Bitcoin To Enter Its ‘Third Act’ In spite of Friday’s surge, the lethargic crawl of the Bitcoin price has continued. While the 8% rally seen not 72 hours ago was welcomed, the cryptocurrency remains in ‘no man’s land’, as no there are still evident lines of support and resistance putting a vise around BTC. Yet, in a recent podcast, a leading crypto ‘OG’ claims that eventually, the flagship digital asset will begin to run, and to new, jaw-dropping all-time highs at that.
Speaking to Mark Pesce’s “The Next Billion Seconds” just weeks ago, Mark Jeffrey, a cryptocurrency pioneer that authored 2013’s “Bitcoin Explained Simply,” expressed optimism towards this nascent space, currently embroiled in the midst of a so-called “nuclear winter.”
Jeffrey remarked that cryptocurrencies are much like the early Dotcom industry, echoing remarks made by a number of analysts, such as Meltem Demirors. Yet, he noted that this budding space is compressed time-wise in comparison to Dotcom, explaining that development in this space is four to five times faster than Internet-enabled digital technologies. Thus, crashes and rallies are only accentuated and amplified.
This aside, he remarked that this isn’t the end of the story for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, adding that the current market conditions are just a byproduct of market cycles. In fact, he noted that the “third act” of this story, which he likened to Star Wars: The Return Of The Jedi is just around the corner. Jeffrey explained:
The third act is coming. And if it’s anything like the Dotcom boom and bust, we saw a little hump, then a dead period, and then an actual value ascension with Amazon, Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn and on. I think we’re going to see that same thing with cryptocurrencies.
$250,000 BTC? And with all this in mind, he doubled-down on his price prediction that Bitcoin could eventually foray out of its quintuple-digit cell to finding a home at $250,000. Jeffrey was hesitant to give an explicit timeline, but, considering his aforementioned comments about the time compression in the cryptosphere, it is likely that he could see such a figure be achieved in a few years/a decade’s time.
Jeffrey isn’t the only analysts making calls in this zany, ‘out of this world’ range. Speaking to CoinTelegraph, Tim Draper, a legendary venture capitalist based in the heart of Silicon Valley, explained that he believes that $250,000 for each BTC is possible… eventually.
Draper, who parents a crypto-friendly venture capitalist, explained that Bitcoin’s recent move lower could just be a byproduct of market cycles, potentially accentuated by external bearish pressures. Draper then noted that in any business, a disruptor — Bitcoin in finance’s case — often moves with immense volatility, even if the innovation holds immense value for the health of society.
Regardless, the staunch cryptocurrency optimist remarked that over time, U.S. dollars and other fiat currencies will depreciate rapidly, creating an environment that could see BTC gain notable levels of traction. Echoing comments made by Travis Kling, Draper even explained that cryptocurrencies aren’t tied to a central bank, which by extension, includes the whims of inflation and the flaws in human nature.
Yet, some have been even more optimistic. Through the use of a compilation of the Internet’s historical growth cycles, Bitcoin’s adoption curve, among other fundamentals factors and points of in-depth analysis, Filb Filb noted that $333,000 for each BTC could be logical.
Then again, some have been skeptical of crypto’s ability to garner traction and to usurp the hegemony that fiat currencies have established for themselves. Nouriel Roubini, a professor at the New York University Stern School, claimed that government-issued cryptocurrencies will help drive cryptocurrencies into the ground.
Title Image Courtesy of Descryptive.com Via Unsplash The post Crypto OG: Next Act To Bring Bitcoin (BTC) Above $250,000 appeared first on Ethereum World News.
Tag: Bitcoin Price
Major Currencies Gradually Roll Back After Short Recovery, Bitcoin Stays Over $3,600
The top cryptocurrencies are gradually rolling back after a recent short recovery.
Sunday, Feb. 10 — while Bitcoin (BTC) is managing to stay above the $3,600 price point for the third day in a row, other major cryptocurrencies are mostly in the red as the markets gradually roll back after short recovery, Coin360 data shows.
Market visualization from Coin360
BTC has been trading sideways during the last 24 hours, but the coin is still above over its psychological threshold of $3,600 at press time. As Cointelegraph previously reported, the top currency gained over $200 in value on Friday, Feb. 8, hitting $3,691 at some point during that day.
Also this week, BTC daily transaction volume almost reached levels it had not seen since January 2018, when world’s top cryptocurrency was worth close to $20,000.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ripple (XRP) — currently the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency — has seen almost a 3 percent decline and is now trading around $0.3. ..
Bitcoin Breaks the $3,450 Mark Amid Minor Stock Market Sees Downturn
Most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight to noteworthy gains as Bitcoin breaks the $3,450 mark.
Friday, Feb. 8 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight to noteworthy gains on the day by press time, with Bitcoin (BTC) breaking the $3,450 mark again, according to Coin360 data.
Market visualization from Coin360
At press time, Bitcoin is up three-quarters of a percent on the day, trading at around $3,462, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is just over half of a percent lower than $3,484, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Top altcoin Ripple (XRP) gained over 2 percent in value in the 24 hours to press time and is currently trading at around $0.299. On its weekly chart, the current price is over 3 percent lower than $0.308, the price at which XRP started the week.
Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest altcoin b..
Cryptos experiencing downward volatility again – Technical reasons cited
Yikes! The sky is falling again… or is it? It seems that, every time Bitcoin and its altcoin brethren stumble a bit, the end of the world is near at hand. Yes, BTC dropped from $3,550 to $3,357, a 5.5% fall, in a matter of hours, dragging other token values along with it, as the industry shed another $6 billion in market valuation. Analysts were puzzled. In the meantime, Bitcoin recovered a bit, hitting $3,400 once more.
What is going on this time around the old crypto block? Occasional dips like this one are usually accompanied by some regulator downplaying the importance of cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology, but no such commentary can be found. The global elite have departed Davos after the World Economic Forum, but no one there said anything that could be interpreted as “untoward” that has not been heard before. The CBOE did withdraw an application for another much anticipated BTC ETF, but no one noticed.
When no plausible fundamental reason can be uncovered for a movement in our financial markets, the fallback is always that technical positioning is at play. There is a logic to this tune that is actually favorable. Bitcoin had established a period of stability for 16 days that ended on the 27th of January, ranging between tight boundaries of $3,500 to $4,000. Crypto zealots were about to celebrate, when the rollercoaster suddenly headed south.
According to one active trader’s commentary:
BTC continues to look weak. Eventually, alternative cryptocurrencies succumb to Bitcoin. If Bitcoin breaks and closes sub $3,445 area it will retest the 2018 lows If not, BTC continues its sideways action similar to the pre-capitulation at $6,000.”
In case you are curious, the 2018 low was $3,122.
The reason for the latest bullish run up, if it can really be described as such, follows a general narrative that attributes recent positive action to “accumulation”. There have been a plethora of articles forecasting great things in 2019 for cryptos, enough to convince “Buy-and-Hold” investors to establish positions before the positive news hits the airways.
Alex Krüger, an economist and cryptocurrency analyst, explained:
For someone to accumulate, someone else has to distribute. It is a zero sum game. Accumulation per se is neither bullish nor bearish. With the current trading volumes, I’d bet on exchanges and miners currently ‘accumulating’. Eventually they will likely start dumping again.
Yes, transaction volume and industry activity are up, having recovered from the Crypto Winter that had gripped the industry for the better part of 2018, but when Bitcoin sneezes, the other altcoins get a cold, so to speak. Ethereum fell seven percent. TRON, one stellar token that had appreciated 166% over the past month, dropped by ten percent. As BTC recovered, these systems also followed in lock step.
Despite many predictions of positive blockchain developments and the much-anticipated institutional involvement to a major degree in the months ahead, insiders have also noted that 2019 will also be a year of consolidation. There are consequences for the 80% meltdown in valuations that Crypto Winter wrought. A recent report noted that nearly 1,000 blockchain companies failed in 2018. Exchanges and miners have had to cut back or close their doors.
For the time being, one commentator summed up the present situation:
In the short-term, overall, traders expect major crypto assets to perform poorly against Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar. If Bitcoin can remain above the $3,400 level throughout the next few days, traders believe it could prevent a further drop to the low $3,000 region.
At this writing, BTC is at $3,411. Will it hold? Stay tuned.
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Cryptos experiencing downward volatility again – Technical reasons cited was first posted on January 30, 2019 at 3:30 pm.
JPMorgan: Blockchain Adoption is Real
Blockchain, Cryptocurrency–Despite the current state of valuation for top cryptocurrencies, as Bitcoin fell to its lowest point in 2019, JPMorgan reports that adoption and growth for blockchain–even outside of the sector of crypto–is real and thriving.
While some have grown sour on blockchain as a buzz indicator for the flagging industry of cryptocurrency, JPMorgan still views the technology as a source of significant advancement for industries across the globe. Their analysis concludes that cryptocurrency-based blockchain may be misleading to the average adopter, as the true potential of the technology is not in re-inventing the world of money of financial technology and many in cryptocurrency have come to argue for.
Speaking in an interview, JPMorgan’s chair of global research Joyce Chang said,
“Blockchain isn’t going to reinvent the global payment system, but it will provide marginal improvements. The most meaningful impact will probably be three to five years away and mostly on trade finance.”
According to the report published by JPMorgan analysts, a group which Chang led, finance based blockchain systems have come the most obvious solution given the high potential gains to be made off of increasing efficiency. However, the use of blockchain extends beyond the financial and banking sector, which includes extending its influence past that of cryptocurrency. Chang finds the solution compiled by crypto, to utilize blockchain for verifying and recording transactions, to be the most beneficial development of the industry, even if the individual currencies struggle to find their place in society.
Chang goes on to list a number of banking institutions, including Banco Santander, as being at the forefront of blockchain use. However, the interview also includes relevant highlighting of the Interbank Information Network, developed by JPMorgan and powered by an Ethereum-based blockchain, as an example of banks using the technology to improve information sharing.
Blockchain, however, is not without its pitfalls including the most pressing concern for fans of Bitcoin and mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. Chang highlights scalability as the most pressing concern, saying,
“Its four real challenges are scalability, integration, cost-efficiency and regulation.”
While the public ledgers may provide the backbone to cryptocurrencies, they have yet to overcome the very real hurdle of scaling to widespread usability. Despite coin prices being down over 80 – 90 percent since reaching an all time high at the start of 2018, blockchain has been pointed to as a resilient feature capitalized by the crypto industry. However, the bullish run in Bitcoin in December 2017, which led to transaction costs skyrocketing and confirmation times grinding to a halt, proves that more work needs to be done before the security and ledger-keeping benefits of blockchain can be married to an everyday usable currency.
Chang blames part of the falling market on the difficulty involved in getting regulators to come terms over cryptocurrency, in addition to stating the path forward for blockchain may be as a divergence from cryptocurrency,
“It’s been difficult to get through the regulatory issues….We need to separate out blockchain from crypto. There’s been progress made on blockchain, there are successful use cases.”
Title image courtesy of BeatingBetting.co.uk
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Bitcoin (BTC), Top Cryptos Fall to Lowest Point in 2019
Bitcoin (BTC), Cryptocurrency–While the start of 2019 has brought about a wave of development for the interest and adoption of cryptocurrency, coin prices took a hit amidst market-wide selling.
Bitcoin, which had managed to trade with relatively low price volatility through the second half of January, fell nearly 4 percent on the day, bringing its price below $3500 and approaching the critical mark of $3,000. XRP likewise dropped during the massive selloff, with prices falling over 5 percent to $0.29. However, despite the drop in valuation, the XRP coin was able to widen the gap in market capitalization between itself and third-ranked Ethereum, with the latter experiencing the worst losses of the top 5 currencies. At one point, ETH was down over 8 percent, with the price dropping to $106 and threatening to go below $100 again if the sell-off persisted.
Rounding out the group of top cryptos, Bitcoin Cash sitting in the sixth position by market capitalization had the worst day, plunging 11 percent to a relative low in 2019 of $112. While Bitcoin Cash has managed to stay ahead of the next closest currency Litecoin as of writing, LTC and its investment base eagerly awaits the celebration of another “flappening” to lift their coin above a Bitcoin-derived rival.
BTC, which had looked to build price stability into the second month of the year after experiencing a price drop in early January, instead fell to its lowest valuation of 2019. Bitcoin losses amounted to their worst since December, with many pundits claiming that the investment pain of last year’s bear cycle is rearing its ugly head once again. As Bloomberg was careful to point out, the optimism of turning a new calendar year led many investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts to hope for the best, despite the industry being down over $400 billion in the past twelve months.
With the most recent round of selling, the entire market capitalization of cryptocurrency approaches a precarious evaluation of $113 billion, down precipitously from a little over a year ago, when most analysts were predicting a trillion dollar market cap to be just around the corner. Bloomberg also reports that technical analysis for Bitcoin is looking equally grim, with the industry leading cryptocurrency entering a renewed selling trend for the first time since November 2018. The last time BTC experienced a sell signal, the coin plummeted nearly 50 percent in the span of two weeks–a price movement that was precipitated by the industry implosion over Bitcoin Cash’s contentious hard fork.
However, not all in cryptocurrency are dismayed by the state of the market. Despite conceding that the current price depression could persist for more than a decade, with coin prices taking 11 years or longer to return to their peak of December 2017, Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson remains highly optimistic about crypto and blockchain. As previously reported by EWN, the IOHK CEO believes industry maturation is a more pertinent focus than valuation,
It might take 11 years for us [the crypto industry] to recover back to where we were in 2017, but we will be a dramatically different ecosystem at that point. We’ll have millions, perhaps even billions of users. We will be in many consumer products, be easy to use, [even] grandma can use it. A lot of the hard stuff will have been figured out.
Hoskinson also went on to explain that industry maturation would be the surest route to enticing institutional investment, a move that would provide a huge windfall for cryptocurrency.
Title image courtesy of BeatingBetting.co.uk
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Bitcoin Price Watch: The Next 12 Months May Lead to Stagnation
At press time, the father of cryptocurrency is trading for about $3,424. This is roughly $100 less than where it stood during our previous price article. The currency just continues to fall lower and lower on the financial totem pole, and bitcoin is losing the high level of attention it once held.
Chart by TradingShot
Jan Van Eck – chief executive of investment management firm Van Eck Associates – states that many prominent cryptocurrency investors have now turned their focus away from bitcoin and its altcoin cousins and are focusing on other things, like precious metals. In an interview with CNBC, he comments:
“We just polled 4,000 bitcoin investors and their number one investment for 2019 is actually gold, so gold lost out to bitcoin and now it’s going the other way.”
Going the other way, indeed. In late 2017, one bitcoin was worth approximately 18 times that of a single ounce of gold. Many investors sought bitcoin over things like gold and silver and continued to do so even during the first half of 2018 despite prices already starting to slink lower.
In addition, the price prospects for bitcoin throughout 2019 don’t look like they’re going to improve all that much. Anthony Pompliano – founder of capital management firm Morgan Creed Digital Assets – states that while bitcoin isn’t likely to fall below the $3,000 mark, it probably won’t witness any solid gains over the next 12 months. He predicts that bitcoin will probably sit anywhere between $2,500 and $4,500 for most of the year.
At the time of writing, bitcoin is at its lowest point since mid-December of last year. Interestingly, despite the general sense of gloom-and-doom coming from most industry leaders, others aren’t so sure there’s anything to worry about. Mati Greenspan of e-Toro fame states that what’s occurring with bitcoin isn’t out of the ordinary, and “within the realms” of normal fluctuation.
He comments:
“There’s no need for overreaction, here. Bitcoin is continuing to trade within the core area of support between $3,000 and $3,500 within the broader range of $3,000 – $5,000 where it’s been since November 2018.”
Other analysts, such as Tom Lee of Fundstrat fame, are finding a way to blame bitcoin’s behavior on altcoins. He states the cryptocurrency has not been able to separate itself enough from altcoin trends, which is what ultimately caused it to crash so hard in 2018.
He explains:
“It’s a huge disappointment… Last year was a year where the crypto bubble was really adjusting because there were a lot of ICOs and flawed projects. We thought bitcoin would sort of survive that, but it didn’t. It got sold off with the rest of the market.”
Bitcoin Charts by TradingView
Image(s): Shutterstock.com
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Crypto Traders Optimistic About Bitcoin (BTC) Price, Expect Bottom
Bitcoin Price Gets Hammered, Traders Optimistic In the past hours (per the time of writing), the value of cryptocurrencies across the board have fallen dramatically. Bitcoin (BTC) is currently posting a 2.3% loss, falling to the $3,500 price level for the umpteenth time in weeks. Altcoins, interestingly, have had it much worse. XRP and Ethereum (ETH) have seen their values been pared by 4.2% and 5.8% respectively, with the former approaching the all-important $0.30 price level, and the latter collapsing under $110.
The digital assets on the lower rungs of the proverbial crypto ladder have had it worse. After posting stellar gains in anticipation of the BitTorrent token airdrop, Tron (TRX) has stumbled big time, posting a 9% loss in the past 24 hours. The story is much of the same for Stellar Lumens (XLM), Cardano (ADA), Maker (MKR), among a mass of other preeminent crypto assets. Binance Coin has defied the trend, with BNB posting a mere 1% loss as the launch of the upstart’s decentralized exchange nears.
Yet, despite this overall bearish price action, which cynics believe could mark the beginning of crypto’s moves to establish lower lows, some have remained a bit more on the cheery side. Alex Melen, an American entrepreneur with a love for cryptocurrencies, recently took to Twitter to tout some “Saturday optimism” pertaining to Bitcoin. In a short, simple tweet, which was issued in tandem with a similarly as simple chart, Melen noted that the last time that BTC crossed under the 50 and 200 moving average for the four-day chart was when 2014/2015’s bear season finally bottomed.
Some Saturday #cryptocurrency & #bitcoin optimism for you guys.
“Last time the 50 and 200 average crossed on the 4 day chart was at the bottom of last bear market.”
Credit: Alex Mishkin pic.twitter.com/F7SmvVVY4g
— Alex Melen (@amelen) January 28, 2019
Now, the seemingly auspicious occurrence has struck Bitcoin again. And as the age-old adage goes, “history rhymes, but doesn’t repeat.” So, if history really does rhyme, there’s a chance that BTC could find a longer-term bottom in the coming weeks and months, as parallels continued to get drawn between crypto’s previous and current price conditions.
Armin Van Bitcoin, a Canadian BTC diehard that has gained a notable following on Twitter, also expressed optimism. Noting that his call was against all odds, citing bearish forecasts touted by technical analysis experts Tone Vays, Tyler Jenks, Bob Loukas, and Murad Mahmudov (he claims that bottoming at $1,700 is possible), Armin made it clear that he’s bullish.
Price of $BTC is $3,550.
– @ToneVays is bearish
– @LucidInvestment is bearish
– @BobLoukas is bearish
– @MustStopMurad is bearish
All these guys are pros. Professional traders and experts on technical analysis.
I'm not… I'm bullish. #Bitcoin
— A v B (@ArminVanBitcoin) January 28, 2019
The aforementioned two aren’t the only pundits optimistic about the Bitcoin price. Per previous reports from Ethereum World News, Moon Overlord, a pseudonymous crypto trader, claimed that the fact that BTC barely moved off VanEck, CBOE, and SolidX’s ETF withdrawal indicates that a bottom is festering. Moreover, Overlord went on to cite historical analysis to express that “Bitcoin has traditionally started pumping around one year on average before it’s halving date.” And as the next issuance shift is slated to occur during May 2020, BTC could begin trending higher in May.
Crypto Isn’t To Rally… Yet While the aforementioned comments make it seem like a rally is imminent, some aren’t too sure. According to previous reports from this outlet, Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital, a former Snapchat and Facebook staffer, claimed that although BTC likely doesn’t have further to fall (a tad under $3,000 is possible), this market isn’t ready to run just yet.
The decentralist, who has been overtly skeptical of banks, noted that instead of falling further, BTC may begin to range trade, potentially between $2,500 and $4,500 for much of 2019. Pompliano’s comments came weeks after Fred Wilson, a leading venture capitalist, took to his personal blog to remark that the broader crypto market may take much of 2019 to bottom out.
Title Image Courtesy of Descryptive.com Via Flickr The post Crypto Traders Optimistic About Bitcoin (BTC) Price, Expect Bottom appeared first on Ethereum World News.
Bitcoin Falls Under $3,600 Again as Most Top Cryptos See Mild Losses
The top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting discrete losses, with Bitcoin falling under $3,600 again.
Sunday, Jan. 27 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight losses on the day at press time. Bitcoin (BTC) is trading under $3,600 again, according to Coin360 data.
Market visualization from Coin360
At press time, Bitcoin is down nearly 2 percent on the day, trading at around $3,562, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is about $100 lower than $3,655, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ripple (XRP) has lost over 2.5 percent of its value in the 24 hours to press time and is currently trading at around $0.308. On its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $0.325, the price at which XRP started the week.
Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Second-largest altcoin Ethereum (ETH) has also seen its value decrease by nearly 2.5 percent over the last 24 hours. At..
Bitcoin Stays Over $3,600 as Most Top Cryptos See Slight Gains
The top 20 cryptocurrencies report discreet gains, with Bitcoin hovering over $3,600 again.
Saturday, Jan. 26 — most of the top 20 cryptocurrencies are reporting slight gains on the day to press time. Bitcoin (BTC) is hovering over $3,600 again, according to Coin360 data.
Market visualization from Coin360
At press time, Bitcoin is seeing no significant price change on the day, trading at around $3,607, according to CoinMarketCap. Looking at its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $3,745, the price at which Bitcoin started the week.
Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Ripple (XRP) has seen its value undergo little change in the 24 hours to press time, trading at around $0.316, gaining little over half a percent on the day. On its weekly chart, the current price is lower than $0.332, the price at which XRP started the week.
Ripple 7-day price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap
Second-largest altcoin Ethereum (ETH) has also seen its value increase by over half of a pe..
