16 Government-Approved Crypto Exchanges Have Formed Self-Regulatory Group in JapanA new association has been registered in Japan consisting of 16 government-approved cryptocurrency exchanges. The group will focus on establishing self-regulatory rules and will have the authority to investigate and sanction members that do not comply with self-regulation.
New Japanese Crypto AssociationA new cryptocurrency organization has been registered with the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA), consisting of 16 crypto exchanges that have been approved by the agency, according to local media.
The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association recently held a general meeting, during which a director was chosen, Jiji Press reported.
The group plans to “elect Taizen Okuyama, President of Money Partners as Chairman” at the next Board of Directors meeting which will be held on April 23. The association will be formally launched on that date.
The news outlet quoted the new group explaining that they aim to establish rules for their member exchanges, and as an organization, will have the “authority to investigate and banish member companies.”
Founding MembersThe Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association’s founding members are the 16 fully licensed exchanges operating in Japan. They are Bitflyer, Money Partners, Bitbank, Bitpoint, Quoine, SBI Virtual Currencies, Fisco Virtual Currency, Btcbox, Zaif, GMO Coin, Bittrade, Tokyo Bitcoin Exchange (DMM Bitcoin), Bitarg Exchange Tokyo, FTT Corporation, Xtheta Corporation, and Bitocean.
Japan already has two existing associations in the crypto space: the Japan Blockchain Association (JBA) and the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association (JCBA). The former is headed by Bitflyer CEO Yuzo Kano and the latter by the president of Money Partners Group.
The new association will be a member of both the JBA and the JCBA, both of which will continue to operate, according to the news outlet. Some crypto exchanges are members of both associations, such as GMO Coin and Coincheck.
While all members of the new association are FSA-approved exchanges, members of the JBA and the JCBA also include “deemed dealers,” which are exchanges the agency allows to operate while their registrations are under review. Coincheck, which was hacked in January, falls into this category.
The FSA is currently strengthening its rules for deemed dealers. Masashi Nakajima, Professor at Reitaku University, who participates in the agency’s research group, pointed out that most users did not know that Coincheck was unlicensed, Sankeibiz conveyed. “I ask for a mechanism that is easy to recognize at a glance” to indicate that an exchange is still unlicensed such as a posting on the exchange’s website, he was quoted.
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Australia Introduces AML/CTF Requirements for Cryptocurrency ExchangesAustralia’s new legislative guidelines for the operation of cryptocurrency exchanges were introduced on the 3rd of April 2018. From now on, Australian digital currency exchange businesses will be required to register and comply with anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.
Australia’s new regulative apparatus pertaining to cryptocurrencies has formally been adopted as law, mandating that digital currency exchange businesses comply with the country’s AML/CTF requirements.
Cryptocurrency exchanges must now register and report to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). AUSTRAC has issued a document outlining the primary obligations of digital currency exchanges under the new guidelines.
In addition to “adopting and maintaining an AML/CTF program to identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks,” Australian virtual currency exchanges must “identify” and “verify” the “identities of their customers,” keep “certain records for seven years,” and report “suspicious matters” and “transactions involving physical currency of $10,000 or more” to AUSTRAC.
Transitional Registration Arrangements in Place for Existing ExchangesAUSTRAC states that “A ‘policy principles’ period of six months will be in place from 3 April 2018” – during which “the AUSTRAC CEO can only take enforcement action if a DCE business fails to take ‘reasonable steps’ to comply.”
The six month period will also see “Transitional registration arrangements” made available to “existing businesses to allow them to continue providing services while their registration application being considered.” Existing digital currency exchange businesses will need to register for the transitional registration arrangements by May 14th. AUSTRAC warns that the unregistered provision of digital currency exchange services will suffer “criminal offense and civil penalty consequences.”
Last week, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced that it is seeking public consultation from citizens regarding how the ATO should “approach specific tax events.” The ATO, which has been drafting legislation for the taxation of cryptocurrencies, stated that it has “launched a community consultation to help us understand practical issues experienced when complying with cryptocurrency tax obligations.”
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THE BITCOIN PRICE IS GAININGBitcoin Approaches $7,500 Again Thanks to Surprising Positive TrendIt is rather strange to see all cryptocurrency markets in the green as of right now. Given the negative market sentiment throughout the past few weeks, it has become evident there may not be any major gains on the horizon. Even so, all markets are recovering slowly. With the Bitcoin price heading to $7.500 again, things will undoubtedly get very interesting.
Everyone should be aware of how the Bitcoin value determines all prices in the world of cryptocurrency. If the Bitcoin price drops, all altcoins will suffer. When the Bitcoin value goes up, altcoins will benefit as well, albeit usually in less spectacular fashion. As such, the market needs a healthy Bitcoin price increase before all of the cryptocurrencies can effectively see a proper bullish trend.
Even so, the Bitcoin price is currently heading in the right direction. With a small push, one might even see a value of $7,500 again later today. This is in stark contrast to the Bitcoin price of nearly $6,400 just a few days ago. Industry experts know this bearish trend is only temporary and the market will reverse course eventually. Whether or not this is happening already, is difficult to predict at this point.
Thanks to this solid 4.99% gain over the past 24 hours, things are looking up for the Bitcoin price for the first time in a while. Albeit this may only be a temporary reprieve before the bears take control again, it may also herald a more positive trend for cryptocurrency in general. There is no specific reason as to why the Bitcoin price would remain below $7,00 other than through sheer market manipulation.
coinmarketcap.com
It appears the Bitcoin trading volume is also picking up once again. With $5bn worth of trades in the past 24 hours, the demand for Bitcoin has not diminished by any means. However, this is still a long way removed from the Bitcoin trading volume people saw in late 2017. It is possible such high trading volume materializes again at some point, but for now, it remains unknown how things will play out.
The market is dominated by Bitfinex, which still generates most of the trading volume. Its lead over OKEx has shrunk a tiny bit, though, and Binance is not all that far behind either. What is rather unusual is how there is only one South Korean exchange in the top five. Bithumb barely makes the top ten, which seems to indicate that market is still on the fence as far as BTC is concerned.
How all of this will play out in the near future, remains to be determined. It is evident people have grown tired of the ongoing Bitcoin price decline, but the market can negative this positive trend quick quickly. All gains need to be taken in stride, though, and speculators simply have to hope this is the positive development people have been waiting for throughout most of 2018.
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Positive news about BTCAbove $7,000: Bitcoin Eyes Gains After Death Cross FailsIn Bitcoin We Trust
Despite having witnessed a so-called "death cross" over the weekend, bitcoin (BTC) is now eyeing gains above the $7,000 mark.
The much-feared technical indicator (bearish crossover between the 50-day moving average (MA) and the 200-day MA) was confirmed over the weekend, but, as anticipated by CoinDesk, the oversold conditions seem to have put a floor under bitcoin prices.
As of writing, CoinDesk's Bitcoin Price Index (BPI) is seen at $7,040, having clocked a 54-day low of $6,443 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency was last seen changing hands at $7,060 on Bitfinex - up 9.88 percent from the previous day's low of $6,425.
The recovery is pretty much in line with the historical pattern, which shows that bitcoin tends to regain poise every time the relative strength index (RSI) drops to or below 30.00.
Daily chart
As seen on the daily chart prices as per Bitfinex) above, the RSI fell to 30.00 on Friday, signaling oversold conditions. Further, the death cross was confirmed on Saturday, but did not do significant damage to bitcoin's price.
It's worth noting that the death cross looked pretty unconvincing before it occurred, i.e. the 50-day MA turned neutral (flatlined) a week ago and remains neutral after the bearish crossover, validating the argument put forward by the daily RSI that BTC is oversold. A falling 50-day MA pre- and post-crossover could have brought in a lot of technical sellers.
Further, the cryptocurrency has successfully defended the key ascending trendline seen on the weekly chart below.
Weekly chart (linear scale)
Bitcoin avoided a break below the confluence of the ascending trendline and the rising (bullish biased) weekly 50-MA, amid oversold conditions.
So, it appears the cryptocurrency has made a short-term low at $6,425 and could visit $7,500-$7,600 in the next few days, as indicated by the bullish-RSI divergence on the chart below.
4-hour chart
BTC has breached the descending trendline, but only a clear break above $7,100 (channel resistance) would add credence to the bullish RSI divergence and allow a rally to $7,500-$7,600.
That said, further gains are ruled out in the short-term, because the 10-day MA is biased to the bears (sloping downwards).
Daily chart II
In the chart above, the 5-day MA and 10-day MA are bearish, and a sustained rally to $8,000 and beyond is only likely after they have bottomed out.
ViewBTC seems to have made a temporary low at $6,425. A clear break above $7,100 could yield a rally to $7,600.
Further gains cannot be ruled out, but will likely happen only after the 5-day MA and 10-day MA have shed bearish bias.
On the downside, $6,425 is an immediate support, which if breached, would allow a re-test of the February low of $6,000. However, the bears will have a tough time taking out support $6,425, courtesy of short-term oversold conditions.
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Ways to Profit in a Crypto Bear MarketBear Markets Are Best Markets
There’s an assumption, among less experienced traders, that once your altbags are underwater, there’s nothing to do but wait it out. Take up fishing; join a gym; kill some time until more favorable conditions return. Not so. Following the giddy euphoria of daily all-time highs, level-headedness returns. Clear thinking prevails when hype has been hustled out of town. While some of the following strategies call for experience, the majority require little more than a willingness to study. Put in the hours now and when the running of the bulls resumes, you’ll be at the head of the pack.
Bitcoin doesn’t need to move up for you to profit – it just needs to move. Any which way is good provided you can identify the trend. The shorter the time frame, the greater the risk of getting liquidated – but the quicker the payday. The likes of Bitmex and Okex offer futures as well as perpetual contracts that are funded every eight hours. Beware of futures trading altcoins such as ripple and litecoin, because bitcoin chooses the tune the rest of the market moves to.
Give Margin Trading a GoMargin trading is basically futures on steroids. Crank up that leverage all the way to 100x if you’re feeling foolhardy or supremely confident. The rewards for mastering margin trading are huge: Bitmex’s top two traders have amassed 7,000 BTC between them. They’re exceptions though. In conventional cryptocurrency trading, you get to keep the coin, even if its BTC value sinks. With margin trading, the margin for error becomes wafer thin the higher you crank that leverage, and the penalty for failure is liquidation.
Brush Up on Technical AnalysisIf there’s one thing a bear market’s good for, it’s homework. While the benefits bestowed by technical analysis (TA) can be debated, no trader in their right mind would consider margin or futures trading without a basic understanding of it. Start with the basics such as moving averages and RSI, and then move on to ichimoku, fibonacci, and all the rest. Bitmex’ testnet is your playground for experimenting with indicators without getting rekt.
Most crypto traders have lives away from the soft glow of dual Tradingview monitors, and it’s unlikely you’ll have the time and skill to become a TA pro. Getting a feel for the basics will help you time your entries and exits better, however, and when the markets turn green, you’ll stand a better chance of selling near the top instead of falling for the hodl meme and suffering another 70% retracement.
Scalp Your Way to Profit
When the markets are capricious, there’s money to be made in creaming profits off small price movements. Scalping is a smash-and-grab job that requires little other than free time and a willingness to grind it out through frequent buying and selling. Like all trading strategies, scalping is not without its risks. All it takes is one major fail for your hard day’s haul to be undone.
Dig for Hidden Gems
Everything’s cheap in a bear market, but just because a coin’s cheap doesn’t mean it has value. Thanks to the low volumes and depressed prices, there’s no need to rush into trades. Instead, take your time to research projects that are undervalued and have the potential to 10x or greater when the market rebounds. Examining coins that have dropped 70% or more from their all-time high will reveal, amidst all the dross, a handful that have been unfairly hammered.
Most crypto traders are impatient, and sometimes a coin is languishing simply because the crowd has lost interest while the platform is under development. Monitor the social feeds and Github repositories of projects you like to learn when their mainnet is due to launch.
Play ICO Detective
Market shakeouts are great for separating the wheat from the chaff, especially when it comes to ICOs. In early January, any piece of vaporware was guaranteed to hit its cap. With many tokens trading at a loss the moment they hit an exchange, investors now have to be savvy. Instead of FOMOing into some 5/10 crowdsale that’s ending tomorrow, save your ether and put your time into investigating projects whose sale is still months away. Read their technical documentation, Google the team, and pore over their token use cases. Just as experienced traders can spot a bear trap when they see one, experienced ICO researchers can spot a winner long before the crowds have caught on.
Get a Job
If crypto trading’s stopped paying the bills, perhaps it’s time you got a job. No, not a McJob – a crypto job. There are still loads of companies hiring because they, like the bulk of the crypto community, are confident that these bearish conditions are only temporary. The best thing about working in crypto, even if the job’s not particularly glamorous, is you’re likely to get paid in crypto. Then, when bulls come out to play again – whaddya know – suddenly that cryptocurrency you’ve earned is worth a whole lot.
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Despite Bitcoin's 'Sell-Off' The Cryptocurrency Space Continues To Attract Investors
Bitcoin's price evolution shown over the past one year to February 2, 2018. Having soared to around $19,000 in mid December last year, the price of the digital currency had declined to around $7,000 by the start of this April. (Source: Bloomberg).Volatility, volatility, volatility. Traders certainly love it. But the volatility witnessed of late among many leading cryptocurrencies - including the ‘Big Daddy’ of them all in the shape of Bitcoin as well as Ethereum - has been a "double-edged sword" according to some pundits. Price swings can occur dramatically and result in big profits, should you catch it right.
Equally, significant losses can be sustained should your timing be all awry, there is negative newsflow around the crypto space and/or particular digital currencies.
Bitcoin’s Halcyon Days?One might say you pays your money and takes your chances in the “Wild West” of crypto land. More succinctly, caveat emptor (buyer beware). And, according to Jordan Hiscott, chief trader at ayondo markets, a brokerage in The City of London, in a note from last week (March 27) said: “Certainly the halcyon days of performance gains [for Bitcoin] from 2017 seem long gone.”
Bitcoin moved lower early last week on Tuesday and was trading at around the $7,900 mark. However, this was in stark contrast to the level of $13,275 at the start of 2018. Hiscott’s view expressed at the time in late March was that the situation around the current soggy price level could persist for “at least six months.”
He added: “My theory is based around the situation regarding the liquidation of the Mt Gox Exchange, and the appointed trustee to handle the bankruptcy. Colloquially, this individual is known at the "Tokyo Whale", and having already sold around $400 million worth of both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, he is likely the main catalyst for this year’s move down.”
Interestingly, there still remains around three times that amount of Bitcoin to potentially to hit the market. “With this kind of volume yet to surface, in my view, prices on Bitcoin will remain depressed until this situation has been resolved,” ayondo’s Hiscott posited.
New InvestorsThe wild run on the crypto scene starting from late last year may have created a few sob stories for new investors, as those who bought in during the all-time highs are likely to have incurred losses due to February’s massive correction. Some might even be ruing the day they ever decided to dive in and invest.
In fact, recent statistics indicate that most people who got into bed with and invested in Bitcoin did so at a significantly higher price than the current market price, which is now well below the $10,000 market. This is a remarkable turnaround.
Having reached just slightly north of $19,000 a pop on December 17, 2017, in a something of a feeding frenzy from the month before (seeing the currency’s value almost quadruple from $5,857.32 on 12 November), Bitcoin’s price retreated and has fallen back to around $6,500 as of today (April 1) - and that’s no joke. Since the peak it equates to a decline of 65% in a matter of fifteen weeks.
Bitcoin was not alone in seeing a price a substantial correction from its peak.
Ethereum’s price, which was standing at around $366 as April 1 is down from over $1,330 - the currency's peak - reached on January 14 this year, while it’s a similar picture declining prices from their highs for Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ripple.
Source: CoinDesk Inc. Prices in US dollars as of April 1, 2018, 15.20 UTC.
There were stories that many had invested using their credit cards. And, some plucky investors even re-mortgaged their homes. What they are thinking now is anyone’s guess. But if you play high risk markets then there is also the possibility of getting burned big time.
And, if there is one lesson from all this, it is not to believe in all the hype that surrounded cryptocurrencies when the prices were getting pretty frothy and frankly some people were getting ahead of themselves.
This was especially so just prior to Bitcoin futures being traded on the Chicago derivative exchanges, the CBOT and CME. Between the point when it was announced late last October that futures in the cryptocurrency would commence during the fourth quarter 2017 - until Bitcoin’s peak in December - the price had surged by 211%. And, now for Bitcoin we are broadly back at those levels seen when the announcement was made first disseminated to the market by the CME.
Looking back it was unrealistic and unsustainable to expect Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies to continue their explosive runs - ever upwards. And, while not wishing to say I told you so, it is something I had pointed out in some of my previous posts on Forbes. Namely that it didn’t exactly look too healthy or sustainable. Some out there think though there will be correction upwards to where it was before and well beyond, given the recent trading lows over the last 50-day trading period.
Now there has been a tightening of regulations. One of the latest examples being from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the Paris-based financial regulator, with its communique on 26 March concerning leverage on derivative products related to cryptocurrencies amongst other financial products. Regulators in South Korea and China have also weighed in with pronouncements on bans for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and other crypto prohibitions over recent months.
It was fortunate perhaps that the latest G20 meeting in Argentina did not bear down on the crypto space as they could have, which had been flagged up as a distinct possibility by French and German central bankers along with Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and head of the Basle-based Financial Stability Board (FSB).
Investor Appetite?All of this, however, does not appear to have dampened investors’ drive to be part of the crypto space. Hundreds of millions of dollars in tokens continue to be traded on exchanges. ICOs also continue to rake in the big bucks. Indeed, just three months into 2018 and $4.8 billion in funding has already been raised through various token sales so far.
Blockchain is widely considered to be the next disruptive technology. As such, many believe that the crypto space is a high-potential growth area that could provide massive returns of investment. For early adopters of coins like Bitcoin and Ether, it most definitely has. Although for later ones the jury is out.
As pointed out above, if you bought when the mania gripped at the end of last year you will be nursing a hefty loss. Of course, one might see this as ripe time to buy back in and average out your crypto holdings.
Even established companies are making their respective plays in crypto investing. Trading platform eToro recently secured $100 million in a Series E funding round to support its global expansion and further support of crypto and blockchain. The platform already supports major tokens including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and Ripple.
But the funding round hints at the adoption of blockchain technology for its own use. Crypto exchange Poloniex was also recently bought by Circle, a fintech firm backed by Goldman Sachs, which underscores how traditional institutions acknowledge crypto’s impact.
Such developments only help inspire investor confidence, or so some pundits argue. And, even if coins remain far from their all-time highs, backers continue to stake in blockchain and crypto.
And, in that vein here are five reasons as to why the crypto space still continues to encourage more investors to participate.
1. The Promise of BlockchainIt’s tough to argue against blockchain as a technology since there is value in the immutable and transparent record keeping that it provides. But it should be pointed out that Blockchain projects and their protagonists have had a nasty habit of over promising and underdelivering. And, the number of ICOs that failed to deliver in 2017 isn't exactly something to shout about.
Several projects though have already made headway in the areas of finance, healthcare and security. Blockchain’s distributed nature also helps mitigate security and reliability issues that plague other technologies.
Blockchain’s appeal is even bolstered by the emergence of smart contracts and cross-chain interoperability. The possibilities for developing new applications based on blockchain now seem boundless according to the view of some. Because of this, there is no shortage of new and promising ventures building their projects on blockchain.
And, I for one can certainly vouch that hardly a day passes when I do not receive a slew of press release ICO launches in the crypto space. It seems never ending.
Traditional institutions and large enterprises are also committed to adopting the technology. Even banks are forming consortia that would enable them to use blockchain for their various services. Due to this demand, IT providers like IBM and Microsoft are even compelled to offer blockchain-related products and services and blockchain-as-a-service.
2. Unicorn PotentialThis next wave of tech companies is attempting to bring disruption to a variety of verticals. New projects have now extended beyond blockchain’s typical use cases and have found their way even in sectors like social networks, media and gaming - all of which are billion-dollar industries.
Casting a wider net could help these ventures catch bigger fish. And, for investors, backing such companies early on could deliver significant returns down the line.
Some may be labeling this boom a bubble, in much the same way as happened with a whole host of dotcom ventures back in the naughtiest (2000’s). While this may be true in some regard, one should not dismiss the likelihood that winners can emerge - even if the bubble bursts.
And, in hindsight, who would not have wanted access to Google or Amazon stocks at pre-IPO or at IPO prices? There is always a chance that this slate of crypto-based projects may include future unicorns.
3. Early “In”Clearly, not everyone is a venture capitalist (VC) or an angel investor who could find early “ins” to startups. This typically requires a certain amount of clout and reputation in the business community as well as significant wealth in the war chest. The only way ordinary people were able to invest in new companies was to wait for a public offering.
Today, ICOs have allowed just about anyone to invest early in new projects. ICOs now generates 3.5 times more capital than VC funding. This is largely due to how ordinary investors could invest even relatively small amounts right at the start, based on the promise of returns once the token hits exchanges or when the venture eventually flies.
4. Fundamentals Start to MatterMore investors are also realizing that they should not be rash in spending their money on any ICO that comes their way. It does take disciplined due diligence to spot potential unicorns. But even a good idea does not necessarily come to fruition until the service goes live and the market takes to it.
Fortunately, more investors are learning to look into a project’s fundamentals. The uniqueness and value of the concept, the token economy, the potential for target verticals to be disrupted by the technology, the strength of teams behind the projects, and other factors are now being considered by investors.
This rising focus on fundamentals can eventually help minimize speculation and the market’s volatility and even encourage traditional investors to participate.
5. Global ReachTraditional investing has largely been geographically limited due to the regulatory constraints. ICOs, however, have opened up the game, allowing investors from all over the world to participate. This is also becoming increasingly easy given how established platforms are supporting more cryptocurrencies.
While some countries have already put up stringent regulations to limit and even ban crypto investing, many countries still only advise their citizens to be cautious when investing in crypto. Investors from these certain countries are otherwise unbridled to trade cryptocurrencies.
Risks and RewardsAt the end of the day, investing as a financial activity entails risks and rewards. While crypto investing seems to carry more risk due to the technology and space’s infancy, the rewards can also be significant.
Fortunately, the crypto space appears to be headed - some believe - towards normalcy as regulation and a focus on fundamentals are helping lessen speculation. Increasing support by traditional trading platforms and the participation of other established organizations also helps bring legitimacy to crypto activities, which ultimately should inspire investor confidence.
Add to all this, the space continues to make significant money. And, as long as this is the case, it will continue to attract enterprising parties from all over. But watch this space.
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Bitcoin Price Prediction 2018: Can cryptocurrency hit $50,000 this year? -Bitcoin News Today – Sun Apr 1Can Bitcoin hit $ 50,000 this year? While most of the cryptocurrencies are much below their earlier highs but there are newer and newer predictions coming up for cryptocurrencies. One such prediction is that Bitcoin can rise to as high as $ 50,000 in the calendar year 2018.
A cryptocurrency portfolio manager by the name of Jeet Singh, stated at World Economic Forum in Davos, that the current volatility is completely normal when it comes to the cryptocurrencies space. He also stated that it is normal for cryptocurrencies to fluctuate by 70% to 80%. This is one of the main reasons why the current volatility does not worry him at all.
He compared cryptocurrencies to the current bellwether companies like
Microsoft as well as Apple. Initially,
their stocks were also pretty volatile. However, as the companies develop their business model, the stocks not only rose but they become much more stable as well.
However, many of the investors are actually currently worried due to the high volatility in cryptocurrencies. According to him, however, long-term investors need not fear the volatility at all. Since they are here to stay for a longer period of time, they would have no problem at all in holding the cryptocurrencies for a longer period of time as well.
He further added that Bitcoin would reach as high as $ 50,000 this year. If indeed that happens, the current price of Bitcoin being around just $ 10,000, that would be a fivefold increase once again.
Whether the portfolio manager is right or wrong, only time would be able to tell. The truth is that currently, many of the investors are worried about putting new money into Bitcoins. Only once they are sure that the volatility would end and the Bitcoin resumes its uptrend you can be sure that most of the investors would actually get ready to invest in this cryptocurrency.
For now, however, most of the investors are keeping away from the cryptocurrency boom. Many of the investors are just holding their holdings patiently in order to find out whether the cryptocurrencies resume their uptrend or not. It is still too uncertain for most of the investors to take a call. On the other hand, institutions are increasing their presence in the cryptocurrencies pace as well which is sure to benefit the cryptocurrencies space and would add value and credibility to the cryptocurrencies in the future as well. This is one of the main reasons why it is not seeing further fall after creating a bottom few weeks back. Also, once the regulatory hurdles are sorted, you can be sure that the value of cryptocurrencies would again more.
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Surely, Bitcoin is headed up – John McAfeeJohn McAfee, Bitcoin supporter and founder of the popular McAfee antivirus software, is being very positive about Bitcoin. He predicted that Bitcoin price will hit $1 million by 2020 following last year’s prediction of $7000 which was well surpassed.
Bitcoin Price Prediction Tracker portal, Bircoin.top, did the maths and explain that Bitcoin needs to grow daily at 0.4840957034310259% per day.to meet McAfee’s prediction. Currently, Bitcoin is around $ 8,207 compared to $ 7,171. Cool right? However, to hit McAfee’s target, BTC would end the year just over $29k.
“BTC has accelerated much faster than my model assumptions. I now predict Bitcoin at $1 million by the end of 2020. I will still eat my d**k if wrong” – John McAfee
Apart from the economics behind the limited supply of Bitcoin, his prediction considered the factors like the increased adoption of Bitcoin and blockchain as well as a total cryptocurrency’s market cap around $162 billion which gives large room for growth.
“I think Bitcoin will be worth a tiny fraction of what it is now if we’re headed out 10 years from now…I would see $100 as being a lot more likely than $100,000.” – Kenneth Rogoff
Rogoff’s prediction is based on his long-held belief that governments will rise against anonymous virtual currencies like Bitcoin. Government regulations, according to Rogoff, will pop the Bitcoin bubble but a Bitcoin pioneer on Wall Street thinks along very different lines.
“We expect bitcoin’s major low to be $9,000, and we would be aggressive buyers around that level,” – Tom Lee
Though Bitcoin went below Lee’s base of $9,000 (nearing $6,000), it has bounced out reaching in March $11,000. It will take a ride similar to the one we witnessed last year for Bitcoin to reach this mark. To make this happen, Lee is counting on more institutional investors taking on Bitcoin and a steady increase in Bitcoin user base. Lee’s target may be half the mark according to fellow crypto-believer.
Volatile Bitcoin to touch $50,000 – Jeet Singh (cryptocurrency portfolio manager)Speaking in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, experienced cryptocurrency fund manager, Jeet Singh predicted that the price of Bitcoin will go as high as $50,000. He warned of heavy price fluctuations which he believes is only normal for a Bitcoin market that is still maturing.
Bitcoin could definitely see $50,000 in 2018…We will probably go through a suffering period of volatility around the time of Bitcoin’s next $10,000 landmark.” – Jeet Singh
Just like Lee, Singh expects Bitcoin to be adopted not just in the black market but by institutions and entire countries. If 50k seems too optimistic, how about 100k from the “Nostradamus of Markets”?
Bitcoin is the future; Fiat is Past – (Tim Draper, Venture Capitalist)In 2014 with bitcoin at only $413, popular VC, Tim Draper predicted bitcoin to reach $10,000 in three years. This was fulfilled a month earlier than he predicated earning him a reputation among crypto fans. Though he didn’t categorically, predict a $100k Bitcoin in 2018, He said he expected the Bitcoin to continue its growth in an interview with Bloomberg last year. Tim Draper has made successful bets with Tesla, Skype, and Twitter in the past.
Assuming this growth happens at the same pace as the 3-year journey to $10k then we’re in for six digits. Maniacal right? That’s exactly how Draper feels about Bitcoin prospects. Now onto someone who understands a lot about bitcoin’s foundation.
Bitcoin will hit $ 40,000 – Llew Claasen (Executive Director, Bitcoin Foundation)Last month, Llew Classen made a bold statement to reassure Bitcoin believers that the cryptocurrency is on the right track –specifically, on track to reach the $40,000 mark. Though his outlook for some altcoin holders was not very encouraging, he made it clear that as something new, cryptocurrency will be as risky as it is exciting.
Bitcoin to pass $43K by December 2018 – (Survey by Finder.com)Finder.com sought opinions of 13 cryptocurrency experts and concluded that Bitcoin price will witness a 300% growth to land at $43,000 by the end of the year. The site also predicted Bitcoin at over $14K by March 1.
“While we saw the top 10 coins dive by 24 percent last month, our survey shows panelists are expecting this to be a bump in the road as these coins are set to recover.” – Jon Ostler, UK CEO, finder.com
Ostler noted that the predictions were not cast in stone as they can easily be swayed by “outside factors such as regulations, laws, and banking systems”
Bitcoin Will hit $320,000 someday – Cameron Winklevoss (co-founder, Gemini)One of the popular Winkelvoss twins, Cameron Winklevoss recently said that he could easily see the price of BTC go up 40% someday. This year maybe? Not likely. The twin said he and his brother were taking longer outlook, 10 to 20 years.
“Bitcoin is actually fixed in supply so it’s better than scarce … it sort of equals a better gold across the board. We think regardless of the price moves in the last few weeks, it’s still a very underappreciated asset.” – Winklevoss
The fourth wealthiest cryptocurrency investor weighed bitcoin’s prospect against gold and came up with a resounding verdict.
“We believe bitcoin disrupts gold,” He said.
Bitcoin will reach $1million – Bobby Lee (CEO BTCC Exchange)Bobby Lee, CEO of China’s first Bitcoin exchange speaking at the London Blockchain Week went overboard with his prediction. Lee said bitcoin will surpass $1 million but unlike McAfee, he could see this happen in 20 years’ time.
“Bitcoin, I think will get to $1 million per bitcoin…Right now it’s 10,000, it will go 100,000 and then 200,000, 500,000.” – Bobby Lee
IN SUMMARYA good number of analysts have also had their say though very few would be drawn into actual predictions. We observed a general trend in their assessments.
I too believe that bitcoin will hit $50,000.00 by the end of 2018.
Expect Price Fluctuations:At this stage, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will be greatly affected by speculations. Even small developments in governments, traditional will likely affect prices. Most say the fluctuations are normal and wouldn’t affect the longer term outlook.
SourceBe Positive
Looking Ahead to $20,000 BitcoinIn last week’s Investor Alert, our investment team shared with you a report from Morgan Stanley that says bitcoin’s price decline since December mimics the Nasdaq tech bubble in the late 1990s. This isn’t earth-shattering news in and of itself. The main difference is that the bitcoin rout happened at 15 times the rate as the tech bubble.
Morgan Stanley has some good news for bitcoin bulls, however: The 70 percent decline is “nothing out of the ordinary,” and what’s more, such corrections “have historically preceded rallies.” Just as the Nasdaq gained back much of what it lost in the subsequent years—before the financial crisis pared losses even further—
bitcoin could similarly be ready to stage a strong recovery.One research firm, in fact, believes bitcoin and other digital coins, or “alt-coins,” have likely found a bottom. New York-based Fundstrat, headed by strategist Thomas Lee, issued a statement to investors last week saying that, though a cryptocurrency bull market isn’t necessarily underway, the worst of the pain could be “largely over.”
Take the Long-Term ViewIt’s helpful to compare bitcoin with Nasdaq, as Morgan Stanley did, but what about comparing the current cycle with one from the past?
In June 2011, bitcoin peaked at nearly $30 and found a bottom of $2.02 five months later, in November. It would be an additional 15 months before it returned to its former high. This might seem like a long time to some, but investors who managed to get in at the bottom would have seen their position grow more than 1,300 percent.
But I remain bullish. Cryptocurrencies are still in their very early stages. To return to the comparison with tech stocks, we don’t know at this point which digital coins will be tomorrow’s equivalent of Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook. A long-term view is key.
Finally, I still believe in the power of Metcalfe’s law, which says that as more and more people adopt a new technology—cell phones, for instance, or Facebook—its value goes up geometrically. A poll conducted in February shows that just under 8 percent of American adults report ever owning or purchasing any cryptocurrencies.
Market penetration, then, hasn’t been as pervasive as some might expect, but as people increasingly become more confident in dipping their toes in the space, demand could rise and, with it, prices.SourceBe Positive
Newegg Expands Its Bitcoin Payment Option to Canadian CustomersMajor computer hardware e-commerce site Newegg is now allowing Canadian customers to pay for products with bitcoin. Newegg primarily sells computer parts and consumer electronics. The majority of Neweggs’ customers are located in the United States, which has been the only group eligible to pay with Bitcoin until now. They started accepting payments in bitcoin for US customers in August 2014. Newegg has over 36 million registered users.
The company cites ‘increasing mainstream awareness of cryptocurrencies’ as the reason for the expansion of the payment option to Canada. Newegg’s CEO Danny Lee made comments about the development:
“IN 2014 NEWEGG WAS AMONG THE FIRST MAJOR COMPANIES TO OFFER CUSTOMERS A BITCOIN PAYMENT OPTION. SINCE THAT TIME THE VALUE OF BITCOIN HAS SKYROCKETED AND CUSTOMERS HOLDING BITCOIN HAVE CONSIDERABLY MORE PURCHASING POWER. WE BELIEVE THAT THE TIME IS RIGHT TO BROADEN OUR ACCEPTANCE OF BITCOIN TO CUSTOMERS IN CANADA.”Newegg uses a third-party payment processor, BitPay, to convert coins into fiat at the time of transaction. BitPay receives a small commission fee for this service. BitPay’s CEO Stephen Pair also commented on the news, saying “We’re seeing a lot of traction in Canada, and we’re happy to see Newegg extend its bitcoin payment option north of the border.” Newegg uses BitPay’s API for creation and management of invoices, bills, refunds, and other services. They have praised BitPay for its excellent service and noted that they have provided ‘unrivaled reliability in the industry.’
The news comes as other online services have recently stopped accepting bitcoin as payment due to rising transaction fees, most notably Reddit and Stripe. Increased usage of the Bitcoin network leads to increased transaction fees. Moving forward, it will be interesting to see whether Newegg and other online retailers begin to accept cryptocurrencies besides bitcoin as payment.
SourceBe Positive
List of the biggest & smaller names who accepts BTC as a currency. 1. KFC Canada
2. Overstock.com – A company that sells big ticket items at lower prices due to overstocking
3. Playboy
4. Subway – Eat fresh
5. Microsoft – Users can buy content with Bitcoin on Xbox and Windows store
6. Reddit – You can buy premium features there with bitcoins (March 31,2018 Reddit Has Stopped Accepting Bitcoin Payments)
7. Virgin Galactic – Richard Branson company that includes Virgin Mobile and Virgin Airline
8. OkCupid – Online dating site
9. Namecheap – Domain name registrar
10. CheapAir.com – Travel booking site for airline tickets, car rentals, hotels
11. Expedia.com – Online travel booking agency
12. Gyft – Buy giftcards using Bitcoin
13. Newegg.com – Online electronics retailer now uses bitpay to accept bitcoin as payment
14. Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia with 4 570 000+ article
15. Alza – Largest Czech online retailer
16. The Internet Archive – web documatation company
17. Bitcoin.Travel – a travel site that provides accommodation, apartments, attractions, bars, and beauty salons around the world
18. Pembury Tavern – A pub in London, England
19. Old Fitzroy – A pub in Sydney, Australia
20. The Pink Cow – A diner in Tokyo, Japan
21. The Pirate Bay – BitTorrent directories
22. Zynga – Mobile gaming
23. 4Chan.org – For premium services
24. EZTV – Torrents TV shows provider
25. Mega.co.nz – The new venture started by the former owner of
26. MegaUpload Kim Dotcom
27. Lumfile – Free cloud base file server – pay for premium services
28. Etsy Vendors – 93 of them
29. PizzaForCoins.com – Domino’s Pizza signed up – pay for their pizza with bitcons
30. Whole Foods – Organic food store (by purchasing gift card from Gyft)
31. Bitcoincoffee.com – Buy your favorite coffee online
32. Grass Hill Alpacas – A local farm in Haydenville, MA
33. Jeffersons Store – A street wear clothing store in Bergenfield, N.J
34. Helen’s Pizza – Jersey City, N.J., you can get a slice of pizza for 0.00339 bitcoin by pointing your phone at a sign next to the cash register
35. A Class Limousine – Pick you up and drop you off at Newark (N.J.) Airport Seoclerks.com – Get
36. SEO work done on your site cheap
37. Mint.com – Mint pulls all your financial accounts into one place. Set a budget, track your goals and do more
38. Fancy.com – Discover amazing stuff, collect the things you love, buy it all in one place (Source: Fancy)
39. Bloomberg.com – Online newspaper
40. Humblebundle.com – Indie game site
41. BigFishGames.com – Games for PC, Mac and Smartphones (iPhone, Android, Windows)
42. Suntimes.com – Chicago based online newspaper
43. San Jose Earthquakes – San Jose California Professional Soccer Team (MLS)
44. Crowdtilt.com – The fastest and easiest way to pool funds with family and friends (Source: crowdtilt)
45. Lumfile – Server company that offers free cloud-based servers
46. Museum of the Coastal Bend – 2200 East Red River Street, Victoria, Texas 77901, USA
47. Gap, GameStop and JC Penney – have to use eGifter.com
48. Etsy Vendors – Original art and Jewelry creations
49. Fight for the Future – Leading organization finding for Internet freedom
50. i-Pmart (ipmart.com.my) – A Malaysian online mobile phone and electronic parts retailer
51. curryupnow.com – A total of 12 restaurants on the list of restaurants accept bitcoins in San Francisco Bay Area
52. Dish Network – An American direct-broadcast satellite service provider
53. The Libertarian Party – United States political party
54. Yacht-base.com – Croatian yacht charter company
55. Euro Pacific – A major precious metal dealer
56. CEX – The trade-in chain has a shop in Glasgow, Scotland that accepts bitcoin
57. Straub Auto Repairs – 477 Warburton Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706 – (914) 478-1177
58. PSP Mollie – Dutch Payment Service
59. Intuit – an American software company that develops financial and tax preparation software and related services for small businesses, accountants and individuals.
60. ShopJoy – An Australian online retailer that sells novelty and unique gifts
61. Lv.net – Las Vegas high speed internet services
62. ExpressVPN.com – High speed, ultra secure VPN network
63. Grooveshark – Online music streaming service based in the United States Braintree – Well known payments processor
64. MIT Coop Store – Massachusetts Institute of Technology student bookstore
65. SimplePay – Nigeria’s most popular web and mobile-based wallet service
66. SFU bookstore – Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada
67. State Republican Party – First State Republican Party to accept bitcoin donations (
http://www.lagop.com/bitcoin-donate)
68. mspinc.com – Respiratory medical equipment supplies store
69. Shopify.com – An online store that allows anyone to sell their products
70. Famsa – Mexico’s biggest retailer
71. Naughty America – Adult entertainment provider
72. Mexico’s Universidad de las Américas Puebla – A major university in Mexico
73. LOT Polish Airlines – A worldwide airline based in Poland
74. MovieTickets.com – Online movie ticket exchange/retailer
75. Dream Lover – Online relationship service
76. Lionsgate Films – The production studio behind titles such as The Hunger Games and The Day After Tomorrow
77. Rakutan – A Japanese e-commerce giant
78. Badoo – Online dating network
79. RE/MAX London – UK-based franchisee of the global real estate network
80. T-Mobile Poland – T-Mobile’s Poland-based mobile phone top-up company
81. Stripe – San Francisco-based payments company
82. WebJet – Online travel agency
83. Green Man Gaming – Popular digital game reseller
84. Save the Children – Global charity organization
85. NCR Silver – Point of sales systems
86. One Shot Hotels – Spanish hotel chain
87. Coupa Café in Palo Alto
88. PureVPN – VPN provider
89. That’s my face – create action figures
90. Foodler – North American restaurant delivery company
91. Amagi Metals – Precious metal furnisher
Source92. Metrodeal & CashCashPinoy
93. TrueProperty
94. The Bunny Baker
95. Wirin Cupcakery
96. Mr. D’s Artisanal Sundries
97. Baicapture
98. Import Valley
99. Cyan Adventures Cebu
100. Canyoneering tours in Cebu
SourceI have faith with these Giants:101. McDonalds
102. British Airways
103. Amazon
SourceIf you have more, feel free to add. Be Positive
BTC loss booked before March 31 can save you capital gains tax this fiscal.Here's how:Had there been a practice of naming a "financial year", then FY18 would have been christened as the year of cryptocurrencies. In just a couple of month, these virtual currencies had risen from its status of charcoal to diamonds and back to black dust. All the windfall gains earned by investors from cryptocurrencies in the second and third quarters of FY18 have been eroded in the fourth quarter. The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, grew more than 1,000 times in 2017 itself. However, in 2018 prices have crashed. Currently, it is trading at below $8,000 per bitcoin from its highs of $19,783.
Despite several admonishments by various entities like the government, central bank and financial institutions, bitcoins has remained as one of the most popular speculative investments in India. With the fond hope of another bounce back in the price of bitcoins, many investors are still holding on to them, while many others have already booked losses.
Investors with short-term capital gains on equity can look at booking losses from sale of cryptocurencies (if deemed as short-term capital assets) before March 31, 2018 and setting of the latter against the former. This would help them save tax on short-term capital gains on listed equity.
But how do you classify a cryptocurrency when it comes to income tax laws? How do you treat the losses you have made on them?
Capital asset or business asset? There is no specific provision in the Income-tax Act, 1961 about the taxability of cryptocurrencies. However, keeping in view the general provisions of the Income-tax Act, cryptocurrencies could be deemed as capital assets if they are held as an investment by the taxpayer.
Therefore, any gain arising from it should be taxable as capital gains. If a cryptocurrency is held for more than 36 months from the date of purchase, it will be considered as long-term capital asset. And if held for less than 36 months, it will termed as a short-term capital asset.
On the contrary, if transactions in bitcoins are substantial and frequent, it could be held that the taxpayer is trading in cryptocurrencies and the resultant profits would be taxable as business income.
With the same analogy, losses arising from the transfer of cryptocurrencies shall be deemed as capital losses or business losses. The Income-tax Act allows adjustment of losses incurred by a taxpayer against other taxable incomes subject to some restrictions.
Speculative or non-speculative business? The Income-tax Act categorizes a business into 'speculative' or 'non-speculative'. Business losses can be set-off against any other income of the taxpayer, while speculative business loss can only be set-off against other speculative business income. In other words, if trading in cryptocurrencies is treated as a speculative transaction, then losses in one cryptocurrency (say, bitcoin) can be set off only against other speculative income or gains from other cryptocurrencies (say, ripple or ethereum).
Section 43(5) of I-T Act provides that a transaction shall be deemed as 'speculative' if it is not followed by an actual delivery. In cryptocurrency trading, the buyers actually get the delivery of underlying cryptocurrency into their wallets. Therefore, these transactions should not be deemed as 'speculative'.
Set-off and carry forward? The Income-tax Act allows 'set offing' of losses against profit. Losses are first set-off against income under the same head (intra-head adjustment) and if any loss remains after such a set off, it will be done so against income from another head (inter-head adjustment). In other words, before making an inter-head adjustment, the taxpayer has to first make an intra-head adjustment.
If a person is unable to set off his losses in the current year due to inadequacy of profits, he can carry forward the losses to a subsequent year to it set-off against future income. All losses can be carried forward for eight years from the year in which such losses arise. However, losses from speculative business can be carried forward only for four years. Further, it is mandatory to file return of income within the due date to carry forward the losses to subsequent years.
The rule of adjustment of losses against profits has followings exceptions in respect of capital gains and business profits:
A. Long-term capital losses can be adjusted only against long-term capital gains. However, short-term capital losses can be adjusted against both short-term capital gains and long-term capital gains.
B. Losses from speculative business can be set-off only against speculative income
C. Business losses can be adjusted against any head of income except salary income.
D. Capital losses can be adjusted only against capital gains. However, losses under any other head can be set-off against capital gains.
If cryptocurrencies are treated as business assets, losses incurred therefrom can be adjusted against any other income including capital gains (both, short-term and long-term) except salary. In contrast, if they are treated as capital assets, the resultant long-term capital loss can be adjusted only against other long-term capital gains. If the resultant capital loss is short-term, which would be so in most of the cases, it can be adjusted against any capital gains, long-term or short-term. In fact, short-term capital loss from cryptocurrencies can be adjusted against short-term capital gains arising from trading in listed securities. Further, short term capital losses from crypto currencies can also be set off against any capital gains (long term or short term) from immovable property or jewellery etc.
Illustration: Mr. A purchased one bitcoin in Rs 8,00,000 in August 2017 and sold the same in February 2018 for Rs 4,50,000. How this loss shall be treated in the Income-tax Act is illustrated below in four difference scenarios: 
Source:
Bitcoin Discussion: Save you capital gains tax,Here's how Be Positive The best news for every bitcoiner could ever have that the valuation again started inflating again the good time has come for those who kept patience and hold their BTC for so long, now they can sell their BTC and make their profits. Another good news is that few more countries has legalized BTC in their nation, this proves that people again started believing in BTC and is understanding the potential of BTC.
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