Ronnie Moas, founder and director of Standpoint Research, and pretty successful Bitcoin predictor, has said that Bitcoin needs to be taken seriously as within five years it could reach $800 bln - more than tech giant Apple.

Moas called Bitcoin topping $5,000 “within months” of his July prediction - which it did. He has also sees it getting to $7,500 for the end of the year. And a little further on, he sees it reaching $20,000 per coin in three years.
But with the rate at which the digital currency is moving, Moas is now putting major tech company Apple in the headlights, stating that Bitcoin’s total market value could overtake Apple within five years.

Take it seriously
There have been many calls from institutionalised money movers to disregard Bitcoin, or even worse, to separate Blockchain technology from the digital currency.
However, Moas is calling for some serious consideration.

"People need to start taking this seriously because today Bitcoin caught up with Goldman Sachs," Moas said. “Within five years, it's going to catch Apple which has (a more than) $800 bln market cap."

Bitcoin's market value is about $95.9 bln, according to the website Coinmarketcap.com. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters data showed Goldman Sachs had a value of $93.67 bln, and Apple's market cap was at $806.65 bln.

Hidden agendas
As Bitcoin keeps steadily rising, it is attracting more and more hate from those who have other vested interests in the current global money market.

Previously, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink called the cryptocurrency "an index of money laundering," while JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon predicted if "you're stupid enough to buy it, you'll pay the price for it one day."

Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said the cryptocurrency with no controlling body was an "Enron in the making."

Moas said that the three prominent critics of Bitcoin were "heavily invested" in publicly-traded US banks that are currently being threatened by the cryptocurrency.

"I don't expect those people to come out and recommend ... to buy Bitcoin. Because that hurts their business," he said.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has claimed that the market for the leading virtual currency Bitcoin is already in bubble territory. He also issued a criticism of the proposals for applying a value to the cryptocurrency.

Based on a report by MarketWatch, Buffett presented his views on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market during an annual question-and-answer session in Omaha, Nebraska in early October 2017. During his remarks, Buffett claimed that Bitcoin is a “real bubble.”

"People get excited from big price movements, and Wall Street accommodates. You can’t value Bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset."

Performance of Bitcoin in the market
Bitcoin sustained its phenomenal performance after fluctuating at about $4,300 in early October. Bitcoin price has jumped to over $6,100 on Oct. 20.
Meanwhile, the negative view of Buffett on Bitcoin is not surprising as the well-known investor has already expressed such comments in the past. In 2014, the billionaire advised that investors should keep away from Bitcoin because the cryptocurrency is “basically a mirage.”

Other opinions on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market
Aside from Buffett, other virtual currency market observers have also issued their opinions on the latest developments in the market. In his comment, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia has claimed that he does not believe in Bitcoin completely and expects the digital currency to fail.

"It doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated. It's not under control. It's not under the supervision [of] any federal – elect – United States Federal Reserve or any other central bank. I don't believe in this whole thing at all. I think it's going to implode."

However, in his new blog post, New York University’s “Dean of Valuation,” Aswath Damodaran, asserted that Bitcoin is a true currency and not a fraud.

How About an ICO? Company’s Stocks Rocket 400% On Blockchain Rebranding

It’s not just initial coin offerings (ICOs) that are acting like magic - the word ‘Blockchain’ has just revolutionized one company’s finances by 400 percent.

UK-based On-Line PLC, which supplies Internet-related software through various subsidiaries, saw its share price rocket from £15 ($19.60) to a high of £84 ($110) in hours after it announced it was adding ‘Blockchain’ to its name.

On-Line, which has been around since the start of the Internet boom in 1996, saw unprecedented trading based on the news, Bloomberg reports.

Shares in the company are currently retracing after the sudden spike to circle around £60. The performance mimics that of multiple altcoins following news about their interaction with the mainstream cryptocurrency market.

“We feel the time is right to re-name the company to reflect these developments, where we believe the future growth will be in our sector,” a statement released Thursday explains, calling Blockchain “new and exciting.”

The day’s growth puts On-Line’s market cap at £4.17 mln and reflects the continued buzz around Blockchain which is seeing an increasing number of corporations go in for experimenting with it.

This week, ratings agency Moody’s nonetheless said Blockchain’s disruptive potential still made it a distant threat, albeit one which would likely inevitably shake up the norm when it hit.

GATCOIN ICO

Start : Oct 28, 2017
End   : Nov 28, 2017

The GAT Coin is a new crypto-currency token that will be launched on the Ethereum main network as part of a broader enterprise system (GAT System) through which global merchants may issue their own branded digital tokens that can be used as discounts, gift cards and other promotional offerings (Merchant Tokens). The GAT System will enable merchants to issue Merchant Tokens to a mass consumer audience with minimal set-up, allowing them to quickly adopt token usage as part of their overall marketing strategy. The GAT Coin will be the exclusive currency of exchange for the trade of Merchant Tokens on the GAT Exchange. Consumers can use their GAT Coins to acquire Merchant Tokens or can convert their Merchant Tokens to GAT Coins on the GAT Exchange.

Suddenly, Cheeky Bitcoin Tops $6,000, Ditching Analysts’ Bear Market

Bitcoin is almost hitting $6,000 on major exchanges again Thursday as a seven percent daily uptick sees this week’s bear market left behind.

Data from Bitcointicker shows WEX delivering a high of $6,004 at press time, with Bitstamp maxing out at $5,988.
The move marks a fresh surge for Bitcoin, which just 24 hours ago was languishing at recent lows closer to $5,000.

Despite the disruption caused by Bitcoin Gold and the forecast uncertainty from SegWit2x, enthusiasm has returned to trading markets, with even mainstream sources predicting fresh all-time highs will come in November.

Nonetheless, the rally appeared to take many by surprise, with commentators expecting an extended correction after Bitcoin price passed $6,000 for the first time last Friday.
Longer term, however, proponents are digging in to defend the virtual currency against further accusations related to pyramid schemes or bubble-like behavior.

“In the mid-1800's the world's street lights were kept alit with whale oil. Then John Rockefeller streamlined the process of refining crude oil,” advocator John Kelly of CNBC wrote in Forbes Tuesday.

“The whaling captains that did not recognize the change were left sailing a barren ocean in search of former riches, while Rockefeller went on to create Standard Oil… Bitcoin, the currency, is the incentive for all of us to become John Rockefeller.”

Verif-y


Start : Oct 27, 2017
End   : Nov 30, 2017

Verif-y’s identity solution addresses the notion that a strong and reliable digital identity is necessary in order for the global digital blockchain economies to continue their expansions. To meet this fast-growing identification demand, Verif-y is expanding the development of the blockchain-based, digital identity solution layer of its commercially available credential and employment verification platform. Verif-y’s services improve the protection of Personally Identifiable Information ('PII'), which in today’s world define our identity.
verif-y.io

Bad Rabbit Bitcoin Ransomware Misery Continues As Hackers Demand $300 in BTC
Over 200 victims in Europe and beyond continue to suffer from a brand new ransomware attack demanding Bitcoin to release encrypted files.

Known as Bad Rabbit, the ransomware of unknown origin demands 0.05 BTC ($290) to unlock infected computers.
Its progress focuses on Russia and Ukraine, with outbreaks also reported in Turkey and Germany, according to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab.

“While the target is visiting a legitimate website, a malware dropper is being downloaded from the threat actor’s infrastructure,” a report on the ransomware released Tuesday explains.

“No exploits were used, so the victim would have to manually execute the malware dropper, which pretends to be an Adobe Flash installer. We’ve detected a number of compromised websites, all of which were news or media websites.”

As of Thursday, it has become apparent those targets fall outside the news and media sphere, with Odessa Airport and the Kiev Metro’s payment system also seeing breakdowns.
Bad Rabbit is just the latest cyberattack to hit the Russian and Ukrainian zone, with WannaCry and NotPetya all having left their mark over the past six months.
The ransom demands from Bad Rabbit’s hackers are similar to those of WannaCry at around $300 per machine.

Bitcoin Gold came into existence on Tuesday as a new iteration of the original Bitcoin Blockchain forked off. This fork comes less than three months after the controversial Bitcoin Cash fork and its effects are being felt.

It should be noted that the use of the word “fork” is done lightly. As Bitcoin Gold has essentially zero chance of replacing Bitcoin in the marketplace, it’s more of an air-drop than a chain split. However, there has been some market turbulence.


The aim of Bitcoin Gold

    Bitcoin Gold is “an adjustment” of the Bitcoin Blockchain that claims to try and once again make mining accessible to the general public. Miners and major mining operations and pools have presumably annexed this aspect of the cryptocurrency marketplace, and some tout Bitcoin Gold as the solution.

“This is what will be required to make fair mining accessible to the general public once again,” said Robert Khune, a strategist at the Bitcoin Gold project. “A successful fork will prove that Bitcoin always has the ability to escape from any potential abusive mining hardware manufacturers,” who he blamed for “unnecessary stalling” this year.
Why the downturn?

Bitcoin dropped 4.4 percent to $5,652 as of 8:55 a.m. in New York on Wednesday, paring a decline of as much as 5.9 percent. The cryptocurrency is still up 36 percent this month and about six-fold percent this year.

“Bitcoin’s recent downturn has been driven by the traders’ anticipation of minor disarray in the wake of the upcoming hard forks,” said Thomas Glucksmann, Hong Kong-based head of marketing at cryptocurrency exchange Gatecoin. “The Bitcoin exchange and wallet community have been divided over their decisions to support or reject these contentious hard forks.”
Many are also speculating that Bitcoin rallied ahead of this fork as there is the opportunity to essentially double your coins. Holders of Bitcoin would also be credited with equal amounts of Bitcoin Gold. However, not many exchanges have offered support of Bitcoin Gold.
Further splits on the way

Further splits may be imminent. One faction of the community wants to increase Bitcoin’s block size to shorten transaction times, while another is opposed. The first phase of this plan, called SegWit2x, was implemented in August and took some of the data off the main network.
Again, this next fork is being met with more opposition as cryptocurrency trading platform BitMEX has told users to dump SegWit2x Bitcoins “immediately” following November’s hard fork - labeling them ‘ShitCoin2x.’

Research shows that big institutional money is currently staying out of Bitcoin. Should this worry us or keep us from trading cryptocurrencies? We don’t think so.

If one were to look back in time and check, very few investors saw the potential in Amazon and invested in it. Most kept calling it a bubble.
Major disruptions are not easy to understand and accept. Historical comparisons and metrics fail while judging these new concepts. Therefore, most traditional investors and money managers lose out on a great opportunity.

Currently, most big names in the investment industry are in denial about the rise and popularity of cryptocurrencies. They are just praying for a crash to say, ‘See, I told you so’.
The main complaint is that cryptocurrencies are very volatile. Well, with proper planning, we can certainly keep our risk under control, as we do here.
Let’s see, if we can find an opportunity to make money this week.

BTC/USD

After days of rally, gravity is finally catching up with Bitcoin. So, is this dip a buying opportunity or can it fall further? 
We were correct in avoiding a long position in Bitcoin around the $6000 mark. Though intraday the digital currency broke out of the ascending channel, it could not close above it.

Currently, the cryptocurrency is finding support just above $5500 levels. If the fall continues, Bitcoin can correct to the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), which presently lies at $5359. The trendline support is also close to this level. Therefore, we expect the digital currency to bounce from this support zone of $5350 to $5500.

On the upside, the resistance line of the ascending channel will act as a major hurdle. A breakout of this will clear the path for a bigger rally.
However, the RSI is forming a negative divergence. The previous two negative divergences were followed by a sharp drop in prices. Additionally, we don’t find a reliable buy set up with a good risk to reward ratio.
Therefore, we don’t recommend any trade on Bitcoin. 


ETH/USD

We were expecting Ethereum to hold its support zone of $275 to $286, but it looks like the cryptocurrency has other plans.
When zoomed out, we find that Ethereum has formed a large equilateral triangle pattern. We can draw the trendline support in two ways (both drawn on the chart).

The first level of support is at $275, where we find both the trendline support and the horizontal support. We still believe that the cryptocurrency will attempt to hold this level. However, if this level breaks, the next lower support is in the zone of $252 to $240.
We believe that buying should emerge at these critical levels. We shall wait for clear signs of a bottom formation before recommending any trade. 


BCH/USD

Bitcoin Cash attempted a rally yesterday, however, it could not breakout of the 20-day EMA. After the failed attempt, the cryptocurrency is again down today.While the bullishness of Bitcoin did not rub off on Bitcoin Cash, the bearishness certainly seems to be having its effect. The cryptocurrency is falling towards the lows of the range.

Though the digital currency has not broken below this low since Aug. 11, the pattern is looking weak. Chances are that Bitcoin Cash will fall below $282.
If the lower levels sustain for a day or two, then the fall will extend to $200 levels. Either way, we don’t see any buy set up until the cryptocurrency breaks out of $400. Therefore, we do not suggest any trade on it at the current levels.

 

XRP/USD

Once Ripple broke below $0.2 levels, the fall gained momentum. The cryptocurrency seems to be in a hurry to sink to the $0.15 levels.
Now, the cryptocurrency is likely to fall to $0.166, where we expect some buying to emerge. However, the slide is likely to continue, and Ripple is likely to fall to $0.15 levels. While in our previous analysis we had recommended a buy at the $0.145 levels, we now believe that it is better to wait for a day or two and then take a position. Therefore, we are withdrawing our buy call on Ripple.

We prefer to wait and watch the price action at the support levels before buying it. We shall not buy until the cryptocurrency stops falling and indicates that it is ready to move higher.


LTC/USD

Litecoin did not trigger our buy levels, recommended in the previous analysis on Oct. 21. As a result, we don’t have any positions on it.
The digital currency could not hold on to the $57.7 support level. It is back into the range of $44 to $57.7.

It has support at $50, below which it will fall to the lower end of the range at $44. Though the cryptocurrency had taken support at $44 earlier, we shall not buy right away. We shall wait for a day or two and buy Litecoin when it confirms a bottom.
The first signs of bullishness will be when the digital currency breaks out of the downtrend line and rallies above $58 levels. Until then, all pullbacks are likely to be sold into.