People for once need to stop with this nonsense. The only reason the market almost reached the $20,000 level, was because of the speculation around future markets. If the future markets weren't dipping their feet into the Bitcoin waters, the market wouldn't even come close the $15,000 level. The market in its entirety has been trolled big time by believing that the future markets could have had a tremendous impact on this market. It's actually very simple, future contracts are nothing more than a guessing game (i.e a gamble) for whoever ends up settling these contracts. You either expect the market to go up or down, and after contract expiry, you're a winner or loser. Aside from the price that's based on Bitcoin, it has nothing to do with Bitcoin at all, and for that reason it won't and never should affect Bitcoin.

Bitcoin has been subject to fud and whatnot since its very first exchange listing, and till this day nothing has changed in that regard. Same fud, same panic, same drama, but afterwards we're breaking through newer all time highs like it's nothing. I have been in Bitcoin long enough to experience the ups and downs, and to conclude that it's not working, and never will work. We just have to accept that due to how unregulated Bitcoin's nature is, which applies to basically every crypto currency, there will be entities looking to shake up the market for their personal gains. Either just make use of the provided market opportunities if you're a trader willing to take an extra bit of risk, or keep holding. Very simple options, but yet people keep panicking.

It's of no use. The major social media platforms are cleaning house, and thus will result in similar practices of these platforms overall. The main point is that the multinationals having billions of dollars as marketing budged, have started to demand for critical changes of the social media platforms. To put force behind their words, they have started to reduce their marketing budged that would usually flow into Google, Facebook, Youtube, etc. That very well explains the sudden policy changes of these social media platforms, and it will only get worse. All these social media platforms thrive on ad revenue, and the multinationals know that, and aren't shy of demanding more changes. If this gets taken out of proportions too much, we'll only be left with my little pony ads on social media.

The main problem is the stupid nature of the people in this market. Seriously, I have never seen people with a lower IQ than the people in this market, and that's without exaggerating the situation. It's so easy, that I am sure I can create a cloud mining website as well, and walk away with thousands and thousands in asset value, and likely far more if the marketing is done properly. People quite often complain about the stock market returns being low and pathetic and whatnot, which is true, but the people involved in stocks are Einsteins compared to the empty headed idiots we are dealing with here. I thought that it would change throughout the years, but nothing has changed at all.

It's a combination. Fomo definitely plays an important role, especially because of how people throughout the years have been ignoring Bitcoin, and now suddenly see that they could have made the investment of their life years ago. Great side effect of Fomo is that regardless of people's initial goal (the investment aspect they don't want to miss out on), these people get to understand Bitcoin, and start exploring all posibilities this market has to offer. To cut a long story short, it's extra exposure for Bitcoin that results in adoption and more potential capital being pumped into this ecosystem.

Correct. The lower the number of Bitcoins flowing into circulation on a daily basis, the lower the overall availability of on-market coins becomes, and thus the less potential pressure on the price. Great thing is that we have been in a very long phase where there is far more money flowing into this ecosystem, than coin value is being generated. This, especially in the longer term, has a major impact on the market, which we can clearly see when looking at the effect on the price after the previous block halving. The price increase in advance of the previous block halving was pure speculative.

Block rewards throughout the years per day/month/year.

50BTC - 7200BTC mint per day, 216,000BTC mint per month, 2,592,000BTC mint per year.
25BTC - 3600BTC mint per day, 108,000BTC mint per month, 1,296,000BTC mint per year.
12.5BTC - 1800BTC mint per day, 54,000BTC mint per month, 648,000BTC mint per year.
6.25BTC - 900BTC mint per day, 27,000BTC mint per month, 324,000BTC mint per year.

Numbers speak for themselves.

The 'proof' is that technical analysis works, and doesn't work. It works when the market is relaxed enough to function as plaything for whales, and doesn't work when suddenly greed/emotions/fear/panic kick in, which is even for whales something they can't control. The main thing with technical analysis is that if enough people think more or less the same, it will work, but only until greed/emotions/fear/panic start knocking on the door. Current market allows technical analysis to be functional and somewhat accurate, but for long.

Correct, but the thing is that if the IRS at least in some situations shows it is willing to take the difficult path, it might scare off larger traders in the way that it makes them think it's basically pointless to show any form of resitance. One way or another, if the IRS puts its focus on something, they will get what they want from you. If it doesn't go naturally, they will use other measures to make you wish you did actually pay your taxes initially. Seriously, if the tax rates were fair and square, people would pay them without any problems, and that out of free will. Tax evasion is happening for a reason. No one should have the right to claim a large chunk of the capital you have been working for, and especially not by force, which is a common practice of the IRS. It's pure theft and nothing else.

Less bothered doesn't necessarily mean they agree with all the tax forms. I can't think of anyone being happy to pay a ridiculous amount of tax over their income or profits, that's just impossible. In that regard it's indeed more a matter of accepting their faith due to them not knowing any better. The point is that if there is one aspect of the government you don't want to mess with, then it's the tax department. It's not for nothing that in some cases tax fraud or tax evasion (which in my book means that you just want to protect your own capital and income) gets punished harder than rape and whatnot. It's basically like the mafia forcing brick and mortar stores to pay a certain form of "protection" tax, and when you refuse to pay, you'll find out what's going to happen with you and your business. This system is one rotten hole people can't escape from, unless they take the necessary actions, where Bitcoin is the perfect alternative to achieve the freedom this system will never give you.

It's funny how people constantly refer to bad news being the main reason the price went down, while in reality the market was heavily overbought, and was bound to go down from that point. If you take the important $20,000 barrier into consideration, and the fact that the future markets were the only reason the price went up that high, even a noob could see a massive correction coming up. CME opened it's platform where the first contracts were settled at $20,000, and down Bitcoin went directly after that. The bad news fud drama just made the market tank deeper than it would when correcting normally. It's not for nothing that these fud attacks always pop up once the market is in decline. It's a game that's being played here.

Yup. It didn't cost much effort to break through that level with such a sweet volume spike. BitTether once again exaggerated the whole situation with a 5500BTC volume peak. Current target is $9500-$10,000, where the higher number will likely take a few attempts again to break though, but at least it's a positive development. That being said, I honestly don't see much more upwards potential in the very short term than $10,000 (give or take a few hundred). It's a good first step, but that's basically all that can be said about it. I'm still very conservative regarding the very short term.

XRP is Bitstamp's weak spot apparantly, especially if we look at how many people are having the exact same difficulties right now, and that for months straight. It's obviously clear that tickets concerning XRP have a very low support priority, which pretty much explains why people in some cases have to wait weeks, and even months. Perhaps you should be a bit more subtile when it comes to recommending people to avoid Bitstamp in its entirity, because Bitstamp is probably one of the best performing exchanges in terms of Bitcoin versus actual USD trading. To add; support on other exchanges won't offer much of an improvement over Bitstamp with how they all prioritize tickets in one way or another. One person gets a reply within a few days, and the other has to wait weeks and weeks.

It all depends on what your government considers Bitcoin to be when it comes to what taxes you end up paying. If we look at one common standpoint of governments, then it's safe to say that they will probably never put it in the category of currencies, because they don't see it as such, and perhaps that's a good thing for everone in the long run. One way or another, the government is always looking for ways to tax people, and if they think it's justified (in their benefit) that they can introduce a completely new tax policy, then they surely will, regardless of how Bitcoin is being used, or what it is classified as. The government with its tax policies is nothing more than a parasite sucking the life and wealth out of its host.

I think not regulating crypto is more likely going to be an obstacle for crypto, than having it be regulated properly and fair. I strongly believe that if we didn't had current regulations in place all over the word, we likely wouldn't be able to reach this far, and especially when it comes to attracting institutional capital. Institutions have never really been able to enter this market legally, and with how this market is more and more being regulated, it's just a matter of time before they allocate a certain percentage of their portfolio to Bitcoin. Japan is a great example of how fair regulations can turn out to work well when it comes to stimulating further adoption. Great thing is that more and more governments start to understand that it's pointless to ban something that can't be banned at all. Regulations are great for crypto, but on the other hand allow governments to maintain at least some level of control, especially when it comes to centralized services.

There is one major aspect that makes current phase very different from all the previous phases in the runup to the next halving, and that's a continuous progress of regulations taking place, allowing Bitcoin to be more accessible to all sorts of parties than ever before. Bitcoin's utility has never been this diverse, meaning that it allows itself to be used and utilized in so many ways, that we can't yet imagine how it will impact the longer term adoption, where Lightning Network is going to play a very crucial role. However, there is one but, and that's Bitcoin's current limitations that have proven to be an obstacle during intensive market times, where the bull run of last year functions as a perfect example.

In order to set that next step, it's crucial that Bitcoin does so with LN being utilized by at least 50% of the market, or at least 100% Segwit. I want a justified increase that allows people to move value back and forth without having to pay top fees during high intenstive market times, otherwise what's an increase worth if Bitcoin itself isn't ready for more adoption? That's why I find current levels to be a more than fair reflection of the situation, and thus not very low as some people think the current price is. If people feel the need to move value through altcoins instead of Bitcoin, then that's a sign that Bitcoin needs to step up its game. It's the hard reality. On-chain scalling isn't going to do it, then let it be off-chain. LN.

That's how markets are. I must however point out that the market isn't really that flat - there are enough opportunities to catch 5-10% swings within the $7700-$9000 range, so it's not that traders aren't doing anything right now. The more experienced and confident a trader is, the smaller the swings need to be in order to make money. Those who aren't experienced and confident, need massive swings in order to take advantage of the market, and in case these massive swings aren't present, they feel like it's not worth it anymore, while in reality there is still a good sum of money to be made. Aside from traders, a 'flat' market is great for longer term accumulation purposes.

He is probably referring to the shitload of fud that was thrown at Binance after their lengthy maintenance phase. People kept spreading fud and whatnot, and that while prior to that Binance has always worked fine, and that without many problems, which is indeed a good point. McAfee, the clown has also been part of the fud attack against Binance during their maintenance phase, and that while he knew that they were just performing maintenance. From all the crippled exchanges in this market, Binance fits in the top five exchanges that are seemingly the least crippled.

The only thing that worries me though, is that they have managed to grow insanely fast in such a short period of time. Sure, Chinese exchanges shutting down may have largely contributed to that, but I can't really figure out what it is that makes people flow into Binance aside from that. Exchanges as Bitstamp have a long track record of being a reliable platform, but that's something we can't yet conclude when it comes to Binance. In that regard, it will be interesting to see how they handle further growth in the coming months/years.

You should do a bit more effort to avoid fud news, and focus on more realistic articles instead.

Quotes from an article that can be read here.

It's clear that there are still news sites trying to make people afraid of a ban that will not even happen, just to make you sell your coins. It's time for people to do some actual research themselves instead of just blindly taking everything for granted. The sooner people know how to seperate fud from what's real, and admittedly, it's not always easy, these fud spreaders will see their practices become less effective as time goes by. Governments are aware of the fact that you CAN'T ban crypto currencies, so regulating this market is the only option left for them.

It first needs to break the resistance around the $9000 level, because yesterday was the second time the market couldn't comfortably move through that level. Bitstamp and GDAX stagnated just under $9000, while BitTether stagnated at $9000 flat. Current range of $7700-$9000 seems to be fair though. If we distance ourself from being the Bitcoin fanboys that we are for a short while, everyone will see that the market is right where it needs to be. In that regard, it's pointless to start thinking about +$12,000 levels without anything having changed. The only downside of a market that isn't moving up, is that traders might start dumping out of frustration, but the demand should be strong enough to buy the market back up to current levels.

Correct. Regardless of your capital, you like anyone else has the chance to book the same profits in terms of percentages. The only difference is that a whale has more capital to play with than the far majority of the people in this market, so what. At some point in the future even those with 1BTC will be part of the elite in terms of how the wealth in this market has been distributed. This has nothing to do with whales, but with people knowing when and how to exploit the corrections in the right way, and as long as that is the case, there is no difference between you and a whale. It's as always the media looking to spice things up with a sensitive point like how the rich get only richer, it's already known.

Don't underestimate the power of the people there. While the main exchanges there aren't operating anymore, there are plenty enough alternative routes for people to walk on in order to buy their preferred crypto currency. Hong Kong is still a very easy and popular alternative route, although the question remains for how long with China forcing more pressure on them. It's impossible to prevent people from buying and selling crypto within China. That being said, 2018 is the year of the dog in China, so it will be interesting to see how Dogecoin will be doing in the coming weeks/months.