “Such market movements in response to mainnet launches, new product upgrades, and exchange listings are reminiscent of late 2017,” CoinMetrics experts conclude.

Miners reduced bitcoin sales

The Glassnode portal has published data on the influx of coins to exchanges from mining pools. It turned out that after the halving on May 11, miners reduced sales, and now their volume is much lower than the average values for 2020. Over the past two months, sale peaks were observed on May 3 and 7, when Bitcoin price surpassed the $9,000 and $10,000 marks, respectively. Service experts also noted that a surge in BTC price on June 2 above $10,000 provoked an eight-fold increase in the flow of traders’ funds to large exchanges. After the dip to $9,500, the indicators returned to average, which indicates the importance of the round level of $10,000 for market participants.

Bitcoin has got protection against attacks by authorities

Bitcoin Core 0.20.0 was released on June 3. It contains a solution designed to protect the network from attacks of major players, such as nation-states or corporations like Google. Software “Asmap” was included to protect against a theoretical “Erebus” attack. Such an attack involves blocking or substituting P2P connections to isolate a specific part of the network. The attacker must connect to as many nodes around the victim as possible so that all eight of its external connections go through the attacker's network. Thus, the victim is completely isolated from the main blockchain. Theoretically, such an attack, carried out by an entire nation-state, could fracture the entire Bitcoin network.

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Again, miners sell more BTC than they mine

After the halving of the block reward, miners have to sell more coins than they can earn, according to a report by Arcane Research. The company uses the Miner’s Rolling Inventory (MRI) metric, which tracks the number of coins generated and moved by miners. If the figure is above 100%, then they sell more BTC than they mine. In March, the MRI reached 105%, then began to decline and fell below 100% on the verge of halving. Immediately after the event, the indicator began to grow and now has again reached the level of 105%. According to Arcane Research analysts, this indicates a change in the mood of miners after halving.

Commission fees at ETH have surpassed BTC

Ethereum network activity continues to grow: last Saturday, daily transaction fees exceeded Bitcoin levels. According to Glassnode, for the ETH network, the figure was $498 thousand against $ 308 thousand for BTC. Analysts attribute this to the growing demand for transfers in Ethereum. In addition, recently the capitalization of stablecoins has been growing, the bulk of which operates on the ETH blockchain. Earlier, the founder of Mythos Capital, Ryan Sean Adams, noted that there is a direct correlation between commission fees and the price of Ethereum. If the trend continues, then we can expect a growth of cryptocurrency price.

What altcoins will surge in price along with Bitcoin?

Simon Dedik, co-founder of the Blockfyre analytical portal, shared his opinion. He noted that in 2017, during the rally of Bitcoin price, almost all altcoins went up in price. In the next cycle, this situation will not happen again, and only the most important altcoins for the crypto industry will surge in price. These, according to the analyst, include Ethereum, Litecoin and XRP. Not all representatives of the crypto sphere adhere to this opinion. So, TV presenter Max Kaiser said that altcoins can not compete with the first cryptocurrency in the future. A similar position was expressed by the CEO of Morgan Creek Digital Anthony Pompliano: in his opinion, all altcoins will become useless and disappear from the market.

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Survey: 36% of large institutions invested in Bitcoin

Fidelity Investments surveyed 774 institutional investors from Europe and the USA - it turned out that 36% of them had purchased Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. These include hedge funds, financial managers, pension funds and other market participants. At the same time, the share of such investors increased from 22% to 27% over the year in the USA, while in Europe the figure is even higher - 45%. Tom Jessop, CEO of Fidelity Investments, explained that this is due to more relaxed European legislation and the prevalence of negative rates. “These results confirm a trend we are seeing in the market towards greater interest in and acceptance of digital assets as a new investable asset class,” he concluded.

80% of ETH holders are in positive territory

80% of Ethereum owners bought cryptocurrency at a price lower than the current one, according to Glassnode. Over the past two years, the indicator was at such a high level only three times. At the same time, the last time the price of ETH was $700, now the asset is trading at around $245. At the end of March, with the price dropping to $108, the share of investors in profit fell to 18%, a record low since 2016. The historical maximum price of Ethereum was set in January 2018 at around $1,430 - since then, the cryptocurrency has fallen in price by 83%. Glassnode previously noted that more than 77% of ETH has not moved over the past six months.

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Buterin: the growth of the bitcoin price is not related to halving

The co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin stated that the theory that the growth of the BTC exchange rate was related to halving did not work. The developer attached a chart of the S2F model according to which bitcoin periodically increased its cost together with halving the reward for mining a block. "The last $20k peak was near the halfway point between the 2016 and 2020 halvings", he pointed out. In the comments Buterin was told that the model predicted the quantitative growth of the bitcoin price, but it did not presume that the maximum will coincide exactly with the event of halving. The developer agreed that the absence of the direct correlation between halving and the growth of the bitcoin price did not disprove the theory, but said that he still did not agree with it.

The price of Ethereum can rise up to $7,500

If the BTC exchange rate increases up to $50,000, Chris Burniske, a partner in the Placeholder venture capital firm, thinks. "If $BTC goes > $50,000 in the next cycle, and $ETHBTC returns to its former ATH, then expect to see $ETH > $7,500", he wrote in his Twitter account. According to him, the price of bitcoin will rise up to $50,000, even if the volatility of the new rally will be twice as less as the previous indices. In this case, the capitalization of the first cryptocurrency will rise above $1 trillion. It will allow bitcoin to strengthen its "macro equity" status, while ETH will be able to become a mainstream instrument, the expert thinks.

The price of bitcoin will go down following the stock market

Analyst Satoshi Flipper thinks. If the US shares continue the correction, the BTC price will fall to $7,300 before the middle of July, he writes. Satoshi Flipper points out that, by going below $9,400, the exchange rate has broken through the trend line that has been acting as a support one since May. The S&P 500 index fell down 2.79% this morning — the crypto market followed it as well, the trader points out. He adds that he has been holding the short position regarding bitcoin since the weekend.

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Bitcoin should cost $18,000 today

Analyst PlanB writes. According to his estimates, the correlation between the S&P 500 index and bitcoin is 95% and the cryptocurrency is underestimated today. With the current index, BTC should cost $18,000, the analyst points out. PlanB also notes that the charts of both equities fit into the S2F model — according to the forecast, the next peak of bitcoin will occur at the level of $288,000 and S&P 500 will rise up to $4,300 in this case.

The BTC price will continue to fall

Popular trader CryptoCapo posted a series of tweets where he compared the current bitcoin chart with historical data. The detected "fractals" presuppose that the bitcoin exchange rate will continue to go down. According to the analyst, the price is ready to break through the support trend line. If the rate goes below $9,200, the next goal will be the level of $8,550, the breakthrough of which will definitely confirm the bear trend. CryptoCapo earlier posted the Wyckoff method estimate according to which the current accumulation would trigger the price movement to the point of $1,600.

Bitcoin will go down to $6,900 towards autumn

Crypto analyst Dave the Wave points out. According to his conclusions, the bitcoin exchange rate should drop down to the lower side of the global triangle where there is also the Fibonacci correction level of 0.382. The analyst points out that indicators confirm the bearish attitude and "the last but one chance" to buy at a low price will be near the level of $6,900.

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Jim Rogers: bitcoin will drop down to zero

Renowned American investor and Chairman of Rogers Holdings Jim Rogers stated that bitcoin continued to be a bubble and at one point in the future its price would plummet to zero. He pointed out that cryptocurrencies could not exist because they were not controlled by authorities. "But their governments have something that crypto people don't have. That is guns. The reason why I think cryptocurrency will be gone eventually is that it is not based on the armed force of governments' power.", Rogers worded his point of view. He added that money was turning into a digital form, but it continued to be controlled by regulators unlike cryptocurrencies that would not be able to become legal tender.

Max Keiser: the BTC price will grow to $400,000 when dollar collapses

Bitcoin investor Max Keiser confirmed his forecast about the growth of the first cryptocurrency exchange rate up to $400,000 and specified that specific dates would depend on the collapse of the US dollar. According to Keiser, the interest payment on the USA's national debt comprised the main item of expense for the government. "The debt is big. But the interest on that debt is now bigger than America’s number-one budget item, the military’s 1.6 trillion spend. When the interest on the debt gets close to 100% of GDP then America will officially be a failed state. This looks like it will be the case within 5 years — as short interest rates snap back to historic levels of 5%, not the current 0.5%", the trader said. He added that he had been waiting for BTC to grow up to $100,000 since 2011, but had recently increased his forecast to $400,000. The increase will start with the collapse of US dollar, Keiser thinks.

Anthony Pompliano encouraged pension funds to buy bitcoin

Co-founder of Morgan Creek Capital Management Anthony Pompliano addressed pension funds encouraging them to invest money in the cryptocurrency. Last week he sent a letter to investors where he called bitcoin the most effective equity in the nearest years to come. According to the businessman, pension funds should invest at least 1% of the capital in BTC — the optimal level would be 5%. "And you want to know where the greatest innovation is occurring at the moment? Bitcoin. There is a group of individuals who have built a $150+ billion asset with the goal of assuming the position of the next global reserve currency. If that happens, it will be the best performing asset for the next 20+ years. But even if that doesn’t happen, things will be okay", Pompliano pointed out.

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Messari: bitcoin will go up to $50,000 if institutional investors come to the market

Messari analyst Ryan Watkins estimated how much bitcoin would cost if institutional investors invested 1% of their funds in it. It turned out that BTC would rise up to $50,000 and the capitalization of the crypto market would exceed $1 trillion. According to the expert's assessment, investments from institutional investors are negligibly small at the moment. They are frightened off by uncertainty, hacking and fraud risks as well as by prejudice. "Bitcoin may not need institutions to succeed. But reality is, success as a store of value is measured in price. And if Bitcoin is to become a globally adopted non-sovereign store of value, it will need to convince institutional investors to transfer wealth into the asset", Watkins worded his opinion.

OKEx CEO: new aid package from US authorities will help bitcoin

OKEx exchange CEO Jay Hao said that the second aid package for US citizens due to the coronavirus pandemic could push the bitcoin price up. In March, the government allocated $2.2 trillion for these purposes and after that the price of bitcoin rose from $6,580 to $10,400. Now the US authorities plan to give away another $1 trillion, Bloomberg quotes Hao. He specifies that it is difficult for institutional investors to choose where to invest their money since the stock market is artificially inflated and stocks look like a too risky asset right now. "Institutions will be looking for the best rate of return over time and Bitcoin has consistently proven itself here just as Paul Tudor Jones called it the fastest horse. Again, of course, institutional investors will spread their risk across risk and haven assets", Hao clarifies.

Miners can trigger a collapse of the BTC rate

Analyst Cole Garner noted that miners had started to massively take coins away from pools. Yesterday the CQ.Live service registered the second largest outflow of miners' funds since the BTC price had reached $10,000. After that the rate fell down to $9,000 last time. Garner supposed that it could trigger sales on the market this time as well. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young agrees with him. In his opinion, the outflow of coins by miners will result in a short-term fall of the BTC price in the middle of July.

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Bitcoin brought 70 times more profit than indexes

Buy Shares experts compared the profitability of bitcoin and five leading world indexes. It turns out that over the past five years, BTC has generated an average of 70 times higher profit than indexes. During this period, the value of cryptocurrency increased by 3,400%. The NASDAQ index, which includes shares of all companies trading on the exchange of the same name, brought 96% in profit. The S&P 500 index, which includes 505 companies with the largest capitalization listed on US exchanges, grew by 46%. The Dow Jones industrial index showed a similar increase - by 42%. The lowest result was shown by the index of the British stock exchange FTSE 100, losing 7% in price.

Bitcoin whale transfers almost $1 billion for a 50 cents fee

A transaction in the amount of 101.8 thousand BTC (about $920 million) took place in the bitcoin blockchain. On June 27, an unknown person sent coins to an anonymous wallet. Then he transferred 5,000 BTC to one address, and the remaining 96,800 BTC to another. At the same time, the commission for each transfer amounted to about 50 cents - the whale paid $1.5 for all operations. The transaction was recorded by the Twitter bot BtcBlockBot.

Twitter approval of bitcoin at an annual low

The number of posts with the approval of bitcoin on Twitter fell to the lowest for this year - for a month and a half, the indicator slipped by half. According to Santiment, the day after the halving, the positive mention indicator set a maximum of 12 months at 781 mark. Now, this indicator is 327. At the same time, the total number of Bitcoin posts has also decreased, according to Bitinfocharts. On May 11, on the day of the halving, the number of references reached 82,838, and today it has dropped to 32,380. In Google, searches for bitcoin dropped by three times less after the halving.

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CBDC will determine the future of money and cryptocurrencies

According to Guy Sheffield, Visa’s head of crypto. In the next ten years, the development of central bank digital currencies will affect the confidentiality, monetary sovereignty of states, geopolitics and the adoption of bitcoin. “I’d argue that central bank digital currency (CBDC) is one of the most important trends for the future of money and payments over the next decade. Regardless of anyone’s personal views of whether it’s good or bad, the reality is that global interest in it is not going away,” Sheffield tweeted. He noted that earlier single articles from central banks were issued on this topic, and now there is a non-stop flow of information from experts, scientists and organizations.

European companies favor Ethereum

European Blockchain startups most often choose the Ethereum platform, according to research by LeadBlock Partners. 27% of the projects are based on Ethereum, followed by Hyperledger (20%), Corda (16%) and Bitcoin (8%). Analysts note that the choice of blockchain depends on the area in which the company operates. Ethereum is preferred by startups from the real estate, cultural and art sectors since it is convenient to tokenize such assets on the platform. Hyperledger is popular in the healthcare, food and agricultural sectors, and Corda in the financial business.

The Block: Bitcoin popularity is far from peak

The massive spreading of bitcoin will come soon, according to the Block’s analysts. Currently, the popularity of the first cryptocurrency is far from the peak levels of 2017, when BTC was worth $20’000. Weekly trading volumes then amounted to $17 billion, and in 2020 their average level did not exceed $2.5 billion. In Google, searches for bitcoin dropped by 8 compared with the end of 2017, and the bitcoin page on Wikipedia was studied 30 times less. Cryptocurrency exchange accounts on Twitter gain subscribers 47 times slower: in January 2018, they received 254,000 new users, and in 2020, an average of 5,340 per month.

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Bitcoin may get cheaper following S&P 500

The first cryprocurrency increases its connection with the S&P 500 index: according to Skew, the correlation level of the two assets have achieved the record level of 77%. At the same time, the index is predicted to fall. Last week the Citigroup financial corporation informed its investors that it anticipates the asset to go down 10% to 2,900 points. At the moment S&P 500 is traded at 3,169 points, yesterday it added 0,78% to its price. “Another wave of Covid-19 cases that triggers new shutdowns or a slower economic recovery would be challenging”, the company’s analysts noticed.

Altcoins are ready to go up

Renown trader Peter Brandt thinks. He published the ETH/BTC chart where he showed the upward breakthrough. According to the trader, the pair will get up by 24%: from 0,02637 to 0,03276. Brandt noticed that Ethereum was an indicator for the altcoin market so the rest of cryptocurrencies are up for a rise as well. The capitalization of the altcoin market is growing: it has doubled in the last four months and reached $102,9 bn. At the same time, the share of bitcoin in the general capitalization of cryptocurrencies has fallen from 67% to 64% in two months.

BTC may go to $9,800

Crypto analyst filbfilb published the short-term prognosis of the bitcoin price. According to the trader, the rate broke through the symmetrical triangle by reaching the level of $9,400. It paves the way to the point of $9,800 where the strong resistance cluster occurs. Filbfilb supposes that the price will fall back to $9,300 at first, but then it will get beyond the level of $9,500. Now the mid-market rate of BTC is $9,383, the coin has become more expensive by 0,97% in the last day.

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Transfer funds from bitcoin to altcoins is risky

Thinks Jason Williams, a partner at Morgan Creek Digital. According to him, many investors are selling bitcoin right now to buy altcoins and stablecoins. It is a very risky thing to do. "I am sure, if real honest historical analysis was done, it would show holding is a superior strategy", the analyst wrote. He compared this to indices that are ahead of separate companies' shares regarding profitability. Binance head Changpeng Zhao thinks likewise: earlier he claimed that altcoins were hardly to reach their maximum this year.

Charles Edwards: bitcoin is in for a new rally

Renown analyst Charles Edwards said that bitcoin was ready for a new rally. The Hash Ribbons indicator developed by Edwards confirmed the signal for buying. It is just the twelfth signal the indicator has given through the entire history of bitcoin — the earlier eleven ones were for a rise. The last Hash Ribbons signal was on the 25th of April and after it the price of BTC went up by 34%. The indicator is based on the hashrate and complexity measures. According to the author, the hashrate of the bitcoin network falls down earlier than the regular change in complexity occurs. Periods like that are favorable for entering the market, Edwards thinks.

The bitcoin billionaire named a "trillion" reasons to buy BTC

Cameron Winklevoss, one of the twin brothers who are bitcoin billionaires, named a "trillion" reasons to buy cryptocurrency. He posted on Twitter the news where the speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi urged the authorities to approve the law regarding the additional support for the population during the coronavirus pandemic. She asked to assign several trillion dollars for that purpose. "We need $1 trillion for state and local. We need another $1 trillion for unemployment insurance and direct payments. Something like that, but probably not as much, for the testing, tracing, treatment", Pelosi said. "A trillion more reasons to own bitcoin", the businessman commented on this news.

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Opinion: the BTC price will drop down to $7,000 before a new rally

Blo?kroots analyst and founder Josh Rager thinks that the price of bitcoin is ready to break through its historical maximum of $20,000, but it has to drop down first in order to do that. He studied the chart starting from 2010 and noticed that there had been a powerful fall before each explosive growth. For example, the price formed a bear triangle in 2018, then fell from $6,300 to $3,100 and then rose to $13,800. At the moment, the chart shows a similar formation. According to the analyst, the rate will plummet to $7,000 and then it will rise to the historical maximum towards the end of the year

The nearest target for bitcoin is $8,700

Analyst filbfilb writes. According to him, the price lost its key support at the level of $9,250 and is now on its way to the round point of $9,000. According to the trader, the nearest target will be $8,700 where the week support and the lower boundary of the side channel are. The analyst points out that the price has been consolidating since the beginning of May within the range of $8,600-10,000. This week the price of the first cryptocurrency has lost more than $200 alongside hacked Twitter accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges and some celebrities. The hackers asked the subscribers to transfer bitcoins to the specified address in order to get twice as big the amount in return.

The bitcoin price is ready to rise up above $11,000

CredibleCrypto analyst thinks that the BTC rate has completed the accumulation stage and is going to break through the point of $11,000. He compared the current situation to the classic Wyckoff accumulation and came to the conclusion that it was completed. The trader predicts that the nearest targets should be the levels of $9,600, $10,400 and $11,000. He points out that the bitcoin price is near the strong resistance of $10,000 and ready to liquidate the positions of sellers with one strong upward surge.

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Peter Schiff: bitcoin is a financial pyramid

Euro Pacific Capital broker company president Peter Schiff goes on with his criticism against bitcoin. This time the businessman called BTC a financial pyramid whose participants protect the idea of bitcoin because they are personally interested in its efficiency. "The very nature of Bitcoin requires owners to encourage new buyers to enter the market. Without new buyers coming in, there is no way for existing HODLers to get out. As with any pyramid scheme, success is only possible for those who get in early if lots of others get in late", Schiff wrote in his Twitter account. Earlier he had worded the idea that BTC price would drop down to zero.

Weak dollar will strengthen the position of bitcoin and gold

DTAP Capital investment fund co-founder Dan Tapiero thinks. The policy of the US Federal Reserve System will weaken dollar in the nearest future, which will supposedly affect bitcoin, gold and stocks. The analyst's position is based on data from the FRS that they plan to weaken their struggle with inflation in order to support commercial activity. Tapiero points out that if the level of inflation exceeds 2%, the dominating role of dollar in the world economy will be undermined. "Dollar consolidating for one month but now on verge of benign selloff that further supports equity, gold and Bitcoin", the analyst worded his opinion.

The Morgan Creek co-founder urged everyone to move out of dollar

Morgan Creek co-founder Anthony Pompliano thinks that currencies are prone to inflation so it is necessary to move funds to other assets. Central banks regularly print new batches of cash, which will cause an instant spike in inflation at one moment. Pompliano notes that it is especially true for US dollar since the US Federal Reserve System has recently been issuing a large number of new banknotes. "There is a devaluation of currency. The whole secret to building wealth is to get out of cash and get into assets that are denominated in dollars that will continue to go up in value over long periods of time — stocks, real estate, gold, Bitcoin, all this stuff", the expert advised.

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Whales are getting ready for an Ethereum pump

Expert at the Santiment analytical service think. They note that investors have transfered 700,000 ETH to exchanges (more than $182 million) for the last three days. Transfers from addresses in TOP-100 of the largest Ethereum owners have been registered. According to the analysts, it indicates an upcoming pump in the price of the cryptocurrency. “The top 100 holders of Ethereum are once again beginning to accumulate higher percentages of the total token supply, in spite of the ongoing consolidation that has been occurring for the past couple of weeks. Generally, when this kind of accumulation starts to mount, it’s a signal that those who have the most stake in ETH (and other respective tokens) are beginning to have a collective sentiment of the token being undervalued and believe it’s a great mid to long-term hold play”, Santiment experts write.

Opinion: bitcoin will rise up to $10,000

Analyst Benjamin Blunts supposes that the BTC price will go up to $10,200. He says that it will already happen at the beginning of August. The trader notes that the price broke through the trend line upwards, tested it downwards and was in the lateral accumulation zone for some time. Now the bitcoin price is ready to go to the upper border of the lateral range that is located at $10,000-$10,200. Benjamin Blunts points out that it has been squeezed between $8,500–10,200 since the middle of May.

Peter Schiff urged Paul Tudor Jones to sell bitcoins

Euro Pacific Capital head and gold bug Peter Schiff addressed billionaire Paul Tudor Jones. Not long ago the latter said that he had invested 1–2% of his capital in bitcoin. According to Schiff, it was a mistake and the billionaire made a bet on “the slowest horse”. “It looks like Paul Tudor Jones ended up betting on the slowest horse in the race. In fact, Bitcoin will not even finish the race. If Paul really wants to bet on a faster horse than gold he should move his Bitcoin chips over to silver, or try some gold and silver mining stocks”, Schiff wrote in his Twitter account.

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Max Keiser: Warren Buffet will buy bitcoin at $50,000

According to Heisenberg Capital founder Max Keiser, Warren Buffet will panic-buy bitcoin at $50,000. The reason for that is that the investor slowly accepts new promising assets. The businessman points out that, for instance, Buffet’s fund lost the opportunity to purchase Apple and Amazon shares in the early days of these companies. “My guess is that Buffett (or whoever takes over after he passes) will start panic-buying Bitcoin at $50,000, just like Peter Schiff will do”, Keiser stated. He added that one of the largest investors Paul Tudor Jones had already invested 1% of his capital in cryptocurrency. Keiser supposed that the investor would increase the share of bitcoin in his portfolio up to 10%.

Why Ethereum continued to grow

Santiment analysts revealed. The ETH price renewed its two-year high rising to the level of $440 — the currency is traded near this point at the moment. According to Santiment experts, the trend for the position of Ethereum to strengthen will continue. One of the reasons for that is the growing number of transactions in the network. Not long ago this indicator reached the point of 1.27 million operations a day, which became the highest level from the beginning of 2018. Another factor is the growing demand for processing transactions. Payments for transactions continue to renew their highs. It shows that users are ready to pay high commission fees for their transactions to be processed faster.

The date when the bitcoin price reaches $100,000 became known

The popular Stock-to-Flow (S2F) model indicates that the BTC price will reach $100,000 on August 16, 2021. The exact date was calculated by analyst Bit Harrington who added that he thought the period was too short. However, he points out that bitcoin always went against bearish sentiment. Marc van der Chijs reposted the message and explained why the prediction looked realistic. “Most people think this is impossible, but I have seen a 1000% increase in less than a year at least twice before in BTC (2013 & 2017). S2F is holding up pretty well after the halving, if FOMO will start again anything is possible”, he wrote.

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ETH is at risk of getting 50% cheaper

Cane Island analyst Timothy Peterson thinks that Ethereum will lose at least half its price in the next 12 months. He points out that the price of the cryptocurrency at the moment is about twice as big as its "real" price calculated on the basis of the network value. Judging by this model, the price of Ethereum should rise only 30% per year. The average weighted ETH exchange rate is $406 now, it must go down to the range of $200-250 according to the prognosis.

Tone Vays: the BTC price will not go below $10,000 this year

Well-known crypto enthusiast Tone Vays worded his opinion that the bitcoin price would not get below $10,000 this year. He also added that he expected breaking the level of $20,000 in 2021 although we had doubted that earlier. "In the beginning of the year, I thought that even next year would be a struggle to break $20k. Now I think it's pretty likely that we'll break $20k next year", the analyst said. According to him, the price doubles the target during each next breakthrough. So after breaking through the level of $20,000, the bitcoin price may rise up to $45,000-50,000.

The bitcoin price will fly up to $20,000 in two months

Analyst Bitcoin Jack thinks. He noted an interesting regularity: the bitcoin price follows the moves of the gold price, but with some delay. The analyst points out that at the moment the BTC price is at the same point where gold was in July. If the trend persists, the cryptocurrency price will go up to $17,000-$19,000 in September, then it will get corrected to the zone of $15,000, and after that it will go to the point of $20,000. Bitcoin Jack supposes that, after testing the historic high in October, the price will quickly go down to the levels of $11,000-12,000. The trader emphasizes that the growth should already start in the nearest days.

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Bitcoin will go up to $12,000 within the next few days

Decentrader hub analysts think. They note that the four-hour chart shows the bullish divergence on the volume indicator that predicts the forthcoming turn of the price upwards. According to the traders, the price will be within the range of $11,300-11,500 within the next few days, after which it will go to the trend line in the zone of $12,000-12,100. The analysts think it will already happen by the beginning of September. The key level is $11,500, the strengthening of the price above that will allow for the further growth. The support line is the level of $9,600 where the unclosed price gap of the CME exchange is along with the 20-week moving average. The medium-term target for buyers is the range of $13,000-14,000 — the year's pivot level is there as well as the 61,8% Fibonacci correction level.

Opinion: the BTC exchange rate will go up to $16,000 or fall to $10,500

Byzantine General analyst also notices the exceptional importance of the $11,500 point. If this week's bar closes above the level, the target will be $16,000. The trader thinks that otherwise the price risks going down up to $10,500. The next strong support is the point of $9,600 where the abovementioned CME exchange gap is. Byzantine General adds that there is no large difference whether to buy bitcoin at $11,000, $10,000 or $9,000 if you are going to keep the coins for as long as at least several years.

Glassnode: metrics say that the bitcoin price will go up

The stablecoin supply ratio (SSR) shows the high stablecoin purchasing power as compared to bitcoin. Specialists from the Glassnode analytical service point out that it shows the potential for strengthening of the price of the first cryptocurrency. At the moment, the metric shows thrice as big figures as the last year's ones when the BTC price was at similar levels. Expert add that at the same time the USDT balance got up by 50%, which also proves that bitcoin price is going to rise up.

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The BTC price is ready to move to $23,000

Analyst Pladizow notices. He points out that the bitcoin monthly chart shows the Cup and Handle reversal pattern. The standard target of the pattern materialization will be the level of $23,000. The pattern will be considered complete when the price will break through the point of $11,000 on its monthly chart. Earlier, the analyst predicted the rise of the BTC price to $12,000 if the Inverse Head and Shoulders pattern will be completely formed on the four-hour chart.

When bitcoin would cost $300,000

Crypto expert WyckoffMode said. He used Fibonacci levels and channels to predict the next bitcoin price high. It turned out that the new cycle’s high would be within the range of $152,000-298,000. The trader points out that it should happen in December, 2021. WyckoffMode supposes that then the price will go down to the range of $50,000-60,000 before January 2023 and the new growth’s high will occur in December, 2025. His speculations are based on the fact that BTC price movement cycles take 4 years because this is the periodicity with which halving occurs. "With the first year being Distribution; the second year being Accumulation and the third and fourth year being multiple bouts of re-accumulation building up to a buying climax before starting over again with the first year of Distribution. One of the main reasons for this natural wave cycle of approximately four years involves the Bitcoin Block Halving", the analyst writes

Opinion: Ethereum may get corrected down $360

Trader Credible Crypto has predicted a grow up to $460 earlier this week. The analyst thinks after that, the ETH price may get corrected down to the point of $360. Credible Crypto thinks that the situation is opposite for bitcoin: until the price does not break through $11,800, the trend remains downward. He supposes that the potential fall target is the range of $10,600–10,900.

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Miners may cause the BTC exchange rate to collapse because of competition

Data from CryptoQuant proves that mining pools have transferred large amounts of bitcoin to exchanges. On September 2, the Poolin, Slush and HaoBTC pools moved 1,630 BTC (about $18,5 mln) to exchanges. The indicator is above the average daily value — the transactions started at the moment when the bitcoin price fell below the level of $11,500. CryptoQuant Head Ki Young Joo supposed that miners may push the market through to push out competitors. "I think it's going to be the war of miners between those who want a Bitcoin price rally and those who don't. As I know, some Chinese miners already realize their mining profitability (return on investment), and they might not want new mining competitors joining the industry because of the bull market", — he remarked.

Dollar is getting stronger and keeps putting pressure on bitcoin

Cointelegraph analyst Joseph Young points out that the dollar index has rebounded from its multi-year support zone sending down the exchange rates of bitcoin and gold. Dollar has become stronger since the beginning of September sending bitcoin down from $12,000 to $10,400. The European Central Bank stated this week that it would seek to compensate the growth of euro. Young notes that it will also support the US dollar and undermine the positions of bitcoin and gold even more. "Currency analysts believe the ECB could continue to “dampen” the strength of the euro. In the short term that could cause the dollar to rally, which might place selling pressure on Bitcoin and gold", the expert concludes.

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Bitcoin and gold will stand in case the stock market falls

10T Holdings and Gold Bullion International co-founder Dan Tapiero thinks. According to him, the stock market is in for a strong correction since the optimism of individual investors regarding S&P 500 index is at its record high. "Unfortunately, most worrying data point have seen in a while for #StockMarket from short term perspective. Certainly an extreme of epic proportions hit on this indicator. Does not seem to be something that can be corrected in just a few days", he said. The businessman thinks that gold and bitcoin "must hold their positions" according to this scenario.

Opinion: the BTC rate will not go lower than $9,700

Amsterdan stock exchange analyst Michaël van de Poppe thinks that the bitcoin price is going to turn back on above the point of $9,700. He says that the price should go up to $10,800 and then go down to its new local lows within the zone of $9,700-9,800. It will stay within this zone untill the end of the month and then it will go above $11,000. To regain the growth, the price should get stable above a very important point of $11,170. The analyst adds that, however, in case the price tests the level of $9,700 real quick, the BTC price may start to strengthen already at the middle of the month.

Why bitcoin is going to get as high as $250,000

Popular analyst filbfilb explained. He drew Fibonacci circles through the highs and lows of the two previous growth/fall bitcoin price cycles. It turned out that the high of the next rally coincided with the circle with the period of 3,618. For instance, the pattern built according to the 2013-2015 year cycle showed a high at about $17,900. The actual high of 2017 was at the point of $19,700. Judging from the new patterns, the next rate high will be around the level of $243,000. Analyst GravityWave notes that the new high is also near the area of $250,000. He put Fibonacci levels through cycle lows and highs — the point of 2,382 showed the high of the next bubble.

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Bitcoin and Gold Correlation Set Record

The correlation between gold and bitcoin has been increasing since July amid a weakening US dollar. The loss of the position of the main world currency has a positive effect on "defensive" assets, which include gold and bitcoin. The level of correlation between the two instruments exceeded 0.5, which indicates a high co-directionality of the movement of their rates. A few months ago, the indicator was below 0.1. The correlation index varies from -1 to 1. The -1 mark indicates that the quotes move absolutely independently, with a value of 1 the price charts completely coincide. In addition to gold, the correlation between BTC price and S&P 500 index also increased. On September 7, the indicator reached 0.4905, after which it decreased to 0.36.

ETH Transaction Volume Updated Historical Peak

In August, the monthly volume of ETH transactions set a record, reaching $24 billion, according to DappRadar data. The indicator has been renewing maximums for already three months - back in May it did not exceed $2 billion. The active growth of the level of transferred funds in the network is associated with the development of the decentralized finance market. The volume of transfers of DEX and DeFi applications over the past month increased by $9 billion each. The level of blocked funds in the DeFi-sphere increased by $3.61 billion and reached $7.5 billion by September. At the same time, the number of active ETH addresses in August decreased by 6% - this is due to a record increase in transfer fees.

The first government digital currencies will appear by 2030

Experts from the European Analytical Center believe. In their opinion, at least three central banks will replace their currencies with digital tokens. China, the United States and the European Union will be the first to do so, launching digital versions of the yuan, dollar and euro. According to experts, this will happen by 2030. They also allow for the option of governmental stablecoins being issued by Sweden and the Bahamas. The Swedish regulator recently announced that it is ready to submit the CBDC by 2025. China is already testing the digital yuan, and the European Central Bank is actively exploring this direction.

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Ethereum 2.0 launch dates announced

Raoul Jordan, Prysmatic Labs developer who is involved in testing of Ethereum 2.0, said preparations for the network's launch go as planned. All necessary features will be added by mid-October, he said, allowing developers to focus on improving security and user interface. “If all goes well, November is still looking good for a launch from our perspective, Jordan wrote. Earlier, a representative of the Ethereum development team, Afri Shedon, also announced that the network will begin work in November this year.

Ethereum Miners' Profit surges by 98%

In August, Ethereum miners received $285.1 million in revenue, the highest in two years. Compared to last month, profit increased by 98.2%, the resource The Block notes. This happened amid a record increase in online transfer fees. For more than a month, their average level has been above $2, and in early September it peaked at $15. The reason lies in the growth in the activity of applications from the field of decentralized finance. All transactions made by application participants are recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, which increases the load on the network and creates a queue of transfers. To send their transaction faster, users are willing to pay higher fees.

The digital yuan will become a complete analogue of paper money

The digital yuan is legally fully consistent with fiat currency, says Fan Yifei, deputy chairman of the People's Bank of China. In an article written for Financial News, the official outlined the basic principles for regulating the digital yuan. According to him, digital currency is part of the supply of paper notes and coins, and therefore "must comply with laws and regulations related to money management." Fan emphasized that the digital currency will be accepted throughout the country and "no company or individual can refuse to accept it." The official also added that the digital yuan should be regulated by anti-money laundering and terrorist financing laws.

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Bitcoin has risen in price to $11,000 again

On the morning of September 16, the price of the first cryptocurrency returned to the $11,000 on a number of exchanges. Over the week, BTC rose in price by 11% - at the beginning of September, the asset rate tested monthly lows at $9,900. The rise in the price of bitcoin is taking place against the backdrop of several fundamental positive factors. Thus, the network hash rate has once again updated its historical maximum, reaching 150 EH/s. The number of coins sent per day, expressed in dollars, broke the annual record of $30.69 billion. At the same time, the dollar index is declining for the fourth day in a row, which also supports the BTC/USD pair.

Draft law on the regulation of cryptocurrency in the EU has been published

Politico has published a preliminary version of the Cryptocurrency Assets Markets Act (MiCA), created by the European Commission. The document proposes to regulate cryptocurrencies, security tokens and stablecoins in the same way as traditional financial instruments, which will ensure their legal purity. The bill gives broad definitions to cryptoassets and also describes a set of rules and requirements for asset issuers and service providers. The former will be obliged to register a legal entity, and service providers will be obliged to establish an official office in a member state of the European Union. Special attention is paid to stablecoins, which are divided into two categories: tokens linked to real assets and digital tokens. It is expected that the bill will be submitted for consideration in September, and will be able to enter into force no earlier than 2022.

Bakkt Exchange Records Record Bitcoin Futures Trading Volume

The Bakkt cryptocurrency platform has reported a new all-time record for daily trading volume in bitcoin futures. On September 15, the indicator reached 15,955 BTC (more than $ 200 million), which is 36% higher than the previous maximum. At the same time, the activity of BTC futures trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) dropped to the lowest levels - about $ 262 million. Unlike CME, Bakkt allows customers to receive instrument settlements in Bitcoin. The site was launched in 2018 by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) operator, which owns the New York Stock Exchange.

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Tether capitalization reaches $15 billion

USDT market cap has exceeded $15 billion. As of September 18, capitalization increased by another $200 million and reached $15.284 billion. Over the past 20 days, the indicator has grown by 50%, and since the beginning of the year - by 3.7 times. Analysts attribute this to the rapid rise in popularity of the decentralized financial applications sector. Tether developers have previously noted that many investors enter the crypto market precisely through USDT. For example, Asian traders most often buy bitcoin and altcoins using Tether tokens. Most of the coins ($10 billion) are issued on the Ethereum blockchain, another $4 billion operates on the Tron network.

Police summoned the head of Bithumb for questioning

Seoul police have summoned Lee Jong Hoon, chairman of the South Korean exchange Bithumb, for questioning. A fraud case is pending against him, local media reported. Lee Jong Hoon is accused of manipulating the presale of Bithumb BXA tokens, as a result of which investors lost about $25 million. On the second charge, he did not pay taxes on foreign real estate. Bithumb's offices were searched three times in September. During the latter, law enforcement officers seized shares in Bithumb Holdings owned by the company's director Kim Ben-gen. The bank plans to add new types of cards, improve the loyalty program, and add new functions for businesses and users.

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BTC price is in a "steady upward trend"

As pointed by Delphi Digital analysts. Bitcoin's surge is now more robust than last year, as traders prefer to hold coins rather than speculate on exchanges. The current rise in bitcoin price to $12,500 in August differs from strengthening to $13,800 in 2019. Back then, the wallet balances of crypto exchanges were increasing, and this year they continue to fall, despite the rise in prices. This suggests that the selling pressure is now much lower. “This suggests a more sustainable move upwards for BTC, in comparison to that of 2019 as data indicates a holder base with longer time horizons,” analysts say. The balance of bitcoins on exchanges fell from an all-time high of 2.96 million coins in February to 2.59 million BTC today.

Institutions want to increase Investments in bitcoin

Cryptocurrency insurance company Evertas conducted a survey among institutional investors from the US and the UK, who manage assets totalling $78.4 billion. It turned out that 90% of respondents expect an increase in investments in crypto assets. 64% of those surveyed said they expect a small increase in investment from pension funds, family managers, insurers and sovereign wealth funds. Another 26% of respondents believe that institutions will "dramatically" increase investment in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the next five years. #bestchange #bitcoin #gold #cryptocurrency #blockchain #investing #trading 84% of respondents attributed improved regulation to the reasons, and 80% named liquidity, which will grow along with the expansion of the crypto market.

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Visa plans to create a payment system on the blockchain

Visa is exploring the possibility of creating an offline payment system based on the blockchain. According to the head of the cryptocurrency division of the company, Kai Sheffield, more details will become known during the year. “So we are continuing to advance research on that front and we'll hopefully have more to talk about in the coming year.” Sheffield said. He also added that the company is actively helping central banks develop government digital currencies. ““We think that if a central bank is going to issue a CBDC, they will need to consider a number of the same factors that are facing private companies building tokenized stablecoins,” the specialist said.

European Commission to launch sandbox blockchain by 2022

The European Commission, in an alliance with 30 countries called the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), plans to launch a pan-European regulatory sandbox blockchain. This will happen by 2022. The agency is going to test the blockchain and digital currencies usage cases in the European infrastructure of EBSI blockchain services. EBSI is a joint initiative of the European Commission and EBP that aims to create a cross-border blockchain platform to deliver digital government services across the EU. The sandbox will also test smart contracts and digital identity. The Commission will pay special attention to the development of a regulatory framework in the field of asset tokenization and the operation of smart contracts.

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Hackers Hacked KuCoin Exchange

On Saturday, September 26, the KuCoin cryptocurrency exchange reported it had been hacked. Attackers stole about $150 million worth of bitcoins, ERC-20 tokens and other crypto assets from hot wallets. Funds in cold wallets are safe, according to KuCoin representatives. They also promised their clients to recover all losses from the insurance fund. The company contacted law enforcement and launched an internal investigation. The site plans to resume deposit and withdrawal of funds within a week, said the head of KuCoin Johnny Liu.

Miners left to mine 2.5 million BTC

At the moment, miners have mined about 18.5 million bitcoins, which is more than 86% of the maximum emission level. There are 2.5 million coins left to mine, and half of them will be mined in the next four years, says an analyst at ChartsBTC. The total number of bitcoins is limited to 21 million coins. The last of them, according to the idea of the creator of the cryptocurrency Satoshi Nakamoto, will be found by 2140. Once every four years, the reward for mining a block is halved, which slows down the issue of new bitcoins. Since the network was established in 2009, there have been three halves. The latter happened in May of this year, as a result of which the block reward decreased from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.

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Ethereum 2.0 final testnet launched

On September 29, the developers launched the Spadina test network, which will become a general test before the start of ETH 2.0. Spadina test network will work for three days, with its help the developers will test the depository contract and the process of launching the network. Testnet will work together with the already functioning Medalla network. At the moment, 41% of validators have joined Spadina. 2955 network participants contributed 94,560 test ETH. Earlier, the developers reported that if the Medalla and Spadina testnets work successfully, Ethereum 2.0 will be launched in November.

93% of TOP-250 cryptocurrencies fell in price in September

Over the past few months, DeFi token prices have skyrocketed, sparking talk of a bull market. The boom in decentralized financial projects triggered an increase in the Ethereum price, which rose from $100 in March to $470 in August. However, in recent weeks, the euphoria in the DeFi sphere has faded, and with it the rest of the crypto market has subsided. According to CoinMetrics, 72% of the 250 largest crypto assets have lost in value over the past week, while 93% of top cryptocurrencies have seen a decline over the month. Most DeFi tokens fell by 15-85% in September. However, specialists from the DeFiWorld portal note that corrections are normal in a growing market, and the current year reminds them of 2016. “We move in bubbles and 4-year cycles. While everyone is just thinking about what happens today, this week, or this month, you should zoom out and reflect where we are really heading. The long term trend is clear: It’s upwards,”analysts point out.

Users withdrew $5 billion in bitcoins from exchanges

Over the year, the balance of wallets of crypto-exchange clients decreased by 400 thousand BTC (about $5 billion). In October 2019, the figure was 2.8 million coins, and today it has dropped to 2.4 million. The inflow of bitcoins is considered a bearish signal, as traders bring coins to exchanges for sale. Consequently, the outflow of bitcoins from exchange wallets indicates that investors' appetite for selling is declining, according to Cointelegraph analyst Joseph Young. Another possible reason lies in recent exchange hacks. In September, hackers stole $150 million in cryptocurrency from the KuCoin exchange, and a little earlier - $4 million from the Eterbase platform.

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BTC price will be rising until the end of the year

Analyst Willie Wu thinks. He draws attention to the fact that the number of new participants in the bitcoin network has grown significantly since mid-September, and the cryptocurrency price has not reacted to this. In the last year and a half, the price of bitcoin in all cases has increased following an increase in the characteristic. Therefore, BTC is currently undervalued, the analyst points out. He also notes that in September, market participants accumulated coins while the price moved sideways. This is indicated by the On Balance Volume indicator. Another important metric of the beginning of growth is the ribbons of complexity. The indicator has left the "compression" zone, which previously always indicated an increase in the value of bitcoin. “Overall: bullish the next 3 weeks, also bullish over next 3 months,” concludes Willie Wu.

Bitcoin will rise in price to six-digit numbers

If one condition is met, said Michael van de Poppe, an analyst at the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. He notes that previous bullish runs of the BTC price took place amid a falling dollar index. This was the case in 2014 and 2017. Since March this year, the index has also significantly lost in value, which contributed to the rise in the price of bitcoin to $12,400. The price of BTC may temporarily sink due to the second wave of coronavirus, but in the long term, the cryptocurrency will win as a safe-haven asset. “Of course, a potential drop by 25-35% could occur in the first stage of the crisis just like in March. But Bitcoin and gold would benefit significantly afterwards as safe havens against a weakening dollar, which is precisely what happened in December 2017 as BTC hit its all-time high of nearly $20,000,” writes van de Poppe. If the weakness of the dollar persists in 2021, then bitcoin may rise in price to six-digit numbers, the analyst said.

New US stimulus measures will strengthen bitcoin

The BTC rate will continue to rise this week amid falling dollar index, Cointelegraph analyst William Suberg writes. The index declines for the fourth day in a row as negotiations continue in Washington on new stimulus measures due to the coronavirus epidemic. The amount of support can reach $2.5 trillion. US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin confirmed that the measures will include a new round of payments in the amount of $1,200 for a number of categories of US citizens. Past payments took place this spring during the first wave of coronavirus. Then the crypto-exchanges recorded a sharp jump in deposits for exactly the amount of incentive checks. Trader Ton Weiss recommends buying bitcoin as he believes the authorities will continue to issue dollars. “No matter who wins they will keep printing, so buy bitcoin,” Weiss wrote during a debate between US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

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John McAfee arrested in Spain on tax evasion charges

John McAfee was arrested in Spain on tax evasion charges, according to the US Department of Justice. He will be extradited to the United States. The businessman faces more than five years in prison on the charges brought against him. On the same day that McAfee was detained, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued him for promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs). The businessman allegedly misled investors by not saying that he was receiving money for advertising projects. According to the SEC, McAfee received over $11.6 million worth of BTC and ETH for promoting seven ICOs in 2017 and 2018. He also raised $11.5 million in promotions. John McAfee got a lot of fame in the cryptosphere after promising to "eat his own dick" if bitcoin does not rise to $ 1 million by 2021. Later, the founder of the McAfee antivirus said that "only an idiot would believe" in this prediction. At the moment, McAfee's Twitter has more than 1 million subscribers.

75 crypto exchanges closed in 2020

Analytical portal Cryptowisser reports. Basically, the list includes centralized sites. Compared to last year, the figure is up 56% and "there are no signs of decline." While the crypto industry continues to show impressive growth, the cryptocurrency exchange industry is facing high competition and regulatory requirements, analysts write. According to the report, exchanges are most often closed on their own, due to hacks or at the request of the authorities. The positions of centralized exchangers have also been hit hard by the development of decentralized exchanges. “For a new centralized exchange to flourish, it will likely need to have some form of unique edge that is not already on the market today,” notes Cryptowisser.

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BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes steps down after accusations

BitMEX has announced a complete change of leadership. Earlier, the US authorities charged the founders of the exchange with illegal use of an unregistered trading platform and failure to comply with anti-money laundering requirements. BitMEX operator 100x Group announced that exchange co-founders Arthur Hayes, Samuel Reed and Ben Delo will step down from senior positions in the company. Business Development Manager Greg Dwyer is taking a vacation. Vivienne Khu will be the interim CEO. Previously she held the position of Chief Operating Officer of 100x Group. “These changes to our executive leadership mean we can focus on our core business of offering superior trading opportunities for all our clients through the BitMEX platform, whilst maintaining the highest standards of corporate governance,” said David Wong, chairman of 100x Group, in the post,” commented David Wong, Chairman of 100x Group.

The value of tokenized bitcoins WBTC reaches $1 billion

The recent DeFi boom has resulted in a 900% increase in the total locked value (TVL) of tokenized Wrapped BTC. At the moment, the figure exceeds $1 billion. The current TVL of all tokenized bitcoins is almost $1.5 billion, of which one third falls on WBTC. Wrapped Bitcoin is now the fifth-largest DeFi protocol in terms of TVL, accounting for nearly 10% of the sector-wide locked capital. Wrapped Bitcoin allows users to block BTC in exchange for WBTC, an ERC-20 token pegged to Bitcoin. This enables BTC holders to access the Ethereum-based decentralized finance ecosystem, using bitcoins as collateral.

Capitalization of the DeFi sector falls by 25% in a day

The DeFi market experienced a sharp decline: on October 7, the total capitalization of assets fell by 25%. Santiment analysts estimate that daily trading volumes for DeFi tokens fell 30%, while recent market leaders Sushi (SUSHI), Uniswap (UNI) and Yearn Finance (YFI) lost 51%, 38% and 31% in value over the week. respectively. “The crypto market has been engulfed in a sea of red this week, with most DeFi blue chips recording double digit losses over the past 7 days,” analysts wrote. They also noticed that large players began to accumulate some of the assets.alytical portal Cryptowisser reports. Basically, the list includes centralized sites. Compared to last year, the figure is up 56% and "there are no signs of decline." While the crypto industry continues to show impressive growth, the cryptocurrency exchange industry is facing high competition and regulatory requirements, analysts write. According to the report, exchanges are most often closed on their own, due to hacks or at the request of the authorities. The positions of centralized exchangers have also been hit hard by the development of decentralized exchanges. “For a new centralized exchange to flourish, it will likely need to have some form of unique edge that is not already on the market today,” notes Cryptowisser.

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Fidelity Investment: BTC capitalization will reach $1 trillion

Fidelity Investment, one of the world's largest asset management companies, has published a report on investments in Bitcoin. It demonstrates how much profit managers could get if they invested part of their portfolio in bitcoin. The company also noted that in the near future, interest from institutional investors could increase the market capitalization of BTC by hundreds of billions of dollars. The bond market is valued at about $50.3 trillion. If bitcoin captures just 1% of this market, its capitalization will grow by $500 billion. The report argues that steadily declining bond yields could prompt financial managers to seek alternative assets. According to the most optimistic forecasts of Fidelity analysts, the capitalization of bitcoin could grow to $2 trillion. With the current supply of 18.5 million coins and an average market price of $11,415, this will send the rate to $108,000.

Binance CEO: Chinese and US Presidents Could Spur Bitcoin Rally

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the crypto exchange Binance, , commented on the tweet of the US President, in which he hinted at the imminent adoption of stimulus measures to support the economy. According to Zhao, in the coming days this could provoke an increase in the bitcoin price. In addition, Chinese President Xi Jinping may issue a statement on the blockchain on October 14. Last year, this caused the price of BTC to rise by 30% in a day, and a number of altcoins grew in price by 50-100%. “We will likely have two of the world's most powerful presidents pump crypto for us in 2 consecutive days. Rumor has it that a blockchain related announcement is coming out of China tomorrow, ”Zhao said on October 13.

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OKEx has suspended the withdrawal of cryptocurrencies

OKEx, the world's second largest crypto exchange, has suspended the withdrawal of all cryptocurrencies for an indefinite period. The platform representatives said that one of the private key holders " currently cooperating with a public security bureau in investigations/" OKEx plans to resume withdrawals of digital assets "immediately" as soon as the key holder "can authorize the transaction." OKEx said it decided to suspend withdrawals under the terms of service, but added that these events "will not affect" the security of customers' assets. The head of the exchange, Jay Hao, noted that the cooperation of the key holder with officials is associated with a "personal problem" and the investigation will not affect the business. Chinese media Caixin reported that OKEx co-founder Star Xu was detained by the police at least a week ago and has not been seen since.

Institutions can cause Bitcoin shortages in the market

In recent months, there has been a significant surge in demand for bitcoin from institutional investors. 10T Holdings co-founder Dan Tapiero believes this could lead to a BTC shortage over time. Along with investments in bitcoin from Square, MicroStrategy and Stone Ridge, the investment fund Grayscale reported record inflows. In the third quarter of 2020, the company's bitcoin trust received $1.05 billion in investments. This marked the first quarter with over $1 billion in investments, which indicates record high demand from institutional traders. Based on these data, the fund buys about 77% of all coins mined by miners. “Shortages of Bitcoin possible. Barry's Grayscale Trust is eating up BTC like there is no tomorrow. If 77% of all newly mined turns into 110%, it's lights out. Non-miner supply will get held off market in squeeze. Shorts will be dead. Price can go to any number, ” said the businessman.

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ETH 2.0 deposit contract may be launched this week

ConsenSys developer Ben Edgington announced that the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract will be launched "in the coming days." It will allow transferring coins between Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0. This is one of the few remaining updates required to launch the second version of the web. Genesis block ETH 2.0 will appear within 6-8 weeks, according to the developer who clarifies that this is "not an official statement." "Meanwhile, be careful out there. Many fake deposit contracts and Launchpad front-ends will erupt in the coming days. Look out for the official announcements: do not send Eth to random contracts; this is not DeFi,” Edgington warned.

The BTC rate has come close to $12,000

On October 20, the bitcoin price rose to $11,930, which became the highest value since the beginning of September. In 24 hours, the first cryptocurrency went up by 2.8%, and in two weeks it added more than 11% in price. The bitcoin dominance index in the cryptocurrency market rose to 59%. Earlier, the BTC hashrate once again updated its historical maximum. In addition, the trading volume of the first cryptocurrency jumped sharply in relation to altcoins - to a three-year peak. At the same time, the altcoin market capitalization decreased by 4.8% over the week.

Large investors withdraw ethereum from exchanges

Santiment analysts noticed that Ethereum whales are withdrawing coins from exchanges. Over the past two months, the amount of ETH on the largest exchangers' wallets has decreased by 20.5%. This indicates "price confidence on the part of leaders," Santiment writes. A similar trend is noted by the Glassnode service, according to which the volume of ethereum on the exchanges fell to a minimum of nine months. At the same time, the number of addresses with a balance of more than 32 ETH has reached a historic peak - this is how many coins are needed for staking on the Ethereum 2.0 network.

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Bitcoin price updated a 15-months maximum

On Wednesday night, the first cryptocurrency rose in price to $13,200, which became a record value since July 2019. Over the past 24 hours, bitcoin has gained 5.90% in price, and has strengthened by 14.50% over the week. The active stage of growth began after the announcement that PayPal would support cryptocurrency. The share of bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market has also increased, at the moment reaching 61.67%. At the same time, market capitalization exceeded $394 billion, having updated a maximum of two and a half years.

10% of bitcoins haven't moved in over 10 years

According to the Glassnode service, 1.8 million BTC have not moved in over 10 years. At the moment, the bitcoin supply is about 18.5 million BTC, which makes almost 10% of the mined coins inactive. Today, the total value of sleeping bitcoins exceeds $23 billion. Most of these coins may belong to the creator of the cryptocurrency Satoshi Nakamoto, who has remained silent since 2011. It is estimated that Nakamoto owns 1 million coins that have been inactive since mining. In May, coins minted in February 2009 suddenly began to move. The owner sent 50 BTC to two different addresses without giving any reason.

State Duma representative predicts the timing for testing of the digital rouble

Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on the financial market, expressed the opinion that testing of the digital rouble will begin next year. “I know that many serious businessmen are preparing to issue digital assets. The Central Bank took a big step forward by announcing that it is starting consultations on digital assets. I am sure that there will be testing of the digital rouble, perhaps as early as next year,” the official said during his speech at the Blockchain Life 2020 forum. He emphasized that he is in dialogue with cryptocurrency companies that offer their solutions in the field of market regulation. According to Aksakov, in power structures "everyone understands how important it is to develop blockchain technology, but there are different points of view."

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Bitcoin closed the month above $13,000 for the first time since 2017

The monthly candle on the Bitcoin chart closed above $13,000 for the first time since December 2017. On some exchanges, Bitcoin had the highest monthly closure ever. For example, on Bitfinex, October closed at $13.788, while the last record from December 2017 was at $13,769. Last month, the first cryptocurrency rose 28%, and this became the best result since April this year. At the same time, on October 31, the price of bitcoin rose to a 33-month high at $14'090. At trading on Monday, BTC began to correct and at the moment has fallen in price to $13,350, having lost 2% in price over a day.

ECB to survey Europeans about digital euro

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, has announced a public opinion survey on issuing the digital euro. The ECB is considering the possibility of using digital currency, including for payments and transfers between citizens of the European Union. People can take a survey on the Central bank’s website. “We've just launched a public consultation so that consumers and Europeans can actually express their preference and tell us whether they would be happy to use a digital euro just in the way they use a euro coin or a euro banknote knowing that it is central bank money that is available and that they can rely upon,” Lagarde said in the video posted on the ECB's Twitter account.

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Ethereum 2.0 launch date announced

The zero phase of the Ethereum 2.0 network will be launched on December 1, but one condition must be met for this. The Ethereum Foundation announced on Wednesday the launch of the second version of the network's custody contract. Users need to deposit 32 ETH to participate in staking. If the contract collects 16,384 deposits in the amount of 524,288 ETH (about $200 million), then the network will be ready for the launch. The specified goal must be achieved at least seven days before the expected launch date, that is, by November 24. A few hours after the announcement, the number of ETH addresses with a balance of more than 32 coins reached a new high at 126,852. To launch Ethereum 2.0, 13% of these addresses must participate in staking.

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Bill Miller: Every Investment Bank Will Want to Buy Bitcoin

Legendary investor Bill Miller stated that the risks of bitcoin price zeroing are "lower than ever before" and predicted an increase in institutional investment in cryptocurrency. “The bitcoin story is very easy, it's supply and demand. Bitcoin's supply is growing around 2.5% a year and the demand is growing faster than that,” he said. After MicroStrategy's $425 million purchase of bitcoin, Square's $50 million investment, and the integration of cryptocurrencies into the PayPal wallet, Miller believes every major investment bank and company will eventually want to own cryptocurrency. He added that Bitcoin has performed well over the past three-, five- and ten-year periods.

Bitcoin surpasses Coca-Cola, Netflix and Disney in terms of capitalization

In early September, BTC's market capitalization was at $190 billion, when the price of the cryptocurrency was hovering around $10,000. However, over the past two months, the asset’s price has grown by more than 50% to the levels above $15,000, thanks to which the market capitalization has reached $280 billion. By this indicator, Bitcoin has surpassed most large US companies. In the rating of the capitalization of American public companies, Bitcoin would take the 18th place between Home Depot with $306 billion and Verizon with $242 billion. Companies that BTC has surpassed in recent months include such names as Netflix, PayPal, Coca-Cola, and Disney.

In 2020, the number of Bitcoin-ATMs has increased by 83%

The number of cryptocurrency ATMs has reached 11,665, CoinATMRadar portal reports. At the beginning of the year there were 6,372 of them, which indicates an increase of 83%. According to CoinATMRadar, an average of 23 new devices are installed per day, or almost one ATM per hour. More than 79% of exchangers are in the USA. At the same time, since 2019, their number has grown by 2.2 times: 4,213 in 2019 and 9,242 in 2020. The first bitcoin ATM appeared in 2013 - it was installed by Robocoin in a Vancouver coffee shop.

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An unplanned hard fork might have occurred on the Ethereum network

Ethereum infrastructure providers Infura and Blockchair have reported outages, resulting in problems with exchanges and wallets. Initially thought to be an internal Infura issue, later independent node operators also reported malfunctions. The Binance exchange has suspended the withdrawal of funds, and its head Changpeng Zhao referred to a “possible chain split” as the culprit. Crashes were also reported by the MetaMask wallet, Bithumb, Upbit and Crypto.com marketplaces. After block 11'234'873 at 07:08 AM UTC, blockchain explorers Blockchair and Ehterscan began registering two different chains. “It seems that a minor hard fork occurred without anyone noticing it,” said Nikita Zhavoronkov, Blockchair development lead.

Opinion: ETH 2.0 won’t handle DeFi’s growth

FTX exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried believes that the Ethereum network is not able to of handling decentralized finance’s (DeFi) growth. According to him, the ETH blockchain is limiting the development of DeFi, and the only way to solve the problem is to use other networks. Bankman-Fried said that whenever his team tried to create a new DeFi project, they "immediately exceeded the throughput of the Ethereum blockchain by orders of magnitude." The FTX CEO believes that one day the DeFi audience will surpass 1 billion people, which means that blockchains will need to significantly expand their scalability in order to maintain a ten-digit user base. Scaling improvements on the Ethereum 2.0 network won't be enough either, he points out.

BTC price went over $16,000 for the first time since January 2018

The Bitcoin rate continues to grow - during trading on Thursday it rose above $16,150. Bitcoin last traded this high in January 2018. Over 10 days, the first cryptocurrency added more than 20% in price, and over a month it went up by 43%. At the same time, the capitalization of BTC has come close to the level of $300 billion, and the dominance of bitcoin in the cryptocurrency market is 64.70%. Since the beginning of the year, bitcoin has more than doubled in price - on January 1, the asset traded at $7,200.

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Bitcoin Cash network again split into two

On November 15, a hard fork took place on the Bitcoin Cash network — the network split into Bitcoin Cash Node (BCHN) and Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA). Earlier, the BCHA developers proposed an updated version of the protocol, according to which 8% of miners' profits will go to finance the development of the network. The update was opposed by the BCHN community, which removed the "miner tax" from the source code of their network. As of the evening of November 15, the computing power of the BCHN blockchain was 1.12 EH/s, and BCHA - 0.094 EH/s, that is, 11 times lower. Most major exchanges have indicated they will support the longer chain, i.e. Bitcoin Cash Node.

$2.3 billion in BTC was withdrawn from exchanges in a month

From October 15 to November 15, exchange reserves in bitcoins fell from 2.5 million to 2.355 million coins — the lowest level since August 2018. During this time, users withdrew about 145,000 BTC worth of $2.35 billion, according to the CryptoQuant portal. During the same period, miners mined about 27,000 BTC, which is 5 times less than the amount withdrawn from the exchanges. “This aggressive accumulation trend seen in the Bitcoin market shows that investors anticipate a prolonged post-halving uptrend,” said Cointelegraph analyst Joseph Young.

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Ripple grows 60% in price in three days

XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency in terms of capitalization, gained 63% in price in three days and came close to $0.5 per coin. On Sunday, the token price reached $0.49567, which was a record high since June 2019. XRP has more than doubled in price since early November. Other major cryptocurrencies are also in positive territory: Ethereum and Litecoin added 32% in value in 7 days, Cardano showed more than 50% growth, and Stellar - 37%. Altcoins are strengthening in price amid BTC rate approaching its historical maximum. The main cryptocurrency traded at $18,945 last Saturday, less than $1,000 below its all-time high of $19,891.

Research: BTC price volatility is lower than that of many stocks

Investment management company Van Eck has published a study showing that bitcoin is less prone to fluctuations than a quarter of S&P 500 stocks. Since the beginning of the year, quotes of 29% of stocks have shown greater volatility than the first cryptocurrency, and 22% - over the past 90 days. Although Bitcoin is considered a “nascent and volatile asset outside of the traditional stock and capital markets” reality shows that it trades with volatility comparable to the world's largest stocks, analysts say.

Grayscale: investors seek in Bitcoin protection against inflation

According to Michael Sonnenschein, managing director of Grayscale Investments, Bitcoin is no longer a temporary phenomenon. Investors no longer believe that BTC has failed as a currency as we don't use it to buy a cup of coffee. The coronavirus pandemic this year has become another key factor for the flow of funds into cryptocurrency, he said. “I think investors understand today that buying Bitcoin and putting it in their portfolio is meant to be a store of value, inflation hedge, a digital gold, a digital form of money that is much better suited to the digital world we live in today versus historical stores of value like gold which would have been certainly much more applicable to a world characterized by physical exchanges. They view it as one of the most important next steps in the evolution of money and what constitutes a store of value,” Sonnenschein said. Grayscale manages nearly $11 billion in cryptocurrency.

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Bitcoin keeps dropping

The main cryptocurrency has continued to decline over the past couple of days. On November 27, BTC fell to $16,915. Bitcoin capitalization fell to $313 billion. Nevertheless, crypto experts advise not to panic because of the fall of BTC and a number of other popular crypto coins. NEXO co-founder Anthony Trenchev believes the pullback was needed due to the overheated market. But in the long term, nothing will prevent Bitcoin from repeating its record three years ago and reaching $20,000.

OECD will present international cryptocurrency tax regulations in 2021

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is preparing to present general tax reporting rules for digital assets. This could happen as early as 2021. According to the head of the OECD Center for Tax Policy Pascal Saint-Amans, the innovations will be similar to the existing standards for combating tax criminals. The OECD hopes that the European Commission will pay attention to the solutions proposed by the organization, as they will meet the requirements of European regulators. Earlier, the European Commission initiated amendments to the EU legislation to combat financial offenses. Until December 21, the organization plans to collect proposals from experts on an initiative aimed, among other things, at tightening control over crypto operations.

Deloitte: many financial institutions are ready to spend more on blockchain implementation

According to preliminary results of the Deloitte survey on the prospects for the industrialization of financial services, 27% of companies surveyed expect a "small increase in costs" on blockchain and distributed ledger. 14% of respondents intend to significantly increase the item of development costs. Another 33% of the survey participants said that investments will remain at the same level, and 27% intend to slightly cut costs. The survey was conducted among 800 top managers of banks, investment companies, hedge funds, payment services, and insurance companies. According to the survey, blockchain turned out to be the No. 2 technology in popularity among financial market players, the costs for which can be increased. Cloud solutions have become the most demanded direction for development.

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Bitcoin has strengthened and again began its run for $20,000

Yesterday, the value of the main cryptocurrency reached its maximum in 3 years. BTC broke the $19,860 mark. OTC trading platforms noted a significant increase in trading volumes, mainly due to large investors. The Genesis platform reported a six-fold increase in volume compared to a record high in 2017. Investors have become active on specialized platforms, preferring them to messengers. The trading volume on the derivatives market on the Genesis platform reached $600 million in a week. The Galaxy Digital platform has seen similarly rapid growth.

Ethereum 2.0 finally launched

After several years in the making, the genesis block of the Ethereum 2.0 beacon chain has finally seen the light of day. The upgrade to the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap was launched as planned, at just after 12 pm UTC on Dec. 1. The launch suffered no hiccups and immediately reached the required stake participation rate to finalize the blockchain. The biggest change is the introduction of a proof-of-stake consensus to the network, which has previously been purely based on the same proof-of-work consensus as Bitcoin. The transition to PoS paves the way for future planned upgrades to be implemented, such as sharding to improve scalability. The launch will be especially welcomed by those in the decentralized finance community. The explosion of DeFi during 2020 saw a huge increase in traffic and gas fees on the Ethereum network.

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Trading activity related to cryptocurrencies is breaking records

Another rise of Bitcoin, as well as the recent launch of the zero phase of Ethereum 2.0, led to records of trading activity on the Binance crypto platform. This is stated in the report of the exchange. At the end of November, platform analysts stated a historical maximum of the trading volume within 24 hours. It was $ 37 billion. Binance's cumulative turnover reached $ 50 billion last month. Serious activity in the market was facilitated by the entry of the BTC value to the next historical maximum in the spot market. Over the past month, bitcoin has grown by almost 40%. Its capitalization has surpassed the $350 billion mark.

ETH miners earned more in November than in October

Ethereum miners' profits increased significantly last month compared to October. It amounted to $262 million. However, this figure is still lower than the August and September levels. A significant portion of the profits for Ethereum miners came from transaction fees. The growth of this type of income is associated with the development of the direction of decentralized financing and the number of transactions. In November, miners earned $62 million thanks to transaction fees. In September, ETH miners earned $321 million. 50% of this amount is made up of transaction fees.

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The largest software manufacturer intends to invest another $400 million in the purchase of BTC

MicroStrategy, a software manufacturer, wants to raise $400 million for investing in Bitcoin. Previously, the company invested $475 million to purchase the main cryptocurrency. The software manufacturer has released a statement about plans to issue convertible bonds. The maturity date for them is set until December 15, 2025. The securities will be available only to qualified institutional investors. In 2020, MicroStrategy bought BTC several times. In August, the manufacturer invested $ 50 million in the first crypto coin. The next month, the share of the company's crypto assets increased by another $175 million. In early December, Michael Taylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, wrote on Twitter that the company acquired 2,574 bitcoins for $50 million. Currently, the software manufacturer owns 40,824 BTC.

One of the Ripple creators sold almost 30 million XRP

Jed McCaleb, one of the founders of Ripple, sold another 29.5 million XRP. After leaving the Ripple project, the businessman received 9 billion XRP tokens. Six years ago, he announced that he plans to liquidate these crypto assets. After a lengthy conflict with Ripple Labs over this, McCaleb entered into an agreement with former partners. According to the document, the entrepreneur was able to sell XRP by tying them to the global trading volume. Under the terms of the agreement, McCaleb was entitled to sell up to 1.5% of the world's XRP trading volume daily. It is important to consider that XRP reached a new all-time high in November. Therefore, the speed with which an entrepreneur began to get rid of crypto assets could negatively affect the market. “After the radical increase in XRP volume (according to CMC) it only made sense that Jed would increase his sales, as per his deal with Ripple. Today 9.9 million XRP were sold, making it a new ATH of Jed sales. At this rate, Jed's 3.836B will run out after 387 days”, says cryptoexpert Leonidas Hadjiloizou, ”said Leonidas Hadzhiloizu. McCaleb owns about 3.7 billion tokens.

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Bitcoin price correction continues, dashing hopes of $20K in 2020

Bitcoin will probably not reach $20,000 this year if a key technical price level isn't reclaimed soon. Bitcoin continues to be in correction mode with its price dropping below $17,600 on Dec. 11, the lowest level since November. Every beautiful rally comes to an end and gets followed by a corrective period. This correction seems to have started with the price currently down more than 10% since touching a new all-time high ten days ago. Meanwhile, some recent news namely the proposed crypto regulation in the United States is bringing fear to the otherwise euphoric market.

SEC Commissioner: authorities must abandon excessive regulation of crypto market

Regulators need to find acceptable options in order to finally accept the principle of personal freedom of citizens, embodied in the very concept of digital currencies. Also, the authorities must abandon the idea of excessive control over the crypto industry, said SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce. In one of her recent speeches, she noted that the digital asset market and the sector of decentralized finance creates certain difficulties for the authorities. Regulators, however, should not restrict industry development with excessive regulatory requirements. “If we were instead to steamroll the technology’s liberty-enhancing features under the weight of regulation, we would lose a lot of the power of the new technology to afford opportunities to people whose autonomy has previously been curbed by, for example, limited access to the traditional financial system, geographic location, social standing, or subjection to a repressive government,” Peirce said.

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Estonia has revoked licenses from more than 1,000 crypto companies

The Estonian government revoked the licenses of more than 1,000 cryptocurrency companies. This happened amid increasing control over the digital asset industry and countering money laundering. As the representative of the State Commission on Combating Money Laundering noted, "monitoring and regulation" of crypto service operators "constantly needs increased attention." He said that in the past year, many projects have received licenses to work with crypto projects. And amendments to the country's legislation, which came into force in 2020, have tightened the licensing of operators of services related to digital assets. “In 2020, the Financial Intelligence Agency revoked more than 1000 licenses to operate from companies dealing with crypto assets. At the same time, there are still around 400 companies offering services in this area in Estonia. The connection of many of these companies with Estonia is minimal, and the clientele of some companies is from distant countries, ” the Ministry of Finance said.

Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issues the first cryptocurrency license

Last November, the SFC unveiled new rules for regulating cryptocurrency exchanges in the region. Then OSL Digital Securities Ltd became the only company to apply for a license. On August 25, the SFC tentatively approved an application for a license of a digital asset trading platform operator, but the company had a number of undisclosed conditions to meet. And on December 15, a press release was issued by BC Technology Group, of which OSL is a member, which states that it has finally obtained a license that allows the company to conduct regulated brokerage and automated digital asset trading services. In addition to Hong Kong's licenses, OSL has also applied to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a digital asset license under the Payment Services Act. First of all, the news is interesting because institutional investors will get access to trading Bitcoin, Ethereum and security tokens. This event is expected to generate interest from industry players to join the market.

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Robinhood is accused of manipulating inexperienced Investors

The Massachusetts authorities have filed a lawsuit against the fintech company Robinhood, which has developed a popular securities trading application. The company was accused of prompting inexperienced users to take risky trades and failed to protect customers from technical glitches in the application. Robinhood, according to the US state, violated new local law. It obliges investment brokers to prioritize their activities in the interests of clients. However, Robinhood, according to the regulator, has provided hundreds of Massachusetts users with no investment experience the ability to trade options. They won approval despite the company's stated policy of screening clients for experience before allowing them to buy and sell options. The company now faces fines.

American Express has invested in a crypto trading platform

The venture branch of American Express has invested in a crypto trading platform for institutional investors, FalconX. Since the end of the last investment round in May 2020, FalconX has grown by 350% in revenue. According to its own data, the company serves 250 institutional clients. The trading platform's transaction volumes reached about $3 billion per month. “We’re seeing growing interest from traditional asset managers who are adding cryptocurrencies as an inflationary hedge, catalyzed by recent macro-economic policies,” said FalconX CEO Raghu Yarlagadda. FalconX offers institutional clients the ability to access cryptocurrency markets through a single platform for trading, lending and clearing.

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Not only COVID-19 year, but the most successful since crypto winter

The Coronavirus did not make any effort to prevent crypto enthusiasts from trading. According to Mass Media, 2020 turned out to stay quite successful in the context of assessing the size of investments in cryptocurrency projects. Crypto companies did their best to raise about $ 3.1 billion. All in all, it took near 800 transactions to reach the score. Despite serious downgrade of players activity during the first half a year, the situation has slightly changed by the end of 2020. For example, BAKKT finished trade round with 300 million dollars in total. The majority of funds came from M12, PayU system, CMT and The Boston Consulting Group.

Francis Suarez, the mayor of Miami, Florida, declared BTC as a stable investment portfolio

If you have never heard about this man before, now it is high time. The official said: "Great insight into how Bitcoin has been a stable investment during and incredibly unstable year." The mayor wrote that he learned about BTC from Tyler Winklevoss and Anthony Pompliano. And «Pomp» has declared Miami is on its way to become Bitcoin city, whatever it means. So, for now crypto educated politic states Miami truly can be the first crypto-friendly city across the whole country. No doubt that South Florida takes its leadership to proceed crypto industry, based on advanced technologies. Suarez also said that he was reading the book "Bitcoin Billionaires", which was authored by Tyler Winklevoss.

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Analytics make predictions concerning trial SEC against Ripple

The regulator believes that the XRP company should be responsible for the unregistered issue of securities in the guise of tokens that the project has been selling for 7 years. To remind you, Ripple has raised about $1.3 billion. According to Adam Cochran, a partner of Cinneamhain Ventures, the trial court will take years, though Ripple Company does not have many chances, like EOS or kin do. While seeking the arguments Cochran says that Ripple is completely falling under the jurisdiction of the SEC. The defendants are Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and his companion Chris Larsen. Nonetheless, XRP assets are still trading on global markets. To remind you, the SEC recognized tokens as unregistered securities. Andrew Tugarin, leading partner of GMT Legal, has no doubt that the proceedings will most likely not be in favor of Ripple. «It seems that a large fine will be imposed on the project itself and its founders personally» - analytic said.

An outside opinion: it is high time for market correction

The total share of TOP-1 BTC on the crypto market for the first time this year has reached 69.3%. Mikhail Karkhalev, the analyst of the crypto platform Currency.com believes that the key driver of BTC's market share growth was a decrease in Ripple's capitalization and its future trial. Over the past 7 days the token price has decreased by 54%. The fall comes amid SEC accusations against Ripple and the refusal of several companies to work with XRP at once. «In my opinion, there are no prerequisites for a decrease in the market share of BTC. The main cryptocurrency, in contrast to the same Ethereum (ETH), is held near the price maximum, while Ethereum has lost positions. The market is ready for a slight correction to $ 21-20 thousand for BTC. The price may reach these levels in the first half of January, after which it will move back to growth in search of new highs.

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British regulator pointed to the risk of investing in cryptocurrencies

The UK Financial Conduct Authority warns of the risks of investing in crypto assets. The corresponding statement was published on the regulator's website. FCA drew attention to the fact that some companies are calling for investment in cryptocurrency projects and promising high returns. The British regulator warns that such investments are high-risk, and consumers "must be prepared to lose all their investments." “Firms offering these products should make sure they comply with all relevant regulatory requirements and are authorised by the FCA where this is required. Since 10 January 2021, all UK cryptoasset firms must be registered with the FCA under regulations to tackle money laundering. Operating without a registration is a criminal offence, ” FCA said in its statement. According to the regulator, the key risks are associated with the lack of a system for protecting the rights of crypto investors, the volatility of such assets, difficulties in understanding the principle of operation of products, and high fees for cryptocurrency transactions.

The drop of BTC did not undermine the confidence of institutional investors in cryptocurrencies

The sharp decline in the bitcoin rate, which was recorded on January 11, did not become a reason for institutional investors to revise their attitude towards BTC. For example, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci, wrote on Twitter that he is "investing to the maximum", especially amid the decline in the price of the first crypto coin. Crypto enthusiast Nick Carter also wrote that he was not impressed by the recent decline in the value of BTC. “I felt nothing at 40k and I continue to feel nothing. maybe I'll feel something at 100k? ?fter watching bitcoin plunge 50% to 3k in 24h in an apparently "mature" market last year nothing fazes me anymore», ”Carter said. On January 11, the price of bitcoin dropped to $ 31,000. After that, the rate began to rise again. The cost of bitcoin, according to Coinmarketcap, is $35,556.

PayPal records a multiple increase in the volume of transactions with the main cryptocurrency

PayPal has set a record for the volume of transactions with crypto assets on its own platform. As of January 11, transactions totaling $242 million were carried out on the site. "That's nearly double the previous record," Nugget's News founder Alex Saunders tweeted. Cryptocurrency trading volume on PayPal was significantly higher than the previous record. On January 6, it reached $129 million. We would like to remind the reader that in mid-November 2020, PayPal launched the purchase and sale of BTC for US customers.

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Criminals moved XRP stolen on Livecoin to KuCoin platform

The fraudsters transferred XRP stolen from the Livecoin crypto exchange to the KuCoin platform. Representatives of XRP Forensics wrote about this on Twitter. They asked the KuCoin administration to freeze these transactions and contact them for more information. Earlier it became known that 106 BTC, 361 ETH and 236 BCH were stolen. A chat has appeared on Telegram for the affected Livecoin traders from Russia, where they share information about the situation with the hacking of the crypto exchange. Some of the users have already contacted the police.

CryptoQuant claims that investors withdrew $ 2.5 billion in ETH from exchanges in two days

According to CryptoQuant, the number of Ethereum on crypto exchanges has dropped sharply over the past two days. The company reports a decrease in stock exchange balances from 11 million ETH to 8.1 million ETH. The founder of Nuggets News, Alex Saunders, does not exclude that if the trend continues in 10 days, ether will disappear altogether on trading platforms. However, other sources do not confirm these concerns. Ethereum exchange balances have remained largely unchanged since the rise in late 2020, according to Glassnode. “This is nonsense. Who'd really think that a sudden drop of 2M+ #ETH are actual withdrawals from an exchange? Nothing unsusual has happened, exchange flows are completely within their normal range. Current balance: 16.3M ETH», the technical director of Glassnode Rafael Schulze-Kraft tweeted.

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Ethereum has risen in price by more than 14% in 24 hours

Ethereum price has risen by more than 14%. According to Coinmarketcap data at the time of writing, ETH is worth $1,406. “Ethereum's daily transaction volume is going parabolic. It now settles $12 billion in transactions daily - $3 billion more than Bitcoin, " Ryan Watkins, a researcher at the Messari analytical company, wrote on his Twitter account. The explosive growth of the cryptocurrency rate can be associated with the movements of stablecoins, a significant part of which is based on the Ethereum blockchain.

Mark Cuban thinks Bitcoin may continue to rise

Billionaire and well-known Bitcoin critic Mark Cuban believes that the first cryptocurrency is able to continue to grow, like stocks in general, amid no increase in interest rates. The entrepreneur urged crypto enthusiasts to monitor the dynamics of interest rates. “All speculation about debt will get real ground if interest rates rise and by how much. That's when we will see how this affects the prices of all assets. Bitcoin is akin to any stock. Its price is determined by supply and demand, ”said the billionaire. In his opinion, the interest of institutional investors contributes to the growth of the BTC rate. About a year ago, Cuban stated that bitcoin "has no chance" to become a reliable currency in the future. "It [Bitcoin] is too difficult to use, too easy to hack, way too easy to lose, too hard to understand, too hard to assess a value," Cuban said in December 2019.

Research: over 70% of central banks are interested in blockchain

According to a study by analyst firm Mindsmith, 74% of central banks are interested in blockchain technology. The experts came to such conclusions based on the results of a semantic analysis of publications of 191 central banks. As of the beginning of this year, they mentioned the blockchain 4408 times. More than 50% of mentions of the technology fall on 9 regulators. The undisputed leaders were the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank. In addition, regulators from Singapore, Thailand, Tunisia, Germany, Portugal and Lithuania are included in the top ten by mentioning the technology.

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Over the week, the flow of funds to the cryptocurrency market reached $1.3 billion

The inflow of funds into investment products based on cryptocurrencies last week reached a record $1.31 billion, according to the digital asset management company CoinShares. “We believe investors have been very price conscious this year due to the speed at which prices in bitcoin achieved new highs,” said investment strategist James Butterfill. CoinShares analysts believe that the new high may be related to the recent drop in the price of BTC. It is likely that investors took advantage of the decline in the exchange rate in order to buy cryptocurrency at a profitable price.

Lloyd Blankfein: BTC prevents authorities from controlling the financial system

According to Lloyd Blankfei, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, the authorities are obliged to tighten regulation of the cryptocurrency industry due to the rapid growth of this direction. The businessman pointed to the "pseudo-anonymity" of digital assets, which makes bitcoin a convenient tool for financing illegal activities. “You don't know whether or not you're paying the North Koreans or Al Qaeda or the Revolutionary Guard. If I were a regulator, I would be kind of hyperventilating at the success of it at the moment and I'd be arming myself to deal with it, ”Blankfein said. In his opinion, the duty of regulators is to limit the freedom that digital coins provide. At the same time, Blankfein doubts that after the tightening of control and, as a result, the loss of anonymity, bitcoin will continue to be in great demand.

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Opinion: Bitcoin will not hold at the $30,000 level

Scott Minerd, chief investment officer of Guggenheim Partners, is confident that the price of the main cryptocurrency will be dropping. In a comment to Bloomberg, he said that he doubted BTC's ability to hold on to the $30,000 mark. “Right now, the reality of the institutional demand that would support a US$35’000 price or even a US$30’000 price is just not there. I don’t think the investor base is big enough and deep enough right now to support this kind of valuation, ” Minerd said. In his opinion, BTC will remain a viable asset in the long term, but in the near future, the pressure on the price of bitcoin may increase.

Developing country regulators to issue government stablecoins in the coming time

According to BIS (Bank for International Settlements) analysts, regulators from different countries are actively exploring the question of issuing government tokens. Their mass launch will be in developing countries, analysts say. In the third annual BIS survey, in which 65 central banks participated, 86% of those surveyed said they were considering the pros and cons of issuing their own cryptocurrencies. In 2020, this figure was 80%. About 60% of regulators are already experimenting with government digital currencies. “This research is evidenced by the launch of the first real government cryptocurrency in the Bahamas. Others are likely to join this pioneer. Central banks, which together represent a fifth of the world's population, are likely to issue general-purpose government cryptocurrencies in the next three years,” the report said.

8,000 BTC, which were mined about 10 years ago, belong to Coinbase

Eight batches of 1,000 BTC each, which have been in motion for the first time since 2010, are owned by Coinbase or related companies. This version was published by the Goldfoundinshit Telegram channel. “Yesterday the next, eighth batch of 1,000 BTC, moved, which lay on the wallets broken by 50, has not moved since 2010. I have previously suggested that these bitcoins belong to Coinbase. Now I am absolutely sure of this, ” wrote the author of the channel. According to the results of the on-chain analysis, as before, 1,000 bitcoins were accumulated in tranches of 50 BTC at separate addresses from 20 wallets. “As you can see, first there is a consolidation of 20 wallets of 50 per address – 1,000 BTC then, this 1,000 is scattered in batches of 10 BTC into original ones, let's call them“ pockets ”for withdrawal. The same thing happened during the movement of the previous parties. Sometimes one or two transactions with large amounts of BTC went from a wallet with 1,000 BTC, apparently for some VIP users, ” the author noted.

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The number of active BTC addresses reached 22.3 million in January

During the first month of this year, the number of unique active BTC addresses amounted to 22.3 million. The growth occurred against the background of an increase in the activity of traders and the price of bitcoin, which exceeded the $42,000 mark. “In January, more than 22.3 million unique addresses were active in the network sending or receiving $BTC – the highest monthly number in Bitcoin's history to date,” Glassnode said. According to the company, January became a record for the number of active Bitcoin addresses. The previous record was reached in December 2017. The number of active addresses was 21 million. Since 2017, the number of active BTC addresses has not dropped below 10 million per month.

Economists criticized the idea of issuing government cryptocurrencies

Economists Peter Bofinger and Thomas Hass believe that government tokens issued as a medium of exchange may not compete with private banks. Experts believe that regulators need to focus on the concept of supranational cryptocurrencies that will become a store of value in the international system. Economists admit that the best type of government cryptocurrency is one that regulators are unlikely to think about for fear of rejecting intermediation. It will be a government-owned cryptocurrency designed not to facilitate payments, but to save the value. “The demand for a store-of-value CBDC would come from firms and large investors with bank deposits of more than €100,000, which would be bailed-in in the case of a bank restructuring. From the user perspective, this demand would depend on the interest rate for such deposits. Central banks could auction store-of-value deposits which would give them a perfect control over their amount,” the researchers noted.

SEC accused three leaders of the Bitcoiin2Gen crypto project of defrauding investors

The SEC has accused three leaders of the closed crypto project Bitcoiin2Gen of defrauding investors. In 2018, the company held an ICO for $11.4 million, with Steven Seagal as the face of its advertising campaign. The SEC believes that the creator of Bitcoiin2Gen Christian Krstic and the promoter of the project John DeMarr violated securities laws during the ICO, and the company's partner Robin Enos "was engaged in aiding and abetting." The defendants promised to distribute to 460 investors a B2G token, which, according to the SEC, never existed. The scammers promised a “mined” and “traded” digital token.

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Dogecoin soars more than 50% after Elon Musk's tweet about the token

Doge has risen in price by more than 50% after the of a series of tweets by Elon Musk. Half an hour after the first message, the Tesla founder posted a picture in which he raises a coin symbol above his head, with the words "welcome". In the next tweet, Musk called Doge "the people's cryptocurrency." “No highs, no lows, just Doge,” the entrepreneur wrote in the fourth post on the token. Doge continues to grow, according to Coinmarketcap. At the time of this writing, the cryptocurrency has risen in price by 63%, reaching $0.053.

Ethereum has overcome the level of $1,600

The Ethereum price has renewed its all-time high, reaching $1,621. Over the course of the day, the crypto coin has risen in price by 5%, and in 7 days - by 26%. Analysts believe that the growth of the cryptocurrency is due to the launch of Ethereum futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It is set for February 8th. At the same time, analysts warn of the risks of a decline in the price of ETH. “For all you know, major players may be looking to get long exposure through futures, now that there is an institutional-grade product to do so. Smart traders moved to Ether when Bitcoin topped out around $40,000 and have made more money,” said Vijay Ayyar, head of the Asia-Pacific division of the Luno exchange.

Mark Cuban: The direction of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens will be popular

Entrepreneur Mark Cuban believes that the direction of decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens (NFT) could become quite popular in the crypto market in the next decade. The billionaire also criticized the SEC, noting that the structure was founded by "lawyers for lawyers" to win cases, not make the right decisions. The entrepreneur believes that the SEC only cares about large investors. Cuban advises those who go into the negative to believe in their investments. He turned to the owners of BTC, who purchased bitcoins in the wake of 2017 and witnessed its strong fall. The hodlers didn't sell cryptocurrency because they believed in it.

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Institutional investors prefer ETH

According to CoinShares, the inflow of institutional investors' funds into the crypto market in the first week of the second month of the year amounted to $245 million. 80% of this volume was invested in ethereum. Analysts believe large investors are starting to diversify their crypto portfolios. They transfer part of the funds from BTC to ethereum, and other coins. At the same time, nothing indicates profit-taking. Investors buy and save cryptocurrency. “We think that investors looking for diversification are becoming more comfortable investing in ethereum. The inflow of funds into bitcoin is gradually decreasing, ” analysts noted.

Bitcoin tested the $48,000 level

The main crypto coin has updated the all-time high on the Binance crypto platform. It has risen above $48,000. During the day on February 9, the coin grew by 23%. Its market capitalization exceeded $892 billion. The value of BTC is breaking records amid news that Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin. Representatives of the company said that in the "near future" it will accept payment in cryptocurrency. Well-known trader Peter Brandt wrote that despite the hype around digital gold, the uptrend in price "looks healthy compared to the end of 2017".

Brian Brooks: Tesla's investment in bitcoin is awesome news

Former head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Brian Brooks said the information about Tesla's investment in BTC is exciting news. Although, the ex-official believes, for those who have not previously invested in cryptocurrency, "it looks somewhat alarming". “That's crazy, right? The way inflation works is the more of asset you have the less valuable it is. That would explain why a lot of institutions want to have bitcoin sitting in their treasury because it's a lot more stable source of value over the long haul, potentially, ” Brooks said.

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Mastercard to start working with cryptocurrencies in 2021

Already in 2021, Mastercard plans to start working with cryptocurrencies. The specific coins have not yet been named. However, it is known that the system will only support stablecoins backed by real assets. The company said in a statement that digital currencies must guarantee stability "so that people can use them for day-to-day transactions, not investments." Clients of Mastercard already have the opportunity to make cryptocurrency transactions, but now the payment system will begin to independently process transfers. “Our philosophy on cryptocurrencies is straightforward: It’s about choice. Mastercard isn’t here to recommend you start using cryptocurrencies. But we are here to enable customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value – traditional or crypto – however they want. It should be your choice, it’s your money, ” said Raj Dhamodharan.Executive Vice President, Digital Asset and Blockchain Products and Partnerships, Mastercard.

Elon Musk speaks out against custodial crypto wallets

Elon Musk believes that it is better for investors not to use the services of crypto wallets, which do not provide their clients with control over private keys. He wrote about this in a Twitter post from the custodian wallet operator FreeWallet, who used Musk's post on Dogecoin to advertise himself. "Your app sucks," wrote the head of Tesla. It turned out that the entrepreneur uses FreeWallet, and his account was automatically blocked by a security algorithm. Musk's account was then unblocked, but the developers of Ledger hardware wallets joined the discussion, taking the opportunity to advertise their decision. "Elon Musk is right, as long as you do not manage your private keys, you do not actually own your cryptocurrency," wrote the representatives of Ledger.

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Glassnode believes that "miners have reduced bitcoin sales, and investors are taking profits"

According to the research company Glassnode, miners have begun to accumulate reserves in bitcoins. Long-term investors, on the other hand, are trying to get rid of their assets in order to lock in profits. The Glassnode report says that in January, miners were actively selling almost all of the mined BTC, however, in February, the volume of sales decreased significantly. This could mean that miners are hoping for an increase in the value of bitcoin. “This suggests that miners have either completed adequate sales to cover costs, or could also mean they see Tesla's vote of confidence as fair reason to keep a strong grip on their treasuries," analysts say.

Analysts: 5 services store more than 50% of cryptocurrencies that were obtained illegally

Chainalysis experts concluded that 55% of digital currencies that were obtained fraudulently or with the help of ransomware viruses are laundered through just 5 services. These services use about 270 unique deposit addresses. Analysts believe that the largest processors of illegally obtained crypto coins receive about $25 million a year. Serving such illegal transactions may be their main activity. Experts believe that suppressing the illegal activities of such deposit addresses will help shut down most of the infrastructure that now exists for laundering crypto assets.

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BlackRock with $ 8.7 trillion in assets is interested in bitcoins

Investment company BlackRock, which manages assets totaling $8.7 trillion, is interested in the main crypto coin. The company's investment director Rick Rieder said BlackRock is already "doing a little bit" of digital currencies. “My sense is the technology has evolved and the regulation has evolved to the point where a number of people find it should be part of the portfolio, so that’s what’s driving the price up, ” said the entrepreneur. Rieder did not go into details of BlackRock's cryptocurrency strategy. However, it is known that the investment giant recently filed documents with the SEC. They say the company wants to include bitcoin futures in the investment portfolio of two of its funds.

US authorities accused the creators of Coinseed of defrauding investors for $ 1 million

New York Attorney General Laetitia James has accused the creators of the cryptocurrency investment application Coinseed of fraud. The state prosecutor's office believes that entrepreneurs lured out $1 million from investors through hidden fees and implausible statements. The company also issued a CSD token, which actually "had no functionality" in the Coinseed app. The prosecutor's office intends to bring to justice not only the company, but also two of its top managers. The allegations are centered around the 2017 ICO of Coinseed. Coinseed, according to preliminary data, received about $100,000 through the sale of 200,000 CSD tokens. Also, the prosecutor's office is confident that the company was engaged in operations with cryptocurrencies without registering as a broker-dealer. “Attorney General James seeks to stop Coinseed and the two individual defendants from further operating as unregistered commodities broker-dealers through their mobile application, as well as return investments of Coinseed’s worthless cryptocurrency, the CSD token,” according to a press release from the Attorney General's Office in New -York.

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OKCoin plans to delist Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV

The largest cryptocurrency platform OKCoin has planned to delist Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV. According to the CEO of Hong Fang, new users of OKCoin often come to invest in BTC, but by mistake, they buy BCH or BSV. Among other reasons for the failure of bitcoin forks - a controversial figure of the creator of BSV Craig Wright. The entrepreneur has already stated that it was he who created bitcoin. “This is not an easy decision. We had a choice and there is collateral damage, but we had to stand up for the bigger principle we believe in. On the one hand we feel very strongly about protecting the open-source ethos, but on the other, if we do something about it, that would conflict with our principle of being a neutral platform. We wouldn’t have changed that if it weren’t for Craig Wright posting these threats to the open-source dev community. We think these threats are very destructive to development and Bitcoin as a whole, "- Fang said.

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Nassim Taleb considers Bitcoin adherents to be amoebas

Nassim Taleb, the author of the famous work "Black Swan" criticized the adherents of bitcoin. In his opinion, they "think in binary". “And the minute someone defines herself or himself as a "bitcoiner" like a national identity it becomes an irreversible ideological committment not an investment strategy. Actually it is a religion. You "belong" to a group of amoebas,” Taleb wrote on his Twitter page. Earlier, Nassim Taleb spoke out several times in support of the main cryptocurrency, and also criticized the conservative financial system. In early 2019, he gave a lecture in Moscow, where he voiced the key goal of bitcoin - "scare the bankers."

Bill Gates fears bitcoin could harm the environment

In an interview with CNBC journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pointed out that it takes quite a lot of electricity to confirm BTC transactions. However, he stressed “Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind, and, so, you know, it’s not a bad climate thing. If it’s green electricity and it’s not crowding out other uses, eventually, you know, maybe that’s okay. I don’t see the topic as deeply related even though you might label me a Bitcoin skeptic, ” said the billionaire. In addition, he said that the Gates Foundation is currently developing its own digital currencies. According to the entrepreneur, they will have “ultra-low” transaction fees.

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Investors demanded compensation for $100 million for Pavel Durov’s failed blockchain project

Investors are ready to sue Pavel Durov’s TON Inc. project. and Telegram Inc. Representatives of the Da Vinci Capital fund sent a letter to the founder of Telegram and his team in which they demanded damages recovery in the amount of $100 million for the failed cryptocurrency project, according to Forbes that cites sources. The notice states that failure to compensate for damages will result in litigation in the UK. The defendants will be not only Pavel Durov, but also other top managers and lawyers of TON. We would like to remind the reader that in mid-2020, Pavel Durov announced the closure of his TON blockchain project. This was due to a court decision that agreed with the SEC's position and prohibited the transfer of Gram tokens to platform investors. Earlier, the project attracted $1.7 billion from 171 investors.

American financier approved BTC as an investment asset

Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, shared his vision of the prospects for the main cryptocurrency as an investment asset. A top manager of the company suggested considering BTC a form of "digital gold" and using it to hedge inflation risks. “In my view, bitcoin has evolved to the point that it could be treated as a form of digital gold…a possible counterweight to future monetary inflation,” Timmer tweeted. A top manager at Fidelity Investments, analyzing the nature of bitcoin, noted that the demand for this asset continues to grow "exponentially", while the supply remains unchanged. This scenario cannot be applied to gold, the annual production of which has remained roughly the same for a long time.

NYC Attorney's Office: Investing in Cryptocurrencies is fraught with "extreme risks"

New York Attorney General Laetitia James issued a sharp statement on the cryptocurrency market, warning investors about its susceptibility to "speculative bubbles" and abuse by criminals. In her opinion, investing in digital assets is "impractical" and carries "extreme risks." "Cryptocurrencies are high-risk, unstable investments that could result in devastating losses just as quickly as they can provide gains," the New York Attorney General says. The warning came amid the growing attention of retail and institutional investors to the cryptocurrency market and to Bitcoin in particular. “The recent dramatic run-up in price of virtual currencies (especially bitcoin) promises the lure of unrealistic returns and has opened the door for con artists and cheats,” said James.

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Netflix will be the next BTC buyer

Popular streaming service Netflix is ready to buy bitcoins. The decision is dictated by the policy of the reserve management service. This opinion was expressed by venture investor Tim Draper. “You know who it might be? Netflix. I think [CEO] Reed Hastings is a very innovative guy and has a lot of creative thinking and I think he still controls the reins at Netflix and so I think that might be the next big one to fall, ” Draper said. The entrepreneur also believes that the largest trading platform Amazon will add BTC as a means of payment. He noted that customers of the marketplace have been buying goods using cryptocurrencies indirectly for a long time.

EOS creator launches decentralized social network Clarion

EOS developer Dan Larimer announced the launch of the decentralized social networking project Clarion. The goal of the project is to create decentralized networks that allow people to communicate without relying on intermediaries. “Clarion OS is just getting started and is in the early design stage. We are assembling a team of developers to build the first prototypes. This project will be developed in the open and welcomes contributions from anyone interested in restoring the internet to the level of logical decentralization that was intended before Big Tech locked us into their services and stopped producing tools that empower people,” Larimer wrote in the GitHub community. According to the developer, he took into account the mistakes associated with his early projects. Clarion will support text and video messaging, voice chats and the ability to publish content.

Survey: 11% of Institutions said their company trades or invests in cryptocurrencies

JPMorgan analysts surveyed more than 3,000 respondents from 1,500 financial institutions. Researchers have found that most institutional investors are not willing to invest or trade digital currencies. 11% of respondents indicated that their company trades or invests in cryptocurrency assets. 22% of respondents answered that they consider it possible to engage in cryptocurrency transactions. 14% of survey participants believe that the cryptocurrency market will collapse, and 7% of those surveyed said that cryptocurrencies will become the most important assets. 58% of respondents are confident that digital assets will be a permanent feature in the financial markets. 21% of the surveyed said that cryptocurrencies are of temporary nature.

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Investors are more interested in Cardano than BTC

Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency broker, has published a new study, which says retail investors are more positive about the growth prospects of Cardano than BTC. However, 80% of investors intend to purchase more Bitcoins this month. More than 31% of respondents are optimistic about ADA growth, according to the study. 22% of the survey participants spoke out in favor of Bitcoin. ETH ranks third in popularity among investors. 12% of the respondents voted for it. “This clearly demonstrates the enthusiasm that our user base has towards cryptocurrencies, both from the investment and trading perspectives. Of course, everyone is talking about Bitcoin these days, but seeing Cardano coming ahead of it was a really big surprise for us” CEO of Voyager Digital Steve Ehrlich said.

Expert: Bitcoin price will rise

The main crypto-coin will continue to win back the previous falls. Its price may approach the $ 57,200 mark, says Vladimir Panushkin, head of the Center for Social Matrix Technologies "Socioma". “Although the general psychological background remains very active, pushing the bitcoin exchange rate up, the sentiment of many participants still remains restrained. Recovering the previous falls, today the first cryptocurrency can approach the mark of $57,200 per coin, ” the expert said. According to Coinmarketcap data, the bitcoin rate continues to rise. On March,10 the main cryptocurrency cost around $ 55,143.

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NFT searches hit a record high

According to The Block Research, the number of searches for non-fungible tokens in the Google search engine has reached an all-time high. According to NFT Non-Fungible data for 2020, the industry has grown by 300% compared to the previous period, and the volume of this market has increased by about $ 250 million. The number of weekly users of NFT platforms also testifies to the growth of attention. Over the past week, it amounted to almost 400,000 people. Not only media and ordinary investors show interest in NFT, but also media personalities. Elon Musk previously announced his readiness to sell his NFT token for 420 million Dogecoin.

A well-known financial consultant admitted that he was wrong with his bitcoin strategy

Stock market star Dave Portnoy wrote on his Twitter page that he made the mistake of selling his BTC too early. In his words, the investor did not understand the dynamics of the growth and fall of the most popular crypto coin. Earlier, the founder of Barstool Sports acquired BTC for $1 million. However, he quickly became disillusioned with this asset and sold bitcoins at a price below $12,000. “I want to congratulate all my bitcoin people out there. When you're wrong, you're wrong. I fucking paper-handed, sold it. I fucking can't take bitcoin, the ups and downs. I wish I had it. I took all my money and I put it in what I think I know, and what I can control. I don't know bitcoin. I fucked up, ”Portnoy said in his video message to crypto enthusiasts.

JPMorgan: retail investors are more interested in bitcoin than institutional ones

Analysts at JPMorgan concluded that in the first three months of 2021, retail investment in BTC exceeded that of institutional investors. The latter began to buy less cryptocurrency. Analysts do not exclude that a decrease in the volume of investments from institutions may be one of the reasons that bitcoin could not stay above the $60,000 mark. According to JPMorgan, retail investors bought over 187,000 BTC, while institutional investors bought about 172,684 BTC. According to the Japanese investment company Mizuho Securities, about $40 billion of the $380 billion that American citizens will receive in the form of incentive payments can be invested in bitcoins and stocks.

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Messari thinks ETH can get ahead of BTC

Ryan Watkins, senior analyst at analyst firm Messari, believes that ETH could displace BTC from the first place in the ranking of cryptoassets in terms of capitalization. This can happen after the transition to the second version of the Ethereum protocol. “The selling point of Bitcoin over Ethereum as a store of value asset boils down its monetary policy being very predictable and the Bitcoin blockchain being very secure. I think that with the shift to Eth2 and to proof-of-stake, [...] Ethereum may actually potentially be more secure than Bitcoin,” said Watkins. The analyst noted that a "massive and diverse" economy is based on the Ethereum blockchain. The actively developing direction of decentralized applications will attract new users faster than BTC, he is sure.

Bank of America analyst: buying 1 BTC is "like owning 60 cars"

Bitcoin is useless as a store of value or payment instrument. The only reason to become a holder of BTC is its growing price. This is the opinion of analysts at Bank of America, whose report is called "Little Dirty Secrets of Bitcoin." One of the authors of the report, Francisco Blanch, is confident that BTC cannot be a safe-haven asset due to the fact that it is not tied to inflation and has serious volatility. The analyst pointed out that about 95% of bitcoins are held by the owners of 2.4% of wallets, and this may become an obstacle to the global introduction of the crypto coin. “As such, the main portfolio argument for holding Bitcoin is not diversification, stable returns, or inflation protection, but rather sheer price appreciation, a factor that depends on Bitcoin demand outpacing supply,” said Blanch.

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Anthony Scaramucci: bitcoin will repeat Amazon's success

Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of the SkyBridge Capital hedge fund, is confident that in the long term, the main cryptocurrency will be able to repeat the success of Amazon. According to the entrepreneur, bitcoin volatility will gradually decrease simultaneously with the massive acceptance of this asset by society. “Amazon now, 20 years later, is trading with more stability. It got a very big pop because of the pandemic, but just take a look at its long-term chart, and I think that will happen to bitcoin,” Scaramucci said. The total number of bitcoins is limited to 21 million coins. According to CoinDesk, about 18.66 million coins have already been mined. At the same time, about 15.5 million are in circulation, since access to wallets from 15% to 20% is considered completely lost according to various expert estimates. Cryptocurrency proponents see this as one of the prerequisites for the price of BTC to rise as demand continues to outstrip supply.

Federal Reserve is confident that CBDC will not replace fiat

The head of the US Federal Reserve System Jerome Powell expressed the opinion that digital currencies of central banks (CBDC) will not become a substitute for conventional money. CBDCs will coexist with them. According to Powell, not only the government, but also the private sector should be engaged in improving the global payment system. “CBDC needs to coexist with cash and other types of money in a flexible and innovative payment system,” said the Federal Reserve Chair. At the same time, experts from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) conducted their research on the estimated future of global payments and the interaction of different CBDCs. BIS expects countries whose central banks will also start launching their CBDCs to continue to emerge, leading to interoperability issues between different digital currencies. Experts emphasize that CBDC will need to compete with those private stablecoins that already exist. In addition, the researchers announced the possible emergence of a global stablecoin, but whether it will be a digital dollar issued by the US Federal Reserve or another CBDC in BIS is not yet sure.

Jack Dorsey sells an NFT tweet for $2.91M

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) for $ 2.91 million. He promised to convert the proceeds from the sale into bitcoin and donate to charitable foundation GiveDirectly. On March 6, 2021, Dorsey put up a post for sale with the text " just setting up my twttr” " as an NFT. According to the auction data, the lot was bought by the founder of Bridge Oracle, Sina Estavi, but the founder of Tron, Justin Sun, also actively participated in the auction. Jack Dorsey is considered one of the most famous Bitcoin proponents. The cryptocurrency division of the company he founded and manages, Square, has repeatedly invested in bitcoin and financed the developers of the first cryptocurrency. Earlier, the Canadian analytical company NonFungible predicted the growth of the NFT market by several times in 2021.

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ESMA warns of risks associated with BTC

The European Securities and Markets Authority believes that cryptocurrencies pose a certain threat. A new report from the agency talks about the risks of losing funds when investing in digital currencies, for example, in BTC. ESMA believes that some crypto assets are "very risky and speculative." And the lack of regulation really deprives investors of any guarantees and security. “Consumers must be alert to the high risks of buying and/or holding these instruments,” the report says.

Ray Dalio says that the US may ban cryptocurrency

The famous American financier Ray Dalio spoke about the high probability of a ban on bitcoin in the United States. The entrepreneur drew a parallel with the decision of the authorities to confiscate gold from citizens during the Great Depression. “Every country treasures its monopoly on controlling the supply and demand. They [the authorities] don’t want other monies to be operating or competing, because things can get out of control, ”Dalio said. According to the billionaire, the first crypto coin has proven itself excellently since its inception. Bitcoin has quite a few fans, and its blockchain has not been hacked. “It is an alternative, in a sense, store hold of wealth. It’s like digital cash. And those are the pluses,” concluded Dalio.

President of Microsoft Corp. spoke out against digital assets

IT companies do not need to issue currencies, the authorities should be engaged in this. This point of view is shared by the President of Microsoft Brad Smith. “The money supply almost uniquely needs to be managed by an entity that is responsible to the public and thinks really only about the public interest, and that means governments,” said the top manager of the company. Earlier, Microsoft announced the launch of a decentralized identifier network powered by the BTC blockchain. It was reported that the solution will allow the creation of DIDs and can be used on social networks.

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PayPal users will be able to pay with cryptocurrency at 29 million points of sale

In the near future, PayPal customers will be able to pay for their purchases at 29 million retail outlets using cryptocurrency. For purchases, one will be able to use BTC, ETH, as well as Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. At the time of payment, PayPal users will be able to convert crypto coins to fiat. "This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your PayPal wallet," said CEO of the company Dan Shulman. PayPal has no plans to charge a transaction fee when placing an order using digital currencies. Only one type of cryptocurrency can be selected for each purchase.

Cryptanalyst: Selling BTC now is crazy

Well-known crypto enthusiast and analyst Willy Woo believes that now it’s not a good time to sell bitcoins. He is confident that this year will be a year of "insane optimism" for BTC, as the current rally is in its "final explosive phase." “You’d be crazy to sell right now. There’s more buying the dip than ever seen before, a new record for 2021 and we know the person that’s buying the dip is Rick Astley and he’s not going to let us down,” Woo said jokingly. He also stated that the cryptocurrency is currently "at the bottom", so Woo is "building up his long positions."

Visa will process payments in USDC stablecoin

Visa payment system has launched a pilot program in collaboration with cryptocurrency company Crypto.com. According to the company, the pilot program will allow USD Coin (USDC) to be sent directly to Visa Ethereum addresses. Anchorage digital bank will become Visa's settlement agent when working with USDC. The company has taken the development of this direction seriously. In December last year, Visa already connected its global network to USDC and announced the release of a card with support for payments in stablecoin. In February, the company began testing a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow traditional bank customers to buy and sell digital assets. “We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers," Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, said. In the future, Visa plans to process payments in central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Visa CEO Alfred Kelly said earlier this month that the company aims to reach out to stablecoins as well as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. “We're trying to do two things. One is to enable the purchase of Bitcoin on Visa credentials. And secondly, working with Bitcoin wallets to allow the Bitcoin to be translated into a fiat currency and therefore immediately be able to be used at any of the 70 million places around the world where Visa is accepted, "Kelly said. The new program at Visa is described as a “small step” for the payment platform, but “a giant leap” for the proliferation of digital assets.

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Elon Musk wants to send Dogecoin into space

The head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, wrote on his Twitter page that he intends to send a crypto coin to the moon. After that, the token went up in price by 30%. "SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon," the entrepreneur wrote, without elaborating on the details of his plan. SpaceX's lunar mission is set to take place in 2023. However, users note that Musk's statement may be an April Fool's joke, so you shouldn't take it seriously. As of April 1, according to CoinDesk, the DOGE price is at $0.069. Before Musk's tweet, the coin was worth about $ 0.054.

Total crypto market capitalization sets new all-time high above $1.9T

Amid another bullish trend on cryptocurrency markets, total crypto market capitalization has broken a new historical record just under $2 trillion. The market cap of all cryptocurrencies surpassed $1.9 trillion on March 31, according to data from major crypto monitoring resources like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap. The total market cap reached as high as $1.99 trillion earlier on the day, hitting a new all-time record. In hitting its new historical high, the total crypto market capitalization has overtaken the market cap of oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco, the world’s second most valuable company by market cap after Apple. According to data from TradingView, Saudi Aramco’s market cap amounts to about 7 trillion Saudi riyals, or $1.86 trillion at the time of writing. After surpassing the market cap of Google stock at above $1.4 trillion in February, the total crypto market cap has continued flipping the world’s largest companies including Amazon and Microsoft. At publishing time, Amazon and Microsoft’s respective market capitalizations are $1.5 trillion and $1.7 trillion.

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Raiffeisenbank analysts predict that 10% of countries will issue their own crypto coins by 2025

10% of countries will issue national digital currencies by 2025 and launch platforms for exchanging such assets. This is stated in a new report by Raiffeisenbank. Analysts are confident that the authorities of various states will need a little time to form a regulatory framework, and tokenized assets will become a tool for investment and savings.

Erik Voorhees claims the biggest event in crypto this week isn’t Coinbase’s listing

According to Erik Voorhees, ShapeShift CEO and crypto industry stalwart ,Coinbase’s listing isnt’t the biggest event in crypto this week. He says, that the launch of ThorChain is arguably the biggest event in crypto this week, which is a pretty big claim. ThorChain’s launch is scheduled for Tuesday and will mark the first time that native crypto assets can be traded on a decentralized exchange across unique blockchains without bridging technology or wrapping tokens. Voorhees twitted: “Thorchain has no bridges. It has no wrapping. It is native assets, swapped across chains in a decentralized way, for the first time ever,” Voorhees exclaimed. To swap BTC for ETH, for example, the exchange would trade the BTC for RUNE, which is then swapped for ETH. This is all carried out at high speed to ensure the user is not impacted by the intermediary trade. ThorChain is also developing a native wallet called AsgardEx, which will be built to interact directly with the “chaosnet,” allowing the tokens of unique blockchains to be held by a single wallet. The platform’s native token, RUNE, has been on fire recently, surging 13% over the past 24 hours to reach an all-time high of $12.65, according to CoinGecko.

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After listing, Coinbase turned out to be more expensive than NASDAQ, on which it was listed

On April 14, trading in shares of the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase began on the NASDAQ. After the start of trading, the share price rose to $381 at the set reference price of $250, and after a while the securities rose in price to $429. By the end of trading, Coinbase's capitalization reached $86 billion. As of April 15, the share price on the US premarket hovered around $344. On Thursday, at the premarket, the crypto platform's securities rose 11% to $365. At this rate, Coinbase is even more valuable than Nasdaq and the Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, combined. The media compared the placement of the company of Brian Amstrong and Fred Ersam to the "debutante ball" of the crypto business.

Ethereum has been hardforked

Today, April 15, a hard fork “Berlin” took place on the Ethereum mainnet. Due to this, the algorithm for calculating the amount of commissions for transactions within the network has been changed, and new types of transactions have been introduced. The hard fork took place at block # 12,244,000. Many community members supported the event as it can have a positive impact on the Ethereum price. According to Coinmarketcap, the price of ETH has increased by more than 21% over the past 7 days. On the eve of the hard fork, the price of the crypto coin has renewed its historical maximum and reached $2,441.

Bitcoins stolen from Bitfinex users moved to unknown addresses

Yesterday, April 14, about 10% of the bitcoins stolen in 2016 from the Bitfinex crypto exchange started moving. About 12,200 BTC were moved to unknown addresses. Their total cost is estimated at about $770 million. “We believe that the BTC transfers started during the trading for Coinbase's direct listing. The media shields allows them to at least get less publicity, considering there are fewer people tracking their movements or reporting it ... everyone's focused on the Coinbase listing,” says research analyst at Trade the Chain Nick Mancini. And Cinneamhain Venture partner Adam Cochran noted that "the bitcoins stolen from Bitfinex are the most tracked and blacklisted ones around the world." “No exchange will process them. They can basically never be cashed out,” the crypto enthusiast is confident.

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DOGE has prerequisites for growth

Dogecoin has risen over 300% in the last 7 hours, according to Coinmarketcap as of April 20. The crypto coin costs $0.3.As Messari analyst Ryan Watkins wrote on Twitter a few months ago, DOGE's $50 billion capitalization level was beyond his imagination. "DOGE is really going to $1 isn't it?" he asked his followers. Crypto enthusiasts are optimistic about the growth of the Dogecoin rate. One of the prerequisites for this was the news that the largest retailer of computer components and electronics Newegg has provided its customers with the opportunity to pay for goods in DOGE. The marketplace has entered into a partnership agreement with the Bitpay service, working with altcoin since March 2021.

The main cryptocurrency may continue to fall to the level of $ 52'000

The first crypto coin may continue to fall and reach the level of $ 52'000. This is stated in the column of NewsBTC analyst Aayush Jindal. "If bitcoin remains stable above the $54,000 level, it could attempt an upside break. The first key resistance is near the channel trend line at $56,000," the crypto enthusiast believes, noting that this is where a large number of sell orders are located.

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Gemini: More than half of US residents are interested in cryptocurrencies

More than 50% of Americans are interested in digital currencies, according to a Gemini study. The platform surveyed about 3,000 Americans. 63% of respondents showed interest in digital currencies. About 14% of respondents own digital assets, and 13% are ready to purchase them in the coming year. Gemini believes that the number of cryptocurrency owners could double within a year. 77% of those surveyed said they would like to learn more about digital currencies, whether they own them or not. Gemini CEO Noah Perlman noted that trading platforms that emphasize user safety make digital currencies more accessible and attractive.

Weiss Ratings did not see the risks associated with ETH

Analysts at Weiss Ratings did not notice any threat to ETH's position from similar projects in the near term. Cryptocoins are often criticized for insufficient bandwidth and rather serious commissions for operations. “Many people say that other blockchains are “ catching up with ETH”, but we are extremely skeptical about that. It's all too reminiscent of 2017, when the self-proclaimed Ethereum killers sacrificed decentralization to be faster and cheaper. We all know how it ended. For many of these projects, the only hope to survive is to become an Ethereum sidechain,” Weiss Ratings analysts wrote on Twitter. Today, the main competitor to Ethereum is Binance Smart Chain. But there are bandwidth issues on this blockchain - recently, the development team of the PancakeSwap exchange reported about the congestion of the BSC network.

The head of BitMEX spoke about the company's plans

The head of BitMEX, Alexander Heptner, allowed the company to enter an IPO, invest in SPAC or issue tokens. It is about implementing a new platform strategy. BitMEX is ready to go beyond the usual business by adding spot trading, broker services, custodial services, and information products to the platform. The platform is poised to become "one of the world's largest regulated crypto derivatives exchanges and a powerful catalyst for change in the financial services industry." “I joined BitMEX at the beginning of the year with a very specific mission to help expand the focus on crypto derivatives and beyond. It's time to actively build up our user base,” said Alex Hoptner, CEO of the crypto exchange.

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Economist: BTC already consumes more electricity than the Netherlands

Italian economist Fabio Panetta is confident that mining digital currencies carries risks for ensuring environmental safety. A member of the board of the European Central Bank believes that "colossal electricity consumption" and carbon emissions from the mining of crypto assets can negatively affect socio-economic development. The ECB notes that due to the pandemic, the volume of carbon dioxide emissions has decreased. But experts say this has a temporary effect. Panetta believes that cryptocurrency mining poses a potential threat to international environmental security. “Bitcoin alone is already consuming more electricity than the Netherlands. Controlling and limiting the environmental impact of crypto assets, including through regulation and taxation, should be part of the global discussion,” Panetta said.

eBay users will be able to trade NFT

The e-commerce platform eBay has released a statement that its users can now buy and sell non-fungible tokens on the site. NFT can be operated by “eBay-compliant sellers”, and anyone can purchase tokens. All transactions will be in US dollars, with many other platforms suggesting using Ethereum. A significant part of the non-fungible tokens presented on the site is created on the basis of WAX. Because of this, sellers offer buyers to create a wallet in this network to receive NFT. "In the coming months, eBay will add new capabilities that bring blockchain-driven collectibles to our platform," said Jordan Sweetnam, senior vice president and manager of North American Marketplace for eBay.

Crypto enthusiast announces a possible drop of BTC below $50,000

The main cryptocurrency price may fall below the $50,000 level. This is probably due to the decrease in the number of "whale" addresses to the minimum since this year. This point of view was expressed by Pankaj Balani, the head of the cryptocurrency platform Delta. According to Glassnode, the number of addresses that store at least 1000 bitcoins dropped to 1943. The negative trend has been traced since the first decade of February when a record high of 2237 addresses was recorded. “The data looks bearish, as it shows a clear trend of whales offloading their holdings,” Balani is sure.

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Anthony Scaramucci advises investing in bitcoins up to 3% of the investment portfolio

SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci believes that the main cryptocurrency is still an asset that should be in an investment portfolio. According to him, it is still difficult to convince many investors to pay attention to BTC. The head of SkyBridge Capital advises investing relatively little money in bitcoin. According to the entrepreneur, BTC is the only crypto-coin that has reached “space speed”. “As an investment adviser and someone who’s been running money for 30-plus years, it’s responsible of me to tell my clients to own 1%, 2% or 3%. I’m not telling them you’ve got to own 100% of your net worth in it - but if we’re right, you don’t want to be missing out on this," Scaramucci said.

Losses of traders because of BTC fall reach $2.4 billion

As a result of the collapse of the first cryptocurrency coin, traders lost about $2.4 billion. In 24 hours, cryptocurrency exchanges forcibly closed the positions of 304 thousand users, analysts of the bybt service noted. The market collapse was preceded by another post by Elon Musk on Twitter. In it, he criticized the main cryptocurrency. “Bitcoin is actually highly centralized, with supermajority controlled by handful of big mining (aka hashing) companies. A single coal mine in Xinjiang flooded, almost killing miners, and Bitcoin hash rate dropped 35%. Sound “decentralized” to you?” Musk wrote on May 16. However, on May 17, in response to a barrage of criticism, the entrepreneur hastened to "refute the speculation”, saying that "Tesla has not sold a single bitcoin."

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Poll: over 50% of Australians think that Elon Musk is the creator of BTC

According to a survey of Finder website users, 56% of Australians believe Elon Musk is the creator of Bitcoin. They had never heard of Satoshi Nakamoto. The study involved over a thousand Australian residents. Many of those surveyed do not know that the Bitcoin supply is limited to 21 million cryptocoins. 44% of respondents are sure that the number of BTC is not limited. In addition, 25% of survey participants said they have already purchased cryptocurrency or intend to do so by the end of the year. However, about 20% of respondents do not know how to do this.

German politician advocates restricting bitcoin miners

Sven Giegold, a politician from Germany, considers it necessary to pass a law that limits the consumption of electricity by bitcoin miners. The deputy calls for the introduction of appropriate restrictions on the territory of the European Union. “As long as cryptocurrencies were small sandbox games, there was no need for regulation, and it was necessary to give innovative technologies room for development. But if something becomes ecologically damaging on the scale of mining cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, then you have to intervene,'' the politician said. According to Giegold, carbon dioxide emissions from BTC miners are a threat to the German economy. The MEP stressed that the regulation of the cryptocurrency mining industry lags far behind the development of this industry.

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American GameStop Network to launch an NFT-related project

The American network for the sale of game consoles, computer games, and game accessories GameStop will launch an Ethereum platform for NFT tokens. The exact date of the platform launch has not yet been disclosed. “We are building a team. We welcome exceptional engineers (solidity, react, python), designers, gamers, marketers, and community leaders,” the company's announcement, which is posted on the site's website, says. Probably, the target audience of the project will be not only players and developers, but also potential NFT collectors. There is also a slogan on the site: “Power to the players. Power to the creators. Power to the collectors."

Canadian regulator accuses Poloniex of illegal asset trading

The Ontario Securities and Exchange Commission has sued the popular crypto platform Poloniex. OSC believes that the exchange is carrying out illegal trading in stocks and derivatives. In early spring of this year, it became known that companies conducting operations with cryptoassets in Canada are required to register as investment dealers. Until April 19, such companies had to contact the regulator to warn of possible sanctions against them. 70 platforms applied to OSC, some of which were registered outside Canada, but Poloniex was not among them. Now the platform faces a large fine, as well as a ban on trading in securities.

Wharton School of Business talks about the possibilities of decentralized finance

DeFi has the potential to transform the global financial market. According to experts at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, such assets can be used in insurance, lending, capital management, the development of decentralized exchanges, and the issuance of stablecoins. In addition, the use of DeFi is possible when running "ancillary services" such as wallets and oracles. Decentralized finance can help alleviate market pressures, transaction costs, and asset allocation costs. However, business school experts have also pointed out the disadvantages of DeFi. For example, these are frequent cases of fraud, an uncertain attitude of regulators towards such assets, and immaturity of the technology.

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The head of the Japanese regulator speaks out against bitcoin

The volatility of the main cryptocurrency is "excessively high". This opinion was voiced by the Governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda. “Most of the trading in the cryptocurrency industry is speculation on excessive volatility. It is unlikely that Bitcoin can be used as a means of payment, ” Kuroda said. But he treats stablecoins differently. According to the Governor of the Central Bank, if stablecoins meet the standards of regulators and have "sound government practices", then in the future they will turn out to be a convenient payment instrument.

Ray Dalio considers the first cryptocurrency to be an alternative currency

Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, is convinced that a clear distinction needs to be made between “digitized” money and alternative digital currencies. At the same time, he called the main crypto-coin an alternative currency. “Bitcoin is an alternative currency compared to digitalization,” the entrepreneur said. In his opinion, the digital yuan can become a competitor to BTC, but the state digital currency will not be able to conquer the crypto market. At the same time, the digital dollar will be stable and competitive, the businessman believes.

In the UK, the bank has banned customers from sending funds to crypto exchanges

In the UK, Starling Bank has imposed a temporary ban on its clients from sending funds to crypto trading platforms. The reason is the high risks associated with online financial crime. However, Starling clients still have the ability to withdraw funds from cryptocurrency exchanges to bank accounts without any restrictions. Starling plans to lift the ban after the end of special checks, which will oblige the bank's customers to transfer funds to crypto platforms. Starling's initiative is not yet widespread. For example, the world's largest bank Barclays issued a message stating that it does not plan to impose a ban on customers from making deposits on crypto exchanges.

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Coinbase Pro to add DOGE to listing

Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase Pro has released a statement on plans to add dogecoin to the listing. Clients of the exchange can already transfer cryptocoins to their accounts. That being said, DOGE should start trading at 09:00 PT tomorrow, June 3. This will happen if the conditions that relate to liquidity are met. Coinbase Pro users will be offered DOGE pairs against the US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, USDT and BTC. Against the backdrop of this news, the Dogecoin rate has increased by 32% over the past 24 hours, according to Coinmarketcap data. The DOGE price is $0.42.

Goldman Sachs draws a parallel between BTC and copper

Goldman Sachs’s Global Head of Commodities Research Jeff Curry believes that bitcoin does not fit the common concept of digital gold. According to the expert, BTC is more like copper. “Digital currencies are not substitutes for gold. If anything, they would be a substitute for copper, they are pro-risk, risk-on assets. They are substitue for risk on inflation hedges not risk off inflation hedges,” Curry said. The economist believes that bitcoin correlates with the business cycle, as it is linked to its payment system. Curry believes that BTC, like copper, is an effective defense against "good inflation" arising from growing demand. But gold is hedging against the "bad inflation" caused by the increase in supply.

Guggenheim Partners creates a fund to invest in the first cryptocurrency

Guggenheim Partners, which manages more than $350 billion in assets, is launching an investment fund for Bitcoin transactions. The new structure will focus on maximizing profits "by combining current income and capital gains." The portfolio of the Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund will consist of a large list of securities, which are planned to be diversified through an “alternative investment pool”. “The Fund may seek investment exposure to cryptocurrency (notably, Bitcoin), often referred to as «virtual currency» or «digital currency,» through cash settled derivatives instruments, such as cash settled exchange traded futures, or through investment vehicles that offer exposure to Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies through direct investments or indirect exposure such as derivatives contracts,” the company's prospectus says.

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Ruffer Investments earned $ 1.1 Billion on bitcoin

Wealth management company Ruffer Investments has announced significant profits after investing in the purchase of the first crypto coin. The firm acquired BTC for $600 million back in November 2020. It has now become known that the British company has completely sold its crypto assets. The cumulative profit after the sale exceeded $1.1 billion. “When the price doubled we took some profits for our clients in December and early January. We actively managed the position and by the time we sold the last tranche in April the total profit was slightly more than $1,1 billion,” Hamish Bailey, the investment director of Ruffer, said.

Singapore authorities record an increase in investment in fintech

Sopnendu Mohanti, the Financial Technology Director of the Singapore Monetary Authority, is confident that a significant inflow of investments in the fintech industry is expected in 2021. This should happen as part of Singapore's consolidation of its position as a regional financial center. Mohanti said investments in fintech companies have increased from about $20 million in 2014 to $1.1 billion in 2020. In his opinion, in 2021, local authorities expect even greater growth. “We don’t have Silicon Valley, but we are trying our best. The environment the country is building enables these fintech players to find opportunities to see if their early ideas translate into real value in the long run,” MAS fintech director said.

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El Salvador approves BTC as legal means of payment

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved a bill on the legalization of BTC, in which the president of the state proposed to make the crypto coin an official means of payment, on a par with the American dollar. The legislative initiative was supported by 62 out of 84 possible deputies, 17 opposed, one parliamentarian abstained. The draft law will enter into force 90 days after publication in the official government media. If the initiative of the head of the country Nayib Bukele is approved, bitcoin will be the official payment instrument in El Salvador. Information about this appeared in the politician's microblog.

Coinseed stops working

Cryptocurrency investment app Coinseed is suspended due to a lawsuit from the New York State Attorney's Office. Earlier, the department filed a lawsuit against the crypto project, accusing the platform of fraud and deceiving users for $1 million. The prosecutor's office believes that about 2 years ago, the top management of Coinseed conducted an unregistered ICO. In addition, the platform's management applied hidden fees and attracted investors with implausible promises. Coinseed CEO Delgerdalai Davaasambuu said the service had received no complaints from users. At the same time, the prosecutor's office said that since the filing of the claim, the department received more than 170 complaints about the crypto project.

CFTC Commissioner: "DeFi derivatives may be illegal in the US"

The Commissioner for the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission believes that some DeFi products may be illegal on US soil. CFTC Commissioner Dan Berkowitz said DeFi markets, such as for futures contracts, may be illegal due to US law. These are the provisions of the American Mercantile Exchange Act. “DeFi markets, platforms, or websites are not registered as DCMs or SEFs. The CEA does not contain any exception from registration for digital currencies, blockchains, or «smart contracts, ”said the CFTC Commissioner.

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Founder of Tudor Investment Corporation is ready to invest in bitcoins

The founder of the hedge fund Tudor Investment Corporation Paul Tudor Jones intends to invest part of his capital in bitcoins. The American billionaire said he prefers to invest in "something reliable, consistent, honest and definite," and the first cryptocurrency has these characteristics. “The only thing I know for certain, I want 5% in gold, 5% in bitcoin, 5% in cash, 5% in commodities. At this point in time, I don’t know what I want to do with the other 80% until I see what the Fed is going to do,” Jones said. The Fed will meet this week to discuss forecasts for interest rates and inflation. Depending on the further actions of the regulator, Jones admitted that he could invest more in digital assets.

The Netherlands calls for a ban on BTC

Pieter Hasekamp, head of the Dutch Bureau of Economic Analysis at the Ministry of Economy and Climate Policy, believes that local authorities are obliged to introduce a complete ban on mining, storing, and trading the main cryptocurrency. He is confident that bitcoin cannot be used as a unit of account, payment instrument, and storage medium. The official believes that the Netherlands is currently lagging behind other states in terms of its policy of containing the growth in popularity of digital currencies. Hasekamp cited China as an example, where they had previously called for tight control over the circulation of cryptocurrency assets in the country. “Dutch regulators have tried to tighten supervision of marketplaces, but without much success. The Central Planning Bureau pointed to the risks of cryptocurrency trading in 2018, but concluded that stricter regulation is not needed yet, ” Hasekamp added.

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General Motors may start selling cars for bitcoin

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the auto giant could start selling its cars for BTC. According to her, this is possible if such a need arises among the company's clients. “Nothing prevents us from doing this. We will be guided by the wishes of our customers,” Barra said. Earlier, the media wrote that Tesla abandoned the idea of selling its cars for bitcoins. Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O'Leary said Tesla shareholders had a significant impact on the decision to refuse to accept payments in BTC.

John McAfee claims to have lost his cryptocurrency fortune

American businessman John McAfee, who is in a Spanish prison, said that he had lost his fortune in cryptocurrencies, and other assets of the entrepreneur were confiscated. In the US, McAfee faces legal proceedings related to allegations of tax evasion, money laundering, and market manipulation. “The US believes I have hidden crypto. I wish I did but it has dissolved through the many hands of Team McAfee (your belief is not required), and my remaining assets are all seized. My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing," McAfee wrote on Twitter.

CEO of Pantera Capital is confident that the time has come to buy BTC

Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead spoke about the fall in the cryptocurrency market and the resulting panic. According to the entrepreneur, this is a great opportunity to buy bitcoins. In a letter to investors, Morehead noted that it is necessary to buy digital currencies, like any other asset, when the markets are "below trend." In the case of BTC, now is a good period for its acquisition - bitcoin was so “cheap relative to the trend” only 20.3% of the time during its entire existence. The investor believes that the significant increase in the rate of the main cryptocurrency in the last year is not evidence that bitcoin is overvalued. “The year-on-year return never went literally off-the-chart like in past peaks. It’s currently trading at 281% year-on-year — which seems entirely plausible given the money printing that has occurred in that period,” Morehead said.

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Goldman Sachs urges not to invest in bitcoin

Goldman Sachs analysts believe that investment in digital assets cannot be called “viable”, but cryptocurrencies are suitable for speculation in the market. The investment bank is confident that despite the increasing interest of people in digital currencies, investing in them is still risky. Analysts at Goldman Sachs noted that serious fluctuations in the crypto market scare off potential investors. And the conflicting opinions of industry participants about cryptocurrencies simply confuse many Goldman Sachs clients interested in acquiring such assets. “As Bitcoin soared to new highs over the past year, many wondered if they should invest in it. Now, a team at Goldman Sachs is telling retail investors that the digital currency isn’t worthy of most portfolios — at least not yet, ”the analysts of the investment bank are sure.

Beijing residents will be able to exchange cash for digital yuan at more than 3,000 ATMs

The Metropolitan Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has added the function of converting the yuan to and from the digital version. This opportunity can now be used in more than 3,000 ATMs. In addition, the Agricultural Bank of China has added a similar option. So far, it is available only on 10 devices located in Beijing. The initiative of the capital branches of banks indicates that the development and testing of the digital yuan is underway. Earlier, several Chinese cities tested the state cryptocurrency, when citizens received digital yuan to make purchases.

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Miner spoke about the "solvency" of bitcoin

Restrictive measures in relation to the production of the main cryptocurrency should be taken positively, as they confirm the "solvency" of bitcoin. This was stated by the miner Brandon Arvanagi, who previously worked as a security engineer for Gemini. Arvanagi believes that now the authorities of various states are forming a consensus on BTC. And the tightening of the Chinese government's policy on mining and digital currency trading could prove to be a positive factor in the medium to long term. Former security engineer Gemini said that the role of the People’s Republic of China will be transferred to the United States, where the mining of cryptocurrencies is capable of becoming a large industry. He believes that Texas and Florida can offer favorable terms for miners. A similar opinion is shared by the head of Facebook Financial, David Marcus, who, commenting on news from China, said that this is "a great development in the history of bitcoin."

ARK Investment Management invested in BTC, after which the crypto coin began to grow

ARK Investment Management invested in the first cryptocurrency. This became known on June 22, when the BTC price dropped to $28,800. The investment company has acquired over a million shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. We would like to remind the readers that on June 22, the value of the main crypto coin for the first time since January 2021 fell below $30,000. The market capitalization of BTC, according to CoinGecko, fell to $554 billion. However, after the news of the ARK Investment investment, bitcoin rose by more than 11%. Today, June 23, according to Coinmarketcap, the cost of BTC is $34'921.

SEC accuses Loci crypto project of fraud

The SEC has accused the head of the Loci crypto project, John Wise, of illegally selling digital assets and defrauding investors. According to the regulator, the startup and its top management raised $7.6 million thanks to the illegal sale of LOCICoin tokens. The SEC believes that Wise spent about $38,000 of the investment received for personal needs. “Loci and its CEO misled investors regarding critical aspects of Loci’s business. Investors in digital asset securities are entitled to truthful information and fulsome disclosures so they can make informed investment decisions,” Kristina Littman, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit, said. As a result, the crypto project destroyed all LOCICoins and will not participate in similar token sales in the future. In addition, the company will have to return $7.6 million to investors.

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The Fed is concerned about the growing popularity of stablecoins amid the lack of regulation of this market

Boston Federal Reserve Bank Governor Eric Rosengren has raised concerns about the risks associated with Tether to the soundness of the financial market. According to the official, USDT has become a "new problem" in the short-term lending markets. “The reason I talked about tether and stable coins is if you look at their portfolio, it basically looks like a portfolio of a prime money market fund but maybe riskier. We actually had a stablecoin that ran into financial difficulties last week. Tether, as you highlighted, has a number of assets that, during the pandemic, the spread got quite wide on those assets,” Eric Rosengren said. He noted that stablecoins are already playing a significant role in the modern economy. However, the absence of a significant degree of regulation of this industry can be dangerous for all players in the financial market.

British regulator has decided to complicate the work of Binance

The British Financial Conduct Authority issued a warning to top managers at Binance, which states that the crypto exchange is not allowed to conduct regulated activities in the country. Because of this, the local division of the company got in a deplorable situation. The FCA ruling states that Binance cannot carry out any activity requiring licensing without the consent of the regulator. Since the company goes through the registration procedure in the authority, it has no right to provide unregulated services, for example, the ability to conduct transactions in the derivatives market. In addition, the management demanded that the company stop advertising campaigns launched earlier in the country in the coming days. Until June 30, the crypto exchange is obliged to warn its customers about the FCA restrictions on the site.

Mexican entrepreneur announces approval of major crypto coin

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego said that the Banco Azteca he created will become the first bank in the country to accept BTC. The entrepreneur wrote about this on Twitter. “Sure, I recommend the use of bitcoin, and me and my bank are working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept bitcoin,” Salinas said. According to the businessman, bitcoin is "an asset that should be part of every investor's portfolio." Salinas noted the value of BTC, "which is traded with huge liquidity on a global level."

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US Senator approves bitcoin usage

Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said she invested in a major cryptocurrency to secure future retirement. In addition, she encourages to follow her example. According to Lummis, BTC is great for long-term and retirement savings. She noted that she now owns 5 bitcoins, at the same time she purchased the first BTC at a cost of $330. “I worry about having all of our retirement monies denominated in U.S. dollars. So as part of diversification, having a very diverse asset allocation, so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket, I think one of the strongest stores of value for the long run is bitcoin, ”said Lummis.

Europe should prioritize digital asset regulation

The head of the Central Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau is confident that the EU must make the regulation of digital currencies a priority. Otherwise, it will threaten the financial sovereignty of Europe. François Villeroy de Galhau said the EU "only has one or two years" to create a regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency market. In his opinion, inaction could "undermine our monetary sovereignty" and potentially weaken the euro. “I want to stress the urgency of regulating cryptoassets. We do not have much time left – just one or two years,” Villeroy de Galhau said.

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Messari analysts are confident in the superiority of the USDC in the near future

Analysts at Messari concluded that USDC's popularity on ETH has grown much faster this year than Tether's. Experts believe that USDC has every chance of becoming the dominant stablecoin on ETH. The study found that interest in USD Coin increased so much that stablecoin was able to absorb a significant portion of USDT's market share. Messari believes that in the short term, this may contribute to a decrease in the share of Tether among stablecoins on ETH. Messari analyst Ryan Watkins noted that more than 40% of the stablecoins on ETH are in USDC. “Although this percentage is not as high as DAI, USDC leads by a wide margin in dollar terms and has become the preferred stablecoin in DeFi for now,” the analyst concluded.

Analyst predicts bitcoin recovery

Well-known cryptanalyst Willie Woo said that the market has not yet become "bearish". He believes that in the near future the rate of the main cryptocurrency will recover, as evidenced by the data of the blockchain performance indicators. Woo pointed out that long-term investors are now busy accumulating assets in BTC. They buy off bitcoins against the backdrop of a fall in the rate of a crypto coin. “The ‘Rick Astley’ is the holder that keeps buying and never tends to sell much ... And of course Rick was very active over 2021, and then suddenly all the coins moved away from Rick to the weak hands — the speculative traders that buy and sell. Now we’re seeing that cross back into moving to Rick," Willie Woo said, hinting at the hit of the singer Rick Astley "Never Let You Down".

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Binance is looking to hire ‘UK Version of Brian Brooks’

Binance is attempting to hire a former regulator or government official in the U.K. in order to lend the brand some compliance clout as global regulatory pressure mounts on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange operator, according to two people familiar with the plans. Binance is looking to hire “a U.K. version of Brian Brooks,” one of the people told CoinDesk, referring to the well-regarded former head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) who was brought in to run Binance.US in April of this year. The search for a respected former regulator to represent Binance’s interests in the U.K. follows an announcement last month by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which said that Binance was not allowed to conduct any regulated activities in the country. As a result of the FCA’s action, British bank Barclays said earlier this week it was blocking customers from using its debit and credit cards to make payments to Binance.

Bitcoin miner revenue jumps by 50% in 4 days since record difficulty drop

Bitcoin miner revenue jumped after the network saw its biggest-ever difficulty drop. According to figures from monitoring resource Blockchain.com, daily revenues have surged by over 50%. Bitcoin mining is currently in a unique state of flux — around half of the hashing power is offline as miners relocate from China, and it remains unknown how quickly they will be able to come back online. At the same time, those miners unaffected by the Chinese rout have seen half their competitors disappear overnight, and profitability has gone up as a result. With data now coming in for the past few weeks, the scale of the changes is plain to see. Daily mining revenue was around $20.7 million on Friday, the day before the difficulty adjustment. A day later, it hit $29.3 million, and by Tuesday this week — $31.9 million.

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Guardtime: regulators from various countries have significantly accelerated the development of their own cryptocurrencies

According to Guardtime, which works in the blockchain field, central banks from various countries have significantly accelerated the development of their own cryptocurrencies amid the pandemic. Experts believe that in the near future, at least one country will issue its digital currency. According to Luukas Ilves, head of strategy at Guardtime, "competition for the launch of state-owned cryptocurrencies is increasing, and the coronavirus has not only accelerated digitalization, but also changed the use of money by the population." Lockdown has sparked the growth of the online payments market, which is where CBDCs are most applicable. “The development of CBDCs has been accelerated by up to five years. There is also no doubt in our mind that a major central bank will soon launch a digital currency and we expect this to happen within the next three years, ” Guardtime analysts said.

The Bogdanov brothers announced that they had participated in the development of the first crypto coin

Former Russian-born theoretical physicists and TV presenters Igor and Grigory Bogdanov stated that they were personally acquainted with Satoshi Nakamoto. In addition, they claim to have been involved in the development of the first cryptocurrency. The Bogdanovs noted that they once collaborated with François Mizzi, who created the touchscreen. The scientist Soichiro Shimod worked in his laboratory, who is "related to a mythical character or group of people" associated with Nakamoto. According to the brothers, they often discussed the concept of digital currency with Shimod. The Bogdanovs also noted that in 2008 Nakamoto gave them two "first bitcoins in physical form." “As mathematicians, we were able to take part in the development of the Bitcoin source code, including the forecasting code,” the Bogdanovs said on the air of the French TV show Non-Stop People.

Bitcoin may fall to $10,000

Scott Minerd, investment director of Guggenheim Partners, believes that the BTC rate may fall to $ 10.000. He is confident that for now, traders do not need to buy bitcoins. “When we look at the history of crypto and we look at where we are, I mean, I really do believe this is probably a crash, and you know a crash would mean we’d be down 70-80% which, let’s just say that’s between 10 and 15 thousand," Minerd said. At the end of last year, Guggenheim Partners predicted a rise in the price of the first crypto coin to $400,000. And in early 2021, Scott Minerd confirmed the prediction but advised investors to fix some of the profits.

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FTX BTC exchange may buy the biggest BTC beneficiaries

The CEO of the FTX crypto exchange announced that he could buy the American giants of the conservative financial market as soon as he overtakes competitors like Coinbase and Binance. The head of the Bankman-Freed platform said this in his last interview. “If we are the largest exchange, [the purchase of Goldman Sachs and CME Group] is not ruled out at all,” he said. Earlier, FTX reported about raising about $1 billion. It was expected that with these investments, the project's estimate would rise to $20 billion.

Glassnode: "BTC rate stabilization is the calm before the storm"

The price of the main cryptocurrency has been in the range between $30,000 and $35,000 for several weeks now. Glassnode experts have announced the reasons that can push the price of BTC up. Analysts believe that after the movement of miners from the China abroad, the hashrate of the BTC network began to recover. After the recent peak hashrate decline of 55% from the maximum, this figure has grown by 39%. Analysts believe that the overall market sentiment may depend on the rate of recovery of the computing power of the BTC network. It will take the pressure off the sellers of mining equipment.

ECB approves transition to research stage of digital euro

The initiative became relevant about two years ago. And at the end of 2020, the ECB published a report on this topic. In November, its chairman, Christine Lagarde, said that the digital euro could appear in four years. “It has been nine months since we published our report on a digital euro. In that time, we have carried out further analysis, sought input from citizens and professionals, and conducted some experiments, with encouraging results. All of this has led us to decide to move up a gear and start the digital euro project,” Lagarde said. The regulator believes that the digital euro will help in the fight against illegal activity and will not create an undesirable impact on financial stability and monetary policy. CBDC will complement, but not replace, cash

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CEO MicroStrategy advised ‘The Iron’ Mike Tyson about crypto investments

The former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson asked his followers on Twitter whether they would prefer BTC of ETH. In response, he received advice from the head of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor. “Mike, I spent more than a thousand hours considering this question and chose bitcoin. So far, I have purchased $2.9 billion in BTC because I think it's the future of digital property,” ??? MicroStrategy said. CEO OKEx Jay Hao has given his response, publishing a mem-post that there is no need to choose if you have both in your pocks. The famous podcast host about the first cryptocurrency, Peter McCormack, jokingly asked Tyson what he would choose, comparing BTC to boxing and ETH to WWE.

AAVE is developing an analogue of Twitter based on the Ethereum blockchain

The developers of the DeFi protocol Aave are working on a Twitter analogue. It is planned that the social network will operate based on the Ethereum blockchain. The project may face green light even this year. According to AAVE CEO Stani Kulechov, users would have options to monetize their content. There is also a statement from the developer's team that the new project would solve some pressing issues of social networks. For example, AAVE wants to exclude any censoring issues. On the other hand, the Block analyst Larry Chermak believes that a social network based on ETH is a dead born project. The analyst insists that the ETH blockchain would be just overloaded without any chance. Besides, Chermak points every social network needs to be censored. Otherwise, it might become a place for posting forbidden and illegal content.

Crypto platform Anchorage stated how large investors reacted to the fall of the crypto market

The constant fall of the crypto market did not significantly impact the plans of the teams involved in projects in the crypto industry. Also, as the head of the Anchorage cryptobank Diogo Monica noted, large investors began to invest more in cryptocurrencies, including decentralized financial services. “They probably see [the current crypto market situation] as a great entry point if they are investors. For most of our clients, who are simply developing industry projects, nothing has changed,” Monica pointed. According to CEO Anchorage words, “there is no project which took a pause and got lowered priority due to any price changes in the market”. He also stated that many prominent investors are aiming at the investment vector from 10 to 20 years.

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Crypto funds reject any cooperation with Binance exchange

Several cryptocurrency funds stopped working with Binance at once. According to mass media, this case is a direct consequence of international regulator’s complaints to the Binance. “Our mission is preventing clients from uncertainty, which is based on the idea of current tightening of screws by the financial authorities of many countries”, — notes Ed Hindi, co-founder of Tyr Capital crypto fund. According to CEO ARK Ulrik Lykke, all problems Binance faced are the “wake-up call for all players with large holdings on the Binance exchange. Previously, regulators in Singapore, Thailand and the Cayman Islands initiated an audit of the legality of Binance's operations in these countries. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has stated that the Binance Group entities are not licensed. In addition, Barclays and Santander UK have suspended operations with the crypto platform.

Anonymous Source: Amazon may start accepting Bitcoins by the end of 2021

The media, citing an anonymous source, posts that Amazon will add support for payments to BTC. This could happen as early as the end of 2021. “This isn’t just going through the motions to set up cryptocurrency payment solutions at some point in the future – this is a full-on, well-discussed, integral part of the future mechanism of how Amazon will work,” the source told City AM. According to its words, Amazon is on its way to add other popular digital currencies. The insider insists the initiative is going from Amazon's leadership, even from Jeff Bezos, and the whole project is on the final straight. “The next would be Ethereum, Cardano ? Bitcoin Cash, and right after that Amazon may add about 8 cryptocurrencies” — notes the source of City A.M. With the latest background about Amazon, a popular Twitter blogger with the nickname CryptoCobain wrote that it was him to deceive the "silly crypto-journalist" and became the source of rumours about its plans to accept payments in BTC. However, Amazon's interest in the cryptocurrency industry is evidenced by the recent post of a blockchain and digital currency specialist vacancy on the trading platform's website. The applicant for the position must have experience in the crypto sphere and the digital currencies of regulators.

Bobby Lee insists China is closing to full BTC dismissing

One of the first Chinese BTC enthusiasts, Bobby Lee, is confident that the Chinese authorities are able to increase pressure on the cryptocurrency industry and impose a complete ban on Bitcoin ownership. “The next thing they could do, the final straw, would be something like banning cryptocurrency altogether. When Bitcoin goes to $500,000, $1 million, China might ban Bitcoin altogether when people are no longer allowed to hold it,” — Bobby Lee said. On his opinion, such prohibition possibility spreads across the “50 on 50” scheme. Besides, Lee notes that the Chinese government would take such “unregulated and volatile assets” away from the citizen’s pockets to create financial stability.

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For the first time, MasterCard would support cryptocurrency projects

MasterCard has started an updated Start Path program aimed to support crypto startups working with blockchain. The company has already chosen 7 startups from different countries. “One of our main goals is to arrive the future of cryptocurrency, so we do, connecting strong financial principles with innovations”, notes Jess Turner, Mastercard Executive Vice President, Digital Infrastructure and Fintech. The Start Path participants will get access to multiply tools and innovations of MasterCard for scaling their own innovative products. It also lets companies start mutual pilot projects with the worldwide payment system. Besides, the participants would retain their intellectual property rights.

A large investor predicts further BTC crushing

Mark Mobius, the founder of Mobius Capital Partners, believes any form of regulation would harm any furthers BTC developments. He notes, “the governments regain its pressure on the whole crypto industry”. That is why many projects appear right now until it is not too late to use possible opportunities, the investor believes. In his opinion, for now, BTC is held by two elephants, called a great sums infusion from and excitement around BTC, which is wrong compared with gold. “I'm hesitant to condemn it because so many people have faith in it. It's all a matter of belief and faith, rather than a strict interpretation of the numbers,” Mobius said, noting he is not investing in the cryptocurrency at this moment.

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Chinese regulator will continue to pressure the cryptocurrency market

The People's Bank of China intends to continue to exert regulatory pressure on the digital currency trading industry. The bank came to such conclusions following a working conference of the structure, which was devoted to the results of the first 6 months and goals for the second half of 2021. The People’s Bank of China wants to tighten the regulation of Internet finance sites. In addition, the regulator intends to suppress illegal operations with cryptocurrencies. The People's Bank of China also plans to promote green digital asset transactions to minimize carbon emissions.

The U.S. official considers it necessary to accelerate the development of the local state cryptocurrency

Lael Brainard, who is on the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve, considers it necessary to speed up the process of creating a state digital currency. In her opinion, the country lags behind other states in the development of the digital dollar. “The dollar is very dominant in international payments, and if you have the other major jurisdictions in the world with a digital currency, a CBDC offering, and the U.S. doesn't have one, I just, I can't wrap my head around that. That just doesn't sound like a sustainable future to me.” Brainard said. The Fed spokesman believes that one of the key prerequisites for the digital dollar is the growing popularity of stablecoins. Brainard fears that the issuance of stable cryptocoins, which are controlled by individuals and companies, could provoke a "fragmentation of the payment system."

Jack Dorsey's fintech project invests in an installment service from Australia

Square, founded by Jack Dorsey, is gearing up to buy Afterpay, an Australian installment platform. In exchange for shares of the service, Square will pay in its own shares worth $29 billion. Afterpay offers the sale of goods in installments. The company operates in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the project brand operates in European countries under the Clearpay brand. The parties intend to carry out the deal in the first quarter of next year. After that, the service will be integrated by Dorsey into its own acquiring system and the Cash App Square mobile application.

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Bitcoin SV network suffers from 51% attack

Bitcoin SV suffered from a 51% attack, which resulted in criminals gaining control of the network. About one hundred blocks and 570 thousand cryptocurrency transactions were compromised. “BSV is going through a massive 51% attack. After an attempted attack yesterday, some serious hashing power was unleashed today at 11:46AM and attackers are succeeding. Over a dozen blocks are being reorgd & up to 3 versions of the chain being mined simultaneously across pools," CoinMetrics network data product manager Lucas Nuzzi wrote on Twitter. He also noted that there is no data yet on who was behind the attack. CoinMetrics is researching potential criminals in search of "traces of double spending on the stock exchange."

Rothschild Investment Fund invested in Aspen Digital crypto project

Jacob Rothschild's investment fund RIT has invested in the Hong Kong cryptocurrency project Aspen Digital. The company is developing a digital platform for wealthy investors to manage digital assets. RIT Capital Partners has become the lead investor for the $8.8 million round. Aspen Digital will focus on family funds and asset management companies operating in the European Union, Asia and the Middle East. The Hong Kong crypto project will offer consulting services to its clients. In addition, he will take control of compliance with local laws and will bear the operational risks of the counterparty.

US Senator criticizes US Congressional plan for expanded taxation of digital currencies

Pat Toomey, Senator from Pennsylvania, criticized the US Congress initiative to tax digital currencies. According to the politician, the proposals of the legislative body are “unrealizable”. The politician believes that Congress should not rush into "this hastily designed tax reporting regime for cryptocurrency, especially without fully understanding the implications." “Simply put, the text is unworkable. I plan to offer an amendment to fix it,”said Toomey. Senator's criticism was provoked by the definition of a broker. Toomey considered it too broad and noted that it could affect miners, whose activities should be regulated by different regulations. In addition, the politician pointed out the possible difficulties of non-custodial services in fulfilling the proposals of the US Congress.

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Crypto enthusiasts are unhappy with US plans for expanded taxation of digital currencies

Jack Dorsey criticized the plans of the US authorities to introduce an extended taxation regime for digital currencies in the country. The founder of Twitter and Square is confident that the legislative initiative in its current form will hinder the development of innovations. “Forcing reporting rules on Americans who develop software and hardware, who mine and secure the network, or who run nodes to build resilience and efficiencies, is an impossible ask that will only drive development and operation of this critical technology outside the US, ” the entrepreneur said. Dorsey believes that the definition of "broker" within the industry should be narrowed down to platforms where cryptocurrencies are exchanged for fiat. Earlier, the creator of Coinbase Brian Armstrong called the situation related to the plans of the American authorities, "determining our future", and the amendment - "a disaster." He was joined by Tesla founder Elon Musk, who pointed out the absence of objective circumstances, because of which it would be worth adopting such hasty bills.

The expert said about "some kind of enthusiasm in the crypto market"

The price of the main cryptocurrency yesterday, August 8, for the first time since mid-May, rose above $45,000. Bitcoin is up 33% over the past month and 15% over the past seven days, according to data from Coinmarketcap. According to Nikita Soshnikov, head of the Alfacash cryptocurrency exchanger, the prerequisite for the growth of the digital asset market was not only the increased price of BTC, but also the successful London hard fork on the ETH network. The expert is confident that the advancement of Ethereum to protocol 2.0 allowed the altcoin to grow to $ 3'112. “I see an improvement in the emotional component, some kind of enthusiasm in the crypto market. Its participants are tired of the prolonged stagnation and the decline in quotations and are now showing an appetite for growth,” Soshnikov noted.

Alchemy Pay service to release cryptocurrency virtual card

Alchemy Pay, the solution provider for Binance's payment app, will release a virtual card with support for over 40 digital currencies. The card will be valid in all places where Visa and Mastercard are accepted. The company stressed that the owners of the virtual card will be able to link it to the Google Pay and PayPal wallets. Users will also be able to shop on platforms such as Amazon and eBay. The service has already launched beta testing of the project. At the end of 2021, or at the beginning of 2022, the developers want to present the map to the general public.

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The hacker who hacked Poly Network declared his readiness to return the stolen funds

The hacker, who participated in the hacking of the Poly Network project and stealing $611 million, announced his readiness to return the stolen funds. This is how the hacker reacted to the request from the Poly Network team, in which they had asked the criminals to return the stolen assets. The founders of the project said that the hackers committed the largest theft in the history of DeFi, so the authorities of various states are initiating their prosecution. Afterwards, the attacker made a statement, embedding it in an ETH transaction, which he sent to himself. In another message, he wrote that he could not contact the Poly Network team and asked for a wallet address to return the stolen funds. As a result, representatives of the crypto project created three wallets. According to media reports, the hacker has already made the first payments in the amount of more than 1 million USDC. In addition, the attacker sent $1.1 million in BTCB token, $2 million in Shiba Inu and over $622,000 in FEI stablecoin. We would like to remind our readers that on August 10, there was the largest hack in the history of decentralized finance. The Poly Network team has publicly asked miners and cryptocurrency exchanges to blacklist tokens coming from the addresses of the thieves.

Cardano rises sharply amid the upcoming hard fork

Cardano's price has surged 11% between August 10 and August 11 to $1.77, according to data from Coinmarketcap. This happened against the background of the statement of the creator of the project, Charles Hoskinson, about the announcement of the launch date for smart contracts as part of the Alonzo Purple update. “We will know the final date based on the feedback we receive from exchanges, EMURGO and other partners who need to integrate,” Hoskinson said during a live broadcast on YouTube. The developers also claim that the hard fork will add smart contract functionality to the blockchain. Thanks to Alonzo Purple, it will be possible to create DeFi applications.

PayPal-related payment service added cashback in digital currencies

Now, credit cardholders who use Venmo's payment service can convert their monthly cashback to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Interestingly, the service is owned by Paypal. According to its own data, Venmo's usual commissions for the purchase of digital currencies can vary from 0.5% to 2.3% of the total transaction amount, however, there is no commission under the new Cash Back to Crypto program. At the same time, according to the terms of the program, it will not be possible to withdraw the cryptocurrency to external wallets. “We are delighted to introduce this new level of interoperability on the Venmo platform by linking our Venmo credit card to cryptocurrencies. We provide our customers with another way to spend and manage their money with Venmo,” said Venmo General Manager Darrell Ash.

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American billionaire says digital currencies are "a limited supply of nothing"

An investor and trader who rose to prominence after the mortgage crisis in 2008, John Paulson, sees digital currency as a bubble. In his opinion, the crypto market "will ultimately turn out to be useless." Paulson advised against investing in cryptocurrencies. “Cryptocurrencies are a bubble. I would describe them as a limited supply of nothing. So to the extent there’s more demand than the limited supply, the price would go up. But to the extent the demand falls, then the price would go down. There’s no intrinsic value to any of the cryptocurrencies except that there’s a limited amount,” said Paulson. Earlier, the chief investment strategist of Bank of America, Michael Hartnett, expressed the opinion that BTC is "the worst of the bubbles." According to him, the rapid rise in the bitcoin rate is the result of speculative mania.

Cream Finance project accused of exit scam

Representatives of the Cream Finance cryptocurrency project announced that the platform was hacked and funds were stolen. However, participants in the digital asset market believe that this could be an exit scam. This is the project's second attack this year. Cream Finance claims that hackers have compromised the platform's DeFi protocol security. According to preliminary data, criminals stole more than 418 thousand AMP tokens and 1.3 thousand ETH. Thus, there were stolen totaling $30 million of crypto assets. However, the well-known crypto blogger Mr. Whale is convinced that this is not the case. On his Twitter page, he called Cream Finance's announcement an excuse to cover up the exit scam.

Solana and Gnosis tokens rise in price

The cost of the native Solana token, according to CoinGecko data as of August 30, has risen above the $100 mark. Over the past 24 hours, the coin has risen in price by 4%. The price of another token - Gnosis - this morning made a sharp jump to $418, having risen in price by 42%. After that, the price of the crypto coin began to decline. Gnosis is currently priced at $355. Crypto industry participants associate the rise in the Gnosis rate with the launching of token trading on Binance. Altcoin is available in pairs with BTC, BNB, BUSD and USDT.

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Analysts predict the growth of the Solana token

The price of the Solana token in 2021 has already increased 78 times, however, analysts believe that the value of the crypto coin will continue to grow. The Spartan Group believes that SOL will triple in price. "If $90B is the right valuation for $ADA, then $SOL is easily a 3X from here," Spartan Group analyst wrote on Twitter. Anonymous cryptanalyst Bluntz shared a similar point of view. He believes that according to technical analysis, the price of Solana is capable of reaching the $200 mark and even rising higher. Genesis Capital's head of digital assets and finance, Matt Ballensweig, is also confident that SOL will grow. He pointed to the rather modest capitalization of the token, even at today's prices.

ETH rises above $3,500

On September 1, the cost of Ethereum surpassed the $3,500 mark. This happened for the first time since the fall of the cryptocurrency in May this year. According to Coinmarketcap, ETH was worth $3,535. Over the past 7 days, the coin rate has grown by almost 13%. In early August of this year, the London hard fork took place on the ETH network, which changed the mechanism for calculating commissions for operations. A part of the reward for miners who received it for mining a block is now burned.

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Solana CEO is confident that there are no bubbles in the cryptocurrency market today

Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko believes that currently there are no bubbles in the crypto market. It is noteworthy that the growth rate of the SOL rate is significantly higher than that of most digital currencies. Over the past month, Solana's price has tripled. Some crypto enthusiasts believe in the further growth of this token. “Now is a completely different time and it is not worth comparing the current situation with a bubble. In 2017, the bubble quickly inflated and quickly burst, but since then three years have passed and all this time people have been working, creating various solutions and projects. Now is the time when we have created the infrastructure so that new engineers and developers quickly “merge” into the ecosystem,” Yakovenko believes.

US Senator: cryptocurrencies are the new shadow banks

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren continues to criticize the crypto industry and urges regulators to take control of projects related to digital assets. This is stated in a series of public letters between Senator, SEC head Gary Gensler and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Warren previously called on Yellen for a "coordinated and consistent regulatory strategy to mitigate the growing risks that cryptocurrencies pose to the financial system." In her address, the senator pointed out that "some" digital currencies are very volatile, and the unpredictability of their rate movements can provoke financial instability. Warren is actively promoting the initiative to "ban the holding of cash deposits that provide stablecoins in the United States." She is confident that this could slow down the market boom and reduce interest in such assets. “Crypto is the new shadow bank. It provides many of the same services, but without the consumer protections or financial stability that back up the traditional system. It’s like spinning straw into gold,” Warren said.

Retail network Grupo Elektra will start accepting cryptocurrencies

Mexican entrepreneur and owner of Grupo Elektra retailer Ricardo Salinas Pliego made a statement that the retailer intends to add support for the Lightning Network to accept payments in BTC. According to the businessman, this will happen very soon. It is likely that in the future, other companies of the holding will add support for the first crypto coin. Pliego has previously made statements in support of bitcoin. Last autumn, he announced that he had invested 10% of his own "liquid investment portfolio" in BTC.

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Coinbase has a conflict with the SEC

The SEC has warned Coinbase about its readiness to take the project to court. The Securities and Exchange Commission considers it illegal for the crypto platform to launch the Lend service, which allows users to accrue interest on the digital assets of exchange clients, similar to securities. At the end of June this year, Coinbase announced the launch of a service for cryptocurrency owners who would like to make a profit in USDC. Lend service offers a rate of 4% per annum, which is 8 times the average rate for high yield savings accounts in the country. “They [the SEC] refuse to tell us why they think it's [the service] a security, and instead subpoena a bunch of records from us (we comply), demand testimony from our employees (we comply), and then tell us they will be suing us if we proceed to launch, with zero explanation as to why,” “They [the SEC] refuse to explain to us why they think that it [the service] is a security, and instead asked for documents (we provided), summoned our employees for questioning (we agreed), and then said that they would file court, if we continue to launch without explaining the reasons, " said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. The new service of the crypto platform is a loan that the client provides to the exchange in the form of USDC. Coinbase believes the new product has similarities to bank savings accounts.

Ukrainian authorities legalize cryptocurrency

Today, on September 8, deputies of the Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada in the second reading approved the draft law "On virtual assets" aimed at regulating the digital assets industry. Now the owners of cryptocurrencies will be able to legally perform transactions with them, and international projects - to register a blockchain business on the territory of Ukraine. The law reflects the concept and legal status of a digital asset, as well as secures ownership and transaction rights. International crypto-exchanges, where virtual assets are traded, have the opportunity to work on the territory of Ukraine. “Cryptocurrency holders will receive a number of benefits. Due to the fact that legislative regulation of this area will appear, they, at least, will be able to protect their condition in virtual assets if something happens. They will also be able to legally exchange crypto assets, declare them. This process will be completely "white". In addition, we expect that there will be a whole market of intermediary services for paying for goods with cryptoassets, storing them, exchanging them. This will expand the possibilities of their use,” said Alexander Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation for IT Development.

Hong Kong is considering tightening controls on the digital asset market

Hong Kong authorities are exploring the possibility of tightening control over the digital asset market. The new regulations should help close the loopholes for illegal cryptocurrency transactions that remained in the 2019 law. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) plans to take over the regulation of crypto assets and issue licenses to projects from this industry. According to the rules of 2019, in order to avoid the attention of the regulator, companies had to choose tokens for work that do not formally fall under the definition of "security" and "futures". Julia Lyng, deputy executive director of the structure, pointed to "significant losses for investors." In her opinion, "Hong Kong should put an end to unlicensed cryptocurrency trading and engage in financial literacy of investors."

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Most South Korean crypto exchanges will cease operations

Most cryptocurrency platforms in South Korea will stop operating. We are talking about 40 out of about 60 exchanges. The reason behind it is non-compliance with FSC rules. The new requirements include compliance with the KYC mechanism together with partners, which are credit institutions. Banks do not seek to develop cooperation with trading platforms, which may attract additional attention of regulators. Crypto exchanges must be registered by September 24, but by September 17, companies are required to notify users of the likely closure if they fail to go through this procedure. Media reports that only 20 companies have complied with the regulations.

The damage to payment companies due to the introduction of Chivo into the financial system of El Salvador was estimated at $1 billion

The probable damage to payment companies due to the introduction of the Chivo BTC wallet into the financial system of El Salvador could amount to $1 billion. This opinion was expressed by the former top manager of the Liquid crypto exchange Mario Gomez Losada. According to IHS Markit, about 70% of Salvadorans receive bank transfers from abroad. About 60% of such transactions are carried out by payment systems. 38% are processed by credit companies. Payment service fees are sometimes quite high for international transactions. For example, a $100 transfer via Western Union from a US account to El Salvador reaches $5. “Remittances are an area where the status quo in our traditional financial system is terrible, with extraordinarily high fees levelled at populations that can ill afford them. It’s a worn-out Twitter saying, but bitcoin really does fix this,” said Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of Bitwise Asset Management.

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Warren again insists on the need to regulate the crypto market

The collapse of the crypto market and disruptions on the BTC exchanges indicate the need for regulation of this area by the SEC. This opinion was voiced by US Senator Elizabeth Warren. “In a matter of hours, the $400 billion in market value simply evaporated,” the senator said. The politician cited the example of a notional retail investor who lost his money when the market went down. According to her version, he could invest right before the collapse and then take his investments. However, crypto platforms like Coinbase were not available.

Crypto project raised $22.8 million

The dTrade crypto derivatives platform based on Polkadot raised $22.8 million. The participants in the transaction were Polychain and Alameda together with Hypersphere, DeFiance, CMS, Divergence, MGNR, Altonomy. The received financing is intended for lending to market makers (MM), who will provide liquidity to the exchange order books. Representatives of the project claim that they have already secured the support of "the largest MM in the crypto industry." “Market makers are market participants who place orders to buy and sell certain traded assets. MM provide efficient markets by allowing traders to smoothly open and close positions at near fair prices,” the statement said.

Cardano can rise in price several times due to a successful hard fork

The cost of Cardano can grow 3-5 times, says Nikita Soshnikov, CEO of Alfacash. He believes that more and more DeFi projects will appear on the network. This will have a positive effect on the liquidity flow. “It is difficult even to predict the timing of when such a leap is possible because it is not clear which projects will start working on the Cardano blockchain and how much they will be in demand by users,” the expert noted. He also suggested that Cardano has the potential to rise in price to $6. That is, the crypto coin can grow by 150% from the current levels.

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Hackers attacked pNetwork project and stole $12.5 million worth of cryptocurrency

Unknown persons hacked pNetwork cross-chain platform. The team of the crypto project wrote about the loss of 277 bitcoins, which equals about $12.5 million. «We're sorry to inform the community that an attacker was able to leverage a bug in our codebase and attack pBTC on BSC, stealing 277 BTC (most of its collateral). The other bridges were not affected. All other funds in the pNetwork are safe,” wrote the pNetwork team. The project team also announced that vulnerabilities in the platform code have already been identified and work is underway to eliminate them. "The bridges will be restarted after they are secured," probably within hours, the company said. The pNetwork team published a message for hackers asking them to return the stolen assets for a reward of $1.5 million. However, it seems that the platform was hacked by "black" hackers who do not intend to return the stolen cryptocurrency.

Erdogan declared war on digital currencies

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes the country is at war with digital currencies. At the same time, Turkey supports blockchain technology and intends to become the center of its development, but the enthusiasm of local authorities does not extend to crypto assets. “We have a separate war, a separate fight against them. We would never lend support to [cryptocurrencies]. Because we will move forward with our own currency that has its own identity.” the Turkish President said. In April of this year, the Central Bank of Turkey introduced an official ban on cryptocurrency payments. This means that local businesses have lost the ability to conduct transactions involving digital assets. Among the reasons for such a radical decision were high volatility and the threat of crime.

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Banks from the USA and Europe oppose the restrictions on working on the crypto market

The largest American and European banks, including JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, are confident that the latest regulatory requirements limit the work of financial institutions on the crypto market. Earlier, it was decided that financial institutions that have digital assets must ensure their full backup. The initiative came from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision of the Bank for International Settlements. The committee believes that when banks invest in crypto assets, it is necessary to adhere to a "conservative approach", since digital currencies pose a possible threat to the financial stability of a credit institution. “We find the proposals in the consultation to be so overly conservative and simplistic that they, in effect, would preclude bank involvement in crypto asset markets,” the Global Financial Markets Association said in a letter to the Basel Committee. Banks believe that the new requirements are an attempt by regulators to stop or deprive financial institutions of any incentives to develop in new markets.

Mike Novogratz prefers to remain calm amid falling major crypto coins

Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz said that he was "not nervous" about the short-term prospects of the digital asset market, until BTC fell below $ 40'000, and ETH - $ 2'800. “As long as those [levels] hold, I think the market is in good shape,” he said. The entrepreneur considers the fall of bitcoin on Monday, September 20, below the level of $43'000, a "healthy correction", which is caused by the market's concern about the decisions of American regulators and data on the probable default of the largest developer in China, Evergrande. Novogratz is confident that the fall in the rate of cryptocurrencies did not have a significant impact on institutional investors. “I see nothing but the interest and activity on the part of our clients and corporate investors,” added Novogratz.

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ETH futures are more popular than BTC with institutional investors

JPMorgan said that Ethereum futures are trading at a premium due to the flow of institutional funds from similar assets based on the main cryptocurrency. BTC futures after the September correction are trading below the spot price of the crypto coin. Analysts say the whale's attention to ethereum futures speaks to "healthy demand for ethereum compared to bitcoin from institutional investors." These are large organizations such as corporations or hedge funds. "This is a setback for Bitcoin and a reflection of weak demand by institutional investors that tend to use regulated CME futures contracts to gain exposure to Bitcoin,” JPMorgan analysts commented on the "strong demand divergence".

Opinion: it is not profitable for regulators to “crush to death” the main crypto coin

The founder of Melanion Capital, Jad Comair, believes that it is simply not profitable for regulators to "crush to death" bitcoin. Thus, the entrepreneur expressed disagreement with the point of view of the head of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio, who recently announced a potential threat to the first cryptocurrency. “I think overall that is a very extreme scenario and I do not see a developed country like the US or even all the G7 countries take such a harsh and strong step,” the CIO of Melanion Capital said. Comair said most governments want to regulate the digital asset industry in order to protect the interests of investors. And after the emergence of "adequate and correct regulation, we will see the full power of cryptocurrencies," says the crypto enthusiast.

Twitter launches bitcoin transfers

On Twitter, you can now make transfers in BTC. The functionality, for now, is available to owners of devices based on IOS. However, the company promises to provide a similar opportunity for Android users in the near future. The innovation will allow users of the social network to send donations in cryptocurrency to their favorite bloggers. They plan to carry out operations with bitcoins through the Lightning Network, with the help of which BTC payments will be faster and cheaper. In order to take advantage of the new functionality, you will need to connect a third-party service to your Twitter profile, for example, Venmo from PayPal, Patreon or CashApp. At the same time, the company does not plan to introduce additional fees for transactions in digital currency.

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More than half of companies announced their readiness to invest in cryptocurrencies

According to research by Nickel Digital Asset Management, more than 60% of institutions are ready to invest in digital currencies in the long term. 62% of those surveyed noted that they intend to invest for the first time in 2022. Potential capital growth is a key prerequisite for such investments. This was reported by 47% of survey participants. Nearly 45% of those surveyed reported an increasing focus on digital currencies among large companies. 41% of respondents were previously hindered by the ambiguity of the regulatory framework, but now the situation has improved. “There is no doubt that the cryptoassets market is becoming more mainstream in the institutional and wealth management sectors,” said Henry Howell, Head of Business Development at Nickel.

Opinion: BTC could rise in price 10 times

The rate of the first crypto-coin in the next 5 years may grow 10 times, but this is not a reason for buying it. This statement was made by the head of JPMorgan Jamie Dimon. The CEO of the investment bank believes that the authorities of different states will definitely establish supervision over bitcoin. And this to some extent will allow to limit it. “I don’t really care about Bitcoin. People spend too much time and energy on it. Whether regulation will wipe out the first cryptocurrency, I don't know. The authorities will set a framework anyway. This does not mean that bitcoin is not able to rise in value tenfold in the next five years. But if you invest borrowed money, then you are a complete fool. Speculation occurs in any market, even in communist countries. There is a lot of liquidity now, I will not be surprised at anything,” said Dimon.

Kraken will pay $1.2 million in fines

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued a fine to the Kraken crypto exchange. The company will have to pay $1.2 million due to lack of registration and margin transactions with digital assets. The regulator claims that the platform provided access to margin trading, while the company did not go through the approval procedure for such actions. According to the commission, Kraken was in breach of registration requirements from the beginning of last summer to July this year. In this case, the violation has already been eliminated. “As the requirements become more urgent, the Commission needs to revise them to provide market participants with certainty and a common understanding of the rules,” said CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump.

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The Ukrainian president has delayed further crypto legalization

The Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky has returned to the Rada the draft Bill “about digital assets, #3637, forcing to finalize it. According to the law project, there has to establish an independent regulatory authority aimed to control digital assets, taxation system, protection of user rights and other aspects. The president says the whole structure needs to be changed, and National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) should run the control processes. At the same time, building an entire new supervisory authority would create huge costs.

IMF posted a situation among digital assets of Central Banks

During the online conference, supported by Bocconi University, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director IMF, replied about stablecoins and CBDC (central bank digital currencies). It appeared that as of October 2021, 110 countries - more than half of the world - are working on launching their digital currency. The Russian Federations is also on its way for crypto rubble. Such stablecoins as USDT could be useful as financial tools on digital markets, but CBDC would guarantee even more security, Georgieva says. So far, CBDC has been fully launched only in the Bahamas. In other countries, such assets are only being tested. For example, China has been conducting tests for over two years, and there is no final decision upon it.

Gary Gensler: “SEC will not prohibit cryptocurrency”

Gary Gensler, a chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (SEC), touched upon the crypto industry during his speech to the financial service committee. The report also was about the measures taken by China against cryptocurrencies, and the main question was asked if the SEC is going to follow the same path. With his answer, Gensler assured that the United States has an entirely different approach to that problem. There is no talk of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies (although the final decision lies with Congress, one of the three highest government bodies). At the same time, the chairman noted that many cryptocurrencies look like investment contracts or other securities, which means it requires appropriate regulation.

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Vitalik Buterin believes in the cloudless future of ETH

Vitalik Buterin, commonly known as Ethereum co-founder, believes ETH can surpass BTC in the context of total market cap and as a tool for saving traders capital. “That’s quite possible. I think the main difference between these two assets is that the total value of bitcoin and its ecosystem directly depends on its total price. In contrast, ETH is exactly opposite”, Buterin says. Speaking about another DAO development and further extension, Vitalik noted the Gitcoin DAO and Optimism experiments aimed for mutual wealth and as project models which can positively influence the crypto industry. He believes DAO would become something better, something with a more significant meaning than it is now. “They definitely would find their place. I don’t see any unbreakable walls. Mostly, it’s a question of small issues that need to be fixed. When will one of the DAOs change strategy, or when will the two DAOs decide to merge? I think we’ll find it out soon enough”, he said.

Rubini: “Central banks of all countries around the world would proceed with their own digital currency”

The economist and well-known BTC critic Nouriel Roubini has no doubt bitcoin would never become a generally accepted currency. There can be a massive transition of many countries to digital currencies, supported by central banks soon. “Bitcoin is not a currency, and I cannot advise it as a savings tool so as other altcoins which would probably never become real currencies. Sooner or later, central banks would launch their digital currencies”, said the analytic during Sphere presentation. Rubini also declares people would abandon cash operations, constantly switching to digital payments. “It’s already in Sweden, China. For payments, people use QR code”, the economist insists.

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Bitcoin surpasses $62,000 amid approval of the first BTC-ETF futures

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the country's first exchange-traded fund based on bitcoin futures. Against the backdrop of positive news for the entire industry, the price of BTC rose by almost 3% in 24 hours. According to Coinmarketcap data as of October 18, the cost of the first cryptocurrency exceeds $ 62,400. However, not all cryptocurrency market players were delighted with the news of the SEC approval of an exchange-traded fund for BTC. DeFi Unchained Capital CEO Parker Luce is confident that ETFs are not very profitable for investors. “The Exchange Traded Fund efficiently processes bitcoin as if it were a traditional financial asset. If an investor buys it through an ETF, then you assume additional market maker risks. As a result, he chooses one of the more risky ways of owning bitcoin than if he bought it on the exchange,” he said.

Walmart will launch its own fintech startup

Walmart, the largest US retailer, plans to launch its own fintech project, which will be led by former Goldman Sachs executives. It will be a joint venture with Ribbit Capital, but Walmart will be the majority owner. According to the media, citing sources, one of the options for creating a joint venture could be the acquisition of a neobank, while the company does not plan to obtain a banking license. Walmart has been trying to build a financial services business for its customers for a long time. Until this direction has become one of the most successful for the company. “Everything we will do will be aimed at expanding what we are already doing. Wider adoption of Walmart Pay is definitely something that fits into the ecosystem we're trying to build, ”said Walmart CFO Brett Biggs.

The author of the term "virtual reality" called BTC a pyramid

Scientist, author of the term "virtual reality" Jaron Lanier considers the first cryptocoin "pyramid". In his opinion, investors who bought bitcoin at the beginning of its distribution earned significantly more than those who bought bitcoin later. Lanier believes digital currencies are like gambling. At the same time, the scientist noted that for a long time he was a supporter of crypto assets. “It’s intrinsically a Ponzi scheme. Like the early people have more than the later people. And the further down the chain you get, the more you’re subject to gambling, like dynamics where it’s more and more random and more and more subject to weird network effects and whatnot, unless you’re a very small player…but even then, you’ll be subject to fluctuations. it’s going to wave around the little people more, ”said Lanier.

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Ethereum price up 74% in less than two months

On November 8, Ethereum has reached another all-time high. According to Coinmarketcap, the price of cryptocurrency is $4,735. ETH is up 74% since the end of September this year. The capitalization of the crypto coin has surpassed the $560 billion mark. The growth of the ethereum rate occurred against the background of the publication of the Finder.com report. The document says that the cryptocurrency may grow to $5,100 by the end of 2021, $15,300 by 2025 and reach $50,700 by 2030. Bitcoin also demonstrates strong growth today. BTC cost is $65,565. Over the past 7 days, the cryptocurrency has risen in price by 6.5%.

Spanish bank plans to launch BTC-ETF

Santander intends to launch Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Spanish bank president Ana Botin said the organization's clients have a strong interest in cryptoassets. “Santander is considered a leader in the cryptocurrency space. Our clients want to buy bitcoin, but we are too slow in adopting cryptocurrencies due to regulatory uncertainty. Now we are going to offer a cryptocurrency ET,” said the head of the bank. However, according to local media reports, the National Securities Market Commission of Spain has not yet approved the launch of the ETF. Santander is positive about the cryptocurrency industry. The organization previously issued bonds worth $20 million on the Ethereum blockchain.

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Experts say bitcoin ETFs are more profitable for investors than ETF on bitcoin futures

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Sailor and Coinmetrics co-founder Nick Carter believe that BTC investment funds are more profitable for investors than ETFs on the first cryptocurrency futures. Sailor believes that if the SEC approves the launch of the BTC-ETF, serious investments will "flow" into them. “As soon as spot Bitcoin ETFs are launched in the US, I think you will see billions flow into them, then tens of billions, then hundreds of billions, and then trillions of dollars. This will be the final step necessary for Bitcoin to become one of the main assets of the Western world,” Sailor said. According to Nick Carter, ETFs on the futures of the first digital coin are “defective”, and the arguments of the regulator against the launch of cryptocurrency funds are “empty”. The expert believes that after the launch of the BTC-ETF in the United States, the trading volume within a month could reach $100 billion.

Former Coinbase top manager advises crypto developers to move to friendly jurisdictions

Balaji Srinivasan, who previously served as CTO at Coinbase, advised digital currency developers not to fight the hostility of regulators. The best tactic in this case, according to the expert, is to move to more positive jurisdictions in relation to the industry. Srinivasan is confident that developers need to generate new solutions faster - before regulators have time to "outlaw them." According to the expert, players in the digital asset market must be mobile, and cities such as Miami and New York, as well as the states of Wyoming, Colorado and Texas, are quite friendly towards cryptocurrency projects. “Cryptocurrency developers must learn to code laws. Zero-level solutions are the fundamental level of cryptocurrency innovation, they are ideas in the minds of people, and they are the ones that lay the foundation for creating solutions of the first and second levels. Traditional financial legislation is heavily influenced by banks or academics who are hostile to cryptocurrencies,” Srinivasan said.

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Litecoin fights “double top” risks after LTC price rallies 37% in November

A 37% November Litecoin price rally risks exhaustion as the “silver cryptocurrency” hints at forming a double top chart pattern. The classic bearish reversal setup happens when the price forms two consecutive peaks of almost the same height, with each upside move meeting with a strong correction toward a common support level, called the “neckline.” Typically, the price breaks below the support and falls by as much as the maximum height between the double top’s peak and neckline. So it appears, LTC is halfway through forming a double top pattern. Litecoin will need to extend its selloff to retest the neckline. Meanwhile, breaking below the support level would activate the double top breakout setup, with the profit target sitting near $200. Litecoin’s bearish reversal pattern is happening when inflation in the USA has peaked to a three-decade high, prompting investors to seek a hedge across various financial instruments. Litecoin “bull pennant” puts LTC target at $350 Dubbed a bull pennant, the bullish continuation pattern appears when the price consolidates sideways inside a triangular structure after a strong rally upward. Traders confirm a bullish breakout when the price breaks above the triangle’s upper trendline with strong volumes. In doing so, they watch the level at length equal to the height of the previous uptrend (flagpole) as their profit target. As a result, Litecoin’s price eyes an extended upside move toward $350. Meanwhile, failing to have a decisively bullish follow-through risks activating the double top setup. That brings the “multi-month ascending trendline support” in the picture as the next downside target should there be a bearish breakdown move; coincidentally, the target is also near $200.

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Large investors are expected to enter the decentralized finance market in 2022

An influx of institutions into the DeFi sphere is expected next year. As one of the founders of Chainlink Sergey Nazarov noted, this industry will continue to grow due to the interest of traditional banks in it. In his opinion, by expanding the types of on-chain collateral, there will be a basis for the emergence of new decentralized insurance solutions. “In 2022, the world will realize that there is a big market called DeFi. If PayPal has started working with cryptocurrencies, then think about why your users will not want to interact with storage, DeFi and so on tomorrow?” he said. Another of the founders of the 1inch Network DeFi project, Anton Bukov, believes that this area will increase its growth rates in the next 3-5 years. The expert stressed that decentralized exchanges should work 100 times faster than at present. This will make it easier for users to understand how DeFi works.

Senator from Australia Jane Hume recently spoke about the concept of decentralized finance. She believes DeFi will help Australia become a leader in innovation and economic progress. “Decentralized finance underpinned by blockchain technology will present incredible opportunities - Australia mustn‘t be left behind by fear of the unknown,” said Hume, stressing that progress and innovation determine the country's economic future. The decentralized finance market is constantly evolving. Having started in 2021 at the level of $21.5 billion, the total TVL (the value of funds blocked in smart contracts of DeFi applications) has increased more than tenfold. By mid-November, the market volume reached $270 billion. This indicates that the DeFi industry is actively developing and will attract more and more players.

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Bitcoin mining power demands in Texas could jump 5 times by 2023

As the state of Texas faces a rapid inflow of Bitcoin mining operations, its electrical infrastructure will have to support the industry’s expected 5,000 megawatts of additional power demands by 2023. The Bitcoin mining industry in Texas currently consumes around 500 to 1,000 MW of power. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipates that demand could increase as much as fivefold by 2023 and has planned an additional 3,000 to 5,000 MW according to reports. This expansion comes amid Texas planning to become the home to 20% of the world’s Bitcoin mining operations. Texas emerged as the go-to destination for Bitcoin miners ever since the Chinese government officially banned Bitcoin mining earlier this year.

The state government has capitalized on China’s clampdown by making Texas a haven for crypto miners who can now enjoy a 10-year tax abatement, sales tax credits, and state-sponsored workforce training. Some Texas residents, however, are concerned that the existing power grid cannot be improved. ERCOT’s management of the state’s electrical grid came under heavy scrutiny in February 2021 when blackouts plagued the region during an extreme cold snap which left about 5 million residents without power for days. There are currently no proposals from the Texas state government to deal with potential issues that may arise from the increase in electrical demand from crypto miners. As suggested by the Texas Standard, miners could be flexible in shutting off their hardware during periods of peak demand or be charged a premium per kilowatt-hour if they want to stay on during peak demand periods.

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How the hamster and chimpanzee got luckier than professional traders

The investment world is full of legends and unusual stories. Some of the most interesting cases are the precedents associated with investments in cryptocurrencies and securities by ... animals. For example, the hamster Mr Goxx (the real name of the hamster is Max) was able to make money on digital assets. Its owner designed a special cage with tunnels and a wheel that was connected to special sensors. Firstly, the animal spun the wheel, using a random selection, the system stopped at one of 30 crypto coins. When Mr Goxx found himself in the right tunnel, the currency was sold, but if he ran to the left, the tokens were bought in the amount of 20 euros. Since June 12, the hamster has increased its portfolio by 98.2 euros, which is 25% of the starting investment of 390 euros. However, yesterday the owner of the hamster posted on Reddit that Mr Goxx died last Monday. “Mr. Goxx has brought joy to people all across the globe and reminded us not to take life too seriously. He shed light into dark moments of pandemic, inflation and many kinds of trouble. Thank you and rest in peace, Max. You will be missed, and your memory will live forever on the blockchain,” wrote the owner of the animal.

Another unusual case was the appearance on the stock market of a six-year chimpanzee named Raven. Almost 20 years ago, he managed to collect a portfolio of stocks, just throwing a ball at the target. Despite the seeming absurdity of this approach, the profitability of the shares of the IT companies selected by the monkey amounted to 365.4%. Raven has overtaken 10 thousand American funds and became the most successful chimpanzee on Wall Street according to the Guinness Book of Records. “As Raven did not have prior knowledge of how any particular Internet related companies have been performing, we took his ten picks and dated the prices back to the beginning of the year to provide easier year-to-date comparisons with the more traditional market indexes such as Standard & Poor's 500," stated Roland Perry, editor of Internet Stock Review. In the long run, however, the chimpanzee went bankrupt. Today, securities chosen by the animal are worth nothing. Do you think this is an accident, artificial hype or a pattern?
Why do animals manage to outplay professional traders?

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DOGE: unique story of the appearance and Elon Musk’s attention

How dogecoin transformed from a joke meme to one of the popular crypto assets December 8, 2013 is considered the launch day of one of the most controversial and attention-grabbing crypto coins community. Dogecoin is a prime example of how a meme, a joke, turned into an investment asset. Programmer Billy Marcus did not conceive of DOGE as a serious project. According to him, it took the programmer about three hours to make a parody of the rapidly growing digital currencies.

A meme popular in 2013 was chosen as the symbol of Dogecoin - a Shiba Inu dog named Kabosu with funny facial expressions. The slogan of the new crypto-coin was the phrase: "the digital currency preferred by the Shiba Inu around the world." Technically, DOGE is also very simple - unlike BTC or ETH, which are well-developed infrastructure and have serious functionality. However, after some retailers, medical and sports companies began to accept the meme cryptocurrency, it acquired the features of a real means of payment. Analysts believe that the development of the Dogecoin project is based on the popularity of the token among celebrities on social networks. One of them is Elon Musk, who has mentioned DOGE more than once.

In October of this year, the businessman wrote on Twitter that he supports the coin, as he considers it to be a "people's cryptocurrency." The entrepreneur, according to him, before supporting the token, spoke with Tesla and SpaceX employees, and many of them turned out to be the owners of Dogecoin. Trader Justin Bennett also expressed the opinion that the value of the token could grow by more than 1000%. “DOGE does what it does best. The last two breakouts have resulted in gains of 1000% or more. The latest round of consolidation lasted 3 times longer than the period leading up to the April 1,200 percent breakout,” Bennett said.

Another feature of DOGE is its high volatility, which attracts investors who are ready for the risk and instant market reversals. The spirit of adventurism, rebellion against the conservative financial system, and the meme subculture also influence the popularity of the token. As of the beginning of this December, the price of the meme cryptocurrency has dropped by almost 19% over the past week, reaching $0.17. Due to the volatility, DOGE was ranked 11th among the most popular tokens. However, this situation does not scare those players in the community. Dogecoin has every chance of breaking its own price records in 2022.

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What are the development prospects for the Solana project? Solana Project: Present and Future.

Solana is a crypto coin, which is in 5th place in terms of market capitalization. Following a recent DDoS attack, it has emerged as the leader in network development charts. According to Santiment, SOL has become the leading blockchain in the last month. From November 12 to December 13, Solana's daily GitHub requests rose to 90, overtaking Polkadot with 76 and Cardano with 65. On December 9th, Solana's network slowed down significantly due to a DDoS attack. The developers managed to mitigate the impact without shutting down the network. However, the community was seriously alarmed by the vulnerability of the Solana blockchain. “Solana is ready to take on a DDoS attack again. This attack took advantage of the fundamental design flaws that SOL is responsible for as it sacrifices decentralization and safety for speed, ignoring the consequences of this compromise with Proof of Histor? & Turbine», - said the founder CyberCapital Justin Bons. Despite the concerns of the cryptocurrency industry participants about the security of the Solana blockchain, it is one of the most actively growing smart contract networks this year. The network is increasingly being chosen by projects in the field of non-financial tokens and decentralized financing.

For example, Twitch founder Justin Kahn is launching Fractal, an NFT marketplace based on the Solana blockchain. The company has already agreed with gaming studios, which are ready to provide their own non-fungible tokens on the marketplace. Fractal users will be able to purchase assets both directly from platform partners and create their own NFTs. Justin Kahn claims to launch the first NFT marketplace focused on NFT in the gaming industry. "The transition to in-game assets, which are NFTs on the blockchain, will open up real ownership and new levels of interaction in games for players," said the founder of the project. Due to its growing popularity among users, Solana is often compared to Ethereum. Some members of the crypto community consider the crypto coin to be an "ETH killer". But will the project be able to guarantee the safety of its users in the future? Will SOL hold its position as one of the most popular crypto coins in the long run?

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Opinion: Half of real estate transactions will use digital assets

According to the renowned real estate agent Ryan Serhant, over the next 5 years, cryptocurrencies will be used in about half of real estate transactions. The TV host for Million Dollar Listing New York said 2021 is likely to see a surge in virtual real estate activity. Companies and individuals are ready to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in ethereum and other digital coins in order to “stake out” the right to objects. Some people prefer to pay with cryptocurrencies when buying real estate in the real world. "I think we're in a very unique point in time. We'll end up doing, in New York alone, maybe one or two deals this month that are wallet to wallet. And then six or seven deals this month using an intermediary like BitPay,” said Serhant.

The stellar real estate agent believes lending institutions should add cryptoassets to their product line. This will simplify the mortgage lending procedure. “Right now, if I go to an institutional lender, and I want to go get a loan on a home and use their financing, and if I say all my assets are in a mixture of Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, the bank's gonna say, 'Yeah, that's too risky, too volatile, we can't really lend on that, or we'll lend on 25% of it or something,'" added Serhant. According to him, while realtors are deprived of the opportunity to freely sell real estate to any user who has a BTC wallet. The authorities are monitoring compliance with the KYC rules and procedures, which are adopted in order to prevent offenders and members of the US sanctions list from buying real estate in the United States using crypto coins.

“I'm definitely an advocate of safe money. But at the same time, if being able to purchase your cryptocurrency makes purchasing things like homes and everything else, faster, easier, amongst many other reasons, that goes a long way, ”summed up Serhant. It is now legal to buy real estate with digital assets in Switzerland, Singapore, Indonesia and the United States. Such transactions are absolutely legal, provided that the legislation of the state on whose territory the real estate is located is observed. For example, in the United States, the settlement of a transaction is controlled by a notary through an escrow account. He also opens an account at a local crypto exchange, where the buyer transfers funds in the equivalent of the purchase price in US dollars.

The seller can receive money only after the transfer of ownership of the object to the buyer. At the same time, in the United States, the buyer is required to provide proof of the legal origin of the funds. Do you think cryptocurrencies will be able to revolutionize the real estate world and become a full-fledged means of settlement for such transactions?

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Trump continues to view bitcoin as a threat to the American and global economy

Former US President Donald Trump is still confident that bitcoin has the potential to destroy the global economy. At the same time, the billionaire supported the initiative of his wife Melania to launch a cryptocurrency project. She previously launched a Solana-based NFT marketplace, as well as her own collection of non-fungible tokens. In a recent interview, Trump noted that he has never been a fan of digital assets. In his opinion, cryptocurrencies can harm both the American and international financial systems. At the same time, the businessman refrained from detailed explanations why he considers investments in these assets dangerous. “I think the currency should be the dollar, so I was never a big fan but it's building up bigger and bigger and nobody's doing anything about it. I want a currency called the dollar, I don't want to have all of these others, ”he said.

During his presidency, Trump stated several times that the United States needs to be careful with digital currencies, especially BTC, since the main mining facilities are located in China. The ex-politician argued that bitcoin should not be used as a payment instrument because of the volatility of this asset, and "its value is taken straight out of thin air." Meanwhile, the CEO of Microstrategy Michael Sailor does not believe that the first crypto-coin can compete with the US dollar. In his opinion, bitcoin is a global reserve asset, and the US dollar is the world currency. The entrepreneur predicted that in the future, BTC will be the best option for protecting against inflation. “There will be volatility, but it seems to me that there is now a general recognition that the world needs an inflationary hedge. If you have bitcoin, don't sell it,” advised the CEO of Microstrategy.

According to Sailor, he has over 17,000 bitcoins in his account. Their total value is approximately $860 million. The CEO of Microstrategy, according to his own words, has never sold his personal savings in the form of BTC. Do you think Michael Saylor's strategy is correct?

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Financial expert spoke about the reasons for the fall in the BTC price

Former manager of hedge fund Goldman Sachs Raul Pal commented on the likely prerequisites for a decline in the price of the main cryptocurrency. In November of this year, the crypto coin surpassed the $68,000 mark, but now bitcoin is trading at about $46,000. The CEO of Real Vision TV believes that this is due to the profit taking by large investors. According to Pal, the process has already been completed, so one should not expect a serious decline in the BTC rate.

“It looks like they finished. Last week the market was quite volatile, as it always happens when the reporting period ends and everyone knocked out their balances,” the expert noted. Raoul Pal also pointed out that sales in Asia may still continue, but a fairly large-scale rise in the crypto market is expected early next year. The reason lies in the inflow of capital from institutional investors, which will again be transferred to digital currencies.

Former manager of hedge fund Goldman Sachs expects large investors to take an increased focus on cryptocurrencies in 2022 due to the active adoption of digital assets. Noel Acheson of Genesis Trading agreed with Raoul Pal. She noted the significant involvement of institutional investors in the crypto industry.

“The growth in interest from institutions over the past year has been impressive and we see strong signs that the trend will continue next year. They will invest both directly and in companies dealing with infrastructure in the cryptocurrency market,” she said. In October of this year, JPMorgan analysts announced the reasons why the first cryptocurrency rose by more than 35%. The report for clients said that a key prerequisite for the rise in bitcoin price was the increased demand for it from institutions.

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Opinion: crypto industry can reach stock market scale

In the future, the cryptocurrency industry may reach stock market volumes due to the increasing investor interest in digital assets. This opinion was expressed by the Governor of the Bank of Korea Lee Joo Yeol. Many believe that the main cryptocurrency is a hedging asset that can "save" their savings, and bitcoin supporters are confident that BTC can replace gold. A representative of the Korean regulator pointed out that digital currencies have already gained popularity as investment instruments. “I cannot yet say that digital assets are better than gold, but if the global cash flow continues to move towards NFTs and cryptocurrencies, it is likely that this industry will grow to the scale of the stock market,” said Ju Yeol. And the head of the NH All100 consulting center Kim Hee Jong believes that digital assets are not yet included in the investment portfolios of clients due to high volatility, and local financial institutions do not risk working with them due to the tough position of the authorities.

However, the number of people willing to invest in crypto assets has increased significantly. According to Hee Jong, today not only young people, but also older clients are interested in investing in digital currencies. Meanwhile, the beginning of 2022 was marked by a serious drop in the cryptocurrency market. Over the week, the price of BTC has dropped by almost 12%. Other popular digital assets fell 22%, hitting multi-month lows. Experts note the growth of volatility in the crypto market at the beginning of 2022 against the background of the absence of a significant number of investors. As the leading strategist of EXANTE, Janis Kivkulis, noted, a drop in trading volumes was recorded on many crypto platforms. According to him, part of the positions that were betting on the growth of digital assets were closed, and some of the investors liquidated them in the wake of panic. The recent unrest in Kazakhstan, which is one of the mining centers, has also become a negative factor for the cryptocurrency industry. Currently, the Internet is unstable on the territory, and banks are working with restrictions. However, experts predict that along with the stabilization of the political situation, the miners of Kazakhstan will resume work in the previous mode.

Another prerequisite for the fall of cryptocurrencies was the Fed's position on tightening monetary policy. In the first week of January, a document was published, from which it can be concluded that the regulator is leaning towards a rapid increase in the interest rate and a decrease in the volume of assets on the balance sheet. This, experts believe, was the reason for the outflow of funds from risky assets. The NASDAQ Composite index fell by 4.5% in 7 days, and the value of BTC followed the securities of large IT companies, said the head of Binance in Eastern Europe Gleb Kostarev. Analysts believe that the decline will continue in the future. However, they do not exclude the market recovery by the middle of this year, including due to the continuing interest of institutions. How do you think the digital asset market will behave in the near future?

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Crypto enthusiast voiced two scenarios for the development of the digital currency industry

Well-known American stand-up and TV host Joe Rogan believes in digital currencies and thinks that in the future, each company will start issuing its own non-fungible tokens. Together with fellow podcaster Adam Curry, he discussed the state of the cryptocurrency market. "Either the cryptocurrency industry will completely disintegrate, or it will give people a real chance to fix their financial situation and improve their lives," - Joe Rogan voiced two possible scenarios for the development of the industry. Curry noted that today many of the users do not want to become part of the existing system, so they are creating alternative ecosystems. The podcaster talked about investing in bitcoin, adding that he "jumped on the train", since it is BTC that is able to guarantee the safety of his assets.

Adam Curry believes that the monetary system is ineffective, which leads to poverty and war, inflation occurs, since money is associated with oil. Joe Rogan suggested that in the future, companies will create their own collectible tokens for customers to use to buy products. “Apple can easily release NFTs through which users will buy products. This can be called an alternative version of the shares,” said the TV presenter. But Curry did not agree with Rogan's opinion, as he believes that large companies and authorities will focus on introducing digital assets from regulators. All citizens will start digital wallets, which will be a direct link between users and the Fed, and the demand for familiar banking services will disappear, the podcaster is convinced. Billionaire and entrepreneur Bill Miller recently spoke about digital assets. He talked about what prompted him to invest in MicroStrategy bonds.

The billionaire's company Miller Value Partners has invested more than $1 billion in the main cryptocurrency. According to the entrepreneur, "there is no other asset with the same growth potential and liquidity." "Bitcoin is still a new and underdeveloped asset with a huge potential market, and it has a great, logical protocol with distributed governance," said the businessman. Miller doesn't believe regulators are planning to ban BTC. He recalled that the main crypto-coin has existed for about 12 years and shows itself perfectly without the intervention of the authorities. In addition, the billionaire noted that regulators in the United States have become more positive towards Bitcoin, prompting large investors to invest in the crypto asset. “Bitcoin is performing much better than just an asset for storing wealth. When the volatility of BTC approaches the volatility of government bonds, then the bitcoin rate will be much higher, the capitalization will be huge, and the profit will be insignificant. I think when it comes to that, bitcoin will become more often used for exchange,” said Bill Miller.

Do you agree with the American billionaire?

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Will the main crypto coin reach $75,000 by the end of this year?

The head of the SEBA crypto bank, Guido Buehler, announced a forecast according to which the price of bitcoin will rise to $75,000 by the end of 2022. He made such a statement during the Crypto Finance event, which took place in Switzerland. “Our internal valuation models point to a price between $50,000 and $75,000. I am quite sure that we will see this level,” the expert noted. According to Buehler, institutional investors can influence the growth in the value of the first cryptocurrency, the only question is timing. In addition, he stated that BTC volatility will be high, but the digital asset may reach new all-time highs this year.

Earlier, the bitcoin rate rose to $44,500. Analysts attribute this to the data of the US Department of Labor, which reported a record increase over the past four decades (7%) in consumer inflation in the last month of last year. According to Coinmarketcap on January 16, BTC was worth about $42,800. According to Alfacash CEO Nikita Soshnikov, there is a strong possibility that next week crypto market players will see a moderately bullish mood. The crypto expert believes this trend will help keep the price of BTC above $42,000. However, the cost of bitcoin will not rise above $46,000, since the coin lacks fundamental indicators for such growth. “The most likely scenario is that bitcoin will continue to fluctuate in the range of $42,000-46,000,” Soshnikov predicted.

He believes that the next wave of volatility in the cryptocurrency market may occur in mid-March. It is then that the US should raise the key rate. The head of Alfacash said that at first the cost of the first digital currency could drop sharply, but then BTC has every chance for a quick recovery and growth. And Andrey Podolyan, CEO of Cryptorg, is sure that the resistance level is at $45,700-46,000. According to his forecast, it is unlikely that BTC will be able to break through this level in the next week. Which expert do you agree with?

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Fidelity Digital Assets: the authorities of the states opposing the main cryptocurrency will be forced to invest in BTC in the future

Governments in countries that do not currently believe in the value of bitcoin will have to consider buying BTC as an insurance tool in the future. This conclusion was voiced in Fidelity Digital Assets. According to the analysts, this year an active period of adoption of the first digital currency by various states will begin. Over the past two years, institutionals have begun to develop a new type of asset. The experts compared the sanctions of the Chinese authorities on cryptocurrencies and the approval of bitcoin by El Salvador as a legitimate payment instrument.

“Time will certainly show which way is more successful,” the experts noted. Fidelity experts do not believe in the option of a direct ban on bitcoin by most states, since in this case they will “lose a significant part of their wealth and opportunities.” Analysts are confident that other countries will follow the example of El Salvador. “Very high-stakes game theory comes into play here – if adoption increases, countries that receive bitcoin today will be in a better competitive position than those who delay. In other words, small costs can be paid today as a hedge against potentially much larger costs in the future,” the experts explained.

Specialists of the investment company Invesco also spoke about the main crypto coin. The fall of the BTC rate from the historical maximum of $69,000 to $42,000 is considered by them to be “deflation of the cryptocurrency bubble”. The experts have suggested that the price of bitcoin may continue to decline. The company announced this in the list of "incredible, but possible" results of the current year. We are talking about events that, according to Invesco analysts, should come true by at least 30%. The drop to $42,000 earlier this year is absolutely in line with the bubble pattern, experts say. The trajectory suggests that bitcoin will lose about 45% of the price within 12 months after the peak period.

“The pattern also suggests that the bubbles typically deflate over the next two years. Therefore, we think it is not too difficult to imagine Bitcoin falling below $30,000 this year,” the experts said. Whether the forecast of Invesco analysts will come true, we will find out very soon.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission may tighten control over crypto projects

The chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler, is concerned about the reluctance of cryptocurrency platforms to cooperate with regulators. The official hopes that in the near future companies will begin to build effective interaction with local authorities. Gensler said that compliance with US laws by crypto projects means a lot to clients of such firms. And only thanks to the control of regulators over the platforms, their investors will be able to feel protected by analogy with the protection of the interests of security holders. “I’ve asked the SEC staff to look at every way to get these platforms inside the investor protection. If the trading platforms don’t come into the regulated space, it’d be another year of the public being vulnerable,” Gensler said.

The head of FINRA, Robert Cook, said that the organization plans to consider a possible tightening of the conditions for the sale of digital currencies. The structure that controls the brokerage will focus on advertising services in the field of crypto assets and data disclosure. FINRA will not make sweeping changes to the rules, but plans to issue notices. They will talk about the existing norms and how they should be developed for the high-quality protection of the interests of investors. In the field of cryptocurrencies, FINRA is ready to consider additional criteria for situations related to the purchase of unregulated products, in particular digital assets.

"We're not going to fundamentally change the current rules or regulatory structure - that's what the SEC and other federal agencies are doing," Cook said. “However, our partners are investing significant amounts in new cryptocurrencies with high volatility. The new rules will help us keep investors safe.” What do you think of the regulators' initiatives? How will this affect market participants in the future?

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Expert believes that there is a bias towards digital assets

A fairly small percentage of cryptocurrency assets are used in illegal transactions, as stated in numerous studies. This opinion was expressed by the former head of Coinbase, the current head of Figure Asiff Hirji. He is sure that the requirements of regulators for digital assets are overstated. “If we apply the rules that are used today in relation to the regulation of cryptocurrencies to all global payment mechanisms, our money will become completely illegal. No country will allow the circulation of funds,” the expert said. According to Hirji, cryptocurrencies can significantly reduce transaction costs. Interestingly, as early as last year, the media, citing former intelligence officer Michael Morell, wrote that the extent of the use of BTC in illegal operations was greatly exaggerated.

The requirements of regulators for crypto projects and the recent fall in the market do not scare investors from MicroStrategy Inc. Its chief financial officer Phong Le said that the company plans to continue to invest in bitcoins. “Our bitcoin strategy comes down to Buy&Hold. Therefore, if there is excess cash flow or other ways to raise funds, we continue to invest in the first cryptocurrency,” said the top manager. He did not announce specific plans for the purchase of the main digital coin for the current year. But according to Le, MicroStrategy, which has about 124,000 bitcoins worth more than $4.6 billion, does not intend to sell its crypto assets.

The investment company ARK Invest believes that by 2030 the BTC rate may rise to $1.36 million, and the capitalization of ETH - up to $22.5 trillion. Analysts explained their forecast for bitcoin with the hope of its legalization by various countries as a payment instrument and the growth of the relative share of cryptocurrency in the capitalization of global assets. Experts pointed to the "healthy" network metrics of the BTC blockchain. In particular, they noted the growing number of accumulating bitcoin addresses and the coins they own. And what do you think about it?

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JPMorgan lowers BTC fair valuation from $150,000 to $38,000

JPMorgan analysts believe that the high volatility of the asset is hindering the adoption of the main crypto-coin by institutional investors. Thus, experts explained the decrease in the fair value of BTC from $150,000 to $38,000. “Our previous forecast that the bitcoin to gold volatility ratio would drop two times by the end of 2022 seems unrealistic. We lower the fair value of the first cryptocurrency based on this proportion to 1/4 of $150,000, or $38,000,” the report says. A year ago, investment bank analysts stated that the theoretical long-term goal for the value of the first crypto coin would be $146,000. JPMorgan announced the convergence of BTC volatility with gold volatility. Experts also assured that the generation of millennials will be the driver for the adoption of the main digital asset.

JPMorgan now believes that “open interest in futures and the volume of exchange balance sheets indicate less panic or liquidation of positions than in May last year, especially in relation to large crypto investors.” Q9 Capital Managing Partner James Quinn spoke about a significant influx of clients to the crypto platform. He attributes this to the desire of investors to acquire digital currency at a low cost. According to him, “some people actually see this as an opportunity to buy bitcoin at a lower price than a few months ago.” Quinn believes that the market drop may be due to the increasing correlation of the BTC rate with traditional assets.

“As more people come out of traditional finance into this space, more new investors are coming in. Over time, they will own both digital assets and all types of traditional assets,” said the crypto enthusiast. Do you agree with James Quinn's prediction?