It has been nearly a week since the market rallied and broke through the $120 billion market cap. Bitcoin, which was leading the race, broke its short-term resistance position of $3,600. Despite this happening nearly a week ago, the crypto leader, and the wider market by extension has failed to set a more consistent trend.

Although Bitcoin has successfully avoided dropping below $3,600, its now newly established support position, it has also been unsuccessful in breaking past the $3,670 resistance position.

The reluctance being experienced in the market has seen pundits differ in opinion over the coming trend. While others predict that the experienced rally is just the beginning for a much greater rally, others are sticking to the sentiment that the market is still bearish despite recent gains.

Early investors ripped big by buying while prices were down, these investors and newcomers continue to take advantage of low prices to buy more and prepare for the next bullish charge. Woes around the traditional financial sector continue to set up the crypto market for this.

Cryptocurrencies Looking More Certainly Like The Future

Now there’s been renewed believe that cryptocurrencies are the future, following Wells Fargo’s woes. Last week, around the time the market began rallying, customers of the fourth largest bank by asset in the U.S were recording issues with the bank’s services over ATMs and phones.

Although the bank has stated that the issue has been resolved, customers continue to report issues days later. The issue with Wells Fargo is just the most recent one after banks such as British bank TSB, Bank of America and Visa experienced issues of the same nature in the past.

BTC, ETH, XRP Price Analysis


As we approach the weekend, many experts are expecting Bitcoin to replicate last week’s movement and possibly hit the $3,700 mark. This will see it establish a higher support level and draw closer to the $4,000 mark. This is a short-term target for the bulls and one that sets a more consistent bullish trend for the long term.

At the time of press, Bitcoin is recording marginal movement, which has been the case for the last couple of days. Trading for $3,612, the leader is down by a little under 1%. Ethereum, the latest conqueror of the title biggest altcoin, is at the time of press also recording marginal drops of around 1%.

Despite the drop, Ethereum continues to be bullish as it trades above $120 and continues to target $125.  XRP, now third in ranking by market cap is trading for $0.30, also recording a loss of less than 1%.

Source:  ZyCrypto

Yes, I think you're right. The whales are the ones that control the price of Bitcoin... they dictate the price they want to be. 50% have already lost from my BTC.

If we needed proof that truth is stranger than fiction, then we only need to look at the recent events surrounding QuadrigaCX. In a plot twist that could easily have come straight out of a movie, the Canadian exchange has stated that all of its customers’ crypto funds have simply gone–forever.

At the beginning of February, news broke that the founder of QuadrigaCX, Gerry Cotten, had died while traveling in India towards the end of 2018. Apparently, Cotten was the sole holder of the exchange’s private keys which are needed access to $137 million of cryptocurrencies held offline in cold storage.

QuadrigaCX actually owes a total of $190 million to customers. However, $53 million reportedly held in cash has been frozen due to ongoing disputes with banks and payment processors.

Understandably, the cryptocurrency community reacted to the news with shock and disbelief. Even in the unregulated world of crypto, putting a single person in charge of millions of dollars of customer funds is woefully irresponsible. Some have cried foul play, stating that the entire story is fabricated in an attempt to pull off an elaborate exit scam.

Exchange Security is a Continuing Problem

The story rumbles on, but long before the QuadrigaCX news emerged, security has long been a problem for users of cryptocurrency exchanges. The Mt.Gox hack is still one of the biggest exchange hacks of all time, and the aftershock is still causing ripples to this day.

In terms of the value of stolen funds, it was eclipsed by hackers of Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck in early 2018. Coincheck’s management team confirmed that the attack had generated losses worth $533 million in NEM tokens.

Perhaps the reason the Coincheck hack hasn’t embedded as deeply on the collective consciousness is that the crypto market in 2018 was much bigger than when the Mt.Gox attack happened. The $473 million worth of Bitcoin stolen by the Mt.Gox hackers was a far more significant proportion of market cap back in 2014.

Breaking All the Wrong Records

Market size notwithstanding, 2018 was still a record-breaking year for exchange hacks, with close to $1 billion in stolen funds racked up throughout the year according to intelligence firm CipherTrace. So far, 2019 doesn’t look to be much better.

Even before news of the QuadrigaCX incident broke, New Zealand-based Cryptopia customers were the latest to fall victim to hackers. The exchange website went down on January 13, with news following two days later that the Cryptopia had been subjected to a security breach, which had been reported to the local police.

Since then, news has been sparse. The Cryptopia Twitter account has issued one post since mid-January, referring users to a New Zealand police webpage that will provide updates about the ongoing investigation. The page itself only states that the investigation continues and “is expected to take some time to complete.” Blockchain analytics firm Elementus claimed in a tweet on Feb 5 that $3.2m of stolen Cryptopia tokens have so far been liquidated by the attackers.

Are Non-Custodial Accounts the Answer?

Trust is now becoming one of the biggest issues for users of custodial exchanges like QuadrigaCX or Cryptopia. When you use exchanges like these, you’re effectively handing over full responsibility and ownership of your cryptocurrency to the exchange.

Even if you don’t intend to hold your tokens on an exchange for a long time, they are still out of your control for the duration of the time the exchange has them. Whether it’s an external hack or an internal scam, from a user perspective, it requires a leap of faith. 

How a Non-Custodial Exchange Works

For this reason, many in the cryptocurrency community are now looking to non-custodial exchanges for the additional security they offer compared to custodial exchanges.

Digitex Futures is a new exchange that’s just about to open its doors to the public. One of the main reasons to get excited about Digitex is that it’s the only exchange to operate a zero-fee model for its users, who will access the exchange services using the native DGTX token.

However, under the hood, the company is also working to implement Ethereum’s Plasma protocol. Plasma allows the development of child chains on the Ethereum platform, enabling far faster transaction speeds than the Ethereum main chain can handle by itself. By using Plasma-enabled smart contracts, Digitex plans to offer secure, non-custodial accounts to its customers.

Once this is up and running, it means that if you leave your funds on Digitex, they are held securely in a smart contract that communicates with a Plasma side chain. The smart contract is completely immutable – it cannot be changed or switched off as long as the Ethereum blockchain exists. 

All funds and private keys are inaccessible to anyone within the Digitex organization. Even if the Digitex company systems are hacked, the attackers wouldn’t find any funds there to steal.

Non-Custodial Wallets for Safe Storage

Non-custodial wallets are also now starting to appear on the market. One example is Atomic Wallet. While many online wallets manage your private keys on your behalf, a non-custodial wallet gives you complete ownership of your keys and your cryptocurrency holdings. Atomic Wallet uses a mnemonic seed, which secures the user’s funds on their own device through encryption.

Non-custodial exchanges and wallets do provide the security of knowing you have full control and ownership of your crypto-assets at all times. However, with a non-custodial account, you are entirely accountable for holding onto your private keys. If you write them down, then lose or accidentally destroy the paper, nobody will be able to recover them for you.

However, in light of the proliferation of scams and hacks that continues to plague custodial exchanges, then keeping your keys out of harm’s way appears to be a far safer bet.

Source:  ZyCrypto

A lot has happened in the industry over the week and like every other week, we have handpicked the best stories and summarised them for you just in case you missed any. Of course, the latest trending buzz is the market recovery in the last 24 hours that has gotten many talking and asking if it is the bull run the industry has been expecting. The following are other intriguing stories you wouldn’t want to miss.

Bitcoin

Charlie Lee says Bitcoin will hit 20k in 3 years

This week, Bitcoin got one of its first price predictions in 2019. Charlie Lee, the founder of Litecoin said the asset will reach $20,000 again in the next 3 years. Lee is known for several accurate predictions in the past including the 2018 crash following the bull run at the end of 2017. In fact, he predicted the crash of his own Litecoin which brought the price down by 90%. If Lee says it, it is likely to come true so if you want to take part in the bull market, you may want to hop on now.

Fintech experts predict Bitcoin will rise 84% in 2019

In another price prediction, Ben Ritchie, CEO of Digital Capital Management and Fred Schebesta, HiveEx.com co-founder have said Bitcoin will attain 84% rise before the end of 2019, placing it at a price of $9500. This may be in line with Lee’s prediction which places Bitcoin at $20,000 within the next 3 years. The rise will be slow and steady according to the prediction, but we will get there.

Source: ZyCrypto

Bitcoin ATMs continue to spread across the United States at a rapid clip.

Chicago is the latest city to see an increase in ATMs supporting both the cryptocurrency market leader and various popular altcoins — thanks to an Atlanta-based company called Lux Vending, which has dropped 30 ‘Bitcoin Depot’ ATMs throughout the Chicago already this year.

The addition to Lux’s machines reportedly brings Chicago’s total Bitcoin ATM count up to nearly 100.

The fifth-most-populous North American city is already a hotspot on the Bitcoin radar, with major exchanges CME Group and Cboe Global Markets already offering non-physically-settled bitcoin futures contracts. San Francisco-based exchange giant Coinbase recently set up an office in Chicago, and various cryptocurrency-oriented startups currently call the Windy City home.


BROTHERLY BITCOIN LIVE

Philadelphia also reportedly has nearly 100 Bitcoin ATMs operating in its area — many of which are “hidden in plain sight” in places like Rittenhouse Square, South Philly, and Queen Villiage, according to Philly-based Straight Up Capital’s Sean Keefe.

Keefe also told KYW NewsRadio 1060 that he expects more business to begin accepting the dominant cryptocurrency as the ATM machines become more popular and more widespread.


KNOW YOUR COINSTAR

In related news, Coinstar recently launched support for the purchasing of Bitcoin with individuals’ ever-growing collections of spare change. Though this news caused a good deal of excitement when it broke, interested parties soon had their parades rained on after the machines reportedly required extensive know-your-customer (KYC) checks that validated in ultra-sluggish fashion.

Nevertheless, the developments from Bitcoin ATM companies and Coinstar are undeniably positive. The United States currently houses more than 3000 machines by itself — far more than any other country in the world — despite the year-long-and-counting market downturn.

Source:  BITCOINIST

The Bitcoin price continues to suffer as the week progresses, losing another 2 percent in USD terms to trade below $3400 January 29.

‘D-DAY’ FOR BITCOIN PRICE TREND?

Bitcoin’s 3-day losses now surpass 7 percent as analysts describe what they see as a decisive trading period which will determine the broader trend for BTC/USD $3422.11 -0.07%.

“Today is D-Day for down-trend confirmation,” analytics website Woobull creator Willy Woo wrote on Twitter late Monday.

Woo was monitoring accelerating Bitcoin trading volumes for a sign the market could break out of its slow downtrend. Asked at what price it could see an “ultimate low,” he suggested further losses of around 30 percent could still occur.

“The were a lot of coins bought in the $2200-$2800 range on the way up, I can concur this is the likely accumulation bottom, I’m picking in the price will settle lower part of this range,” he added in response to a query.

https://twitter.com/woonomic/status/1090078140880146432/photo/1

MARKET CAP SHEDS $3 BILLION IN 24 HOURS

Bitcoin has failed to hold support at $3500 but continues to trade within the $500 corridor predicted by various figures in recent months.

A slide to $2200 would still constitute a stronger performance than that predicted by fellow analyst and trading veteran Tone Vays in December, who warned Bitcoin could soon end up at $1300 or even lower.

For altcoins, the knock-on effect of Bitcoin’s fall was as usual more pronounced. Ethereum (ETH) currently trades at $104, its lowest price since December 20.

Both Stellar (XLM) and Binance Coin (BNB) have lost 10 percent in the past 24 hours alone, making them the worst performers in the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap has now reached $111 billion, $3 billion less than a day earlier.

Market downturns have meanwhile failed to shake confidence in areas of the crypto industry, notably Bitcoin ATMs, which Bitcoinist reported continue to expand at an unprecedented rate this year.

Source:  BITCOINIST

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Gold has always been a hedge against other markets in times of financial uncertainty.

During the Bitcoin (BTC) bull run on 2017, however, gold saw some of its investors flock into the first and foremost cryptocurrency in search of massive gains. Now, some of those investors are reportedly switching back. Van Eck explained on CNBC’s “ETF Edge” last week:

"I do think that Bitcoin pulled a little bit of demand away from gold last year, in 2017. Interestingly, we just polled 4,000 bitcoin investors and their number one investment for 2019 is actually gold. So gold lost to bitcoin and now it’s going the other way."

This isn’t particularly shocking, as traders and speculators are wont to go where they anticipate making a profit. With the markets looking shaky this tax season, it has already become clear that many are moving their wealth into precious metals.


That said, there remains significant overlap in those who actually ‘invest’ in Bitcoin and those who actually ‘invest’ precious metals. Though the former is new and the latter is ancient, both currently maintain a position as a hedge against (or alternative to) fiat currencies and attract investors who have little faith in central bank-issued paper and/or the governments that borrow it.

Investors are likely flocking to precious metals as the charts seemingly suggest that a generational bottom may be in — especially for something like silver, which has been in a bear market for a prolonged period of time but appears to be on the verge of a monthly breakout.


Meanwhile, many in the cryptocurrency space believe that Bitcoin is near its bottom, which may be reached in the first half of 2019. Should this happen, it might not be much of a surprise to see more speculators flood back into the fast-moving digital asset.


Source:  BITCOINIST

Reports indicate that Galaxy Digital is looking to raise $250 million to fund loans to cryptocurrency companies.

CRYPTOCURRENCY BANK SET FOR FUNDRAISING ROUND

According to Business Insider, the cryptocurrency bank wants to offer cryptocurrency-collateralized US dollar loans to companies operating in the industry. Anonymous sources reportedly familiar with the project say Galaxy will accept crypto-assets as well as mining hardware as collateral for the loans.

The reports also indicate that Galaxy Digital will close the first round of fundraising for the project in March 2019. Sources say the bank’s asset management arm will be responsible for offering the loans to cryptocurrency firms.

The move represents a continued expansion of the crypto bank into the crypto lending market. Galaxy Digital already offers loans to cryptocurrency firms from its balance sheet.

CRYPTO LENDING GROWING IN POPULARITY

This announcement though unconfirmed comes at a time when crypto lending appears to be gaining in popularity. The 2018 bear market appears to have left startups cash-strapped an in need of capital infusion thus providing market opportunities for loan providers.

BlockFi, a Galaxy-backed crypto lending platform reportedly saw its revenue and customer base grow ten-fold. Salt Lending, another company operating in the crypto lending arena is also reportedly planning to expand its workforce based on its increasing revenue stream.

Earlier in the year, Bitcoinist reported that crypto lending firms are enjoying significant success by catering to both sides of the trade.

GALAXY DIGITAL PUSHING ON DESPITE BEAR MARKET

Galaxy Digital like the rest of the market endured a difficult 2018, with its prolonged bear market. Company founder and former Goldman Sachs executive, Mike Novogratz commented last November on the difficulty of building a successful business during a bear run.

Back in November 2018, the company announced a net loss in Q3 2018 to the tune of $76.65 million. According to reports at the time, this figure put the bank’s total 2018 loss as at September 2018 ending to over $175 million.

Even with poor financial performance, the bank continues to invest in businesses across the industry. Last week, Bitcoinist reported that Galaxy Digital participated in the $20 million Series B fundraising round for blockchain startup firm Symbiont that’s looking to bridge the gap between capital markets and cryptocurrencies.

Source:  BITCOINIST

One of the joys of having a futures market is the ability to understand what investors are thinking about the future of the price. For bitcoin, it doesn’t seem so great at the moment.

As we can see, the contracts for the bitcoin futures on the CBOE are currently in backwardation, meaning that contracts with a later expiration are trading consecutively lower.


Of course, something like this might have made me nervous on a normal day, but then I remembered that oil futures were trading in contango (opposite of backwardation) before the prices collapsed back in October.

Also, the volumes here are kind of silly. I mean, 227 BTC (less than $1 million) trading on a contract that expires today. Sure, the title is catchy but what can we really learn from this?

@MatiGreenspan
eToro, Senior Market Analyst

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Shutdown: Day 26

Day’s to Brexit: 72

Constantinople Delayed

Please note: All data, figures & graphs are valid as of January 16th. All trading carries risk. Only risk capital you can afford to lose.

TRADITIONAL MARKETS

You may have noticed that we’re now including a countdown to Brexit in the highlights section, right next to the US government shutdown counter. I think they fit together neatly. Two governments descending into a state of turmoil over political wrangling.

Today, Theresa May’s government will see the ultimate test. If she loses the vote of no confidence, the UK heads to new elections… again.

Over in the East, China decided to inject the market with a record level of stimulus. Yesterday’s tax cuts may have been insufficient to maintain growth, so they’ve gone the route of free cash for the market.


In addition, it seems the Institue of International Finance has made a rather shocking estimation. It seems our entire economic system, from our homes to places of work and our governments are increasingly reliant on debt.


Given all the above, it’s no wonder that the European Central Bank is now sounding a new alarm.


Don’t worry about any of this though. The stock markets are up today. Hope the earnings reports from the financial sector go well.

ETHEREUM UPGRADE DELAYED

After all the excitement, the crypto community was disappointed to hear last night that the long-awaited Constantinople upgrade has been delayed once again.

It seems a critical bug was found at the last minute and the lead developers pulled the plug. Here we can see the crypto market, led by Ethereum, dropping moments after the announcement was made.


We’re seeing a bit of a recovery this morning but that was really scary. I mean, it’s good that they caught the bug before going live but the fact that it came within 30 hours of the upgrade is a bit nervewracking.

These things do happen, virtually all major platforms including Windows, Android, and Apple Operating systems, have seen critical bugs before. Though it would be possible to release a patch, fork the network again, and return to normal, that kind of process could in itself have done irreparable damage.

We hope that Constantinople whenever it is ready, goes through without any additional hitches.

Source:  BITCOINIST

The biggest names in Bitcoin reaffirmed their belief in a wave of adoption and a sky-high Bitcoin price January 7, forecasting it to pass that of gold.

BITCOIN ‘CERTAINLY OG CRYPTO’

On social media, entrepreneur and Proof of Keys organizer Trace Mayer joined Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in contemplating a bullish future for Bitcoin.

Since launching regulated US cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform Gemini, the Winklevoss twins have staked huge amounts on Bitcoin’s success, despite opening up trading of larger market cap altcoins.


“Bitcoin is certainly the OG crypto! It’s hard to defeat network effects — so in terms of ‘hard money’ (i.e., store of value) Bitcoin is most likely the winner in the long term,” Cameron Winklevoss said during the pair’s Reddit Ask Me Anything session Monday.

His brother was no less enthusiastic.

“Our thesis around bitcoin’s upside remains unchanged,” he said discussing their position on cryptocurrency since their last Reddit appearance in 2015.

"We believe bitcoin is better at being gold than gold. If we’re right, then over time the market cap of bitcoin will surpass the (approximately 7 trillion) dollar market cap of gold."

By that calculation, given the presumed eventual total Bitcoin supply, a single bitcoin would ultimately be worth $333,333.

MAYER: ‘NO CAPITAL ALLOCATED TO BITCOIN’… YET

The bitcoin price $4063.47 +0.2% has so far failed to produce wildly bullish behavior in 2019. Continuing to hover around $4000, commentators generally accept that further downside could preclude a fresh run-up to any new highs.

Mayer, whose Proof of Keys event aimed to make users take back control of their funds from third parties last week, is now eyeing the potential investment levels from fiat sources. These, he says, are “legendary.”

“Essentially no capital allocated to (Bitcoin) or crypto-currencies,” he wrote on Twitter Monday.

Empty infinitely expandable wealth storage vessel to absorb capital flows. As (a) sterile asset, (the Bitcoin) price increase is wealth transfer from other assets. A black hole on the world’s balance sheet.

Essentially no capital allocated to #Bitcoin or crypto-currencies.

"Empty infinitely expandable wealth storage vessel to absorb capital flows. As sterile asset, $BTC price increase is wealth transfer from other assets. A black hole on the world's balance sheet."

https://twitter.com/TraceMayer/status/1082504802247102464/photo/1

https://twitter.com/TraceMayer/status/1082504802247102464

As Bitcoinist reported, Q1 this year is set to see the entry of the first major institutional investor cash into Bitcoin. Later this month, regulated trading “ecosystem” Bakkt should begin offering physical Bitcoin futures, while players such as Nasdaq are also forthcoming.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-will-pass-7-trillion-gold-market-cap-winklevoss-twins-say/

A Russian university lecturer with ties to the government says the Kremlin will soon begin investing massively in Bitcoin as a way of avoiding new U.S. sanctions, a move that could happen “in a matter of weeks.”

RUSSIA TO BUY SOME ‘DIGITAL GOLD’?

Speaking exclusively to Micky, Vladislav Ginko of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration believes new U.S. sanctions will push the Kremlin into diversifying its cash reserves into Bitcoin.

Ginko who has ties with the government going back more than 20 years says the move will happen in a matter of weeks. Ginko has in recent times appeared on various Russian media platforms clamoring for the adoption of Bitcoin as a haven asset.

Commenting on the issue, Ginko said:

"US sanctions may be mitigated only through Bitcoin use. Because of US sanctions, Russia’s elite is forced to dump US assets and US dollars and invest hugely into Bitcoins. The central bank of Russia sits on $466 billion of reserves and has to diversify in case there are limited opportunities to do it (in the future)."

CUTTING DOLLAR DEPENDENCE AMID NEW U.S. SANCTIONS

Along with China, Iran, and Venezuela, Russia is exploring ways to reduce its US Dollar dependence. Back in November 2018, Russian President; Vladimir Putin, declared that in the wake of new sanctions, the country had no choice but to cut down on its use of the Dollar in international trade.

At the time, President Putin said:

"We have no goal of moving away from the Dollar. It’s the dollar that’s moving away from us. Those making such decisions are not shooting themselves in the foot, but somewhere more delicate, further up the body."

According to Ginko, the Kremlin will, beginning in February 2018, look for ways to diversify its reserves. Ginko has in recent times appeared on various Russian media platforms clamoring for the adoption of Bitcoin as a haven asset.

If the Russian government and the elite class invest massively in Bitcoin, the price of the asset could experience a sudden upward surge. Such a situation occurred in 2018 when wealthy Chinese citizens reportedly moved money into BTC in the wake of an accelerated currency devaluation by Beijing.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been stocking up on non-digital gold as a shield against economic sanctions. Reports indicate the government is selling U.S. government debt in exchange for the precious metal. By August 2018, Russia had already tripled its gold reserve as it gears up for renewed economic tussles with the U.S.

Such is the extent of Russia’s gold-gobbling that global gold purchasing figures reached a three-year high in November 2018. The Kremlin is also pursuing closer economic ties with China to create a new payment system independent of the Dollar.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/russia-ditch-usd-bitcoin-prof/

Skeptics and critics have continuously attacked Bitcoin as worthless and a useless speculated object backed by nothing. I once came across one Bitcoin investor who out of frustration of losing all his investment sided with the popular line by critics that “Bitcoin is worth nothing and Backed by nothing.” I understand that Bitcoin is a very risky investment but to agree that the digital asset is worth nothing is impossible. When you ask me, any fiat currency we use today is worthless if it is true that bitcoin is worthless.

What gives gold its value? I believe many people agree that gold is not worthless. I also think that many people agree that crude oil is not worthless. It is worth noting that gold and crude oil were once useless in some time back until man found some value in them.

Gold was “neutral stuff” in some part of the continent. It had no value to them at all, until they realized that they could use it for many good things. This realization caused many people to go after gold. However, gold does not have an infinite supply. Gold is subjected to scarcity. So the many people demanding it for its function and the fact that gold is finite in supply gave it a value which most people are aware.

What am I trying to say? The value of an asset is determined by scarcity and utility. Bitcoin has a finite supply of 21 million. Bitcoin has a production cost. In other words, people who mine it do not mine it for free. They exchange their computing power for the digital asset.

It is quite funny when people criticize Bitcoin because they think it is backed by nothing. The truth is that there is an ongoing debate on the fact that the U.S dollar is also backed by nothing. When it happens that the U.S dollar is backed by nothing, does it make it less a currency? Of course not. In 2009, a website called “Seeking Alpha” published an article which contained the official statement of the U.S treasury which stated that the U.S dollar is backed by nothing. It is argued that dollar stopped being backed by gold since 1933. Even though the article was taken down from the website, it can still be accessed with the internet archives of “way back machine website.”

If this is true, then what keeps the U.S dollar going? The answer is “the confidence of the people.” The confidence that the U.S dollar is a standard of deferred payment and store of value makes it valuable and not less of a currency.

Bitcoin does not need to be backed by anything to be recognized as a valuable asset or whatsoever. All it needs is the confidence of the people and the recognition that it can be used everywhere for payment of goods and services.


Source:  https://zycrypto.com/bitcoin-is-worth-nothing-and-backed-by-nothing-really/

An adversarial threat group known as The Dark Overlord has threatened to release sensitive documents that reveal the truth about the 9/11 incident unless those who are potentially affected pay them an unspecified ransom in Bitcoin. The announcement added that all those involved can have their names removed if they cooperate and make the required payments.

According to the group, the documents in question contain information on the true circumstances surrounding the 9/11 incident which may be contrary to what the world has been led to believe.

    “We’ll be providing many answers about 9.11 conspiracies through our 18,000 secret documents leak.”

Already, the group has posted a link to a 10GB document on the 9/11 incident and have threatened to grant access to the document if they are not paid the ransom. The file which they claim will reveal “the truth about one of the most recognizable incidents in recent history and one which is shrouded in mystery with little transparency and not many answers” is said to contain confidential government document that was retained by legal firms when they should have been destroyed.

The 9.11 story refers to a 2011 incident involving four attacks purportedly planned and executed by terrorists on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, killing 2,996 people in the United States. There have been several speculations since the incident until The Dark Overlord hacker group showed up with this leaked file as the truth concerning the incident.

It seems this is not just an empty threat as the group had in April 2018 leaked the data of 1,600 important government officials in a hack despite the payment of their required ransom. It was during the hack that the current 9/11 secret files were accessed and stolen by the group.

According to reports, the group has hacked several other companies such as Netflix and Plastic surgery clinics, offering sensitive information for sale on the dark web in order to extort money from its victims.

Other victims so far include major global insurers like Lloyds of London, Hiscox Silverstein Properties, which owned the World Trade Center complex that was involved in the 9/11 attack and various government agencies.

Hacks for ransom are not new especially in the year 2018. However, an organized group that has a clear identity is a bit new as they have claimed responsibility for several past hacks amounting to 50 companies and still counting.

SOURCE: ZYCRYPTO

TIME Magazine has produced a surprisingly complimentary appraisal of Bitcoin, saying the cryptocurrency “matters for freedom” and is a “way out” of authoritarianism.

TIME: CAN’T TRUST YOUR RULER? GO BITCOIN

As 2018 draws to a close, TIME appeared to cap a year of mixed reviews of Bitcoin with an acknowledgment of at least some of its fundamental use cases.

https://twitter.com/gladstein/status/1078614849305890816

Tamper-proof transactions, lack of government control and inclusion, the publication says, mean the world should spend more time developing Bitcoin, author Alex Gladstein explains.

“If we invest the time and resources to develop user-friendly wallets, more exchanges, and better educational materials for Bitcoin, it has the potential to make a real difference for the 4 billion people who can’t trust their rulers or who can’t access the banking system,” it wrote December 28.

  "For them, Bitcoin can be a way out.

As Bitcoinist has frequently reported throughout this year, citizens under regimes such as Venezuela have turned to Bitcoin in increasing numbers to circumvent fiat currency, political oppression and even a “scam” cryptocurrency launched by the government.

TAKING AIM AT PAYPAL ‘SURVEILLANCE’

Such real-world usage is often ignored by naysayers, with figures including economist Nouriel Roubini and even prominent banking figures continuing to claim cryptocurrency is a ponzi scheme which “belongs” at zero.

TIME has also not always treated crypto so favorably. As recently as October, it claimed Bitcoin was “only making it worse” specifically for women to access banking services. It has also delivered controversial statements about the sector, including describing blockchain as crypto’s “more respectable cousin.”

In addition to the Venezuelan issue, meanwhile, the latest article also points the finger at a lack of privacy, which has become inherent with decreasing cash usage. Supposedly ‘innovative’ options such as PayPal’s Venmo, in fact, come with a host of caveats.

“It’s essential that we explore electronic money that can preserve the peer-to-peer quality of cash for future generations,” it continued.

  " When you pay someone with software like Venmo, you might use three or four financial intermediaries, even though the recipient
     might be standing in front of you. Each intermediary can potentially censor, surveil, and profit.

In terms of bringing Bitcoin to the masses, TIME showed a preference for the Lightning Network’s scaling solution. That innovation passed a record 500 BTC ($1.8 million) capacity this week.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/time-magazine-bitcoin-freedom/

Bitcoin died 91 times in 2018 alone and 337 in total. But despite the latest bear cycle, hard data shows that Bitcoin has grown with more than 82,000 percent in the last 7 years.

BITCOIN ‘DIED’ 91 TIMES IN 2018

According to website Bitcoin Obituaries – there were 91 publications in 2018 proclaiming Bitcoin’s demise.

Interestingly, there were 125 ‘obituaries’  in 2017, the frequency of which actually peaked right when Bitcoin was nearing its all-time high price of $20,000 in December.

Overall, since 2010, doomsayers have buried Bitcoin exactly 337 times, according to the website.

But how dead can something be when it’s been running 24/7 with 99.98% uptime for over a decade now?

82000% GROWTH IN THE LAST 7 YEARS

It’s true that 2018’s prolonged bear market took its toll on bitcoin’s price. BTC $3806.96 -0.2% is currently trading at more than 80 percent below its all-time high price.

Nevertheless, if one only measures Bitcoin by its price in dollars, it still turns out that Bitcoin is not only not dead – it has actually grown by more than 82,000% in the last 7 years.

What’s more, its fundamentals are still intact, said Spencer Bogart earlier this month, while other metrics like hash rate (network security) and layer-two scaling solutions (i.e. Lightning Network) have actually seen unprecedented growth.


Furthermore, since January 1, 2011, BTC’s daily moving average is 0.325 percent in the positive.

Bitcoinist reported last month that BTC returns have also outperformed Amazon stock (AMZN) over the past seven years.

BTC ADOPTION IS REAL

Regardless of how many times naysayers have proclaimed its demise, Bitcoin’s ownership is also rising.

As reported in October, four different studies by the Ontario Securities Commission and the Central Bank of Canada indicate that 3 to 5% of Canadians own Bitcoin.

Another survey by market research agency YouGov revealed that up to 9 percent of UK residents own the cryptocurrency while 90 percent of them have heard of it.

What is more, the US even saw its first county and then state (Ohio) to begin accepting bitcoin for tax payments.

And for something that’s supposedly ‘dead’, 2018 saw over $410 billion transacted via BTC or an average of $13,000 per second (despite its decreasing value in dollars this year).

https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1077191856491061249/photo/1

https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1077191856491061249

Finally, this is not the first time the cryptocurrency has suffered 80 plus percent drops. As it turns out, though, each time it comes back up, reaching a much higher high.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-died-91-times-2018/

The creator of altcoin Bitcoin Private (BTCP) was battling accusations his project was a “scam” December 24 after an investigation revealed over 2 million ‘secret’ coins.

COINMETRICS: THERE ARE 2.04M ‘EXTRA’ BTCP

BTCP $1.92429 -3.65%, a so-called “fork merge” of the Bitcoin and ZClassic blockchains, fell 20 percent after research group Coinmetrics published the information Sunday.

After analyzing the BTCP blockchain, the company claims, it became apparent an extra 2.04 million coins were mined during its genesis – likely unknown to miners, users and perhaps most developers.

Known as a “covert premine,” the tokens were stored in a “shielded pool.”

“Three hundred thousand units of the covert premine were moved out of the shielded pool towards what appear to be exchanges,” a summary of the investigation continues.

  "Ultimately the lack of uptake of BTCP by the recipients of the airdrop meant that those additional 300k transparent units today represent close to 10% of the BTCP
    supply in circulation, with 1.80M covertly minted units remaining in the shielded pool.


CAUGHT BY SURPRISE?

The response from developers and creator Rhett Creighton, who also led the formation of ZClassic from ZCash, differed.

Creighton was first to respond to Coinmetrics, writing on Twitter he thought BTCP had suffered a “covert inflation attack.” He subsequently deleted the tweet.

Afterward, operations lead Jake Brutman conversely suggested Creighton personally sanctioned the 300,000 token deployment.

“This was some of the earliest code work done,” he tweeted.

From my recollection, it was a bounty placed by Rhett and the code was merged by Rhett when he was acting as Lead Developer.

In an update, Creighton meanwhile said he had “not been involved with the Bitcoin Private project for many months.”

“I never wrote any software for it. I was never paid or given any BTCP for free,” he continued.

I have no knowledge of who may or may not have been involved in the inflation hack.

He subsequently faced calls from well-known pundits that he was a “scammer” and even “deserved some years in prison.”

https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1076988042689286145/photo/1

https://twitter.com/hasufl/status/1076988042689286145

Consumers remain cautious about the impact of hard forks in the current climate following the debacle surrounded that of another Bitcoin fork, Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Splitting into two chains in November, BCH and its new spin-off Bitcoin Cash SV (BSV) entered a bitter conflict in order to woo miners and build a reputation despite growing controversy about their technical prowess.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-private-btcp-privately-pre-mined-2-million-coins-for-its-founders/

A ‘Black Swan’ art piece by Cryptograffiti has auctioned to the lowest bidder for a milli-satoshi or just $0.000000037 thanks to the Bitcoin Lightning Network, making the winning likely the world’s cheapest auction.

THE ‘BLACK SWAN’

A Reddit user going by the name Cryptograffiti shared his story of creating and auctioning a tiny piece of art called “Black Swan.”


The piece is exactly what you would expect it to be – a black swan sitting next to what seems to be a pond of leaves. Interestingly enough, though, the artist only used pieces from a fiat dollar bill and counterfeit detector pen ink to create the piece.

Its dimensions are impressively tiny. The piece measures 1.44 in x 1.75 in (3.55 cm x 4.44 cm).

More interestingly, though, was the way the artist decided to sell the piece. Cryptograffiti explained:

Yesterday I auctioned this piece to the lowest bidder to help promote the lightning network and poke fun at MSM’s focus on Bitcoin’s price.

And so, the piece has been sold for 1 milli-satoshi or $0.000000037 through the Lightning Network, which makes it possible to send a fraction of a Satoshi, the lowest possible amount that could be transferred otherwise on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Many Reddit users immediately recognized the significance of this milestone as it is possibly the world’s cheapest auction ever to be held.

LIGHTNING NETWORK’S POTENTIAL

Cryptograffiti also shares his excitement for a future time where micropayments are possible and omnipresent.

" I’m excited about a future where micropayments are omnipresent. Artists paid by the view…writers by the poem…musicians by the
   listen. Everyday interactions complemented by positive monetary reinforcement such as tipping someone who let you merge into
   traffic. […] Hopefully, this micro auction inspires others to think big about the future of Bitcoin. – He writes.

The artist has his own online merchandise store where users can purchase all kinds of crypto-related designs from t-shirts to mugs. In an interview for Bitcoinist, Cryptograffity explained the inspiration for his artwork, saying:

" Well my art, as well the merch, is all about spreading the movement…awareness. I see each shirt as little mini billboards. And I
   think it’s important to bring a little humor into the mix even with something as important and disruptive as cryptocurrency/blockchain.

This isn’t the first instance of showcasing the capabilities of the Lightning Network to successfully carry out microtransactions.

In June, Bitcoinist reported on the release of a new platform called Poketoshi which enables users to play the popular Pokémon game, paying 10 Satoshi per move ($0.00040447). Before that, creative developers allowed users to paint on a digital canvas called Satoshi’s Place. It’s comprised of 1 million pixels, each one of which cost 1 satoshi to paint.

Source:  https://bitcoinist.com/lightning-network-black-swan-cryptograffiti/

BTC prices broke the $4,000 level, growing fast in just a few days, but a rally back to $6,000 is still under question.


Bitcoin (BTC) returned to the $4,000 level as trading volumes expanded beyond $8 billion in 24 hours on renewed optimism. For now, however, a rally up to $6,000 is still under question, with more price levels to conquer.

BTC is seeing the usual support from USDT pairings, which build more than 54% of total volumes. The BTC rally this time coincided with altcoins regaining positions from recent lows.

However, cryptocurrency observers point out that bullish attitudes are still very tentative:

https://twitter.com/CryptoShillNye/status/1075477694370918400

The current rally is happening as a result of momentum building up this week, with none of the usual events such as an injection of USDT on Bitfinex. The last large tranche of USDT to the exchange happened on November 25. Still, Bitfinex remains important for the position of BTC. The fundamental factors have not changed for Bitcoin - the promise of an ETF is still distant, the hashrate growth is still relatively slow, and the network is not carrying unusual transaction loads.

At the same time, the selling may have slowed down after more than a month of sudden shakedowns, and a year-end rally has happened at least in the short term. Until the end of the year, selling may be slow, to avoid having to report tax gains for the current year.

There is still skepticism that the current run up from $3,200 is due to unfair trading practices, such as spoof orders:

https://twitter.com/Ilikedtolurk/status/1075358637193920512

In the past, BTC has shown the possibility for very fast daily gains, adding as much as $1,000 in a day. This time, the gains are slower, and the skepticism has increased, taking note of faked volumes, as well as concerted pump efforts.

At the same time, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) rally is also even more significant, as the coin grew by more than 36% in the past day. BCH easily crossed the $150 level, and traded as high as $165.61 as of 14:00 UTC.

Neither the author nor the publication assumes any responsibility or liability for any investments, profits, or losses made as a result of this information. Cryptocurrency trading and investing are risky propositions, and market participants are advised to always conduct thorough research.

Source: https://cryptovest.com/news/bitcoin-btc-back-above-4000-on-short-term-optimism/

BITCOIN PRICE RECOVERS ABOVE $3.7K AS NOVOGRATZ PREDICTS NO FURTHER LOSSES

Cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz repeated his faith in the Bitcoin price December 18, forecasting no further big losses.

NOVOGRATZ: ‘THIS ISN’T TULIPS'

In an interview with Bloomberg, the investment mogul said he was “fairly convinced” a “digital store of value” would emerge for the world, and that it would be Bitcoin.

For the “foreseeable future,” Bloomberg reports him as saying in further comments, the Bitcoin price should lie between $3000 and $6000 after dropping 50 percent in the past month.

“We had a bubble, it popped, we’ve had a monster correction,” Novogratz summarized.

“…You’ve had the correction. A lot of people say, ‘This is tulips;’ it wasn’t tulips. It was a mania built on something that’s real.”

https://youtu.be/IQLNcCxV8Fw

Bitcoin price $3770.15 -0.04% staged a rally through the first half of this week, climbing around 14 percent since the weekend to currently circle $3700.

At its lowest point the week prior, BTC/USD fell below $3130, sparking subsequent warnings from trading veteran Tone Vays that a test of long-term trend lines could spark an imminent rundown to $1300.

‘EASY TO SMASH IT NOW’

“Bitcoin is going to be between $3000 and $6000 and hopefully next year we’ll start to see the move up,” Novogratz continued, saying that under current conditions, macro trends were “more exciting” than cryptocurrency markets.

   "It’s easy to smash it right now, but if you look at it from a broader perspective, it’s pretty cool.

Altcoins had profited more from the bounce in Bitcoin price, having fallen further during the previous deflation. A surprise leader at press time came in the form of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which led the top twenty assets by market cap to post 25 percent daily gains.

Bitcoinist recently released an interview with BCH’s major proponent Roger Ver, in which he remained coy about the asset’s financial buoyancy and various controversies.

Asked about his price predictions for 2019, he replied: “I don’t know, and neither does anyone else.”


Source:  BITCOINIST