Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM New Local Highs Reached: Price Analysis, July 5



Bitcoin and its rivals make new tops on Wednesday, market sentiment is still bullish

The crypto market continues its uptrend as all the majors from the top 20 has reached their new highs on Wednesday. Later, Bitcoin and its rivals declined within the correction. However, there is the midterm uptrend currently as sellers have no chances to reverse it and the price goes upwards establishing new tops.

There is interesting news on Wednesday-Thursday that we would like to share with our readers. However, first some experts’ opinions. A panel from 14 experts in cryptos has issued their report on several coins including Bitcoin.

They predict bullish market for the rest of 2018 and Bitcoin price will be at least above $15,000. Another interesting news comes from Binance. This famous crypto exchange halted its activities temporarily due to Syscoin issues. There are rumors that there one bln Syscoins mined in a single block.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) price analysis, July 5



Bitcoin went upwards yesterday, but retreated later within a correction. The currency pair has added more than two percent in the past 24 hours. BTC price moves along the ascending trend line meaning BTC/USD still looks upwards and is promising.



Bitcoin has tested the resistance area at $6,718 on Wednesday as we had previously predicted, but BTC price declined towards the ascending trend line later. BTC/USD touched this trend line and seems to jump off it meaning bulls are ready to develop the uptrend in the nearest future.

We have two bullish signals in a row at the moment of writing. The first comes from the bullish engulfing candlestick pattern. The second formed when the ascending trend line rejected the price. As for targets, we think that BTC/USD is likely to retest the resistance area at $6,718 first and to move higher targeting the next resistance at $6,943. This target may be reached on Thursday-Friday.

As for the alternative scenario, the currency pair will break through the ascending trend line and move lower. The first bearish goal lies at the support area at $6,510 and the second is even lower at $6,329.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) price analysis, July 5



Ethereum went up three percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair develops its uptrend as ETH price moves along the trend line. Our Wednesday targets were reached but ETH/USD failed to develop its progress and retreated towards the ascending trend line.



The currency pair touched the resistance area at $473.39 on Wednesday, but failed to jump over it and went downwards, targeting the ascending trend line. Ethereum is testing the resistance again in the moment of writing.

We have a clear bullish hammer pattern on the hourly chart, which is confirmed by the fact that the currency pair jumped off the ascending trend line. As for the targets for today, we think that Ethereum is able to resume the uptrend. The first goal for the currency pair is to break through the resistance area at $473.39.

The second (but the main) target lies higher at the next resistance at $500.36. As for bearish scenario it is less probable in this situation. Targets for sellers are the following: ETH price may reach the support area at $453.24 and if successful, it will go lower, targeting the next support at $431.42

Ripple (XRP/USD) price analysis, July 5



Ripple reached our targets on Wednesday but retreated later. The currency pair added more than three percent in the past 24 hours. XRP/USD moves along the ascending trend line meaning the uptrend is still in force and is able to develop.



The currency pair tested the resistance area at $0.5088 on Wednesday but failed to jump over it. XRP/USD declined towards the ascending trend line later. Sellers were unable to push Ripple lower.

We have a clear bullish hammer candlestick pattern on the hourly chart, which is confirmed by jump off the trend line. This means that Ripple is able to resume its uptrend in the nearest future. The closest target for this upside tendency will be at the closest resistance area at $0.5088.

We also think that XRP/USD will be able to move higher once the resistance is broken. The next target for Thursday-Friday is at $0.5444. As for the bearish scenario, it is less likely. However, the target for sellers lies at $0.4744.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, July 5

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Stop Growing, But Bullish Look Remains: Price Analysis, July 4



Bitcoin and other cryptos started their downside correction, but still look bullish

After two days of growth, the crypto market has seen a downside correction as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies suffered insignificant losses on Tuesday-Wednesday. However, the general situation still looks bullish and this correction is unlikely to last for long or be the game changer.

The main driver for the uptrend is news from Facebook relating their U-turn towards cryptocurrency markets and ICOs. Another driver also comes from Facebook as there are rumors that the famous social media is going to launch its own coin.

There is some less important but worth mentioning news. Ripple plans to launch a “drop.” However, this word was used to attract attention as there will be no traditional cryptocurrency drop. This time it means a new Ripple vlog narrating about the technologies crypto markets etc.

Other interesting news worth mentioning is the war of McAfee against HitBTC. The famous coin expert had some provocative comments in his Twitter accusing famous exchange in death of people and urging user to boycott this trading place.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) price analysis, July 4



Bitcoin started a downside correction as the currency pair loses around two percent in the past 24 hours. However, we think that this correction is nothing more than just a pause of the uptrend as crypto market is still bullish. Investors fixed their positions but they are likely to resume buying in the nearest future.



BTC/USD had a bullish flag pattern on Tuesday but failed to develop its upside progress as the price reached the support area at $6,510 and tested it. Bitcoin jumped over this level, but still has opportunities to return above the resistance (which was the support previously). We can see a clear Hammer candlestick pattern on the hourly chart meaning the currency pair is ready to grow in the nearest future.

The closest targets for Bitcoin growth lie at the resistance area at $6,718. BTC/USD is likely to start growing towards this level on Wednesday. This is the main scenario for the next 24 hours. However, if bulls fail to drive the currency pair higher, we will become witnesses of a deeper downside correction aiming at the next support area at $6,329.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) price analysis, July 4



Ethereum stopped its uptrend on Tuesday as ETH price failed to work another bullish Flag. ETH/USD loses more than four percent in the past 24 hours but still looks bullish as we think this decline is nothing more than a simple downside correction to the previous uptrend.



Ethereum declined on Tuesday-Wednesday and reached the support area at $453.29. The currency pair formed a bullish Hammer candlestick pattern right on its support line with a fake breakout, meaning Ethereum is ready to burst upwards again.

If this works and buyers are successful, Ethereum will be able to reach at least $473.39 resistance area. We think that this target is enough for Wednesday. However, if buyers gain momentum, they will be able to drive the currency pair even higher.

This is the main scenario for today, but we should not forget about the bears. They are also able to develop this downside correction even deeper. ETH price is likely to reach the next support area at $431.42 in this case.

Ripple (XRP/USD) price analysis, July 4



Ripple follows its rivals and develops a downside correction as the price loses almost four percent in the past 24 hours. However, XRP/USD still looks bullish and able to resume its uptrend in the nearest future.



XRP/USD worked its bullish flag on Tuesday, unlike other cryptos. However, after reaching the resistance area at $0.5088, Ripple failed to jump over it and retreated from this area. XRP/USD declined towards the support area at $0.4744 and reached it later. We have a Doji candlestick, which means that Ripple is able to resume growth in the nearest future.

What are the targets for today? If bulls are successful close to this support area at $0.4744, they will be able to drive XRP/USD higher targeting the next resistance at $0.5088. Is this the final point for growth for the next 24 hours? We think that no, it is not and buyers will be able to drive XRP/USD even higher.

This is the main scenario for Ripple. However, if sellers gain momentum, they will be able to develop this downside correction towards the next support at $0.4495.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, July 4

Crypto Trading Legend MasterLuc: “You Can Visit Cemetery of Dead Alts, Won’t Find Bitcoin There”



The legendary trader MasterLuc is known in crypto community for his precise predictions. Here’s his exclusive interview

Bitcoin is experiencing tough times as it has suffered a severe correction of over 70 percent from the point of its peak value. Now is the time to worry about its future, so we decided it’s about time to turn to the anonymous trader MasterLuc, whose fantastic prediction skills made him a legend on Bitcointalk.

What made MasterLuc famous was his 2016 prediction of Bitcoin price all-time high at 20k, which was done at a time when no one could even imagine such figures.

MasterLuc shared with us his vision of the future of the crypto market, he explains why Bitcoin is strongly undervalued, and why most altcoins are going to die.

CryptoComes: Right now, we see a profound correction of the Bitcoin price. Are you going to give up on your famous prediction of Bitcoin continuing its significant rise in price?

ML: Are you interested in the technical answer to your question, or the emotional answer? From a technical point, everything is alright up until the 2,990 mark, any lower than that and you can start feeling strained. From an emotional side, the answer is no; bubbles don’t burst like that.


When the vast majority of bulls stop straining over a dump of Bitcoins, then you can expect trouble. However, at the time being people continue to be tense. This is merely a correction.

On the other hand, I expect a new strong bullish trend in Bitcoin not earlier than 2019.

CC: How do you comment on the skeptics who are predicting the next death of Bitcoin… will it really survive under the pressure of these newer alts that are equipped with the latest modern technology “on steroids”?

ML: You can visit the cemetery of dead alts here.

But you won’t find Bitcoin there. Instead, there are hundreds of alts, and they will all eventually get there. Partly because no one yet has brought a revolutionary technology that resembles the scale of Bitcoin to the table. If we were to compare Bitcoin to the invention of the internal combustion engine (ICE) and cars, then yes, you could say that alts are attempting to improve something.

Like the car industry, they’re repainting the red to green, removing a piece from the edge, building up the wing of this new car, adding a liter to the tank, cramming in extra bells and whistles. But the ICE remains the only revolutionary invention that gave civilization a breakthrough.


Alright, we’re pretty clear about altcoins, let’s say that they are an unnecessary part of the evolution of Bitcoin…

ML: … Hold on, I’m not saying that altcoins are unnecessary. It’s just that most alts are created and used for one goal—to get more Bitcoins.

There is also a quite functional form of alts, for example, Litecoin. It appeared at a time when people were tweaking some constant in Bitcoin’s source code to quickly release a new alt. Litecoin did precisely that, but it also changed the basic hashing algorithm from SHA2 to the experimental algorithm Scrypt.

In theory, Litecoin would have died just as the others had. But what makes it special? People are actively testing new features on it and then merging them into Bitcoin. The most significant achievement for Litecoin was its implementation of SegWit. Yes, this was a huge benefit, but again for Bitcoin.

Let’s face the truth, Litecoin is experimental, it’s like someone who voluntarily takes powerful medication for research purposes. After the testing and debugging are conducted on the experimental subject, it is added to Bitcoin. We are indeed in need of those types of altcoins.

Alright, we’re going down the list– why do you have such revulsion toward Ether?

ML: The founder of Ether did something unacceptable—he has censored the network. He also does not hide his central role in the project, calling himself the “kind dictator.”

Understand that the revolution of Bitcoin consists of Blockchain technology, which helped eliminate the need for an intermediary institution, such as a bank, between Alice and Bob during exchanges of money. Blockchain is needed to exclude a central “dictator” who maintains the exclusive right to inspect coins, and who merely is granted this right because he is in the middle of every exchange.

The founder of Ether became that central entity. Ethereum is centralized, and it has one point of failure—the founder, who forks its chain left and right. Why? He just does what he wants, let’s not even discuss the motives of this nonsense. I don’t know why he uses Blockchain technology in this case since the technology was created to counter entities like himself.

Ether is centralized just like EOS. Both compete against other digital currencies like PayPal. However, the latter does not hide behind the mask of Blockchain. All of them love to block other accounts (even with the price of a hardfork), but this isn’t about Blockchain at all.

Again, the idea of Blockchain is simple: Blockchain is essential in places where no center or regulation is needed. If there is a center of any kind- like some office, leader, or something else that you can just close or fire- then there is no need for Blockchain. Ether and EOS (and some others) have a center, Blockchain, and even a project CEO. All of this put together is a project of insanity.

You also don’t take ICO seriously, could you explain why?

ML: Oh, this is just a dot-com. This is how Wall Street entertained themselves in 1999. They would create imitations of online stores, issue shares of stock, sell out for millions, then repeat the cycle. Only a few companies survived during the dot-com hysteria, and they have since become the current giants such as Google, eBay, Amazon, etc. The remaining 95 percent of projects were washed away by the wave following the collapse of this pyramid. History is repeating itself with ICO.

Alright, let’s return to Bitcoin proper. Many believe that it is an outdated technology, at least regarding its ability to scale.

ML: Those people are merely undervaluing what will someday become of Bitcoin. They don’t understand its essence. Concerning its ability to scale, there is a short answer—Lightning Network. Just find out how much this solution outweighs all of those pathetic attempts to only-increase-the-block.

Let’s take a closer look at the problem of scaling and the importance of Lightning since it is the real future of Bitcoin.

ML: There are two different points of view on the solution of the potential problem of scaling the network.

1. Quantitative. You need to slowly increase the maximum size of the block, or make it adaptively float. But for this, you need a hardfork—a strict division of the network.

2. Qualitative. You can go to a new level of developing the network where there will be no room for this problem. Similarly, there will be no place for several other issues.

The second option is Lightning Network. This is the next level of development akin to the OSI model. Here’s an analogy that is understandable to sysadmins: Bitcoin is the first physical layer (a cable), and Lightning is the data link layer (ethernet protocol). There are higher levels—network, transport, and application. They have not yet been developed, but that is the logic of the development.

Just so you know, in that same Ethernet, there are outrageous limitations on the size of the datagram– 1,500 bytes (with much difficulty, you can achieve 9,000).

In other words, within all our networks today, on any path from any website to you– there is a 1,500-byte limitation on the size of the transmission through the data link layer of OSI. Don’t believe it? Google the size of MTU. It’s true. How is it then possible that you can watch multi-megabyte videos on servers like YouTube?

It’s very simple. The limitation exists on the second layer of OSI, but when you like a video, that exists on the seventh layer. On the third layer, the limitation has already been handled quite elegantly. On the fourth layer, nobody even knows that it is there anymore.

On to the point of this… those who offer to change the size of the block are offering a quantitative solution, which could potentially lead to another similar obstruction in the future, and then someone will want another block that is even bigger in size. In option one we are merely pushing the problem into the future, not fundamentally solving it in any way. For example, this is the approach of BCash. They offer growth in one dimension, but they reject a complex multidimensional development of the network, as seen in the OSI model.

Therefore, while lamenting about “problems of scaling Bitcoin”, think about the MTU data link layer of 1,500 bytes. It exists in any network. It is terribly little for our times. This limitation was put in place 40 years ago, and to this day nobody wants to hardfork the Internet to change the limit. Everything works excellent because a complex adaptive network model was created. Lightning Network is exactly the next big step in the right direction.

Finally, I would like to discuss your critique of PoS, the consensus algorithm that many believe is the future of crypt, outweighing PoW. What’s wrong with PoS?

ML: First, let’s answer the initial question of why PoW was invented (HashCash originally). And why has Satoshi implemented this into Bitcoin?

HashCash was invented for the fight against spam. When sending a message, the sender would have to include his hash in the header. In no way did this complicate the lives of regular users because they needed to calculate only one hash. It did, however, seriously complicate the lives of spammers, who needed a new unique hash for each message, and they sent millions of those messages.

In other words, this technology, which opposes the centralization and virtualization of resources, opposes one person doing the work that should be performed by many people under normal circumstances. For example, sending messages, or verifying transactions and so on. This technology, unfortunately, does not entirely prevent the adverse effects, but it does impede the occurrence of these problems rather well.

Now about PoS. Even a cursory glance at this technology reveals its significant drawbacks in the fight against centralization. The higher your initial balance, the higher your chances are at sealing a block and getting more money in return.

To understand the absurdity of this idea, imagine an analogous situation where a PoW-miner has extra video cards and ASICs materialize on their own out of thin air while working on a network. They configure themselves on the fly, connect to the server, and begin working. That is precisely what happens to those with quite a wealthy wallet under the PoS framework.

Besides that, I believe PoS is wild centralization and deflation in one bottle. If the concentration of a fixed amount of money generates new money on its own, then PoS-systems, if they ever become popular, will spawn an especially exaggerated breed of hodlers. PoS will maintain a strong deflationary motive by just sitting on bags of money. But how will a real economy work in such a system? After all, it is paralyzed by the lack of moving money. PoS is a system that generates a passive revenue from fixed money, in other words, money that is taken out of circulation.

Finally, separate from the centralization and virtualization of resources is PoW.


On the other hand, with PoS you can unleash an entire zoo of different PoS-systems, making a profit from all of them immediately and simultaneously. Drawing a parallel, you can participate in 10 or 100 networks at the same time. Now return to the initial example about spam and the story of why PoW came to be for Bitcoin to understand why the situation of PoS is absurd.

The link: https://cryptocomes.com/crypto-trading-legend-masterluc-you-can-visit-cemetery-of-dead-alts-wont-find-bitcoin-there

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Rally, Crypto Market Looks Promising: Price Analysis, July 3



Bitcoin and other cryptos still grow, strong rally on the crypto market

The crypto market continues to surprise as the price still goes upwards. All the majors from the top 20 have grown in the past 24 hours as we have expected. Investors seem to have completely changed their minds and coins are bullish at the moment.

What is the main reason for this? We think that news from Facebook are the biggest driver of it all. The most popular social media has not only U-turned towards cryptocurrency industry but is going to create its own crypto according to the latest rumors.

In other news, cryptos continue to expand as Middle East company is ready to sell real estate for coins. The owner of the company has a strong belief in cryptocurrencies and thinks they have changed the whole situation with transactions making them more transparent and safe as there is an opportunity to use smart contracts nowadays. The company is going to offer both cryptos and fiat money payment methods.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) price analysis, July 3



Bitcoin continues to surprise investors as it added more than three percent in the past 24 hours. The flag pattern was true and those who bought from it had chances to grow their profits. However, we think that this uptrend is still on the way as new patterns appear on the hourly chart.



Let’s get down to the current situation. The currency pair has reached $6,510 target level on Monday-Tuesday and went even higher. However, we have some kind of a consolidation currently. BTC price resides between the resistance area at $6,718 and the support at $6,510. We have drawn another flag pattern, which is likely to be true again.

As for the perspectives for today, we think that investors still have fuel to drive BTC/USD higher. The flag pattern confirms it. However, there are two ways for Bitcoin to develop its growth. The first scenario– BTC/USD will start from the flag pattern and break through the resistance at $6,718 targeting the next resistance at $6,943.

There is also alternative growth scenario. Bitcoin will correct from its current position towards the closest support at $6,510 and start off from there. However, in this case, we expect the currency pair to reach the resistance at $6,718 at least.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) price analysis, July 3



Ethereum follows its allies as the currency pair shows more than four percent growth in the past 24 hours. ETH/USD reached its targets on yesterday and tested the resistance area at $473.39. Ethereum stops there for a while but we think it has still some fuel to develop its growth on Tuesday.



The currency pair has left the flag pattern on Monday-Tuesday and went upwards according to our expectations. Ethereum managed to jump off the support area at $453.24 and reached the resistance area at $473.39. It seems like ETH/USD has already jumped over $473.39. We have drawn another flag pattern.

The main scenario for the nearest future is bullish. We think that Ethereum will start to grow from the flag again and reach the next resistance area at $500.36. However, the currency pair may also retest the current support area at $473.39 before further growth.

Ripple (XRP/USD) price analysis, July 3



Ripple develops its upside progress on Tuesday as the currency pair reaches new highs. XRP/USD added more than five percent in the past 24 hours. The flag pattern was true and we have drawn another one which is also viable. Ripple looks very promising currently and seems to have enough power to develop its growth.



XRP/USD has jumped over the resistance area at $0.4744 on Monday-Tuesday and reached our targets. Bulls managed to drive it even higher. The currency pair works next flag pattern currently and seems to jump over the next resistance at $0.5088.

The main way for Ripple is to develop its growth in the nearest future. We have set a new target at the resistance area at $0.5444. XRP/USD is able to reach it even on Tuesday. However, we also think that it may test the support area at $0.5088 before taking off.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, July 3

ICOs in 2018 Collect Nearly $14 Bln, Double of 2017 Funds: Report



Reports say that during the first half a year a huge figure of $13.7 bln was raised via ICOs

The reports were published by a well-reputed auditing company PriceWaterHouse (PwC) and Crypto Valley Association.

This year around 537 companies conducted an initial coin offering (ICO) and some first unicorn ICOs completed this year. Good examples are Telegram which raised $1.7 bln and EOS closing on $4.1 bln.

Last year, in 2017, 552 projects carried out an ICO and raised $8 bln. In 2018, except Telegram and EOS, 535 coin offerings took place and they collected almost $8 bln.

A top PwC manager said in an interview that this year the ICO sector became more stable and its focus on best business and legal practice improved.

Report details, ICO locations

The document says that ICOs are becoming more confident and popular once again, especially mixed models combining seed venture capital investments with ICOs to follow.

Curiously enough, in the UK this year as many ICOs took place as in the US and more ICOs in the UK are planned than those in the US.

More ICOs were carried out in Singapore than in the US  since the latter saw the pressure of the Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in this industry.

Also initial coin offerings took place in Switzerland, Estonia, Lithuania, France and Germany– as for Europe. In Asia, these events were conducted in Singapore as mentioned above.

Besides, some companies raised funds promising digital tokens in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.

Among other countries hosting ICOs were Israel, Hong Kong and Singapore. Some ICOs surely took place in Japan, Russia and South Korea but the report does not mention them.

ICO rules in various jurisdictions

In the US you are allowed to collect only $1 mln cap through an ICO. If you want to raise up to $10 bln– Europe would give you a warm welcome. In that area you will get total certainty on behalf of the regulators and exempt the ICO from accredited investors’ rules.

Many startups prefer to get a seed investment from venture capitalists, $100,000 to $1 mln, and then move on to ICOs. They feel safer and more confident that way. Although sometimes venture investors do not care about the actual product, but all they want is just sell their tokens 10 times more on exchanges later on.

Conclusions

The report says that around 65 percent of ICOs are about to deliver the product, five percent just planning so far, 10 percent do not have any product yet and 20 percent are struggling.

Generally speaking, the figures are positive and one may say that the ICO phenomenon is speeding up both in quality and quantity.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Grow, Bulls Smash Bears and Drive Markets Higher: Price Analysis July 2



Bitcoin and altcoins grow sharply, bulls finally make their counter attack

We think that the main reason for such a growth is the fact that Facebook has almost totally changed their minds towards cryptos. We have already mentioned in our previous reviews that Facebook administration is going to accept crypto ads.

Additionally, Facebook is going to acquire Coinbase and issue its own cryptocurrency. This U-turn may be the beginning of huge changes within the community.

As for news, Russia has delayed crypto law adoption putting it off until the end of summer. Russian policymakers asked for more time to make their decisions.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price analysis, July 2



Bitcoin has added less than one percent in the past 24 hours, but the most important events happened on Saturday, when BTC price made a huge upside burst breaking through a couple of resistance areas. BTC/USD seems to finally find its support and thanks to news from Facebook the whole crypto market is positive currently.



Looking closer at the hourly chart we can see that BTC/USD has jumped over the resistance areas at $6,071 and $6,329. The currency pair stays above $6,329 in the moment of writing, we have a clear flag pattern, which means the probability for Bitcoin to develop its upside tendency.

We think that BTC/USD is going to grow higher targeting the closest resistance area at $6,510, where we have put the green flag. If buyers successful there, they will be able to drive the currency pair even higher targeting the next resistance at $6,943.

The less probable way for BTC/USD is to fall down towards the next support area at $6,071. The flag pattern will be broken in this case.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price analysis, July 2



The whole crypto market celebrates Facebook decision as Ethereum has made his way upwards on Saturday following Bitcoin. ETH/USD has almost no changes in the past 24 hours, but the momentum during the weekend was huge. The currency pair seems to change its moods to positive.



When we look closer at the hourly chart we can see that Ethereum has crossed $417.28, $431.42 resistance areas and is currently testing $453.24 resistance area. We have a flag pattern here as well-meaning bulls have chances to drive the currency pair even higher, targeting the next resistance at $473.29.

If buyers will be able to reach this green flag area, they will test it and once successful, they will be able to drive ETH/USD higher.

However, we advise paying attention to the red flag as well. If the flag pattern fails to develop, ETH price will fall towards the support area at $431.42.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, July 2



Ripple has added more than one percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair changed its moods on Saturday following important news from Facebook as famous social media makes a U-turn towards cryptos. Ripple has found support finally. The currency pair looks positive and is able to develop its success.



When we look closer at the situation on the hourly chart we can see that Ripple has jumped over the resistance area at $0.4495 and tested the resistance area at $0.4744. The currency pair forms a flag pattern currently meaning there are chances for buyers to develop their progress in the nearest future. We have set the next target for Ripple at the resistance area at $0.4918.

XRP/USD needs to jump over the closest resistance at $0.4744 naturally in order to get our short-term bullish targets. However, if buyers fail, bears will be able to take control and push XRP/USD lower, targeting the next support area at $0.4232.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, July 2

Blackmoon Ready to Upset Wall Street: Past ICO Review



Is it possible to invest in IPOs though ICOs?

Blackmoon is bringing tokenized investment funds that can be bought and sold to the market. You might be scratching your head and asking, “What is a tokenized investment fund?” It is just as it sounds, they are baskets of investments, funds and other financial instruments that have been turned into tokens and thus represent a value unto themselves. They are also referred to as security tokens.

Essentially, this allows participation in the traditional market though smart-contract enabled Blockchain technology.

Finances

Blackmoon had a two-day ICO Sept. 12-13, 2017, which brought in $30 mln in funding. The token, known as BMC, is ranked by CoinMarketCap at 353 and is, at time of writing, trading at $0.62. It debuted at $0.86, which is a decrease of 39 percent. Its all-time high was $2.36 on Jan. 10, 2018. Since that high, it has remained relatively stable by comparison with many other cryptocurrencies.

Investment tokens on the horizon

Blackmoon has already tokenized its first IPO. Yes, that is not a typo, you read correctly, IPO. Quoting directly from their website: “Blackmoon is the first company in the history to tokenize an IPO in this way and it allows cryptocurrency investors and users access to the Xiaomi Corporation IPO.” So as a token investor, you can take part in the IPO indirectly by purchasing the tokens that have tokenized the IPO. There are more investment types on the way, too.

Portfolio tokens

Blackmoon has three tokenized investment funds in the works for release. Think of these as tokenized investment funds with varying levels of risk. The first one is a one-day-most-volatile strategy. It promises to generate the returns corresponding to the yield of the crypto assets with the largest volatility. In other words, it wants to be more volatile than Bitcoin in one day.

The second token is a top-20-market-cap strategy, by putting the top 20 coins by market cap into a basket. Its strategy is to generate the returns corresponding to the yield of the cryptocurrencies with the largest capitalization.

The third coin combines cash and the top six coins by market cap to provide less volatility with cash as the buffer.

ICOs are for everyone

ICOs open the door to everyone to be able to invest, not just accredited investors. This levels the investment playing field for everyone and allows for more participation.

“Historically participation in an IPO has generally been a prerogative of institutional traders, but now with the democratization of the market and availability of new tools, it has become available for everyone. We have provided cryptocurrency holders the option to participate in the performance of Xiaomi stocks without leaving the Blockchain universe, and this is what Blackmoon has been all about from the start, ” said Blackmoon CEO Oleg Seydak.

The verdict

While it might seem hard for some to grasp the idea of tokenized IPOs and other funds, this way of investing is only going to grow as more and more people take advantage of these new investment opportunities, for which they were not “accredited” to participate in before.

If all goes well with the launch of the tokenized funds, we might see Blackmoon lead the way in the tokenized investment funds for the time being. However, once the market of tokenized assets is established, competition will creep up out of nowhere and things will get innovative and interesting.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Test Their Local Lows: Price Analysis, June 29



Bitcoin and altcoins reached local lows, but still unable to break them

The situation has changed slightly as cryptocurrencies from the top 20 declined on Friday and some of them test their local lows. However, in general, we can say that nothing has changed as cryptos still fail to establish new dips.

As for interesting news, the crypto community continues to discuss the situation around Facebook. Earlier in 2018, the famous and one of the most popular social media has banned all ads related to cryptocurrencies. However, this week they have changed their mind and weakened the restrictions, but ICOs are still banned.

Another interesting news comes from Foley & Lardner, a law company that has conducted a survey among different member of the crypto industry. They have revealed that community wants more and better regulation for digital assets. Around 84 percent of respondents think that ICO should under regulation. A huge amount of people interviewed want trading operations to be regulated as well.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price analysis, June 29



Bitcoin has lost almost four percent in the past 24 hours, but in general, the situation is neutral as BTC price has not established new lows, bears seem unable to make it as bulls do not let them push the currency pair lower.



When we zoom in the hourly chart we can see that BTC/USD has broken through the support area at $6,071 on Friday and is testing the last retracement level 4.236. If bears are successful, they will be able to reach the next support at $5,715. The possible ways for BTC/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will confirm the breakout of 4.236 and move lower targeting the next support at $5,715.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Bitcoin will stay within the range and fail its support area testing. BTC price will fluctuate within the support at 4.236 and the resistance at $6,071. We think that this scenario is most likely than the others for Friday.

3. Green scenario (bullish). The currency pair will jump over the resistance at $6,071 and move higher targeting the next resistance at $6,329.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price analysis, June 29



Ethereum has lost more than three percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair is testing its local lows in the moment of writing, wave after wave, bears are trying to push it lower. ETH/USD still neutral, but once the lows are broken, the currency pair will be able to develop its downside progress.



When we zoom in the hourly chart we can see that ETH/USD is testing the support area at $417.28. The currency pair has broken through the support area at $431.42 on Friday and stays close to the next support in the moment of writing. The possible scenarios for ETH/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will jump over the support area at $417.28 and develop its downside momentum towards the next support at $404.55.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ethereum will stay within the current range on Friday limited by the support area at $417.28 and the resistance at $431.42. We think that this is the most probable one for Friday.

3. Green scenario (bullish). ETH/USD will jump over the resistance area at $431.42 and move higher towards the next resistance at $453.24.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 29



Ripple has lost more than four percent in the past 24 hours, but the currency pair remains neutral as it failed to establish new lows on Friday. The currency pair is above the descending trend line, but is still unable to move higher.



When we look closer at the hourly chart we can see that Ripple has tested the resistance area at $0.4744, but failed to jump over it and retreated later. Ripple has reached the support area at $0.4495 on Friday and is currently testing it. The possible ways for XRP/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). Ripple will break through the support are at $0.4495 and develop its downside progress towards the next support at $0.4232.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). XRP/USD will stay above $0.4495 and fluctuate there, between this support and the resistance at $0.4744. We think that this scenario is the most likely for Friday.

3. Green scenario (bullish). Ripple will cross the resistance are at $0.4744 and move higher targeting the next resistance at $0.4918.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 29

Plain Payment System Slightly Dressed Up: Past ICO Review



In review: payment processor with a rating system for users, nothing new here

Trust. It is the glue that binds the world together. Without it, we would not be where we are today. However, trust in trade between a buyer and a seller has been a challenge stemming from ancient times: is the product going to work? Will the buyer pay in full? Is this a scam? These are some of the questions that are always running through the minds of buyers and sellers.

Monetha is a refreshingly new take on an age-old problem in a desert full of generic payment solutions all vying for your business. That’s what they want you to think, but after close inspection, there is nothing revolutionary here.

Pay to play, play to pay, don’t get played

Monetha raised $35 mln in a one-day token sale on Aug. 31, 2017. It’s sale token price was $0.16. The token entered the market 50 percent higher than the ICO price at $0.30 per token, hitting an all-time high of $0.55 in January 2017 before crashing down to $0.04 at the time of writing.

Despite raising more than $30 mln, the company’s market cap is only $8.8 mln, rather curious for a company that is going to revolutionize the payments sector.

On a further note, if you do the math, only 50 percent of the tokens issued in the ICO went to investors. Only half the tokens are in circulation, meaning that half are in the hands of the company.  In this model, investors are really only getting 16.5 percent of the revenue.

Invitation pending

Monetha has a functioning product, an app for iPhone and Android that allows the user to create a profile for buying and selling and gets rated on the deals done.

The rating helps other buyers and sellers know if the individual is reputable or not, but don’t most sites have this anyway?

The platform works with e-commerce sites.

However, the caveat here is that in order to make the transaction through Monetha, both users have to have accounts on the platform. If the buyer or seller wants to buy or sell something form/to someone who does not have the app, then they need to invite them to join to transact.

Something that is easier said than done. Imagine, you are are selling some items and you are asked by the buyer to set up an account to sell them. Most times, you are going to ignore that invitation, because:

1) You might not know what it is.

2) Being solicited by a stranger on the Internet to join something is the first sign of something being sketchy.

3) You might not have the time to be bothered to set up an account just to sell some old mirror from your house.

Fees, contracts, here come the problems

Monetha charges 1.5 percent fee on all transactions, of which one percent goes to the company and .50 percent to cover the “Voucher Smart Contract” which maintains the ecosystem.

They accept payments in many ERC20 tokens and reward users with Monetha for using the platform, but with prices as low as they are now, they better be giving away a lot, or it’s just going to seem like a worthless points system, where the points are worth fractions of a cent- not impressive.

We reached out for comments about how the rewards system works but did not get a response.

Not so special after all

Don’t judge a book by its cover, and that is true about websites and promotional materials. Always do your homework, and what looks too good to be true, usually is!

Monetha makes some pretty cool claims about what they can do, but when you get down to it, it’s really nothing that special that you can’t do with PayPal and eBay.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Take Serious Losses On Weekend, Bounce Back on Monday: Price Analysis, June 25



Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM start an upside correction on Monday after serious fall during the weekend

Cryptocurrencies established new lows during the weekend. Bitcoin tested $5,800 area but bulls managed to bounce back there and started a correction on Monday. The situation is still critical as cryptocurrencies develop their downtrend with short upside corrections.

The general fundamental background is neutral, but markets still continue to sink and this is a very dangerous alert for the investors and traders who still try to change the situation. The crypto market is bearish as no one knows when whales are going to end those speculative games.

For ones such a serious decline is a good opportunity to buy lower and as we can see they try to invest more into crypto markets. However, for the others, this situation is negative as nobody can predict where and when the crypto market will start its general growth.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price analysis, June 25



The currency pair has added more than four percent in the past 24 hours. However, we have mentioned above that BTC/USD established new lows on the weekend and reached $5,800. Bitcoin was unable to develop its downside progress and started a correction.



Let’s have a closer look at the situation on the hourly chart. Bitcoin has tested the support line at 4.236 retracement level but failed to cross it and bounced back targeting the resistance at 3.618 retracement level. BTC/USD failed to jump over it as well and stays currently within the range, limited by 4.236 and 3.618. The possible ways for BTC/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). Bitcoin will test 4.236 retracement level. If successful, sellers will have an opportunity to push the currency pair lower.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). BTC/USD will fluctuate within the range between the support area at 4.236 retracement level and the resistance at 3.618.

3. Green scenario (bullish). The currency pair will hit the resistance area at 3.618 to test it. If buyers are able to jump over it, they are going to target the next resistance at $6,510.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price analysis, June 25



The currency pair has added less than two percent in the past 24 hours. However, as we can see it on the chart, Ethereum suffered significant losses on the weekend. The currency pair resumed its downtrend and stays below the descending trend line.



When we look closer at the hourly chart we can see that Ethereum has tested the support area at $431.42. The currency pair failed to develop its downside progress as buyers regain initiative and drove ETH/USD higher. However, they were unable to change the situation significantly as Ethereum has tested the resistance area at $453.24, but retreated from there. The possible ways for ETH/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will test the support area at $431.42 and if successful, bears will have an opportunity to develop their progress.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ethereum will fluctuate within $431.42 and $453.24 levels without significant price changes.

3. Green scenario (bullish). ETH/USD will test the resistance area at $453.24 and if successful, bulls will drive the currency pair higher targeting the next resistance at $473.39.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 25



Ripple has added more than four percent in the past 24 hours, but the currency pair is still negative as we can see that it has reached new lows on the weekend. We have drawn the descending trend line which prevented XRP price from going above during Saturday and Sunday. However, XRP/USD is in correction on Monday.



Ripple followed its allies and tested new lows during the weekend. The currency pair has reached the support area at $0.4495, but retreated from there as bears had not enough power to push Ripple lower. XRP/USD went upwards later and tested the resistance at $0.4744. The currency pair stays above this level in the moment of writing. The possible ways for Ripple are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). Ripple will move towards the support area at $0.4495 to test it. If successful, bears will be able to push the currency pair lower.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). No significant price changes are expected. The currency pair will stay between the support at $0.4744 and resistance at $0.4918.

3. Green scenario (bullish). Ripple will test the resistance area at $0.4918 and jump over it, targeting the next resistance at $0.5088.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 25

Leadcoin Leads on Dive to the Bottom: Past-ICO Review



So you’re tellin’ me I can buy your lead?

Leadcoin doesn’t seem to be leading the way for much, with a CoinMarketCap rank of 635 and a token price that plummeted from $0.087 initial price on March 27, 2018 to the current price of $0.005! Almost a 100 percent drop in value.

Despite poor token price performance, Leadcoin did manage to raise $50 mln in a 10-day ICO during March 1-11, 2018, on the premise that Leadcoin will revolutionize marketing and business practices. Haven’t we all heard that one before?

So you’re tellin’ me I can buy your lead?

The premise behind Leadcoin, founded by Shmulik Grizim, is to allow the buying and selling of hot, unused leads between businesses.

Sellers get value for their unused leads, leads find the right solutions, and buyers can buy hot leads. Everyone wins.

The everyone wins scenario finds its way into so many Blockchain-based companies these days. Sure it sounds like a good idea, but so do a lot of things until they are executed or attempted to be executed.

At this point in time, the system is not live yet so, we are in that awkward period after an ICO, where a company is sitting on a ton of cash but there is no product yet.

Sometime in Q3 2018, which is just around the corner, we should expect to see the launch of the first node, Webydo according to the website with integration to Salesforce and Hubspot by Q4.

Leader of the pack

Shmulik Grizim is the Founder and Heads up three other technology companies within the SaaS, web design and digital marketing industries. Grizim’s most recent venture, Webydo, is a patent-protected web platform with a global network of more than 300K users. Essentially, it's a cookie-cutter website building platform without using code. Grizim specializes in building new technology corporations from the ground up, constantly searching for solutions that promote the creation of a better web for all. So he is building up new companies, letting them get started and then moving onto the next project. He is a serial Entrepreneur with his sights always set ahead on the next project. Hopefully with his sights still set on Leadcoin taking off.

Why the sharp decline in price?

We wanted to learn more about why Leadcoin dropped so much after the ICO and asked,  “Since Leadcoin’s token entered the market, the price dropped hard and then has remained at a low level and has gradually been in decline, can you give some reasons to why this is?”

While it could be market conditions or lack of confidence by investors, we were unable to get a response as to why the token has been suffering such a hard time.

Nevertheless, investment sites have given Leadcoin a “bad” investment rating and some giving it an “E-”. Perhaps, once the first node is turned on and the network starts to function it will start to increase in price, or as so many times we have seen in the crypto market, Leadcoin might continue this dumpster dive further, let’s check back after Q4.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOS Dead Calm, ETC Goes on Rampage: Price Analysis, June 21



Flat movement continues for Bitcoin and most altcoins, with one remarkable exclusion

By Thursday 21st the market continues its lateral movement, while neither bears nor bulls fully control the prices. The main concern is that trading volumes remain low proving that the situation may change at any time. Today’s balance of forces somehow reminds us those of May 12th when players also froze in indecision unless one long green $1,000 candle broke Bitcoin’s bearish pattern and unambiguously pointed on further direction.

In the meantime in anticipation of a whale’s turn even significant news are unable to shake the market. Crypto prices almost haven’t reacted to the hack of Bithumb, the sixth biggest exchange. Our readers can compare this occasion with Coinrail’s hack (90th exchange by trading volumes) on June 11th, which allegedly caused sharp market’s fall.

As for the positive news, we can’t but draw readers attention to the latest Tether transparency update. Directors of the scandalous Stablecoin affirm that the company’s balance sheets have successfully undergone audit procedures and that all USDT tokens are fully backed by fiat currency on their banking accounts. The question is whether this news will be enough to finally inspire buyers for action?

Bitcoin is moving towards a critical point



The flat movement will not last forever and we believe that the next couple of days will finally reveal Bitcoin's (and the whole market's) further destiny. On the daily chart, one can notice an intersection of the long-term descending channel (marked in red) and young ascending trend (thin green line). The situation becomes even spicier if we look at close proximity of the long-term ascending trend (orange line) and 0.786 Fibonacci retracement. Trading volumes which were steadily declining since the end of March have finally stabilized which means that all stars came together and either bears or bulls (we bet on bulls) should soon make their move. Their target is clearly visible and after breaking through descending channel at $6,800 and them through long-term ascending trend line which now acts as resistance at $7,000 we may see a rally to $8,000.

Further decline is less likely as the bears should be out of fuel after long run. A forming bearish wedge, however, may give them some strength and if they manage to win the battle for $6,000 a door to $5,500 will be easily open.

We recommend our readers to watch closely how the price will break through the triangle and do not hurry to make a trading decision right now.

ETH/USD looks promising provided that Bitcoin will not fail



In comparison with other top altcoins Ethereum -0.33 percent looks good for the several reasons. First, and the most important – during long May’s and June’s downtrend the coin didn’t updated March’s minimum (when even Bitcoin -0.49 percent was very close to it). Second, after first shy evidence of possible market reversal, ETH recovered faster than most of the cryptos. Breaking through descending channel in past 24 hours is another positive sign, although not very encouraging – the upward movement was not continued for now.

With all eyes on Bitcoin -0.49% percent , we may establish further bulls’ targets which are $570 coinciding with the nearest support-resitance level and psychological $600 defined by 0.382 meaning of Fibonacci grid.

In case of decline, the main task for bulls is not to let ETH break through the bottom line of the young ascending channel although the range of $500-$520 should stop the bears anyway, at least for some time.

EOS/USD is ready for a breakthrough



EOS has been on fire recently: the long-awaited mainnet launch was followed by accusations of high-degree centralization and blocking of several accounts in an attempt to stop coin thefts. However despite some fundamental problems, from the view of technical analysis the main Ethereum -0.33 percent competitor is doing very well.

Although EOS is still moving in descending channel, its width doesn’t prevent traders to derive profits with acceptable level of risk. The price fluctuations have formed a triangle, which will be resolved tomorrow at the latest. The upper boundary of the triangle is formed by powerful hidden mirror level (marked in orange), breaking through which will confirm bulls’ strength. In this case, the nearest mid-term target lies at $12.5 directly on the intersection of the boundary of the descending channel and 0.618 Fibonacci retracement. We expect a rebound from this level and after some rest the bulls may try to achieve $14.5.

As for the negative scenario, for now $9.5 should act as a reliable support which should restrain bulls’ pressure.

Ethereum Classic in on rampage



From the list of top 50 altcoins, Ethereum -0.33 percent Classic is showing the most rapid recovery, surging 15 percent in 24 hours. The reason still lies behind announcement of listing on Coinbase which caused a sharp spike in trading volumes unseen since February. Considering that coin’s all-time-high was set at $47, there is enough space for a considerable increase of current price.

Immediate further growth can however be stopped by reaching an important resistance level formed by the upper boundary of the descending channel and strong 0.382 Fibonacci retracement. A couple of days which Bitcoin -0.49 percent traders may take to decide on further direction should be enough for ETC to gain a foothold before the bulls may attempt to reach next target defined at $20.5 in short-term.

No doubt Ethereum -0.33 percent Classic will follow the market, but most probably at a higher speed. The bulls are in a winning position, and in case of a negative scenario, it would be an uphill task for the bears to drag the price below $15.5 where a resistance was formed.

Take a look at Cryptocomes Price Analysis here

all eyes on BTC anyway

Small Gains, Small Losses for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM: Price Analysis, June 20



Bitcoin and other cryptos neutral on Wednesday, no significant price changes

There were no significant changes in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin and other cryptos remain neutral on Wednesday making small gains and small losses. The industry seems to be at crossroads looking for news and events to make further decisions.

As for the interesting news, there was a report from Hedge Fund Research (a reputable hedge fund analytics agency) showing that average profits of hedge funds investing in digital assets are 35 percent lower in 2018. Those investment institutions have reported an average profit of 45 percent in spring, but it is still not enough to overcome the numbers of 2017.

Another interesting news comes from the United States. Famous crypto industry expert John McAfee will no longer give his “prophecies” on coins as he was contacted by the US SEC regulator and asked to stop his “predictions.”

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price analysis, June 20



Bitcoin had almost no changes in the past 24 hours as the cryptocurrency added less than two percent. When we look at the hourly chart we can see that there is no clear tendency currently meaning bulls and bears are in balance and hesitate to make any further steps.



The closer look at the hourly chart helps to understand short-term tendencies. BTC price has tested the resistance area at $6,718 but failed to jump over it. There was a Shooting Star candlestick pattern on Tuesday and the currency pair declined lately following to this signal. BTC/USD stays in the middle of a horizontal range currently with no clear bias. The possible ways for Bitcoin are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will test the support at $6,510 and if successful, bears will have an opportunity to push BTC/USD lower towards 3.618 retracement level.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Bitcoin will stay between the resistance area at $6,718 and the support at $6,510.

3. Green scenario (bullish). BTC/USD will test the resistance area at $6,718. If successful, buyers will be able to drive the currency pair higher, targeting the resistance at $6,943.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price analysis, June 20



The currency pair remained neutral as Ethereum has added less than one percent in the past 24 hours. The situation on the hourly chart, in general, is unclear as we have no direction. Buyers and sellers are in balance in the moment of writing and hesitate to make any further steps.



When we look closer at the hourly chart we can see that Ethereum has tested the resistance area at $540.69 on Tuesday but failed to break it through and retreated later. The currency pair stays within a horizontal range at the moment of writing. The possible ways for Ethereum are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair is going to test the support area at $500.36 and if successful, bears will be able to push ETH/USD lower, targeting the next support at $473.39.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). ETH/USD will stay within the current range limited by the resistance area at $540.69 and the support area at $500.36.

3. Green scenario (bullish). Ethereum will test the resistance area at $540.69 and if successful, buyers will be able to drive the currency pair higher, targeting the next resistance at $566.90.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 20



Ripple had almost no changes in the past 24 hours as the currency pair lost less than two percent. The situation is unclear in general as there is no tendency at the moment of writing. Bulls and bears have found balance and hesitate to make any further steps.



When we look closer at the hourly chart we can see that XRP/USD has tested the resistance area at $0.5444 and almost reached the next resistance at $0.5643 but retreated below $0.5444 later. The currency pair stays in the middle of a range in the moment of writing. The possible ways for XRP/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). Ripple will break through the support area at $0.5088 and move lower targeting the next support area at $0.4918.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). The currency pair will stay within the current range limited by the resistance area at $0.5444 and the support at $0.5088.

3. Green scenario (bullish). XRP/USD will break through the resistance area at $0.5444 and move higher targeting the next resistance at $0.5643.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 20

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM Grow Finally, Buyers Dominate Crypto Markets: Price Analysis, June 19



Bitcoin and other cryptos go green on Tuesday, buyers finally take control over the markets

Bitcoin and altcoins are green on Tuesday as buyers are controlling the markets. Cryptos are trying to return their positions that they have lost during the past week. There are no important events for this and the growth is likely to be a part of an upside correction.

As for interesting news, cryptocurrencies are accepted in Russia during FIFA 2018 World Cup. One cannot buy tickets directly, but crypto users may choose several methods including banking cards like Wirex or Epayments to purchase anything.

After the US has declared sanction against Russia, Mastercard and Visa have stopped working with some Russian banks. Cryptos help visitors and football fans pay for goods and services.

EOS still suffers from different issues. The Mainnet is down and nobody knows when the issue will be fixed.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price analysis, June 19



Bitcoin has added nearly four percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair established new tops on Tuesday as it followed the green scenario from our latest BTC/USD price analysis. Bitcoin forms a kind of a flag pattern in the moment of writing meaning the currency pair is able to develop its upside progress on Tuesday.



Let’s see closer what is going on the hourly chart. Bitcoin has reached $6,718 resistance area on Monday and tested it several times. The currency pair fluctuates close to this level in the moment of writing. There was a fake breakout, but the price returned below the resistance area. The possible ways for BTC/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will reach the support area at $6,510 and jump over it targeting the next support at 3.618 retracement level.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Bitcoin will stay within the current price range, limited by the resistance area at $6,718 and the support area at $6,510.

3. Green scenario (bullish). BTC/USD will test the resistance area at $6,718 again and jump over it, targeting the next resistance area at $6,943.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price analysis, June 19



Ethereum has added more than four percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair managed to establish new highs on Monday. ETH/USD forms a flag pattern currently meaning the currency pair has potential to develop its growth on Tuesday.



Ethereum seems to finally find support and looks promising in the moment of writing. However, let’s see closer what is going on the hourly chart. ETH price has followed green scenario from our latest ETH/USD review but failed to reach the next resistance area at $540.69. The possible ways for ETH/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). Ethereum will reach the support area at $500.36 to test it. If successful, sellers will be able to push the currency pair lower, targeting the next support at $473.39.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). ETH/USD will stay within the current price range between the resistance area at $540.69 and the support at $500.36.

3. Green scenario (bullish). The currency pair will test the resistance at $540.69 and if successful, buyers will be able to drive Ethereum higher, aiming at $566.90.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 19



The currency pair has added more than two percent in the past 24 hours. Ripple reached new tops on Monday. XRP/USD has potential to develop its upside correction in the nearest future. The currency pair seems to form a flag pattern on the hourly chart.



Ripple has found support at $0.5088 support area. The currency pair moved higher on Monday and tested the resistance area at $0.5444 but failed to jump over it. There was a fake breakout, but XRP/USD retreated from this area later is fluctuated below it. The possible ways for XRP/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will test the support area at $0.5088 and is successful, XRP price will run lower.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). XRP/USD will stay within that current range, limited by the resistance area at $0.5444 and the support at $0.5088.

3. Green scenario (bullish). Ripple will break through the resistance area at $0.5444 and move higher, targeting the next resistance at $0.5643.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 19

Nucleus Vision Wearing Privacy Shades: Past-ICO Review



Nucleus Vision might need to get its glasses checked as price plummets and test market testimonies are absent

Nucleus Vision (NV) offers a way to track and reward walk-in customers in brick and mortar stores, which makes up a majority of transactions still, in today’s marketplace. Upon entering a store, Nucleus sensors register the customers phone and prompts them to share their information with the store in reward for Tokens. The Nucleus tokens can then be exchanged for discounts within the store.

It is similar to the rewards programs many stores offer, but instead of clogging your keychain with tens of barcode tags, which need to be scanned at the point of sale, NV puts and app on the smartphone and a sensor in the store.

The sensor can be used to gather data from customer as he/she enters the store to personalize the shopping experience for the customer. This will in theory increase conversion and drive organic growth, a win-win for the customer and the business.

Doing the math

NV had a two-day ICO sale from February 26-28, 2018 and raised some $40 million that is $20 million per day!

The token sale price was $0.0416. The price has fallen to $0.0145 at the time of writing. It is ranked 143 by CoinMarketCap and has market cap of $63,197,356 USD, daily trading volume of $1,215,610 USD and a circulating supply of 4,326,245,098 NCASH and a total of 10,000,000,000 NCASH.

Launch and Sensor Deployment

NV was founded back in 2013 and only just recently had its ICO. In 2017 it started deploying its sensor in test markets. For the second half of 2018, it plans to enter into India and South East Asia with 2,000 and 5,000 sensors deployed, respectively. It currently has a small footprint in only 25 stores and has identified more than 100,000 users.

NV plans to expand into North America by Q1 2019 and continue to ramp up expansion over the next four to five years.

However, despite them being in 25 stores now, they offer no names nor do they provide testimonials about how the product is working from either the stores of the customers using it.

Software and sign-up headaches

How many times do you just want to go online to a site and order one thing and be done? It’s a fantastic feeling when you can “shop as guest” without registration. For NV, The customer must register and authenticate with each individual store. Seriously?

Even though stores can share the gathered data with other locations, the user must confirm this every time. Ugh, so if I want to run in and out and I forget to agree, then I will lose my bonus, right?

Such a headache. In the promo video they show the guy going into the store and get a reward just for showing up. This is kind of false advertising. They make it seem like a cool process when you go into the store, but in reality it appears to be more complicated than that.

This registration and authentication process is quite inconvenient and requires a lot of maintenance from the customers and will get a big thumbs down from users. If the customer does not want to “check-in” at each store, then the retailer will not be able to tailor the experience to meet the needs and both parties will be dissatisfied.  When asked about this in an email, no response had been given by NV.

Top Heavy Management Team

While there are lots of high level management executives on the team, there appears to be only one lead technical developer managing a handful of other developers. Blockchain is a relatively new technology and needs to have a team of dedicated professionals to prevent and/or solve problems as they appear.

Final Thoughts

As the token price falls further, it gives some indication of the trajectory of the company, dowards. According to the website many Q1 2018 goals have not been completed and with lack of testimony from the test market, it makes one wonder how progress is coming and if things are working as planned.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, NEM at New Lows, But Buyers Have Hopes: Price Analysis, June 18



Bitcoin and altcoins make new lows, but buyers have hopes to change the situation

Bitcoin and altcoins have established new lows during the weekend, but their fluctuations were calm without significant price changes meaning the cryptos seem to find support finally. There was no important news in the past 36 hours.

As for interesting events, it is important to mention that National Bank of Romania had comments on cryptocurrencies. The governor of this structure, Mugur Isarescu stated that cryptos cannot be adopted as currencies because they fail to perform functions of traditional fiat money. Isarescu added that cryptos’ emission is done by anonymous persons and not by authorized bodies. This may increase frauds and scams in future.

As for Blockchain, Isarescu mentioned that the technology is worth studying. Romanian authorities are ready to adopt it but the crypto market needs some serious adjustments to be adopted.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price Analysis, June 18



The currency pair has lost more than one percent in the past 24 hours. However, in general, the situation is neutral meaning sellers have no power to push Bitcoin lower. The buyers are hesitating but have chances to change the situation while there is no important news.



Let’s zoom in to see the current situation. The currency pair fluctuated with no clear direction during the weekend below $6,510 resistance area. However, BTC/USD was unable to reach the closest support at 3.618 as well. The possible ways for Bitcoin are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will break through the support at 3.618 retracement level and move lower, targeting the basis of the Fibonacci tool.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Bitcoin will stay within the current range, limited by the resistance area at $6,510 and the support at 3.618 retracement level with no significant price changes.

3. Green scenario (bullish). The currency pair will break through the closest resistance area at $6,510 and move higher, targeting the next resistance at $6,718.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price Analysis, June 18



Ethereum has lost more than one percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair fluctuates with no clear direction meaning sellers have lost initiative, but bulls are still unable to drive the currency pair higher. ETH/USD has established new local lows, but the currency pair looks promising in the moment of writing.



Let’s have a closer look at the currency pair on the hourly chart. Ethereum has reached 3.618 retracement level during the weekend but failed to make any further progress and retreated. The currency pair declined below the support area at $500.36. It fluctuates close to this area in the moment of writing. The possible ways for ETH/USD are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will break through the support area at $473.39 and move lower, targeting the next support at $453.24.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ethereum will stay within the current range, limited by the resistance area at $500.36 and the support at $473.39 without significant changes.

3. Green scenario (bullish). ETH/USD will break through the resistance area at $500.36 and run higher, targeting the next resistance at $540.69.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 18



The currency pair has lost more than two percent in the past 24 hours. However, Ripple has no clear bias currently and the currency pair can develop its upside correction in the nearest future. XRP/USD reached new tops during the weekend but buyers were unable to develop their progress.



Let’s get closer to the price on the hourly chart. The currency pair has reached $0.5643 resistance area during the weekend, but retreated from there and crossed the support area at $0.5444. XRP/USD reached the next support area at $0.5088 in the moment of writing. The possible ways for Ripple are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will break through the support area at $0.5088 and move lower targeting the next support area at $0.4918.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ripple will stay within the current range between the resistance area at $0.5444 and the support at $0.5088.

3. Green scenario (bullish). The currency pair will cross the resistance area at $0.5444 and run higher, targeting the next resistance at $0.5643.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 18

Green Energy Competition Heats Up Down Under: Past-ICO Review



A weak roadmap, strong competition might push WePower out of Oz

The tokenization (what isn’t getting tokenized these days) of electricity is one major use utility that has recently caught on in the Blockchain space. A number of similar projects have surfaced, with a major competitor, Power Ledger, vying for one of the same green energy markets in Australia.

High competition in this space plays a positive role overall as the driving force of innovation, but the implications for any individual company, including WePower (WP), mean market dominance is not guaranteed.

We reached out to WP concerning the competition with Power Ledger by asking: “How do you perceive Power Ledger? A company you can with alongside with or a direct competitor?” However, we did not receive a response.

Throw another bill in the bank, mate!

ERC20 WPR token raised $40 mln in the initial ICO on Feb. 1, 2018. There was a presale that lasted from Sept. 22, 2017 to Feb. 1, 2018. So the company had a lot of time to raise the funding.

The token entered the market at $0.20 and then slid down to around $0.049 per token a 77 percent loss since its debut. It has a market cap of $22,281,006 and a rank of 284 with daily trading volumes around $460,130, according to CoinMarketCap.

Team is not from Oz

The company is Lithuania based with an office in Estonia. They are working on power projects in their respective countries as well as, most notably in Australia and Spain- it’s pretty sunny in these countries.

- Nikolaj Martyniuk Co-Founder

- Artūras Asakavičius Co-Founder

- Kaspar Kaarlep  CTO

- Jon Matonis Blockchain advisor

- Eyal Hertzog Blockchain advisor

- Heikki Kolk is Energy IOT Expert

Incentives

WP’s main goal is to make green energy projects easily financed by allowing it to come from the community and individuals as opposed to the traditional top-down method of financing.

The financing model created by the WePower ICO incentivizes both producers and energy buyers to use the platform.

For producers, the model helps to increase return on equity by 20-25 percent, according to the website.

For consumers, buyers purchase energy upfront on the market for a reduced cost. Since the energy rights are held within a smart contract, energy that is not used is liquid and can be sold in the market.

This is tokenization in action right here, making things that are not normally liquid, ready to be sold at a moment’s notice.

Buyers, therefore, have access to cheaper energy, using only what is needed and reselling the rights to access the surplus.

Not much news, where are we on the roadmap?

While WP has some cool stuff going for it, there is not much action in the news about them and the most recent article on the website is from October 2017.

This is not a good sign and can explain why there has been a recent dip in the token price. Investors are always ready to run when there is no news.

On the website, the roadmap does a poor job at outlining any goals or where they stand now in terms of completion.

Furthermore, the competition with Power Ledger may be a bit tough to handle as they are already established in Australia and the Australian Government granted the Power Ledger $2.57 million AUD for a two-year research project to take place in the City of Fremantle, just southeast of Perth.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Past-ICO Review: Stox Tied to Bancor’s Sinking Ship



Stox started out white hot, but it was tied to Bancor and that brought the curtain down on the token

When the ICO took place, it was a sure bet that investors were placing their stock in Stox, a open source decentralized prediction market platform based on the Bancor protocol. This platform allows users to make predictions on pretty much anything that can be predicted, such as sporting outcomes, elections, whether; you name it, you can probably predict it on Stox.

Financials

Gibraltar-based Stox ran an ICO on Aug. 2, 2017 that lasted for one day and raised between $27 and $30 mln in funding. However, the token, which was launched two days after the ICO closed, on Aug. 4, 2017, has been in decline since its entry into the market. It debuted at $1.21, peaked at $2.60 on Aug. 25, and then fell sharply to $0.42 by the start of October 2017. It saw a price surge in December 2017, and reached $1.66 but fell down to $0.36 at the time of writing, demonstrating that investors have shied away from this once white-hot ICO. For a prediction-based platform, what has investors spooked? There doesn’t seem to be a prediction section on how well Stox will fare on its own website.

Mayweather: prominent ICO proponent

Floyd Mayweather has been known to promote ICOs. He posted on Instagram about Stox, where he flashed a suitcase of $100 bills and boasted he will “make a $hit t$n of money … on the Stox.com ICO.” This is not the first time Mayweather has promoted a crypto. He also promoted Centra Tech, which ended up on CryptoComes’ Top 10 ICO Failures. Does celebrity promotion lead to the demise of companies using an ICO? It’s an iffy statement. It could be the fact that Stox rode on the coattails of Bancor, even basing its smart-contracts on Bancor’s model.

Do your homework before investing

Since Stox is based on the Bancor model, then it is understood why the price will go down. It is because any token created from Bancor will be tied into Bancor’s price. Bancor’s price is suffering since its debut in July 2017. Here is the reason why, taken from my Bancor Past-ICO Review here on CryptoComes:

According to Professor Emin Gun Sirer, Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University, Bancor will continue to trail the market and its lack of price discovery will diminish any smart tokens created from it.

This, in essence, will keep those coins [referring to any coins developed from Bancor’s Blockchain] from growing beyond that of Bancor’s price, remember they are tied together. In other words, the tokens created off Bancor have no chance to thrive. When the parent coin is going down, Bancor will take them down, too. Tim Draper, billionaire venture capitalist, and backer of Bancor argues otherwise that it will give liquidity to the market. If you bought Bancor, then liquidity is great, because you will want to sell it as fast as you can.

There you have it, it is the Blockchain Stox is based on that is dragging it down. The technology is cool and the users are enjoying the platform, who doesn’t love to take a gamble and place a bet, but its the parent Blockchain dragging down the token.

Better to lead, than to follow

While there are many tokens out there that are based on other Blockchains, such as Ethereum and EOS, these have been proven and accepted by the Blockchain community to be the proper places to build from. In many cases, the axiom, “it is better to lead, than to follow” plays to truth, if Stox did not follow Bancor’s model, it might have had a better chance at improving it’s token price, but alas, it is tethered to Bancor’s sinking ship.

You may find other Past ICO Reviews HERE

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, EOS Bounce Back, Ripple, NEM Hovering: Price Analysis, June 15



Bitcoin and most altcoins bounce back after a sharp fall, have positive outlooks in short-term

Bitcoin and altcoins develop their corrections and establish new local highs. It is hard to say now whether this tendency is mid-term or short-term as experts have different opinion on the reasons of this huge downtrend that we can see in midterm.

Some experts think that this significant crypto market decline is the result of 2017’s cryptocurrencies hype and now the price is trying to find its balance.

Another opinion about this huge downtrend is that the US regulatory body, CFTC requires transactions data from major US cryptocurrency exchanges.

Anyway, the general situation in this industry indicates on the probability of further decline of all cryptos.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) Price Analysis, June 15



Bitcoin added more than one percent in the past 24 hours. The currency pair bounced back the support area at 3.618 retracement level and started its upside tendency this week. BTC/USD established new highs on Thursday/Friday.



Let’s get closer to the current situation on the hourly chart. The currency pair ran upwards on Thursday and jumped over the resistance area at $6,510. BTC/USD moved higher later and reached $6,718. However, Bitcoin failed to break through this level. The possible ways for Bitcoin are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will test the support area at $6,510 and if successful, Bitcoin will develop its downside move targeting the next support at 3.618 retracement level.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). BTC/USD will stay within the current range, limited by $6,718 resistance area and $6,510 support area.

3. Green scenario (bullish). Bitcoin will test the resistance area at $6,718 and move higher, targeting the next resistance at $6,943.

Ethereum (ETH/USD) Price Analysis, June 15



The currency pair has added more than four percent in the past 24 hours. Ethereum develops its upside corrective movement. The currency pair has found support on Wednesday and established new highs on Thursday. ETH/USD still has a positive outlook in short term.



Let’s see closer what is going on the hourly chart. The currency pair has broker through the resistance area at $500.36 and moved higher. However, ETH/USD failed to reach the next resistance area at $540.69 and returned to $500.36. The possible ways for Ethereum are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will break through the current support area at $500.36 and move lower, targeting the next support at $473.39.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ethereum will stay within the current price range, limited by the resistance area at $540.69 and the support area at $500.36.

3. Green scenario (bullish). ETH/USD will test the resistance at $540.69 and if successful, will go higher, aiming at the next resistance area at $566.90.

Ripple (XRP/USD) Price analysis, June 15



The currency pair has lost less than one percent in the past 24 hours. Ripple develops its upside correction currently but fails to grow significantly as the currency pair fluctuates almost on the same levels on Friday as compared to Thursday.



Let’s see closer what is going on the hourly chart. The currency pair has reached the resistance area at $0.5643 on Thursday, but failed to develop the progress and retreated towards the support area at $0.5444. Ripple stays there currently. The possible ways for Ripple are the following:

1. Red scenario (bearish). The currency pair will break through the support area at $0.5444 and move lower aiming at the next support area at $0.5088.

2. Orange scenario (neutral). Ripple will stay within the current range, limited by the resistance area at $0.5643 and the support area at $0.5444.

3. Green scenario (bullish). XRP/USD will rise towards the resistance are at $0.5643 and break it through. The next step for XRP/USD is to target the next resistance area at $0.5914.

Take a look at EOS (EOS/USD) and NEM (XEM/USD) Price Analysis, June 15