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Bitcoin Price Spikes As Crypto Market Finds Momentum

Posted on July 17, 2018July 16, 2018 by Abe Efe

The past few days have been great for bitcoin as big-money investors have started looking into getting involved in crypto. Bitcoin, which is considered to be the mother of all digital currencies has gained close to four percent in the past day. This follows a week of stability in the $250 billion region which has contributed to a solid momentum that the crypto market has begun to demonstrate – in fact, it is possible the bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash have already initiated the rally that is required to propel the market towards and beyond the $300 billion mark.

Bitcoin’s Steady Rise

Starting from earlier yesterday, bitcoin’s rose by over $200 from an initial $6,300 and clocking in at just over $6,600. Considering its current price level, bitcoin is expected to see one of its most significant price upswings in two weeks, gaining close to 4 percent in value.

June was not a particularly great month for bitcoin, with the digital currency dipping below the $6,000 mark not once but twice thus setting a new all-time low record for 2018. However, things seemed to take a turn for the better at the start of July with bitcoin being on a bit of a resurgence that saw it peak at $6,800 on July 8. This upward trend was unfortunately interrupted by a single but significant pullback that saw it lose nearly all of the price gains it had attained during the first few days of July.

After that, bitcoin came dangerously close to falling below the $6,000 mark but this has since been evaded in the past few weeks. Therefore, amidst the steady growth we have seen since July 13, yesterday’s surge may be just what is needed to push its price higher towards the $6,900 resistance level.

Institutional Investors Trouping In

Bitcoin’s price upsurge has partly been attributed to the fact that the crypto space and bitcoin are beginning to become more and more appealing to investors especially due to the emergence of trading futures. Trading futures contracts is considered to be the safer and more advantageous options by traders since it is an efficient asset to hedge the price of bitcoin as it rises and falls.

“We see continued growth both in terms of the average daily volume and open interest,” said Tim McCourt, group global head of equity products and alternative investments at the Chicago-based CME Group. “The volume has steadily increased compared to when it was first launched in December. This is not a one-sided product because we have both supply and demand. Customer demand is strong because the relationship between the futures and cash market have a tight basis spread.”

New Paper Affirms Belief That Bitcoin Will Replace Fiat

Posted on July 10, 2018July 9, 2018 by Abe Efe

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have always had a massive backing which about to grow even bigger thanks to a recent study is carried out by researchers at Imperial College London. According to a paper by the researchers titled “Cryptocurrencies: Overcoming Barriers to Trust and Adoption”, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be subject to massive adoption as means of paying for goods and services in the coming decade.

The study which was sponsored by eToro focused on various barriers to trust and mainstream adoption of crypto within the current setting. It further listed three main criteria that would propel bitcoin and other digital currencies towards mainstream adoption, that is, ability to act as a store of value, a medium of exchange and a unit of account. While cryptocurrencies have already fulfilled one of the criteria as they are used by millions of people around the world as a store of value, the researchers said they will have to overcome setbacks such as regulation and scalability if they are to fulfill the other two criteria.

“The world of cryptocurrency is evolving as rapidly as the considerable collection of confusing terminology that accompanies it. These decentralized technologies have the potential to upend everything we thought we knew about the nature of financial systems and financial assets,” said Professor William Knottenbelt from Imperial College London. “There’s a lot of skepticism over cryptocurrencies and how they could ever become a day-to-day payment system used by the man on the street. In this research, we show that cryptocurrencies have already made significant headway towards fulfilling the criteria for becoming a widely accepted method of payment.”

eToro, the brokerage firm that facilitated the research believes that bitcoin already exhibits all the important characteristics of money and all that is left is advocacy for mainstream use.

“The first ever bitcoin transaction took place a little over eight years ago, and today we are already seeing it begin to meet the requirements of everyday money. Given the speed of adoption, we believe that we could see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the high street within the decade. There are of course barriers to mainstream adoption, but they are far from insurmountable,” Iqbal Gandham, the managing director of EToro UK commented on the research.

Regulation Is the Final Step

Many experts agree that even though bitcoin has already evolved well enough to be considered as a standard means of performing transactions, regulation is the only thing holding it back. If bitcoin and other digital currencies are to become the medium of exchange we are all hoping they will become, then favorable regulations are more than necessary. This is particularly of grave importance since some governments have taken negative stances towards cryptocurrencies especially because they have been used to facilitate criminal activities in the past. With regulation, though, this should not be much of a problem.

Could It Be the End of the Cryptocurrency Era in India?

Posted on July 7, 2018July 7, 2018 by Aaron Decker

This year has not been particularly great for cryptocurrency users in India. This began about three months ago when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) made an announcement that it would no longer deal with or provide services to any business entities or individuals dealing with digital currencies. While some of the cryptocurrency exchanges in the country – like BTCXIndia – chose to comply with the RBI’s new regulations, a decent number of the remaining exchanges as well as the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) chose to file a petition regarding the decree at the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, the petitions did not bear any fruit for the petitioners as, at the end of the hearing, the Supreme Court chose to back the RBI’s stance despite its flaws while at the same time declining to give the exchanges in interim relief. Many proponents of the crypto industry have pointed out that the apex court’s verdict indeed paints a bleak picture of the future of crypto in the country. This sentiment is further amplified by the fact the while the country is seemingly cracking down on the industry, its global counterparts “are currently observing the crypto space more closely and implementing better, more conducive regulation.”

Even though many disagree with the decision that was made by India’s Supreme Court, some stakeholders in the crypto industry still believe that they have a fighting chance – the general idea is that the stance is a temporary one. All the remaining petitions are scheduled to be heard on July 20 and hopefully, more conducive verdicts will be given then.

More Input from the Government May Be Necessary

The government of India has been quite enthusiastic about blockchain technology, the technology that digital currencies are based on, but the same cannot be said when it comes to where they stand as far as the actual digital currencies go. Now, it seems that one of the ways of securing the crypto industry in India would be to rally for clarity in government policy relating to cryptocurrencies.

“By laying a patchwork of laws without an overarching framework or policy, the crypto-industry today is in a uniquely uncomfortable position where it is taxed without being accorded legitimacy as an industry by the parliament. One would hope that the government attempts to take measures to accord legitimacy by legislation that attempts to balance its need for transparency, with the inherent anonymity associated with cryptocurrency trading,” Akash Karmakar, an expert from Veritas Legal said to Entrepreneur India.

Mr. Karmakar called for the government to formulate a policy that “could set out overarching principles accordingly giving legitimacy to the industry, rather than legislating for problems as they occur, and have the law trail the technology.”

There are many other options that cryptocurrency investors can use to trade but it is advisable not to panic yet. Perhaps all that is needed is for some patience as the industry recovers from this setback.

Two Major Russian Banks Piloting Bitcoin & Crypto Portfolios

Posted on June 19, 2018June 18, 2018 by Aaron Decker

According to June 15 Kommersant newspaper report, two of the largest banks in Russia are piloting cryptocurrency portfolios for their private clients and retail investors. The initiative that will be conducted under the watch if the Bank of Russia will involve the Alfa Bank and Sberbank, both of which will be offering the aforementioned private clients shares in a special fund that will be trading the six most popular digital currencies on some of the major cryptocurrency exchanges including Bitstamp and Kraken.

“We’d like to offer our clients an absolutely transparent way to invest in digital assets with a full compliance with regulations that will let them invest in the product they are interested in Russia,” Sberbank Private Banking deputy chair Ana Ivanchuk said.

Sberbank is the main state-owned bank, and thus, it is the Russian government’s primary employee paycheck processor. Alfa Bank, on the other hand, is the country’s largest private bank. Both plan to venture into cryptocurrency trading with the help of AddCapital investment fund, Group IB, and the National Settlement Depository. Add Capital is one of the entities that will be immensely helpful to the venture – the investment fund previously participated in the recent pre-sale of Telegram tokens and in this case, it will be in charge of the technical solutions for the banks’ project.

“Digital financial assets will sooner or later become a large part of the global economy and cannot be ignored. Our goal is to speed-up the recognition of the digital assets as legitimate financial assets as soon as possible,” the manager of Alfa Bank’s private banking branch, Anton Rakhmanov pointed out.

Among the six most popular cryptocurrencies that will be offered are Ethereum, bitcoin cash, Litecoin, and bitcoin. The remaining digital currencies will be confirmed at a later date. However, in a year or so, the combination of digital currencies will be revised and their proportions balanced by trading algorithms at least four times. These trading algorithms will be self-adapting depending on prevailing market situations.

According to AddCapital investment fund’s chief executive officer, Alexey Prokofyev, the investment process will allow investors to purchase a share of the fund. These shares are liquid and the clients can, therefore, send them for fiat currencies any time.

The custodian of this arrangement will be the National Settlement Depository, an entity which is part of the Moscow Exchange Group – the portfolio process will take about 45 days for testing but the specific dates for this are yet to be disclosed.

The degree of willingness that these two banks have shown is certainly bound to pilot cryptocurrency investments products to greater heights. We can now expect more and more institutional investors and financial institutions to venture into the cryptocurrency space.

Apple Bans Cryptocurrency Mining on iPhones and iPads

Posted on June 12, 2018June 11, 2018 by Aaron Decker

During Apple’s recent Worldwide Developer Conference, the company updated some of the cryptocurrency app rules for its App Store. First spotted by Apple Insider on Monday, the new rules are a tad bit stricter and will apply to digital currency wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges as well as platforms that facilitate Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

The new App Store guidelines restrict apps from mining cryptocurrencies unless the process is performed off-device. Apparently, the motivation behind this new policy is the concern that cryptocurrency mining contributes to much more battery drain in mobile devices.

To put this into perspective, the new guidelines detail that any cryptocurrency-related applications in the App Store must adhere to a rather strict set of guidelines that encompasses the cryptocurrency wallets, exchanges, ICOs and cloud mining platforms.

“Apps, including any third-party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining unless the processing is performed off device (e.g. cloud-based mining). Wallet Apps may facilitate virtual currency storage, provided they are offered by developers enrolled as an organization,” goes Apple’s revised rules. “Exchange Apps may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered by the exchange itself.”
“Initial Coin Offering Apps facilitating Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptocurrency futures trading, and other crypto-securities or quasi-securities trading must come from established banks, securities firms, futures commission merchants (FCM), or other approved financial institutions and must comply with all applicable law.”

Unfortunately, there a number of apps in the App Store that are certainly going to feel the pinch of the new policy as the guidelines further detail that even applications that offer digital currencies for the completion of various tasks are no longer allowed to do so.

“Cryptocurrency apps may not offer currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other apps, encouraging other users to download, posting to social networks, etc.,” the fifth and last revised rule reads.

Is This a Trend?

It definitely feels likes one. Apple’s App Store has never been particularly cryptocurrency friendly and this has been evident from the stricter rules that are not found in other application marketplaces such as Google Play. In 2014, the App Store kicked out all Bitcoin-related applications before following through in 2016 when they asked all the companies with apps on the marketplace to remove digital assets such as Dash of from their apps.

Apple’s App Store is one of the most popular application marketplaces in the world. It boasts of over 283,000 games and a whopping 2.3 million non-gaming apps. Considering the large number of cryptocurrency applications that exist today, the new policy, in conjunction with other anti-crypto efforts, is going to have a huge impact on how things play out from here on out.

Slotland Launches New $1,000,000 Crypto-Only Online Casino

Posted on June 9, 2018June 9, 2018 by Aaron Decker

Renowned online casino business, Slotland Entertainment S.A. has recently launched CryptoSlots.com, its new cryptocurrency-only online casino which also happens to feature a million-dollar jackpot game as well as a neat selection of 21 unique slots and video poker games. The new online casino currently supports bitcoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash transactions – the company has however promised that it will add support for more digital currencies in the near future.

How It Works

When players deposit their cryptocurrencies on to the CryptoSlots.com platform, their deposits are automatically converted to USD for gameplay. This is just to ensure uniformity since different customers will make deposits in different digital currencies. Also, just like the deposits, making withdrawals from the platform is very easy and quite fast, especially if you are using Bitcoin Cash – this does not mean all the other cryptocurrencies fall short in this regard. The platform is updated and improved on a rolling basis and this means that the service is always optimal regardless of the digital currency you choose to deal with.

“In our other casinos, we’ve seen a huge increase in players opting to play in cryptocurrencies to avoid banking delays and complications,” said Slotland’s General Manager, Michael Hilary. “CryptoSlots is designed to make it easy for players to play in crypto, but still bet in USD. Crypto also allows for increased player anonymity since all that’s required is an email address and crypto wallet.”

To get started, a player needs to sign up first, a process that is very quick and easy as the player only needs to provide an email address. Furthermore, you can do this from a wide range of devices including smartphones, computers, and tablets.

The Perks

As mentioned earlier, CryptoSlots launched with 21 unique games that include some of the most popular slots, video poker, and the exclusive Jackpot Trigger – the exclusive Jackpot Trigger is the highlight of the launch thanks to its huge prize. However, if you are looking to win big from the Jackpot Trigger then it is worth noting that the game is played exclusively with tokens collected from playing any of the other CryptoSlots games.

Slotland Entertainment S.A. intends to add many more games from WinADayCasino.eu and Slotland.eu in the near future. Still, all the existing games are provably fair, that is, the platform relies on the latest, top-notch technology to test the randomness of all the game results.

Last, but not least, CryptoSlots also offers some of the most generous Welcome Bonuses to new players on their first 3 deposits which is a huge boost to their starting balance. There are also weekly cashback bonuses that will refund 3 percent of net losses.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Venturing into the Cryptocurrency Space

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Aaron Decker

In September last year, JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon referred to bitcoin as a “stupid” and “dangerous” thing and that he would fire in a second anyone caught selling or buying the decentralized digital currency. Like many of his prominent counterparts in the global finance industry, his sentiments about crypto carried a lot of weight. The perceived threat that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies pose to the financial world has been a knee jack reaction that can mostly be attributed to the rapid growth and subsequent widespread adoption of crypto.

However, Dimon’s stance appears to have changed. JPMorgan is now looking into the applications of cryptocurrencies despite their purported threat to the financial industry’s business model. The move begun with a high-level reshuffling that involved the shifting of Oliver Harris to a cryptocurrency strategy position within the investment bank – Oliver Harris is a former Fintech and In-Residence initiative head. In his new role, Harris will be looking into the risks and rewards that are associated with digital assets and blockchain technology.

Just recently, Goldman Sachs got into crypto by setting up a bitcoin trading desk and hiring Justin Schmidt, a trader specializing in exchanging cryptocurrencies. To many, this seems to be the motivation behind JPMorgan’s surprising change of heart, especially when putting into consideration its CEO’s harsh remarks towards bitcoin just a few months ago.

“The Bitcoin to me was always what the governments are gonna feel about Bitcoin as it gets really big, and I just have a different opinion than other people. I’m not interested that much in the subject at all. The blockchain is real. You can have crypto yen and dollars and stuff like that. ICO’s you have to look at individually,” Jamie Dimon recanted his previous statements during an interview with Fox in January 2018.

JPMorgan ranks as the world’s 10th largest financial services company by revenue which makes it one of the financial industry’s biggest names alongside the likes of Goldman Sachs. As such, their entry into crypto will certainly have a profound avalanche effect as far as the adoption of crypto among Wall Street companies goes.

Huawei to Offer BTC.com Bitcoin Wallets to Users in China

Posted on May 12, 2018May 12, 2018 by Aaron Decker

According to a report by Bloomberg, Huawei, the third largest phone maker in the world will be installing bitcoin wallets on its phones in a bid to tap China’s brisling cryptocurrency market. Regardless of the stringent rules imposed by the Chinese government to crack down on crypto trading and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), the cryptocurrency market continues to thrive since owning the digital currencies has not been deemed illegal.

The bitcoin wallet will debut on Huawei’s newly launched app store known as the Huawei AppGallery – it will, however, come pre-installed in all the new smartphones that the company will release. It is anticipated bitcoin wallet app will have the most impact in China where Huawei happens to be the leading smartphone seller.

People in China have little to no access to apps from other parts of the world because the country’s government has blocked access to the Google Play Store and parts of Apple’s App Store, a move that has limited access to a vast array of crypto-related services. Well, not anymore.

“BTC.com is democratizing Bitcoin by breaking down barriers to entry and ensuring new users can access Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash in a simple, secure and trusted environment,” said Alejandro de la Torre, VP of Business Operations at BTC.com. “China is almost a ‘cashless economy’ today, accounting for almost 62% of all global mobile transactions. This dwarfs the estimated $49.3 billion in total mobile payment transactions in the United States in 2017, which highlights the amazing opportunity cryptocurrencies have in replacing fiat currency as the currency of choice for mobile payments. Huawei is leading the way in terms of adoption of blockchain technologies, and we’re excited to bring BTC.com to Huawei’s user base for the first time.”

BTC.com is a platform that allows users to safely store their private keys thus granting them full control of their cryptocurrencies. A huge chunk of the world’s population uses mobile devices to access the internet, something that has propelled the popularity of cryptocurrencies and mobile payment services.

In China, for instance, 95 percent of the internet users access online services on mobile smartphones. This new partnership between Huawei and BTC.com is a well-timed move that will get more internet and crypto users on board. The bitcoin wallet both companies will be bringing to the users will allow users to easily and securely send and receive Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

“Cryptocurrencies have recently expanded the human understanding of digital economy at a large scale. From our leadership position in China, the tip of the spear of mobile payments, we expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future. That is the reason why Huawei selected BTC.com as our recommended quality app to manage digital currencies. In addition to being simple and secure to use, BTC.com offers an exclusive reward to all AppGallery users by gifting a starting amount of cryptocurrency,” Dr. Jaime Gonzalo, VP of Huawei Mobile Services said about the partnership.

Crypto Gambling Watch Dog Ramps up Its Operations

Posted on May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 by Abe Efe

It has been a remarkable past few months for cryptocurrencies as they have rapidly grown to be quite popular in nearly all corners of the globe. In essence, this can be likened to the present day gold-rush and no one wants to be left behind. One of the areas where crypto has seen heavy adoption and usage is the gambling industry.

According to a statistical report, since 2014 approximately 4.0 million BTC has been placed on bets that equate to about $37 billion. This, when compared to the global statistics, is a just a fraction of what the cryptocurrency gambling industry is capable of. Clearly, the gambling industry is the winner here.

However, one of the most pressing issues when it comes to gambling is regulation which also extends to the crypto gambling space as well. That is where leading crypto gambling affiliate site Gamble.io comes in. It serves as a regulator that screens and reviews cryptocurrency-oriented gambling services and site so as to ensure they are safe and trustworthy to play on.

A month ago, the watchdog site completed its review of a bitcoin-based sports betting site known as Cloudbet – the review not only confirmed that Cloudbet’s solid reputation is not a fluke but also pointed out some of the aspects that needed to be improved. This review was a clear indication of how serious Gamble.io is about ensuring that gambling in crypto is safe for everyone.

Gamble.io has recently laid down its regulations on another crypto gambling operator known as BitStarz which also happens to be known for being a reputable gambling operation. Gamble.io has put BitStarz on its casino of the month spot thanks to the operator’s unique approach to merging the use of both fiat currency and crypto. The full review also points out some of BitStarz’s best attributes that include great overall play selection, reliability as well as mobile compatibility.

“Due to the fairly large number of new players in the game, we were not able to conduct our studies as quickly as we had hoped. Our reviews and studies consist of multiple phases from depositing, game selection, customer service and anything else worth knowing for a crypto player. For example, testing the various games from different casinos took a little longer than expected. However, now we’ve completed the task and are proud to present our findings. We continue to be on the lookout for new crypto casinos,” said Matt Beardsley, the Gamble.io spokesperson.

Over 600 Bitcoin Users File Lawsuit Against Bitcoin.com

Posted on April 28, 2018May 16, 2018 by Aaron Decker

Bitcoin.com is without a doubt one of the most prized domains in the cryptocurrency space especially because it is the go-to website for anyone who is interested in learning about bitcoin. The first result that people get when they google “buy bitcoin” is buy.bitcoin.com. On clicking the link, the users are then navigated to a page with two logos which at first glance are quite similar – one logo shows the user the option to buy Bitcoin Cash while the other is for Bitcoin Core. Bicoin.com is the only site that uses the Bitcoin Core moniker for bitcoin (BTC) and this is where the problem is.

In just two days, a “community movement” has amassed over 600 members in an effort to pursue legal action against Bitcoin.com and Roger Ver, its owner and CEO. The movement is accusing the website and its owner for deliberately misleading new cryptocurrency users into buying Bitcoin Cash (BCH) instead of regular bitcoin (BTC).

So far, the group has not disclosed the law firm they have contacted to help with the lawsuit but they did reveal that it is based in St. Kitts, a Caribbean island where, apparently, the Bitcoin.com is also registered. Already the movement has seen to the creation of an official website called bitcoincomlawsuit.info which launched on Friday. People who have complaints or have lost money from Bitcoin.com can submit their evidence and be part of the lawsuit in the newly launched website.

“A group of 600+ participants from influential industry leaders to community volunteers & contributors who devote to protect users from fraudulent businesses and help victims recover lost funds,” reads the website’s description.

The Takeaway

One thing that is clear as far as this lawsuit and other associated issues go is the fact that determining the digital currency that can hold the title of ‘Bitcoin’ is more challenging than expected. Experts will, of course, see it as an obvious thing but it will certainly be harder for newcomers to separate what is real and what is not.

Bitcoin Cash’s has been quite successful, to say the least – despite not being the behemoth that bitcoin is, the digital currency that was forked from bitcoin itself has had a huge impact on the cryptocurrency community as a whole. Nonetheless, there is only one bitcoin and that is the currency with the highest market cap as well as the most overall community and mainstream support. So, while it is possible, the idea that an altcoin like Bitcoin Cash will dethrone bitcoin is an over-ambitious one.

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