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Indian cryptocurrency exchange Zebpay is launching an OTC bitcoin trading desk. The exchange has shared the details with news.Bitcoin.com, stating that “There is huge demand” among bitcoin traders and arbitrageurs in India for OTC desk services. Zebpay Sees Huge Demand for OTC Crypto Trading in India Zebpay’s OTC desk offers “deeper liquidity and private, more personalized service to institutions and individuals with large orders that might be hard to fill on an open exchange,” the exchange’s OTC page details. Customers can trade BTC against INR with a minimum order size of 5 BTC. Registration for the new service began on Saturday but the official launch date is set for Aug. 3. Nirmal Ranga, Vice President of Trade at Zebpay, has shared some details with news.Bitcoin.com about his platform’s upcoming service. “OTC constituted 90% of our total business until 2018, when the Reserve Bank of India notice came into the picture,” he described, adding: There is huge demand among traders and arbitrageurs in India for OTC desk services, and the recent supreme court decision reversing the ban has caught the attention of large investors and institutions eager to explore this new asset class. In March, the Indian supreme court quashed the circular issued by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which banned banks from providing services to crypto businesses, including exchanges. Zebpay exited India shortly after the ban but returned earlier this year with new management. The new OTC service is aimed at “traders, arbitrageurs, HNIs, long-term investors, asset managers, and institutions that want to buy/sell bitcoin in bulk,” Ranga further shared. “It will give them the opportunity to trade large quantities without being affected by the skewing of prices these quantities might entail on open order books on any platform.” “Our OTC liquidity will come largely through active participants on the platform,” Ranga clarified. “We have existing long-term relationships with a few liquidity providers, through which we provide maximum liquidity with minimal or negative slippage.” The executive elaborated: We plan on launching with the BTC/INR pair and making that our singular focus in the near future. However we will assess the market demand for other asset classes and accordingly consider launching USDT/INR and ETH/INR. What do you think about Zebpay launching an OTC desk? Let us know in the comments section below. The post ‘Huge Demand in India’ Spurs Zebpay to Launch OTC Bitcoin Trading Desk appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

While movie theaters may be unusually empty this time of the year, a different kind of summer blockbuster is coming soon, one that promises to bring back the exhilaration of competitive crypto trading with up to 200 bitcoins (BTC) prize pool, up to 20% off trading fees and up to $9,400 in USDT bonuses. A Blockbuster Competitive Crypto Trading Tournament Crypto derivatives exchange Bybit announced today the World Series of Trading (WSOT) launch, a bi-annual global crypto trading competition. The inaugural edition of the tournament will feature a prize pool of up to 200 BTC, the largest of any crypto trading tournament by far, and run from August 10 and August 31. Registration begins today. The global event is open to traders worldwide where Bybit’s platform is available. The ranking system of WSOT is based on the profit/loss ratio, regardless of trading volume, thus paving a level playing ground for all participants. Following the success of 2019’s Bybit Games – BTC Brawl, a competition that drew over 7,000 traders, WSOT will see even more traders battle for the unprecedented 200 BTC prize pool. WSOT will host some of the biggest names in the crypto trading world and professional poker stars. A Stellar Nursery and an Accretion Disk for Crypto Luminaries The inaugural WSOT rightfully features a space theme and promises to be the largest gathering of crypto trading masters. It is also an ideal avenue for new star traders to emerge and shine. “The World Series of Trading will be the main tournament of Bybit Games and the crypto trading world. We at Bybit believe in the importance of empowering traders who embody the prowess and passion for crypto trading,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder, and CEO of Bybit. “This revolutionary event aims to champion the spirit of competition and fair play, and cultivate camaraderie between crypto derivatives traders worldwide to create positive changes in the crypto space.” As part of Bybit’s commitment to giving back to society, 5% of the total prize pool (including team and individual awards) will be donated to charity. Registration for the inaugural WSOT is open now! About Bybit Bybit is a global cryptocurrency derivatives exchange established in March 2018 and registered in the BVI. It is headquartered in Singapore. Bybit has a global user base comprising everyone from individual retail clients to professional derivatives traders. We have users worldwide, including North America, Europe, Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. We are focused on serving everyone from individual retail clients to professional derivatives traders. For more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.com/ For updates, follow Bybit’s social platforms on Twitter and Telegram. This is a sponsored post. Learn more on how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. The post Bybit presents World Series of Trading (WSOT) – 200 BTC Prize Pool up for Grabs appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Tether Ltd printed a total of USDT 300 million Wednesday and this brought the total coins created to 540 million in the last three days alone. The latest USDT printing will see the top stablecoin’s market capitalization significantly passing the $10 billion mark. Responding to a whale alert twitter post, however, Paolo Ardoino the CTO at Bitfinex, explains that the latest printing is for purposes of replenishing inventory on the Tron Network. “Note this is an authorized but not issued transaction, meaning that this amount will be used as inventory for next period issuance requests,” says Ardoino. Ardoino’s response, which came right after the alert, was immediately ridiculed by some twitter users. Others sarcastically urged Ardoino on. One Twitter user going by the handle lentejitaB asks, “Paolo is this the biggest tether mint in all Tether history?” Still, another user, Crypto Favs, compares Tether Ltd with the US Federal Reserve, which has also been printing money. Such US Federal Reserve actions are being blamed for fueling inflation. Crypto Favs quips, “So Tether became FED printing money. They go Bbbbrrrrrrrrrr.” Meanwhile, this latest USDT printing could not stop the stablecoin from relinquishing its recent position as the third biggest digital currency when measured by market capitalization. Markets.Bitcoin.com at 6:15 p.m. EST on July 29, 2020. Ripple’s XRP, which traded at $0.21 on July 24, gained some 3 cents to peak at $0.24 on Wednesday, July 29 according to markets.Bitcoin.com. At the time of writing, XRP’s market capitalization is marginally ahead of that of USDT. Reacting to XRP’s resurgence, Konstantin Anissimov, Executive Director at Cex.io offers possible reasons. Anissimov says following March’s Black Thursday Ripple’s XRP dropped below its 200-day moving average. Since then, this resistance level had been rejecting the cross-border remittances token from achieving its upside potential. Historical data reveals that each time this cryptocurrency has been able to break above this moving average its price tends surge significantly. On July 25th, data shows that XRP’s on-chain volume rose to $1.75 billion. Anissimov adds that “the substantial buying pressure was significant enough to allow the token to finally break above its 200-day moving average for the first time since early February.” Moving past this hurdle led to the 17.13% upswing seen in the past few days. “[As] buy orders continue to pile up, XRP may continue to rise to the next significant resistance barrier that sits at $0.25,” notes Anissimov. Which of digital currency is going to win the battle for third place? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Tether Prints $300 Million, While XRP Reclaims Third Spot appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The decentralized finance (defi) realm continues to heat up with concepts like yield farming, but another scheme called defi flash loans has also grown exponential. On Monday, the noncustodial lending protocol Aave issued $138 million in loans with zero collateral. Since the last week of June, defi flash loans have increased by 809% as the protocol Aave is issuing anywhere between $80-100 million in flash loans per day. Data shows that Aave issued over $138 million on Monday and the pace continues to trend higher. The word “Aave” is a Finnish term to describe a ghost, as the noncustodial platform allows for lending interest rates to be guided by algorithms directed by the supply and demand. Flash loans are used for significant arbitrage opportunities and they allow people to obtain handsome loans without collateral. Data shows that Aave issued over $138 million on Monday, July 27, 2020. As news.Bitcoin.com reported a few months ago, flash loans have been leveraged in significant hacks too. For instance, on February 14 and 18, the lending platform Bzx saw $954,000 siphoned from two flash loans. During the first big flash loan hack, the so-called hacker got 10,000 loaned ETH from the application Dydx and snagged 112 wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) from the defi protocol Compound. These days millions of dollars in flash loans are being issued every day without collateral and this isn’t something you see in traditional finance at all. Flash loans are risky and people who execute the concept need to make sure everything is complete before time runs out. Essentially a person who performs a flash loan leverages their assets to drop the price across markets in order to trigger defi apps with oracles to sell at the desired spot price. Individuals leverage defi apps like Kyber’s Uniswap, Aave, Bzx, Dydx, and Compound. Aave-based flash loans were invoked in January and the platform has seen a massive increase in use during the last 30 days. Flash loan payouts are mostly stemming from two stablecoin ecosystems; Maker’s DAI and the stablecoin USDC. Two days ago Aave saw the biggest loan issued at $9 million and Monday’s volume touched an all-time high. Since defi has been popping lately flash loans have grown immensely but pushed out of the limelight by yield farming concepts. Yield farming is basically leveraging various defi assets in order to produce the most return in the quickest amount of time. Similar to flash loans yield farming widens the chances for new price arbitrage. So far besides the big flash loan hacks, both flash loans and yield farming ideas have become all the rage. However, skeptics are curious about how flash loan users will react if a major black swan event like ‘Black Thursday’ on March 12, liquidates a massive quantity of counterparties. $138 million worth of flash loans on Monday shows just how large the risk can get. Still, a recent report published by Tokeninsight notes that this is just the beginning, as the “[defi] lending sector experienced strong growth in H1 2020.” “Compound Finance (COMP) and Aave (LEND) delivered 2x and 5x returns against BTC throughout the six months,” the analysts from Tokeninsight’s report note. What do you think about the growth of defi flash loans these days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Zero Collateral: $138 Million in Defi Flash Loans Issued in 24 Hours appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Just a few days prior to the Bitcoin Cash anniversary, BCH fans found out that the Cashfusion audit from Kudelski Security is now complete. Electron Cash engineer Jonald Fyookball announced the audit was finished and said the protocol “passed, mostly with flying colors.” Last February it was announced that Bitcoin.com would host a fundraiser for the Cashfusion team in order to raise $100,000. $50k worth of the money went toward an audit from the firm Kudelski Security, and the rest of the funds went toward developer expenses. For every BCH donation sent in by the community, Bitcoin.com matched dollar for dollar. The fundraiser surpassed the goal by 103.3% or $51K worth of bitcoin cash spread out between 623 donations. In the past, Kudelski Security also audited the Cashshuffle platform prior to its official release. After improving upon Cashshuffle with the Cashfusion protocol, developers decided to have Kudelski audit the code as well. On Wednesday, Electron Cash (EC) developer Jonald Fyookball revealed that the Cashfusion audit was complete and the BCH community can read the report hosted on the EC website. Moreover, Fyookball explained that the “[Cashfusion] protocol passed, mostly with flying colors.” “Overall, we believe that Cashfusion addresses an existing problem in managing anonymized transactions in Bitcoin Cash by adopting a reasonable security tradeoff,” the Kudelski report notes. “We observe that the security analysis of Cashfusion considers many important aspects, although it can certainly be improved in the future. The protocol is very complex, which limits the accessibility for a sound analysis and security evaluation,” Kudelski’s findings highlight. Kudelski Security further added that the Cashfusion codebase they reviewed “is implementing the protocol as correctly as described and we did not find any evidence of malicious intent or potential backdoor in the codebase.” In addition to the audit, Electron Cash developer Calin Culianu announced the launch of the Electron Cash wallet version 4.1.0 with Cashfusion. Of course, the BCH community was thrilled to hear about the completion of the security audit and Fyookball’s announcement was the top post on the Reddit forum r/btc. The top comment on the post stems from Bitcoin.com’s Roger Ver who said: This is one of the most exciting developments of the year— Strong privacy on BCH is a big big deal. Another BCH supporter wrote: “Love it, love it, love it— Let’s bring this puppy to Bitcoin.com wallet. “Let’s bring it to every wallet,” another individual responded in the thread. “Users should actively opt-out and declare they will need their account/transactions to be public instead of private (standard),” he added. What do you think about the Cashfusion audit completion? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post Privacy-Enhancing Protocol Cashfusion Completes Security Analysis appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A resurgent bitcoin is rekindling Indian interest in cryptocurrencies with reports suggesting many dormant holders are back to trading. A report in Livemint is also attributing the piqued interest to a recent Indian supreme court decision to overturn a prohibition that barred banks from dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. The ban was imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2018. Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO of Wazirx, a cryptocurrency exchange in India, says they are witnessing a renewed excitement. Shetty said bitcoin’s price, which breached the $11,000 mark on Tuesday, resulted in Wazirx “seeing a big jump in our trading volume.” Another expert, Sumit Gupta, a co-founder and CEO at Coindcx, another cryptocurrency exchange, offers a different take for the current interest in bitcoin. According to Gupta, “the surge in bitcoin prices comes amid a rush for safe-haven assets that are considered alternatives to cash and stocks.” The “decreased supply of available bitcoin” following the halving event in May is another factor behind the price rally. Prior to the halving, the bitcoin block reward was 12.5 bitcoins but this was reduced further to 6.25 bitcoins. This means fewer bitcoins have been released onto the market to date when compared with the same period last year. Another expert, Ajeet Khurana, a member, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), focuses on market participants in his explanation for the price surge. He explains: The common investor in any asset class is primarily driven by asset price inflation. The trader in an asset class is driven by volatility, and expects to make money on price movements in both directions. For both of these, bitcoin has been a delight in the recent past. Khurana also believes that crypto investors do not invest in other asset classes. Therefore, the rise in bitcoin prices could fuel a surge in crypto market participants, both investors and traders. In other words, “the cult-like following of cryptocurrency gets strengthened when there is a rally in its prices.” Meanwhile, India still does not have a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency some four months after the supreme court ruling. In addition, a draft government bill on cryptocurrencies seeks to criminalize the mere possession of cryptocurrency. Subhash Chandra Garg, the former Finance and Economic Affairs Secretary of India, told an Indian crypto community earlier this month, that crypto assets should be regulated as commodities. Despite making these comments, Garg says he still stands by the current crypto bill. Will clarity on crypto regulation further boost interest in bitcoin? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin Tops $11,000 Reigniting Interest in India appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz said global “liquidity pump” from stimulus packages will keep driving bitcoin’s price higher. He expects the price of bitcoin to reach $20,000 this year, fueled by retail investors shifting to the cryptocurrency. Mike Novogratz’s Bitcoin Prediction Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz said on Tuesday that bitcoin and gold have more room to grow and will continue to rise due to global “liquidity pump,” afforded by governments’ stimulus packages, coupled with an influx of retail investors. “The liquidity story isn’t going to go away. We’re going to get a big stimulus,” the billionaire investor told CNBC, adding that “it doesn’t look like the Federal Reserve is going to raise rates.” After the CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid stimulus package which President Donald Trump signed into law in March, Republicans and Democrats have both proposed further stimulus packages. The Democrats proposed the $3 trillion HEROES Act while the Republicans introduced the $1 trillion HEALS Act on Monday. Furthermore, “Bitcoin still has a lot of retail interest in it,” Novogratz described, adding that he sees stock investors shifting back to gold and bitcoin. Novogratz expects bitcoin’s price to be at $14,000 in the next three months, emphasizing that it could easily reach $20,000 by the end of the year. His year-end price prediction agrees with several others, including a comprehensive analysis by Crypto Research Report. Bitcoin is currently trading at about $11,258, up approximately 17% since last week and 54% since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the price of gold hit an all-time high on Monday, climbing more than 7% since the beginning of the month. Novogratz said most of his investments have been in bitcoin, gold, and silver. Noting that an estimated 20% of his net worth is in bitcoin, he added: “I want it to go a lot higher.” As for gold, he said it is more of a 5% position for him. The billionaire investor further emphasized that he is starting to see institutional investors move into bitcoin. However, unlike gold investing, they face a learning curve when trying to invest in cryptocurrency. “Bitcoin is still hard to buy. If it was easier to buy, it would be a lot higher,” he previously said. “Gold has been around for 3,000 years, it’s pretty easy to buy,” Novogratz opined. “There’s an adoption game in bitcoin that you don’t have in gold. But I like them both.” Others have also reported seeing increased institutional demand for cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin. Grayscale Investments said that in the second quarter, 84% of its almost $1 billion inflow into crypto investment products were from institutional investors. Moreover, famed hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones recently confirmed that he has almost 2% of his assets in bitcoin. What do you think about Novogratz’s prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Novogratz: Global ‘Liquidity Pump’ Will Keep Bitcoin Rising, Price to Hit $20K This Year appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The Onecoin fiasco is still making headlines these days as a number of alleged money laundering companies were exposed on July 25, two Onecoin leaders were recently killed in Mexico, and the British author Jamie Bartlett revealed a new “Missing Cryptoqueen” episode is coming soon. The Bulgaria-based Ponzi scheme Onecoin is making headlines again as a number of new revelations have come to light. The twisted tale continues with a man named Gilbert Armenta who has been accused of co-conspiring with the lawyer Mark Scott to launder hundreds of millions of Onecoin proceeds. News.Bitcoin.com has reported on Scott’s alleged conspiring with Onecoin leaders after filings from the New York Southern District Court (NYSD) revealed he was charged with laundering $400 million in the British Virgin Islands. Armenta ostensibly worked with Scott and Ruja Ignatova, otherwise known as the ‘Cryptoqueen.’ During the Onecoin trial against the Cryptoqueen’s brother Konstantin Ignatov and the former Locke Lord attorney Mark Scott in the New York Southern District Court (NYSD), Judge Edgardo Ramos unsealed Gilbert Armenta’s indictment and set a sentencing date for October 21, 2020. (Pictured on the left is former lawyer Mark Scott, and the Cryptoqueen’s brother Konstantin Ignatov is pictured on the right) Reports published in February show that Scott threw Armenta “under the bus” and alleged that Amenta “provided his own banks with supposedly inaccurate information about why he, Armenta, was transferring his own money to the BVI-approved Fenero private equity funds managed through Mr. Scott.” Basically, Scott said that he wasn’t aware of the Onecoin funds and his lawyers said “there was no evidence whatsoever that Mr. Scott was aware of, much less agreed to, the making of these alleged misrepresentations.” On July 25, the popular court reporter, Matthew Russell Lee, from Inner City Press detailed that Armenta’s companies have been exposed after documents were unsealed. Armenta’s sentencing was also scheduled by a new judge, Lee revealed. For quite some time Armenta was able to get his sentenced postponed through SDNY Judge Willian H. Pauley III. However, Armenta has a new judge now, according to Lee and the unsealed indictment is available for public viewing. Lee also names a number of individuals exposed in the unsealed document. The individuals seemingly have ostensible links to Ruja Ignatova’s Raven R company. NYSD Judge Edgardo Ramos has set Armenta’s sentencing date for October 21, 2020. Two Onecoin promoters Ignacio Ibarra and Brito Ibarra were both found dead in an empty parking lot after they were stuffed in suitcases. Mazatlan police say the men suffocated. Onecoin also made headlines when two high-ranking promoters were found dead in Mexico on June 30 and the promoters were found stuffed inside suitcases. The two men Ignacio Ibarra and Brito Ibarra (no relation) allegedly promoted Onecoin for a long time and leveraged an entity called the Latin American Automotive Marketing Company (CLA). The two men were allegedly kidnapped two days prior to being found as the culprits dumped the suitcases in a vacant parking lot located in Mazatlan. Lastly, the popular BBC Sounds show “Missing Cryptoqueen” is coming back with another episode. News.Bitcoin.com readers can listen to the recently published trailer here. “We’re back,” the British author and journalist Jamie Bartlett recently tweeted. “The story is even crazier than we thought. Episode 9 of The Missing Cryptoqueen [is] coming soon.” The popular BBC Sounds broadcast the “Missing Cryptoqueen” has plans to air another episode in the near future. News.Bitcoin.com spoke with the “Missing Cryptoqueen” show host and British author Jamie Bartlett on Wednesday. The show about Onecoin’s missing leader is also produced by the documentaries producer Georgia Catt. Speaking with news.Bitcoin.com on Wednesday morning Bartlett said that he couldn’t go into great detail about the upcoming episode. “What I can say is that over the last 6 months the story of Onecoin had got even stranger and darker than we realised,” Bartlett stressed. “I can’t say for certain how many there will be— but there will definitely be more than this forthcoming episode 9. There is still a lot we are investigating.” What do you think about the recent Onecoin headlines? Let us know what you think about this story in the comments section below. The post The Onecoin Debacle: Indictments Unsealed, 2 Dead in Mexico, Story Gets ‘Darker’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Power plants in Iran are allowed to mine cryptocurrencies, the deputy head of the country’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir) has reportedly confirmed. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, deputy head of Tavanir, explained that entities have to apply for the necessary licenses from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, and comply with the tariffs set for crypto mining. He told IRNA publication on Monday: The power plants must submit their requests, and follow the approved tariff set for cryptocurrency mining centers. Miners have been setting up operations in Iran to take advantage of the country’s subsidized electricity rates. Data shows that mining farms in Iran are paying as little as $0.01 to $0.05 for one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. However, the rates increase four-fold during the peak summer season, prompting Tavanir to announce that it will cut up to 47% of the electricity tariffs for miners during the peak consumption periods. Rajabi Mashhadi noted that permits have recently been issued to 14 cryptocurrency mining farms, each with a capacity of 300 megawatts, as news.Bitcoin.com reported. In addition, more than 1,000 bitcoin mining licenses had previously been issued, including for Iminer, a major bitcoin mining operation based in Turkey. Rajabi Mashhadi also emphasized that anyone reporting illegal cryptocurrency mining farms will be rewarded. “The supply of electricity is of great importance to the public” and “we will not allow those who misuse the tariffs provided for the agricultural and industrial sectors to produce bitcoins,” he concluded. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani called for the creation of a Muslim cryptocurrency in December last year in cooperation with Turkey and Malaysia. Recently, he supported the creation of a national cryptocurrency mining strategy in order for the country to prosper economically amid U.S. sanctions. What do you think about power plants in Iran mining bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Power Plants in Iran Now Authorized to Mine Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Onchain data shows that bitcoin’s breakout above $11,000 puts 93% of the circulating supply in a state of profit. Additionally, seven-day metrics show that bitcoin’s “realized price” has recovered from the low that took place on March 12. The research and analysis firm Glassnode revealed that when the price of bitcoin (BTC) is over the $11,000 range, 93% of bitcoin in circulation becomes profitable. At the time of publication, BTC has been struggling to hold that momentum as the price has shifted below the $11k range a couple of times on Tuesday. The spike on Tuesday led to a decent jump in onchain profits Glassnode detailed on Twitter. “BTC’s break above $11,000 has led to a sharp increase in the onchain supply in profit. Currently, almost 93% of the circulating bitcoin supply is in a state of profit – the highest level in over a year,” the analytics firm tweeted. Moreover, BTC has recovered from the March 12 (Black Thursday) market rout. Data shows that the crypto asset’s “realized price” has turned Black Thursday’s trend upside down. Glassnode’s charts set for seven-day statistics also indicate that “realized price” has doubled. To add to those stats, bitcoin (BTC) charts show that long term holding has touched a new high. “62% of Bitcoin supply (11,400,000 BTC) has not moved in at least a year,” the bitcoiner Kevin Rooke told his 11,000 Twitter followers on Monday. Furthermore, BTC “profitible days” stats from the web portal Lookintobitcoin shows that the crypto asset has been profitable over 97% of its lifespan. The current optimism in the world of cryptocurrencies has been quite different this time around as the world is dealing with the reaction to Covid-19 and the faltering economy. During the last few days, the USD and U.S. bonds have weakened considerably and many economists think the central bank will suppress benchmark interest rates this week. Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at Luno believes that central banks will keep bolstering crypto assets like BTC. “My view is that with the major governments declaring unprecedented stimulus packages … we will see continued bullish momentum across markets. So that includes equities and gold as well. And BTC and crypto will follow in this regard. Added to the fact that a vaccine seems within reach as well now, no reason to be bearish near term,” Ayyar said. With a lifespan of 97% profitability and 93% when the price is over $11,000 is a good sign crypto proponents. However, bitcoin mining operations need another $1,500 more for miners to start prospering, as they did before the May 11 halving. A report from the blockchain analytics provider Tradeblock shows that $12,525 per BTC would bring miners over the edge and $15,062 per coin would improve profits a great deal. What do you think about BTC profitability after bitcoin’s recent runup? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post 93% of Bitcoin’s Supply Profitable at $11K, ‘Realized Price’ Recovers from Black Thursday appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

During the last four weeks, cryptocurrency markets have gathered significant value, and the crypto asset ethereum gained over 40% during the last 30-days. The price of ether moving northbound has caused a strain on the graphics processing unit (GPU) market, as ETH miners have become scarce. Regional reports stemming from China explain that GPU miners are becoming much harder to obtain since the price of ether started rising exponentially. Ethereum (ETH) touched an 11-month high on Monday, touching $327 per coin. Statistics from Etherscan shows that Ethereum’s network hashrate has increased by 25.7% since the first week in January 2020. Currently on July 28, the ETH hashrate is roughly 194,650 gigahash per second (GH/s). Financial columnist Vincent He recently explained that he spoke with a Chinese GPU mining manufacturer who blamed the problems on semiconductor suppliers like Nvidia. The GPU rig manufacturer says that Nvidia has also started to stop the production of its RTX 20 series GPU chips which has temporarily hurt the industry. Nvidia has plans to release a next-generation version of the RTX 30 series graphics cards in the near future. “The price increase of GPU was mainly caused by two chip suppliers,” the GPU mining manufacturer told the columnist. “Due to Covid-19, the order plan was reduced and the production capacity was limited. Moreover, they also consciously limit the mining industry’s excessive procurement to avoid the impact on the subsequent consumer market. I think that a new product is coming after September.” This is not the first time GPUs have become scarce thanks to ethereum miners and many people hope that Ethereum 2.0 will lessen the demand for GPUs. The oft-postponed Ethereum 2.0 will add proof-of-stake (PoS) capabilities to the Ethereum network’s security. In March 2018, Jensen Huang the CEO of Nvidia complained about Ethereum miners causing a shortage of GPUs worldwide. Huang believes that crypto asset networks take advantage of distributed high-performance computing. “At the highest level the way to think about that is because of the philosophy of cryptocurrency — which is really about taking advantage of distributed high-performance computing — there are supercomputers in the hands of almost everybody in the world so that no singular force or entity that can control the currency,” Huang said at the time. The Nvidia cofounder further stated: [Cryptocurrency] is not our business. Gaming is growing and workstation is growing because of ray tracing. 8btc columnist, Vincent He, details that Chinese miners have switched from mining BTC to mining ETH to gather faster rewards. Allegedly, it can take 600 days to reap profits from BTC but with ETH, it can be cut down to 200 days. Moreover, Chinese ASIC manufacturers who build SHA256 mining rigs but also ETH GPUs, have seen a massive surge toward rigs with graphics processing units. The sales director of Innosilicon, Wang Shenglin, has seen this trending demand toward GPUs. “Ethereum continues to lead the crypto market, and the current price adjustment of the machines is relatively small. If the subsequent source of machine supply continues to shrink, we may further adjust the price,” Wang Shenglin stressed. What do you think about the shortage of ether and GPU miners? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Ethereum Price Creates GPU Shortage, Some Manufacturers Blame Nvidia appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Max Keiser has predicted that bitcoin’s current bullish pattern will lead toward a price of $28,000. While the bitcoin bull does not give a timeframe when this is likely to happen, he believes that, thanks to relentless government money printing, the benchmark cryptocurrency will eventually test $100,000. But not before some correction. “$28,000 is in play before we see a pullback – and then we’re heading to 6-figures,” Keiser forecast, in the course of several tweets. Bitcoin (BTC) soared more than 20% to hit $11,300 on July 28, its highest level since August 2019. The top crypto has struggled to break above the key $10,000 point since the May 11 halving, but made easy of the resistance level in the last 48 hours. The rally comes as the U.S. government this week announced another round of stimulus spending, a $1 trillion package, that will also finance Covid-19 cushioning allowances paid out to American families at the rate of $1,200. In his predictions, Keiser, host of the Keiser Report, was apparently hitting back at crypto skeptic Peter Schiff who said that bitcoin mostly drops after hitting $10,000 and is poised for a similar decline. In an earlier interview, Schiff referenced bitcoin’s post-$10, 000 performances. “Two of the last three times #Bitcoin rose above $10,000 in Oct. of 2019 and in Feb. of 2020 it soon fell by 38% and 63%, respectively,” said Shiff, who has previously opposed gold’s rise to bitcoin. He said: “The last time Bitcoin rose above $10,000 was in May, and it only fell by 15%. It’s above $10,000 again today. How big will the next drop be?” Keiser had short shrift for the position, asserting that Schiff, the “worst money manager in history,” was wrong “for the 500th time in ten years.” He added that Schiff is “puking his brains out right now,” regretting his gold purchase. Regarding the relative accessibility of bitcoin over gold, Keiser tweeted: “I have been saying for over a year that silver and gold will be difficult to source and the market will shift to Bitcoin as hard money substitutes, and those who never thought of buying BTC will be forced to.” Gold and Bitcoin are usually paired as safe investment havens. Bitcoin’s finite money compares favorably to fiat currency. With the U.S dollar weakening, as the government doles out free money, the distinction comes into focus. What do you think of Max Keiser’s bitcoin price forecast? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin’s Current Breakout Sets It up for $28,000, Headed for Six Figures – Max Keiser appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Volumes on bitcoin futures offered by Bakkt set a record high on July 27, with 11,500 contracts traded on the institutional exchange. Altogether, the contracts are worth about $126 million, at the time of writing. Each contract is equivalent to one bitcoin (BTC). Total open interest – an indicator of the total number of outstanding contracts held by investors – reached $8 million from a low of around $4 million a few days earlier, showing that more money is flowing into the marketplace. In a tweet, Bakkt said: “Our bitcoin futures reached a new record high of 11,509 contracts traded today (July 27) – an increase of 85% from our last record-setting day.” The platform’s previous all-time-high came on December 19, 2019, when more than 6,300 contracts, or $45 million, exchanged hands. At the time, the price of bitcoin surged 15% in 24 hours to just under $7,200. Now, Bakkt’s recent record numbers have also coincided with the price of BTC smashing $11,300 on July 28, it’s highest level in eleven months. Bitcoin has soared more than 20% in the past 48 hours. New York Stock Exchange-owned Bakkt suffered from poor volumes during the three months to June 30. For example, no options were traded at all on the exchange since June 15. By comparison, Deribit clocked almost $1 billion of trades, on average, for the entire month. Futures fared poorly as well. Bakkt’s daily trading volumes on bitcoin futures averaged just $40 million throughout the month. Meanwhile, trading volumes spiked sharply across the board following bitcoin’s ongoing rally. According to Skew, a data analytics company, Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME), saw about $1.3 billion worth of BTC futures contracts traded on July 27. In spot trading, Binance paced other exchanges, with daily trading volume hitting $1.4 billion followed by Coinbase and Bitstamp, which facilitated $429 million and $317 million worth of trades on Monday, respectively. What do you think about the Bakkt record bitcoin futures volumes? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Bakkt Futures Volume Hits $122 million, as Bitcoin Reached New 11-Month High appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Coinbase says more institutional investors are now using its platform to build direct positions in the cryptocurrency market. Crypto fund managers are now getting more backing from institutional investors that see the crypto market as an alternative investment strategy. In a report, the exchange says it observed a “noticeable uptick in institutional business’s growth” in the first half of the year. According to Coinbase, the “greater visibility of reputable investors warming up to digital assets” is also helping to fuel growing “confidence among this community.” In May, a hedge fund, Tudor Investment Corporation, disclosed it had taken positions in bitcoin. At the time of this announcement, there were reports quoting the hedge fund’s CEO, Paul Tudor Jones, arguing that bitcoin is a better hedge against inflation. Jones predicted that the record central banks’ monetary expansion of 2020 will be a “potential catalyst for an increased interest in bitcoin.” On Monday, July 27, the price of bitcoin passed $10,000 for the first time in several weeks before breaching the $11,000 mark. At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is oscillating between $10,500 and $11,000. The recent bitcoin price movement coincided with reports suggesting an imminent release of a second stimulus check for Americans. In the meantime, Coinbase acknowledges that its “investors are still in the early days of untangling the relationship between macroeconomic policy and crypto.” Nevertheless, Coinbase says it is seeing a “growing base of our institutional clients organizing around the thesis that BTC provides exposure to an alternative monetary policy system with supply mechanics that are diametrically opposed to those of central banks in 2020.” Coinbase’s institutional investors demand deeper capabilities to help them allocate and trade. In response to client demand, the exchange says it is building market-leading brokerage services. The recent acquisition of Tagomi fits the leading exchange’s plan to bolster “our offerings for advanced traders and the most sophisticated crypto investors.” Coinbase adds it will continue to invest in leading data analytics businesses through Coinbase Ventures. Do you think Coinbase will see more action by institutional investors in H2? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Coinbase Sees More Institutional Investors Buying Bitcoin in H1 appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Switzerland’s principal stock exchange SIX Swiss Exchange is listing a new bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP). The BTCA index, otherwise known as the “Bitcoin Capital Active ETP (BTCA),” is different from other crypto ETPs exchanged on SIX because it’s an “actively managed” cryptocurrency ETP. SIX Swiss Exchange, based in Zurich is one Switzerland’s most popular stock trading platforms and the exchange allows investors to obtain securities like stock options, derivatives, and Swiss government bonds. SIX has been offering crypto infused exchange-traded products (ETP) for quite some time now. This week the exchange revealed a new index called the BTCA or “Bitcoin Capital Active ETP” which was registered by FiCAS, a Switzerland-based investment manager. “We have chosen coins that have their own blockchain, high market capitalization and a large liquidity pool,” Mattia Rattaggi, chairman of the FiCAS Board detailed in a written statement. “Time will tell how this innovation will impact the industry. Arguably, an actively managed, discretionary ETP may be better suited for the still-nascent cryptocurrency markets, because it focuses on active risk management more than in a systematically-driven passive ETP,” Rattaggi added. The BTCA will be issued by Bitcoin Capital AG and it will trade against “the top 15 cryptocurrencies and aims to deliver enhanced returns for clients.” The Switzerland government has given FiCAS full regulatory approval to offer the BTCA product to investors. The founder of FiCAS, Ali Mizani Oskui explained during the announcement that the BTCA is an “important milestone in our effort to deliver enhanced market returns for our clients over time.” Oskui further stated: Based on our in-depth trading and analytical experience, actively managing our underlyings allows us to preempt and react to market movements through the discretionary buying and selling of crypto assets to steer risk-adjusted returns. Personally, I have built my expertise in crypto trading since 2013, with a strong track record in outperforming the market. I look forward to bringing my trading experience to global and institutional markets with this pioneering product. Switzerland’s principal stock exchange offers numerous cryptocurrency products and listings have been gradually added over the years. In December 2019, Wisdomtree’s physically-backed bitcoin ETP went live on the SIX stock exchange. SIX also has a number of crypto ETPs issued by fintech company Amun AG. Investors leveraging these products can bet against bitcoin’s price or invest in ETPs that track the price movements of crypto assets like XRP, ETH, BCH, and others. What do you think about the latest actively managed Bitcoin Capital Active ETP listed on the SIX exchange? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. The post Swiss Exchange SIX Lists Actively Managed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Goldman Sachs has warned that the U.S. dollar may lose its status as the world’s reserve currency. The investment bank is bullish on gold as fears over governments debasing their fiat currencies grow and real interest rates are pushed to all-time lows. Goldman Sachs’ Dollar and Gold Predictions American investment bank and financial services company Goldman Sachs warned on Tuesday that the U.S. dollar is at risk of losing its status as the world’s reserve currency. Goldman Sachs’ strategists wrote: Real concerns around the longevity of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency have started to emerge. The strategists explained that the U.S. dollar faces several risks. Citing that the debt level in the U.S. has now exceeded 80% of the country’s gross domestic product, they anticipate that the government and central bank may allow inflation to accelerate. “The resulting expanded balance sheets and vast money creation spurs debasement fears,” they described, adding that this creates “a greater likelihood that at some time in the future, after economic activity has normalized, there will be incentives for central banks and governments to allow inflation to drift higher to reduce the accumulated debt burden.” Other factors such as increased political uncertainty and growing concerns of another coronavirus infection spike also impact the dollar. Meanwhile, the price of gold hit an all-time high on Monday, climbing to $1,931 an ounce, prompting a widespread expectation that $2,000 an ounce could soon be reached. Gold’s record-breaking rally even had Goldman Sachs revise its forecast to $2,300 an ounce in the next 12 months after the firm previously discarded its own forecast of $2,000. Gold is up around 7% over the past month while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY dropped 3.7%. The Goldman strategists explained: Gold is the currency of last resort, particularly in an environment like the current one where governments are debasing their fiat currencies and pushing real interest rates to all-time lows. Bitcoin has also been named a safe haven asset for the current environment. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, for example, believes that with central banks mass printing money, it is “an amazing environment for both being long gold and long bitcoin.” Even JPMorgan’s analysts wrote in a February report that cryptocurrencies should be in a portfolio “because they can uniquely hedge a yet-unseen environment entailing simultaneous loss of confidence in the domestic currency and its payments system.” Like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan has also questioned the U.S. dollar’s status as a reserve currency, the company outlined in a report published in October last year. Bitcoin is currently trading at about $10,978, after crossing the $11K mark the previous day. The cryptocurrency is up approximately 17% since last week and 54% since the beginning of the year. Do you think the USD will lose its status as the world’s reserve currency? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Goldman Sachs Warns US Dollar Risks Losing World Reserve Currency Status, Gold and Bitcoin Soar appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Austria’s leading telecom company, A1 Telekom Austria Group, has announced that its merchant payment service now accepts cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, for cashless payments. The company operates in seven countries and has 25 million customers. A1 Telekom Austria Group is a leading provider of digital services and communications solutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, the company has about 25 million customers and over 18,000 employees. It currently operates in seven countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Belarus, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The group announced Monday that its A1 Payment service now supports cryptocurrencies, stating: As of now, A1 Payment is accepting digital currencies for cashless payments. With A1 Payment, retailers across Austria can accept digital currencies in addition to other popular payment methods, such as Maestro, credit cards, and Alipay, the announcement continues. The company clarified that retailers receive the purchase price in euros whenever customers pay with cryptocurrencies. “This eliminates any exchange rate or currency risk” and merchants do not need to have knowledge about cryptocurrencies, the company noted. “Payments with digital currencies such as bitcoin, ethereum or dash are converted into euros in real time at the cash desk.” A1 Payment terminals are provided by Ingenico, the world’s leading payment terminal provider. Concardis provides the payment software for card payments. Salamantex, an Austrian fintech company that specializes in payments, provides technical solutions for accepting cryptocurrencies. Salamantex announced earlier this month the integration of its software into the A1 Payment system to enable more than 2,500 merchants to accept cryptocurrencies. Monday’s announcement followed a pilot program A1 Telekom conducted in August last year for selected shops to accept bitcoin. What do you think about A1 Payment accepting bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. The post A1 Telekom Austria Adds Bitcoin to Payment Service for Thousands of Retailers appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Thailand has been growing the number of licensed cryptocurrency service providers. The Thai regulators have now approved 13 crypto businesses to legally operate in the country, including cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, and dealers. The Royal Decree on the Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 regulates the crypto sector in Thailand. It categorizes digital asset businesses into three types: “digital asset exchange,” “digital asset broker,” and “digital asset dealer.” The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved six digital asset exchanges so far. They are Bitkub, BX, Satang Pro, Huobi Thailand, ERX, and Zipmex. The newest approved exchange was ERX. The Royal Decree also distinguishes between cryptocurrency and digital token. Cryptocurrencies are “created for the purpose of being a medium of exchange for the acquisition of goods, services, or other rights,” the SEC detailed. Meanwhile, digital tokens are created “for the purpose of specifying the right of a person to participate in an investment in any project or business, or to acquire specific goods, services, or other rights under an agreement between the issuer and the holder.” All six licensed digital asset exchanges are approved for both cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, except for ERX which is only approved for the latter. BX, aka Bitcoin Co. Ltd., halted trading on Sept. 30 last year and is “currently in the process of returning licenses,” the SEC’s website shows. Three digital asset brokers — Coins TH, Bitazza, and Kulap — have been approved. However, Kulap is not yet operational. There is only one licensed crypto dealer in the country: Coins TH. In addition, Thailand is regulating initial coin offerings (ICO) via licensed “ICO portals.” The Royal Decree defines an ICO portal as “a provider of an electronic system for facilitating the offering of newly issued digital tokens.” Its “duties include performing due diligence on the characteristics of digital tokens to be offered and qualifications of issuer, and ensuring completeness and accuracy of information contained in the registration statements, draft prospectus or any other information to be disclosed through the portal.” Four ICO portals — Longroot, T-box, SE Digital, and Bitherb — have been licensed. Bitherb, a joint venture between Japanese crypto exchange Bitpoint Japan and Asia Herb Association Bangkok Co. Ltd., is the only ICO portal that is not yet operational. Crypto exchanges, brokers, dealers, and ICO portals are all considered financial institutions under the Thai Anti-Money Laundering Act. “Those who intend to operate a digital asset business shall be approved by the Minister of Finance upon recommendation of the SEC,” the Thai securities regulator emphasized. What do you think about Thailand’s approach to crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Thailand Has Now Licensed 13 Cryptocurrency Service Providers appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Nigeria is not only Africa’s biggest cryptocurrency market but is also a leading adopter of digital currencies globally. Official figures show the country is well ahead of fellow African countries. Citizens of the West African state use cryptocurrencies for cross border payments as well as for international remittances among many growing use cases. However, this growth momentum faces a threat from an old vice — scams. Cryptocurrency-related scams threaten to overrun the blockchain space as new ones get launched all the time. Adding to the woes is the global pandemic, covid-19, which appears to have opened a new artery for criminals. Many concerned stakeholders are now raising the alarm as they try to turn the tide against criminals. The Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), the equivalent of Nigeria’s blockchain association, is one organization sounding the alarm. Scams: A Threat to Crypto Adoption SIBAN is mandated with promoting cryptocurrency adoption as well as ensuring consumer protection against crypto scams. The organization believes the scourge, if left unchecked, will not only impede further growth of the space but may well reverse public confidence in the emerging technology. Senator Iyere Ihenyen, General Secretary (GS) of SIBAN, speaks to news.Bitcoin.com. He starts by explaining why Africa’s most populous nation has been grappling with scams for years. “So to really understand the rising rate of scams in Nigeria, it is vital to understand the context. A country of over 200 million people with a high rate of youth unemployment and underemployment, Nigeria has unfortunately made itself a haven for scammers,” explains Ihenyen. The Nigeria market presents scammers with a large pool of desperate people to target. Still, some fall victim to scams not because they are desperate but because of “sheer greed.” As Ihenyen observes, scammers are now “riding on the rising popularity of the blockchain and cryptocurrencies to dupe even more members of the public.” The GS is asked about Inksnation, an investment platform that has been labeled a scam by some Nigerians. Ihenyen, who says he first heard of this alleged scam in December 2019, dismisses claims by its founders that the investment scheme has its own blockchain. The GS is emphatic in labeling the platform: Inksnation is not on any blockchain. Its Inksledger, which it claims to be its blockchain, is not public and may as well be inexistent. There is no whitepaper. In Inksnation’s team is the founder himself (as Daddy Ink) and ‘Elohim Jahgah God the Trinity Trustor & Grantor Inksnation.’ According to Ihenyen, Inksnation typifies scams that routinely take advantage of Nigeria’s economic situation to defraud thousands of unsuspecting investors. Regulatory Response Still, Ihenyen says contrary to a perception that nothing is being done, efforts are ongoing to rid the space of scams. For instance, he says SIBAN and Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have both issued public alerts warning the public about Inksnation. Predictably, the alerts have not stopped Inksnation from continuing to invite more Nigerians to invest with it. Ihenyen points to two possible reasons why Inksnation is seemingly unfazed by the alerts and why Nigerians appear indifferent to the alerts. Ihenyen suggests that Inksnation is aware that SIBAN can only issue advisories but lacks the power to enforce or to make arrests. On the other hand, the SEC may be in a position to cause an action to be taken against Inksnation. However, by deliberately labeling itself as a blockchain entity, an unregulated space, it means the regulator lacks sufficient legal grounds to take action. In addition, Ihenyen highlights the difficulty of convincing a greedy investor who has made up his mind to walk away. When SIBAN issued an alert against Inksnation, it received brickbats instead of plaudits, the GS says. As a result, Inksnation continues to operate unhindered. In the meantime, Ihenyen suggests the same socio-economic and legal environment to be responsible for enabling two more prominent investment scams to proliferate. Ethereum Million Money and Forsage are two other investment platforms which began “trending from the month of March till date.” According to some Nigerian media reports, Ethereum Million Money is a multi-level marketing scam that has some investors already counting losses. Similarly, a report by behindmlm.com — a scam tracking website — seemingly backs Ihenyen’s claim about Forsage. Forsage has also been flagged by regulators in the Philipines. At the time of writing, SIBAN had just received fresh complaints about another possible scam, Lionshare. SIBAN’s Long-Term Plan to Counter Scams Turning his attention to what SIBAN is planning to do to curb incidences of cryptocurrency scams, Ihenyen says they are looking to collaborate with like-minded institutions in raising awareness. “SIBAN plans to partner with Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), the Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDIN) and other bodies in the space to launch the Anti-Scam Alert Project (ASAP).” Finally, Ihenyen says SIBAN has a “special blockchain education project loading, in collaboration with select local and global blockchain & crypto platforms.” What do you think of Nigeria’s problem with scams? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Ignorance and Greed Sustain Cryptocurrency Scams in Nigeria appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Around 2,500 stolen bitcoins ($28 million) from the 2016 Bitfinex breach were transferred from the hacker’s wallet on Monday. The last time the Bitfinex hackers moved funds from the hack four years ago, they moved around $5 million worth of coins on June 24. This time around, the top crypto asset by market capitalization touched new price highs for 2020 on July 27. At 6:15 p.m. (ET) on Monday, bitcoin (BTC) reached $11,379 per coin on Bitfinex. The hackers moved the $28 million worth of BTC in various fractions six hours prior to the price high, according to statistics from the BTC transaction tracker Whale-alert.io. ⚠ 174.44 #BTC (1,815,092 USD) of stolen funds transferred from Bitfinex Hack 2016 to unknown wallet Tx: https://t.co/VA64OqmQKT — Whale Alert (@whale_alert) July 27, 2020 Whale Alert saw a number of large BTC transfers on Monday afternoon, but these bitcoins, in particular, stemmed from the 2016 Bitfinex hack and were sent to unknown wallets. Some transactions were anywhere between 85 BTC to 174 BTC, while some were above 400 BTC in a single transaction. The series of BTC transactions stemming from the Bitfinex hack occurred at precisely 12:41 p.m. ET and another set of transfers at 1:49 p.m. At 6:15 p.m. (ET) on Monday, bitcoin (BTC) reached $11,379 per coin on Bitfinex. The Bitfinex hackers moved a grand total of just over 2,550 BTC and at the time, BTC was only trading for $10,350 a coin. The bitcoins came from the security breach Bitfinex experienced back in August 2016 when the exchange lost 120,000 BTC. At the time the entire stash of stolen BTC was only worth roughly $72 million, but today those coins are worth $1.3 billion at current prices. Bitfinex is still a popular exchange and it paid customers back by creating an exchange-backed token. The Bitfinex stolen bitcoins have always been a fan favorite to monitor and people are always watching the funds with great interest. The bitcoins have been moved more recently but sat for years prior to the first moves. With the last move on June 24, the hackers also moved coins on June 11 as well. The Bitfinex hackers transferred roughly $5 million worth of BTC in 20 separate transactions. The $28 million worth of bitcoin transactions on Monday has been one of the largest moves yet. What do you think about the Bitfinex hackers moving $28 million worth of BTC? Let us know in the comments section below. The post Hackers Transfer $28 Million Worth of Bitcoin from 2016 Bitfinex Breach appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin fees have grown much larger in recent days spiking to a two-month high to $3.80 per network transaction. The crypto asset’s fees have jumped 590% since June 14 and the mempool (transaction backlog) has grown significantly. Digital currency markets have been extremely bullish lately as bitcoin (BTC) touched a high of $10,974 on Bitfinex on Monday. BTC’s price has jumped over 8.8% in the last 24 hours and over 17% during the last seven days. Despite the huge spike in value, digital currency advocates have been complaining about the network’s transaction fees spiking as well. The BTC network has seen unconfirmed transactions climb and the mempool size (transaction queue) has grown quite large. Bitcoin (BTC) fees touch a two-month high on July 23, 2020, at $3.84 per transaction (txn). On June 12, software developer Jameson Lopp said: “Sure, bitcoin transaction fees have gone up a lot. But what’s more interesting is the volatility increase in the fee estimate market.” Two days later on June 14, BTC fees jumped to $0.55 per transaction (txn) but that number jumped 590% to $3.80 per on July 23. On July 26, the popular analyst Willy Woo said that “bullishness is returning” when he tweeted: One month update on this model for predictive timing of macro bull runs, this should be it. Bullishness returning. Alts frothy, ETH getting a defi tailwind, volatility returning, BTC mempool peaking, BTC txs clogging, this is all great signs for the months ahead. Bitcoin (BTC) price on Bitfinex on July 27, 2020, touches $10,974 per coin. Meanwhile, a number of BTC supporters have been criticizing the high network fees Ethereum users are experiencing right now. An ETH supporter on July 22, called maximalists out over this behavior and tweeted: “Some BTC maximalists are making fun of ETH gas prices, but when you say the same thing about BTC blocks being full and fees going up, then they say that’s Satoshi’s vision to have full blocks. Is Ethereum fulfilling Satoshi’s vision better than bitcoin?” Almost every day there’s a post on the Reddit forum r/bitcoin in regard to high BTC network fees, the mempool, and people sending txns with a low fee by accident. Similar to Woo’s opinion, some members of r/bitcoin are also “bullish” about the clogged mempool. “I don’t know about you guys, but the fact that the blocks being full for ten days in a row is bullish for me,” an individual wrote on the forum three days ago. Meanwhile, one person disagreed and said: “It’s not really bullish. It’s most likely happening because there’s a rally and people want to get ready to sell their bitcoin on exchanges.” Bitcoin’s rising fee market makes a number of investors bullish and this trend can be seen across Twitter. One individual recently tweeted: “Fee [is] market working — Oh look, solid increase in the fees ensures bitcoin’s security is perpetual – Bullish.” Another person wrote: “[BTC] failed to be electronic cash, just like a Rolex Submariner failed to be used as a diving watch. They have a different purpose, they now are a store of value. There’s the value now.” Meanwhile, Ethereum has largely become bitcoin’s sidechain and the Lightning Network and Blockstream’s Liquid combined haven’t really seen any meaningful migration thus far. What do you think about bitcoin fees jumping 590%? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Bitcoin Fees Skyrocket 590% Since Mid-June – Supporters Think Mempool Size Is ‘Bullish’ appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

U.S. investors may be planning to use their second $1,200 stimulus money to buy bitcoin – again. The U.S. government is, on Monday, expected to approve plans for this second payout, White House officials have confirmed. The bailout is intended to cushion families against the covid-19 fallout. Instead of buying groceries or paying rent, many Americans opted to invest in the top cryptocurrency when they received their first stimulus checks in April. And the gamble — ditching inflationary government money for deflationary crypto — is paying off. Those that converted the free money to bitcoin have raked in up to 54% in profit in three months as the price of BTC barrelled past $10,700 on July 27. At the time when the checks were first issued, each bitcoin traded for around $7,000. Today, each $1,200 check invested in BTC is worth about $1,829, a gain of more than $600. Now, history may be about to repeat itself. “Straight to the BTC, straight to the cold storage wallet,” said Reddit user Limited-Visibility, while responding to a thread started by Wocketman0351, who asked: “Who else is converting their free government money straight to BTC?” Another Redditor, Rapierce0238, stated: “What I do get will go straight to bitcoin, just like last time.” “It’s really the easiest way to avoid hitting the inflation from the stupid Fed continuously printing money,” opined Girafferage. Someone else claimed: “I will be buying more car parts and bitcoin. We have plenty of food because we’ve been stocking up all summer.” According to U.S. government officials, the latest stimulus checks are expected to be paid out sometime in August. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told CNN that families will receive this second $1,200 payout as part of a $1 trillion stimulus package. When the government first paid out the stimulus money in April, large cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance reported a spike in exactly $1,200 equivalent deposits on their platforms. Brian Armstrong, chief executive officer of Coinbase, said at the time that the number of $1,200-worth deposits and buys on the exchange climbed by nearly 400% that month. Will more Americans buy bitcoin with their stimulus checks? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. The post Americans to Buy Bitcoin With Their Second Stimulus Checks After Initial Investment Turned in 50% Profit appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

A major Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Liquid, has delisted 29 cryptocurrencies to comply with the crypto regulation in Singapore in an effort to become a licensed crypto exchange operator in the country. Singapore has been enhancing its crypto regulation in line with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 29 Cryptocurrencies Delisted One of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, Liquid, has applied for a license to operate in Singapore. Its parent company, Quoine, is licensed by the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA). Liquid announced last week: Due to heightened compliance requirements set by Singaporean regulations, some listed tokens cannot continue to trade on Liquid and will be taken off the markets. As of Monday, the cryptocurrencies that have been or will be delisted are SNX, MITH, DRG, WLO, STORJ, WIN, VUU, XNK, PPL, ENJ, AMLT, DENT, FSN, GEN, LND, MITX, SPHTX, MRK, BRC, XMR, NEO, IPSX, ADH, ZEC, IHF, PMA, XLM, QAX, and HYDRO. Trading and deposits have already been halted for some of these cryptocurrencies and their trading pairs but customers can still withdraw their coins. Nonetheless, the exchange noted that “Some of these tokens are undergoing talks with regulators and may be re-listed in the near future.” Singapore has been working on implementing stricter rules on crypto exchanges to comply with the FATF standards. The Monetary Authority of Singapore issued a consultation paper on July 21 describing “enhanced standards” of the AML/CFT requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The consultation paper can be found here. What do you think about Liquid delisting coins to comply with crypto regulation? Let us know in the comments section below. The post 29 Cryptocurrencies Delisted on Liquid Exchange to Comply With Singapore’s FATF Crypto Regulation appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

The cryptocurrency economy has spiked significantly on July 26 into the overnight trading sessions capturing over $300 billion in value. Bitcoin is trading above the $10,360 zone while ethereum is swapping for $321 per coin. Meanwhile, the precious metals gold and silver have seen incredible gains as well on Monday. The Crypto Economy Surpasses $300 Billion While the global economy has been shuddering, precious metals markets and cryptocurrencies have seen significant value flow into these ecosystems. On Monday, July 27 the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization of all 5,700+ coins in existence is around $304 billion. Ethereum (ETH) has gained 3.9% during the last 24 hours. Bitcoin (BTC) is up 4.5% on Monday and is currently trading for $10,361 per BTC. Crypto trade volume is up 55% and the entire market capitalization has gained 7.6% during the last 24 hours. The top ten digital assets by market valuation on July 27, 2020. ETH which is swapping for $321 per coin has an overall market valuation of around $35.9 billion in comparison to BTC’s $191 billion. Still, BTC’s dominance ratio is only 61.6% today while a number of alternative crypto assets have seen much larger gains. XRP is down 0.26% today and trading for $0.21 per coin. The fifth-largest market cap bitcoin cash (BCH) is up 3.8% today as it trades for $258 on Monday morning. BCH has a market valuation of around $4.77 billion and roughly $603 million worth of 24-hour trade volume. BTC/USD on Sunday, July 26, 2020, Falling Wedge pattern. The Falling Wedge pattern is typically a bullish pattern that begins very wide at the top and contracts as prices move lower. BTC’s $10K Hurdle Complete Many people are speculating on whether or not BTC can burst past the psychological $10.5K zone in the near future. After Sunday and Monday’s jump above the $10K range, many investors and speculators grew more optimistic. The popular crypto analyst @Chase_nl recently explained that the biggest resistance for BTC is around $11,500. “Cautiously bullish — With that said, ETH never provided a solid retracement to get long before it continued north and I’d prefer to see BTC follow suit. A strong breakout leads to $11.5K as the first major resistance,” Chase_nl tweeted to his 15,000 Twitter followers. Analyst: Risks of Investing in Bitcoin Versus the Potential Reward is Low In a letter to investors on Monday, Etoro’s market analyst Simon Peters discussed how the risk of investing in BTC versus the reward is lower these days. Peters mostly discussed crypto assets like ETH and ADA, but when discussing BTC he said: “Bitcoin [has] soared through the $10,000 resistance level, hitting a high of $10,314 in the early hours of the morning.” Peters continued by adding: In addition to this important move upwards, it is also pleasing to see that a respectable bottom of $9,000 is in place. Furthermore, Glassnode recently highlighted that bitcoin’s reserve risk, a metric used to assess the confidence of long-term holders comparative to bitcoin’s price, is growing favourably. Indeed, this confidence has been growing since September 2019, which indicates that the risk of investing in the crypto asset versus the potential reward is low. Bitcoin (BTC) prices on Monday, July 27, 2020. The Juggernaut Gold Market Touches an All-Time High The price of gold spiked over 42% during the last 24 hours, and touched an all-time high (ATH) at $1,944 per ounce or $62.50 per gram. So far, gold has gained around 27% in 2020 and it went above the ATH set in 2011, which was $1,921 per ounce. Economists and analysts think that gold will soon be well above the $2K range amid a gloomy global economy. Gold’s all-time high price on Monday, July 27, 2020. “Gold is the clear beneficiary of safe haven demand,” the chief global markets strategist at Axicorp, Stephen Innes said on Monday. Gold’s buddy, Silver (XAG/USD) has also been rallying and experts think silver may test the September 2013 highs. Silver price on Monday, July 27, 2020. Cryptocurrencies, Barter & Trade, and Precious Metals to Shine Going Forward Many analysts, experts, and economists think that things like barter and trade, precious metals (PM), and crypto asset values will continue to climb. One of the biggest drivers of these monetary movements is due to the government’s relentless money creation. Moreover, another huge driver against the U.S. dollar is the falling returns on U.S. government-issued bonds. This means the Fed’s recent financial bazookas and massive money creation have not supported any means of economic recovery and the failing bond game is weakening the U.S. dollar. For instance, the American promissory note is trading at a 22-month low against the euro and a four-month low against the yen. The economic transitions have fueled the crypto economy and PM ecosystem as well. What do you think about this week’s cryptocurrency market action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. The post Market Update: Cryptocurrency and Gold Markets Fueled by Failing Global Economy appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article

Bitcoin Press Release: Multiplier platform will officially launch the minting of MXX tokens on its platform on the 29th of July, 2020. 27th July, 2020, Switzerland – MXX tokens are designed to balance liquidity for depositors and lenders through algorithmic derived interest rates and yield. These are based on the collateralisation and loans conducted on the Multiplier cryptocurrency platform. The minting of MXX tokens will start from 0 tokens, with a total supply of 9 billion, which can be accumulated through minting only. Essentially, liquidity mining is when a yield farmer mints new tokens in exchange for their liquidity on the platform. This creates a positive loop; whereby users are incentivised with minted tokens to conduct transactions on the platform, which in turn increases the value of the same token, and attracts more users to join. MXX Token and Community Governance A maximum of 18 million MXX tokens are issued daily, shared among users in proportion of their contribution to the platform through lending, borrowing and making referrals. The currently accepted currencies on the Multiplier platform are BTC, USDT and USDC. MXX tokens are also currently listed on the trading platform Bilaxy.io MXX tokens will gradually allow the protocol to transit towards being entirely governed by the community. The number of votes is proportional to their amount of MXX tokens and can be used to make decisions on the protocol. The move towards a decentralised governance process will protect investor interests, reduce systemic risk and increase long term utility of the Multiplier protocol. The simple-to-use Multiplier platform aims to attract holders looking to optimise their idle cryptocurrency assets, as well as attract experienced yield farmers looking for more ways to maximise their harvests. About Multiplier Multiplier crypto lender began in 2019 with regulated financial licenses obtained (SRO Switzerland VQF 10075 and Hong Kong Money Lenders License 1702/2019), and formed strong collaborations with reputable industry leaders such as Coinbase Custody and JUMIO KYC/AML. Multiplier believes in operating within the legal framework of jurisdictions, and having the relevant licenses to adhere to regulations. The company continues to establish strong relationships, between regulatory authorities, communities and leading institutions around the globe, merging the scale and familiarity of traditional finance, into a secured, advanced and simplified global financial blockchain system. Multiplier has been developing DeFi protocols with user feedback from its centralised crypto lending entity since 2019, and launches MXX governance tokens which give the community voting rights that will gradually allow the protocol to be entirely governed by the community and stakeholders. Media Contact Info Contact Name: Dudley Contact Email: marketing@multiplier.finance Learn more about Multiplier today – https://multiplier.finance Join the community discord server at – https://discord.gg/2fatBM7 Follow Multiplier on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/themultiplierio Join the official Multiplier Telegram channel – https://t.me/themultiplierio Follow on Twitter – https://mobile.twitter.com/MultiplierMXX About Bitcoin PR Buzz Bitcoin PR Buzz has been proudly serving the crypto press release distribution needs of blockchain start-ups for over 8 years. Get your Bitcoin Press Release Distribution today. Multiplier is the sole source of this information. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. The post Multiplier Incentivises Yield Farmers with MXX Tokens appeared first on Bitcoin News. View the full article