Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 30 – Bitcoin Creates a New All-Time High; XRP Recovers Slightly

The cryptocurrency sector is stabilizing after Bitcoin’s failed push towards the upside, which in fact created a new all-time high, but just for a moment. Bitcoin is currently trading for $27,848, representing an increase of 3.41% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1.22% on the day, while XRP gained 5.71% of its value.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

EveryCoin gained 371.17% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Wownero’s 223.09% and Gala’s 167.69% gain. On the other hand, PENTA lost 98.72%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by AS Roma Fan Token’s loss of 64.83% and Reef’s loss of 64.46%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up almost a whole percent since our last report, with its value currently being 70.1%. This value represents a 0.9% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $737.31billion. This represents an $24.83 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has broken its slight descending consolidation phase by bouncing off of the $26,000 level and pushing towards its all-time high level. While the level got barely broken and Bitcoin set a new all-time high, the bulls were not able to push past the resistance zone with confidence due to the lack of volume and buying pressure.

As a consequence of this, Bitcoin dipped to $27,600 levels, where it is consolidating at the moment. Traders should pay attention to volume movements, as these are the best indication of whether the move will actually break a support/resistance level at the moment.

If Bitcoin fails to break the all-time high level in the short future, we can expect a retracement that could reach the $23,000 zone.

 

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on the 4-hour and weekly time-frames are completely bullish, while the daily and monthly ones still contain some form of neutrality or bearishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (61.24)
  • Volume is slightly above average

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $28,391                                 1: $25,512

2: $29,000                                 2: $24,696

3: $30,000                                  3: $24,315

Ethereum

Ethereum has spent the whole day trading right below its immediate resistance level of $747. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap tried to break above it twice, but failed both times. Ether is currently descending in price as a consequence of the failed bull attempts which created a double top.

Ethereum traders have to pay attention to Bitcoin’s movements, as its movement (either up or down) will most likely cause Ether’s next move.

ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals on every time-frame are tilted towards the bull-side. However, they all contain slight neutrality or bearishness alongside the overall tilt towards the buy-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (58.07)
  • Volume is trading on above-average levels

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $747                                     1: $675

2: $800                                     2: $653

3: $900                                      3: $632

Ripple

XRP has spent the day trying to stabilize its price after days of constant price dips. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap bounced off of the $0.173 level, and propelled itself towards the next zone, sitting at $0.214.

XRP is currently fighting for the $0.214 level, and if no new news (positive or negative) pop out, its short-term price will most likely depend on whether it manages to stay above the $0.214 level or fall below it.

XRP/USD 1-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames are tilted towards the sell-side, with only the 4-hour and monthly overviews showing some form of neutrality.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):

  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its bottom and middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (37.52)
  • Volume has spiked to above-average levels

Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.25                                    1: $0.214

2: $0.30                                     2: $0.14

3: $0.358

 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

How Defi will Help To Bank The Unbanked

The statics couldn’t paint a grimmer picture. According to the World Bank’s findex report of 2017, up to 1.7 Billion people are either unbanked or underbanked. They, for the most part, cannot access financial services. Where they do, it is inadequate for their needs. As access to financial services impacts poverty reduction, this statistic makes for sad reading. We need urgent interventions to remedy the situation.

So how then do we increase this access? The financial space continues to pursue interventions that’ll expand the reach of its services. One such intervention is Decentralized finance (Defi), a  product that promises to disrupt the financial landscape. In this article, we discuss the role of Defi in enhancing financial inclusion. First off, though, a look at the global state of the unbanked.

Banking the Unbanked is more than a third world issue

Banking the unbanked is a problem for the LDCs, right? Well, not exactly. It is easy to assume that underdevelopment confines it to developing nations. Statistics do, however, tell a different story. Ironical as it sounds, a significant population in the developed world suffers the same problem. In the US, for instance, up to 25% of its households do not have access to banking fàcilities. To effectively tackle the issue, there’s a need for a broader perspective.

How is Defi a Solution to the Challenges of Realising Financial Inclusion?

Defi exploits gaps in the traditional financial system. Chiefly it seems to expand access to financial services. It does so in the following ways.

i) Eliminates the Need for Brick and Mortar Facilities

Despite the adoption of tech, legacy financial institutions still depend on brick and mortar premises. Setting up a physical branch network is expensive. Banks may, therefore, not feel compelled to establish these everywhere.

Furthermore, some regions are far-flung. Banks might, therefore, deem it unprofitable to invest in them. These reasons and others prevent many from enjoying financial services. Defi could be the remedy for such.

Digitalization of Transactions Expands Access

As stated earlier, Defi dispenses off with the need for physical premises. It runs on the Blockchain. Consequently, it digitalizes every financial function. 

This way, it expands financial services to the remotest of places. Hence it allows the hitherto unserved segments the enjoyment of these services.

A good Internet Connection is all One Needs

A reliable internet connection is all one requires to get set. Using devices such as phones, customers can:

  • Open accounts
  • Deposit and withdraw funds from their accounts
  • Make payments for goods and services
  • Make P2P funds transfers

Cross-segment Solutions

There are solutions for every income segment. High-end customers may use in-phone apps, offline codes, and QR codes to transact. The lower segments can use SMS.

ii) Lowers the transaction Costs

High transaction costs discourage entry into the financial sector. The decentralization of finance allows P2P trading. Deploying dApps and smart contracts eliminate intermediaries. These attract transaction fees per transaction. Their removal significantly lowers or eliminates costs. As such, it spurs demand and use of financial services.

iii) Enhances Access to Credit Through P2P lending and Non-collateralized loans

Many of the Unbanked find it difficult to attract credit. Normally, banks consider them a high-risk refusing to lend them. They require them to put up collateral that is often not available. Their perceived high-risk profile means that the banks price their loans higher than their peers.

Defi programs provide ways out for them. They incorporate crowdfunding and P2P lending.  Anyone can easily get credit in these ways. 

Additionally, repayment rates are affordable. Again, lending proceeds regardless of one’s credit score

iv) Allows the Entry of Undocumented Person’s

Banks require documentation for one to open an account. These may not be readily available for one reason or another. Inability to produce them leads to denial of service.

Defi, on the other hand, insists on the autonomy and privacy of users. As such, they have relaxed KYC requirements. This is in keeping with the true nature of distributed ledger technologies. Less stringent KYC requirements enable a higher uptake of financial services.

v) Round The Clock Transactions

Using the Blockchain, one can transact at any time from anywhere. You needn’t worry that the bank is closed for the day, weekend, or holiday. Even with the incorporation of tech, legacy financial institutions run by the workweek and hours. Certain transactions cannot go on past the work hours or days. This feature is a drawback, especially in emergency cases. Defi provides customers with the convenience to transact at the times of their choice.

vi) Interoperability of Functions

Defi allows cross-platform convergence. Through Cross-chain composability, two or more Blockchains can communicate with each other. The convergence enables seamless transfer of digital assets between them. 

Significance of Cross-chain Composability

Cross-chain composability is significant in that:

  • Users needn’t migrate from their networks to other compatible one’s to execute transactions
  • It cuts down on transaction costs
  • Enables near-instant transfers

On the flip side, banks tend to have differentiated products. Often this differentiation prevents convergence. It is, at times, impossible to carry out certain transactions across networks. Even when this is possible, the process is lengthy and costly.

Final Thoughts

The financial sector evolves rapidly. Players within the space continue to innovate to improve customer experiences. Some of these inventions aim at easing the accessibility of services offered. That said, the current financial systems are inadequate. To date, a significant portion of the global population remains unserved. Considering the correlation between poverty reduction and financial access, this reality is telling. We need solutions to expanding financial inclusion, and on this score, Decentralized finance offers much promise. Increased adoption will radically alter the financial landscape bringing financial services to more people.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Who Is the True Creator of Bitcoin?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the known and recognized creator of Bitcoin. And even if we don’t know who Satoshi Nakamoto is or was, we do know what he has done. He or she (or they) invented the bitcoin protocol and published it in a scientific paper through the Cryptography Mailing List in October 2008.

No one knows his or her identity, which makes this all the more mysterious. We will refer to Satoshi as “he” going forward in this article. Satoshi’s identity is a topic that always arouses curiosity. It is for this reason that we publish this article echoing the information that exists to date. In 2009 he published the first version of the bitcoin client and participated with others in the project until his presence began to dilute towards the end of 2010.

He worked with others at first although he took great care not to make personal information visible and the last one he knew of him/her was in the spring of 2011 when he said that “he was to other things”.

But it’s Japanese, isn’t it?

“Satoshi” means “clear, witty, wise thinking”.

“Naka” can mean “mean, relationship”.

“Moto” can mean “origin or creation”.

We can’t know for sure if he was Japanese or not, not even his gender, age, or any other data. We might even be talking about a group of people, instead of a single individual.

Does anyone know who Nakamoto is?

No, but the conclusions people draw when they start to investigate can lead to even more intriguing information. Joshua Davis of the New Yorker believes that Satoshi Nakamoto is Michael Clear, a cryptography student at Trinity College in Dublin.

He drew this conclusion after analyzing 80,000 words from Nakamoto’s writings and looking for grammatical coincidences. He also suspected Finnish sociologist, economist, and video game developer Vili Lehdonvirta. Both have denied being the creators of bitcoin, making it public to Michael Clear at the 2013 Web Summit.

Fast Company’s Adam Penenberg contradicted that information by claiming that Nakamoto was three people:

“Neal King, Vladimir Oksman and Charles Bry”.

He came to this conclusion by writing loose phrases from Nakamoto’s scientific article on Google to see if they were used anywhere else. One of them, “computationally impractical to reverse”, turned out to be part of a patent application filed by these three people, regarding a system to update and distribute encryption keys.

“… the outputs of which are fixed-size strings that are computationally 

impractical to reverse-map. In this manner, the shared secret …”

The bitcoin.org domain originally used to publish the scientific paper created by Satoshi had been registered three days before the patent request.

It was registered in Finland and one of the patent authors had traveled there six months before the domain was registered.

All of those “involved” deny it.

In any case, when the bitcoin.org domain was registered on August 18, 2008, he/she who registered it used a Japanese anonymous registration service and the hosting used a Japanese ISP. The registration of the site was then transferred to Finland on 18 May 2011.

It is curious that the domain with extension “.com” (usually the most desired, bitcoin.com) was registered on January 4, 2008… Maybe it’s just chance. Currently, Bitcoin.com is owned by Roger Ver.

Others think it was Martii Malmi, a developer from Finland who has been involved in bitcoin development from the start, creating its user interface.

In May 2013, internet pioneer Ted Nelson added more fuel to the fire by stating that Satoshi could be Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki, although he admits that the evidence is circumstantial at best.

In February 2014, Leah McGrath Goodman of Newsweek claimed to have found the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Dorian S Nakamoto has since denied knowing anything about Bitcoin, coming to hire a lawyer and making an official statement.

Hal Finney, Michael Weber, Wei Dai, and other developers are among the names that occasionally come to light in media reports and discussions in online forums as potential “Satoshis”.

A group of forensic linguists from Aston University believes that the real creator is retired law professor Nick Szabo, based on the analysis of the scientific article on bitcoin.

Dominic Frisby, a comedian, and writer also suggests that Szabo is the strongest candidate to be Satoshi in his book “Bitcoin: The Future of Money”.

His detailed analysis takes into account the linguistic factors of what Satoshi wrote as well as his knowledge of C++ and his likely birthday date.

To a large extent, all of these potential Satoshi candidates have insisted that they are not the creators of bitcoin.

Michael Weber hasn’t answered yet.

Some even think that Bitcoin has been the creation of 4 leading technology companies. This is because the name of Satoshi Nakamoto carries within it clues to them: SAmsung, TOSHIba, NAKAmichi, and MOTOrola.

Jed McCaleb, a lover of Japanese culture living there who created Mt. Gox and co-founded Ripple and later Stellar, has also been targeted.

Another theory suggests that scientists Donal O’Mahony and Michael Peirce are Satoshi Nakamoto, based on a scientific paper of which they are authors and which deals with virtual payments together with Hitesh Tewari, based on a book they published together. O’Mahony and Tewari also worked at Trinity College, that is, at the same site as Michael Clear.

Israelis Dorit Ron and Adi Shamir of the Weizmann Institute recanted allegations made in an article suggesting a link between Satoshi and Silk Road, the black market dismantled by the FBI in October 2013. They suggested a link between an address that supposedly belonged to Satoshi and the site.

Security investigator Dustin D. Trammel owned the address and was said to be Satoshi. Either way, others think he wasn’t even Japanese. His English, in the texts he wrote, shows typical idiomatic nuances of a native English.

What do we know about him?

One thing we know, based on interviews with people who have worked with him/her in the early stages of bitcoin development is that their system is very well thought out. His coding skills were unconventional, according to developer Jeff Garzik, as he did not apply the same tests on the code you would expect from a classic computer engineer.

How many bitcoins could he have?

In an analysis made by Sergio Lerner, an authority in the world of Bitcoin and cryptography, it was suggested that Satoshi mined most of the first blocks of the network and that he could have a fortune of about a million bitcoins.

What is he doing now?

No one knows what Satoshi is currently involved in. But in one of the last emails he sent to a developer, dated April 23, 2011, he said, “I’ve moved on to other things. He’s in good hands with Gavin and the rest.”

Does he work for the government?

Although there are rumors that Satoshi may work for one of the “three-letter” intelligence agencies (CIA, FBI, etc.), or maybe even some shadow organization looking for a common currency to dominate the planet, developer Jeff Garzik makes it clear:

“Satoshi published an open-source system so that no one needed to know who he was or what knowledge he had. Open-source software makes it impossible to hide secrets. Source code speaks for itself.”

In fact, he was smart to use a pseudonym. This, then, forces people to focus on the technology itself rather than the person behind it.

Today, Bitcoin is much bigger than the figure of Satoshi Nakamoto. It doesn’t matter who it is for many anymore. Its initial code has been improved thanks to the effort of some of the best brains on the planet working collaboratively. The work has been done in a totally altruistic way daily making this technology better and better.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 29 – XRP Trading Suspended by Coinbase and OKEx, Causing a 22% Price Dip

The cryptocurrency sector had is currently in a consolidation phase as Bitcoin fell below $27,000. Bitcoin is currently trading for $26,624, representing a decrease of 1.13% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 2.56% on the day, while XRP had another major dip, losing 19.42% of its value.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Ethereum Lightning gained 1097.36% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by N3RD Finance’s 94.18% and Matrix AI Network’s 86.08% gain. On the other hand, COVER Protocol lost 97.97%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Encryptgen’s loss of 91.18% and Mining Core Coin’s loss of 69.41%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 69.2%. This value represents a 0.1% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $712.73 billion. This represents an $8.45 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Ever since it hit the $28,391 all-time high, Bitcoin has been trading in a sideways manner. Its price is currently within a large channel, bound by $25,512 to the downside and the aforementioned all-time high to the upside.

The descending volume alongside sideways trading was never a long-term occurrence with Bitcoin, but rather good indicators of a new explosive move ahead.

Bitcoin traders should be mindful of any volume spikes when trading, and should look for smaller time-frame Fib retracements if they want to be more precise with setting their support and resistance levels.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on both short-term and long-term time-frames are completely bullish and show close to no signs of neutrality or bearishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (55.72)
  • Volume is slightly above average, but descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $28,391                                 1: $25,512

2: $29,000                                 2: $24,696

3: $30,000                                  3: $24,315

Ethereum

Ethereum’s move towards the upside ended at $747, prompting a pullback. However, while many analysts believed that Ether would not keep its price above $700, that’s exactly what happened.

Ethereum’s signature trading move has occurred once again, with that move being: pushing up, then pulling back, and breaking the 21-hour moving average to the downside, only to find support at the 50-hour moving average and push back up. Knowing how Ethereum moves alongside watching Bitcoin’s moves is one of the safest ways to trade cryptocurrencies at the moment, as the moves have pre-determined stop-losses and targets.


ETH/USD 1-hour Chart

Ethereum’s shorter time-frames are completely bullish and show no signs of neutrality or bearishness, while its longer-time frames have some neutrality present alongside the overall bullishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (59.39)
  • Volume is trading on above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $747                                     1: $675

2: $800                                     2: $653 

3: $900                                      3: $632

Ripple

XRP has experienced another extremely bad day, as its price dropped more than 22% on the day. The move came as a result of two major exchanges, OKEx and Coinbase, dropping support for XRP due to the pending lawsuit against its company, Ripple, as well as Ripple’s executives.

Trading XRP is extremely risky at the moment due to price fluctuations that are a result of news rather than technical formations.

XRP/USD 1-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames are tilted towards the sell-side, with all of them showing slight signs of neutrality.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (28.88)
  • Volume has spiked to above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.25                                    1: $0.214

2: $0.30                                     2: $0.14

3: $0.358 

Categories
Crypto Videos

WordPress adds official Ethereum ad Plugin – Users Stand To Gain More Than Google Adsense!


WordPress adds official Ethereum ad plugin.

WordPress’s new crypto plugin will enable publishers that use this content management system to receive ad earnings directly into their Ether wallets, according to a Dec 10 plugin description that got posted on the WordPress’ official website.

The plugin known as “EthereumAds” will enable content publishers to auction their advertisement space for ETH using smart contracts. “After publishers insert our widget, their ad space is automatically openly auctioned off by using smart contract every 14 days to the highest bidder,” the official plugin description reads.

According to the EthereumAds website, the newly-announced WordPress plugin plans on competing with Google AdSense, allowing the publishers that use it to earn ETH through banner ads. EthereumAds emphasizes that it will provide publishers with lower commissions, stating: “Google Adsense only pays its publishers 68% of their total ad earnings. We, on the other hand, will pay them a whopping 90%.” This should provide a considerable increase in ad revenue that publishers get for renting their website space for ads.

The new ad plugin can be used to monetize any form and type of content built on WordPress, including websites, blogs, and billboards. They also officially stated that they are limiting publishers to crypto-related content.

As EthereumAds intends to enter the space ruled by a major ad monetization platform such as Google AdSense, it remains yet to be seen how both Google Adsense and other traditional ad platforms deal with the new crypto rival.

WordPress’s introduction of EthereumAds came at a great time, as the world’s largest ad monetization platform, Google Adsense, has had some issues with cryptocurrencies in the past. In April 2020, it has been reported that Google AdSense was running fraudulent cryptocurrency ads while prohibiting some legitimate cryptocurrency firms from using its services. Google Ads also previously blacklisted keywords mentioning Ethereum in Jan 2019, reports say.

Categories
Crypto Videos

Sweden Leading the Way in the CBDC Sector – The First Country To Go Fully Digital?


Sweden Leading the Way in the CBDC

The Swedish government is currently progressing with its central bank digital currency by launching a formal review of a potential digital transformation to the digital currency.

According to a Bloomberg report published Dec 11, the review will explore the feasibility of moving the complete country’s payments infrastructure to a digital currency. Sweden features one of the most cashless economies in the world.

Per Bolund, financial markets minister of Sweden, reportedly said that the government expects to finish its digital currency review by the end of Nov 2022. Anna Kinberg Batra, a former chairwoman of the finance committee at Sweden’s central bank, would lead the initiative.

Bolund emphasized that ensuring that the digital payments system in Sweden functions in a safe way and is “available to everybody” is crucial. “Depending on how a CBDC is designed and which technologies are being used, it can have large consequences for the financial system as a whole,” the minister said.

Sweden has emerged as one of the leaders in the CBDC technology sector, announcing a pilot platform for its own digital currency known as e-krona in late 2019. In order to properly build the platform, Sweden’s central bank partnered with Accenture, a professional services company coming from Ireland. Riksbank launched its first e-krona CBDC pilots in February, claiming that the digital currency testing will be in operation until Feb 2021.

Sector

In Oct, Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves expressed complete confidence that an e-krona CBDC should be issued by the central bank and fully recognized as legal tender. Last year, Ingves stated that Sweden’s central bank could not be the only institution that decides on the future of an e-krona implementation:

“Considering how important this issue is to the economy, the Riksbank cannot take this decision on its own. The decision on whether the e-krona should be introduced to the public is a decision that must have substantial political support.”

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 28 – Ethereum Breaks $700; Bitcoin at $30k?

The cryptocurrency sector had an incredible weekend as Bitcoin skyrocketed towards $28,000. Bitcoin is currently trading for $27,031, representing a decrease of 2.91% compared to yesterday’s value, but a massive increase compared to its value on Friday. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 12.79% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 4.05%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

EncrypGen gained 2787.56% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Bankacoin’s 212.44% and Trabzonspor Fan Token’s 178.8% gain. On the other hand, CEZO lost 89.89%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by JD Coin’s loss of 64.79% and Triumph X’s loss of 57.74%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 69.1%. This value represents a 0.25% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased over $100 billion since we last reported, with its current value being $721.10 billion. This represents a $101.89 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin did not sleep this weekend as it took its time to push towards new all-time highs. The best-known cryptocurrency pushed towards the upside, reaching as high as $28,391 at one point. It is now consolidating around the $27,000 level and preparing for the next move.

Our Fib extensions drawn on Friday worked exactly as expected, with Bitcoin respecting every single one of them. With all of them still being a valid choice, traders should either look for a bounce off the immediate support levels or increased volume followed by a sharp increase in price. Trading Bitcoin’s pullbacks is not exactly the best option at the moment.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s 4-hour and weekly technicals show a full tilt towards the buy-side, its daily and monthly technicals show some neutrality signs.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly above its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (62.10)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $28,391                                 1: $25,512

2: $29,000                                 2: $24,696

3: $30,000                                  3: $24,315

Ethereum

While Ethereum did manage to score some gains over the weekend, its upside got overshadowed by Bitcoin’s growth. However, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has decided to make that up by suddenly pushing from $624 all the way up to $738. While the move seemingly ended here, it is not yet certain whether the price will break the level or go even higher, or start its consolidation at slightly lower levels.

Traders should utilize the volume indicator, order books, and well-established support/resistance levels to its fullest to catch these explosive trades while remaining safe.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s shorter time-frames are completely bullish, while its longer-time frames show slight neutrality signs.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI has stepped into the overbought territory (71.68)
  • Volume is trading on above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $738                                     1: $675

2: $800                                     2: $632 

3: $900                                      3: $600

Ripple

XRP has been trading on low volume and slowly descending after a brief rally to $0.385. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency keeps getting crushed by various companies dropping support or liquidating their XRP positions after Ripple and its executives got sued by the SEC.

XRP traders should (more than anything) pay attention to the news. However, there are many other cryptocurrencies with much safer and potentially more profitable trading setups at the moment.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames slightly tilted towards the sell-side, but they all show some signs of uncertainty.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below its 50-period EMA and slightly below its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI has left the oversold territory (37.46)
  • Volume is returning to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.30                                    1: $0.25

2: $0.358                                   2: $0.214

3: $0.475 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 24 – XRP Downturn Pulls the Crypto Sector in the Red

The cryptocurrency sector reacted to XRP getting crushed by the market and ended up mostly in the red. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23,112, representing a decrease of 1.97% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 6.27% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 30.85%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Folgory Coin gained 5571.49% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by MINDOL’s 1224.26% and DACC’s 1070.44% gain. On the other hand, 3x Long XRP Token lost 77.00%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by B21 Invest’s loss of 74.30% and YFPRO Finance’s loss of 70.96%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 69.3%. This value represents a 1.5% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased significantly since we last reported, with its current value being $619.31 billion. This represents a $22.90 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin was one of the few cryptocurrencies not affected by the major downturn of XRP after the SEC announced a lawsuit against Ripple and its executives. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap stayed within its wide range and continued trading sideways after bouncing back from the $24,000 level.

Traders currently have the option to catch a couple of safe trades within the trading range Bitcoin is in, or wait for it to spike in volume and break the range (either to the downside or upside).

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily and weekly technicals are slightly tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour and monthly technicals show some hints of neutrality alongside the bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (53.57)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum got affected by XRP’s downturn, which pulled it back over 5% on the day. The second-largest cryptocurrency fell below its $600 support level, and caused a quick panic-sell which brought its price as low as $550 (though just for a moment). Ether is now fighting to stay above the $581 level, which it will most likely succeed.

Many analysts are calling for a double bottom and are expecting an upswing from Ethereum. Traders should pay close attention to Ether’s volume and (possibly) order books.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s weekly and monthly technicals are completely bullish, while its 4-hour and daily overview are mainly tilted towards the sell-side, but show some signs of uncertainty.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (37.44)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $600                                     1: $581

2: $632                                     2: $564 

3: $675                                      3: $545

Ripple

XRP got crushed as more bad news came. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap got dropped by various exchanges, as well as its positions fully liquidated by major funds such as Bitwise. Its price dipped over 65% in just 5 days. However, XRP seems to have found support in (first) the $0.214 and (later) $0.25 levels.

XRP will most likely try to either hold its price level or push slightly towards the upside. While its further downside potential is not very high (unless more bad news comes out), buying or longing XRP is extremely risky.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals on all time-frames are completely tilted towards the sell-side.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (19.40)
  • Volume is on extremely high levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.30                                    1: $0.25

2: $0.358                                   2: $0.214

3: $0.475 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Top 5 Best DeFi Tokens for Smart Investors

2020 is undoubtedly one year that will go down in history books. Far from the global health and economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, this year has seen an explosive growth of decentralized finance. In fact, we can only compare it to the 2017 ICO boom. 

It goes without saying that the booming industry has seen developers come up with various DeFi tokens that provide different solutions. So, how do you, as a smart investor, choose the best tokens for your portfolio. 

Well, you really are spoilt for choice when it comes to DeFi tokens. However, if you’d like to make a sound investment decision, you’d better be on the lookout for the best and most promising DeFi tokens. 

It doesn’t sound like an easy decision, which is why we are here to the rescue. Have a look at the five best DeFi tokens that are totally worth your time and money. 

Chainlink (LINK)

Smart contracts are an essential feature of decentralized finance, and the Chainlink Network aims to create a world connected through smart contracts. The decentralized oracle network allows for the creation of smart contracts that are securely attached to real-time data. This functionality makes Chainlink ideal for sending payments anywhere and connecting to any external API. 

The platform’s native token, LINK, has been rising steadily over the last year. At the time of writing, LINK had a $5.299 billion market capital and was trading at $13.633. The proven track record of completed milestones, plus the token’s growth potential, make LINK one of the best DeFi tokens to invest in. 

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)

The introduction of Bitcoin to the world opened up an entire world of possibilities. However, despite all the fantastic features it presented, the Bitcoin network lacked in several ways, which initiated the search for better blockchains that would be more flexible than the rigid parent technology. This search eventually led to the development of the Ether network, which is the core of most DeFi projects. 

Now, suppose you could combine the best features of Ether and Bitcoin? Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Wrapped Bitcoin does precisely that. The token enjoys a 1:1 ratio backing with bitcoin. It comes with the strength of the pioneer cryptocurrency, coupled with the flexibility of ERC-20 tokens. This feature makes it easier for the token to standardize bitcoin to ERC-20, allowing for the creation of Bitcoin smart contracts. 

WBTC is currently trading at $22,703, a 6.07 % increase over the last 24 hours. 

Compound (COMP)

Borrowing and lending are some of the critical features of the DeFi industry. If you’re looking to invest in a token offering lucrative options for these functionalities, you should consider looking at COMP

The ERC-20 token asset gained the massive attention of the DeFi world after its value skyrocketed immediately after its launch, before correcting to normal levels. It is currently trading at $169.984 and has increased by 10% over the last 24 hours at the time of writing. 

Many will argue that COMP isn’t worth investing in since it is only a governance token. However, Compound Protocol, the network behind the token, was one of the first to leverage decentralization in borrowing and lending, a concept that has been around for ages. As more investors realize this protocol’s potential, its value will increase, getting more people on board. 

Polkadot

Investing in different DeFi and crypto projects will have you working with various blockchains. Therefore, you’re going to need one or two projects that allow for true interoperability, which is precisely what Polkadot offers. The network developed by Ethereum’s co-founder, Gavin Wood, has its native token as DOT, which is currently trading at $4.902

The DOT token powers the Polkadot network and fulfills three purposes; staking, bonding, and governance. Staking helps to keep the network secure by incentivizing DOT token holders. The game theory requires that holders behave honestly and those who don’t lose their stake in the network. 

Holders also have complete control over the protocol. They have a say in managing protocol upgrades and fixes and other exclusive privileges that would typically be given to miners on other platforms. 

One of the DOT token’s best features is its bonding, which is a form of proof of stake. The mechanism makes it easier to add new parachains to the networks by bonding tokens. If there are any outdated or non-useful parachains, removing the bonded tokens gets rid of the chains. 

The rigidity of blockchains and the inability to transfer and receive data is a significant setback in the crypto world. Therefore, Polkadot’s ability to transmit arbitrary data between chains and tokens makes this project a worthy investment venture. 

DeFiChain (DFI)

Everyone in the crypto space knows that most DeFi projects are built on Ethereum, the world’s second-largest blockchain network. However, if you’re after a DeFi project built on the King coin, you should undoubtedly check out DeFiChain. This network brings together the security and immutability of Bitcoin and the best of Proof of Stake mechanisms. 

One of the features that make DeFiChain stand out is that it’s a non-Turing complete protocol. Ethereum is a Turing blockchain, which compromises its security. Therefore, anything can happen on the protocol, which is not the case for DeFiChain. Having the network’s core built on Bitcoin also helps to increase the levels of security. 

The DFI token serves several functions on the network. Besides using the token as collateral, for staking, and paying network fees, users can also use DFI to create custom DCT tokens. This unique functionality makes DeFiChain the ideal investment option for crypto enthusiasts looking to make their cryptos work for them. Over the last 24 hours, DFI has increased in value by 16.32% to trade at $0.76593.

Parting Shot

The DeFi scene has exploded in 2020, with new tokens being released by the day. As a smart investor, you’ll undoubtedly be on the lookout for the ideal tokens that will make you more money from your investment. 

When choosing the ideal DeFi token, be sure to check out the solution it provides in the crypto world, its growth potential, and whether it has a proven track of accomplished milestones. It would also be best if you had a look at the team behind the project to have a clear picture of what to expect.

Choosing smart tokens for your DeFi portfolio is only the first step, but many investors will agree that it’s a crucial one. Therefore, if you have no idea where to start, the five tokens in this article should give you a pretty good head start. So, head on over to the official sites, read through their documents, and decide which ones to choose. All the best in your investment ventures!

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 23 – Is This the End of XRP? SEC Officially Files Lawsuit Against Ripple and its Executives

The cryptocurrency sector was mostly neutral as Bitcoin gained even more market dominance. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23.498, representing an increase of 3.53% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 1.28% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 23.99%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

SYNC Network gained 97.23% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by 3x Short XRP Token’s 84.56% and Basis Share’s 77.1% gain. On the other hand, DMme lost 85.99%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by 3x Long XRP Token’s loss of 66.89% and S4FE’s loss of 60.04%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 67.8%. This value represents a 1.2% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $642.21 billion. This represents a $9.69 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin continued trading within a decently large range, bound by $22,054 to the downside and $24,315 to the upside. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap managed to gain a couple of percent on its price today, as most of the market consolidated. Therefore, Bitcoin market dominance has risen once again, almost reaching 70%.

Bitcoin’s descending volume and sideways trading were always a sign of a new move in the making. However, as the current trading range is quite wide, the sharp move to either side might not be so imminent.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily and weekly technicals are tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour and monthly overviews are slightly bullish, but show some hints of neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (56.31)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has followed Bitcoin to the upside and gained just enough traction to attempt a $632 level break, but not enough to actually break it. This triggered a small correction, which brought it to the middle of the range, bound by $600-$602 to the downside and $632 to the upside.

Ethereum’s price movements are (in the past couple of days) either an exact copy of Bitcoin’s moves, or an exaggerated move in the same direction. Traders could possibly use this to trade Ether’s exaggerated moves by watching Bitcoin’s movement.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s daily, weekly, and monthly technicals are completely bullish, while its 4-hour overview is tilted towards the sell-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is slightly below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (44.94)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $632                                     1: $600

2: $675                                     2: $581 

3: $738.5                                   3: $564

Ripple

XRP got crushed today on horrible news of SEC officially filing a lawsuit against its company Ripple as well as against its cofounders. While MoneyGram took a lenient position and didn’t want to make any negative comments, most crypto exchanges are planning on delisting XRP due to concerns regarding regulation.

While some may think that short-selling XRP is a good idea, watch out for slippage and insufficient demand.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s short-term technicals show a heavy tilt towards the sell-side, while its long-term technicals (weekly and monthly) remain bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (18.53)
  • Volume is on extremely high levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.40                                    1: $0.33

2: $0.475                                   2: $0.297

3: $0.481 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

The Best Use Cases For Decentralized Finance Projects

There’s hardly a facet of our lives left untouched by blockchain technology. From the most ubiquitous to the complex of our engagements, its effects are discernible. But perhaps the one sector where its effects are most discernible is in finance. The shortfalls of the legacy financial systems provide the right environment for innovation to sprout. Fintech firms are outdoing themselves in the production of products and technologies aimed at bettering users’ experiences.

This year has seen the emergence of many disruptive technologies. However, non features as prominently as decentralized finance(DeFi). DeFi is technology’s response to an inadequate financial system. 

In this article, we tackle two significant aspects of Defi. First, the significance of Defi projects. We also present the best use cases to give you insight into this revolutionary technology. 

Let’s get into it!

What is the Significance of Decentralized Finance Projects?

Defi projects are universally beneficial. The buzz they continue to generate emphasizes this truth. Here’re a few of the benefits associated with them:

  • They streamline transactions- smart contracts execute exchanges increasing efficiencies.
  • Increase the security of transactions- they draw on the Ethereum blockchain’s Immutability to secure trades.
  • They are scalable- Ethereum’s composable software ensures that DeFi protocols and applications are interoperable, giving the developers and product the flexibility to build on top of existing ones. 
  • Increase transparency of transactions- distributed ledger technology enables one’s peers to access and verify their transactions, curbing fraud.
  • It is permissionless- DeFi facilitates anyone with a crypto wallet and the Internet to access its applications regardless of their location.
  • Gives the user control over their data- Web3 wallets like MetaMask interact with permissionless dAapps and protocols to provide users custody of their assets data. 

What are the Best Use Cases for Decentralized Finance?

From the preceding, it is clear that DeFi projects are beneficial. The question then arises, where can we best use this technology? DeFi technology has wide usage. The following are some of the prominent use cases.  

i) Management Of Assets

DeFi protocols give users full custody of their funds. Additionally, Crypto wallets help one easily and securely interact with decentralized applications (dApps) for different transactions. These transactions range from trading and transferring crypto to earning interest on their crypto holdings. Tracking one’s assets becomes easy this way.

ii) Gaming

Defi platforms are interoperable. This feature has opened up opportunities for developers to build cross-platform protocols across a variety of verticals. 

Ethereum-based games have gained popularity due to their inbuilt economies and rewards. Take the case of the PoolTogether game. Its users acquire digital tickets using the DAI stable coin. They then pool their tokens for lending on the Compound money market.

iii) Provision of Credit

DeFi allows the creation of P2P lending pools and borrowing contracts. For instance, Compound -an autonomous interest rate protocol- integrates with most DeFi platforms, enabling users to earn interest in crypto that they’ve lent.

Compound’s smart contract automatically matches creditors to borrowers. Additionally, it determines interest rates by comparing the volume of the borrowed to supplied funds.

iv) Decentralized Exchanges

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are crypto trading platforms allowing P2P transactions. They achieve this by eliminating central authorities. As they’re non-custodial, they mitigate price manipulation, hacking, and theft.

DEXs are the mainstay of token projects. They enhance their access to affordable liquidity as they allow projects to list without fees. This way, they differ significantly from centralized exchanges that charge higher prices per listing.

The degree of decentralization varies with the exchange. Whereas exchanges may centrally host order books and other aspects of a users’ account, they don’t hold their private keys. Examples of popular DEXs in the DeFi space currently include AirSwap, Liquality, Mesa, Oasis, and Uniswap.

v) Decentralized Insurance

Investing in cryptos (DeFi included) comes with its fair share of risks. As such, different products that hedge against risks in this space are available. They help protect against market crashes, hackings, failure of smart contacts, among others. Nexus Mutual is one such example.

The players within the Defi space underwrite the risk. That is to say, they pool resources to acquire the premium providing the cover. Utilizing smart contracts makes the products transparent. Anyone can access the payout terms via the Blockchain.

vi) Issuance of Synthetic Assets

Synthetic assets are tokenized representations of derivatives. An Ethereum based smart contract locks them to the Blockchain. These derivatives may represent real-world assets, including fiat currencies, bonds, commodities, or even cryptos.

Synthetic assets are tradeable. Consequently, they allow the disposal and acquisition of assets that are illiquid or difficult to obtain. The Synthetix protocol is essential to their issuance. It employs a 750% collateralization ratio that guards against price shocks.

vii) Liquidity Mining

Liquidity Mining, also known as yield farming, is holding digital assets for rewards. Through smart contracts, owners of crypto assets get incentives for keeping rather than trading them.

Participation in these projects requires stacking liquidity provider (LP) tokens. One obtains these through providing liquidity to a DEX, such as UNISWAP. Users then stake their tokens to mind new ones for exchange.

viii) Identity Management

Traditional financial systems rely on KYC guidelines to comply with AML and CFT regulations. Defi, on the other hand, uses Know- your-transactions (KYT) protocols to deter fraud and other financial crimes. KYT uses the behavior of participating addresses rather than individual IDs to assess and stem the risk for financial crime. The assessment is in real-time. 

ix) Enhancing Financial Inclusion

In tandem with Blockchain-based identity systems, DeFi opens up financial opportunities to those previously excluded. It eases collateralization requirements for those seeking credit. Again it delinks creditworthiness from such aspects as income and ownership of property. Instead, it shifts it to attributes like financial reputation and activity. 

x) Development of Stablecoins

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency whose value depends on a stable asset or group of assets. The supporting assets could be fiat commodities or other cryptocurrencies.

Intended to mitigate the volatility of cryptos, they have found a home in the DeFi space. They are essential in remittances, borrowing, and lending. Another area they’re gaining prominence in is the Central Banks Digital Currencies.

xi) Provision of Marketplaces

Many marketplaces have arisen to exploit DeFi functions. These allow P2P exchanges globally. From them, traders and consumers enjoy a wide variety of products and services.

Final Thoughts

The year 2020 could be defined as the year of Defi. During this period, interest in this disruptive technology peaked. The heightened interest attests to its significance. Not only will it increase access to financial services, but also ease transactions besides securing them. The technology has wide useability. For instance, it is essential in credit provision, creating market places, and even combating financial crimes. Even though it is still developing, it has shown the potential to alter our economic landscape for the better. As we expand research and development in the area, we can only look forward to exciting products and solutions in the space.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 22 – XRP Plummets on News of SEC Suing Ripple; Crypto Sector in the Red

The cryptocurrency sector bounced back from its recent highs as the news of a new COVID-19 strain came out. Bitcoin is currently trading for $22,716, representing a decrease of 5.01% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 5.41% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 16.97%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

P2P gained 185.24% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by DMme’s 123.95% and Actinium’s 96.18% gain. On the other hand, Wownero lost 54.05%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Tap’s loss of 47.05% and Super Bitcoin’s loss of 46.31%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over one percent since our last report, with its value currently being 66.6%. This value represents a 1.4% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased significantly since we last reported, with its current value being $632.90 billion. This represents a $36.72 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin experienced a 5% pullback after the news of a new strain of COVID-19 came out. Of course, Bitcoin was not the only one hit, as all traditional asset classes dipped in the past 24 hours as well. The downturn got stopped at the $22,054 level, and quickly sprung up to the current levels.

As mentioned in our previous daily crypto review, Bitcoin would experience an increase in volume as it exits consolidation below the recent highs, which happened today.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s daily technicals are tilted towards the bull side, its 4-hour overview is completely neutral. On the other hand, its weekly and monthly overviews are tilted towards the buy-side, but show hints of neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period EMA and below its 21-period EMA
  • Price between its bottom and middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.91)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has followed Bitcoin to the downside, and lost just over 5% on the day. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap fell below the $632 level and attempted to break the $600-$602 support line. However, ETH bulls stopped the downturn, and the cryptocurrency is now consolidating right above this level.

Ethereum’s price movements are pretty tame so far, and traders should pay close attention to Bitcoin and its movement in the near future as Ether seems to follow it almost to the tee.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s daily, weekly and monthly technicals show a strong bullish tilt, while its 4-hour overview is tilted towards the sell-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is heading towards being oversold (37.52)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $632                                     1: $600

2: $675                                     2: $581 

3: $738.5                                   3: $564

Ripple

XRP had a horrible 24 hour trading session as its price crashed on Ripple’s announcement that they will most likely get sued by the SEC. This news brought its price down almost 20%, with it currently trading right above the $0.457 level, which stopped XRP from going down further.

XRP traders should pay attention to further updates on the lawsuit news as well as to any volume increase the cryptocurrency experiences.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s long-term technicals (weekly and monthly) show a slight tilt towards the buy-side, while its short-term technicals (4-hour and daily) are completely bearish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently far below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (25.83)
  • Volume has returned to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.5                                      1: $0.475

2: $0.543                                   2: $457

3: $0.57                                    3: $45

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

Top 5 DeFi Projects to Look Out for in 2021

The DeFi industry is still in its infancy stage but has already registered some impressive growth over the years. The industry’s total value is currently locked at $14.92 billion and is expected to grow in the coming year. 

There’s no doubt that DeFi brings about some unique solutions that are quite lucrative for investors of all kinds. If you’ve had your eye on the crypto industry for a while, there are chances that you’ve thought of putting your money in this exciting venture. But if you don’t know how to get started, you may feel stuck when choosing the best projects.

If you’re in this position, this article is just what you need. Buckle up, and let’s dive into the five best DeFi projects you should consider investing in the coming year. 

Uniswap

Anyone who has been in the crypto industry for quite a while will agree that decentralized exchanges were primarily associated with thin order books and poor UX. These issues, coupled with exorbitant fees, centralized gateways, and too many transactions was the reason dex enthusiasts demanded a simple yet effective decentralized exchange. 

Uniswap was launched in 2018 as an automated liquidity protocol for ETH and ERC-20 tokens. The platform has its own token, UNI, which is instrumental in governing protocol changes. 

One of the things that make Uniswap unique is that it doesn’t use order books but instead has an automated market maker. Users only need to select the assets they want to trade, and the platform automatically completes the transaction. 

Uniswap presents several advantages, which is why you should hop onto it already. It has no listing fees for new tokens, and users don’t have to complete the KYC checks. Besides, you get full custody of your funds and an excellent way to earn some extra tokens through the platform’s liquidity pools. 

If you choose to invest in the platform, you could either be a casual user, an arbitrageur, or a liquidity provider, all of whom play essential roles in the ecosystem. 

Yearn Finance

Yearn.Finance should be your go-to project if you’re looking to maximize the annual percentage yields on the cryptocurrencies you’ve deposited in DeFi. The unique project is an array of DeFi protocols built on Ethereum and designed for high-yield returns through liquidity pools and community governed lending protocols. Like Uniswap, Yearn Finance uses an automated market marker to allow users to convert tokens and earn from both lending and trading fees.

Yearn Finance is still relatively new in the industry, having been launched in February 2020. The platform had a rapid ascent in August, which saw its value rise to $650 million, accounting for a significant percentage of the entire industry’s value.

According to Jesse Walden, CEO of Variant Fund, “The unifying goal of all Yearn products is to create a simple, intuitive interface to all of DeFi.”

Yearn’s intuitive interface makes trading easier for all users. The platform is a portal for other DeFi products and has the YFI as its governance token. Yearn is considered entirely decentralized because the YFI tokens cannot be pre-mined, and the platform didn’t hold an ICO.

Although YFI was initially designed to be entirely community-governed, it can now be traded on other platforms such as Uniswap.

Curve Finance

You’ve probably heard of stablecoins, and if you know a thing or two about cryptocurrencies, they must have piqued your interest as an investor. Well, Curve Finance is an excellent DeFi platform if you’d like to trade-in stablecoins efficiently. It provides a solution to one of the most considerable problems in the DeFi sector; price slippage.

Like any other ideal marketplace, demand and supply forces determine the lending rates in DeFi. Now, suppose you want to trade between USDC and DAI. If the lending yield for USDC becomes higher than that of DAI, lenders will want to migrate to USDC. Curve Finance allows you to effectively do this and still earn better than you would with a regular DEX.

Switching between stablecoins effectively helps correct any anomalies in the interest rates that may result from mismatches in the demand and supply. Users can keep their profits once the interest rates are back to normal. 

Curve Finance provides one of the best ways to earn as a liquidity provider with returns of over 300% per year for BUSD. This is made possible by providing liquidity to other DeFi protocols using the deposited funds. This move generates interest for the other protocols, and Yearn, in turn, assigns the interest to liquidity providers. Additionally, they receive some CRV tokens and a cut of the trading fees from the platform.

DAI 

Speaking of stablecoins, DAI is one you should definitely watch out for in the coming year. The coin has its price pegged to the US dollar, which helps maintain its value. Whenever users on MakerDAO, the protocol behind DAI, take out a loan, the stablecoin is created. The decentralized nature of the protocol, together with the lack of volatility, ensures that DAI remains stable and transparent. 

Initially, you’d only be able to use ETH as collateral for DAI. However, the stablecoin now supports different cryptocurrencies as collateral for a DAI loan. You can place your cryptos and get them back for the same price, despite changes in the coins’ values. 

There are plenty of stablecoins available, so what makes DAI any different? Well, if you are really against censorship by governments and other regulatory bodies, you’re going to love using DAI. It is backed by smart contracts, which makes it resistant to censorship. It also provides privacy when transacting since users don’t need to complete KYC checks or create any accounts. 

Kava

Kava developers used various technologies to create a system that would allow users of significant crypto assets to access collateralized loans and stablecoins. The network uses USDX as its stablecoin, and users get to collateralize their crypto assets in exchange for the stablecoin. 

To help you gain a leveraged position in the market, you could take out several collateralized loans. For each of these loans, you’ll receive an equivalent amount of USDX to create synthetic leverage. You can then earn a passive income from the platform by staking and bonding your USDX coins. 

Kava uses a dual token system that ensures usability and flexibility. The native token for the blockchain is Kava tokens, which double up as the governance and voting tokens. Kava tokens help to ensure the platform’s security through staking, which also earns users block rewards. 

Kava has already made a name for itself in the business world by gaining some major entities’ attention. For example, Arrington Capital, Ripple, and Cosmos are behind this DeFi project, which provides some assurance in its profitability and sustainability. 

Parting Shot

There’s no denying that the DeFi industry has taken giant leaps over recent months and will continue to do so in 2021. Like most investors, you’ll undoubtedly want to add long-term value projects to your portfolio, and DeFi is an excellent way to go about it. 

Sure, it’s totally okay to be skeptical about new ventures such as this. However, the DeFi industry has proven to provide solutions to problems poised in centralized finance. 

Just as you would with any other investment, it’s best to do your due diligence and learn as much as possible before placing your money in a DeFi project. These five projects should give you an excellent head start for your 2021 investments. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 21 – Bitcoin Dangerously Close to Making a Sharp Move

The cryptocurrency sector is split between gainers and losers as Bitcoin consolidates right below its all-time high level. Bitcoin is currently trading for $23,825, representing an increase of 1.03% when compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1.42% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 3.20%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Axion gained 3402.38% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by MahaDAO’s 199.69% and Elxis’ 186.79% gain. On the other hand, Golden Ratio Per Liquidity lost 59.64%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by ALL BEST ICO’s loss of 50.84% and Quras’s loss of 49.42%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved down almost half a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 65.1%. This value represents a 0.4% difference to the downside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $669.26 billion. This represents an $18.25billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent its weekend slowly rising towards the resistance level of its trading channel, which is bound by $22,055 to the downside and $24,315 to the upside. However, The two attempts to break the resistance level and enter the price discovery phase failed, leaving Bitcoin just below $24,315. With volume descending ever since Dec 17, we might expect this consolidation to end with a volume boom and a very sharp move.

While it is yet unknown whether this sharp move will be to the upside or downside, the increase in volume and a strong push towards one side will make it quite clear. Traders can use this momentum to catch a very safe trade.


BTC/USD 2-hour chart

While Bitcoin’s technicals are overall bullish, they either show signs of neutrality or even hints of bearishness. Its daily and monthly overviews have some indications of sellers being present, while its 4-hour and weekly overviews are bullish-neutral.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to being overbought (65.90)
  • Volume is decreasing, and trading below the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has, unlike Bitcoin, descended slowly within its trading range, which is bound by $675 to the upside and $632. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap had one strong push towards the downside, which brought its price all the way down to $620 on Dec 20. However, the bulls prevailed, and Ether is now trading above $632 safely.

Ethereum’s price movements seem pretty tame, meaning that its next move will be of larger magnitude. Traders should pay close attention to Bitcoin and its moves in the near future before trading any other cryptocurrency, including Ether.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s technicals are very bullish on all time-frames, with only its weekly overview showing slight neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (52.43)
  • Volume is on slightly above-average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $675                                     1: $632

2: $738.5                                  2: $600 

3: $817.5                                   3: $581

Ripple

With XRP’s strong push towards the upside ending on Dec 17, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has entered another descending channel. The price was slowly dwindling down over the weekend, breaking the $0.57 support level, and then confirming its position below it. The price even went below the $0.543 support at one point, but quickly recovered.

XRP’s volume is currently almost non-existent, and traders should pay attention to any volume spikes if they intend on trading XRP.

XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s technicals are quite mixed, but overall tilted slightly towards the buy-side. It’s 4-hour and daily overviews are bullish-neutral, while its weekly overview shows some hints of bearishness. Its monthly overview, however, is completely bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently between its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.77)
  • Volume has descended to average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.57                                    1: $0.543

2: $0.597                                   2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                    3: $0.475

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

5 Crucial Principles for Investing in DeFi

Unless you’ve been blind to the crypto industry in 2020, you’ve undoubtedly caught wind of the DeFi craze. On the one hand, some investors are minting lucrative yields from the industry. On the other, some are losing their life savings. 

If you’ve been following the trend, you’ve probably heard loads of things about investing in the new industry. Influential Bitcoin advocate, Anthony Pampliano, tweeted that all it took to shut down most DeFi dapps was for Jeff Bezos to shut down AWS. The tweet sparked quite a debate on the decentralization aspect, which is the core of DeFi projects. 

Truthfully, investing in DeFi is quite similar to any other worthy project. It comes with risks, and investors need to do their own research before getting on board. 

Well, DeFi is mostly uncharted territory for most investors, including crypto enthusiasts- which is why this article will come in handy. Here are some crucial principles you need to have in mind before deep diving. 

Check the Number of Active Users 

The value of a blockchain is dependent on the number of users, seeing as the technology solely relies on networks. Just like other network companies like Facebook, the more people who join the platform, the more valuable it becomes. 

When determining whether to invest in a Defi project, check the number of active users on the platform. Luckily, unlike other network companies, DeFi projects built on Ethereum allow you to view real-time data on the users. With other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, you have to wait for the quarterly reports to get this insight. 

Additionally, you should also check the growth in the number of users. You want to invest in a project that registers sustained growth that keeps accelerating over time. The network effects of blockchain mean that the number of users won’t grow linearly as you’d expect, but rather quadratically, as shown below.

Source: Dune Analytics

Put Your Money in What You Understand

“Never invest in a business you cannot understand.” – Warren Buffet.

If you cannot take it from me, then take it from the investment mogul. Buffet has built his empire by investing in multiple businesses over the years, but he always keeps it simple. You should apply the same principle when investing in DeFi projects. 

The DeFi world is complex, and before placing your money anywhere, you should ensure you understand as much as you can. Scam projects take advantage of the industry’s complexity to dupe investors into getting on projects that will not yield much, or worse yet, lead to significant losses. 

It sure is boring, but go through a project’s documents, including the whitepaper, beforehand and understand the basic tokenometrics. What is the project’s native token, if any? How exactly will you make profits? What is the project’s primary aim? 

Similarly, you don’t have to leap for every DeFi project that seems promising. Implement the 20-slot rule to help you separate the wheat from the chaff. 

Watch Out for Gas Fees!

Most DeFi projects will quote gas fees for transactions, which are simply service charges. You’ll probably not bat an eyelid on the gas fees, but here’s why you should. 

For starters, these platforms won’t display the gas fees in fiat currency. Instead, they’ll have it in ETH, which makes it easier for you to ignore it. However, the fees are absolutely real, and when gas fees are high, you’ll probably end up making a loss. 

Say, for example, you want to invest $1000 in tokens, but the service fees are $50 worth in cryptocurrencies. With just one transaction, you’ll already have lost 5% of your investment. 

Usually, gas fees will skyrocket when there are too many people using the network. Therefore, you end up paying more for the same transaction. Higher gas fees also indicate you’re following the crowd, in the case of FOMO. 

As a rule of thumb, stay away from investing in DeFi when fees are high to avoid FOMO and FUD

Don’t Invest in the Platform, Buy DeFi Tokens Instead

If you’ve read up a bit on investing in DeFi, this principle is probably contrary to what you’ve heard from the industry. Yield farming is the most common strategy in DeFi platforms and involves moving your tokens between protocols and platforms to wherever they’ll earn the most interest. This approach is time-consuming since you have to keep checking what platforms are gaining interest so you can move your assets there. 

Although this is a popular way to invest in DeFi, stay away from it. Instead, invest in the protocol, which is quite similar to buying the company’s stock. 

I know what you’re thinking; most of these projects are decentralized, and there are no companies. So, how exactly do you go about that? 

Most DeFi projects will offer governance tokens that allow holders to vote on proposed changes. In this way, you gain something similar to a shareholder’s vote, which is like buying the company’s stock. 

Therefore, instead of locking up your crypto assets on the platform or chasing after yield farming, consider investing in the platform’s native token. If the project is viable, your tokens’ value will keep increasing with an increased number of users, which is just what your investment portfolio needs. 

DeFi is only a Portion of Your Blockchain Investment

Investing in blockchain projects is a fraction of your entire portfolio, and your DeFi investments should be a fraction of that. In other words, your investment basket is an entire pie, blockchain is a slice of it, and DeFi is only a portion of the blockchain investments. 

The majority of your investments should be in stocks and bonds. A smaller portion should then go to the blockchain projects you’re interested in, and an even smaller portion of this in DeFi. This way, if the DeFi markets were to crash suddenly, you’d only make a small loss. 

Similarly, with most of your investments are in stocks and bonds, a crash of the entire blockchain market will only slightly affect your portfolio. 

Endnote

Investing in a new industry requires caution, but when it comes to DeFi, you have to be particularly careful. There are two sides to the coin, and you could either make some good money or incur losses. Whatever the case, be sure it’s what you want to do and that you aren’t only following the ongoing DeFi craze. 

Every investment bears some risk, and you just need to decide which one’s worth your money. So go ahead and identify an investment you’d like and implement the above strategies for an enhanced fighting chance. 

Categories
Crypto Videos

Stimulus Hope Is Driving Up The Dow Jones – Should You Buy Or Short it?


Stimulus hopes drive up the Dow Jones – where next? 

Thank you for joining this Forex Academy educational video

In this session, we will be looking at the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Index and looking for indications of the next likely move.

While the United States economy is still reeling from the ongoing Covid situation, which has as a country in its grip, investors are looking long-term, buoyed on by vaccine news and hopes of a speedy back to normal recovery once it has been rolled out to the general population. 

In reality, of course, this may still take over 12 months to implement. Therefore hopes of the recovery are fuelled by my hopes that the American government will continue to support individuals and companies via a Covid-19 relief aid stimulus to help unemployed and financial relief for other individuals and those who need it.

This has been stifled somewhat by the fact that the discussions between the democrats and republicans have not yet been able to agree on how much money the state should put up. Current estimations are that a $900 billion stimulus bill may include checks for $600 for eligible adults and their independents. 

Some Republicans have asked for hand-outs of $1,200 per individual and $2400 per couple, with $500 going to children, to support families through this critical time.

The plan is that the 900 billion stimulus package will be the first of two parts, with phase one considered as an emergency relief bill, and phase two will kick in during the early part of January 2021, once that has been agreed on.

It is talk of the stimulus package, which has been keeping the Dow Jones at record highs.

This is a daily chart of the Dow Jones 30 industrial index.  We can see that since March 2020, the general trend has been a bull trend to the upside, following on from the earlier crash as the pandemic took hold in early February. The technical line numbered 1 shows the general upward trend as hopes of a V-shaped recovery fuelled investor to buy the index.

More recently, talks of an emergency stimulus package, and especially during November where investors believed a deal was imminent, saw price action move higher from this average and particularly where we see the bullish bounce from the line where we see a steady rise up to the record-breaking 30,000 level at position A. 

Talks of the stimulus package went to and fro between the democrats and republicans, with concerns of the, will they or won’t they agree on a package and where price action moved lower to the trend line at position 2, while talks stalled, and where price action itself bounced this higher trend line, marked as 2, back up at position B C  and D in an overall bias squeeze to the upside, where price continued to flirt with 30,000 and eventually where there was a significant close and open above this key level.

In this 1-hour chart, we can see that price action is seeing resistance at around 30,300.

And by adding this support line, we now have rising wedge formation clearly evident, where price action is fading to the upside, with a potential break above the 30,300 level. Should this immanent covid relief bill be agreed upon, price action could punch higher and continue with potential for the 30,300 level to become a support line and a possible move higher by 200 or 300 points.

There is so much pressure on the American government right now to come up with an agreed amount of stimulus for those who need it that it is almost impossible that nothing will happen. This is what is driving the Dow Jones Index and other US indices higher at the moment.

  

Categories
Crypto Videos

It’s Not To Late To Buy Bitcoin – Follow The money!


Smartest People in the Room are Buying Bitcoin – Winklevoss Brothers Speak Up

Throughout 2020, over a handful of traditional financial giants have picked up stacks of Bitcoin, including the likes of billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones and business intelligence company MicroStrategy. These investments are a part of a flow of big money that has recently entered BTC, Gemini crypto-exchange co-founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss recently stated.

“These are the most sophisticated investors, the smartest people in the room, buying up Bitcoin quietly, so it’s not a fear of missing out thing,” Tyler Winklevoss said in a CNBC interview, published on Dec 11. Major institutions are here now for this bull run, as opposed to Bitcoin’s retail-led bull run of 2017, Tyler explained.

Over the course of 2020, in addition to Tudor Jones and MicroStrategy, ack Dorsey’s Square, Stanley Druckenmiller, J MassMutual, and Guggenheim Partners have all invested substantial amounts of money in Bitcoin. Their crypto plays come as a response to the unstable global economic atmosphere.

Bitcoin is often compared to gold as a store of value as well as an inflation hedge. Both Druckenmiller and Tudor Jones align themselves with this narrative. Tyler Winklevoss added:

“You have publicly-traded companies such as Square and MicroStrategy putting their cash into Bitcoin because they’re worried about the oncoming inflation that would come with all the money printing and the COVID pandemic stimulus packages.”

When asked about Bitcoin’s volatility as an asset used for transactions, the brothers called Bitcoin with its current system a “buy and hold” strategy comparative to gold. “We see Bitcoin as an emergent store of value that will disrupt gold,” Tyler said. “So it actually doesn’t even have to be used as a currency, meaning that the volatility doesn’t matter if it’s actually a store of value.” The billionaire also expects dwindling volatility for the asset as time passes.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Should You Invest in Privacy Coins in 2021?

As cryptocurrency use cases increase by the day, several investment opportunities have cropped up, making it increasingly difficult for fintech investors to choose their portfolios’ best options. 

One of the viable investment options in the crypto space is privacy coins. The first of these coins was launched in 2014, paving the way for several others. Today, there are about 86 privacy coins, each with its unique feature. 

Privacy coins are increasingly becoming popular among crypto enthusiasts and investors. If they have piqued your interest, you’re probably wondering if you should invest in them in the coming year. After all, they offer several lucrative benefits that you just can’t ignore. 

Well, this article seeks to provide some answers and determine whether privacy coins will bring in significant returns in 2021. 

What Are Privacy Coins?

Before analyzing their worth as investment vehicles, we must first define what they are and why they are causing a stir in the crypto world.

Privacy coins are a type of cryptocurrency that allows the users’ total anonymity when transacting on the network. Older cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, aren’t entirely private. The transactions are recorded on a public ledger, allowing anyone with enough resources and determination to track transactions from their origin to their destination. 

Privacy coins offer different levels of privacy to their users. Some of these coins hide the users’ ID, the origin of transactions, wallet addresses, and balances. The extra privacy makes these coins a favorite for users who prefer not to leave a trail when transacting on a network. 

The enhanced security features of privacy coins make them stand out from other cryptocurrencies. For example, Monero (XMR) uses ring signatures to blur the public ledger. This way, it becomes harder to trace the origin of a transaction, making it difficult to determine the number of coins held by a particular node. 

Dash, on the other hand, has the PrivateSend feature. It uses the CoinJoin technique to mix up the network transactions, quite similarly to how bitcoin tumblers work. 

Privacy Coins and Government Regulation

One of the most significant factors that’ll influence investments in privacy coins in 2021 is government regulation. Over the last few years, governments worldwide have been looking for ways to regulate crypto use in their sovereign states, and some have succeeded

For the most part, the regulation aims to make crypto transactions more transparent, which helps curb illegal activities. While this move is great for other cryptocurrencies, what does it mean for privacy coins?

Crypto enthusiasts are drawn to privacy coins by the lucrative security features. If government regulations are imposed on these coins, they risk being stripped of the extra-security features. 

Will this be the end of privacy coins, and should you invest in them in the face of this impending doom? 

Well, the truth is that members of the crypto community will always have an interest in privacy coins. As regulatory bodies worldwide continue finding ways to dictate how cryptocurrencies are used, the need to remain anonymous will increase. Therefore, investors will shy away from other cryptocurrencies, thanks to the increased scrutiny, and turn to privacy coins. 

The exact market size for these digital currencies is currently unknown. Still, crypto enthusiasts and investors will always turn to them to escape the watchful eyes of the government and regulatory bodies. Privacy coins will keep growing in places with crypto use restrictions as the added security becomes a significant selling point. Therefore, developers will have to find more ways to keep users’ data private on a network, which will ensure the continuous growth of the global market for privacy coins. 

3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Privacy Coins

The privacy coin market will keep growing and is a worthy venture to look into in the coming year. These digital currencies provide several benefits, including reduced chances of money laundering incidents

If you’re still undecided, here are three reasons why you should put some of your money in privacy coin projects. 

Long-Term Use Case

The crypto industry is ever developing, and new projects keep emerging each day. Although most of them have some sustainable use cases, several don’t have much to offer. As more crypto projects flood the space, only those that provide actual solutions to users’ problems will survive. 

Most crypto enthusiasts got on board with digital currencies because of benefits like anonymity. However, they discovered that older cryptocurrencies like bitcoin weren’t exactly private. Therefore, developers came up with ways to curb this challenge, and privacy coins seem to be the best solution thus far. 

Investors and other crypto users will keep seeking to remain anonymous while transacting, which is why you can be assured that privacy coins are in for the long haul in the crypto industry. 

Freedom of Use

One of the biggest disadvantages of having the government track crypto transactions is that users are limited in using their digital currencies. For example, donating to political organizations or other counterculture groups becomes a problem, especially if the government is against it. 

With other cryptocurrencies, governing bodies only require access to the public ledger to track transactions on the network and figure out where the donations came from. Privacy coins dispel this disadvantage, thanks to the top-notch security features. Therefore, you can always donate to any organization of your choice without worrying about being tracked. 

Portfolio Diversification

Every investor worth their salt knows that one of the crucial factors to successful investments is diversifying their portfolios. Having different investment vehicles reduces the risk of loss and helps ensure greater returns. 

As a fintech investor, you have a variety of investment vehicles to choose from. Investing in privacy coins is one of the ways to get into the crypto industry. It provides a sustainable investment that has the potential for greater returns as more people get on board and find different use cases for these digital currencies. 

Parting Shot

So, is investing in privacy coins in 2021 a good idea? Absolutely!

The industry is growing rapidly, and 2021 will see more crypto enthusiasts get on board. Privacy coins offer one of the most sought-after traits in digital currencies-anonymity- which is why they’ll remain viable for quite some time. 

Like any other investment, you should carry out your research before staking your money. You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to the best privacy coins to invest in, but remember, don’t stake more than you can afford to lose.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

BTC/USD Weekly Chart Analysis + Possible Outcomes

In this week’s BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking an in-depth look at the most recent technical formations, as well as look for the possible price outcomes in the following days.

Overview

The crypto sector was nothing short of explosive as Bitcoin pushed past its old all-time highs and reached almost as high as $24,000. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap went into skyrocket mode without facing much resistance until it hit a wall near $23,800. As it failed to break this level twice, it started a consolidation phase.

While Bitcoin’s sentiment is extremely bullish, many analysts call for a pullback and say that the most recent push to the upside is still much overextended. However, Bitcoin is consolidating sideways rather than pulling back. One thing is certain, Bitcoin is preparing for its next move.

Technical factors



Bitcoin is currently in consolidation mode after it hit a wall twice near the $23,800 price level. The price range is getting narrower and narrower as time passes, indicating a strong breakout move out of the current boundaries inevitable. On top of that, Bitcoin’s volume has been steadily declining after the final attempt above $23,777. When it comes to support, Bitcoin’s downside is protected by the 21-period moving average as well as the $22,320 Fib retracement line.

While a move to the downside should be considered healthy, the current price bouncing off of its support levels might be just good enough for BTC to push towards the upside once again.

Likely Outcomes

We can expect three main outcomes for Bitcoin, with the ones starting with an upswing being just slightly more plausible.

  1. Bitcoin’s price can easily shoot up past $23,777 and enter price discovery mode yet again. Not much to say about the target levels there, except that the possible resistance zones might be Fib extensions from the current Fib retracement levels.
  2. Bitcoin’s price is most likely to push towards the upside, hit the all-time high level, and fail to break it, therefore prompting a pullback. In this case, the price will most likely fall below $22,320 and head straight for the $21,420 or even lower (some analysts are calling for a drop below $20,000 and a CME Futures gap fill).
  3. Bitcoin’s price might head straight down and break the $22,320 level, in which case the market will steadily test every single support level that has worked until now.

In any case, a significant increase in volume will be required, and traders should certainly pay attention to it.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 18 – Bitcoin at $23,000; Crypto Sector Preparing for the Next Move

The majority of the cryptocurrencies ended up in the green as the cryptocurrency sector tried to consolidate after Bitcoin’s price discovery in the all-time high territory. Bitcoin is currently trading for $22.912, representing an increase of 3.96% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 0.16% on the day, while XRP managed to gain 3.79%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

MobileGo gained 94.96% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Puriever’s 85.99% and Tokes’ 85.09% gain. On the other hand, Basis Share lost 49.6%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by 3x Short Litecoin Token’s loss of 46.73% and Force For Fast’s loss of 42.92%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up half a percent since our last report, with its value currently being 65.5%. This value represents a 0.5% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $651.01 billion. This represents a $17.07 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has stopped its price discovery phase as it bounced off the $24,000 level and began consolidating. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently fighting for the $23,000 level, a minor pivot point within a larger range bound by $24,000 to the upside and $22,050 to the downside.

At the moment, the Fib extension sitting at $22,055 is the most likely strong support level, while Bitcoin’s upside is open to new highs if the cryptocurrency passes $24,000, $23,315, and $24,500.

BTC/USD 2-hour chart

Bitcoin’s 4-hour and weekly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and monthly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is heavily overbought (80.71)
  • Volume is far higher than its average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum has, just like Bitcoin, hit a wall in its price ascension, triggering a pullback from the highs of $675. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap quickly fell to its immediate support level, which sits at $632. This level held up nicely, and Ethereum is now on a slow rise after confirming the support level.

An important thing to note is that Ethereum is very far from reaching its all-time high. It might be a good value investment simply because of its potential to increase its price faster than Bitcoin.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s 4-hour and monthly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and weekly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMAs
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI has barely left the overbought territory (67.29)
  • Volume is much higher than its weekly average but is descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $675                                     1: $632

2: $738.5                                  2: $600 

3: $817.5                                   3: $581

Ripple

XRP was the cryptocurrency that experienced the largest gains out of the three cryptocurrencies we cover daily. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap couldn’t break a high of $0.597 with conviction (though the price briefly went as high as $0.656), which triggered a correction to its $0.57 support level. After confirming this level as strong support, XRP continued its path towards the upside and slowly started increasing in price. It is currently contesting the $0.597 level once again.


XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s 4-hour and monthly overview are fully bullish, while its daily and weekly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is nearing the overbought territory (63.71)
  • Volume is well above its average level, thought descending
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.597                                    1: $0.57

2: $0.63                                    2: $0.543

3: $0.66                                     3: $0.5

Categories
Crypto Videos

Is Crypto Now The Only Way You Can Pay For Porn? Verge & Bitcoin Domination!


Visa and MasterCard Cut Off Pornhub – Verge Cryptocurrency in the Spotlight

Verge, the cryptocurrency now infamous for its links to none other than the porn industry, is on the rise again — all thanks to a classic fiat money scandal.

As the adult entertainment giant Pornhub confirmed in the second week of December, payment providers Visa and MasterCard will no longer service its payments, leaving only Verge cryptocurrency for its roughly 120 million daily visitors.

The reason for the payment providers pulling out is, as the companies say, all the questions which remain over the way Pornhub is dealing with illegal content. While the suspension is permanent for MasterCard, Visa will continue to monitor its decision and possibly revert it once the dust is settled.

Responding to this event, Pornhub told the Associated Press that the allegations towards it were “irresponsible and flagrantly untrue.” Visa and MasterCard were not the first payment processors to do this, as PayPal has already done the same thing, effectively forcing the company to lean exclusively on crypto payments.

While seriously bad for the website, the move has greatly improved the Verge’s outlook.

At the time of writing, XVG/USD traded at almost $0.007, having matched highs from June. Verge is currently the 97th largest cryptocurrency, sitting at a total market cap of $112 million.

Responding to Pornhub’s troubles, a member of the Verge Core Marketing Team, Mark Wittenberg, appealed to users to consider Verge as a currency. “It is our position to be used as a currency. If any models at @Pornhub need any form of assistance in getting familiar with the payment options, it’s our role as a worldwide community to help out.”

With Pornhub also accepting Bitcoin and Litecoin while also allowing their models to cash out in a number of other altcoins, Verge’s appeal may still remain limited.

Verge originally partnered with Pornhub back in April 2018 and helped it stay afloat as the original “altseason” came to a swift end. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

How Bitcoin Has Transformed Crowdfunding

Before the world started seeing cryptocurrency as a valid way of sending and receiving money, global charities and fundraisers relied on slow, geographically-limited, censorship-prone, and expensive donation methods. Admittedly, raising funds to promote educational content for children with special needs wasn’t a particularly easy feat a decade ago – just, for example. Bitcoin came, and activities in the crowdfunding space started breathing a new life. Fundraising for charity causes moved from local to international audiences, and project champions shifted their reliance from donors to the general public. 

In this article, we look at how the adoption of cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin) has transformed crowdfunding. We will review why Bitcoin was best suited for the job and the different forms in which crowdfunding has manifested.

Why Bitcoin?

It would be unfair to dismiss the contribution that altcoins have made to the transformation of crowdfunding. However, Bitcoin remains the leading crypto and, by far, the biggest contributor to this transformation. The transformation has mainly been due to the following characteristics, which fiat currencies lack:

#1. Anonymity – There are crowdfunding causes in which contributors wish to remain anonymous. The (relatively) anonymous nature of Bitcoin has made this possibility a reality. 

#2. Global presence – Unlike fiat money, Bitcoin is available in virtually all the countries of the world. This has made it a suitable currency for collecting donations from multiple countries. 

#3: Lower transaction costs – Compared to traditional money transfer platforms, Bitcoin offers relatively lower fees. While this might not make much difference to a user donating $5, a charity could realize massive savings, particularly if it has to bear the transaction’s cost. 

While Bitcoin has taken the lead, other cryptocurrencies have gained popularity in the recent past, especially due to increased privacy concerns. For instance, Monero, Zcash, and Dash have seen a rise in use among fundraisers focused on privacy. 

Centralized versus Decentralized Crowdfunding 

The case against centralized crowdfunding has been gaining momentum, with proponents arguing that it goes against the spirit of cryptocurrencies. Centralized crowdfunding has nothing to do with the centralized nature of fiat currencies. Instead, it is the idea that crowdfunding should not be facilitated by organizations in business just for that. There are firms, such as Patreon, whose core business is collecting funds on behalf of charities. Such organizations have been condemned for giving preferential treatment to charities they consider worthy of public support. 

Given this background, crowdfunding can either be organized privately or through centrally-managed platforms. Similarly, it can be done for individuals or organizations. Crowdfunding platforms are able to reach a wider audience within a short time, but usually charge some commission. Some of the common ones include Classy, Fundly and Crowdwise, which are popular among nonprofits. For personal fundraisers, sites such as GoFundMe and YouCaring are common. Individuals can also raise funds by posting requests on social media. The bottomline is, there is no one way to crowdfund. 

So, let’s look at some of the different ways through which Bitcoin has made the crowdfunding scene more exciting. 

#1. Venture Capital (VC) Funding

When small and medium-sized enterprises want to expand, they usually seek capital from investors. In such cases, investors offer their support in exchange for part ownership of the enterprise, which they call equity. Such investors can end up acquiring a majority stake in the enterprise and controlling the company, possibly against the founders’ vision. This undesirable situation is easily avoidable through alternative crowdfunding approaches discussed below.

For various reasons, such as higher returns, venture capitalists have shown a lot of interest in supporting blockchain projects such as PiggyBank, BlockCypher, and Chronicled. The growing prospects for Bitcoin have further boosted the confidence venture capitalists have on blockchain-based startups.

Apart from inspiring traditional venture capitalists, Bitcoin has also created a new breed of crypto-focused VCs such as Node Capital. The contribution of such VCs in powering new enterprises cannot go unnoticed. For instance, investments in companies such as Coinbase and Ripple are now paying off handsomely. 

#2. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

ICOs have become the new standard for startups to raise funds for their projects. Unlike traditional venture capital funding, ICOs do not target high net-worth investors, neither do they promise equity in the business. On the converse, they allow ordinary people to contribute to the growth of a project and get tokens in return. These tokens can be redeemed, exchanged for crypto or fiat money, or accord holders special privileges in the company. 

ICOs provide startups with a promising avenue for generating funds for whatever project the founders envision. Without the widespread adoption of Bitcoin, most of these startups would still be struggling to raise capital to bootstrap their operations. 

#3. Anonymous Donations

Crowdfunding has found its way to anonymous donations, especially in the wake of increased government censorship. Where authorities believe organizations are raising funds for clandestine or outright illegal projects, they normally freeze donations. For organizations that insist on pursuing their fundraising objectives despite government restrictions, anonymous fund transfer becomes the only available option. 

Bitcoin offers a substantive level of anonymity when it comes to transferring funds. While receiving addresses can be linked to a specific organization, the actors behind the organization can choose to remain anonymous since transacting with Bitcoin does not necessarily involve any know-your-customer (KYC) processes. The obscurity provided by Bitcoin’s privacy also benefits donors since those who do not wish to be identified with a certain movement can donate without leaving any trace of their identity. 

Activism has equally benefited a great deal from anonymous donations, thanks to Bitcoin. Activist movements, such as #EndSARS would have suffered a large blow if donations were restricted to fiat money. You see, it is very difficult to raise money to fight a government when you’re relying on currency issued by the same government you’re fighting. Other than beating logic, such efforts are tantamount to pushing against the wall.

Final Thoughts

Bitcoin has shaken many finance subsectors. Crowdfunding, which is a form of alternative funding, is among those sectors that have seen a massive transformation. Bitcoin has made crowdfunding possible from privacy-focused charities to those seeking support from global audiences in circumstances where it was previously impossible. The idea of crowdfunding using crypto has also inspired new funding initiatives, such as anonymous donations. It has also become easier for small organizations like startups to raise funds to power their ideas. End users have had new opportunities to contribute to ideas they believe in and would love to support – something that was less heard of before the age of Bitcoin crowdfunding. Overall, Bitcoin has made crowdfunding more accessible to the masses, which has in turn inspired radical ideas across the fundraising industry. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 17 – BTC Reaches a New ATH at $22k; XRP Skyrockets as it Breaks its Descending Channel

The cryptocurrency sector experienced an overall major gain as Bitcoin reached its new all-time high. Bitcoin is currently trading for $22.095, representing an increase of 13.82% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 9.69% on the day, while XRP managed to gain a whopping 23.35%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Puriever gained 238.59% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Combine.finance’s 159.58% and Amun Bitcoin 3x Daily Shorts’ 146.94% gain. On the other hand, BigGame lost 82.62%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by GNY’s loss of 75,95% and Hush’s loss of 61.30%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up over a whole percent since our last report, with its value currently being 65%. This value represents a 1.1% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased drastically since we last reported, with its current value being $634.94 billion. This represents a whopping $70.94 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has had quite an amazing day, as its price skyrocketed to new all-time highs. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap reached price discovery mode as its price topped at $22,400. While there are no set resistance levels at the moment, we can use Fib retracement extensions to determine where they could form.

At the moment, the Fib extensions sitting at $21,350 and $22,055 are the best contenders to act as support levels to Bitcoin’s eventual downturn.


BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily and weekly overview are fully bullish, while its 4-hour and monthly time-frames show slight neutrality on top of the overall bullishness.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly above its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is heavily overbought (86.76)
  • Volume is far higher than its average levels
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $24,315                                 1: $22,054

2: $24,700                                 2: $21,350

3: $25,511                                  3: $19,918

Ethereum

Ethereum followed the extremely bullish sentiment caused by Bitcoin’s push, reaching a price of $625 before hitting a sell wall. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has held these levels, and is currently consolidating above the $632 level.

An important thing to note is that, while Bitcoin has reached its ATH, Ethereum is very far from it. Ethereum might be a good value investment simply due to its potential to possibly reach towards higher levels on account of pushing towards its ATH.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

While Ethereum shows overall bullish sentiment on all time-frames, every time-frame except the monthly time-frame shows slight neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is far above both its 50-period and its 21-period EMAs
  • Price is at its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is heavily overbought (78.20)
  • Volume is much higher than its weekly average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $675                                     1: $636.5

2: $738.5                                  2: $632 

3: $817.5                                   3: $600

Ripple

Unlike most days where XRP is having larger moves to the downside and smaller moves to the upside compared to BTC and ETH, the roles are reversed this time. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has gained almost 25% on the day as its price bounced off of the lower line of the descending channel, and pushed towards the upside, reaching as high as $0.583 before starting its consolidation.

XRP is now trading within a range, bound by the $0.57 resistance and $0.543 support levels.


XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP has changed its sentiment to overall bullishness, with its monthly time-frame showing full tilt towards the buy-side, and the rest of the time-frames showing some neutrality or hints of bearishness remaining.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently above both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price slightly below its top Bollinger band
  • RSI is nearing the overbought territory (61.30)
  • Volume is well above its average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.57                                     1: $0.543

2: $0.597                                    2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                     3: $0.475

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Ready to Trade Cryptocurrencies? Read This First…

In 2013 I started investing in cryptocurrencies, to be more exact on Bitcoin. It all started when one of the people I followed on Twitter posted an image of a USB with the logo of a Bitcoin. On Twitter, he commented that he had started mining his first Bitcoins. The subject in question caught my attention as on the one hand I had not the remotest idea that it was a Bitcoin, and on the other hand, the word «mine» created confusion when trying to relate it to a device with a USB connection.

I made some searches and discovered that Bitcoin was a cryptocurrency or digital currency, open-source, decentralized, whose creator was unknown and that from its origin in 2009 had gone from worth cents to about $280, only to collapse later. I found the story very interesting so I kept looking for information on the web and especially on the Bitcointalk forum which was one of the few sites where you could find valuable things. At the end of that same summer, I bought my first Bitcoins so that I could better understand firsthand everything I was learning.

That was briefly my beginning in the world of cryptocurrencies. Since then everything has evolved a lot and I have had the opportunity to go through several bullish and bass cycles in which I have made countless successes and mistakes. In this post, I will comment on which are in my opinion the most important things if you want to start investing in cryptocurrencies.

Learn Before Investing

If you want to be successful by investing or trading you need to be trained and prepared for it. If we talk about cryptocurrencies we must add some additional difficulties compared to other traditional financial assets. First, it requires a learning process to understand its technology and peculiarities as well as having great volatility and less liquidity than other types of investment. Therefore, investing without any preparation can lead us to lose all our money so as a starting point I would recommend:

Acquire general knowledge about blockchain and cryptocurrencies: their basic operation, as a transaction occurs, where cryptocurrencies are stored and in general understand the entire ecosystem related to the blockchain.

Technical Analysis: it will allow you to analyze a chart, know in which phase of the market we are, and look for points of entry as precise as possible.

Fundamental Analysis: when we want to invest in a listed company we analyze its strengths, weaknesses, business model, certain ratios, etc. To invest in cryptocurrencies we have to do something similar so we have to familiarize ourselves with certain ratios, metrics, and factors to analyze in any project in which we are interested.

Be informed about the latest news, both those directly related to cryptocurrencies and others at the macro level that can also influence the price.

Focus on Long-Term Investment

A mistake I made for quite some time was to be too attentive to the short term and not to have a broader view of the market. With few exceptions, I think we should forget about short-term trading or intraday trading and it is better to focus on the medium and long term. The idea is to try to make profits in the big phases of climbs and to get away in periods of great noise and uncertainty. We must try to follow much of the trend when a new upward cycle begins.

In addition, focusing on longer timeframes reduces emotional and irrational reactions to the short term that most people are victims of when investing in any market. To sum up the ideas a bit, it is not necessary to open operations with cryptocurrencies every day or week, as it would almost certainly lead to losses. You will probably make 80-90% of your earnings during bullish cycles so for the rest of the time a good idea is to focus on preserving capital.

Worry About Safety

Most of you may have heard stories about stolen bitcoins, hacked exchanges, lost private keys, … etc. When all there is money on the table is important to take all possible security measures. It is often claimed that we are our own bank when we use Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, this tells us that we are the only ones responsible for protecting our capital.

Some of the things you can do to keep your investments safe are:

Activate the dual authentication factor: Enabling 2FA (dual authentication factor) is the first thing to do immediately after opening an account in an online exchange or purse where your cryptocurrencies are. All exchanges have this option and this way you make sure that if your login and passwords are compromised, theoretically no person has the possibility to enter your account unless they also enter the 6-digit code that only you have the power to access on your phone. Also, enable it in your email accounts.

If possible, avoid 2FA via SMS and use a single-use password application such as Google Authenticator that supports a multitude of exchanges and applications such as Gmail, Dropbox, Coinbase, Bitstamp, Binance, etc.

Protect your passwords: Use long, as secure as possible and different passwords on each of the pages or apps you sign up for. As it can be a bit cumbersome every time you want to access them, use a password manager. These programs allow you to store a lot of passwords in an encrypted database, so you only have to memorize one key to access all the others. Some recommended password managers are LastPass or KeePass.

Use purses or wallets for cryptocurrencies: This point and the previous one are related but are of such importance that I prefer to dedicate a single paragraph to it. A wallet (also called a wallet) is the place where we keep our cryptocurrencies and allow us to send and receive them. Although blockchain technology is very secure, exchanges or exchange houses are a very weak link within the ecosystem and the number of hacks that have occurred since the birth of Bitcoin has been countless.

Among some of the most important, we can highlight the hack of the exchange platform MT.Gox in February 2014 in which a total of approximately 744,408 BTC were stolen or the Cryptopia exchange hack in January 2019 in which approximately $16 million was stolen.

For all the above, avoid keeping your cryptocurrencies in exchanges and keep them as safe as possible using purses to keep your investments safe.

Don’t Invest Money You’re Not Willing to Lose

It’s a super-repeated phrase in the investment world, but it’s still a common mistake. During the last bearish cycle, Bitcoin lost approximately 84% of its value. Many other cryptocurrencies suffered much greater losses, not counting those that have disappeared along the way losing many people all the money invested.

Even if you have an investment plan, adequate risk management and you are able to manage your positions correctly, there are still other risks inherent to the investment in cryptocurrencies, such as those discussed in previous sections related to security, make you lose all your capital.

Therefore, as a starting point when investing in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin or any other crypto is that you’re only willing to invest the capital you are willing to lose. It must be money you don’t need in your day to day so that if you lose it doesn’t affect your life.

Develop a Critical Vision

One of the most widely used abbreviations in the crypto world is DYOR, which comes from the English «Do your own research» which means that you must do your own research before investing in a project. On the date I write this article, there are more than 2,000 cryptocurrencies and tokens on the market. Some are projects with great growth potential while others are destined to disappear or are simply scams. You may also find several hundred opinions on projects or predictions about the price of Bitcoin in the future on social networks.

For all the above my recommendations are:

-Be skeptical of information you may find in media such as blogs, RRSSs, or newspapers.

-Don’t invest your money based on other people’s opinions.

-Make your own analyses that support your investment decisions. So you will be solely responsible for your successes and mistakes and will be a good starting point to improve your strategies and make better decisions in the future.

-To analyze in depth a token or cryptocurrency and form your own opinion, some of the sources you can use are:

-Web page for project information, development roadmap, work team, etc.

-Read his whitepaper.

-Telegram groups/Discord.

-Social media, blog, and other communication channels

-Perform Google searches where you will find analysis and reviews.

All this information, together with the knowledge you acquire through learning, will lead you to ideas and thoughts of your own.

Bitcoin Is Tops

Although many competitors have emerged, Bitcoin remains the most important cryptocurrency due to:

  • Increased market capitalization
  • Increased number of users
  • Increased security of the network

Greater liquidity: when investing, Bitcoin has more volume of trading in exchanges than the rest of cryptocurrencies and is also the first trading in the regulated futures market. In addition, it continues to await the approval of an ETF that would allow a large number of investors to invest in Bitcoin without having to worry about the purchase and storage process as we do now.

Bitcoin as a reserve of value: some characteristics such as its scarcity or that it has no correlation with any other financial asset makes it gradually start to be considered as a possible reserve of value such as GOLD. According to the words of Jerome Powell, President of the Federal Reserve of the United States on July 11 «Bitcoin is a speculative reserve of value just like Gold». Considering from whom this statement comes must be taken into account. For all these reasons, and also for others, I consider Bitcoin the cryptocurrency with the greatest projection for the future.

For this reason:

-I always have bitcoin as a reference point when analyzing the market and planning the strategy to follow.

-When I invest in cryptocurrencies, I always maintain a high percentage in BTC as it usually has a good performance even though at certain times some altcoins may have higher returns.

FOMO: Watch Your Emotions

Some technologies may be new, but people’s behavior is old. Markets from the beginning are largely driven by emotions and the strongest are fear and greed. The expression «FOMO» (fear of missing out) whose translation is something like fear of missing something, refers to the emotions mentioned above and that lead us to make wrong decisions.

Very often, when a cryptocurrency in which we want to invest begins to increase its price quickly, we are tempted to enter for fear of staying outside and not making money. You have to avoid buying by chasing the price in this way as many times at the time of buying, the price will start to correct and we will get caught in losses.

As a significant example, we can think of many people in December 2017 entering into Bitcoin highs around $20,000 guided by FOMO. What does this lead to? On the other hand, the big investors were selling the Bitcoins that they bought at lower prices, which later led to the price drop and the beginning of the bearish cycle in which many people were trapped.

The way to avoid being dragged by emotions is to create an investment plan and follow it. Let us not enter when the market is widespread when we should have done so earlier according to our investment plan.

The cryptocurrency market is very unpredictable and volatile, so to start we can start with strategies such as DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging), in which we make purchases spaced in time. We will not capture the soils of the market, but we will get acceptable yields. On the other hand, being aware of our emotions and detecting in this case the feeling of thinking that we are going to stay out is a first step to correct it.

Conclusion

These have been the things that I consider most important when starting to invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, BNB, or any other cryptocurrency that you are interested in.

Categories
Crypto Videos

Origin Dollar Is Compensating Investors After The $7,000,000 Hack!


How Can DeFi Improve Adoption Rates? Origin Dollar’s Compensation Plan Announced

Decentralized finance stablecoin project Origin Finance announced its plan to compensate users affected by a $7 million exploit that happened in Nov.

On Nov 17, Origin Dollar announced that its yield-bearing stablecoin project had been the subject of a $7 million flash loan attack. While this attack is just another instance of the numerous hacks and exploits hitting DeFi projects this year, the Origin Dollar team’s response stands out as it intends to fully compensate the affected users.

In a blog post that came out on Friday, Dec 11, Origin Dollar product manager Micah Alcorn has laid out a multi-tiered plan that would immediately pay 75% of its users their lost funds, all denominated in Origin Dollar’s stablecoin OUSD.


On the other hand, for larger depositors, payments would be a slightly more complicated process, as they would involve a 1-year time-locked quantity denominated in the e-commerce utility token OGN. This means that whether or not these larger depositors will be 100% compensated for their loss will depend on the utility OGN token’s performance.

Even with the timelock included in the payout plan, Alan, a semi-anonymous core developer for the insurance-coverage protocol Cover, says that the effort coming from Origin might help attract new users to the DeFi space. 

He stated that this type of behavior sets a precedent that allows DeFi users to feel more confident in the platforms that they use, which would, in turn, help with the adoption of the protocols themselves. According to Alan, the Cover project he is working on has nearly tripled its total value locked ever since its users decided to cover the Pickle Finance hack.

Following the same trend, Nsure Network — another coverage protocol currently in testnet phase — has been doing great lately, rising nearly 60% on the month.

As the hack and fraud coverage tools develop, Alan recommends that developers take their time to seriously investigate launching projects with coverage plans and clear exploit contingencies as a core feature.

“DeFi needs to set a strong precedent that the protocols themselves need to be held accountable if they manage to get hacked, rather than its users. From what I’ve seen with the recent exploits happening, getting hacked simply means ‘Oops, we’ll make sure to patch this bug and do better next time’ to most projects. Having an “insurance fund” really brings comfort to users, as they now know that if the protocol gets hacked, their deposits are, at least to some degree, covered.” – said Alan.

If DeFi is ever going to truly break mainstream, these kinds of protections and contingency plans might be a requirement rather than just a luxury.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What Exactly is Proof of Keys?

In crypto, there’s a saying: “not your keys, not your coins.” This means that if you do not have sole custody of your private keys, you cannot really claim to have ownership over your funds. If your keys are with a crypto exchange or any other third-party custodian, you may as well forget about being the true owner of your funds. 

Many crypto owners today make the mistake of leaving their funds on exchanges. But considering the insecurity history of crypto exchanges, they are far from the safest place to keep your cryptocurrency. Millions, (or perhaps billions) worth of crypto has been lost through hacks on exchanges. The most famous one is Mt. Gox, in which people lost vast sums of Bitcoin and are yet to be compensated up to this day. And while that may be several years ago, crypto hackers are always upping the game. This is to say exchanges are not a safe place to store your crypto. 

So, how does that have anything to do with proof of keys? 

Understanding Proof of Keys 

Proof of Keys is actually ‘Proof of Keys Day’ in full. The event is the idea of crypto investor Trace Mayer, who came up with the concept so as to spread awareness of the need for crypto owners to practice self custody of their private keys and, in so doing, reclaim their financial independence. Proof of Keys is an annual celebration every January 3rd. 

Proof of Keys day is an idea geared at preventing crypto investors’ reliance on exchanges to store their funds. The first Proof of Keys event happened on January 3rd, 2019 – to intentionally coincide with the day of Bitcoin’s genesis block. 

In essence, Proof of Keys Day is a day to celebrate financial autonomy. The bigger picture is to remind crypto investors of the importance of keeping their private keys in their personal wallets. By having full control of their keys, they can rest assured that no one has access to their crypto holdings. 

Crypto holders have access to numerous types of crypto wallets – from online wallets to paper wallets to desktop wallets to hardware wallets. However, hardware wallets are the most secure options out there – and among the most reputable of these is Ledger, Trezor, and KeepKey. Hardware wallets are not connected to the internet. This renders them immune to hackings and other online vulnerabilities. 

What are the Intended Outcomes of Proof of Keys Day? 

The philosophy guiding Proof Of Keys Day is perfectly in step with that of Bitcoin: to eliminate third-party intermediaries and operate in a trustless electronic money transfer system where parties can operate securely and confidently without sacrificing their financial sovereignty. With that, let’s look at the intended outcomes of Proof Of Keys Day: 

#1. Teach new crypto investors how to move funds around

Crypto holders should be knowledgeable and comfortable enough to move their coins around. While this may be as easy as ABC for veterans, it can be intimidating for newcomers. From the (seemingly) complex key numbers to the wide range of wallets, it can all look absolutely bewildering. For this reason, Proof of Keys Day encourages investors to familiarize themselves with the different types of cryptocurrency wallets and how to use them. It also reminds them how the transfer of value happens on the blockchain. 

#2. Remind crypto holders to actually own their funds 

Like we’ve mentioned before, the main objective of Proof of Keys Day is to encourage crypto investors to take ownership of their private keys. When you leave your funds on an exchange, you essentially forfeit complete control of your money. Though it takes place only once a year, Proof of Keys Day is a chance for people to reclaim control of what’s theirs. 

#3. Expose dishonest crypto exchanges

Financial entities are known for fractional reserve banking – which is the practice of leveraging existing customer deposits by lending out more funds than what they truly have at hand. While this profits the institutions, it’s risky for the real owners of the money since a ‘bank panic’ could cause bankruptcy for the institution. In the crypto space, Proof of Keys Day could encourage holes of crypto investors to withdraw their money from exchanges. If enough investors do that, it may expose exchanges engaging in fractional reserve tendencies or those that lie about their actual reserves. That’s if the publicly verifiable nature of blockchain networks has not already done so.

#4. Celebrate Bitcoin’s genesis block

Last but certainly not least, Proof of Keys Day allows investors from all over the world to celebrate the Bitcoin genesis block – the first day a block was mined on the Bitcoin network. The genesis block was the first-ever Bitcoin transaction. In the transaction, Satoshi Nakamoto sent 50 BTC to Hal Finney – an early Bitcoin developer. It’s also, to an extent, a day to remember the first ‘commercial” Bitcoin transaction when somebody bought two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins.

How to Participate in the Proof of Keys Movement

Whether you’re a newcomer to crypto or a veteran, you’ll find that participating in Proof of Keys Day is very easy. Again the idea is to express financial independence by moving all funds from exchanges or other custodial services. 

To get started, take an inventory of all crypto coins you have on exchanges. This will show you who really owns what in regards to your money. Then, proceed to choose a crypto wallet of your choice. Ensure to choose a wallet that you’re comfortable with and one with a sufficient level of security. Next, transfer your funds from custodial platforms to your personal wallet. This means you can now control your private keys and, with them, your funds. 

Some crypto investors celebrate Proof of Keys Day, even if for one day. This involves moving their coins from exchanges for one day in a symbolic move to affirm their financial autonomy. Active traders are the ones more likely to engage in this kind of practice. This is because they need to have their crypto funds in exchanges to facilitate trades. After the symbolic transfer of funds to their personal wallets, they usually move them back to exchanges. But for long-term investors (HODLers), it’s better to keep their money in their personal wallets. 

Final Thoughts

Proof of Keys Day is a simple concept – but quite monumental in meaning. It’s a day to remind crypto holders to take back ownership of their funds by taking control of their private keys. Hordes of crypto investors participate in the event with a single goal of affirming their financial sovereignty. It’s a day to educate people and remind them about crypto security principles in general. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Blockchain in Fashion  and Luxury Retail

Nearly every industry these days is discovering the potential and power of blockchain. Even fashion, which you may not expect, is slowly onboarding the tech. The fashion industry is one where fraud is all too common – at least when it comes to sourcing authentic materials. But putting aside the solving of problems, are there ways in which blockchain can make the fashion industry better?

In this article, we’ll discover that yes, there are. In fact, several brands are spearheading the shift to the blockchain, including the luxury jewelry industry. Whether it’s increasing transparency, giving fashion workers a fairer shot, reducing wastage, blockchain can do so much for fashion. 

With that, let’s dive into how blockchain can be good for the fashion industry. 

#1. Monitoring deliveries 

With blockchain, fashion companies can be assured of items and parcels, making their way to the desired destination. Participants to every delivery can monitor real-time where an item is. Having to wait for deliveries is a tedious and productivity-decreasing process. This becomes even worse when a project relies on several deliveries. It can be a tall order keeping track of every single delivery. And in case of losses, that might turn up bad real fast. 

Blockchain-powered tracking of deliveries and purchases can reduce the likelihood of losses and the confusion that arises from customers having to run around trying to retrieve persons that didn’t make it on time/at all. Every single step can be monitored on the transparent blockchain, where everyone can see the progress, making for an efficient and desirable experience for everyone involved.

 #2. Reducing counterfeits

The blockchain could help dramatically reduce counterfeits. In fashion, authenticity is highly valued, and in the future, a QR code to verify genuineness will be the standard. If an authentic item has been switched for a fake in the distribution process, it will be very easy for the blockchain to smoke that out. 

The Italian government recently pumped €15 million into blockchain technology to help reduce ‘Made in Italy’ counterfeiting in various industries, including fashion. The introduction of the technology will go a long way to protecting authentic ‘Made in Italy’ goods. 

#3. Reclaiming ownership

With the rise of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), people’s interest in blockchain ownership has also spiked. Blockchain allows people to own their data and intellectual and physical property in a trustless and verifiable manner. 

Fashion designers are already taking advantage of this possibility. Martine Jaelgaard, a London-based designer, incorporated QR codes in her garments, which allows them to be recorded and tracked on the blockchain. 

Paris-based Satoshi Studios sells high-quality sneakers that can be tracked using the blockchain using a QR code. This allows an individual to track the origin and supplies for the material and every process in manufacturing. 

#4. Provenance

The luxury industry of diamonds benefits from blockchain as companies use it to trace every step of the supply process. From mining to transporting to molding to sales, it’s easy to monitor every component of the process. 

Major diamond brand DeBeers is leading an industry-wide move into blockchain adoption, as blockchain-based diamond tracking platform Tracr becomes more influential. London-based diamond retailer Taylor & Hart has teamed up with blockchain company Everledger to authenticate the source of diamonds using the blockchain. Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco-based jewel retailer, is also using the Everledger platform for the same end. 

Such transparent processes ensure that buyers have more confidence in what they’re purchasing – together with its source, businesses in the diamond industry can keep their reputation. 

#5. Supply chain management

Blockchain can infinitely improve supply chain management for all kinds of industries. A lot has to do with transparency: it’s possible to track the movement of materials from the manufacturer to the retailer and, in some cases, ownership. 

Fashion giant Burberry recently partnered with IBM for a blockchain-based protocol that would allow customers to register their items and allow the viewing of the history and information about the garment and its impact on the environment and even people. 

The protocol, dubbed ‘Voyage’, allows customers to view an item’s supply chain before purchasing and registering them on the blockchain using corresponding serial numbers. Voyage is a pioneering information tool that will allow end-users to ascertain whether the right material has been used and if working conditions were good for workers.

#6. Improve employee welfare/reducing the recalling of products 

The transparency accorded by blockchain means fashion businesses can look at the data surrounding the supply chain’s employees. We hear reports all the time about poor working conditions or pay for workers all over the world. With blockchain in fashion, it will be easier to highlight concerns and improve employee welfare. This can include logging in the hours worked in the blockchain – and these hours being accounted for fairly. 

Also, blockchain-powered quality assurance can help prevent unnecessary costs, and items are less likely to depreciate in quality while being taken to the customer. 

#6. Blockchain-based warranties and coupons 

Maintaining open-source records of when goods were purchased could make it infinitely easier for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers to track when goods were purchased and keep records of warranties and guarantees. 

Customers will no longer have to hang on to physical receipts for years. All they will need to do is log into an account and access the same purchasing information as to their manufacturer and retailer.

Also, it will be easy for retailers to offer digital coupons to their customers. Such an issuance process is not only transparent; it also allows retailers to reach wider audiences in a more effective and cost-efficient process. 

#7. Consumer data ownership

Blockchain tech will help participants in fashion track items, but consumers can also have more control over their data. When fashion brands enter customer’s data on the blockchain, customers can view any activity surrounding it. 

This is incredibly important, especially in an era when concerns around data privacy become more prevalent than ever, and companies like Facebook face increased regulatory pressure around their treatment of user data. 

Final Thoughts 

Blockchain can offer so much to the fashion world. Between facilitating transparency to ensuring fair work practices to cost efficiency to the reduction of waste to improving customer experience, there’s no end in sight for the incredible potential of blockchain to positively disrupt the fashion world. Ultimately, the tech will serve to improve the relationship between brands and customers for the good of everyone involved. Blockchain can herald a new future for fashion. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 16 – XRP Getting Crushed; BTC and ETH Stuck within a Range

The cryptocurrency sector was mostly stable today as Bitcoin kept within its trading range. Bitcoin is currently trading for $19,393, representing an increase of 1.13% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 0.10% on the day, while XRP managed to lose a whopping 8.56%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

XcelToken Plus gained 263.82% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Amun Bitcoin 3x Daily Long’s 161.53% and rbase.finance’s 129.84% gain. On the other hand, Maximine Coin lost 99.42%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by STEM CELL COIN’s loss of 97.69% and Patron’s loss of 89.45%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up since our last report, with its value currently being 63.9%. This value represents a 0.4% difference to the upside than the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased slightly since we last reported, with its current value being $564.0 billion. This represents a $4.20 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin has continued trading within a range between $19,100 and $19,570, possibly hitting a wall of profit-taking institutional traders. Despite the overall bullishness of the market, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap failed to break the $19,666 level or even reach it. This is because of the increasing number of BTC Whales (holders of 10,000 to 100,000 Bitcoin) leaving the market and taking profit as the price approaches the $20,000 mark.

The sheer amount of resistance hovering above $19,500 will make it quite hard for Bitcoin bulls to push towards the all-time highs. In case the aforementioned push doesn’t happen, we can expect a possible dip towards $18,000.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s overview on all time-frames is bullish, with its weekly time-frame being the only one completely bullish. The rest of the time-frames are slightly tilted to the neutral side.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (60.06)
  • Volume is average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $19,100                                 1: $18,600

2: $19,666                                 2: $18,190

3: $20,000                                  3: $17,800

Ethereum

Ethereum has hit a sell wall as well, stopping its upward price movement just below $600 for the third time in 3 days. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is stuck between $581 to the downside and $600 to the upside, which is a very narrow range for long-term trading.

Ethereum will most likely experience a sharp break out of the current range, creating a potential safe trade with set parameters.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s overview on all time-frames is bullish, with its daily time-frame being the only one completely bullish. The rest of the time-frames are slightly tilted to the neutral side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is slightly above its 50-period and at its 21-period EMAs
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (54.03)
  • Volume is slightly below average when compared to the previous week
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $600                                     1: $581

2: $632                                     2: $565 

3: $636.5                                   3: $545

Ripple

XRP has continued its downturn, this time breaking the crucial $0.475 level. Its price has steadily decreased ever since Dec 1, when it could not break $0.683. This steady descent has created a downtrend, which many analysts think is the death of XRP’s price.

However, there is still hope for XRP. Some analysts believe that this is the 4th of 5 waves in a pattern that XRP started creating on Aug 20 and that the next wave will start an uptrend that will propel its price above $1.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s longer-term technicals are tilted towards the buy-side, while its short-term technicals are tilted towards the sell-side. While its 4-hour time-frame is completely bearish, its daily overview is slightly more neutral.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently well below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to the oversold territory (31.25)
  • Volume is well below its average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.5                                      1: $0.475

2: $0.543                                   2: $0.45

3: $0.57                                    3: $0.425

Categories
Crypto Videos

Crypto!The 3 Best Key Indicators To Watch When Trading Bitcoin! No

3 Key Indicators to Watch When Trading Bitcoin

 

For the past week, Bitcoin’s price has been dancing around the $20,000 mark, which has led many traders to lose their patience. In the eyes of those traders, the current lack of bullish momentum is problematic, especially when considering that Bitcoin tested the $16,200 level roughly two weeks ago.

Experienced traders tend to look at several key indicators that serve as telling signs of a major trend reversal. These key indicators are:

  • The futures premium
  • Volumes, and
  • Top traders’ positions at major exchanges


While a handful of negative indicators do not precede every dip, there are some signs of weakness that show a trend reversal more often than not. 

Monitoring the futures contracts premium

The open interest of perpetual contract buyers and sellers is matched at all times in any futures contract. Simply put, there is no way an imbalance of any form can happen, as every trade requires both a buyer and a seller.

Funding rates ensure that there are no exchange risk imbalances. When sellers are the ones demanding more leverage, the funding rate goes negative. Therefore, the traders who want to be on the short side will be the ones paying the fees. The opposite is true, as well.

Sudden shifts to the negative funding rates indicate a strong interest in keeping short positions open. Ideally, investors would monitor a couple of exchanges at the same time to avoid eventual anomalies, no matter how rare they are.

By measuring how much more expensive futures contracts are versus the regular spot market, traders can gauge the bullishness level of the market.

The fixed-calendar futures usually trade with a 0.5% or higher premium when compared to regular spot exchanges. Whenever this premium decreases or turns negative, traders can consider this a red flag. Such a situation, also called backwardation, indicates strong bearishness.

Monitoring volume

In addition to constantly checking futures contracts, good traders also track the spot market volumes. Breaking important resistance levels while simultaneously showing low volumes is somehow intriguing. Typically, low volumes show a lack of confidence. Therefore, any significant price change should be accompanied by an increase in trading volume.

Top traders long-to-short ratio 

Another key metric that can be used is the top traders’ long-to-short ratio. This metric can be found at many leading crypto exchanges.

Traders should pay attention to changes in this metric rather than absolute figures as there are often discrepancies between exchanges’ methodologies.

As an example, a sudden move below the 1.00 long-to-short ratio should be a troubling signal. This is because the historical 30-day data, as well as the current 1.23 figure, favor longs.

As we mentioned before, the ratio can differ significantly between exchanges, but traders should watch changes in ratios rather than the absolute numbers themselves.

Unlike our previous example from Binance, it is common for OKEx top traders to hold levels below 1.00, all while not necessarily indicating bearishness. According to the 30-day data on this exchange, numbers below 0.75 should be cause for worry.

Conclusion

No set rule or method could predict every single spike or dip, but certainly, there are ways to improve your chances of improving your profitability when trading.

Monitoring the funding rate, spot volumes, as well as the top traders’ long-to-short ratio provides a much clearer view of the Bitcoin market as a whole, rather than simply reading candlestick patterns and monitoring general oscillators like the RSI and MACD.

This is mostly because the aforementioned metrics provide a direct gauge of professional traders’ sentiment, rather than just retail sector sentiment, and it is crucial to take them into account as Bitcoin tries to break $20,000.

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s Ethereum 2.0 and Why Does it Matter? 

After a years-long wait, Ethereum 2.0 is finally here. Well, almost. The major upgrade will see the Ethereum network fix various scalability and security issues. The most notable shift will perhaps be moving from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) protocol. 

But this is just a scratch on the surface. With Ethereum being one of the most important cryptocurrencies in the world, Ethereum 2.0 is set to shake up not just the Ethereum ecosystem but cryptoverse in general. 

Understanding Ethereum 2.0

Ethereum 2.0 is an upgrade to the Ethereum protocol. Also known as Eth2 or Serenity, the update is meant to improve the scalability and security of Ethereum. The current Ethereum blockchain, with the scalability of 15 transactions per second (TPS), can simply not handle the volume that would be required to handle millions of transactions per second. Eth2 will not just power dramatically more than that; it will also remove bottlenecks for developers and users.

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and the team have been working on Eth2 for years now. This is because scaling a blockchain without sacrificing security and decentralization is not an easy task. Eth2 will address these issues through several important features that will be starkly different from the Ethereum we have now. 

What’s the difference between Ethereum and Ethereum 2.0? 

What will mainly distinguish the two versions is that Ethereum 2.0 will feature a proof-of-stake consensus, implementing shard chains and the beacon chain. Let’s look at each of these features in more detail. 

#1. Proof-of-stake 

Ethereum currently implements a proof-of-work consensus model to secure the network and maintain and facilitate an incentive mechanism to reward miners who confirm and validate transactions on the network. Unfortunately, PoW requires huge amounts of energy – which is not sustainable in the long run. 

PoS is a far faster and sustainable alternative to PoW. PoS involves granting stakers in the network the right to become a validator and get paid to verify transactions. Other validators can confirm the “minting” of the block. If there are enough confirmations, the block can be added to the blockchain. Validators will then be rewarded with block rewards for the successful block. 

PoS is a lot of times better than PoW when it comes to energy-efficiency. This is because, unlike PoW, there isn’t an energy-intensive process required to validate blocks. This is also good news for individuals who want to help secure the network. 

Another feature that a PoS model will enable security on Ethereum 2.0 not previously possible with PoW. PoW is susceptible to a 51% attack. The PoS model will not only reward validators for being honest; it will penalize attempts at fraud. One such penalty will be ‘slashing,’ which will not only involve the validator in question being forced out, but all/part of their stake will be penalized. 

#2. Sharding 

Individuals who wish to access the Ethereum network have to do that via a node. Nodes store a copy of the entire Ethereum network, meaning they have to download it. This takes up too much storage and slows things down. 

Shard chains act like the blockchain but only hold a specific subset of the blockchain in question. This means nodes only have to manage a ‘shard’ of the entire network. This goes a long way in increasing transaction throughput and enhancing scalability. 

#3. The beacon chain 

Shard chains will work in a parallel version. This necessitates a mechanism of sorts to keep them in sync with one another. Enter the beacon chain, which will facilitate consensus to shard chains. 

Beacon chain is a completely new, proof-of-stake blockchain rendering that will be the coordinator of the whole ecosystem. The chain will facilitate data sharing between the shard chains and facilitate scalability. The beacon chain will be the first roll-out feature of Eth2. 

How Ethereum 2.0 Will Be Rolled Out 

Ethereum 2.0 will not be released at once but rather in three phases. Each phase will feature a crucial feature to contribute to the success of the new blockchain. 

#1. Phase 0

Phase 0 constitutes the first rollout, and it will come down to the release of the beacon chain, which is central to the network’s functioning. The beacon chain will start accepting stakers’ deposits in preparation for the proof-of-stake consensus. All registered stakers will not be able to withdraw from the contract until shard chains are put in place. Afterward, staking deposits will be locked up until the next rollout. The Phase needed a minimum threshold of 524,288 ETH to launch. This target has already been met and even passed. 

#2. Phase 1/1.5

The next phase will be two phases combined: Phase 1 and Phase 1.5. Phase 1 will bring with it shard chains, which will allow validators to produce blocks via a PoS consensus. Phase 1.5 will officially now introduce shard chains and begin the transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. This phase will be released in 2021. 

#3. Phase 2 

This will be the final phase, whereby the blockchain will fully support shard chains – which will have taken on new features and capabilities. The shards will have the ability to integrate with smart contracts, allowing decentralized applications (DApps) developers to mesh seamlessly with the network. This phase will be slowly rolled out in 2021 and beyond. 

When Will Ethereum 2.0 Be Released? 

The Ethereum 2.0 upgrade will start rolling out on December 1, according to a blog post by the Ethereum Foundation on November 4. The launch is conditional on at least 16,383 validators, each staking 32 ETH to make up 524,288 ETH. Vitalik Buterin led the way in depositing ETH, putting up 3,200 (worth more than $1 million), according to Etherscan, which tracks Ethereum transactions. See the launch pad where ETH is being deposited here

Ethereum enthusiasts are naturally excited about the launch and hope everything will fall in place. If the launch is successful, the Ethereum network as we know it will change a lot – and for the better. 

Closing Thoughts 

Ethereum 2.0 is a long-awaited update to the world’s second most popular crypto and blockchain network. Having been introduced to the world of smart contracts and DApps, the network has been the most popular go-to option for DApp developers worldwide. But in recent years, the network has been grappling with scalability issues that would have proven unsustainable in the long term.

The rollout of the new network will take a while, even longer than many expect. But as long as the train will soon leave the station – that’s good enough news for the community. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 15 – Bitcoin Whales Stopping the Push Towards $20k; XRP on the Downturn

The majority of the cryptocurrency sector ended up being in the slight green since we last reported, with Bitcoin trying to reach the all-time highs (though so-far unsuccessfully). Bitcoin is currently trading for $19,106, representing an increase of 0.15% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 0.32% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 2.97%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Mandi Token gained 175.35% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by yTSLA Finance’s 169.53% and DefHold’s 129.84% gain. On the other hand, DistX lost 98.32%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by AC Index’s loss of 94.05% and YXO’s loss of 43.16%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up very slightly since our last report, with its value currently being 63.5%. This value represents a 0.2% difference to the upside compared to the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased since we last reported, with its current value being $569.80 billion. This represents a $9.01 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

_______________________________________________________________________

What happened in the past 24 hours?

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Technical analysis

_______________________________________________________________________

Bitcoin

Bitcoin had quite an interesting day as it (at one point) tried to push towards the all-time highs, or at least towards its next resistance level (sitting at $19,666). However, the sheer resistance near the $20k level was immense, and the largest cryptocurrency by market cap dipped to its immediate support level ($19,100), which is where it’s at right now.

The data provided by various sources point to Bitcoin whales blocking the way towards and past $20k, despite all the bullish sentiment currently surrounding the cryptocurrency.


BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s overview on all time-frames is fully bullish, with its monthly time-frame being slightly more tilted to the neutral side than the rest.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above its 50-period and slightly above its 21-period EMA
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (55.33)
  • Volume is average when compared to the past week
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $19,100                                 1: $18,600

2: $19,666                                 2: $18,190

3: $20,000                                  3: $17,800

Ethereum

Ethereum was in the same boat as Bitcoin for the past couple of days, with its price movement mirroring Bitcoin’s. Ether tried to move towards the $600 mark, but got stopped out just below it, triggering a pullback to its immediate support level ($581). However, its downside is well-guarded, both by the $581 support level and the 4-hour 21-period moving average.

Ethereum will most likely continue mirroring Bitcoin’s moves in the short future, meaning that traders should either focus on trading Bitcoin or pay close attention to its movements while trading Ether.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s overview on all time-frames is fully bullish, with its weekly time-frame being slightly more tilted to the neutral side than the rest.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is slightly above both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is near its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (53.74)
  • Volume is slightly below average when compared to the previous week
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $600                                     1: $581

2: $632                                     2: $565 

3: $636.5                                   3: $545

Ripple

XRP is one of the cryptocurrencies that rarely mirrors Bitcoin’s movements, and that was the case in the past 24 hours as well. However, the fact that its price doesn’t mirror the largest cryptocurrency was bad news lately. XRP’s price continued its slow descent, this time breaking the $0.5 mark to the downside. At one point, there was an attempt to regain this level, which got shut down pretty quickly.

While the overall crypto sector is surrounded by bullish sentiment, XRP is looking quite bearish in the short-term. Shorting the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap can be a valid trading strategy, simply due to its consistency going down in recent days.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s longer-term technicals are completely bullish, while its daily overview is slightly more tilted towards neutrality. Its 4-hour time-frame, however, is slightly tilted towards the sell-side.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently below its 50-period EMA and slightly below its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (37.98)
  • Volume is well below its average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.5                                      1: $0.475

2: $0.543                                   2: $0.45

3: $0.57                                    3: $0.425

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What’s Phishing and How Can You Protect Yourself?

Wherever there’s money to be made, you’ll always find people ready to do so using unscrupulous means. After crypto blew into the scene, scams, especially internet-based ones, have gotten even more lifeblood than ever before. And unsuspecting players continue to fall victim. 

Phishing is a fraud technique that cyber thieves use to con people. Usually, it’s used to obtain information that an attacker can use later against their victim. In some circumstances, the criminal will trick or mislead a user to transfer their funds. Of course, it’s never that straightforward – there is a lot of planning and psychological manipulation involved.

This article will look at phishing in detail, how it features in cryptoverse and how you can protect yourself. 

How Does Phishing Work?

It’s crazy to think that the most successful phishing attack is not technical at all. Phishing is one of the most prevalent and most successful cyberattacks, yet it does not often require any special technical know-how. 

In a typical phishing scenario, the scammer will usually craft a convincing email to get you to reveal some information about yourself, your place of work, or any other targeted entity. What makes these attempts so successful is how an attacker can refer to you by your name and other personal details. At a glance, it might be hard to suspect anything unusual.  

While phishing was originally done via email, advances in other forms of messaging such as short messaging service (SMS) and instant messaging services such as WhatsApp have led to attackers diversifying to these upcoming channels. Today, phishers will even attempt to trick you through voice calls.

Also, while phishing is traditionally referred to as email scams, the term is now used to refer to any form of tricks that seeks to swindle users. With that, let’s take a deep dive into phishing and what it’s all about. Importantly, we’ll explore ways in which to cushion yourself from one. 

Types of Phishing

#1. Cloning

Here, the attacker duplicates a previous legit email but then inserts a malicious link. Such links typically lead you to a look-alike website, which the attacker will use to harvest your personal information. In the new email, they might then say something like, “please use the updated link.” This attack leverages your familiarity with the previous communication, which makes you less suspicious (hence more vulnerable). 

#2. Typosquatting

Typosquatting is taking advantage of people who do not read domain names carefully. You’d be a victim if you saw ‘conbase.com’ and assumed that’s Coinbase. 

#3. Impersonation 

An attacker can claim to be another (usually famous) person to make it easier for them to convince you to do something. For instance, they’ll claim to be an executive of a certain crypto exchange and that they have a flash sale – tokens going for discounted prices. If other attack variables such as timing, the storyline, and so on are logical, it becomes easy to lure unsuspecting people to the bait.

#4. Malicious/ fake apps

Malicious apps are used to track users, steal their private information, and even steal their money. Most of such apps pose as ‘utility apps’ that you can use to free up disk space, clear junk, lock files, and perform other maintenance activities on your digital devices. The reality, though, is that these apps don’t even do what they claim to do in the first place. Phone and software companies try to detect and block these apps, but scammers are always devising new ways to stay ahead.

#5. Spear phishing

This strategy targets a specific individual or organization. Unlike general phishing, spear-phishing attacks are very precise, and the attacker will usually have all the information about their victim. Due to this, these attacks can be persuasive. 

Phishing and Cryptocurrencies Scams

Phishing attacks on crypto users are prevalent. A Google search on ‘phishing and cryptocurrencies’ will show you countless pages of results listing recent phishing scams. The following are some of the common phishing tactics attackers use against crypto users:

#1. Look-alike websites – Also known as typosquatting, this attack involves redirecting users to websites with mistyped URLs. For instance, a phisher’s website will read ‘bÏnance.com’, which can be easily mistaken for ‘binance.com.’ 

#2. Fake donations/ crowdfunding campaigns – Cryptocurrencies are increasingly being adopted to facilitate donations, especially where governments would otherwise restrict such donations. Crypto donations are also popular in global fund drives because they allow donors from anywhere to send their contributions. Scammers have abused the crowdfunding potential of cryptocurrency to fleece unsuspecting internet users. Around July, a hacker gained access to prominent persons’ Twitter accounts and started soliciting users to send Bitcoin. One tweet from Bill Gates’ account read “You send $1,000; I send you back $2,000.’

#3. Fake QR codes – When sending crypto, scanning a QR code is usually way more convenient than copy-pasting or manually typing in the address. Similarly, when sharing your address with a sender, it’s easier to send them a QR code than the alphanumeric address. Most crypto wallets have inbuilt QR code generators, but some don’t. The number of fake standalone QR code generators that have been developed supposedly to fill this gap is overwhelming. Cointelegraph reports that four out of five results for Google searches on ‘Bitcoin QR code generator’ return fake apps. If you generate a wallet address with a fake QR code generator, you’ll be playing right into the hands of a phisher.

How to Protect Yourself

Phishing is real, and it’s not going anywhere. As such, we can only do our best to protect ourselves. Understanding the various forms of attacks helps in spotting them. These guidelines will greatly help to protect you from phishing attacks. 

#1. Exercise caution, always

Being wary is the best defense you can have. It’s hard to be alert all the time. However, if you were not expecting that email with that subject from that person, do a double check again to make sure you’re not being trapped.

#2. Access websites directly

This might be inconvenient, but it’s best that you type website addresses instead of clicking links. In some advanced forms of typosquatting, a malicious link can lead you to a website with the same domain name as its legitimate twin. The technique is called punycode, and it takes advantage of ASCII characters from different languages. 

#3. Check links before clicking 

If you just have to click that link, hover your mouse pointer over the link (long press if viewing on Android) to see the full link before proceeding. 

#4. Don’t ignore suspicious items

If the email or website has a typo or something just feels off, don’t ignore it. Scammers seem to tend not to proofread their work – typos are quite common and can be an indicator of a phishing attack.

Final Thoughts

Phishing is one of the most common cyberattacks. It’s proven quite effective considering that it doesn’t require any special skills. We’ve established that there are several forms of the attack, including some specifically targeting cryptocurrency users. The best defense against phishing is to stay alert all the time. Also, double-checking web addresses, confirming links, and probing suspicious-looking emails comes in handy. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 14 – BTC and ETH Consolidating After A Bull Rally; XRP Left in the Dust

The majority of the cryptocurrency sector ended up in the green as Bitcoin spent the weekend regaining the value it lost after failing to break its all-time high with confidence. Bitcoin is currently trading for $19,144, representing an increase of 1.69% compared to yesterday’s value. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 3.61% on the day, while XRP managed to gain 3.77%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

BDCC Bitica COIN gained 229.29% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Ethereum Lightning’s 223.18% and Nuggets’ 190.36% gain. On the other hand, rbase.finance lost 72.18%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by COIL’s loss of 48.85% and SBank’s loss of 40.65%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up half a percent since we last reported, with its value currently being 63.3%. This value represents a 0.5% difference to the upside compared to the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased significantly over the weekend, with its current value being $560.79 billion. This represents a $31.22 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has been on fire this weekend, with its price skyrocketing from its recent lows. The uptrend that started on Dec 11 brought its price from $17,600 all the way up to $19,400 before starting to consolidate. The steep ascending trend it created was unsustainable in the long run, so Bitcoin left it and continued trading sideways just above $19,100. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is currently fighting for this level, with the previous five 4-hour candles holding above the support.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily and monthly technicals show slight signs of neutrality on top of its overall bullishness. On the other hand, its 4-hour and weekly technicals are completely bullish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (59.17)
  • Volume is slightly below the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $19,100                                 1: $18,600

2: $19,666                                 2: $18,190

3: $20,000                                  3: $17,800

Ethereum

Ethereum has followed Bitcoin’s footsteps and created its own ascending channel, in which it moved from Dec 11 until Dec 13. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has left this channel and started its own consolidation phase right above the $581 support level.

Ethereum’s moves seem like a mirror to Bitcoin’s moves, with slightly more or less intensity. Traders should be extremely careful of sudden moves Bitcoin can make that could disrupt their Ethereum trades.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s 4-hour, daily, and weekly technicals overall bullish but show signs of neutrality or even some bearish indicators. On the other hand, its monthly technicals are completely tilted towards the buy-side.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is above both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is between its middle and top Bollinger band
  • RSI is starting to descend after being close to overbought (58.72)
  • Volume is average when compared to the previous week
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $600                                     1: $581

2: $632                                     2: $565 

3: $636.5                                   3: $545

Ripple

XRP performed much worse than Bitcoin and Ethereum over the weekend, with its short-term outlook being quite bearish. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap ended up losing $13.11% of its value week-over-week, with its price currently sitting at the $0.5 level.

XRP is currently fighting to stay above the $0.5 level, with its past four 4-hour candles managing to do this. Traders may be able to catch a trade in either direction when XRP confirms its position above/below $0.5 on increased volume.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s 4-hour and daily overviews are heavily tilted towards the sell-side but still show some neutral indicators. Its longer-term technicals, though, are completely bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Its price is currently below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (37.98)
  • Volume is slightly below the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.5435                                 1: $0.5

2: $0.57                                     2: $0.475

3: $0.6                                      3: $0.45

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

BTC/USD Weekly Chart Analysis + Possible Outcomes

In this week’s BTC/USD analysis, we will be taking an in-depth look at the most recent technical formations, as well as look for the possible short-term price outcomes.

Overview

Bitcoin has had quite a volatile week experienced yet another steep decrease in price as a continuation of the bear retracement after the cryptocurrency couldn’t post new all-time highs with confidence. However, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap has recovered from the decline in a matter of days, with its price over $19,000 once again.

While Bitcoin’s fundamentals only grew stronger as more and more institutional investors acknowledge it as a competitor to gold. This trend of large public companies investing in the best-known cryptocurrency has been seen throughout 2020, and many say that this is the sole reason for the current Bitcoin’s run.

Technical factors



Bitcoin is currently in a steep upwards-facing trend, which brought its price from $17,600 all the way to $19,000. While the channel is way too steep to be considered a long-term option, Bitcoin has the option to follow it for a little bit more, possibly riding the way up to the $19,666 major resistance (and a previous all-time high on Bistamp). This will most likely be the pivot point for Bitcoin, which will decide if it will try to tackle the levels above $20,000 or stay below it and seek support near $19,100.

Likely Outcomes

Bitcoin’s currently sending out very bullish signals, but we included a slightly bearish scenario as well, just to make sure all bases are covered.

1: In case Bitcoin heads further up, its price will most likely stop at the major pivot point, which sits at $19,666. This level is the all-time high from 2017 and is a major resistance level. From here, Bitcoin bulls will have to decide whether they will push towards the upside or remain below this level:

  • In case that the price moves further up, its next possible resistance level (there isn’t much resistance above $20,000, so all possible resistance levels will be extensions of the Fib retracements) is most likely to be sitting at around $20,750.
  • In case the price decides to stay below $19,666, we can expect it to move down and look for support at $19,100 or $18,600 levels.

2: If Bitcoin breaks the ascending channel early and pushes towards the downside, its first strong support level is $19,100 (which it will inevitably break if it pushes down and breaks the channel) and then $18,600.

Entering any short trades could be quite risky at the moment due to the bullish momentum Bitcoin has gathered. However, trading above $20,000 is equally as risky as Bitcoin would be entering a zone with no set resistance and support levels. However, entering long traders is certainly a safer option at the moment.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

What Exactly Are Dark Pools? 

The finance world has always been filled with curiosities. Money is a touchy subject, and people often go to extraordinary lengths to protect their positions. Out of this has emerged the concept of ‘dark pools,’ which are financial trading hubs taking place away from the public’s eye. 

What are dark pools? How did they come to be? We’ll be looking at that and more in this article. Importantly, we’ll see the role they’ve played in the crypto space, if any. 

Understanding a Dark Pool

A dark pool is a privately arranged venue/hub/platform where financial instruments’ trading is held. Dark pools are in direct contrast with public exchange markets, which are heavily regulated and have a lot of media visibility. A dark pool has no publicly available order book, nor is its trades publicly visible (or are only visible once executed). 

Dark pools’ liquidity is known as dark pool liquidity. Most dark pool trading is executed in block trades. A block trade is a particularly large volume trade, usually at a predetermined price. 

Dark pools hark back to the 80s when institutional investors used them to exchange huge amounts of securities. Dark pools allow traders to place large orders without letting them known their intentions first. This is important because the public knowing their intentions to buy or sell large volumes of a security could negatively impact the trade before they can get to carry it out. 

Dark pools have become a substantial part of global financial markets, and we’ll be debunking them further in this article, together with their application in cryptocurrency. 

Cryptocurrency dark pools

UK-based crypto exchange Kraken pioneered dark pools crypto in 2016. “Dark pool trading allows for orders to be placed out of sight so that traders can make large buy or sell orders (minimum of 50 bitcoin or 2500 ether) without revealing their sentiment to other traders. Advantages include reduced market impact and better price for large blocks,” said Joseph Powell, CEO. 

A few countries around the world have been friendly to the concept of crypto dark pools. This is saying something when you consider the crime reputation that cryptocurrency has. Bermudan digital asset exchange Omega One’s Dark Pool was awarded the country’s first-ever crypto exchange license: “We are now on-boarding select institutions, liquidity venues, and market makers with a trading volume of $10 million a month.”

Why Use Dark Pools? 

Let’s say an institutional investor, A, believes Bitcoin’s price will soon take a hit. They decide to sell $1 million worth of BTC to ride out the fall in price safely. But two problems are impeding this proposition. First off, selling such a large amount of BTC on any open exchange will impact the market one way or another. They don’t want to cause such a large ripple in the market. 

The other problem is, no buyers are willing to purchase such a huge amount of Bitcoin, at least immediately. So they will have to break down the sale into the more manageable pieces of $50,000 at a time, 20 times. 

This means: 

  • They will incur charges on all the 20 sales. 
  • The sale will affect the market and probably send retail investors offloading as well, causing the price to crash.
  • The sale could end up being more costly – it’s highly likely they will not be able to sell each BTC at the going price, but lower. 

If the institutional investor used a dark pool, they’d save themselves from the above unfortunate scenarios. Selling on an open market would expose them to potential loss and send a negative signal to the market. 

Advantages of using a dark pool

There are several benefits of taking it dark: 

  • Avoid impact on market sentiment: Traders who wish to make large trades can do so in a way that they do not send signals to the market.
  • Better prices: In a dark pool, both seller and buyer get better prices than they would in the open market. The buyer buys low, while the seller sells high.
  • No slippage: The majority of trades in dark pools are usually block-trades set at predetermined prices. Traders know they can execute the trade at the expected price.

Controversies surrounding dark pools 

  • Conflict of interest: Seeing as the order book is not publicly available, a trader has no way of knowing that a trade was completed at the best possible price. If the entity facilitating the trade has a conflict of interest, they can potentially obfuscate the real price.
  • Negative effect on markets: If a large part of trading is happening in dark pools, the real market price may not reflect reality. The finance market relies on the free flow of information, and if a huge part of trading is happening under the radar, the actual market is disadvantaged.
  • Vulnerability to predatory practices: Dark pools are perhaps the best playing ground for predatory practices. In particular, high-frequency traders who may have access to order book data can unfairly exploit unsuspecting traders. 
  • Enabling pinging: Dark pools enable pinging, a questionable practice that involves sending many small orders to obscure a big hidden order. Pinging is used to identify liquidity in order books and can have an unhealthy effect on the market.
  • Decreasing popularity: Dark pools are not growing more popular – quite the opposite. This means institutional investors might be moving away from the practice. When their existence is less compelling, their overall effect on the broader market is harmful.

Decentralized dark pools

Just like dark pools in the traditional finance market, dark cryptocurrency pools are available on some exchanges, as we previously mentioned. Unlike traditional dark pools, decentralized dark pools enjoy better and more secure verification. Such verification is powered by state-of-the-art cryptography. Also, crypto dark pools are run by automatic protocols that help maintain fairness for all participants and less likely to be manipulated by unscrupulous players. Zero-knowledge proofs and other cryptographic technologies ensure a high degree of transparency and integrity. 

If a trade involves more than one blockchain, it can be seen through by cross-chain atomic swaps that are not only cheaper but also remove the bloat associated with third-party intermediaries. Dark pools can also help in illiquid cryptomarkets by enabling traders to conduct high-volume trades without slippage. While a huge order would send a negative signal in an open illiquid market, it wouldn’t have the same effect in a dark pool. 

So far, dark pools haven’t had a major effect on the crypto markets due to the relative lack of institutional traders in the space. Whether this will change in the future is anyone’s guess. 

Closing Thoughts

Courtesy of their secretive nature, dark pools have been a source of controversy throughout their existence. When a part of investing and trading activity occurs underground, it can never be desirable on any market. However, with decentralized dark pools, we could potentially see a shift in not just how they’re perceived but their usefulness to various players. Open source approaches to dark pools could ensure that everyone uses the same rule book, alleviating much of the associated risk. 

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

How to Buy Ethereum Using PayPal

For years now, Ethereum has been the most sought-after cryptocurrency right after Bitcoin. And in recent months, the coin seems to be on an unstoppable rally – which has only doubled down after the news that the long-awaited Eth2, an upgrade to the network, will be rolled out in December. At the time of writing, ETH is trading at over $500, according to Coinmarketcap. The currency has been oscillating within that range, which is a big deal considering the coin began the year with a tepid $130 in value. 

This is to say that Ethereum is more relevant than ever and will continue to command a huge share of the crypto market, at least in the foreseeable future. It’s also to say that demand for the currency is quite high at this point. 

For investors who wish to grab a piece of the Ethereum pie, what are their options to do so? Given that PayPal is one of the most widely used payment options, is it possible in 2020 to purchase Ethereum with it? 

This article set out to establish that. What we discovered is that PayPal is not supported in many crypto exchanges. However, you’re in luck because there are 2 or 3 places where you can buy ETH with PayPal, including on PayPal itself! 

Best Places to Buy Ethereum Using PayPal

#1. LocalCryptos

LocalCryptos is a peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy and sell crypto. The platform has tens of thousands of traders exchanging crypto with each other via various payment methods – PayPal included. 

When you purchase Ethereum via PayPal on LocalCryptos, you’re doing so directly from another user. The process is pretty straightforward. You’ll need to: 

  • Select a Buy With PayPal offer (posted by another user)
  • Enter the quantity of ETH you’d like to buy 

LocalCryptos requires the seller to put the ETH in an escrow before they can receive payment. When they do this, you can then transfer money with PayPal. You’ll receive the ETH after payment confirmation. The crypto-buying process on LocalCryptos is safe, beginner-friendly, and convenient. 

#2. eToro

eToro is a trading platform previously famous for CFD trading but has become one of the most reliable places to buy crypto in recent years. eToro allows buyers to purchase several cryptocurrencies with PayPal, including Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Binance Coin, Cardano, Litecoin, Dash, and more.

The platform even provides a dedicated eToro wallet, though not for every crypto (yet). However, at least it supports Ethereum. This makes eToro beginner-friendly to buy Ethereum. However, let the wallet be a placeholder as you look for a more solid and secure wallet. It’s good practice not to let your crypto hang around any exchange for too long since exchanges are susceptible to all kinds of online vulnerabilities. For some of the best wallet options in the market, see here

#3. PayPal

In highly welcome news, PayPal announced in October that they would start supporting the buying, selling, and holding of Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin on their platform. They also signaled support for the currency as a funding source for millions of merchants worldwide. 

There’s a caveat, though: this functionality will first be only available to eligible US accounts. Ethereum enthusiasts in other countries who use PayPal may have to wait a bit longer. 

Cost and Safety Implications

Buying Ethereum with PayPal is generally safe, especially since you can always initiate a chargeback if the seller doesn’t release ETH. However, be sure to use the function only if necessary; otherwise, overstretching it could get your account blacklisted by PayPal. 

Final Thoughts

Ethereum is currently roaring, and by all indications – it will continue to do so in coming months (and most likely years). With the impending protocol upgrade and an already incredibly bullish run, the currency shows no signs of stopping. With PayPal being one of the ‘mainstream’ payment methods today, it’s gratifying to know you can purchase the currency using the platform. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

What’s a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal? 

Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency. It has completely changed how the world views finance while at the same time rallying an entire industry of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin holds (and probably will always hold) a very special place in cryptoverse. However, just like any new tech, Bitcoin has its growing pains. For this reason, Bitcoin developers are always coming up with improvement proposals for the network to make it even better. 

However, this is not done in a random fashion. Nine years ago, a man named Amir Taaki wisely came up with what’s known as a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) that anyone should follow to suggest changes to the Bitcoin ecosystem. This article looks at what exactly a BIP is and what it entails. 

What’s a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal?

A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is an established standard in which people can suggest changes to the Bitcoin protocol. Such a proposed change can be about any aspect, including soft forks, improved recovery phrase formats, the peer-to-peer layer, and so on. Usually, BIPs are made by crypto developers or generally people with advanced computing skills. 

A BIP is created by individuals who believe that they have an idea that could vastly improve the Bitcoin ecosystem. The first-ever BIP – labeled BIP 0001 was made by a person named Amir Taaki. In essence, BIP 0001 was the groundwork for future BIPs – including how they would work and the expected standards. Not every change to the Bitcoin protocol affects it, and not every change requires a BIP.  

How a BIP is Approved or Rejected

Every BIP is initially a draft submitted by one or more individuals. However, before it is a draft, it has usually undergone rounds of discussions on the Bitcoin development mailing list, Bitcoin social forums, etc. 

When the BIP author receives feedback from the community, they can change or improve it based on that feedback. If it’s a major protocol change, it will first have to be implemented as a trial. If community members reach a consensus on the proposal, it proceeds to implementation. The final stage will involve developers implementing the new BIP code and network participants choosing to download it. 

Types of BIPs

BIPs are usually recognized as belonging to three categories. Let’s take a look at each: 

#1. Standards Track BIPs

These are BIPs that seek to improve the Bitcoin protocol, things such as blocks, scaling solutions, verifying transactions, etc. As you can see, standard track BIPs really get to the core of Bitcoin and its underlying infrastructure. Due to this, if the community accepts these types of BIPs they can have a permanent/major impact on the cryptocurrency. However, thanks to Bitcoin being already solid and ‘mainstream,’ it can be tough for a standard track BIP to be implemented and put into motion. 

#2. Information BIP

These types of BIPs are mainly targeted at issues like the design of the protocol and general guidelines. What this means is that information BIPs do not target the heart of Bitcoin and its underlying tech. However, these BIPs are still important and can be helpful to the Bitcoin ecosystem. 

#3. Process BIPs 

As the name suggests, process BIPs are suggestions to the BIP process. In this way, process BIPs are a lot like Standards Track BIPs, except they apply off-chain. In short, process BIPs apply to issues related to bitcoin but not directly involved in the underlying tech and code of Bitcoin. 

Structure of a BIP

If you’d like to submit a BIP, you’re expected to follow a certain structure to do so. The structure consists of the following: 

#1. Preamble

A preamble is the first section of a BIP. Here, the author includes details such as the BIP number, title, metadata of the BIP, and the author’s contact information and identity (s). Info in this section is important because it makes the BIP organized and easier to be shared or looked up. 

#2. Abstract

This is a description of the BIP, and it’s usually 200 words or less. In the abstract, the author distillates the proposal in simple and brief terms. The essence of the abstract is for people to easily understand what your BIP is about and what the core message is. 

#3. Copyright

In this section, the author includes any relevant copyright info for the proposal. This could be publication licenses, and so on. If the author uses license info, they must detail it here and see to it that all legal parameters are adhered to. 

#4. Specification

In this section, the author talks about any new features or ideas proposing to the Bitcoin protocol. Here, readers should have their questions answered about what your idea is and why they should care. Indeed, the specification section is the flesh of your BIP. As such, the author needs to write this section so that it’s easy to understand and be taken seriously. 

#5. Motivation

This is where an author describes why their idea is an improvement to Bitcoin. Here, you need to talk about why the existing solution is not good enough and how your idea can improve it. This doesn’t mean that the majority of the community will be on board. Still, it’s in this section why you make your case for better for worse. Even before you think about coming up with a VIP, ensure your idea is persuasive enough. Otherwise, your BIP may not go anywhere. 

#6. Rationale

This section is in some ways similar to the above section. But instead of talking about why the idea is important, you explain how you reached the decision to create your own BIP. This could be the decisions you made concerning the design, how you pushed through perceived rejections to the proposal, and so on. In short, the rationale section is where you preemptively respond to your critics way before they get a chance to criticize your idea. 

#7. Backward compatibility

In this section, you inform readers whether your BIP is backward compatible. If it’s not, you should provide details about the incompatibilities, including how severe they are and how you plan to deal with them. 

#8. Reference implementation

In this section, the author should provide an example of the idea that other developers could implement in the future. In other words, this is where you demonstrate your idea and showcase it to the community. If you don’t have a completed example, then your idea won’t cut it. After all, people need to see the idea of working in real life and not have to imagine it. This means it’s good to have a reference implementation before you begin working on your BIP.

The Big Picture 

BIPs can be extremely valuable to the Bitcoin ecosystem, especially as Bitcoin continues to rise in value. If positive changes are made to the protocol, it could make the world’s most popular cryptocurrency even stronger. The reverse is true. 

Much of the BIPs submitted so far have been about scaling Bitcoin. Some of them have led to contentious disagreements within the community, leading to contentious hard forks such as Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. Others like SegWit2x have been turned down by a majority of the community. However, others, like SegWit and The Lightning Network, saw the green light of the community. Such updates could prove very key for the Bitcoin scaling issue.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 11 – Bitcoin Fighting for $18,000; Crypto Market in the Red

The majority of the cryptocurrency sector has ended up being in the red as Bitcoin spent most of the day under the $18,000 level. Bitcoin is currently trading for $17,920, representing a decrease of 2.91% compared to our last report. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 4.30% on the day, while XRP managed to lost 2.85%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Freedom Reserve gained 950.51% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by LBRY Credits’s 336.6% and Seigniorage Shares’ 117.99% gain. On the other hand, Basis Cash lost 87.95%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by xBTC’s loss of 55.09% and IterationSyndicate’s loss of 44.55%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved up less than half a percent since we last reported, with its value currently being 62.8%. This value represents a 0.2% difference to the upside compared to the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has decreased in the past 24 hours, with its current value being $528.97 46.31 billion. This represents a $17.34 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent most of the day in a price descent after it failed to break the $18,600 mark. BTC bulls tried to pick the price back up but failed, which has caused another mini-dip, which brought the price as low as $17,721 on Bitstamp. The $17,780 level has proven itself as great support once again, and Bitcoin is now trading in a range between it and $18,190.

Due to the amount of support and resistance levels in a narrow price range Bitcoin currently has, a push towards either side could be a possible safe trade to catch.

BTC/USD 2-hour chart

Bitcoin’s short-term technicals are tilted towards the sell-side but show slight signs of neutrality. Its long-time technicals, however, are completely bullish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is close to its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is dipping towards being oversold (36.77)
  • Volume is slightly above the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $18,190                                 1: $17,780

2: $18,600                                 2: $17,500

3: $18,790                                  3: $17,200

Ethereum

Ethereum has quickly stopped in its tracks towards $600 after hitting a brick wall at $581. The rebound pulled its price back below $565, as well as $545, which it is now fighting for. The fact that Ethereum is in a short-term bear run is confirmed by higher volume candles during price drops than during price spikes.

Our call from yesterday regarding Ethereum’s dip after dropping below $565 turned out as predicted. Traders should pay attention to Bitcoin’s movements and the ascending (red) trend line when trading Etheruem.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s short-term technicals are tilted towards the sell-side but show slight neutral signs. However, its long-time technicals are bullish, with its weekly overview being slightly neutral than its monthly overview.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is slightly above its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is dipping towards oversold territory (36.18)
  • Volume is slightly above the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $565                                     1: $545

2: $581                                      2: $525 

3: $600                                      3: $510

Ripple

XRP followed the rest of the crypto sector and made a price dip, which brought its price to the $0.543 level, which held up quite nicely. Its price is now recovering and consolidating between $0.543 and $0.57, with no signs of potential movement to either side.

XRP traders should pay attention to Bitcoin’s price movement, as most cryptocurrencies follow the general market direction it sets.

XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s 4-hour and daily overviews show confusing signs, with some indicators being bullish and some bearish. Its long-term technicals are, however, completely bullish.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is currently below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (41.75)
  • Volume is slightly above the average level
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.57                                   1: $0.5435

2: $0.6                                       2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                    3: $0.475

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Monero Reaches 2-Year High, Is It the Next-Best Alternative?

Recently (Oct 2020), Monero hit $139 – its 2-year high, and investors are expressing renewed confidence in this crypto. What’s even more inspiring is the fact that the cryptocurrency has maintained a consistent sideways or upward – but not downward – trend since then. Before the 2017 crypto bull run, Monero always shied from surpassing the $1 mark. But the boom seemed to have inspired this crypto to take on the major players. 

On the other hand, investors are all over the place scrambling for Bitcoin, partly why it is currently shining in glory. While most of those jumping onto the Bitcoin frenzy might be a bit late to the fiesta, the case could be different for Monero investors. Could it be the next-best alternative to Bitcoin at the moment?

Let’s take a closer look at this crypto and determine whether it can give Bitcoin a run for its money.

What Makes Monero Special?

Monero was invented in 2014 with one goal: to facilitate private and anonymous transactions. But Bitcoin was already doing that! Well, not quite. Bitcoin was thought to be anonymous, but that is not the case. With the Bitcoin blockchain (and many others), it is possible to trace the transaction’s origin because the blockchain is transparent. 

Monero, on the other hand, provides a high level of obscurity for transactions. We can’t say that it is impossible or not to tell the source of an XMR transaction, but as of now, that possibility remains a matter of conjecture. 

In this age, users seem to cherish privacy, even when they are doing nothing illegal. As Monero positions itself as one of the most private and anonymous cryptocurrencies, it is gradually becoming a darling to many. 

Other than providing unmatched privacy and anonymity, Monero is also cheap, fast, and easy to use – qualities that appeal to both neophytes and seasoned users.  

The Sudden Interest in Monero

It’s not only speculators and investors who have expressed increasing interest in Monero – hackers and regulators are also realigning their strategies around this crypto. For instance, Sodinokibi, a ransomware (criminal hacking) group, recently announced that they would start taking ransom in Monero instead of Bitcoin. They added that their decision to abandon Bitcoin was based on privacy issues, which Monero does not face. 

If you follow dark web affairs, you know that there is a close relationship between cryptocurrency adoption for illegal activities and the growth of Monero. This can be evidenced by Bitcoin’s momentary decline in 2013 after Silk Road, one of the largest black markets, was seized by the FBI. If we draw parallels between BTC’s adoption in the black market and Monero’s interest in the underworld, there can be no denying that Monero will soon become a much sought-after gem. 

Authorities are also showing interest in the crypto, albeit not for investment purposes. In September, the US Internal Revenue Service announced that it’s giving out a bountiful reward to anyone who can help them trace the source of Monero transactions. Europol also reported that Monero is fast rising as the standard for dark web transactions.

These events suggest that XMR’s adoption is likely to increase. With increased adoption comes increased volumes, market capitalization, and prices. 

Monero’s Historical Performance

The coin was launched in 2014, exchanging at about $2 or 0.005 BTC. After struggling for several years, the 2017 crypto bull finally came to its rescue, raising its value to over $400 at some point. However, XMR’s performance against BTC had started rallying way before the crypto boom. Since mid-2016, XMR had already started gaining against Bitcoin. This was a noteworthy trend since XMR has largely maintained its growth against BTC.

The crypto has also grown its 24-hour trading volumes tremendously. Just a year ago, Monero seemed to struggle to reach $100 million in daily transactions. Even during the 2018 peak when it was fetching $400 in XMR/USD trades, daily volumes hardly surpassed $200 million. At the time of writing, XRM was exchanging at only $116, but the 24-hour volume was hitting over $2 billion. In other words, 24-hour volumes have increased 20-fold in 12 months. There is no doubt investors are increasingly trying out this alternative. 

XMR/USD or XMR/BTC?

If you are convinced that Monero is a worthy alternative to Bitcoin, there’s one crucial decision you need to make – and that is whether to trade XRM with Bitcoin or with USD. After all, most exchanges that list XMR offer both pairs. It is important to evaluate this decision because XMR’s relationship with BTC and USD hasn’t been linear – there are times when the crypto has fetched more BTC than the equivalent in USD. In fact, this has been the case during most of its lifetime, except for the last few weeks where Bitcoin has grabbed headlines for its performance. 

Based on the historical exchange rates, it would be more profitable to exchange XMR with BTC when selling than with USD. However, owing to the trend reversal in the last few weeks of Bitcoin’s glory, it is important to watch how the curve extends. 

Concerns You Might Consider

While Monero is generally promising, there are two major concerns you might want to evaluate before picking it as an alternative to Bitcoin. 

#1: It might not be available on your favorite exchange – Due to the crypto’s high level of privacy, some major exchanges do not list it. This is especially true for exchanges that seek to comply with regulators. As we have seen, Monero is increasingly becoming popular in the underground economy, and reputable exchanges might want to distance themselves from it.

#2: Monero is widely associated with facilitating illegal trade – When you mention that you are a Monero, Zcash, or Dash investor, chances are you might be mistaken for being part of the dark web economy. Well, this won’t dampen your chances of successful crypto investment, but it’s worth keeping in mind all the same.

Final Thoughts

Monero is one of the fast-rising altcoins besides the fact that it has had a good track record in financial performance. In 2020, the coin has grabbed regulators’ attention due to its increased adoption in the underground economy. At the same time, the coin has consistently gained against both the USD and BTC throughout the year, save for the last few weeks where it has lost slightly against BTC. Also noteworthy is that the crypto’s daily volume has increased more than 20 times since the beginning of the year – signaling its increasing adoption. Although there might be a few concerns regarding the use of this cryptocurrency for covert activities, there is no denying it is a worthy alternative to Bitcoin.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Cryptocurrencies

How to Buy Bitcoin with a Credit/Debit Card

Credit/debit cards have enabled us to make instant, convenient, and hassle-free payments since the founding of the Diners Club in the 1950s, and today, this possibility has been extended to the purchase of Bitcoin. Buying Bitcoin with a credit card is among the easiest ways to get yourself some crypto. 

But where can you buy Bitcoin using a credit card? And is it safe? What about transaction costs? We’ll look at these concerns and more in this article.

How You Can Buy BTC with a Credit Card

When it comes to buying BTC with a credit card, there are two main possibilities. 

i) Direct payment – This is the least confusing option. With direct payments, you go to the exchange’s website, make your purchase and use the Visa/MasterCard/AmericanExpress (or just the cards that are available) option. The checkout process will be similar to buying anything else with your credit card. 

ii) Through a payment gateway/ payment service provider – For reasons such as cost savings, bonuses, and offers, you might want to pay through a payment gateway or money transfer service provider such as PayPal and Skrill. If you’re new to buying BTC, or if you’re buying just a few coins, this long route might not make much sense. However, if you are a high-stake investor, you might want to take advantage of any slight margins, although with increased inconvenience.

To buy Bitcoin with your credit card through a payment gateway, you’ll need to load your payment gateway’s account with funds first. Then, when checking out from your exchange, you choose to pay with Skrill/PayPal or whichever method you’re using. 

Best Places to Buy BTC with a Credit Card

Most likely, you will be buying Bitcoin from a crypto exchange like Coinbase, Kraken, or eToro. There are other methods, such as buying from individuals, but we’ll be focusing on exchanges.

That said, the following are among the best exchanges where you can Bitcoin using your credit card. These exchanges have been selected based on ease of use, buying limit, security, and transaction costs. The exchanges are not ranked in any particular order.

#1. Coinmama

Purchases made with credit cards usually have various limits to mitigate fraud. Coinmana offers among the highest purchase limits. The exchange is also available globally, which makes it a convenient option wherever you are. Additionally, the exchange has a reputation when it comes to reliability and trust among its user community.

When buying BTC on Coinmama, you will need to register/ sign in and create a crypto wallet on the platform. Then, when you get to the step of selecting a payment method, you’ll be required to choose from either Visa or MasterCard. Card payments are instant and attract a 5% processing fee. This cost is a bit high compared to going through a payment provider such as Skrill (Skrill charges 2.5% of the transaction value). Nevertheless, the experience is swift.

#2. Coinbase

Coinbase allows you to buy up to $150 or €150 worth of BTC per week. Debit card payments are accepted in all countries where Coinbase operates. However, you cannot buy BTC with a credit card if you reside in the US, Canada, Australia, and anywhere within Europe. 

If you want to buy BTC on Coinbase using your card, you will need to set up your user profile and link your credit/debit card. Later on, when you are actually buying BTC, you will select your already-added card at checkout. Transactions cost 3.99% regardless of the amount, and settlement is instant. The buying experience on Coinbase is also smooth.

#3. Bitpanda

Bitpanda is another reputable exchange where you can buy BTC using your card. First, you will need a Bitpanda account to buy BTC. Once you log in to the account, you can navigate to the ‘Buy’ tab on the menu. Bitpanda allows you to add the payment method during checkout, so you don’t have to link your card in advance. 

After selecting ‘Buy,’ you will see large buttons with the names of some of the major cryptos and other buttons for payment methods. You will need to make the appropriate selections to proceed. If you pay by card, both credit and debit cards are supported, but it must be Visa/MasterCard. Once you have selected your card, the rest of the process is easy to complete. 

Bitpanda offers one of the most secure card payment options. To make a card payment for crypto purchases on this exchange, your card must have 3-D Secure verification enabled. Note that there’s nothing you can do if your card does not support this protocol (other than look for another exchange).

#4. CEX.io

CEX.io is one of the earliest cryptocurrency exchanges to exist. Even so, it has never moved its operations beyond Europe, some countries in South America, and some states in the US. It is still a great place to buy BTC using your card if you are from any of these regions

CEX.io boasts of unmatched security and trust. The exchange is registered in the US as a Money Services Business. In the UK, it is incorporated as a private limited company. CEX.io is also PCI-DSS compliant. PCI-DSS is the global security standard for card payment providers. Due to the company’s focus on security and compliance, user experience is adversely affected. For instance, transaction verifications can take up to 30 minutes. 

Security/ Safety

The security and safety of your credit/debit card are paramount. Generally, buying crypto using cards is not riskier than using your card for your regular shopping. However, it is important to do the basic checks to ensure that you are dealing with legitimate and reputable exchanges. 

When using your credit card to buy Bitcoin, you will inevitably share your details with your exchange. Thus, it is essential to ensure that you’re dealing with a legitimate exchange, and two, the exchange is reputable. If you leave your card details with a shady exchange, how can you be sure that your card details will not be used for fraudulent purchases?

Final Thoughts

Credit/debit cards are a relatively easy and convenient option for paying for your Bitcoin purchases. This payment option is also supported by most major exchanges like Coinbase, Coinmama, and Bitpanda. Additionally, paying for BTC with your card is safe, as long as you’re dealing with reputable exchanges. On the downside, cards have restrictive transaction limits, which may disadvantage large buyers. Also, some exchanges do not accept credit cards from certain countries. Whichever the case, you can always find an option among the many. 

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 10 – Bitcoin Bulls Back in the Game as Sector Recovers From The Dip

The cryptocurrency sector is mostly green as cryptocurrencies took the day to recover from the sudden drop that occurred on Dec 8. Bitcoin is currently trading for $18,411, representing an increase of 1.25% compared to our last report. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has increased by 3.37% on the day, while XRP managed to gain 4.66%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

WinCash gained 207.65% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by Nyan V2’s 181.02% and Pamp Network’s 172.94% gain. On the other hand, DMme lost 68.63%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by ALL BEST ICO’s loss of 64.69% and Moonday Finance’s loss of 54.48%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved to the downside just under half a percent since we last reported, with its value currently being 62.6%. This value represents a 0.4% difference to the downside compared to the value it had when we last reported.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The cryptocurrency sector capitalization has increased significantly in the past 24 hours, with its current value being $546.31 billion. This represents a $10.23 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has spent the day slowly moving up after a sharp price descent, which brought it to $18,000. After establishing itself above $18,190, Bitcoin even tried to push further up above $18,600 but failed almost instantly, making its price go back to previous levels.

We want to point out (once again) Micheal van de Poppe’s call of a large CME gap looming between $18,275 and $16,995.

Due to the amount of support/resistance levels Bitcoin currently has, any push towards either the upside or downside could be a possible safe trade in the same direction.

BTC/USD 2-hour chart

Bitcoin’s daily, weekly, and monthly technicals are completely tilted towards the buy-side and show no bearish signs. Its 4-hour overview, however, is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is between its middle and bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is has recovered from being oversold (43.38)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $18,600                                 1: $18,190

2: $18,790                                 2: $17,780

3: $19,000                                  3: $17,200

Ethereum

Ethereum has not only recovered from its drop to $530, where it hit the ascending (red) trend line but pushed back towards $600. Even though the price is not yet ready to tackle this resistance level, it has made an attempt to break the $581 level but failed and returned to the $565 one.

Ethereum traders should pay attention to whether the cryptocurrency will end up above or below $565, which may be an indicator of its short-term movement. Traders should also pay attention to Bitcoin’s movement whenever taking a trade with Ethereum.

ETH/USD 2-hour Chart

Ethereum’s daily and monthly technicals are completely tilted towards the buy-side and show no signs of bearishness. However, its 4-hour overview is completely bearish, while its weekly overview is bullish but shows slight neutrality as well.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is below both its 50-period and 21-period EMAs
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI has recovered from being in the oversold territory (42.83)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $565                                     1: $550

2: $581                                      2: $525 

3: $600                                      3: $510

Ripple

XRP made a sharp (to the upside) price recovery as well, with its price pushing past $0.5435, as well as its $0.57 resistance (now support) levels. The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap even tried to break $0.6 but got shut down swiftly. Its price is now consolidating slightly above $0.57 and showing no signs of potential dips.

XRP traders (finally) have the option to trade this cryptocurrency after several days of close-to-no volatility. Keeping track of Bitcoin’s movements when trading XRP is a must, as any change in Bitcoin’s price could change the outlook of the market as a whole.

XRP/USD 2-hour Chart

XRP’s daily, weekly, as well as monthly technicals, are completely tilted towards the buy-side and show no signs of neutrality or bearishness. Its 4-hour overview, on the other hand, is bearish with slight signs of neutrality.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is currently slightly below both its 50-period EMA, as well as its 21-period EMA
  • Price is slightly below its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral and recovered from being oversold (47.26)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.57                                   1: $0.5435

2: $0.6                                       2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                    3: $0.475

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Forex Daily Topic Forex Videos

Position Sizing Part 1 Drawdown – Why You Keep Blowing Your Account!


Position Sizing. Drawdown- The dark side of Trade

 

This video will be dedicated to explaining the relation between performance and drawdown.  It is an essential topic since most of the trading community ignores the fact that the drawdown of a trading strategy or system is not an independent value. It is position sizing dependent. Furthermore, the profitability of a trading system is also dependent on the size of the position.

Imagine several investors trying to choose a copy-trading service, and you need to rank the potential candidates. Which parameter do you think most of them would choose to grade the quality of that group of systems?  Total returns? Average trade return? Percent winners? Drawdowns?

The majority would rank them by total returns, without any further analysis on how the returns were obtained. This could lead them to select the worst candidate instead. 

The fact is that returns and risks are interlinked in all investments.  You cannot increment returns without increasing the risk. Consequently, traders and investors must analyze both simultaneously.

Let’s look at the characteristics of returns vs. drawdown using a simple position sizing method applied to the trades of one year using a sound system such as our Live Signals Service. 

Let’s see first how this system behaves using just one mini-lot size, which corresponds to $1 per pip gained or lost. 

The figure corresponds to a trader having $1,000 initial capital, using a constant one micro-lot trade. To compute the maximum drawdown, we created 10,000 synthetic account paths using Monte Carlo resampling. The corresponding max drawdown distribution is shown below.

The Average Max Drawdown is 1.94 % with a very tiny possibility a 8% drawdown.

Let’s see how this system performs under increasing lot sizes:

1 mini-lot size

The corresponding drawdown curve  is shown below:

In this case, the average max drawdown goes to 11.77%. But, there is a 30% chance (about one in three) that max drawdown goes to 20%, and in about 2.5% of the occasions, the max drawdown went as high as 40%.

Let’s use now one lot

And the corresponding max drawdown curve is

In this case, the average max drawdown is 40%, but there is a 20% chance of a 65% drawdown and a 5% chance of an 85% drawdown.  40% drawdown is about the limit a usual trader can endure, but inevitably a 65% drawdown would force most traders to stop trading, even when we can see that the system is profitable.

We can see that even using a constant trading size, the drawdown grows with the position size. Of course, we can observe that the returns also grow. Furthermore, profits grow at a much higher rate than risk.  From the preceding examples, any astute observer can notice that moving from one micro-lot to one lot, 1-year returns went from $1,158 to $115,840, a 100X increment, while the drawdown moved from about 2% to 40%, a 20X increase.  

Therefore, the theory behind position sizing is aimed at optimizing both return and drawdown. Of course, there is no single solution to this problem. The solution must fit the particular psychology of the trader. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Indicators DeFi Investors need To Know: Number 4 Is A must Have.

Decentralized finance (Defi) is one of the relatively new blockchain applications, and it can be confusing for newcomer investors. Be that as it may, the pace at which the space is growing leaves no time to ‘wait and see.’ DeFi is evolving crazy fast, and new metrics are being invented to help investors weigh their options. Given the novelty of the subject, there are no widely-accepted standards yet. Still, there are some common indicators that we can use to judge whether one DeFi protocol is better than the next.  

This article looks at some of the top metrics that you can use to compare DeFi protocols.

#1. Total Value Locked (TVL) 

This is perhaps the most-common indicator when it comes to evaluating DeFi protocols. TVL refers to the total of funds locked in a given protocol. An easier way to understand it is to think of it as the dollar value of all tokens held in a smart contract for a given DeFi project. 

As an investor, you can know the general interest in a particular DeFi by just looking at its TVL. It is equally useful when evaluating the market size of different projects. In crypto, TVL would be the equivalent of market capitalization. 

TVL is simple yet confusing. If a user deposits 10 BTC then borrows BTC 5 and thereafter deposits back the 5 BTC, the market would report 100 BTC. But, there have been deposits amounting to 140 BTC. That’s part of the confusion that’s associated with this metric. 

TVL was created by DeFi Pulse, the world’s leading DeFi resource. Although liquidity providers usually fund DeFi projects in crypto, TVL is measured in dollars. As pointed above, there has been confusion abounds regarding the accuracy of TVL. However, as initially mentioned, DeFi and all its metrics are still evolving. Until such a time when there will be general agreement on these indicators, TVL remains a useful metric for evaluating the investment potential of a DeFi project.

#2. Token Supply

Token supply tells investors how many tokens are ‘floating’ in an exchange. When there’s a high number of tokens floating in an exchange, token holders are likely letting go of their tokens, which creates an increase in the supply. This could be happening for the same reasons it happens in other money markets. For example, investors could be fearing that the market is getting riskier. 

A high volume of token supply could result from a whale selling off their shares in some instances. The same phenomenon could also be observed when investors use their holdings as collateral for a margin or futures trade. As such, while the token supply on exchanges can tip you off of an impending voluminous sale, it might not be as straightforward. Crypto is typically traded on centralized exchanges, although this trend is changing in favor of decentralized exchanges. The advantage of centralized exchanges is that they are usually able to maintain stronger liquidity. 

#3. Changes in Token Balances

Tracking token supply on exchanges is a savvy move. And as a trader, you can complement this by finding out how balances are changing. Volume tracking is a bit static and does not accurately picture a market’s current financial trend. Evaluating the changes in token balances will likely give you a better picture of what is happening.

Typically, a large change in token balances tells you that the market is currently volatile. For example, if large holders are accruing tokens, you might notice large withdrawals from exchanges. As is the case with the other metrics discussed above, treat this only as a guide.

#4. Unique Address Count

Unique address count is the number of addresses that are holding a given token. A high number of addresses likely means that there is a high number of users on that market. By contrast, if you only see a relatively small number of addresses, it could be that the DeFi protocol has yet to gain widespread adoption. 

Since the number of unique addresses is a static metric, it would be more meaningful to track the new addresses’ rate. This will give you a better picture of how fast users are joining the DeFi protocol. And just like how it works with bull runs in the money markets, the best time to join is when the adoption rate is high. This is the time when you would typically expect the fastest growth in your investment.

Beware, though: one user could create multiple addresses and distribute their tokens to all of them. Therefore, this indicator should also be used merely as a guide, and better yet, be used in combination with other indicators.

#5. Inflation

Inflation is the rate at which new tokens are being pumped into the ecosystem – just like with economic inflation. Usually, limited supply alludes to the rarity of tokens and hence a higher value. If new tokens are being minted easily and fast, existing ones will be devalued at the same rate. 

However, it’s advisable to approach this indicator with some caution. In economics, rising inflation encourages people to spend and thus promotes economic growth. The same phenomenon can be observed in DeFi, where an increasing supply of tokens can boost investor sentiment and actually result in bullish activity. In the same way, limited supply could only be temporary. Thus, it would be best if you did not conflate token scarcity with value. 

#6.Price-to-Sales Ratio

The price-to-sales ratio (P/S ratio) is used to assess whether an asset is undervalued or overvalued. In traditional finance, this ratio is obtained by dividing a company’s revenue by its stock price. In DeFi, it’s calculated by dividing the protocol’s market capitalization by its revenue. Generally, a relatively high value means that the DeFi project could be overvalued. 

#7. Non-Speculative Usage

Non-speculative usage refers to the usefulness of a token beyond mere hype. When you’re evaluating a token’s value, it is important to check whether there is a solid project behind the token. It might be difficult to track whether token purchases are based on speculation or people are actually buying them for specific uses. 

Final Thoughts

DeFi is a fast-rising financial tech that promises investors new and exciting opportunities. As a DeFi investor, it helps to be able to analyze and compare different protocols. The above indicators can steer investors in the right direction when it comes to evaluating different DeFi options. Always analyze each DeFi protocol by its merits or lack of them, and most importantly, do your own research.

Categories
Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 09 – Bitcoin Drops to $18,000; Crypto Market Tumbles

The cryptocurrency sector has dropped significantly as bears took over the market. Bitcoin is currently trading for $18,315, representing a decrease of 4.50% compared to our last report. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 6.17% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 7.73%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

ALL BEST ICO gained 19,990.71% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer by far. It is followed by COIL’s 151.88% and Amun Bitcoin 3x Daily Short’s 112.92% gain. On the other hand, Monavale lost 54.51%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by KIMCHI.finance’s loss of 52.82% and Iteration Syndicate’s loss of 51.70%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved to the upside just under half a percent since we last reported, with its value currently being 63%. This value represents a difference of 0.4% to the upside when compared to yesterday’s value.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The crypto sector capitalization has decreased significantly in the past 24 hours, with its current value being $536.08 billion. This represents a $32.76 billion decrease when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

After spending the past couple of days in a very narrow range, Bitcoin has finally made a move as bears took over the market. The price went down rapidly and reached as low as $18,000 at one point, but then went slightly above this crucial level.

While Bitcoin is safe from breaking $18,000 to the downside at the moment, Micheal van de Poppe pointed out that a large CME gap is looming. The gap ranges from $18,275 to $16,995.

Lastly, the Hash Ribbons indicator has posted a buy signal, giving long-term investors the green light to invest in Bitcoin. This indicator has proven itself one of the best RoI indicators for Bitcoin when it comes to long-term investing.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s long-term technicals (weekly and monthly) are completely tilted towards the buy-side, while its daily overview is still bullish but showing slight signs of neutrality. On the other hand, its 4-hour overview is completely bearish.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is currently below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to being oversold (31.73)
  • Volume is average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $18,600                                 1: $18,190

2: $18,790                                 2: $17,780

3: $19,000                                  3: $17,200

Ethereum

Ethereum wasn’t immune to the downturn either, with its price dropping from the sub-$600 levels all the way down to just above $550. Unlike Bitcoin, however, there are no CME gaps to worry about, and Ethereum seems quite stable above $550.

The only thing to worry about when anticipating Ether’s next price move is Bitcoin’s movement. At the moment, Bitcoin is dictating all consolidations, as well as large moves in either direction.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s monthly overview shows a full tilt towards the buy-side, while its daily and weekly overviews still show some signs of neutrality. On the other hand, its 4-hour overview is bearish but shows slight signs of neutrality.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is currently below both its 50-period EMA and its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is in the oversold territory (28.61)
  • Volume is above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $565                                     1: $550

2: $582                                     2: $525 

3: $600                                      3: $510

Ripple

The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap moved to the downside as well, with its $0.545 support level holding up as the last-resort support. XRP is currently stable and trading between $0.545 to the downside and $0.571 to the upside, with its price, seemingly creating a double bottom (today and on Dec 5).

XRP traders might want to (still) refrain from trading XRP simply due to the disbalance of the risk and reward, as well as due to its low volatility.

XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s longer weekly and monthly time-frames show complete bullishness, while its 4-hour overview is completely bearish. Its daily overview is still bullish but shows some signs of neutrality or even some bearishness.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is currently below both its 50-period EMA, as well as its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its bottom Bollinger band
  • RSI is close to being oversold (34.36)
  • Volume is slightly above average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.571                                   1: $0.545

2: $0.6                                       2: $0.5

3: $0.63                                    3: $0.475

Categories
Crypto Videos

Asset Mangers Being Left Behind By Not Understanding The Fastest Growing Asset Ever… Bitcoin!


Asset Managers Risk Their Careers by Not Understanding Bitcoin

Shapeshift CEO Erik Voorhees has spoken about the future of financial management in the future, stating that every asset manager should, even now, have an understanding of Bitcoin based on its astonishing rate of return.

Voorhees commented on this topic while retweeting data shared by analytics platform Messari co-founder Dan McArdle that shows Bitcoin dramatically outperforming every other asset over the last decade. 


While gold has made a return of 32% and the S&P 500 has tripled its investors’ money, Bitcoin has posted an astonishing 7,837,884% gain in ten years.

Looking at its 10-year life, Voorhees believes that Bitcoin is “vastly superior to any other investment.” He then stated that:

“One could be forgiven for not understanding Bitcoin eight years ago… but any asset manager today who remains even somewhat ignorant of this phenomenon needs to seriously check what they are doing.”

Voorhees is not the only one talking about the recent embrace of Bitcoin by institutions and the rest of traditional finance that is believed to underpin the most recent rally. Just the past week alone, half a dozen experts in the traditional finance sector made similarly bullish observations. On December 2, crypto trading firm Genesis CEO Michael Moro made a prediction that 250 publicly traded companies will put at least some of their funds in Bitcoin by the end of 2021.

On December 4, former JP Morgan commodity trader Danny Masters told CNBC that it would soon be a “career-risk to not have Bitcoin in your portfolio.”

BlackRock CIO Larry Fink also spoke about Bitcoin and warned that Bitcoin’s success could have a substantial impact on the US dollar and that it will even “take the place of gold to a large extent.” 

Of course, every asset has its bulls and bears, and no matter how many pundits back Bitcoin, or how many institutions put their money into it, gold bug Peter Schiff still remains unmoved, stating that Bitcoin and gold have nothing in common and that Bitcoin will never replace gold.

Categories
Crypto Videos

Michael Saylor Comparing Bitcoin To Lebron James? Institutional Investment Skyrocketing!


Bitcoin is like ‘Lebron James’ – MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor

 


In an interview with economist Marc Friedrich, CEO of MicroStrategy, Michael Saylor said that Bitcoin is just not the same asset it was in 2015 or 2017. As Saylor stated, the arguments against Bitcoin that were relevant two or four years ago are simply no longer applicable.

Bitcoin has grown exponentially since its peak in 2017. The growth happened in terms of infrastructure, fundamentals, as well as adoption. In the past year alone, many institutions have started to increasingly see Bitcoin as a store of value and an inflation hedge rather than as a speculative asset.

In 2017, Bitcoin critics said the cryptocurrency was too volatile and that there was a substantial risk of it dropping to zero. Saylor emphasized that these arguments have close to no relevance now because Bitcoin has evolved significantly in recent years.

Saylor said that Lebron James played basketball from ages 8 to 18, but then matured and evolved into one of the all-time greats. He said that Bitcoin went through a very similar period, stating that he thought that it was important to address the fears and anxieties of the crypto and non-crypto community head-on, but that people that still think that Bitcoin might go to zero are still living in the 2015 and 2017 timeframe. He compared Lebron James’ talent, which was, according to him, erratic and volatile in the early stages of his gameplay. But then he grew up and “destroyed everybody and everything in his way.”


One of the major changes Bitcoin has experienced since 2017 is its market structure. Going back to 2017, retail platforms like BitMEX were the dominant players in the derivatives market. Institutional platforms such as the CME have consistently processed volumes that were similar to leading retail-focused exchanges.

However, as of December 4, the CME Bitcoin futures market has an open interest of $1.14 billion, which is considerably higher than Binance Futures, Bybit, Huobi, as well as BitMEX.

On-chain data also shows a considerable increase in institutional interest. According to data coming from IntoTheBlock, the number of transactions valued at over $100,000 has increased twofold in 2020. This is indicative of the growth in institutional activity, the analysts stated. Furthermore, the total volume transferred in these transactions has experienced an even larger growth with 6x increase over the same period.”

Based on various factors, including the fact that the already-significant institutional involvement in the Bitcoin market is only increasing, investors like Saylor remain confident that Bitcoin is evolving into an established store of value.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic Forex Daily Topic Position-sizing Guide

Forex Academy’s Guide to Position Size

After completing our series on position size, we would like to summarize what we have learned and make conclusions.

Starting this video series, we have understood that position size is the most crucial factor in trading. On Position Size: The most crucial factor in trading, we learned that deciding the position’s size is not intuitive. In an experiment made by Ralf Vince using forty PHDs with a system with 60 percent winners, only two ended up making money. Thus, if even PHDs couldn’t making money on a profitable strategy, Why do you think you’re going to do it right? You need to follow a set of rules not to fool yourself.

The Golden rules of trading

The trading environment seems simple, but it’s tough. You have total freedom to choose entries, exits, and the size of your trade. Some brokers even offer you up to 500x leverage. But you’re not free from yourself and your psychological weakness, Therefore, you need to set up a set of rules to stop the market to play with you. In “The golden rules of Forex trading” III, and III, we propose specific rules it is advisable to follow to succeed in trading. These include never open a position without knowing your dollar risk, defining your profits in terms of reward/risk factors, and limit your losses to less than 1R, a risk unit. We also advise to keep a record of trades and identify your strategy’s basic stats: Average profit, the standard deviation of the profits, and drawdown.

The dark side of the trade

In our video, The Dark Side of Trade, we explain the relation between position size, results, and drawdown, showing that position size plays a vital role in both aspects. In the video, We show that while results grow geometrically ( 100x), drawdown increase arithmetically, 10X. But the lesson here is that the size of the position must be chosen with the drawdown in mind. That is, we should choose a position size so that the max drawdown could be limited to a desirable size. 

The Gamblers Fallacy 

on Position Size – The Gamblers Fallacy, we explain why it is wise to consider position sizing independently of the previous results. We explain that a new trading result does not usually depend on prior results; thus, modulating the trade size, such as do Martingale systems, is not only useless but dangerous because winning or losing streak ends are unpredictable.

The Advantage!

Even when most retail traders don’t realize it, the “how much” question is the advantage or critical factor to achieve your trading goals because the size of the position defines both the trading results and the risk, or max drawdown, in your trading portfolio. We mention in Position Sizing III- The Advantage that in 1991 the Financial Analyst Journal published a study on the performance of 82 portfolio managers over a 10-year period. The conclusion was that 90% of their portfolio differences were due to “asset allocation,” a nice word for “investment size.”

In this article, we also presented the simplified MCP model to compute the right lots to trade as:

M = C/P, where M is the number of lots, C is the (Cash at) Risk, and P is the Pip distance from entry to stop-loss. The cash will depend on the percent you’re willing to risk and the cash available in your trading account. 

Equity Calculation Models

In our next video of this series, Position Size IV – Equity Calculation Models, We explain several models to calculate several simultaneous positions: 

  • The Core Supply Model, in which you determine the nest trade’s size using the remaining cash as the basis for computing C.  
  • The Balanced Total Supply Model, in which C is determined by the remaining cash plus all the profits secured by a stop-loss.
  • The Total Supply Model, in which the available cash is computed by adding all open position’s gains and losses plus the remaining cash.
  • The Boosted Supply Model uses two pockets: the Conservative Money Pocket and the Boosted Monet Pocket. 

The Percent Risk Model

The Percent Risk Mode is the basic position sizing model, barring the constant size model. on Position Sizing Part 5, we analyze how various equity curves arise when using different percent risk sizes and how drawdown changes with risk. Finally, we presented an example using 2.5 percent risk for an average max drawdown of 21 percent.

The Kelly Criterion

Our next station is  The Kelly Criterion. The linked article explains how the Kelly Criterion is used to find the optimal bet amount to achieve maximal growth, based on the winner’s percentage and the Reward/risk ratio. The Kelly criterion was meant for constant reward bets, and as such, it cannot be used in trading, but it tells us the limit above which the size of the position increases the risk while decreases the profits. We should be aware of that limit considering that most retail Forex traders trade beyond it and blow out their accounts miserably.

Optimal fixed fraction trading

Optimal fixed fraction trading, Optimal f for short, is the adaptation of the Kelly criterion to the financial markets. The optimal f methodology was developed by Ralf Vince. In Position Size VII: Optimal Fixed Fraction Trading, we explain the method and give the Python code to find the Optimal fraction of a stream of trading results. The key idea behind the code is that the optimal fraction is the one that generates the maximal growth factor on a set of trades. That is, Opt F delivers the maximal geometric mean of the trading results.

Optimal f properties

But nothing in life seems easy. Optimal f has dark corners that we should be aware of. In Position size VIII – Optimal F Revisited, we analyze the properties of this positioning methodology. We understood that, due to the trading results’ random nature, we should find a safer way to find the optimal fraction to trade. This article presented a safer way to compute it using Monte Carlo resampling and take the minimum value as optimal f. This way, the risk of ruin is minimized while preserving the strong growth factor Opt f provides.

Market’s money

Traders define their recent trading gains as “market’s money. A clever way to profit from the usual winning streaks is to use the market’s money to increase the position size in a planned manner. In Position Sizing IX: Improving the Percent Risk Model-Playing with market’s money,

we present the N-Step Up position sizing strategy, an innovative algorithm that adds the gains obtained in previous trades to boost the profits. This way, it could increase the profitability by 10X with a max drawdown increase of roughly 2.8X, from 8.02% to 22.5%. This article analyzes four models: one, two, and three steps with 100% reinvestment and three steps with 50% reinvestment.

Scaling in and out

Our next section, Position sizing X: Scaling-in and scaling-out techniques, is dedicated to scaling in and out methods. Scaling in and out are techniques to increase the position size while maintaining the risk at bay. They work best with trending markets, for instance, the current crypto and gold markets. The main idea is to use the market’s money to add to our current position while trailing our stops. 

System Quality and Max Position Size

System quality has a profound influence over the risk, and, hence, over the maximum position size, a trader can take. In Position Sizing XI- System Quality and Max Position Size Part I and part II, we presented a study on how the trading strategy’s quality influences the maximum position size a trader should take. To accomplish this, we created nine systems with the same percentage of winners, 50 percent. We used Van K Tharp SQN formula to compute their quality and adjusted the reward to risk on each system to create nine variations with SQN from 1 to 5 in 0.5 steps. 

Then, since traders have different risk limits, we defined as ruin, a max drawdown below ten preset levels from 5 to 50 in 5-step.   

 Our procedure was to create a Monte Carlo resampling of the synthetic results, which simulated 10 thousand years of trading history on each system.  

Since a trading strategy or system is a mix between the trading logic and the trader’s discipline and experience, we can estimate that the overall outcome results from the interaction of the logic and the treader. Thus, we can accurately associate a lower SQN with lowing experienced traders and higher SQN to more professional traders. The study’s concussions suggest a limit of 0.5 percent risk on newbies, whereas more experienced traders could boost their trading risk to an overall 4.5%.

Two-tier Optimal f Positioning

After this journey, we have understood that Using Ralf Vince’s optimal f position sizing method means maximally growing a portfolio. Still, the risk of a 95% drawdown makes it unbearable for any human being. Only non-sentient robots can withstand such heavy drops. In Position sizing XII- Two-tier Optimal f, we analyzed the growth speed of a 1% risk size, and we compare it with the Optimal f. We were interested in the average time to reach a 10X final capital. We saw that on a system with 65.5% winners and a profit factor of 2 ( average Reward/risk ratio of 1.1), using 1 percent risk, it would take650 days ( about two years) on average, whereas, using optimal f sizes, this growth was reached in 42 days, less than one-tenth of the time!.

The two-tier Optimal f positioning method uses the boosted supply model, and is a compromise between maximal growth and risk. The main objectives were to preserve the initial capital while maintaining the Optimal f method’s growth characteristics as much as possible.

The two-tier optimal f creates two pockets in the trading account. 

  1. The first pocket, representing 25% of the total trading capital, will be employed for the optimal f method. The rest, 75%, will use the conservative model of the 1 percent model.
  2. After a determined goal ( 2X, 5X, 10X, 20X), the account is rebalanced and re-split to begin a new cycle.

In Position sizing XII- Two-tier Optimal f part II, we presented the Python code to accurately test the approach using Monte Carlo resampling, creating 10,000 years of trading history.

 The results obtained proved that this methodology preserved the initial capital. This feat is quite significant because it shows the trader will dispose of unlimited trials without blowing out his account. Since the odds of ending in the lowest possible scenario are very low, there is almost the certainty of extremely fast growths.

Finally, we also analyzed other mixes in the two-tier model, using Optf / 10, Optf/5, and Optf/2 instead of 1%, with goals of 10X growth to rebalance. These showed extraordinary results as well while preserving the initial capital. B.

Drawdowns

The trader should also consider the drawdowns involved before deciding which strategy best fit his tastes because, while this methodology lowers it, in some cases, it goes, on average, beyond 60%. We have found that the best balance between growth and risk was the combination of 75% Optf/10 and 25% Optf, which gave an average final capital of $21.775 million with an average drawdown of 37%.

To profit from this methodology, the trader must ensure the long-term profitability of his system. Secondly, he must perform a Monte Carlo analysis to find the lowest optimal f value. Finally, he should create an adequate spreadsheet to follow the plan.

Final words

After reading all this, we hope you know the importance of position sizing for your success goals as a trader.

One caveat: We have left some topics out, such as martingale methods, which many traders use and are the main cause of account blown out. Please adhere to the philosophy that position sizing should be thought of as a tool to reach your goals and handle your risk and drawdowns. As shown in The Dark Side of the trade, position sizing should be separated from the previous trades’ results.

Categories
Crypto Daily Topic

Who is Satoshi Nakamoto (Creator of Bitcoin)? 

There’s no bigger mystery in the crypto world than the one of Bitcoin’s creator’s true identity. Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym used by Bitcoin’s creator(s). More than 10 years after Bitcoin, Satoshi’s identity remains shrouded in mystery. 

The Bitcoin community is yet even to know if Satoshi is one person or a group of people. What they know is that in 2008, Satoshi published a paper: “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” that completely changed finance as we know it. 

Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped an active search for the mysterious figure. Several Satoshi ‘suspects’ have been unveiled, and not without controversy. Let’s look at some of the people widely theorized to be Satoshi. 

#1. Dorian Nakamoto

Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto is a Japanese-American engineer suspected of being Satoshi by Newsweek writer Leah McGrath Goodman back in 2014. At the time, McGrath published an ‘expose’: “The Face Behind Bitcoin.” McGrath had established that Nakamoto had previously worked as a systems engineer on classified projects for the US government and a computer engineer for financial services companies. 

McGrath said Nakamoto had let slip that he was the founder of Bitcoin. She alleged that during a face-to-face interview with him, he’d said about the currency: “I am no longer involved in that, and I cannot discuss it,” adding, “It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.” 

However, when he’d said he’s no longer involved with that, he’d meant his work with classified military projects years ago. Both in The Associated Press and on a Reddit Ask Me Anything, he said that he’d misinterpreted McGrath’s question as being related to that work. 

The “discovery” of Dorian Nakamoto was particularly mired in controversy. The Bitcoin community was not pleased with the “hit-job” type of piece – complete with a picture of his house – that McGrath wrote about him.  

The community also took notice of a message published for the first time in years on Nakamoto’s P2P Foundation site, saying, “I am not Dorian Nakamoto.” 

#2. Adam Back 

Adam Back is the CEO of blockchain company Blockstream. Some sections of the Bitcoin community suspect he’s Satoshi Nakamoto thanks to a YouTube video called “Unmasking Satoshi Nakamoto” Posted by the channel “Barely Sociable.” The video talks about several clues about why Back may be Satoshi Nakamoto. 

One of those reasons is that he was describing the technology underlying Bitcoin as far back as 1998. He also kind of disappeared from the public when Satoshi was actively involved in the project. Barely Sociable also pointed out that both Back and Satoshi use double spacing in their words, and they use British English spelling. The video also mentioned the possibility that Back can always leverage plausible deniability about the claim. After the video was published, Back engaged in a back and forth with Barely Sociable on Twitter. At the time of writing, the YouTube video has 548,592 views on Twitter. 

#3. Wei Dai 

Wei Dai is a computer engineer and cryptographer. He’s the creator of the b-money currency system and a fixture in the digital currency community ecosystem. On August 23, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto wrote to Dai acknowledging his contribution to Bitcoin:” I was very interested to read your b-money page. I’m getting ready to release a paper that expands on your ideas into a complete working system.” 

Most of the evidence linking Dai to Bitcoin is substantial, though, and there’s no smoking gun evidence to prove that he really is Satoshi. Such evidence is based on the fact that Dai has the ability to create such a project, as well as his intensely private manner that is akin to Satoshi’s.

Also, if Dai were Satoshi, that means he’d have to have been playing a “double agent” role writing to himself and communicating with himself. This is highly unlikely.

#4. Hal Finney 

Hal Finney is an American cryptography pioneer who died of ALS in 2014. In the same year, Forbes journalist Andy Greenberg wrote an article on Hal Finney, highlighting that he was not only Dorian Nakamoto’s neighbor, but also a pioneer in the cypherpunk and cryptography space. Not only that, Finney had been the first-ever recipient of a BTC transaction from Satoshi. 

Greenberg then worked with writing analysis firm Juola & Associates and asked them to compare Finney’s writing with that of Satoshi. Apparently, they found his writing was closer to Satoshi’s than other candidates submitted to Newsweek, Fast Company, and the New Yorker. But they also found Satoshi’s emails to Finney more closely resembled the style in Bitcoin’s original white paper as compared to Finney’s emails. 

Greenberg theorized that Finney could have been a ghostwriter for Nakamoto or has used his neighbor Dorian Nakamoto as cover. Finney denied being Satoshi. After Greenberg met Finney and saw the email exchanges between them and his and Bitcoin’s wallet history, he concluded that he was telling the truth. 

#5. Craig Wright 

Craig Wright is an Australian computer scientist and techpreneur. On Dec 8, 2015, Wired ran an article by Andy Greenberg and Gwern Branwen describing an Australian academician called Craig Stephen Wright who “either invented bitcoin or is a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did.” 

The same day, Gizmodo published a story featuring documents allegedly obtained by a hacker who breached or “breached” Wright’s email accounts, claiming that Satoshi Nakamoto was a joint pseudonym for Craig Wright and his longtime friend, Dave Kleiman. Kleiman was a computer forensics expert who died in mysterious circumstances in 2013.

Following the article, Wright quickly disappeared from the web for several months only to resurface on May 2, 2016, and declare that he was Bitcoin’s creator. He also wrote an article apologizing for taking the original private approach and a refusal to provide proof of access to one of Bitcoin’s earliest keys. Several publications have rubbished the claims that Wright is Satoshi. He’s also currently embroiled in litigation with Dave Kleiman’s estate. The lawsuit claims Wright defrauded Kleiman of millions of worth of Bitcoin. 

#6. Nick Szabo 

Nick Szabo is a computer scientist, legal and cryptography scholar who’s widely credited for pioneering the concept of smart contracts in the ’90s. In 2008, he developed a decentralized currency – Bit Gold, which he described as “a protocol whereby unforgeable costly bits could be created online with minimal dependence on trusted third parties.” This is in agreement with Bitcoin, in which bits produced by a distributed network of computers worldwide independently verify transactions.

Writer Dominic Frisby floated the idea that Nick Szabo is Satoshi in his book “Bitcoin: The Future of Money?” Frisby talked to a stylometric analyst who apparently concluded that Szabo’s writing style is similar to Satoshi’s. His other ‘proof’ was that both Szabo and Satoshi reference legendary Austrian economist Carl Menger. Frisby also established Szabo had worked for DigiCash, a cryptographic electric money attempt in the early ’90s. According to Frisby, all these clues alluded to Szabo being Satoshi. 

However, Szabo has repeatedly refuted the idea that he’s Satoshi, saying to Frisby in one of their correspondences: “Thanks for letting me know. I’m afraid you got it wrong doxing me a Satoshi, but I’m used to it.” 

Final Thoughts

The fervor behind Bitcoin’s creator is understandable. After all, the currency is not just digital money – it’s a movement – one that has shaken the very core of finance. Some of the people mentioned in the list are known for their pioneering work that helped lay the foundation of Bitcoin. Others have been active in the currency’s development from the beginning, while others appear to ride on the coin’s popularity for whatever ends. But if you think about it, the mystery surrounding Bitcoin is partly behind its wild success and possibly its ‘untouchable’ status. The Bitcoin community and, indeed, the world should be happy that we have Bitcoin and not be so fixated on its creator. 

Categories
Cryptocurrencies

Buying Bitcoin with Skrill: Don’t Try Before Reading This!

Bitcoin is the world’s most popular currency. So it’s not a surprise that most payment platforms worth their salt support the currency. One of these platforms is Skrill, the London-headquartered money transfer company that’s now one of the most popular globally. 

This article looks at how you can purchase Bitcoin via Skrill. We’ll dive briefly into what Skrill is, whether you should consider using it, and the best places to buy BTC with Skrill. 

What is Skrill?

Skrill is an international payment platform through which users can transfer, send, and receive money from across the globe. It sets itself apart from other money transfer companies such as PayPal through low-cost transactions. You can open a Skrill account in any of the 30+ supported currencies. Once you have an account, you can add other currencies if you’d like to receive payments in different currencies. Skrill is widely accepted by merchants worldwide, including cryptocurrency exchanges, which is why you need to know how you can purchase Bitcoin using Skrill. 

Should You Buy Bitcoin with Skrill?

Wondering whether it’s worth buying Bitcoin from Skrill? Apart from being just another option (the more options you have, the better), Skrill can save you some money. Additionally, you can buy Bitcoin directly from your Skrill account with your local Fiat currency. There are many ways you can fund your Skrill account to facilitate a crypto purchase. Skrill also offers convenience and ease of use through its mobile app. Finally, crypto purchases are instant, and your account is credited with the balance within seconds. 

With that, let’s take a look at where and how you can do it so. 

Best Places to Buy Bitcoin with Skrill

#1. Skrill

Skrill itself is one of the best places where you can buy BTC. Buying Bitcoin from Skrill is incredibly easy and straightforward. If you have an account, you will see the option when you log in. The interface is particularly user-friendly – simple, elegant, and minimally designed. 

To buy BTC from your Skrill account, you will need to fund it first. The quickest way to do so is to use your credit card. Whichever card you’re using, funding your account will cost you around 2.5% of the transaction value. Most of the major cards are accepted. 

Apart from Bitcoin, you can also buy other major cryptos on the platform. This is especially important if you’d like to diversify your crypto investment portfolio. As a bonus, you can also sell crypto from within your Skrill account. So buying BTC on Skrill is not only highly convenient, but it’s also option rich. 

#2. Paxful

Paxful is a peer-to-peer (P2P) Bitcoin marketplace launched in 2015. The platform allows you to buy and sell Bitcoin to other users. Like all other P2P marketplaces, users can browse through different seller profiles and select the one that offers the best rates and accepts Skrill payments.

Whether you have an account or not, Paxful allows you to filter sellers by country, accepted payment methods, and so on. When you select a seller, the platform gives you more details regarding the offer and the seller. You can even see the seller’s rate in comparison to the average market rates and determine whether their offer is fair. If your Skrill account is already funded, buying Bitcoin from Paxful is super easy. You will only need to check out with Skrill and complete the easy steps that follow. 

Best of all, Paxful summarizes many options for you, allowing you to quickly and simply purchase Bitcoin. 

#3. Capital.com

Capital.com is a UK-based crypto broker that allows users to buy and sell most of the major cryptocurrencies. Since it’s a broker, you’ll be either buying or selling directly to the company. If you are conscious of the risks of buying crypto from a P2P exchange, Capital.com is a great go-to option. 

#4. eToro

eToro is one of the biggest crypto exchanges, and it supports buying Bitcoin using Skrill. eToro is a social trading platform, which means it allows you to copy-trade. The platform is designed mostly for experienced traders. Nevertheless, its copy trading feature allows novices to take part.

When it comes to buying Bitcoin, eToro is one of the most sophisticated trading platforms. It presents multiple dashboards offering a preview of the most important BTC indicators, real-time prices included. Setting up an account is a little cumbersome as it requires you to provide numerous details. However, once all is set up, the rest of the purchase process is relatively easy. 

#5. Coingate

Coingate is a cryptocurrency payment gateway that allows businesses across the globe to accept Bitcoin. Crypto traders can also buy and sell their digital assets on the platform without making any deposit. When you choose to buy Bitcoin using Skrill, you’ll be able to make an instant payment without the need for registration or verification, as long as you’re verified on the platform. Coingate’s speed and ease of use make it an ideal option for users who want to buy Bitcoin quickly and without hassle. 

Coingate is sometimes criticized for offering poor rates and unsatisfactory customer service. However, user experience on the platform is generally smooth, and you’re unlikely to face challenges buying Bitcoin or paying with your Skrill account. 

#6. Bitpanda

Bitpanda is a world-famous crypto exchange that allows users to buy and sell various digital assets with the convenience of mobile and desktop options. Bitpanda has made buying/selling Bitcoin as easy as ABC. To buy Bitcoin with Skrill on Bitpanda, you need only follow three steps:

  • Create a Bitpanda account or log in if you have an existing one.
  • Verify your identity and fund your Bitpanda wallet. When depositing funds, you will be directed to select the source of funds, where you’ll choose Skrill.
  • Proceed to buy Bitcoin.

The difference between Bitpanda and Coingate is that with Coingate, you have to fund your Coingate account first. However, the whole buying experience is fast and user-friendly. 

Final Thoughts

Skrill is one of the most recognized global money transfer platforms. The platform attracts users with its low-cost money transfer offerings. When it comes to buying Bitcoin with Skrill, users get various options ranging from Skrill itself to the numerous exchanges that accept Skrill payments. If you’re using Skrill on a different platform, you need to evaluate the platform’s ease of use, transaction fees, and available withdrawal options. As for Skrill itself, Bitcoin purchases are simple and instant, which you should take advantage of.

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Crypto Market Analysis

Daily Crypto Review, Dec 08 – BTC, ETH and XRP Preparing for a Big Move; Crypto Sector in Consolidation Mode

The cryptocurrency sector has spent the past 24, mostly consolidating, as it failed to reach past its resistance levels on Monday. Bitcoin is currently trading for $19,180, representing a decrease of 0.65% compared to our last report. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has decreased by 1.14% on the day, while XRP managed to lose 1.65%.

 Daily Crypto Sector Heat Map

Prophet gained 358.97% in the past 24 hours, making it the most prominent daily crypto gainer. It is closely followed by Seigniorage Shares’ 344.54% and xBTC’s 340.23% gain. On the other hand, CryptoBet lost 95.85%, making it the most prominent daily loser. It is followed by Semux’s loss of 90.60% and Bitball Nyan v2’s loss of 51.05%.

Top 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bottom 10 24-hour Performers (Click to enlarge)

Bitcoin’s market dominance has moved to the upside over half a percent since we last reported, with its value currently being 62.6%. This value represents a difference of 0.6% to the upside when compared to yesterday’s value.

Daily Crypto Market Cap Chart

The crypto sector capitalization has increased in the past 24 hours, with its current value being $568.82 51.68 billion. This represents a $17.24 billion increase when compared to our previous report.

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What happened in the past 24 hours?

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Technical analysis

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin has continued with its slow movement as another low volatility day passed. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap oscillated between $18,905 and $19,431. The one time it dropped under the $19,000 mark, it found support in the 50-period moving average, which has proven to be a strong (both support and resistance) level.

Due to the low volatility, traders can’t really do much at the moment. However, they can prepare for the next move Bitcoin makes.

Lastly, the Hash Ribbons (one of the best accumulation indicators) indicator has posted a buy signal, giving long-term investors the green light.

BTC/USD 4-hour chart

Bitcoin’s technicals on both short and long time-frames are bullish, with its weekly time-frame showing full tilt to the buy-side and its 4-hour, daily, and monthly time-frames tilting more towards neutrality.

BTC/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • Price is slightly above its 50-period EMA while being at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (51.61)
  • Volume is slightly below average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $19,500                                 1: $19,000

2: $19,666                                 2: $18,790

3: $20,000                                  3: $18,600

Ethereum

Ethereum has, just like Bitcoin, had quite a slow day, with its price moving slightly down. At the moment, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap doesn’t seem like it will tackle $600, as its volume is too low to pressure this major resistance level. However, if and when a bull run past $600 happens, traders will have a great opportunity to catch a safe trade with a stop-loss slightly below $600 and a possible target of $620 or $630.

ETH/USD 4-hour Chart

Ethereum’s monthly overview shows a full tilt towards the buy-side, while its daily and weekly overviews show some signs of neutrality. On the other hand, its 4-hour overview is completely bearish.

ETH/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical Factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is slightly above its 50-period EMA while being slightly below its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (48.32)
  • Volume is below average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $620                                     1: $600

2: $630                                     2: $530 

3: $735                                      3: $510

Ripple

The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has close to no volatility, as well as very low volume on most exchanges. With the price movement being non-existent, there is not much to say about the current XRP trading. However, whenever the trading range is getting this narrow, a breakout is on the horizon.

XRP has created a flag formation on the 1-day chart, signaling that an increase in volume could bring a breakout to the upside and a possible spike of up to 60%, which would take the coin’s price above $1,00.


XRP/USD 4-hour Chart

XRP’s longer time-frames (weekly and monthly) show complete bullishness, while its 4-hour and daily overviews show some signs of neutrality or even bearishness.

XRP/USD 1-day Technicals

Technical factors (4-hour Chart):
  • The price is at its 50-period EMA, as well as at its 21-period EMA
  • Price is at its middle Bollinger band
  • RSI is neutral (50.46)
  • Volume is well below average
Key levels to the upside          Key levels to the downside

1: $0.666                                   1: $0.6

2: $0.78                                     2: $0.596

3: $0.79                                   3: $0.535