SYNTAGMA SQUARE, ATHENS, ATTICA, GREECE - 2015/07/15: A protester advertises Bitcoin at the ... [+] anti-austerity protest outside the Greek Parliament in Athens. Molotov cocktails, tear gas and stun grandees were thrown by protesters and police when an anti-austerity protest outside the Greek parliament turned violent. The protest was hold while the Greek parliament was voting on new austerity measures. (Photo by Michael Debets/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Cryptocurrencies have always had staying power due to institutional and retail investors as well as its traction as a digital means of exchange. Yet its uncensorable nature, and the potential of having relatively private transactions as well as an alternative to fiat currencies has lent itself well, in theory, to protest movements that are threatened by the use of state force.

In a world being swept by protest, some of that potential is manifesting itself now. At a recent protest for Black Lives Matter, one of the speakers talked about bitcoin as an alternative for the financial systems that had oppressed them for so long. Chinese netizens have used ethereum to make sure that messages that would otherwise be censored in online protest could live as long as possible, secured by a network of coordinating nodes. In Hong Kong, cryptocurrency has helped finance the distribution of supplies to protestors and when protestors sought to switch out from Hong Kong dollars to demonstrate their opposition to the erosion of fundamental rights, some of them thought of bitcoin as an alternative.

Some protests seemed focused on the very ills cryptocurrency first arose in opposition to: an out-of-control and out-of-touch monetary system controlled by the very few and designed to benefit those closest to the halls of power. In Lebanon, a funeral was held for the Lebanese pound, and a branch of the central bank was burned down in Tripoli. Yet, cryptocurrency adoption there is low, and the demand seems to be driven to the USD as a safehaven, not towards cryptocurrencies directly.

Some of this shows the difference between the ideals and where cryptocurrencies are now in practice. Yet, sparks are coming up. Art collectives are using blockchain to protest in the United States. People are mining monero with the intent of providing funds for bail.

This doesnt just extend to just individuals who are protesting. Organizations such as the Catalonia government were using bitcoin to finance and fund independence referendums. Declared illegal after it was enacted, the Spanish government alleged that the Catalonia movement was using bitcoin to hide its expenses but it would have made little sense, in any case, to conduct financial transactions with the ledger of trust that constitutes to the Spanish and European financial system that was going to smash the Catalonian referendum.

Catalonia is also a hub for the decentralized web and mesh networks that exist somewhat independent of centralized telecommunications providers. In many ways, technology is now enabling the underlying democratic and political preferences of people even if the fullest extent of their political aspirations are not permitted under the geographic legal boundaries they live in something that forms the blunt foundation for protests.

As we live in a world where digital transactions and currencies are increasingly being adopted by the state from China, to the EU, to the United States and around the world as a more efficient means of exchange, cryptocurrencys rare ability to hold value outside of the context of centralized monetary authorities (often aligned in policy with their political peers, or in the case of China, subordinated to them) and private banking systems that must stay utterly loyal to the state is starting to show its value.

Weve seen governments from Iran to Venezuela to China censor the Internet and the free flow of information whenever it was convenient for them, or wherever would best consolidate the power of these respective states. They are likely to do the same with any digital means of exchange directly under their control, and have much more granular control over rewarding and punishing those who deviate from central state ideology.

As a result, protestors and protest movements around the world are starting to put their faith in cryptocurrencies. The uncensorable nature of cryptocurrencies as well as its decentralized peer-to-peer networks might be seen as weaknesses for institutional investors looking at bitcoin as just another portion of their portfolio but for protestors, these are central strengths of cryptocurrencies not available in any other means of exchange. There are sparks of cryptocurrency activity as protests increase examples that might shed the light on how cryptocurrency will co-evolve with different protest movements.

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Protesters Around The World Are Putting Their Hopes Into Cryptocurrency - Forbes

Bitcoin outflows from miner wallets have spiked, with the majority of coins finding their way onto cryptocurrency exchanges.

The net flow of coins into or out of miner addresses fell to -2,935 BTC on Tuesday to hit the lowest level since June 2019, according to data source Glassnode. To put it another way, miner wallets witnessed the highest outflow of coins for a year.

There has been a big spike in miner outflows overnight, Im expecting a whole lot of selling, starting real soon, popular cryptocurrency analyst Cole Garner tweeted, along with a chart from blockchain analysis firm CryptoQuant showing a big spike in the miner outflow around 10:00 UTC on Tuesday.

However, the Miners Netflow Volume does not tell us whether coins have been sent to exchanges for liquidation or sold off in an over-the-counter deal.

However, another metric, which tracks the flow of coins from miner wallets to cryptocurrency exchanges, shows nearly 97% of the total outflow of 2,935 BTC from miner addresses was deposited to cryptocurrency exchanges on Tuesday.

The total 2,844 BTC that went to exchange platforms was the highest since March 26. Thats a major spike: on Monday, only 404 BTC were deposited on exchanges.

With the sudden rise in the number of coins available on exchanges for liquidation, the cryptocurrency looks vulnerable for a notable price drop. Such spikes in miner outflows have preceded price drops in the past, although they dont necessarily mean a drop is on the way.

For example, outflows increased from 380 BTC to 1,824 BTC on Aug. 2, 2019, but the cryptocurrency extended its recovery rally to hit highs above $12,300 on Aug. 6.

It remains to be seen if the latest spike in miner outflows yields a notable price drop or traps bears on the wrong side of the market.Supporting the case for a downside move is the fact that miners have spent less than they mined in the last 24 hours, pushing miners rolling inventory (MRI) above 100%, according to ByteTree.com.

Miners typically hoard coins when they feel the market lacks strength to absorb their offers.

At press time, the cryptocurrency is trading near $9,350, a 3% drop on the day. Prices are trapped in the range of $9,000 to $10,000 for the fifth straight week.

Disclosure:The author holds no cryptocurrency assetsat the time of writing.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Miners Are Sending Bitcoins to Exchanges Again and That May Be Bearish - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

New York, 19June 2020 Eight technology companies in developing and emerging economies will receive investment from the UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund (CryptoFund) to solve local and global challenges.

The CryptoFund will invest 125 ETH each in the eight companies from seven countries to develop prototypes, pilot, or scale their technologies over six months: Afinidata, Avyantra, Cireha, Ideasis, OS City, StaTwig, Somleng and Utopic.

All investees have previously received up to $100,000 from UNICEFs Innovation Fund and are now receiving cryptocurrency to continue the development of their open-source and digital public goods.

Within the scope of their technology, several investees are working to mitigate the hardships of COVID-19 on children and youth around the world. They are collaborating with national governments and local partners to send vital messages on COVID-19, track the effectiveness of rice delivery to vulnerable communities, improve childrens literacy through remote learning, treat pandemic and isolation-related anxieties, and other vital solutions.

We are seeing the digital world come at us more quickly than we could have imagined and UNICEF must be able to use all of the tools of this new world to help children today and tomorrow, says Chris Fabian, Senior Adviser, co-Lead, UNICEF Ventures. The transfer of these funds to eight companies in seven countries around the world took less than 20 minutes and cost us less than $20. Almost instant global movement of value, fees of less than 0.00009% of the total amount transferred, and real-time transparency for our donors and supporters are the types of tools we are excited about.

Selected from almost 40 startups that have graduated from the UNICEF Innovation Fund, these eight companies have undergone technical evaluations, quality assessments of their open-source tech solutions, evidence of impact and more. They join three other grantees that received the Funds first cryptocurrency investment last year.

Besides funding, investees receive business growth mentorship, product, and technical assistance, open-source and UX and UI development, access to experts and partners, as well as opportunities to showcase their solutions.

The UNICEF Innovation Fund and CryptoFund currently have an open call for blockchain solutions to apply for funding (up to $100,000 and cryptocurrency combined) and mentorship. More details here: http://www.unicef.org/innovation/applyBlockchainCrypto

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Prototypes of software, platforms and applications are available, demonstrations can be arranged upon request.

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UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund announces its largest investment of startups in developing and emerging economies - UNICEF

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Cryptocurrency Market Share Analysis and Research Report by 2025 - CueReport

Jim Rogers, who cofounded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, has shared his view on bitcoin, its use as money, and governments response to the growing use of cryptocurrency. He predicts that central banks will not let uncontrolled money be used.

Famous investor Jim Rogers shared his prediction about the future bitcoin and cryptocurrency in an interview with Asahi Shimbun Singapore branch manager Koji Nishimura, published on Friday. Rogers cofounded the Quantum Fund in 1973 with billionaire investor George Soros, which was considered one of the most successful hedge funds in its heyday. They earned a 4,200% return over 10 years through 1980 compared to 47% for the S&P 500.

Rogers believes that if cryptocurrency succeeds in being used as money, instead of primarily for speculation, governments will intervene, making it illegal in order to stop its use. For this reason, I believe that the [value of] virtual currencies represented by bitcoin will decline and eventually become zero, he told the publication. It is hard for us to move money without the control of the government, Rogers said, elaborating:

The government wants to know everything. Controllable electronic money will survive, and virtual currencies beyond the influence of the government will be eliminated.

Rogers explained that cryptocurrency markets are volatile, particularly during the global economic crisis. Even though cryptocurrencies did not even exist a few years ago, in the blink of an eye, they become 100 and 1,000 times more valuable This is a clear bubble and I dont know the right price, he opined, emphasizing that cryptocurrency is not an investment but gambling.

He proceeded to talk about electronic money. Governments like electronic money because with electronic money, you can keep track of when, where, who spent and how much. Governments will have more control over people through electronic money, the investing guru described. Electronic money has a low issuing cost. Cash must be printed, carried and counted. It is expensive for the government.

However, cryptocurrencies beyond the control of governments will not be accepted as money, Rogers believes, adding that those who work on cryptocurrencies think they are smarter than the government. However, the government has something that those who work with virtual currencies dont have. Its a gun. For this reason, he said, I believe that virtual currency will disappear eventually.

He believes that governments will never let bitcoin be used as money. Only 100 years ago, we could use whatever we liked as money. You could use coins, gold, silver, or shells. Banks could also print the bills themselves. That was legal, he was quoted as saying. However, in the mid-1930s, the Bank of England declared that using any type of money other than the money it issued was illegal, Rogers pointed out. As a result, no one used money other than that issued by the Bank of England, he described, predicting that the same will happen to cryptocurrency.

While admitting that a society where governments know too much about our actions is unfavorable, he believes that cryptocurrency beyond the control of the government will not be widely distributed as money.

While Rogers is not bullish on cryptocurrency, many institutional investors are increasingly interested in investing in this asset class. Fidelity Digital Assets recently conducted a survey of about 800 institutional investors in Europe and the U.S. and found that 80% of them find cryptocurrency appealing, while 60% feel cryptocurrencies have a place in their portfolios. Grayscale Investments also sees increasing demand for crypto investments.

Well-known hedge fund managers such as Paul Tudor Jones have been growing their bitcoin holdings. Jones said he has about 2% of his assets in bitcoin. Other billionaire investors who are bullish on bitcoin include Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz.

What do you think about Jim Rogers view of bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below.

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