Category Archives: Bitcoin
This 21-year-old bitcoin millionaire beamed cryptocurrency from space to a school in Ghana – Business Insider
Erik Finman, a 21-year-old high-school dropout who has made millions on bitcoin, beamed cryptocurrency down from outer space to a school in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana on November 4.
Finman bought $1,000 worth of bitcoin at the age of 12 in 2011, when each bitcoin was worth $10 to $12. Today he holds 446 bitcoin, which at Friday's price were worth $7,243 each, for a total value of $3.2 million.
Finman is calling his latest endeavor a "crypto space drop," by which cryptocurrency can be sent through a constellation of satellites to an antenna on Earth. Finman told Business Insider the crypto space drop had applications for communities with little to no infrastructure.
"We wanted to show that even in the most remote places that don't have the most functional of infrastructure, money infrastructure, financial infrastructure," a crypto space drop could have a real use case, Finman told Business Insider.
Finman sent $1,000 worth of MTL in the crypto space drop to St. Mary's School in Korle Gonno in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, which used the funds to repair the school's roof and construct benches and tables.
MTL is the cryptocurrency used by the cryptocurrency platform Metal Pay, which launched in August with Finman as an investor. Finman called Metal Pay the "the Facebook Libra killer," saying, "If it needs it, I'm willing to put all my bitcoin money into this" and "I'm willing to bet it all" in his Metal Pay announcement video.
One of the satellites used in the constellation was a satellite Finman helped launch one year ago.
In December 2018, Finman led Project Da Vinci, for which a group of teenagers launched a satellite that included a crypto wallet. Project Da Vinci was part of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites program, which attracts and retains STEM students and allows students to launch small satellites.
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This 21-year-old bitcoin millionaire beamed cryptocurrency from space to a school in Ghana - Business Insider
Fidelity Looks to Embrace Ethereum & Break Only-Bitcoin Streak – Blockonomi
Late last year, Fidelity Investments a financial services giant with over $2 trillion worth of assets under management and thousands of institutional clients spanning the world revealed that it would be launching a cryptocurrency branch.
Named Fidelity Digital Assets, many in the industry had high hopes for the subsidiary, claiming that it could be the one institutional onramp into cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin to Ethereum that will drive the next bull run.
But, to the dismay of many, Fidelity revealed that its digital asset branch would first be focusing on Bitcoin. After all, the leading cryptocurrency is the most popular amongst traders, and the company has long been fascinated by it, exemplified by the fact that it mines BTC in a Blockstream facility.
Despite this, Tom Jessop, head of Fidelity Digital Assets, recently revealed that the addition of Ethereum to the platform, which currently offers institutions with trade execution and custodial services, will be a focus for 2020.
Tom Jessop recently sat down with industry outlet The Block to talk Fidelity Digital Assets latest updates.
During the podcast episode, Jessop said that the firm has done a lot of work on Ethereum over recent months, and is looking to add support for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization within the coming year. The catch: clients of the firm need to show that they demand Ethereum, for Bitcoin, the digital currency with the longest track record, has long been the star of the institutional crypto show due to risk factors. Jessop elaborated:
How do I know that if I buy this thing, its gonna be around tomorrow? Like what indication of durability or longevity do I have based on the fact that the history of this asset is 10 years old?
Earlier this year, Jessop was quoted as saying that his firm has been avoiding Ethereum due to the countless hard forks and potential risks that could come with the planned consensus changes.
These latest comments imply that Jessop is not as wary of hard forks anymore, though the planned migration to Proof of Stake, should it take place in 2020, is likely to complicate Fidelitys support of Ethereum.
Jessops appearance on The Blocks podcast is pertinent, for Fidelity Digital Assets late last month secured a Trust License from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).
This license gives the venture the permission to launch a cryptocurrency custody and trade execution platform for institutions and individual investors for New York residents this being notable because New York is where much of American wealth is managed.
The news regarding Fidelitys potential support for Ethereum adds to the confluence of positive developments the blockchain has seen over recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Ethereum developers rolled out the latest iteration of the software, Istanbul. This hard fork brings a number of improvements to the chain, including a technical upgrade that allows Ethereum to better interact with another popular altcoin, ZCash.
Istanbul also gives developers the ability to roll out so-called ZK Rollups, which is an application that will allow Layer 2 scaling on Ethereum supporting upwards of 3000tps (larger than Visa), while maintaining decentralization and privacy. This is a big win for ETH-based stablecoins, [like USD Coin (USDC)], as Circles Jeremy Allaire has written on the matter.
With the capability of transacting thousands of near-instant and cheap transactions per second (that are private no less), Ethereum developers could begin to build applications that are similar to if not better than their real-world counterparts, creating a possible wave of adoption.
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Fidelity Looks to Embrace Ethereum & Break Only-Bitcoin Streak - Blockonomi
How the Feds $400 billion cash injection will affect Bitcoin – Decrypt
The Federal Reserve Bank is pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy by the end of January. The cash injection is to make sure that banks have enough money to keep running.
So-called reposmarket repurchasing agreementsare a way for central banks to regulate the economy and keep interest rates in check. The Fed sells government securitieslike bondsto banks, promising to buy them back a short while later. Unlike traditional bonds, which can take years to mature, repos are bought back overnight.
Theyve gone out of fashion for over a decadethe Fed used them for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. But on Thursday, the Fed announced it was pumping yet more cash into the economy. By February, overnight repos would add over $400 billion into the economy.
The Feds strategy has angered those in the crypto community who take offense with the central banks intervention in the market, which they claim is similar to the controversial monetary policy of quantitative easing. This is 3x the entire Bitcoin market cap, tweeted cryptocurrency analyst Ivan Liljeqvist, before mocking those who reject the notion that the Fed is implementing a policy of quantitative easing. EvEryThiNgs fInE, he jibed.
What happens when 400 Billion new dollar bills does not work? asked one tweeter, who goes by the moniker of John Bitcoin. Opt out of this crap, buy bitcoin.
Of course, to take money out of the US economy and instead place it into the crypto-economy creates additional risks: the cryptocurrency market might have its own troublesinstead of a nosy central bank, its entire monetary policy is encoded into its protocol, for better or worse.
But tin-foilers could have a point. According to some traders, the Feds policies, should they backfire, are unlikely to impact on Bitcoins price.
BTC does not respond to monetary policy, crypto trader Alex Kruger told Decrypt. He referred to a tweet from back in September when he said, [Bitcoin] is an asset driven almost exclusively by endogenous factors, and is thus not impacted by the general market (no systematic risk), adding, This is a unique and valuable feature.
Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, told Decrypt much the same: I havent seen any evidence that federal reserve policy has any material effect on bitcoin, he said. Looking at the historical relationship, I dont see why bitcoin would start to exhibit a correlation to Fed policy when it hasnt in the past.
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So, worried about the Fed, want to run to Bitcoins warm embrace?
Not so fast, according to Carter, who said that the crypto-market could begin to reflect the wider US economy once it matures. I think the asset class would have to grow and the plumbing to connect it to financial markets would have to as well; then it would move more in concert with traditional assets, he said.
But you could be safe for now: I am not sure weve reached a sufficient stage of maturity or inter-connectedness, he added.
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How the Feds $400 billion cash injection will affect Bitcoin - Decrypt
Bitcoin Hedge Narrative Strengthens as Fed Plans More Fiat Injection – Bitcoinist
Bitcoin can still be a hedge against failing fiat. This is especially true in the face of the latest fiat injection plans put forward by the Fed.
The US central bank is ramping up is repo operation efforts with billions more planned to enter the financial system before the end of the year. Reports reveal that an additional $425 billion will be pumped back into the economy by the FED.
This is over double the current total cryptocurrency market capitalization which has remained under $200 billion this weekend.
Larger capital injections through the end of the year have been planned to avoid another lending rate spike. According to the central bank, the increased limit is to ensure that the supply of reserves remains ample and to mitigate the risk of money market pressures around year-end.
The consequences of prolonged quantitative easing could be very dire indeed. Banks are actively encouraging more lending in an economy that already has a galloping national debt of over $23 trillion.
Savers are being punished as negative interest rates become the norm and the specter of hyperinflation looms ever closer. Crypto and bitcoin market analyst PlanB warned that such economic adversity is not limited to countries with oppressive regimes or socialist governments.
But dont underestimate the consequences of quantitative easing & negative interest rates in US EUR JPN.
Using Zimbabwe as an example it was pointed out that the one-dollar note was introduced just one year before the 100 trillion note was introduced.
The FEDs dangerous destabilization of the financial system critically affects the way that banks operate which has a knock on to the wider economy. It appears that no lessons from the past are being heeded and a repeat could be inevitable.
The WSJ pointed out that federal budget deficits are projected to average $1.2 trillion a year for the next decade. As a result, the supply of Treasury debt used as collateral will continue to swell.
The detractors may disagree but BTC really does serve as a hedge when possible fiat devaluation is around the corner. Some are already loading up on it such as US consumer TV personality John Stossel who admitted that he doesnt want all of his savings in dollars in this recent tweet.
It may be some time before the dollar collapses to Zimbabwean levels of hyperinflation, but the premise is no longer so far-fetched and holding a bit of bitcoin may well be the parachute when the plane goes down.
Is bitcoin a solid hedge against failing financial systems? Add your thoughts below.
Images via Shutterstock, Twitter: @100trillionUSD, @JohnStossel
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Bitcoin Hedge Narrative Strengthens as Fed Plans More Fiat Injection - Bitcoinist
How Has Bitcoin Done Since a Legendary Investor Shorted It in 2018? – U.Today
In November 2018, legendary investor Gary Shilling criticized bitcoin and said that hes short on the asset.
Speaking to Business Insider, he described bitcoin as a black box and that he is suspicious of assets that are not transparent.
Since then, the bitcoin price has increased from around $3,200 to over $7,000, by well over two-fold against the USD.
The performance of bitcoin is cyclical; it moves based on sentiment and as such, it goes through a cycle composed of a bear market, an accumulation phase, a build phase, and a bull market.
Often, when the bitcoin price reaches the lowest point of a bear market, investors are quick to criticize the dominant cryptocurrency for its declining price.
In doing so, many investors also tend to misdescribe bitcoins characteristics to support their arguments by saying it is not transparent and has a lack of clarity regarding its structure.
However, bitcoin technically is a piece of an open source software that is contributed to by developers worldwide. Its code can be viewed by anyone and in that regard, it could be described as the most transparent store of value.
Bitcoin has increased by more than twice since Shilling last criticized it because it was at the bottom of a bear trend at the time.
Source: tradingview.com
What happens during and after a bear trend is that companies within the ecosystem more proactively build better infrastructure to support users and investors.
Since November 2018, a new array of services providers such as Bakkt have emerged and many countries have started to provide more regulatory clarity surrounding cryptocurrencies as an asset class.
Although bitcoin is coming off a strong rally to $13,900 in mid-2019 and is down close to 50 percent within five months, it has still performed relatively well year-to-date.
In the medium to long-term, there are several fundamental catalysts for the bitcoin price such as the upcoming block reward halving in May 2020.
In the short-term, however, technical analysts are weighing towards a deeper pullback amidst falling volumes and interest across major cryptocurrency exchanges.
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How Has Bitcoin Done Since a Legendary Investor Shorted It in 2018? - U.Today
Tether Sponsors New Version of Bitcoin Tokenization Layer Omni – Cointelegraph
Tether, the stablecoin operator behind USDT, has funded the development of the new version of Bitcoin (BTC) tokenization layer Omni.
In a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Dec. 15, the companies announce the release of Omni Core 0.7.0, the development of which was sponsored by Tether. The new version reportedly enhances network performance and fixes locking issues and Remote Procedure Calls.
The Omni protocol is a system running on the Bitcoin network that allows the creation of tokens on what is widely believed to be a secure network. Omni is also the platform that hosted the first USDT tokens. The official website further explains how the technology makes use of the Bitcoin blockchain:
Omni Core is an enhanced Bitcoin Core that provides all the features of Bitcoin as well as advanced Omni Layer features.
More interestingly, Omni Core 0.7.0 enables the building of an on-chain decentralized exchange. The new version of the Omni protocol allows users to trade any on-chain asset for Bitcoin. Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino commented:
As Bitcoin is the first blockchain that Tether used, Omni Core is highly valued and demonstrates good levels of security. [...] It is important to note that Tether is underpinned by diversity in different blockchains, of which Omni Core has proven to be an important component.
As Cointelegraph reported, in March Tether launched USDT tokens on the Tron blockchain. As of late October, nearly 12% of all the stablecoins supply was moved on the new chain. More recently, in July, Tether also announced the launch of the USDT stablecoin on its fifth blockchain, Algorand.
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Tether Sponsors New Version of Bitcoin Tokenization Layer Omni - Cointelegraph
Former Bitcoin Skeptic Sees The Price Hitting $100,000 By 2021 Before Soaring Even HigherHeres Why – Forbes
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency has had a mixed yearfears over a regulatory crackdown have risen, though the bitcoin price has doubled over the last 12 months.
The bitcoin price, which started the year at around $3,500 per bitcoin, soared to well over $10,000 this summer before crashing back to trade around $7,000 amid fears Facebook's planned cryptocurrency project could cause central banks and regulators to take action against crypto.
Now, with bitcoin traders and investors looking hopefully towards 2020, one former crypto skeptic-turned bitcoin believer has predicted the bitcoin price could hit $100,000 per bitcoin over the next two years before climbing as high as $500,000 by 2030.
The bitcoin price has had a tumultuous few months, with bitcoin at times swinging by up to $1,000 in ... [+] just one 24-hour trading period.
"Between now and 2021, we're likely to see $100,000 bitcoin," Mark Yusko, the chief executive and chief investment officer at Morgan Creek Capital Management, told business news outlet Business Insider.
"By 2025, we're likely to see $250,000 bitcoin, and then some time out, 2030, we could see $400,000 or $500,000 bitcoin as it reaches gold equivalence."
Yusko, who admitted he was previously skeptical of bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology that it's built on, pointed to the infancy of the technology as the reason behind his "hyperbullish" prediction.
"It really is about the growth mindset and focusing on the venture capital upside or the asymmetric upside of the asset at this point."
The growth of the bitcoin network, which has expanded rapidly since bitcoin was created a little over 10 years ago, will help combat wealth inequality, according to Yusko, who oversees some $1.5 billion worth of assets at his U.S.-based hedge fund.
"The government and the elites want to have all the wealth, so they manufacture inflation and the wealth flows to top. And that's why we have the greatest wealth inequality in the history of mankind. Bitcoin helps solve that because now we can opt-out as an owner of assets from that fiat system."
Yusko's comments come after analysts at Germany's troubled Deutsche Bank warned the "fragile" fiat currency system will be put under strain in years ahead.
The bitcoin price had a strong start to the year, rising as high as $13,000 per bitcoin before ... [+] falling back.
"The forces that have held the current fiat system together now look fragile and they could unravel in the 2020s," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid wrote last week in a report looking at 24 alternative ideas for the next 10 years.
"If so, that will start to lead to a backlash against fiat money and demand for alternative currencies, such as gold or crypto could soar. The demand for alternative currencies will therefore likely be significantly higher by the time 2030 rolls around."
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Former Bitcoin Skeptic Sees The Price Hitting $100,000 By 2021 Before Soaring Even HigherHeres Why - Forbes
Bitcoin Beats Netflix And Microsoft – Forbes
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency has long been known to appeal more to younger generations than older ones (though there are some notable exceptions).
Meanwhile, the bitcoin price has been boosted in recent years by adoption from the traditional financial services industry and this is expected to increase as Millennials (aged between 25 and 39) and Gen Z (those born between 1996-2010) become financially mature.
Now, a report has found Grayscale Investments Bitcoin Trust, a publicly tradable bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment vehicle, is among the top five equity holdings for Millennials, next to technology giants Amazon, Apple, Tesla and Facebookand ahead of investor darlings Netflix and Microsoft.
Bitcoin looks set to end the year as one of the best-performing assets, up around double where it ... [+] began 2019.
The Grayscale Investments Bitcoin Trust, which recorded inflows of $255 million for the third quarter, up three-fold on the previous quarter, is also more popular than stocks of Warren Buffetts conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, movie studio Walt Disney, and China's biggest online retailer Alibaba, according tothe report from U.S.-based bank and stock brokerage Charles Schwab.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was found to be held by 1.84% of Millennials surveyed by Charles Schwab, with Netflix at 1.58% and Microsoft at 1.53%.
Elsewhere, online retailer Amazon and iPhone-maker Apple were found to be popular across the generational divide, with the two U.S. tech giants holding the top two spots for Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.
Google's parent company Alphabet was notably absent from the list of company stocks held by Millennials.
The report chimes with research out earlier this year that found there's a growing interest in bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments amongst Millennials and younger generations as they deal with the long-term effects of the global financial crisis and a lack of trust in the traditional financial services sector.
Technology companies dominate the most popular investments for all generations, though only ... [+] Millenials show much interest in bitcoin.
Earlier this year, Grayscale Investments launched a campaign called #DropGold, aiming to make "investment portfolios to reflect that bitcoin has become digital gold for todays forward-thinking investors."
"There is a generational shift in how individuals are approaching investing. We strongly believe that investments in gold will be reallocated to bitcoin as Baby Boomers begin transferring their wealth to a younger generation of investors, one that wasnt raised on the gold standard," said Barry Silbert, founder and chief executive of Digital Currency Group and its subsidiary Grayscale Investments, said at the time.
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Bitcoin Beats Netflix And Microsoft - Forbes
What The Charts Say About Bitcoin – Forbes
DedMityay - stock.adobe.com
Ah, Bitcoin. The stuff of dreams. The new frontier in currency and commerce. The gateway to a world dominated by blockchain technology, with newly-minted zillionaires lining of streets of urban and rural sites across the globe. Or, the speculative arm of a legitimate evolution of financial transactions.
Now, before you get all defensive about how amazing Bitcoin is, and tell me how out of touch I am (after all, at age 55, I am way too old to understand this stuff, right?), hear me out. I do see the role of blockchain technology in the global economy going forward.
However, I think of Bitcoin, the most famous of crypto-currencies, like Band-Aids are to adhesive bandages (hint: same thing, but one is a brand name, the other is just what the product is). Bitcoin is the proverbial poster-child for this new way to hold money. That is all fine with me. My point, though: just dont pretend it is a substitute for traditional hard currencies. Not yet, anyway.
My evidence for that statement: the price of Bitcoin is not at all stable. Its price is more volatile than most stocks. You wouldnt take the money you need to pay this months mortgage or buy food for your familys dinners this week, and put it in an S&P 500 Index Fund, would you? Actually, I am afraid of the answer from too many investors. But I digress. The point is that Bitcoin still appears to be a trading tool (toy?), rather than a store of value, which is the textbook definition of a stable asset.
For that reason, I refuse to look at Bitcoin as a currency when following its price movement. However, as a vehicle to trade to make profit on over periods of time, I see it the way I see stocks and ETFs: as something to chart, and to evaluate its reward/risk trade-off at any point in time.
And, while I have not yet invested Bitcoin for my clients or myself, I am willing to consider it if it meets my usual investment criteria. One of those is that it can be charted.
^NYB_technical_chart
Remember that time when Bitcoin ran up to seemingly impossible heights, then dipped below 8,000, then crashed to under 4,000? Above, you see the price of Bitcoin over the past couple of years. It shows that last dizzying episode from 2018. And to me, it appears to be setting up for a repeat performance.
Now, technical analysis (charting) is more precise when there is deeper data and history behind the price activity. With Bitcoins limited history as a popular asset, and the fact that it is not a business like a stock, we have less to work with than we would with a stock or commodity. However, if you look at the right side of the chart, you see an orange line. That line is falling, and it is close to falling below the red line. This is occurring while Bitcoin is quietly in the midst of repeating its early 2018 price pattern.
That last round of Bitcoin price drama had a similar pattern, as you can see in May of 2018. At that point, the orange line (which is the 50-day moving average of Bitcoins price) crossed below the 200-day moving average (the red line), just as it is poised to do now. That death cross as chart geeks often call it, is happening now at about the same Bitcoin price level (8,200) as it did then.
I dont know, but I wouldnt simply blow it off as a coincidence. After all, the downside risk of ignoring the chart pattern in Bitcoin was about $5,000. Bitcoin fell from that 8,200 level to about 3,250 at its December, 2018 low, before quadrupling in value 7 months later.
And that brings me back to my main point: Bitcoin is not an investment at this stage of its development as a marketable security. Neither are small marijuana companies, and penny stocks. They are trading tools for virtual rooms of speculators. It is somewhere between a casino and the latest version of the greater fool theory, where you can profit from owning it as long as someone is willing to buy it from you. I would insert an analogy to tulip bulbs here, but suffice it to say, just look that up yourself.
Last point: one of my personal investment tenets, and what I say to clients who tell me they are investing in Bitcoin or some other trading toy, is this: its OK to take big shots, as long as you do it with small amounts of money. Just dont confuse speculation with investing.
Comments provided are informational only, not individual investment advice or recommendations. Sungarden provides Advisory Services through Dynamic Wealth Advisors
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What The Charts Say About Bitcoin - Forbes
When Might Bitcoin Be Ready To Resume Its Bull Trend? – Yahoo Finance
Two weeks ago, Bitcoin completed a 61.8% Fibonacci retracement ($7,231.40) off the June high as it fell to a low of $6,526. That low put it 52.9% below the 2019 peak.
Bull Flag pattern
The price correction since the June high has been normal and well-constructed, forming a potential bull flag trend continuation pattern. This can be seen as the falling parallel trend channel in the enclosed charts.
BTC/USD Weekly Chart
Given the significant advance in the first half of the year, and the related signs of a trend change from bearish to bullish, Bitcoin has a good chance of eventually triggering a continuation of the new bull trend. The 2019 rally exceeded several prior swing highs and the 10-week exponential moving average (ema) crossed back above the 34-week ema.
Have we seen the bottom?
The question now is, has the bottom of the retracement been reached or might Bitcoin pullback further than it has so far? Theres no way to know this ahead of time but we can identify some important price levels to watch going forward.
As long as price stays above the $6,526 swing low, there is a chance for an upside breakout of the bull flag. If the falling trend channel is to further evolve and retain its general shape, a move up to at least the top trend line seems possible in the near-term.
BTC/USD Daily Chart
A decisive daily close above the downtrend line is the first sign that a bullish breakout of the flag could be in the works. At that point, additional signs of strength will be needed. Watch for a daily close above the most recent swing high of $10,540.49 for confirmation of a bullish breakout. There is also a monthly high at $9,600 from November. Bitcoin has not had a move above a prior month high since the June peak. A move above a prior month high would be an additional sign of a change in the downtrend pattern, to an uptrend.
If we see further weakness
Alternatively, notice that the 10-week ema has just crossed below the 34-week ema, after being above it since early-May. By itself this is bearish, and supports a bearish scenario if Bitcoin falls below the most recent swing low, thereby triggering a continuation of the downtrend off the 2019 high. If that occurs, next watch for signs of support around the $5,900 to $5,427 (78.6% Fibonacci retracement) price zone, and then for indications of a bottom and subsequent bullish reversal.
Bruce Powers, CMT
This article was originally posted on FX Empire
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When Might Bitcoin Be Ready To Resume Its Bull Trend? - Yahoo Finance