Cryptocurrency Weekly | 8.5.19
Bitcoin is in the ascendant again, climbing steadily for most of last week before a sharp rise today.
Last Monday the day started with the Bitcoin price at $9,509. It fluctuated slightly over the next few days but didn’t really go anywhere until Wednesday, when it finally broke through the $10,000 barrier and rose to $10,098. On Thursday, a slight fall was followed by a rise to $10,500. It remained more or less steady on Friday, then jumped on Saturday to $10,923. Sunday saw a drop, followed by another climb up to $10,978. This morning saw a massive rise of almost $1,000, as it almost — but not quite — touched the $12,000 mark, making it to $11,964. The Bitcoin price at the time of writing is $11,812.
ADVFN’s Cryptocurrency Tools Gives Up to Date Prices, Data, and Analysis for Bitcoin and Altcoins
Bitcoin Opinions
Even Bitcoin bears think the Bitcoin price will surge because of the imminent halving of the block reward for the cryptocurrency, which will change the rate at which new Bitcoin are mined and thus have a fundamental effect on the circulating supply. Read the story here
A US Senator has admitted that even if the government wanted to ban Bitcoin in the US, it would be all but impossible to do so, because it is a global technology. Find out more here
Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff, who thinks Bitcoin has no intrinsic value and is too volatile to be used as a medium of exchange, admits he is “kicking himself” for not buying the cryptocurrency when he first heard about it — when it was worth about $10. Well, yes, aren’t we all! Read what he said here
Mike Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital, is a long-time crypto bull who thinks all investors should put 2–3% of their portfolios into cryptocurrencies. However, he says that if the price slides below $8,500 again, he will start to get nervous. Read about his comments here
Facebook’s New Cryptocurrency
After all the sound and fury following from Facebook’s first announcement of its new cryptocurrency, now the company has warned that it may never get round to actually launching it! It says in its recently released earnings report that “Libra has drawn significant scrutiny from governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions and we expect that scrutiny to continue.” Find out more here
Facebook is planning software that would add a “wire tap” to its WhatsApp messaging app, breaking the encryption and allowing the company to read messages and pass the content to advertisers — all in the name of checking for anything suspicious. Read the story here
If Facebook does circumvent WhatsApp’s encryption, what does that mean for the security of the Libra cryptocurrency? It could mean Libra becomes a mass-surveillance cryptocurrency. Get the details here
Criticism of Libra continues. Bitcoin bull Lou Kerner says that Facebook is dying, and even Libra can’t save it. Read what he said here
Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban, who has already said that Libra is “dangerous” and “a big mistake,” has now suggested it could be even worse than he thought, because it would allow the company to use its power and leverage to control countries with unstable currencies and governments. Find out more here
Governments and Regulations
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning to investors that there are no regulatory protections when they buy or sell cryptocurrencies, and urges caution for consumers purchasing crypto assets. Read the story here
The FCA’s warning comes with its new guidance that details the requirements and permissions that crypto-related companies need to follow in order to operate within its regulatory frameworks.Find out more here
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is in favour of cryptocurrency. She says that a single global regulatory framework is not the way to go when governing the budding industry, but that the world’s financial regulators should continue communicating about the issue to “create a healthy environment for this new market to grow by sharing information that will smooth cross-border transactions while stamping out fraud and other harmful activity.” Get the details here
Venezuelan Bitcoin trading has hit an all-time high, as the country is predicted to experience the world’s highest inflation rate this year. Last week, nearly 67 billion Venezuelan Bolivars were exchanged for Bitcoin. The IMF projects the inflation rate to hit nearly a million per cent by the end of 2019. Read the story here
Exchange and Bank News
Cryptocurrency wallet company Blockchain has launched a digital currency exchange which aims to deliver “lightning-fast” trades, executing buy and sell orders in “40 to 50 microseconds.” This is “orders of magnitude faster than other market players” like Coinbase and Binance. Read the story here
The judge in Canada who is hearing the QuadrigaCX trial has approved a payout of more than $1.6 million in fees to EY, who are the appointed monitor, and other legal companies. Find out more here
FreeFaucet
FreeFaucet from Online Blockchain plc enables users to claim — for free — a variety of cryptocurrencies (including Bitcoin) multiple times daily from its faucets, which are amongst the highest paying on the net.
Its Geofaucets allow people to claim crypto in real-life at specific locations simply by scanning a QR code. You can also set up your own Geofaucet (which earns 10% of any claims).
Blockchain News
The National Basketball Association has teamed up with the creators of ‘CryptoKitties’ to launch a digital platform for blockchain-based collectibles. Read the story here
The US Department of Defense is exploring the use of blockchain for secure messaging and code that can’t be hacked. DARPA, the department’s research arm, wants to create a “more efficient, robust and secure” network for the US military with a number of uses. Find out more here
Walmart has filed for a patent on a method to create a cryptocoin that runs and records transactions on a blockchain similar to the digital ledger used for Bitcoin, which would overlay with customer purchase history and savings. Read the story here
The watch industry is testing the use of blockchain technology to track products from the start of the manufacturing process throughout its entire life with a QR code on each watch, in a bid to foil counterfeiters. Find out more here
Mastercard is hiring senior-level blockchain positions for crypto “wallet solutions”. Get the details here
Mining News
The Russian Federal Customs Service is investigating a cryptocurrency mining firm that purchased a large number of ASIC mining computers from Bitmain, and did not pay the custom fees. Far-East Trading and Industrial Company imported 6,012 miners and avoided paying around $1.2 million in fees. Get the details here
Talking of Bitmain, the company that is the largest manufacturer of Bitcoin mining machines incurred a net loss of $310 million in 2019’s first quarter. The losses in January and February were the result of the discount sale of its older inventory. The company then made a profit in March. Read the story here
ICO/IPO/Fund-raising News
Mining hardware manufacturer Canaan Creative is planning an IPO in the US, according to a report on a Chinese social media platform. They have apparently filed application documents with the SEC and seek to raise approximately $200 million. Read the story here
Cryptocurrency Crime
An Indian web developer has been arrested for his involvement in one of cryptocurrency’s biggest scams, Bitconnect. Dhaval Mavani was allegedly hired to build the website for the scam, and is believed to have actively promoted it. Read the story here
Those nasty emails that threaten to tell all your friends and colleagues that you have been watching porn unless you cough up a payment of Bitcoin have been increasing, says cybersecurity firm Symantec. The company says it blocked around 289 million of the scam emails during the first five months of this year, but the scammers still bilked victims of over $1 million. Read the story here
Other News
A subsidiary of the Austrian State Printing House has announced it is launching a cold wallet for digital currencies. YOUNIQX Identity’s wallet, called Cis targeted at crypto whales. Read the story here
The IRS has been sending out letters to cryptocurrency investors. Here’s some advice on what to do if you receive one — or if you didn’t receive one but worry that you failed to report your crypto gains. Read it here
Finally, Cryptocurrency ownership in London is growing, with 11% holding crypto. That puts it level with the Swiss capital, research from GlobalWebIndex finds. Find out more here.
The Crypto Trader
News, information, tips and opinions on all things to do with cryptocurrency. Purchase a subscription with Bitcoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum or PlusOneCoin. Click here for more information
Trading Cryptocurrencies: A Beginner’s Guide
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CME Bitcoin Futures
ADVFN (LSE:AFN) is now offering free CME Bitcoin Futures data to its four million registered users.
Anyone visiting the ADVFN site can obtain quotes, view charts and access real-time news for CME Bitcoin Futures here. Users can add these contracts to their portfolios and see bid, offer, highs, lows and current prices along with traded volumes. They can also view them on their monitor pages alongside their other investments.
