When it comes to cryptocurrencies, no stone should be left unturned. That applies to both individuals and entire nations alike. Venezuela, a country known for its rather hostile approach to Bitcoin, might be on the brink of openly embracing the world’s leading cryptocurrency. The national central bank is conducting surveys to see if Bitcoin can become part of its foreign reserves.

Venezuela’s Situation is Dire

Most people are all too aware of the problematic financial situation hampering Venezuela for several years now. The country no longer just suffers from regular inflation, but has to contend with hyperinflation every so often. It puts a lot of strain on the economy, and there has not been a viable solution in sight. Contrary to what everyone had expected, Bitcoin might effectively become the saving grace of this country after all.

After attempting to remedy the dire situation for some time, the Venezuelan central bank has seemingly thrown in the towel. More specifically, they are conducting tests to see if cryptocurrencies become part of the nation’s foreign reserves Accessing foreign funds – primarily US Dollars – has been very difficult due to current regulation and sanctions. New solutions need to be found, and the only global form of money on the market today may offer the solution the country so direly needs.

Read More: https://nulltx.com/hyperinflation-forces-venezuelan-central-bank-to-explore-bitcoin-as-a-foreign-reserve/

Comparing Bitcoin to other online money transfer services is virtually pointless. It is like comparing apples with oranges, as there will never be any fair comparison to be drawn. That said, Bitaccess is keen on exploring how Bitcoin behaves compared to the likes of credit cards and PayPal. While promising, the information needs to be taken with a grain of salt.

BITCOIN OUTPERFORMS PAYPAL

The statistic shared on Twitter by BitAccess is rather misleading. While it confirms Bitcoin’s annual transaction volume has increased significantly, that is as far as the “comparison” goes. Claiming how Bitcoin has overtaken PayPal in annual trading volume in both 2017 and 2018 seems to be a bit of a stretch.

More specifically, PayPal notes major growth every single year. As such, one could easily claim that company has seen major growth as well, yet it doesn’t reflect properly on these charts. It is true PayPal generated “just” 578 billion in transaction volume throughout 2018, it is more widely used than Bitcoin may ever be.

Read More: https://themerkle.com/comparing-bitcoin-to-paypal-makes-no-sense/

Not a day goes by without some intriguing development affecting the cryptocurrency industry. African nations are often relatively quiet on this front. Although Bitcoin can make a positive impact across that continent, not all governments want to give it a fair chance. That is unfortunate, but also completely to be expected.

Burundi Doesn’t Want Crypto

It is rather interesting to see how governments still oppose Bitcoin and similar currencies in 2019. While crypto doesn’t have the best reputation by any means, completely banning the trading of it will only have an adverse effect. In Burundi, the government has officially banned all cryptocurrency trading this week, albeit it remains to be seen if that countermeasure will prove to be even remotely successful.

This decision comes after some people in the country lost money while trading the various cryptocurrencies. There is no word on which currencies they were, or if the people invested in fraudulent offerings. Even so, the public demand for governmental intervention, and their decision is to get rid of all trading indefinitely. Not a popular decision, but it was somewhat to be expected.

Read More: Cryptocurrency trading banned in burundi

So we just have to hold ETC during the snapshot to receive the airdrop?

A lot of times the API trading bots use have a setting for how much funds to allocate. Also, trading bots can't withdraw your coins from an exchange - at least not the reputable ones - as the API they use only allows them to trade. Yes, there's risk in using trading bots but at the same time there is a reward.

Don't get me wrong, I love and believe in ETH. It's true that ETH is only 15% of what is was at its all time high and BTC is roughly at 50% of its all time high. However, you can also make the argument that ETH was overvalued because of ICOs in the first place, so the current price is fitting.

I wouldn't say it always works, but if you use the right indicators then it should work most of the time.

If you're looking to get started with TA, I would suggest starting with simple indicators like RSI, BBs, etc. Then move onto Fib retracements, Elliot Waves, etc.

Bitcoin is technically "pseudoanonymous" but most people treat it like Monero for some reason...

Bitcoin mixing does not have the best of reputations. It is a method often associated with criminal activity and money laundering. A new report by Chainalysis puts an interesting spin on this particular business model. The majority of funds does not originate from stolen funds or darknet markets, by the look of things. A surprising turn of events, although it will not change the public perception of Bitcoin mixing just yet.

The Origin of Bitcoin Mixing Funds

The report by Chainalysis paints a very interesting picture as far as mixing Bitcoins is concerned. Although it is evident that this model will always be associated with money laundering, the ones potentially doing so are very different from what was originally assumed. Very little funds passing through these services comes from the darknet or ends up being stolen. Both “aspects” combined only represent 10.8% of all funds sent through mixers.

That is quite surprising, although it doesn’t necessarily make the origin of the funds more legitimate either. The money sent from unnamed services, mining pools, and gambling could still carry some sort of taint. It is of the utmost importance to further analyze that source of money to make sure nothing nefarious is going on. Especially the figures regarding gambling are pretty interesting, as most people assumed a lot of gambling proceeds would be laundered to remove any trace of origin.

Read More: https://cryptomode.com/nearly-half-of-the-funds-sent-to-bitcoin-mixers-comes-from-exchanges/

This is definitely a win for Kleiman... going to be hard to come back from that...

Criminals often express their favoritism toward cryptocurrencies. The perceived privacy and anonymity associated with this payment method makes for an excellent tool. In the US, the Treasury is now targeting Chinese drug kingpins. More specifically, they are monitoring Bitcoin revenue streams. That form of payment has become all the more prominent as time went by.

CHINA, DRUGS, AND BITCOIN

The vast majority of drugs and other narcotics consumed in the United States is not home-grown. It is often imported from countries such as Colombia, Mexico, and in a fair few cases, even China. Particularly where opioids are concerned, Chinese drug dealers are playing an increasing role of importance. They are also involved in shipping fentanyl analogues and cannabinoids, among other substances.

Several arrests were made in August of 2018. At that time, the US Attorney’s Office highlighted an indictment in federal court in Ohio. Two Chinese individuals – who are father and son – were charged with operating, manufacturing, and shipping various illegal substances. It is believed they served customer sin at least three dozen US states and over two dozen countries in total. It appears some of their business was conducted on the darknet, albeit exact details have not been provided as of yet.

Read More: https://themerkle.com/bitcoin-transactions-lead-to-international-drug-trafficking-rings-arrests/